Wow! I am sitting here on our THIRD snow day in a row, trying to figure out HOW I am going to fit everything we need to do into the 6 days remaining before February vacation. Well, five days, really, since we are going to be taking our Reading NWEAs tomorrow morning and will now have to do our writing prompt Monday afternoon! Talk about some BAD timing for us to be bombarded with snow! Today's storm moved us from the budgeted days into the "have-to-make-it-up-at-the-end-of-the-year" category! Yesterday, the last day of school for the year was scheduled for Tuesday, June 20th. Today, it is moved to Wednesday, June 21st! Fortunately, it is not "normal" for us to have many of our "snow days" needed AFTER February vacation. That being said, it is also not "unheard of". Fingers crossed that we are NOT going to school until JULY!!!!
Okay, so we REALLY have not been in school much this week, and we are still scheduled to complete the Reading portion of our NWEAs tomorrow morning at 8:10. If we have school tomorrow, starting at the "regular" time, than we will have our test. If not, then we will have to make THAT up next week, as well. I have not heard from Sunday River about our day of skiing that never happened on Wednesday, but since we were already told that they were not available next week or the week we return from vacation, I'm of the belief that skiing is over for the year. However, the decision-making is not up to me, so we may hear otherwise.
This is how next week looks from my viewpoint:
Since we really only had a day or two of school in which we could work on our sight words, fluency sentences, and spelling words, they will be our words and sentences for NEXT week, too, and the tests over them will take place next Friday. There will be NO spelling, sight word, or fluency tests tomorrow.
We have to take our writing prompt before vacation (technically, we were SUPPOSED to take it this week), so we will do the prompt Monday afternoon. The Title 1 Reading kids will have to miss their additional reading that day, so I can get the whole class done. Anyone who is not here on Monday will have to make it up the minute they return to school. Oh, and valentines can come in as of Monday morning.
Tuesday is Valentine's Day! The kids will have the chance to "deliver" their valentines on Tuesday morning, both to other rooms and within ours. There will be collection pockets that they have decorated hanging off of their desks for that purpose. Although I have tried to plan "Valentine"-related activities, classes WILL carry on as usual until 1:00 pm when we have a SMALL snack and open our valentines.
Wednesday and Thursday should be "normal" days for us. Friday is now the 100th day of school, and we will do activities related to the number 100. I will be providing 100-calorie snacks for the kids that day to "celebrate"! On Thursday and Friday afternoons, the first grade will get together again to continue our study of Black History month by viewing the movie "Ruby Bridges", about desegregation (that really means something to the children because it is about a girl close to their ages). The movie is 1 hour and 30 minutes, so we will break it up by watching 45 minutes each day. This will give us a chance to have some classroom discussion about what they have watched so far Friday morning.
Of course, Friday afternoon is the start of February vacation. I know that you heard me sing this song just before the Christmas Break, but I'm going to sing it again--please keep your child reading (and being read to), writing, and doing ANY kind of Math during this school break. I know it is a time to recharge their batteries, and to relax and have fun, but 10 days without practicing those skills that are just being acquired is asking for those skills to be forgotten. Reading should happen AT LEAST fifteen minutes a day. Writing and Math should occur whenever they can naturally be fit in. It's great for your child to see Math happening at home--when you cook, when you read the clock, when you count money (received or outgoing). Have your child help you make a grocery list (you might want to add your own spelling afterward so you know what to buy : \), leave a note for family telling them where you are going, whatever. . .The more they can see these things "in real life", the more they understand that they really DO have to learn them to function in this world. It would be helpful to me if all of my students could name all of the coins AND know their values and could show time to the hour and half hour when they return after February Break. We have been working on these skills at school, already, but there are still children who have not mastered them. I will be building on those basic skills when we return from vacation, so it would be great to have as many kids as possible ready to learn more. I will try to send home paper clocks next Friday, if I can lay my hands on them.
Have a wonderful vacation with your child. I may even squeeze some time in with mine before we return to school!
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