December 18

I know this is out of order.

Right after I posted the picture of the tulip, I noticed that I hadn't posted the picture of the last Christmas sharing. We heard about Christmas traditions that included going to church, putting up heritage ornaments and opening stockings before breakfast.

December 30 2008

Hello everyone,

This post is for the children.

Remember the tulips that we fooled into thinking the fall was winter and that winter was spring? We put them in the fridge for a while. Then we took them out to warm up. I promised that I would post a photo of the tulips when they bloomed.

I went away for a short trip. I wrapped the tulip pot in two blankets to keep it warm in the car and took it with me. The tulips didn't bloom while I was away, so I wrapped the pot up again and brought it home with me.

This photo shows what I saw when I got up this morning.

December 17

What a day we had!
First of all, there was real snow, the kind you can slide on and build with. We went out first thing to collect more greenery for our project. It was very cold, so we had hot chocolate when we got back inside. We wrote about cold things and hot things.

Then we heard two more family stories.

Who goes to a restaurant for Christmas dinner?
Who makes cookie Christmas tree ornaments?

We are chatting a lot about the different traditions we have.

Finally, we got to work on our baskets. Mrs. Alcock came in to help us. But the children did the work themselves. I think you'll agree that they did a lovely job. Many people stopped by to check out what was making the wonderful smell. It turned out to be all the greenery we had collected both from home and from the school yard.

Listen to the local radio for any warnings about the weather for tomorrow.

December 16

Today three more children shared about their Christmas traditions.

We heard about the decorations on a tree, about the large family gathering that includes grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins and about opening gifts early at relatives' homes.

In case you didn't have photos of the Christmas concert, Mr. Heidebrecht has some posted on his blog.

December 15

We started the morning with sharing.

We heard how one family goes from waking up to stockings to gifts under the tree. We saw Christmas cards that one child is giving. 

Finally, we heard about new skates.

After lunch, Ms. Bjornson, our Aboriginal Education teacher, came in to help us make bear masks. She has been teaching us about bears. The masks we are making use First Nations designs.

December 12 part 2

Katherine and Sasha shared their Christmas items with us. This time there was a definite theme: Hand made ornaments.

We are learning a great deal about each other in these special Christmas sharing events.

December 12

Get ready for Monday. Lots of sleep is in order.

We start the day in the gym with Santa's breakfast. Parents can come, too.

In the evening, we have our concert. Our rehearsal went well, and I expect that the concert will, too. Everyone looks good and sounds good.

Of course in between breakfast and the concert, there is lots of work to do. We are still learning the basics as well as celebrating the season.

December 11

Today we saw family photos, a special personal pillow, and a special Christmas ornament.

Tomorrow we show the Intermediate students our concert piece.

Judging from the excitement, everyone's costume is ready and spectacular!

December 10

We started this morning by hearing about three Christmas traditions.

Guess who will have 33 people for Christmas dinner?

Guess who will have Christmas in two different places?

Guess who is getting presents from Grandma?

December 9

We are working with combinations in Math. The question we are thinking about most right now is, How many ways can we combine these two things?

Here is a sample question:

We can have six balls on our Christmas tree. We have to use red and yellow balls. How many combinations could we have?

Or:

I've got 6 coins in my pocket. Some are pennies and some are nickels. How many combinations could I have?

Can you think of some questions like these to give you child extra practice?

December 8

We've had a smart board in our room since the beginning of the year. Now we have the hardware and software both working so we can use the board.

Everyone has had a chance to use the special electronic pens that let us write on the board. We'll be using the board for more of our daily work in the future.

For those who don't know, the smart board is like a large computer touch screen. It's better, too, because of extra features like the special pens.

December 4

Today the children followed a DVD presentation with Madame Marshall to retell the story of Chicken Little whose name I can say, but not spell in French. They have made puppets who speak French. When the dance DVD comes on, the classroom comes to life.

