As many of you know from Open House, we will spend a lot of time using Google Docs this year. It allows students to work on the same document from any computer as long as it has internet access. Students will also be able to share these documents with me electronically and I will be able to give feedback immediately. A letter is going home this explaining what this is. Each student has a unique username and password. This username/password information is also included in the letter coming home this week. Please put these in a place where they won't be lost. We are also attaching a copy in our homework planners.
On Thursday, students will be asked to try to sign in to Google Docs and continue typing up a narrative that they are working on in class. I will be eager to see how this goes, as it will be our first try working from home. As with any technology, there can be issues to work out so please let me know if there are any issues. Also please let me know if you have difficulty accessing a computer at home.
Reading At Home
I hope that everyone is finding time to read outside of school for at least 20 minutes every day. Although there is no more tracking sheet, it is still expected. Remember, students can sometimes have difficulty finding a solid 20 minutes for reading. This is when Reading in the Edges can be helpful. Please let me know if you need help assisting your child with their reading at home.
One thing that we have been discussing at school is that students should be reading one book at a time. Please encourage your child to bring whatever they are reading at home to school so they can continue reading the same book in school. I have been doing the same with the books that they are reading here.
Fact Family Cards
Yesterday, I sent home Fact Family Cards (green triangle cards) for the first time. Students are expected to study these every night for five minutes. Pleaset let me know if you are unsure how to use these cards with your child. There will be a test on the 1-3 facts on October 12th.
There is also a Math at Home (MAH) sheet that students need to fill out regarding their studying. It needs to be signed and sent back to school by Friday each week.
Struggles
Recently, we began talking about how struggle is part of being successful. No athlete, successful business person, or adult has made it to where they are today without struggle. Oftentimes, we do not see the struggle of a successful person, and children often think that people easily glide into these positions of success. For example, many children think Tom Brady was born good at football and that becoming the quarterback of the Patriots came easily to him.
It is important for us to teach children that sometimes it is okay to struggle and that we should persevere through these struggles. I have shared stories of my own struggles as a learner and will also be inviting other administrators from the district into our morning meetings to share their struggles. I am now inviting families to join us for a ten minute morning meeting to share their own struggles as well. Feel free to contact me a set up a time to join us for a morning meeting.
It is important for us to teach children that sometimes it is okay to struggle and that we should persevere through these struggles. I have shared stories of my own struggles as a learner and will also be inviting other administrators from the district into our morning meetings to share their struggles. I am now inviting families to join us for a ten minute morning meeting to share their own struggles as well. Feel free to contact me a set up a time to join us for a morning meeting.
Below is a link to a video we watched in class about "famous failures."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dT4Fu-XDygw
