November/December In The Know

November and December are always busy months, and we have a lot of fun and exciting things planned to do before the end of 2019! Our themes for November are Native Americans, Pilgrims, turkeys and forest animals. We have been working on our "thankful books" with Mrs. Tiffany, and we have created some new stations for our guided reading rotations.  Our next trip to the library is this Thursday, and our next class theme day is Turkey Day, which will be on Friday, 11/22. We will bake bread, make butter, build fine motor skills through a special craft and learn about the the early settlers who came to America.

December always goes by so quickly! There is always so much to do and not a lot of time to do it in.  We should be receiving our class books back from Student Treasures Publishing soon; we'll be combining our book reading and class Christmas party this year which will be on Friday, 12/13. We are excited about our Christmas Around the World unit featuring: Scotland, Italy, Sweden, Mexico & the United States. If your family has any traditions we would love to have you be a "guest speaker" in the classroom! Please let me know ASAP if you would like to participate.

The following are a few important dates:

• 11/7- library field trip 
• 11/11- school closed for Veteran's day
• 11/22- class "Turkey Day" 
• 11/26- 11:00 dismissal 
• 11/27-12/2- School closed for Thanksgiving
• 12/12- library field trip 
• 12/13 @ 12:45- class book reading (Parents encouraged to join us!)
• 12/13 @ 1:00- class Christmas party (Parents encouraged to join us!) 
• 12/19- pajama day- 11:00 dismissal 
• 12/20-1/6- school closed for Christmas vacation

The following are Show & Tell themes: 

• 11/8- book
• 11/15- toy
• 11/22- kid's choice
• 12/6- book
• 12/13- toy

We had a great time at our class Halloween party! Here are a few snapshots from the day: 

Class Books!

Please check your child's backpack for fliers about Student Treasures Publishing. We are finalizing our class book, and we will send it off to be published next week. If you would like to receive a copy of the book please complete the form and return it to school ASAP. We need to send off the parent forms with the manuscript on 10/22, so I'll need those forms before Wednesday, please.

Show and Tell

Show & Tell is something that I had gotten away from a few years back because I wanted to keep our time purely academic, or at least what I considered academic. However, more and more research has come out in support of the responsive classroom and the value of teaching "no-tech" communication skills. The more I have researched, the more I believe show and tell time is valuable and academic. Of course show and tell builds community, and the kids have fun, but it also gives the kids the opportunity to communicate and share by building the following skills: speaking and listening, how to be an audience and introduce themselves, how to ask inquiry based questions, make connections between student responses and experiences, anticipate and observe, practice critical reasoning skills, practice storytelling, use and listen to vocabulary, use descriptive language and increase confidence. It's also a great opportunity for those kids who struggle with speech to practice speaking in front of a group in a safe space.

Show and tell for our class is every Friday. The show and tell topics for October/November are the following:

• 10/18- book

• 10/25- toy

• 11/8- book

• 11/15- toy

• 11/22- kid's choice 

October in the Know

Dates at a glance:

• 10/10- library trip (books are due)
• 10/30- end of 1st trimester/ "pumpkin day" 
• 10/31- students may wear costumes/ class party at HP library/ 11:00 dismissal 
• 11/1- teacher workday

This month we will learn about autumn and the changing seasons. We will have our "pumpkin day" on 10/30. During this day, we will use pumpkins to explore concepts in STEM. Our class party will be off campus this year due to our only being in school until 11:00. The High Point Public Library does a wonderful job with Halloween activities, and they have offered to open early that day so that our class can take part in the festivities! We strongly encourage kids to wear costumes, but no super scary costumes or masks, please. 

New reading logs went home last week, and new Fundations packets will be coming home soon. We will start working on this year's class book tomorrow! Our theme is "The ABCs of Christmas." Be sure to look for fliers in your child's folder soon. It is completely optional to purchase a book; however, most of the kids usually want one. This is a fun opportunity for our class, and an excellent opportunity for them to go through the writing/publishing process. Please note this in not a fundraiser, and the school does not receive any profit from the sale of the books. 

We have partnered with JYA this year for reading buddies! On Wednesdays the high school students come to our classroom and they get the opportunity to read to, and be read to by our class! I'm excited about this partnership, and I know the kids are too. 