Miss Owen

December 3

Today we talked about feelings. Can you guess how we are feeling from this picture? You can choose these feelings.
Happy
Sad
Angry
Surprised
Disgusted

December 2

I apologize for not adding to the blog yesterday. My mother has been very ill and taking care of her has used up all of my out-of-class time. I'm happy to say that she seems to have turned a corner.

Today Riley shared his tarantual's first molt.

I hope you are talking about which animal your child wants to be for our part in the Christmas concert. Everyone is enthusiastic about showing what we can do.

November 27 second post

Sometimes parents share, too.

Thanks to Kathleen and her dad, we got to see fossilized seashells in a rock from Alberta where Kathleen's dad has been working.

November 27

Yesterday, Mrs. Hoechstetter , who serves on our local Social Justice committee, brought a chart to our staff meeting. This chart shows how interpersonal problems can escalate. I'm sharing the full chart with you even though we don't usually see the final steps in Grade One. In fact, for the most part, we deal only with the very earliest steps. The good news is, if we can teach our children how to behave respectfully from the very beginning, we will make a major difference in society.

Here are the problems, from discourtesy to violent crime:

1. Putdowns
2. Insults
3. Threats
4. Trash talk
5. Bullying
6. Pushing
7. Fighting
8. Sexual harassment
9. Stealing
10. Drinking and drugs
11. Weapons
12. Vandalism
13. Hate crimes
14. Gangs
15. Hostages
16. Rape
17. Murder
18. Suicide

Note that although some steps may happen in a different order, there is a general slide toward trouble.

Note, too, that at Gibsons Elementary, bullying is defined as repeated behavior intended to hurt another. Repeated putdowns are a form of bullying.

When I was a child, no teacher ever dealt with the talking part. As long as no one was physically injured, we were expected to tough it out. We've come a long since those days. I take putdowns seriously and take action to change the dynamic when I discover a problem. The more you arm your child with assertive verbal skills, the more successful your child will be in life.

Throughout the year I'll be posting here about how to build assertiveness in children -- even when we as adults weren't given assertiveness training ourselves. I'll also send home newsletters and other material from time to time to address the topic. I'm happy to answer any questions you have and to pass on any resources you find helpful.

How we treat each other is the most important outcome of our education.

Miss Owen

November 26

Today we began our Second Step lessons. These focus on feelings and effective ways to deal with them.

Today we talked about how to behave in a group, something we are generally pretty good at. We also began our list of feeling words.

November 25

We are working on the concept of odd and even numbers. In case you've forgotten, odd numbers end in 

1, 3, 5, 7, and 9.

Even numbers end in

0, 2, 4, 6, and 8.

When numbers come up, you can ask your child whether the number is odd or even. Getting this right 100% of the time takes time. Just keep at it, and your child will learn to sort numbers in this way.

Miss Owen

November 21

We have a wonderful opportunity this year to have French lessons from a specialist. Madame Marshall is piloting a program that uses signs to reinforce the understanding of French words. We enjoy the challenge of trying to figure out what she is saying to us by listening and watching. A few of us can now answer simple questions. We can tell Madame our names and tell her how we are feeling.

Although this is just a short program, it's been well received. This photo is from yesterday's lesson.

November 20

Today we had curds and whey just like Little Miss Muffet. Most of us had only a small taste, but some of us really like curds and whey and asked for a full portion.

November 19

Sharing is an popular activity in our class. Makhaila brought a boomerang today. No one was able to make it come back. And no on actually hit the teacher with it.

If your child wants to share something, you can help by having your child practice a presentation at home. This doesn't have to be overly formal, but it's important to have something of interest to say.

I allow toys only after a birthday and after Christmas. At those times, each child is welcome to choose one toy to bring in. This keeps us focused on things other than who has the most toys.

It is not expected that every child will share every day. Quality is much more important than quantity. Later in the year, we will have special sharing activities in which all children will be asked to participate. You'll learn about those through the planner.

