Overcommitting

Well I really wanted to post daily, but that's a bit of an overshoot so here's to trying to post atleast every other day :)

Remember, tomorrow is Friday, which is library day, homework packet day, and our book order is due. I have 3 book orders so far. It would be great to get atleast 6 orders.

We've started subtraction in our Excel Math sheets. I am trying to get them to understand that when we subtract we are taking things away and our answer must be smaller.

Our pictures came in today. I gave some of them out, but still have some in the room.

The kids are doing great. Remember to sign the homework packet covers and Reading Logs.

Looking for your input...please!!

Hi Parents/Guardians,

so we teachers have been informed our Halloween (oh excuse me...Fall Parade) will be taking place in the afternoon this year...just curious, what is your opinion on that?

The new behavior chart has worked out well. I gave a couple of purples today.

My ear infection has resulted in me now having to be on steriods...last resort before placing tubes.

Hope you're enjoying all of the books that have been coming home. Keep them in a safe place to review and reread. I have my son read his books atleast 2 times each...sometimes 3...it's a great way for them to feel successful.

Please remember to sign the homework cover sheet and the Reading Logs. I think the people who keep track of the logs kick them back if they don't have a signature. Thank you to the great response to our Red Math folder...you parents are an awesome group!!!

Saturday is our very first Gabilan Hills Career Day. I will be in the dunk tank from 11 - 11:20. Please come and join in the fun!!

Going to a new behavior system

starting Monday. It gives me more options then just 4 options. The last one is a note home which will need to be signed and returned. Our Dual Language Academy uses it and I like it. I'll send home information on Monday regarding it in Spanish and English. Please look it over, sign, and return. This way I'll know you've seen it.

In Math I'm introducing the concept of Fact Families. I LOVE fact families as it means the student learns one concept and can use it 3 other ways. For example...1, 2, and 3 are a fact family 1 + 2 = 3, 2 + 1 = 3, 3 - 1 = 2, and 3 - 2 = 1. See how the numbers work together. Once they learn this concept they can carry it over to division also. Please be studying the addition facts with them as I want to start doing a 2 minute time (and I hate to call it test) practice drill with them. They love it...seeing how far they can go. One year I put up a poster with names showing what test they were on, but the ones who were struggling...well, I felt uncomfortable for them. If you could just reward them at home that would be great.

Homework packets...please be signing the cover page and the Reading Log. Remember the log should be atleast 100 pages per week. I've decided to let them take home their hard back Reading book every Friday to return on Monday. It will give them a chance to show you what they've learned this week. Remember to write these down on their log. If they read it twice or three times feel free to add all of those pages 2 or 3 times.

Don't be shocked if I'm not there on Monday. The kids will probably tell you I've had ear problems all week. I went to the ER Friday night and I have a major middle ear infection. Pain killers and antibiotics and as of today, I still can't hear out of my right ear. I hope it clears up by Sunday night or you won't be seeing me Monday.

Thanks for dropping by!

Picture Day is...

tomorrow. Please remember to bring the little envelopes tomorrow. I believe everyone gets their picture taken tomorrow whether they are buying a picture package or not.

Today we continued on with addition and "counting up".

We are learning to write simple paragraphs with a topic sentence, 3 middle sentences, and a concluding sentence. For example:

My school is fun. First, we learn to read. Next, we go to computers. Last, I play with my friends at recess. As you can see, my school is fun.

About January they will start writing more details with their sentences.

We will be starting our training of how to behave during center time tomorrow. I've given assessments in Reading to form groups as I want to make an early start with small reading groups. I have a couple of volunteers for this time...any others will be greatly appreciated...morning times for centers.

Update daily

Hi all,
I've been an infrequent updater and that was not my initial intent. Now that Back To School is over and things are settling into place I want to update nightly even if it's a small update.

First, thank you again, to my awesome parents/grandparents for chipping in. The books are folded, pages are sorted, and Monday folders are under control. I don't know why I found it so hard to ask for help in the past... You should have seen the first 3 little readers in this past Monday folder. What I'm noticing for some of our students is that they want to guess at the word...totally normal at this stage. Tell them it's okay to be sounding out loud the sounds and then putting the word together. I have to say this to them in class also.

We've started adding in class with our Excel Math sheets. Talk to them about "counting up". For example, if the problem is 2 + 3 they may want to count 2 fingers on one hand and then count 3 on the other and then count them together. We teach them to count up which means "which is your biggest number...3...okay just count up 2 more from 3...hence the term counting up. I'm also a big user of number lines and how when we add our number gets farther away from 0 and when we subtract our number gets closer to 0.

Well that's all for now. Our book orders should be in soon and then I'll send out one for October. Thanks, again.

Monday folder help

Hi there parents/grandparents,
I should have asked at Back to School, but I forgot...I would love for someone to come in around 1ish and put together our Monday folders. I know parents love to see what their kids have done, yet checking their work and getting it out in the same week often eludes me...time wise that is. I will ask tomorrow morning in case no one has checked out our site.

