The ABC s of Kindergarten/ First Grade

The ABC s of Kindergarten/ First Grade

Attention Signal Teacher will say Class! and the class responds, Yes! (Whole Brain Teaching Technique.) Or we may sound the chimes to get attention or to show there is a transition time. Bathroom/Drinks We give students bathroom/drink breaks before class starts and before we go to lunch. Students are allowed to go to the bathroom during class, as long as it is not during instructional time. They show us the bathroom sign (sign language R) and put a bathroom pass on their desk. We encourage students to bring a water bottle every day. Beach Time Every day after lunch and recess we take time to rest our bodies on our beach towels. We rest for 30 minutes each day while we listen to music, watch a video, or listen to a read aloud story. Towels will be sent home on Fridays, please remember to send them back to school on Mondays. Bible We start every week with chapel led by Mrs. Warner and Pastor Carey. Throughout the week, we get the opportunity to talk about a specific Bible story, practice a memory verse, and learn a new Character Trait. Each week, there will be a memory verse that we will recite during our morning meetings. Birthdays We cherish the opportunity to celebrate everybody s birthday! Due to food allergies, we ask that birthday treats be store bought and nut free (peanuts and tree nuts). Book Boxes and Shopping for Books 1.Book boxes need to be cared for so you can use them through the year. 2.There are certain days when tables get to shop for books in the morning. 3.If you run out before your turn, you may do it during recess, or free choice. 4.To take a book home from the class library you must ask your teacher first.

Bringing Toys to School PLEASE do not bring toys or stuffed animals to school unless we tell you it is okay for sharing. We will have SPECIAL weeks for sharing these items. Buddy Buddy is our class pet (stuffed animal). Every week on Friday, Buddy will go home with one of the students. The schedule for who gets to take him home will be posted on our monthly calendar. When your child takes Buddy home they will also have a journal that goes with it. In the journal your family can write what Buddy did during your time with him. Then Buddy will be returned on Wednesday., As a class we will read what Buddy did with your family. Feel free to draw pictures, add photos, or anything you would like. This will be a fun way for family s to get to know each other! Class Rules 1.Follow directions quickly. 2.Raise your hand to speak. 3.Raise your hand for permission to leave your seat. 4.Make smart choices. 5.Treat others the way you would like to be treated. *We will review these everyday with our hand movements. Communication There are many ways that we may communicate with parents. Daily communication works best through student s take home folders. In the back there are note book pages to write notes, as well there is a behavior sheet that goes home to let you know how your child did that day. Another way we will communicate with you is through our newsletters that will be sent home monthly. Lastly, our favorite way to communicate will be through our classroom websites. This has all the important information, as well as activities we are doing every week. And of course, always feel free to call and stop by to speak to us. Mrs. Lee s: mrsleeskinderclass.blogspot.com Miss Jones: missjonesk-1.webs.com Sonshinschoolvancouver.org

Daily 5 Every day, our reading block is spent participating in mini-lessons and stations. Miss Jones/Mrs. Lee will let each group know what station they will be working in. While in stations, students are expected to work quietly the entire time. When students hear the signal at the end of each station time, they are expected to clean up their areas and get ready for the next lesson/station quickly and quietly. Entering the Classroom 1. We always enter the class quietly. 2. We put away our jackets and lunch boxes if needed. 3. Then go directly to seats and put our head down, just as when we were leaving, and wait for instruction. Exiting The Classroom 1.When we leave for recess, lunch, specialists, and other times of the day the teacher will excuse tables at a time to line up. 2.I will always know that you are ready when you are laying your head on your desk. 3.Our line should always look like a 4S line Silent, Still, Straight, and Smiling. Field Trips Our classes will be taking 4-6 field trips this year. Field trip slips will be sent out at a later date. Once scheduled we will put them in our newsletter and post them on our classroom websites. Parents are welcome to attend! Free Choice Time 1. On Fridays we will get free choice if we earned enough points for the week. 2. You may play with any toy or game in the classroom. 3. We still use inside voices. 4. When Mrs. Lee/ Miss Jones rings the bell that means it is time to clean up. Homework Each child will have homework on a nightly basis. They are required to read 20 minutes a night (this includes being read to) or practice their Heart Word (sight word) list for 10 min. For first grade level, there will also be a weekly spelling list that should be studied nightly.