Miss Owen

November 18

Mr. Heidebrecht caught a perfect moment in our classroom and I thought you'd like to peek through the lens of his camera to see one of the things we are doing right now.

We're working on the idea that the best readers always guess and check. We look at pictures, think about what the book is about, examine words around the word we are going to read next, and make a guess about what the word should be.

Then we check. We start by looking at the first letter. That's what the kids are doing in the picture. They are showing me, using American sign language, which letter they expect to see on the page. I've covered the words with a post-it note so they can't see it until we've all had a chance to show our guess.

Your children are getting really good at this.

You can try this at home, with or without the post-it notes, and with or without the sign language. But asking what a child guesses will be next is helping your child to read like you and I do.

When we guess and check well, we read with fluency. That's the part of reading that is often missing in Grade One where children focus on each letter so long that they forget what the first sound was before they get to the third sound.

Miss Owen

November 17

Today we passed a milestone in our class. On two of our charts, we added the number 50 because we've been in school for 50 days. That's half way to 100 days. In Grade One, we celebrate 100 Day in a big way.

You can help your child to be fully ready for the big day by working with the numbers to 100.

Recently we've been counting forward and backward between 0 and 20. It's time to move on. Now we'll be solidifying our ability to count to 50 and back again.

Miss Owen

November 14

The report card comes home today.

Praise your child for the things learned so far.

Note the ways to support your child's learning.

Sign both the envelope and the card. You can keep the paper report. Some people prefer that I keep it with the card and envelope, and I'm more than willing to do so. I simply return it with each report.

If you need additional information, call me at the school (604 886 2612) or drop in before or after school. I have meetings after school on Wednesdays, but other days are fine. If you want to talk before school, come before 8:30. After that, things become far too hectic to focus attention on a serious topic. Of course, if you just want to tell me that the plans for going home have changed, you don't have to come before 8:30. It's those quick communications that make the morning hectic, but they don't mean I have to lock the door and focus only on you for an extended time.

November 13

We have begun counting by twos and tens. If your child can whip through 2,4,6,8..., offer the challenge of 1,3,5,7... There's always one more step.

November 12

If you aren't already playing dice games with your children, now is a great time to start. One goal for Grade One Math is instant recognition of arrays. The way the dots are arranged on dice is one example of a set of arrays. Over time, a child who plays with dice often learns to recognize the dice arrays instantly. Of course, lots of counting goes on first.

Here are some steps to watch for and encourage:

1. Child counts all dots on both dice.
2. Child recognizes the number of dots on one die, but has to count all dots on both dice to find the total number.
3. Child can hold the number of dots on one die in memory and "counts on" to find the total number. (Child sees 5+2 and says, "5, 6, 7.")
4. Child has memorized combinations and knows the total instantly.

If your child is at stage one, you may want to stick with one die for most activities.

Miss Owen

November 10

We went to a wonderful assembly where we remembered the soldiers who died in the wars.

In the afternoon, we met our Aboriginal Education teacher, Signy. She will teach us about bears. Right now, we know that there are three kinds of bears in Canada: 

1. black bears
   
2. grizzly bears
   
3. polar bears
   

We are learning how to know the differences between them and what aboriginal people did with parts of bears if they hunted them.

Miss Owen

PS No school tomorrow.

November 6

Yesterday we learned how to form the last of the lower case letters. This means that children should now be saving capital letters for special places like the beginning of their names and the beginning of sentences. 

The concept of a sentence is hazy, so grammatical perfection is not the goal. I'm happy if a child is trying to use a capital at the beginning of what the child thinks is a sentence. 

What is a really big no-no from now on is a capital letter in the middle of a word. If your child is writing at home and you see random capitals, ask your child why (s)he chose to use it there -- after you've oohed and ahed over the fact that your child is writing thoughts you can read. 

November 5

Is your child's backpack too heavy? Chances are, yes.

A Division 11 child should have only

1. Lunch and recess snack
   
2. Duotang
   
3. Planner
   
4. Sometimes finished work your child is bringing home to show you
5. A library book one day per week

More than that is probably too much.

