Adults Who Don't Read

I sometimes wonder about adults these days, especially adults who don't read a lot.

I think to myself, "If people aren't getting their news and ideas from reading (ie, books, magazines or newspapers), then they must be getting it through TV or radio, or by just talking to other people they know."

It's not that TV, radio or conversation are bad. It's just that they are pretty limited. You can click off of any news you don't want to hear, and never have to think about it again. You can change the radio station to whatever you want. And, you can talk to just your friends and family who are like you. And, you forget what it is like to ask questions, and be curious. Next thing you know, you lose the one thing that connects you forever with your child. As a result, some people end up "small-minded." Their world is small. They feel uncomfortable with new ideas. They rarely think of new ideas. And worse, they sometimes are closed to meeting and talking with people who might be different. And then, they become protective, and guarded, and then in some mysterious way they become judgmental of others who think differently. And they say things like, "Why would I ever take time to enjoy reading a book?"

And then, as a teacher, I start to really worry, because I send books home every night for a child to enjoy and talk about with their parent, and I'm not sure that it is as fun as it should be.

And it's not the kid's fault.

Parents, reading with your child is not about getting them to learn to read. It's about inspiring within them a love for new ideas, new connections, new thoughts. It makes them truly alive, like we all ought to be!!

Homework Expectations: A slight change

This is the note going home tomorrow (Friday, Oct 29)...

Dear parents and guardians,

Up to now, I've been checking homework notebooks daily, and I've seen some very consistent results from most of the class. However, I'm changing the routine slightly. I will still be giving a "fridge list" of words each Monday, printed in the agenda. From the list, 5 sentences are to be printed in the homework book, and the fridge list word from the sentence should be printed 3 times extra, after the sentence, for practice.

NEW: Homework books will be due at the end of each week (refer to our class calendar). Books will be collected for checking, and returned at the beginning of the next week.

Since homework books are collected at the end of the week, this gives more flexibility at your end. Your child can print one or two sentences a night, or as an extra incentive, if they complete them all before hand-in day, I will accept them early.

I think this is fair and will be helpful at your end and at this end as well : )

Thank you!

Mr. Brown

Fridge List #2 Oct. 25 - 29

1. mother
2. about
3. went
4. what
5. yes

One word for each day of the week, Monday through Friday. Make a sentence with the word included, showing that you know its meaning. Don't forget to use upper and lower case and punctuation correctly. (ie. question marks on question sentences)
Then, to practice spelling of the word, print it 3 times under your sentence.

Fridge List #1

For the week of October 18 - 22

first
next
last
why

Starting Tuesday, for homework print a sentence using the day's word correctly.
To be done in the homework notebook, which is kept in the front of the agenda.

The homework sentence is checked the following morning, and time is provided for students to exchange their home reading book.
GB

Home Reading Starts on October 18th

Does my child have homework? Yes!

It's now official - I'm sending home one book at your child's learning level each day in their zip-lock reading bag in their backpack. Two on the weekend.

Parents I'm asking you do your part each day to spend some quality time sitting with your child and having them read the book to you. Then, take a few minutes and talk about the story and the characters and what it means to your child.

You never know where this conversation might take you!

Mr. B

What's new in Homework Land

Dear parents and guardians,

It has been an exciting two weeks since Room 9 was re-organized. I sense that the students are getting to feel more relaxed with me, and with each other, and that we are starting to settle into our routines.

Some parents have been asking: What is my child's homework? As I outlined in our letter at the start of the year, the best use of home study time is to enjoy reading a book with your child. Developing a love and a familiarity with reading all kinds of books is the most important daily "study" activity you can do with your child.

"But what else can I do to support my child's learning?" you might ask.

Try practicing counting with them, in the following ways:

1. Count forwards to 20, 30 and beyond.
2. Count backwards from 10, 20, 30 and beyond.
3. Start counting at any number and count forward or backward.
4. Count upward in 2s, 5s, 10s.
5. Play dominoes, or play snakes and ladders or yahtzee to practice simple addition skills.
   

Based on some notes I've received in student agendas, a few of you are inquiring about spelling tests. I will be soon be sending home a "fridge list" of spelling words, approximately every week, for students to practise and use at home. We will have a quiz on some of the words from the list each week. My emphasis is not just on the correct spelling of the word, but more importantly, can your student use the word legibly and appropriately in context of a sentence?

I'll try to post the fridge list here on the day we put it into our agendas.

Thanks for all your support.
G. Brown