What a great week!

This first week just flew by!  It has been so much fun meeting and getting to know the students better.  I have had such a great time talking to them and learning all about their little personalities.  They have made me laugh every single day.  I feel very lucky to have such a wonderful job.
We are really getting into our lessons now.  I am still in the process of learning where each student is so that I know where to start to individualize the program for each student.  I have been very impressed with their skills so far.  Right now in Literacy, we are just doing a basic review of the letters and the sounds that they make.  It is so important to make sure that they have a good grasp of these basic building blocks.  It will make learning to read so much easier.  We have been talking about print in general and all of the different places that they can see words in the world around them.  We are starting with basic phonics and building from there.  By the end of this week, I'm expecting to have a good grasp of where everyone is and our actual reading program will begin.  I will be sending home more details about this once we have it all in place, and the students understand what will be expected of them. One website that we are working with is www.starfall.com  this is a fantastic phonics based website that does a very good job of presenting each letter and the sounds that they make.  I encourage you to take a few minutes with your child to play on this website.  It has some really "catchy" tunes that I'm sure will play in your heads for days, and for that I apologize, but if it helps the kids remember the sounds, it is definitely worth it. 
In math, we are also starting at the very beginning as a review.  Our review includes route counting and counting objects.
Social studies has us discussing "Rules, Relationships and Responsibilities".  Right now we are discussing home and school rules and how they are related.
This week the students will have a literacy lesson taught to them by our Literacy/Numeracy Support Teacher.  She is a teacher that works out of the board office and basically comes up with new and innovative lessons to enrich our literacy program.  I'm sure the kids will have a wonderful time with her as her lessons are always a lot of fun.
I would like to thank you for such a smooth first week. There have been a lot of papers sent home this first week which is pretty typical for the beginning of the year.  Keep checking those plastic folders each night, as I'm sure there will be more sent home this week.  Also, if you haven't already done so, please send a pair of indoor shoes to school.  As the weather begins to get a little more autumn like, it will be a huge help in keeping the water and mud at bay in our classroom and school.

Here We Go!

The summer is winding down, and here we are at the start of another school year.  My name is Tammy Belanger and I am very excited to have the honour of  teaching your child grade one this year. I am looking forward to a fantastic year!  I will be using this blog to do my best to keep you updated on the activities going on in our classroom.  I will post a monthly newsletter and calendar, as well as sending home a paper copy.  If you don't feel you need the paper copy, and will be keeping up online, just drop me a quick note and we'll try and save some trees.  I believe in keeping an open line of communication open with the parents in my classroom.  If at any time you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to give me a call.  Together we will make this a wonderful year for your child.

Looking forward to working with all of you....