Extra clothes can stay at school in another bag that hangs on your child's hook. Extra gym shoes should stay at school. Dead food that is growing legs should come out as soon as possible. Toys belong at home.

Did you know that chiropractors and other health professionals are concerned about the load your child carries every day?

How can you lighten your child's load?

See http://pediatrics.about.com/cs/safetyfirstaid/l/aa090202a.htm for more information.

November 4

Today the children began to write their own report cards.

It's important that they know what is expected of them and how well they are meeting those expectations. One of the best records of how much your child learns in Grade One will be the three reports (s)he writes this year.

Miss Owen

November 3

Every Monday your child brings home a new Word Wall List. Find a place to post the new list. Some families use the fridge door. Others have a spot in the child's room.

Here are some things you can do with the list that will help your child.

1. Read the words together. Not every child will be able to read the words yet. Give as much support at needed.
2. Play Mystery Words. Take time with your child giving clues to each other about words from the list. For example, if the word you want your child to find is to, you could say, "The word rhymes with Boo!" Or if the word you want your child to find is up, you could say, "The word is the opposite of down."
3. Ask your child to show you the Grade One way to print the new words -- or any words -- from the list.
4. Write the words on "cards." Pieces of paper will do. Take turns with your child. Draw one or two cards and make a sentence with the word(s) you've drawn. At this stage, simply saying the sentence is good enough for all but the most advanced students.
5. Make rhyming words with a specific Word Wall Word. Being able to hear and reproduce rhymes is an important reading strategy.
6. If you see your child spelling a Word Wall Word incorrectly, point out that that is a Word Wall Word and ask your child to correct the word. NOTE: These are the only words I hold children accountable for spelling correctly, and even then, I insist on correct spelling only if they can see the list.

The list above contains ideas to prime your pump. You and your child will find other uses for the words. The more fun you have with the list, the more valuable the list will be to your child.

November 2

On Hallowe'en morning, we finished our pumpkin art. Then we used our lovely pumpkins to create a pumpkin pyramid. We had exactly enough pumpkins to create a pyramid with one more pumpkin on each level down -- except we started at the bottom.

Ask your child to show you how to create a pyramid.

HINT: Each item has to "stand" on two items below.

**********

Thanks to families who sent treats for our party. Servers did a good job of passing out the food and everyone was polite.

Miss Owen

October 30

Pumpkins! Pumpkins! We'll be using the pumpkins in the photo on the left tomorrow in a Math activity. (Thanks to Mr. Heidebrecht for snapping the photo.)

Looking ahead, remember to change your clocks this weekend. We fall back to Pacific Standard Time.

Check the planner for Miss Owen's address. She'll be home to goblins, witches, and princesses at dusk.

October 28

The missing planner...

When you child comes without a planner, (s)he makes an emergency planner from our recycling paper. This allows me to send home messages and you to send messages to me -- assuming you don't find the missing planner right away. So, if you didn't put a planner in the backpack, you should still check for messages from school.

If your child is making a different planner every day, we have a big communication problem. I don't know what information you have and what you've missed. Worse, you don't know what you've missed.

I always assume that if I sent it home, you have it. I do not phone you remind you of things I put in the planner. The best way for you to stay in touch is to read the planner every day.

TIP: Make backpack check a part of your daily routine. Good times are

1. Right after you get home.
2. Right after supper.
3. Just before bed time.
4. (Not nearly as good, but better than nothing -- on the way out the door the next morning.)

Check the pocket in the front of the planner for forms you should sign and for work your child is bringing home. This will keep you totally up to date.

Initial the planner. Then put it right back in the backpack. It's great if you can also put any signed forms back immediately.

We all have busy lives. The planner takes less than a minute most days. Not having a planner slows down your child's morning (and the morning of the whole class because I have to stop to staple the planner together for your child and do an additional check to see that messages really are included) and can leave you without important information. It might mean that your child misses a field trip or you miss your interview with me. It means you aren't seeing the day to day school life of your child in one of the most critical years.

