Glue and Chalk Art

I took some pictures as the kids were finishing their art projects yesterday. 

The first step was to draw a picture on the black paper using liquid glue. The second step, was coloring inside the hardened glue lines with chalk. This project gave the kids practice using the liquid glue, and controlling the thickness of the lines as it came out. Then, they got to experiment with the texture of chalk as they could use it to blend and shade as they colored it in.

Side note: Whenever I take pictures, I TRY to get picture of everyone in the class, but it's not possible every time. I'm also looking for good quality photos, where they students are hard at work, demonstrating what has been asked. If your student doesn't make it into a set pf pictures, I apologize, it's never on purpose - I love them all!

For example, after taking these pictures, I realized I didn't get much of the orange table. . . next time! :)

Spelling City

Spelling City is and interactive website that the kids can use to practice their spelling words in fun and exciting ways. All of the grade 1 classes are using the same spelling curriculum, so we have matching spelling lists. This allows us to create a Grade 1 Spelling City page, so all the students can access it at home. Yesterday in class, we played some spelling games in class with the new words for this week - as your child about it :)

To use Spelling City, Click HERE and then follow these directions:

1. Click on Find A List.

2. Then, type in Peter Randall and press search (He did the original log-in, so it’s under his name). 

       3.  Click on Peter Randall, and it will take you to the following screen. . .

4.  Here, you will find the current (and past) spelling list, and you can choose: S-Test, Teach, or Games, and do anything that is listed as a Free Activity. 

And to clarify. . . this is NOT required homework. The weekly homework must still be completed, but this is an option for additional practice and fun :) 

Parent Involvement in the Classroom

Dear parents,

We have now been in school for over a month! Can you believe how fast the time is flying by? The students are starting to learn their school routines, and feel more confident. Now that classroom routines have been established, we will start letting you know about opportunities to get involved in the classroom. We like parent involvement to be scheduled, so that we can have interactive activities planned. Some of these activities might include the following:

• Prepare a healthy snack for the class - Once a month (Monday at 8:00)
• Lead or assist in an art lesson - On a Thursday from 12:00 - 1:00 
• Share an area of expertise - For example, we will be doing a unit on healthy eating. If you are a doctor and could come talk to the class about the benefits of healthy eating, that would be great! 
• Help with an interactive lesson - For example, we will soon be doing a unit on plants and their life cycle. If you like to garden, or would like to help us when we "plant" mung beans in the classroom, you would be welcome to help.
• Holidays - Thanksgiving, Christmas, Chinese New Year, Easter, (any Korean holidays? We'd love to celebrate all the cultures in our classroom!). We will have class meals and/or parties to celebrate these holidays and will definitely need parent help! 

As these opportunities arise, I will contact Ibu Catherine with the details, and she can communicate with you to organize who will help. We would love for all parents to have a chance to participate in classroom activities throughout the year! Also, please feel free to contact us if you have any other ideas or ways you would like to help. We look forward to seeing you more :)

Thank You & Information

To all of the parents who were part of celebrating my birthday yesterday, I would like to say thank you so much! It was such a special day, and I was SO surprised to see you all there :) You bless me by your kind hearts!

Other things to note/further explain. . .
Hopefully the kids will start to get the routine down with the spelling homework soon. Here are a few things to help in their understanding.
-- Spelling notebooks should be kept at home for nightly homework, and then turned in on Wednesdays before the test.
-- We will hand them back the following day after checking them.
-- Please read any comments made by us, to help your child understand if there is a way he or she can improve next time.
-- If your child forgets their spelling notebook at school [I know it will happen :) ] then have them do the homework on a separate piece of paper. Please attach that paper into the notebook so all the work stays together.

Memory Verse
This was the first week that the memory verse was posted on the blog, so I understand why not all of the kids were prepared today (so we didn't mark down any grades for today).
-- Next week, make sure you practice the memory verse at home. We will talk about the meaning of the verse during Monday devotion time, but after that, it is homework to memorize.

Something New! 
The reading program will start next Monday!
Every day, your child will bring home a new "reader" which is a book at their specific reading level. They will copy the title of this book on the last line of their Boomerang book every day. Please take 15-20 minutes to read with your child every night. You can let them read it all, or share responsibility so they can hear it read out loud as well. The most important part about this reading, is that the students UNDERSTAND what they are reading. It does no good if they can read the words, but not remember. So, ask them questions during and after reading  (ie. "Who was the main character" "What do you think will happen next?" etc.).
Please initial (if your child read for the day) next to the title of the book, as well as in the Parent spot of the boomerang book. 

If there are any questions, feel free to comment on the blog, or email me :)