By the way...we had a great turn out for Back to School. Thanks to all who showed up!!!

Math concepts

Hi there,
hard to believe we're on our first vacation. I just wanted to let you know the Math concepts we've gone over in class so far so that you can follow up on them at home.

MOST...which group has the most, biggest, greatest number of objects.

FEWEST...which group has the fewest, smallest amount of objects.

It seems like they grasped most much easier than fewest. If you could work with the kids at home on this that would be great. Take out some spoons and put them into groups and ask them to tell you which has the most or fewest. Great way to keep them occupied while they're in the kitchen.

TIME to the hour...we've also been discussing one hour later and one hour earlier, how many minutes are in an hour and how many seconds are in a minute. One hour later and earlier is a concept they will need to know by the end of the first trimester, which is why I'm inntroducing it already.

I hope you've had a chance to look at the book order...there are some for as little as $1. I have a feeling this is a group that's going to be ordering books...I'm really excited about our class this year. Also I've got some reading supplemental books ready for volunteers (please) to fold. I've had great help so far and I truly appreciate that!

Homework packet and book order

Tomorrow your children will come home with their first homework packet. It will be due next Friday. There is Math, Reading comprehension, and handwriting. When they're doing the handwriting please stress that they take their time and work top to bottom.

I am also attaching a book order. It would be great if everyone ordered at least one book. It is so much fun to see their faces on the day I pass out the books. There are even some books for as low as 95 cents.

This has been a really good week...setting procedures and expectations. Next week we start right into our reading program. Lots to learn at a pretty quick tempo. The best gift you can give to your children this year is to read with them. Please record it on the reading log. I hang up their award necklaces so they can see how many tags they've received. I give it to them at the end of the year. They love to watch their necklaces grow.

Thanks to my parents/grandparents who have chipped in with sorting the practice book pages. I'll have more soon. You're a great group of people!!

Volunteers for sorting workbook pages

Hi there,
one of the things we do in first grade land is tear out our Reading workbook pages ahead of time. We've found it's just easier this way. This does take a lot of time though, so I was hoping for some volunteers to sort them for me. The beauty of this is that you can do this at home. I will have the pages in bags with paperclips ready to go. Believe me, this is a huge help to me. Thanks in advance!

Behavior system and emails

Hello,
just to let you know I am starting my behavior system today with the children. By tomorrow you will start seeing a colored square coming home with them which indicates their overall behavior for the day. This is the color system:
Blue...fabulous over the top day...be very happy for them!
Green...good solid day...again congratulate them.
Yellow...some good choices and some bad throughout the day...ask them what they could do differently.
Red...yikes...not a good day at all. After a couple of these we should sit down and talk. Again, ask them what they could do differently. Don't hesistate to call or email me. You and I are a team!

I'm also asking that you email me so I can get your email address. Sometimes I just want to send you a quick update and this will allow me to do so. Please email me at bhurtado.hesta@yahoo.com. Thanks for your help in this.

White emergency cards

Hello parents/guardians,
Today I sent home my first newsletter. If you have any questions please leave me a comment. If you could turn in your white emergency cards along with the form stating you received the handbook that would be great.

To receive free/reduced lunch you must turn in the tan form as soon as possible. You must pay for your lunches until your form is approved.

Homework will be starting in about two weeks. Please work on printing in the mean time. Stress neatness please. We did some work sheets today and they really tried hard. They did some good work.

Like I mentioned the first day...one area that I would like for you to support at home is working with change. As them the name of the coin, what it's worth, and the President's name. We started going over time to the hour today so you can start asking them that also.

As always, I'm excited to see how far we can go this year!!!

Did you find our site?

So what do you think? Kind of fun. Feel free to leave me a comment. Boy, I forgot how young beginning of the year 1st graders are. They're ready to go home right after lunch...tired and sleepy. Of course, I don't blame them...I'm tired and sleepy too. Make sure they have breakfast in the morning because our snack time is really short...15 minutes. That 15 minutes includes eating, playing, and going to the restroom. I think it's too short of a time, but it's the best we can do.

If you haven't already, please turn in the forms that came home in the Monday folders. Remember please, Monday folders come back signed on Tuesday. Well that's it for now. Check back frequently as this will be my place to put the quick reminders out...the ones that don't require a big newsletter. This is also your space to ask me questions and that I can reply quickly too.

School shopping

Hi Parents,
wanted to let you know you don't need to go and spend a lot of money for your child on pencils, crayons, and such. I will be providing all that your child needs. If you're wondering if you can donate anything to the classroom there are certain things we will go through quickly this year. One of the biggest things we'll need this year is Kleenex. Once one child blows their nose everyone needs to blow :) One phrase your child will hear from me this year is "blow and go". Along with Kleenex our other big need will be reams of paper for homework packets.

That's all for now. Check back for further updates.

Introduction

This blog was created on this date, August 6, 2008. My intent is to provide information to my students and their parents through one of California's standards...technology. I hope you enjoy. Parents and students...please feel free to leave comments or ask questions.