The following are a few snapshots from our apple farm trip! Thank you so much to the parents who helped chaperone. 

Book Club Opportunity

I wanted to add this to the blog- This is a wonderful opportunity for our 2nd graders. If you had to choose one after school activity, I would highly recommend this one; Mrs. Davis does an amazing job with this book club!

 Book Club: Chocolate Fever- Sign up by 9/26! Mrs. Davis will be offering a fall book club for 2nd-6th graders. Book Club is on Tuesdays and will be 10/1, 10/8, 10/15, 10/22, 10/29, 11/5, 11/12, and 11/19. Book club is $50 and includes a copy of the book for all members. Any participants who need transportation to Covenant after school program after Book Club must let Mrs. Davis know upon registration. To register, contact the front office.

Apple Farm Field Trip!

In a couple of weeks our class will take a field trip to Millstone Creek Apple Orchard! We have been learning a lot about apples this month, and I know the kids are excited about visiting the farm. Tomorrow you will find a form about the trip, please complete the form and return it to school as soon as you can.

Homework

Recently, there have been several studies done on the effectiveness of reading logs. I believe firmly in accountability; however, accountability for reading at home does not necessarily mean keeping up with a daily reading log. Some recent studies show that reading logs actually hinder young readers because it turns reading into "work" and not something that is done for pleasure.  Some studies suggest that this is a factor in why struggling early readers are reluctant life-long readers. With this in mind I've decided to tweak our homework routine. Instead of keeping up with a reading log (thank you to those who have been doing this!) I will send home a monthly sheet like the one below:

Have your child color one leaf for each (5-10 for kindergarten, 10-15 for 1st, and 15-20 for 2nd) minute block of reading. I will collect the sheets at the end of the month.

Hopefully this will help make the homework process more streamlined and painless as possible.  I hope you know that I am not a "worksheet teacher," and I certainly do NOT believe in the "drill and kill" method. I also believe that homework practice needs to be independent- Students practicing a skill incorrectly is simply reinforcing negative habits. The following is a quote from Dr. Jean Feldman's blog, "Dr. Jean & Friends."

"My daughter brought up the point that many parents WANT homework and are impressed with lengthy assignments because they think it will make their children smarter. In the book Battle Over Homework: Common Ground for Administrators,Teachers, and Parents, Harris Cooper put together a variety of research studies on homework. He found that in elementary school, homework has almost no impact on academic achievement. In middle school, the results are mixed. In high school, moderate levels of homework can help the learning process." -Dr. Jean Feldman

Homework should be meaningful and helpful. In the primary grades math facts practice, sight word practice and reading practice are really the only things that I recommend be practiced at home. To help with this I recommend the following for nightly homework:

• Xtramath for math fact practice (< 5 minutes)
• read aloud on-level text OR listen to good literature (5-20 minutes)
• Literacy skill practice - Reading Eggs (< 20 minutes) 

September In The Know

Our themes for September are "school days" & "apples." We will use these themes to introduce both narrative and expository writing, explore the difference between fiction and nonfiction literary genres,  learn about pollination and improve our counting skills. We are excited about our trip to Millstone Creek Apple Orchard this month! This is a great family-run farm that is very student friendly. The class will have the opportunity to learn about and taste different apple varieties, learn about tree grafting first-hand, make apple cider and of course we will go on a hayride through the farm just for fun! Johnny Appleseed Day is on the 23rd. During this day we will read and write about John Chapman as well use our math skills to make some apple goodies at school!

This month we will review correct letter formation and letter sounds. A common error many students make is not forming letters from the top to the bottom. Please encourage correct letter formation at home using the Fundations homework packet as a reference. Also, many students want to add the schwa sound to the end of many letter sounds, for example /b/-buh. When you hear those sounds just tell your child to "clip" the sound, and they will know what you are talking about. I am telling the students to "clip" these sounds in class as well. I know this may sound picky, but it truly makes a difference for emergent readers. The video below explains this in better detail:

The following are our show-and-tell themes for Friday:

• 8/30-toy
• 9/6-book
• 9/13-toy
• 9/20-book

-Show-and-tell items must be small enough to fit in a backpack, and they may not be alive. I encourage students to take pictures of any living items they want to share.

