Homework and Behavior...

Dear Parents,

The BBQ was great fun. It was great to see so many of you there.  It’s always nice to have a casual socializing time with parents, students, and staff.  I can’t believe we have already been in school for three weeks.  I am happy to report that my dream has come true and I have created a blog for the 1^st grade super kids.  J  I am hoping this will be a good place to post information and get feedback or clarifying questions.  I think it will also help build community if we have a place we can all communicate together.

  I wanted to take the time to review some information about our classroom that may be unclear.  

 

            Homework:  Homework should be brought in everyday.  I will only be checking the papers that are due that day that were supposed to be done the night before according to the homework schedule.  This will help teach the children how to follow the academic schedule of due dates.   Following the academic schedule is a skill that will be needed for the rest of their academic experience.  It is also important that there is a routine that is created for homework.  Doing homework everyday as opposed to one day will help the children learn the homework routine.  I suggest that you create a quiet place for your child that he or she knows is the homework space.  I would also have them do their homework at the same time every night.  Children really benefit from the routine and really like knowing what to expect every day.  Also, please make sure your child completes his or her homework neatly.  If I notice it is not done neatly I will be sending a new sheet home to be redone.   I believe that instant feedback is the best way to hold the 1^st graders accountable, so I would much prefer that the homework be checked for neatness at home right after or while they are completing it. If we don’t hold our 1^st graders accountable now at the beginning of the year, it will be a struggle all year long, instead of the first month of so.  

 

            Behavior:  I will be continuing to communicate with you about your child’s behavior via the reflections that they are doing in class.  For the next few weeks I will be really working with the children about how they treat each other and sharing space with each other (ie pushing and using our hands on each other).  We will be playing lots of games, doing various activities, reading books, and having many discussions about how we treat others.  You can help reinforce cooperation and respect in many ways.  One very powerful tool is talking to your child about yourself.  Share a personal experience that you once had where you had trouble with a friend and how you worked it out.  I even like to share stories that happen as an adult, because it’s a funny idea to kids that adults sometimes have the same problems.  I will be sending home any reflections having to do with putting another student in danger or being unkind.  Make sure to discuss and check back in with your child about the plan that they made on the reflection.  Checking in to see how the plan is going is an important part of trying to change behavior, so please keep the reflection sheet so that you can go back and reference it a few days later.  

           

            Please email or better yet comment on the Blog if you have any questions or concerns.  J Have a wonderful week!  Don’t forget that we have half day on Wednesday.