We are learning with YouTube!

We are loving an ABC song where we practice the letters and sounds. 

Check it out this YouTube for some fun and learning!

 ABC Letter and Sounds

Study Strategies

As the school year begins, new skills are learned and tests are taken.  Here is a link to some study skills to help you get ready for those tests....good luck!!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1K5LlzDp1PyHVBOaHsk_B8lIIsrXkNg5_iDpNKC5ief0/edit?hl=en_US

10 WAYS TO PREPARE YOUR CHILD FOR SCHOOL!

http://www.parents.com/kids/education/kindergarten/prepare-your-child-for-school/

Starting school can be a difficult time for children. Every child is hesitant to go somewhere new and see people she's never met before. Here are some helpful ways to prepare your child for her first day of school:

1. Let your child know what his schedule will be like. Tell him what time school begins and ends each day.

2. Ask your child about her feelings -- both the excitement and the concerns -- about starting school.

3. Visit the school with your child to see his new classroom and meet his new teacher before school officially starts.

4. Point out the positive aspects of starting school. It will be fun and she can make new friends.

5. Let your child know that all kids are nervous about the first day of school.

6. Leave a note in your child's lunchbox that will remind him you're thinking of him while he's at school.

7. Reassure your child that if any problems arise at school, you will be there to help resolve them.

8. Try to have your child meet a classmate before the first day of school so she will already have a friend when school starts.

9. Arrange for your child to walk to school or ride together on the bus with another kid in the neighborhood.

10. Find out about after-school activities that your child can join. Will there be a back-to-school party? Can she join a sports team?

Sources: American Academy of Pediatrics; Caring for Your School-Age Child: Ages 5-12, by Edward L. Schor (Bantam, 1999)

Checking out the chicks!

Our kindergartener classes were raising some chicks. We were able to observe and hold the chicks. My students were very concerned about one of the little chicks that had a hurt foot. What a good time!

Valentine Letter Delivered

Valentine's day is a day to show someone how much you care. My students wrote letters to their teachers from previous years. Then they delivered them to the teachers. In this photo Brandon, Quinten and Makenna delivered their letters to Mrs. Smith - their kindergarten teacher.

On February 2nd, Punxsutawney Phil was predicting the upcoming weather for 2011. The students in Mrs. Smith's class did some predicting of their own. First, they guessed how much snow fell in January 2011. According to statistics, Cincinnati had 21.5 inches! Based on what we had, the students predicted how much snow will fall in the month of February. Looking at the graph, they are predicting quite a snowfall. Let's hope they are wrong and spring will be arriving soon!

The Five Senses

After completing our Reading Street lesson on the 5 senses, we started to read individual books on each of the senses. In addition to reading about the 5 senses, we explored our senses. Here is a picture of some of the items we used while exploring the sense of touch - cotton, sandpaper and ribbon. Then we used ALL of our senses with popcorn!!

Check Your Child's Halloween's Treats

A recent news article shared information about candy that is being sold just in time for Trick or Treat. Nestle USA recalled bags of Raisinets in the 10oz. fun-size bags sold at Target because they may contain peanuts and some children may have an allergic reaction. The manufacturer of MegaPops have asked all store owners to take all lollipop packages off the shelves after they found metal bits in some of them. If you have questions or concerns about food products, go to Foodsafety.gov.
Just a word of caution ..... have a spooky HALLOWEEN!!

New Amelia Elementary's first storm!

As Amelia Elementary gets hit with the first storm of the year, it is quite a doozy. Dark clouds fill the skies, wind gusts were reported at up to 50 mph and rains pelted the dry earth. The students were ready for such emergencies though as they were taken to their tornado shelter locations and took their 'tornado pose'. They displayed exemplary behavior while we waited out the storm. Looking forward to sunny skies tomorrow!!

New Kid in Town

Nathan is a new student at Amelia Elementary and he just LOVES everything about our new school. His favorite subject is math and he just shines in reading. But if you ask him about recess, he will rave about playing football. You can find him catching the ball and running for a touchdown on a sunny day!

WOW - A+

We had a week of intense testing as the students took the SAT, OLSAT and OAA tests. They performed wonderfully! Now that we are back in the swing of a regular routine, we are also taking spelling and reading tests. Here are a couple of A+ tests and their proud owners!

Kids STICK to their tasks!

Our students created their own sticks. The sticks are placed in a cup and used as a reminder to follow classroom procedures. If students have a stick left at the end of the lesson, they participate in a fun activity!

It's another school year!!

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Chicks at Amelia Elementary

Our kindergarteners are learning about chicks and chickens. With special thanks to Mrs. Wells, they were able to witness, first hand, chicks hatching from their shells and were able to hold the fluffy yellow and black chicks.

Onset and Rimes

I've been continuing to listen to the International Reading Association's podcasts. The information they discuss are research based classroom tested strategies. One strategy discusssed today is daily shared reading. This strategy impacts a students ability to use phonics. In addition it reinforces onset and rimes. Going hand in hand with this podcast is a website which I've been introduced - http://freereading.net. This website is filled with ideas relating to these skills: phonological awareness, phonics, comprehension, vocabulary, fluency and writing. Each page will give you detailed information (ie: activity type, grade level, group size, length of activity, materials needed and directions on 'what to do'.) In addition, if flashcards are needed, a link is provided to the flashcards for you to just print off and use. There are also educator contributed activities, teacher tips and more! I hope you check out this site...its incredible!

Ten Important Words

In the next International Reading Associations podcast, I listened to a podcast called Teaching Key Vocabulary. This podcast was based on the journal article called "Ten Important Words" in The Reading Teacher. "Learning words is ongoing and fun.....Children need to be given opportunities to learn new words which inspires reading." Check out this website to gather more classroom resources, professional development and homework resources - www.readwritethink.org.

Spring!

It may not be the first day of spring according to the calendar but nature is shouting out that spring is here. I saw my first Robin on the way home from work last night and the insects are chirping away as the sun was setting. This morning I drove along with a glorious sunrise. Enjoy the picture of this beautiful sunrise! Keep an eye out for signs of spring all around you!

NEW Amelia Elementary

WOW!! Amelia Elementary teachers and staff had the opportunity to tour our NEW SCHOOL!! It is totally awesome! It is bright, spacious and innovative. We THANK the voters in the West Clermont School district for making this new school a reality!! Enjoy a few pictures of our first tour!

Literacy podcast

I have been listening to a podcast on literacy called Class Acts: Ideas for Teaching Reading and Writing. This information is presented by the International Reading Association. Today's podcast referred to a publication called 10 Words Plus. The premise is that students need to know words (vocabulary) and understand the meaning of words to give meaning to text. Check it out!

Wordle

I introduced Wordles to my students last week. We created a Wordle of the vocabulary words we are reading and learning about in the stories we are reading. The students created their own Wordles of their spelling words to give them a different perspective when studying. Check out the Wordle website (http://www.wordle.net/) for more information. Here are my students sharing information about our Wordles....enjoy!!