Math this month is all about place value up to 100 and building number sense. I would really love for the kids to have a solid foundation in the basics before moving to more abstract concepts.  

We will have our parent-teacher (IIP) conferences the first week of October. During this time we will look at beginning of the year data and set goals for the year. Please be sure to look for a Sign-up Genius in your email inbox soon for dates and times to sign-up. Of course, I'm always available to meet if you have questions before October. 

Upcoming Dates: 

• 8/30- 11:00 dismissal
• 9/2- no school 
• 9/6-book show-and-tell
• 9/13-toy show-and-tell
• 9/19- library trip- Please send in booster/ car seats
• 9/20- book show-and-tell
• 9/23- Johnny Appleseed Day
• 9/25 (tentative date-permission forms will come home soon)- apple farm field trip Please send in booster/ car seats
• 9/26- 11:00 dismissal 
• 9/27- no school
• 9/30-10/11- parent/teacher conferences

Welcome!

Welcome to the 2019-2020 school year! 

It has been so great getting to know the kids this week; this is definitely a special group! We have been working on assessments and leveling this week; next week we will start our regular schedule. I have had to adjust the schedule slightly from the one that was sent home in your packet during orientation. During our 9:30-10:00 rotation I will split the class in half to allow for more individualized time in enrichment and computer lab. Each group will receive two days of enrichment and 2 days of computer lab. On Mondays the class will have guidance with Mrs. Linn and Technology with Mr. Davis.

Homework will start on Monday. You will find a Fundations packet and a reading log in your child's folder on Monday. Your child has also been set up with an Xtramath.com account. I recommend you complete the Xtramath sessions nightly to help your child remember their math facts. Please see the video clip below for Xtramath directions (fliers will be sent home on Monday). I will check the folders periodically and provide an incentive for the students who are consecutively keeping up with their log. Perhaps the most important thing that you can do with your child is read with them for at least 20 minutes daily.

Important dates:

• August 30- 11:00 dismissal
• September 2- Labor day- no school 
• September 19- library field trip 

On my commute to school I like to listen to Podcasts; A podcast that I have recently come across is titled "The Early Childhood Research Podcast." I have copied links below to a show about Dyslexia and struggling readers. They did a great job explaining what Dyslexia is and how to help kids in the primary grades. I thought it was well done and wanted to share that with you. 

I'm so excited for this school year; I know it is going to be terrific! 

-Mr. Wallace

Click here for the Podcast- https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-early-childhood-research-podcast/id1039178520?i=1000401431947

Click here for the transcript/website- https://www.lizs-early-learning-spot.com/dyslexia-and-early-intervention-23/

Happy Summer!

It has truly been a pleasure teaching your child this year! Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns about summer work. Below is the video I made for the awards ceremony. I hope you have a fun and safe summer! I look forward to seeing everyone back on campus in August!

Help with sight words

Many of you asked about sight/spelling words during our conference. My system is as follows:

1. Show words with magnets. 
2. Take away a letter(s) and ask what's missing. 
3. Have kids build the words on their own.
4. Kids push up the letters.
5. Kids table trace the letters. 
6. Have kids cover the word and write it on a whiteboard (they can peek at the covered up word if they need to). 
7. Spell a previously learned word.
8. Spell the new word again. 

End of Year Notes

We've made it to the last week of school! Things usually get pretty hectic this time of year so I thought I would send out a few notes and reminders:

• Tomorrow (5/21) we will follow a regular morning schedule, but the afternoon is reserved for "electronics day." Our class will be in the classroom in the afternoon instead of going to specials. The kids are welcome to bring in any electronic device/ hand-held video games.  However, violent games are discouraged. 
• Wednesday is "Fun Day." Our class is going to Tumblebees Gym in the morning, and the family picnic is in the afternoon. *The picnic is an unstructured event that you are welcome to attend. If you decide to come, I recommend you bring your own chairs/picnic blanket. There will be no academics/class this day. 
• Thursday is the last day at school. We will watch a movie and clean the classroom this day. 
• Friday is the awards ceremony at St. Mary's fellowship hall from 8:30-9:30. 

