Week Five

* Thank you to all of my drivers and volunteers that we able to attend our field trip today! We had a lot of fun!! I've updated pictures from the trip on Shutterfly.

* Unit One writing is coming home in Friday folders this week. Our first unit was all about "teaching books"- telling people what you know about something (i.e. cars, the playground, dogs, etc.). Keep in mind...
- Some may have 1 piece of writing, some may have 20. We learned that we are in charge of our own writing and get to decide when we are done with a piece and need to start a new one or when we need to keep adding details to our words and pictures.
- Some may have no words at all, some random letter strings or even some actual writing. This is all considered "writing" at this point in the year.
- Some may be able to remember what they wrote, others will not. That's okay. See if they can "read" their writing to you and/or tell you all about it.
- We are only using black pen during writer's workshop. The only time we use color is when we get to "fix and fancy" our favorite piece. I have everyone's fix and fancy for this unit that I plan to share with you at parent teacher conferences in November.

* A quick note about reading bags- please be mindful of when and where your child should be reading their books from their reading bags. We went over a list of good places/ not so good places as a class. Some of those good places: at home (in our bed, on the couch, at a desk), in the car, before bed, right after school, after or before dinner, in the morning before school. Some of those not so good places: at the dinner table, on a trip, out to eat at a restaurant, running errands with mom/dad, at the park, outside in our backyard, etc. Basically try to just read the books at home or in the car to avoid misplacing the books and/or leaving them somewhere and losing them.
 ** If books are lost, unfortunately I will have to charge you for the book. Here is the pricing:
          - Leveled Books: $8.50
          - Red Sight Word Books: at this time the company is replacing them (I'm not sure how long this will last though)
** Also- always keep the books in the reading bag when they're not being read =)

* Library books are coming home today. Your child got to pick out two books- one fiction and one non-fiction. A few asked for specific books that they wanted, others picked a random book from the shelf. Please return both books by next Friday.