If you think you've permanently lost the planner or the dog really ate it, we can set up an exercise book to go back and forth instead.

A good planner routine of 1-5 minutes per day is a gift to your child.

October 27

We are counting down the sleeps until Hallowe'en.

Our class party is on Friday afternoon. No costumes, please. We are making masks.

Families whose last names begin with the letters A-G may bring orange or green treats for our party. Remember that we do not have nuts, seeds, or berries in our classroom.

Thank you again to those of you who cut the corner of the planner page each week so your child can find the correct page independently. If each of you clips one page, I do not have to clip 23 pages. You would be amazed at how much I can do for your child in the time it takes to find and clip the correct page 23 times.

October 24

Family Fun Night was FUN!

I was upstairs making people as ugly as possible, so I didn't get to see everyone. Those I did see were having a great time. And I stayed long enough to help count the money, so I can report that it was worth the effort.

I'm not sure if I can get the photos of the uglies onto the blog, but if I can, you'll want to see the REAL Miss Owen. In the mean time, there are a couple of Division 11 cuties one the left.

Did I mention the scary ghosts Division 11 made? They will make a second appearance downstairs.

October 23

There's no school for students tomorrow so kids can stay up a little later for Family Fun Night. Will you be there?

Enjoy the outdoors together. Talk about the changing seasons. That's one of our Science topics.

Notice any numbers in the environment.

Look for patterns in nature and in the neighbourhood.

Have fun and lots of cuddles.

October 22

Tomorrow is Family Fun Night.

You'll want to see the giant ghosts we made.

October 20

Today we learned that the seasons go in a cycle. Ask your child to tell you which season follows each other season. Can (s)he keep going after one cycle?

We used different coloured blocks to represent each season, and then kept the pattern going. What could you use at home to represent each season? (Some suggestions: a different coin for each season, pieces of a place setting, different kinds of beans. . .)

Miss Owen

October 16

You'll want to ask about the 10 monster your child made today. The monsters are taking on personalities -- a few even eat teachers! I'm staying well clear of those!

A big part of the Grade One Math program focuses on combinations that make 10. These are so handy when we have to do mental math for the rest of our lives.

October 15

Ask your child to show you the friendly numbers. You'll need to use your fingers for this one.

October 14

Today we tackled one of the trickier letters to print. Everyone did a good job. Ask your child to show you how to print the letter e. 

We say, "Over-around-open," to remind ourselves of where each stroke begins and which direction to go. 

1. When we say, "Over," we make a straight line that goes from left to right. 
   
2. When we say, "Around," we move up and around to the left.
3. We say, "Open," to remind ourselves not to close the shape, but to leave it open.

All children are now responsible for forming the letter e correctly at all times. Those whose names have an e in them have special responsibility because they will be writing many es in their lives.

October 10

Happy Thanksgiving!

I wish you could have been a fly on the wall of our classroom yesterday as the children listed the things they are thankful for. You have raised thankful children.

Of course I knew that before yesterday. I think this class has already said, "Thank you," more often than any other class I've ever taught. Besides the regular thank yous I hear when I hand out paper or other supplies, I've had several children thank me for helping them with a tough problem and others who just come up to say, "Thank you for teaching me."

In a society that is increasingly self-absorbed, your children stand out as thoughtful and grateful.

And I say, "Thank you for sending such delightful children to school each morning."

October 9

All Primary children at Gibsons Elementary are now in Guided Reading groups.

This means that the children in each class are in small groups for one half hour of concentrated reading lessons Monday to Thursday. Division 11 children are in lessons led by Mrs. Hourigan, Mrs. Carsky, Mrs. Tattrie, and me. Mrs. Hourigan is trained in Reading Recovery, the leading method of teaching children with reading problems -- this method also works wonderfully with other children. Mrs. Carsky is our Primary Special Education teacher. Mrs. Tattrie has been trained specifically to take children through these Guided Reading lessons. One of my specialties is early reading. So every child is with someone with specific qualifications in leading reading groups.