Strawberry Farm Field Trip

Our trip to the strawberry farm is this Wednesday (5/8). It looks like the weather will cooperate with us, so we are looking forward to a nice day! You are more than welcome to join us at the farm 6121 Riverdale Dr. in High Point. We will arrive at the farm around 9:00 and plan to leave around 11:15. We are planning on having a picnic at the farm, so please send a bagged lunch. If you ordered lunch your child can either have it when we return to school or take it home with them after school. Also, please have your child wear their field trip shirt on Wednesday.

May in the Know

We are now in the homestretch of the school year which is always an exciting and sad time. It's exciting to review data and look at the growth the kids have made academically, socially and academically. It's sad because it's time to say good bye to many of our friends who will be moving out of primary and into upper elementary next year.

We started our end of year assessments today, which will probably run through the rest of this week.  I will be compiling notebooks for the kids with their data as well as recommendations for summer work. We will review these notebooks during our parent-teacher conferences May 13-17. Please check your email for a Sign-Up Genius invitation and select a time to meet.

I want to send out a huge thank you to Tammy Banas, Donna Cumby and Bridget Johnson for planning our Easter egg hunt and party! I know we were the envy of the school, especially with those amazing Easter Bunny baskets!  I was also super proud of our group's performance in Beauty and the Beast. I received multiple compliments on our class' behavior and enthusiasm!

There are a lot of school-wide events planned this month. Family Fun Day is a chance to bring your family on campus to have a picnic lunch. This is a very casual event, and there is no real structured schedule for the afternoon. The awards ceremony is the last day of school and is held at St. Mary's (where the play was). This is a great closure to the school year.  During this time we will show video snapshots taken throughout the year, and all of the kids will receive a certificate for their achievements.

Important Dates:

• 5/6- Our last field trip to the library (this a Monday not the usual Thursday). We will not check out books. 
• 5/8 (possible rain date of 5/9)- Field trip to Ingrams Strawberry Farm. We plan on arriving at the farm at 9:00 and staying through lunch. All kids will need to bring a bagged lunch this day. Parents are welcome to meet us at the farm. 
• 5/9- 11:00 release
• 5/10- Teacher workday
• 5/13-5/17- Parent-teacher conferences 
• 5/22 Trip to Tumble Bees for kids (8:00-11:00) Family Picnic (11:30-2:30) 
• 5/24 Last day of school / awards ceremony at St. Mary's 

April in the Know

Our themes for April are eggs and oviparous animals. We will also study the works and life of Beatrix Potter. We are finishing our unit on telling time to the hour and half-hour as well as recognizing and creating geometric shapes. We will soon focus on non-standard measurement during guided math.

It's hard to believe there are only seven weeks left in the school year- it's especially hard to believe when there is snow falling outside the window! However, I will start end of year testing the week we return from Easter vacation, and we will have our EOY parent teacher conferences mid-May.

Important Dates

• 4/4- monthly library trip (books are due) 
• 4/18 @ 1:00- Class Easter Egg Hunt! -If you are willing to volunteer to help please email me ASAP. 
• 4/18 @ 6:00- school play at St. Mary's Episcopal Church 
• 4/19- 4/28- Easter vacation 
• 5/8- field trip to Ingrams Strawberry Farm

Author Study!

Thank you to those who were able to come out to the school Friday and support our author study! I think the kids did an outstanding job, but I admit I am a bit biased!

We are excited about our new friend, Will Johnson, who joined our class this week! He will finish the year with us, and we are thrilled to have him as part of our TPS primary family.

Reminder of upcoming events:

• April 4th- library trip/books are due. This will be the last month we will check out books. 
• April 18th- School play/auction. 
• April 19- April 28- School closed for Easter vacation. 

Leprechaun Traps!

This Friday Mrs. Hice (substitute teacher) will be making leprechaun traps with the class.  If you have any small boxes and/or green/gold glitter you would like to donate to the class it would be greatly appreciated!

March in the Know

Our themes for March are communities, community helpers, families, neighborhoods and transportation. We will have our monthly trip to the library on the 14th, which is a week later than our usual first Thursday of the month visit. However, the library books we checked out during our last trip are due today, so please be sure to renew or return to the High Point Public Library if you haven't done so already.

