I am so very excited to welcome my new students into my first grade class!  We got to spend some time together today getting to know each other and they were so wonderful!  We are going to have an amazing year starting next fall!

To get a jump start on the upcoming school year, please subscribe to my blog by clicking on the right button and start searching around a bit.  Let me direct you to start by reading the class disclosure and signing the electronic version, start collecting the class supplies, familiarize yourself with the parent information tab page and homework page.  Feel free to browse and enjoy past posts.  

You can e-sign the class disclosure by clicking on the following link and entering your information or follow the link on the class disclosure page: 
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1zqhLOM6RyE0I8kpwiGhbNxEB2Dsvq4L5Lrom-o2jXUs/edit

Your child has worked SO hard this year and deserves to maintain or even increase his/her skills over the summer!  Here are some ideas for keeping your child learning over the summer:

#1: READ!  

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No other skill is more important to maintain over the summer months.  Children who read regularly are shown to have higher intelligence and general knowledge, less stress, better fluency, improved analytical thinking, broader vocabulary, better memory and increased writing skills. Please use every opportunity (long car rides, waits at the dentist/doctor, before bedtime, etc.) to have your child read to you.

• Your child’s RAZ Kids account will still be available to you over the summer. https://www.raz-kids.com/main/Login 
• Visit the public library.  Your public library has excellent resources for choosing appropriate books for your child.  Or check out some great online resources, such as: 

• http://www.greatschools.org/cgi-bin/showarticle/623
• http://www.scholastic.com/parents/books-and-reading/book-lists-and-recommendations/ages-6-7
• http://www.public.asu.edu/~diann/Bibliographies/leveledbooks.htm.

• The last link is very helpful because the list shows books based upon A-Z levels.  Your child has been told what letter he/she has been leveled at.  If he/she doesn’t remember, it is a good idea to find a recognizable title that you know is within your child’s reading range and begin from there.
• You may also continue to help your child by doing reading timings at home using the following link (use Level 100 or 200 passages) http://www.haslett.k12.mi.us/education/components/scrapbook/default.php?sectiondetailid=11283&

#2: Write!

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Writing is “backwards reading” and not only improves your child’s writing skills, but also improves his/her reading skills as well.  Encourage your child to use best penmanship and to sound out words phonetically, and assist your child in creating complete sentences that include proper use of upper and lower-case letters, and to include proper punctuation.

• Encourage your child to keep a journal of happenings or discoveries over the summer months.  You may even have your child continue to use the extra pages in his/her first grade journal, which is in a format familiar to your child.  I strongly encourage students to write (with an actual paper and pencil!) over the summer – not just write electronically.  This helps to maintain proper penmanship and puts a greater focus on sentence structure, rather than on hunting for letters on a keyboard.
• Electronic writing is great, too, though!  It is important that your child maintain familiarity with the keys on the keyboard!  Your child will be able to access his/her Storybird account over the summer, which can be used to create poems and stories online: http://storybird.com/ 

#3: Math!

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We learned SO many different math skills this year and it is important that your child remember these skills so that he/she can build on them in 2nd grade!  Review addition, subtraction, place value, time, measurement, 2 and 3-dimensional shapes, graphing, skip-counting, etc. with your child!

• Your child’s IXL account will be available to him/her during the summer: ixl.com. Have your child review the 1st grade material, and, if you feel that your child has a good mastery, venture into some of the 2nd grade material to keep things fresh and challenging.
• Your child’s X-Tra Math account will be available over the summer: https://xtramath.org/
• Find great online games and resources for sharpening math skills, including:
• Turtle Diary: http://www.turtlediary.com/grade-1-games.html
• Umigo: http://www.umigo.com/
• Math Magician: http://www.oswego.org/ocsd-web/games/mathmagician/cathymath.html
• Education.com: http://www.education.com/games/math/first-grade/

Jump Into A Good Book!

Field Day – May 28th
For Kindergarten through 5th 

The end of the school year is almost here! The last day of school will be our field day. Kindergarten will be having their own activities. 1st-5th graders will be rotating through activities based on their favorite books. It is a free dress down day. We are asking that, if possible, students wear the following color shirts (they don’t have to be solid or any particular shade).

1st – red ( THIS IS US!) 
2nd – purple
3rd – yellow
4th – white
5th – blue

Hats will be allowed. Shoes must be closed toe and closed heal. Please put sunscreen on your child as they will be outside most of the day if the weather permits. Water stations will be set up to keep students hydrated. Please provide a sack lunch, labeled with your child’s name, that doesn’t need to be heated as microwaves will not be available.

School will get out at 1:00 the rest of the week.  

A good deal of testing will be completed this week, so PLEASE try to have your child at school this week, every day, all day long.  Please do anything possible to avoid any absences, early check-outs or tardies this week.

Just a reminder to parents:  There will be a concession stand tonight at the opera.  Please have your kids arrive at 5:50pm.  The concession stand cost will be $1 per item.  There will be water, gatorades, and miscellaneous candies to help offset the costs of the opera supplies and scenery.  

Thank you for your support! 
Love-Mrs. Nelson