When we use these small groupings, we ensure that your child receives personal attention. This is just one way that Gibsons Elementary meets its goal of reading success for all students. You can be proud of the work our Primary Team has done and continues to do in making sure that all children get the greatest possible benefit from their time at school.

October 7

Thanks to Mr. Heidebrecht for the photo of Div. 11 fishers. Miss Owen's camera technical problems aren't sorted out yet.

Today your child has a very important letter in the planner pocket. This letter asks you what time is best for you to come and see me about your child's progress. I am preparing to write the first report card, and it's time to set joint goals. The interview times are set on a first come, first served basis, so you will want to get that form turned in a.s.a.p.

Miss Owen

October 6

Welcome to International Walk to School Week!

Is your child already walking to school? Of course, safety is a concern. An older child or an adult can act as an escort.

Some communities use a walking school bus. Families take turns escorting neighborhood children to school.

Being outside puts your child in touch with the environment in ways school lessons can't. And the fresh air just can't be overrated. We are so lucky to live in a place where the outside air really is fresh.

If walking to school simply isn't an option, use this week's focus to nudge you and your child outdoors each day for some activity.

PS. Only the witch in the Wizard of Oz actually melts in the rain. The rest of us put on outdoor clothes or carry umbrellas and enjoy the smell of freshly washed air.

PPS. Did you know that thanks to Gibsons Elementary's own Mrs. Hoechstetter, the schools on the Sunshine Coast have a contest that gives us points according to how often we walk or car pool? Imagine how much better our parking lot would look at the end of the day if GES families got together to cut down on car transport to and from school.

October 3

In today's school newsletter (see the planner pocket) are details of the receipt race. With prizes on the line, let's collect Super Valu and IGA receipts from friends, relatives and neighbors and win, win, win!

The money raised really helps the PAC, too.

Miss Owen

October 2

The rains have come!

If you haven't already done so, seriously consider sending a spare set of clothes to school with your child (include underwear and socks). Grade One children can soak themselves in the  most imaginative ways and if there are extra clothes here, we don't have to spend class time phoning you to send dry clothes in the middle of the day.

Dry footwear is critical. So are proper gym shoes. 

Thanks for helping me take care of your child.

October 1

Conservation is not only a hot political topic. It's an important mathematical concept. Right now, we are concerned with conservation of number.

 A child who can conserve number will know right away how many there are in a set no matter how the set is arranged. Here's something to try with your child to check for conservation of number.

Set out 6 items (pennies, forks, toy cars). The items don't matter, but they should be the same in some way. Have you child count to tell you how many there are. Then move one item so the arrangement is different. Ask again how many there are. Children who conserve number will immediately say, "Six," and think you slightly daft for asking.

Children who are still developing the idea of conservation of number will count the items again.

NOTE: I chose the number 6 because most Grade One children will have to count the first time, but the number is low enough that they are unlikely to make mistakes in counting. If you child does make a mistake in counting, help your child to count by touching or moving each item as it is counted.

Miss Owen

PS Five sleeps until our assembly performance.

September 30

What energy we had today!

The children loved their day and night spinners so much that I let them take them home today. You can use your child's love of the spinner to gently use words like morning and evening. Help your child to find the place on the spinner where morning and evening will happen. Find "the middle of the day when we have lunch."

Some children began  to use the spinner as a clock face. That is great  learning, too. Of course it doesn't work perfectly that way, but it allows for lots of fun conversation and play time.

Talk about the change of the month. Look at a calendar at home to help your child get ready for the change of calendar at school.

Did you see our class photo of Terry Fox Day? I've been having technological problems at home so that's the only photo I've put up so far.

Miss Owen

September 29

Mark next Monday on your calendar.

Division 9 will be performing in the Primary Assembly. Watch the planner for details.