Because St. Patrick's Day falls on a Sunday this year, we will not have any leprechaun visits at school. 😞 However, we will learn about the history of the holiday and make leprechaun traps for the kids to take home.

The school-wide wax museum exhibit is scheduled for March 15th. Although we are not going to follow the individual wax museum model, our class will be participating. Next week we will start our study of 3 children's book authors, Virginia Lee Burton, Eric Carle & Kevin Henkes. The class will work in groups to research their author, and they will set up a table with books and other artifacts about their author. During the wax-museum open-house the kids will man their tables and share facts about their author. During this time families are welcome to visit. The following are the assigned groups:
Eric Carle- Dane, Arianna & AJ
Kevin Henkes- Ellie & Finley
Virginia Lee Burton- Ben & Henry

This is an example of what our "wax museum" looks like. 

I'm encouraging the kids to read as many books by their author as possible. I will also ask them to bring in some specific artifacts to display on their table.

This is a great opportunity for the kids to practice researching, public speaking and learning about quality childrens' literature. The majority of the work and preparations will be done in class, but if you have any questions please let me know.



It was a pleasure seeing the students take the lead in their conferences this week! It's always exciting to see their growth and for them to talk about their goals for the remainder of the school year.

February In the Know

We had another great visit to the library today! One of our themes/topics for February is weather and changing seasons. The kids made this super cute craft today which we brought back to school and put in our classroom window.

This month we will explore the topic of weather and how it effects both small and large decisions (clothes to wear, kind of shelter to build etc.).

I will send out a Sign-up Genius link soon for mid-year optional parent-teacher conferences. This year the conferences will be student led. Think of this more as a student showcase and an opportunity for your child to share with you what they are learning.

Our 100th Day of School was a big success! I want to send a huge thank you out to Tammy Banas for providing the best 100th day of school snack ever! We did several activities that involved strengthening number sense, went to the $1 Tree with our 100 pennies, and even stopped at Baskin Robbins for some ice cream...just because 😋.

Moving forward my expectations for the class will continue increasing, and I have been very proud to see how most of the students have stepped up to the plate with the new homework outline! Keep up the good work!

Valentine's Day is just around the corner; we will learn who St. Valentine was and how holidays change over time. A sheet will be sent home today explaining how Valentine's will be distributed throughout the school. I am encouraging our class to write a little note and make Valentine's for the kids in our class only. I'm discouraging our class from making valentines for the entire student body; however, this is your choice. In the past it has been much less chaotic and easy to manage when our class stayed together; this also solved the problem of going home with mass amounts of sugar😜!

Important Dates: 
2/18- President's Day- no school
2/25- optional MOY conferences start
2/26- Amelia Earhart play (at school)
2/28- library books are due (I noticed many students have a balance on their account)
3/1-Dr. Seuss Day at school for our class only
3/2- Dr. Seuss Day at the HP library (This is not a school trip or function, but something you may want to do with your family. See the flier to the left for details.)

New Homework

The class is super excited about our 100th day of school on Wednesday! We will use this special day as an opportunity to build number sense in the base 10 system. We will also leave campus around 10:00 for a trip to the $1.00 store. Each day since the first day of school we have been adding a penny to a chart and making change for nickels, dimes and quarters all in anticipation of this trip! Stay tuned later this week for pictures from the day.

I have updated the weekly homework. Please encourage your child to respond to what they are reading each night through writing. I have posted suggestions for writing topics on the back of the homework sheet. Also, please feel free to use another sheet of paper and attach it if your child needs more space. Everything else will remain the same. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Happy New Year!

We are back and ready to start 2019 strong! Thank you so much for reading with your children over the break; it's amazing how much momentum kids can lose over two weeks when they have gotten out of the routine of reading and counting. Today was the 83rd day of school which means that the middle of the school year is in a couple of weeks! I will start middle of year assessments next week, and we will have our mid-year conferences in February.

Our theme for this January is house and home. We will look at how topography affects the kinds of structures that are used for shelter. Please continue to work on homework, and I will send home a penmanship packet next week. Please review this with your child.

Below are a few snapshots taken before the break- we sure did have a good time!

Upcoming Dates:

• 1/17 trip to library 
• 1/21 MLK Day - no school
• 1/30 100th day of school- class trip to Dollar Tree