The Staley Review: Finally: The First Blog Post...The Staley Review: Homework, Take Home Reading and Picture Day

What happened to the month of September? It came and went so fast. Now here we are already in October. I must apologize for not getting the first blog post up until now. It's been a busy start to school doing so many other things to get my classroom up and running. In this post I have many things to share with you, so I hope you stay to read it all.

Take Home Reading Program

{I just wanted to remind you about some important things concerning the Take Home Reading Program.}

Make sure to sign/initial your name on the white sheet next to the book your child has read. If there is no initial, your child won't be given a new book.
When you return the book back to school, please remember to send it back in the gallon size baggy with your child's name on it along with the white paper.
If you lose a book, you will need to send $6.00 to school before another book is sent home.
Books are traded out every Monday and Thursday.
Your child can do the monthly Book Report on one of their Take Home Reading books.

The Book It Reading Program

A Note was sent home today about the Book It Reading Program. This is a program that your child can do if they want. If they meet the reading goal each month, then I will send home a certificate to take to your local Pizza Hut for a free Personal Pan size Pizza! We will also be keeping track with a big poster at school on how all of the children are doing. In your child's Homework Folder I placed 9 months of reading calendars for you to log the minutes your child reads. Please just leave it there for the whole year. I will check the calendar at the end of the month. I would appreciate it if you'd help me out by totally up the minutes read by your child. You can do this weekly or at the end of the month and write it down on the reading calendar. This is a fun program that children have been doing for years and most kids love it. If you have any questions, please email me.

Here are some things to remember about homework and why it's being sent home and the amount of time it should take.

Monthly Book Report:(10 points toward their Reading Grade) The Book Report is sent home to work hand in hand with The Take Home Reading Program. The big goal for 2nd graders is to not only move up in reading levels, but learn how to comprehend what they are reading. Children will not be moved to the next guided reading level unless the teacher, after testing, can see your child is truly understanding and comprehending what they are reading. Part of comprehending what is read is being able to Re-Tell what they just read. The book reports help your child in thinking about and remembering what they read. I'm also including an incentive of rewarding a $5 Dragon Buck for finishing and returning their Book Report along with a big certificate. This report should not take very long to complete. My suggestion is to complete it early in the month and sending it back to school sooner rather than later.
Word of the Week:(10 points toward the Vocabulary grade) I've really liked the Word of the Weeks that have been coming back. It has been fun seeing how the children have learned the new words and are using them here in class. Keep up the good work! Please remember to have your child either color a picture, print out a picture, or bring an item to go along with their word. This should take about 15 minutes.
Fluency:(8 points toward their Reading grade) It has been great to see so many doing their Fluency practice at home. I can assure you, those children that do their Fluency Homework will make the most progress in reading. Along with the Fluency, doing the Lexia computer program at school and at home will bring about some amazing results in second grade this year.
Math: As you can see, I'm not sending a lot of math homework home; only when I feel it is needed. I would like your children to do the math Prodigy Program that we are now starting. I sent home today in the folder all of the log-in information. You can decide how many minutes and when your child does this program. The Weekend might be a great time. Please explore Prodigy with your child. Also, don't forget to have your child practice their Math 36 Club facts. This shouldn't take up too much time if you practice it for 5-10 minutes daily or every other day. We've already had a few students pass off Addition.

Don't forget that this Wednesday, October 3rd, is school Picture Day. Even if you are not ordering pictures for your child, your child's picture will still be taken to be included in the class composite. A form was sent home last week. You can either send a check to school or pay for pictures online.

One Last Thing...I Promise!!!

Our class Halloween Party will take place at 12:30 on October 31st, after our lunch time. Kim Fjelstrom volunteered to be in charge of this party. Many of you signed up at Back to School Night to help in some way. If you did not get the chance to sign up and would still like to help, please send me an email and I will forward your information to Kim. The school-wide Halloween Parade will take place at 2:30 on the same day. Please remember that your child cannot wear a mask at school, but they can wear face paint.