(And ask your child which poem in the duotang needs extra attention.)

Miss Owen

September 26

What a great run we had for the Terry Fox Foundation!  Watch for photos. I'll post some over the weekend. Thanks to Micah's dad for taking photos after my camera battery ran out.

Have a wonderful weekend. Laugh and play together. Read a good book.

Miss Owen

September 25

It was exciting to learn more about our new Math program during our Professional Development Day.

One thing I've added to my toolbox is a series of three questions that your child will be hearing a lot this year -- and not only in Math.

1. What are you doing?
2. Why are you doing it?
3. How is it helping you?

These questions help to focus the mind on behavior. The goal is to make us all more aware of the strategies we use to solve problems of all kinds.

I'll be asking myself these questions as well.

Here are my answers about the big question of how I'm spending my year.

1. What are you doing? Teaching Grade One in the school I attended as a child.
2. Why are you doing that? I prefer to teach Grade One because this is the age group I understand best and because I love their developmental stage. Knowing what to do next is seldom a problem when I'm teaching Grade One. I love the sense of continuity I have when I connect with former classmates, now grandparents, bringing their grandchildren to school. I love the memories of my own time at Gibsons Elementary that flood in as I walk in the playground or enjoy a track meet.
   
3. How is it helping you? My days are filled with deep joy and satisfaction. I laugh more and sleep better. I feel like I am filling an important place in my world.

How about you? What are you doing? Why? How is it helping you?

September 23

We borrowed a voice control meter from Mrs. McGowan.

0   Silence

1   10 cm voice (only those 10 cm away can hear)

2   Conversation

3   Presentation

4   Outside

Today children used a number 1 voice during work time and we all enjoyed the calm atmosphere.

Tomorrow is the Terry Fox Assembly first thing in the morning. You are always welcome to join us for assemblies.

September 22

We had a fabulous day, today! You can all be so proud of how your children are behaving. Today everyone showed respect to others both in the classroom and in the hallways. Ask your child to show you what kind of voice to use in a classroom.

You might also ask about Miss Owen's work hat. 

September 19

Yum, yum! Our friendship fruit salad was a huge success.

So were the binoculars we made from the toilet rolls you sent.

Mr. Heidebrecht heard the children read this week. The room tingled with excitement. I can imagine that same excitement as your child reads the duotang to you at home. Reading with your child is your biggest contribution to your child's success in school.

September 18

A small jar of coins is a mathematical treasure trove. Adults aren't the only ones motivated by money. Here are a few things you can do with coins when children are in Grade One.

1. Sort coins. At first, children will sort by value because the coins look different. When that is easy, suggest more challenging sorting. Use the images on the coins or the dates for sorting.
2. Count coins. Begin with a simple count of how many coins there are in a small handful. Then talk about whether there are more pennies or more nickels. Then talk about how many more pennies there are. How many more is a difficult concept for children this age, so don't rush this.
3. When children can count comfortably and correctly to 50, you can introduce counting nickels by 5s and dimes by 10s. You can also mix dimes and pennies and find the value of the selection. This shows the way we form numbers. (Twenty-four is 2 dimes and 4 pennies.)

Keep the activities playful and the coin jar will remain a favourite activity for years and could lead to a serious hobby of collecting. For now, simple sorting and counting are enough of a challenge for most of our class.

Miss Owen

September 17

The weather report says today is the last warm day for this season.

With rainy weather on the way, you'll want to sent an extra set of clothes, including underwear, for your child. The extra set should be in a bag that will hang on the hook at school. We don't want kids to carry extra weight back and forth.

That's one reason to check the back pack every night. You never know what a six-year-old will decide to hoard in a dark place. And there's no reason to haul rocks back and forth between home and school. A routine that includes a quick inspection of the back pack avoids all sorts of problems.

Miss Owen

September 16

A thermometer is a wonderful tool for Grade One students. I'm not talking digital thermometer, here. I'm talking about the thermometer with the red line that goes up and down with the changing temperatures.