Lunch Each student will bring their own healthy lunch. No candy please. Before lunch, we will wash our hands and pray for our meals. We will walk quietly to the lunch area and find our seats quickly. We will use inside voices. We will respect any adult who is there. Math Work Stations Math work stations are meant to enhance the skills that Miss Jones/Mrs. Lee has taught throughout the week. In our stations, we will do our best and try our hardest. We will use whisper voices when talking with our group mates. We will respect the materials by using them in the appropriate manners taught to us. We will clean up immediately when instructed to do so. Morning Meeting Morning Meeting starts around 8:30 when the bell is rung. Your job is to put all of your things away and quickly find a spot on the carpet. In the mornings we come together to welcome each other, share new things in our lives, learn how to work together as a group, and to look at our daily message. To do these things you must follow our Morning Meeting Rules: 1. Everyone Participates. 2. We have a positive attitude. 3. We listen to our friends, and ask thoughtful questions. During Sharing, we share with our words and stories, not with toys and stuffed animals. Some SPECIAL weeks we do get to though. Morning Work This is a quiet, settling in activity. Mrs. Lee/Mrs. Jones will instruct you on which station to go to. O.W.L. /T.U.R.T.L.E Folders 1. There is a lot of important information in your folders, so please take good care of it and bring it to school every day. 2. In the left hand side pocket you will find take home papers.

3. The first plastic protector is for notes to school, lunch money, and field trip slips. 4. The second protector contains your child s Heart Words (sight words) and/or spelling words (first grade) for the week. 5. The next one is your student s reading log. 6. Next is a monthly calendar with important days, information, and a sharing schedule. 7. Lastly, there is notebook paper where parents and I can communicate with each other. We will try our best to check these daily. 8. We may add pages as the year goes on. Packing Up 1. Last 20 minutes of our day is pack up and closing time. 3. We pack our bags with our daily folder, put our jackets on, and grab our lunch boxes. 4. When we are done, we sit at the carpet, talk about our day, and then line up and say our good-bye poem. Parties/ Celebrations Throughout the year we will have a variety of celebrations for Holidays and milestones. Everyone is encouraged to participate. If you would like to sign up to run one of the parties let Mrs. Lee or Miss Jones Know! Some things you can look forward to Harvest Dinner and Program Christmas Program Valentines Party End of Year Picnic and Graduation *and perhaps more to come! Recess Recess is a privilege and time to play with our friends. Students are expected to follow all the rules taught to them at the beginning of the year. Failure to not follow the rules will result in loss of a few minutes of recess time. The rules are meant to keep us all safe. Students are expected to respect the adult(s) monitoring recess time.

Rewards/Consequences Please check with individual teacher, or you can find this on teacher s website. Scholastic Book Orders Your child will have the opportunity to order books for your home library each month. You can choose to send a check with the order form to school, or you may order on-line. If you choose to order on-line please follow the directions listed below. Web Address: Scholastic.com/bookclubs Class Activation Code: M9B42 Specials Throughout the week, students will get the chance to attend specialist classes (PE, Library, Chapel, Music, Spanish). Students will follow the rules, expectations, and procedures set out by the specialist teacher. They will also be expected to follow our own classroom rules and expectations. Start of Day Greet your teacher at the door. Hang up backpacks/coats on assigned hooks outside of class, and put your cold lunch in the lunch bucket. Turn in your Daily Folder. Begin stations. Turning Papers In Papers to turn in for Daily 5 and Work Stations always go into basket by your teacher s desk. Unfinished Work If a student gets too far behind, they will be asked to finish it during recess or free choice time. Volunteers We love having volunteers in our classroom! You can volunteer to help out weekly, for special projects, class parties, or for field trips. All you need to do is fill out a volunteer form. Walking In the Halls or Outside Line leader is always first and modeling good behavior for those behind them. Door Holder is always second. We walk quietly to respect others in the building. We stay in our 4S line. Hands are always crossed or in our pockets.