Welcome to Our Class!

I have enjoyed meeting all the new parents in our class during our intake meetings. Already your insights have helped me in my daily work with your children. I look forward to meeting with all of you during our Open House next week. It's nice to get to know each other a little bit better before the school year really takes off and the hectic holiday season begins.

The class is settling nicely into a daily routine. We continue to work on classroom guidelines such as using a soft voice so that others can concentrate and listening attentively. The children composed their own class rules after visualizing what a peaceful classroom might look like. This list is posted in our classroom, as well as the consequences for breaking these rules.

In our peaceful classroom-

•  We walk indoors.

•  We use soft voices.

•  We concentrate on our work.

•  We are kind and respectful.

•  We use our words to solve our problems.

•  We listen with our ears and our minds.

•  We help others.

•  We clean up our messes.

•  We sit attentively.

•  We share.

Consequences

1. If you break a rule, you will get a reminder.

2. If you do it again, you will get a time-out.

3. If you get more than one time-out in a day, you will write a note home to your family.

The children are learning to choose "just right" books during our independent reading time. We have discussed two strategies to use in selecting a book. One is called the fist method and the other is the Goldilocks Strategy. You can ask your child to explain the fist method.  A copy of the Goldilocks Strategy is written below so that you can use it at home. The children spend 15-20 minutes each day reading quietly by themselves. I will increase the time to 20 -30 minutes as the children show they are ready.

Using the Goldilocks Strategy

Questions to ask yourself:

Easy Books

1.  Have I read it many times before?

2.  Do I understand the story?

3.  Do I know almost every word?

4.  Can I read it smoothly?

Just Right Books

1.  Is this book new to me?

2.  Do I understand what I have read?

3.  Are there just a few words per page I don't know?

4.  When I read are some places smooth?

Hard Books

1.  Are there more than a few words per page that I don't know?

2.  When I read does it sound pretty choppy?

3.  Do I feel confused or bored?

4.  Do I need someone to help me a lot?

adapted from "Lessons from Goldilocks: 'Somebody's Been Choosing My Books But I Can Make My Own Choices Now!'

Posted on August 23, 2007 12:38 PM | Permalink