We will be checking and recording the temperature throughout the day for the next three days. If you have an outdoor thermometer at home, check it with your child.

Some children in Grade One can read the numbers. Others will simply be able to tell if the line is rising or falling. In September, either is fine.

If your child is interested in daily weather forecasts, check out the school weather forecast by the weather network at http://www.theweathernetwork.com/schools/CABCPOI2150456/cabc0113

If your child is awake either later in the evening or early in the morning, enjoy the full moon together. Then watch as it changes over the coming weeks. This is easier in December when days are shorter, but we are discussing this now, so take advantage if you can.

Miss Owen

September 15

If you ask, "What did you do in school today?" or, "What did you learn in school today?" you will probably get the stock kid answer, "I don't know," or, "Nothing."

To get better answers, try asking for something specific. Here are some conversation starters that might work for you:

"Which friends did you play with today?"

"Tell me something fun you did."

"Tell me about a story you heard today."

"What is your favorite part of the playground?"

"What did you eat first in your lunch?"

"Which crayon did you use the most today? What did you colour with it?"

"What did you do in choice time today?"

"What do you think I (your grandma, your dog, your stuffy, etc.) would like most in your classroom? Why?"

"Tell me about a game you played today."

"Did you work with your scissors today? What did your scissors do?"

"What made you feel really proud today?"

"What made you laugh today?"

"What did you pretend today?"

September 12

We are learning about night and day. For a start, we are figuring out what we mean when we use these words. Ask your child to tell what night is and what day is. Yesterday I heard many interesting explanations.

In Grade One we spend a lot of time working on standard printing. How the paper is placed on the desk makes a big difference. If you child is printing, check to see whether the paper is parallel to the forearm that holds the pencil. Often a simple shift in how the paper is turned makes all the difference, especially when it comes to how easy it is to sit the letters on a line. We aren't worried about lines just yet, but we are getting ready.

I will not send reading books home on the weekend. You and your child can enjoy other reading material together.

Have lots of fun with your child this weekend. Talking about your fun times and adventures together builds vocabulary.

Miss Owen

September 11

Thank you to everyone who signs the planner daily.

Please remember to let me know if you have made alternate arrangements to the way your child goes home. I will NEVER take your child's word for a change. I MUST hear from you that there is a play date or that someone new is picking up your child. This is a safety issue and your child's safety trumps everything.

Remember to send back the reading duotang tomorrow because we work in this book at school as well as at home.

Miss Owen

September 10

We are pattern crazy.

What patterns can you find in your house? Talk about them together.

Miss Owen

September 9

Today we made the letter a by putting a back on the letter c. Now we will use a lower case a in our names.

Tomorrow we will take our home reading books home for the first time. We want to read our books to you.

September 8

Hurray for Division 11! We can all zip up our backpacks and hang our jackets properly on our hooks. This keeps our classroom tidy.

We had a chance to hold Duke today. Duke hides in his pink igloo when things are noisy so we have to use quiet inside voices if we want him to come out so we can see him.

Today we started our printing practice. We started with the letter C because we can use it to make so many other letters.

September 7

Duke the guinea pig will join us on Monday.

Watch for a letter about Duke. It will be in the planner pocket.

Remember to sign the planner each day.

Miss Owen

September 5

Twenty-two Grade One children became Division 11 at Gibsons Elementary School today.

We learned that it is important not to steal someone else's thinking by calling out answers before others have time to think.

We learned to "run the pattern" and to line up quietly when we are in the hallway.

Everyone is looking forward to meeting Duke the guinea pig on Monday. I'll be asking for host families for Duke for the weekends.

Miss Owen

Welcome to Division 11

It's so exciting to start a new school year. Even though we started school on Tuesday, I feel like we really start when the new students meet the new teacher.

Some things will be ready when the children arrive. We will make other things together after they come.

I'm looking forward to meeting all the children and their families.