Developing good organizational skills is a key ingredient for success in school and in life. Although some people by nature are more organized than others, anyone can put routines and systems in place to help a child "get it together." Here's a list of strategies that you can use to help your child get -- and keep – his/her life under control. 1. Use checklists. Help your child get into the habit of keeping a "to-do" list. Use checklists to post assignments, household chores, and reminders about what materials to bring to class. Your child should keep a small pad or notebook dedicated to listing homework assignments. Crossing completed items off the list will give him a sense of accomplishment. 2. Organize homework assignments. Before beginning a homework session, encourage your child to number assignments in the order in which they should be done. He/she should start with one that's not too long or difficult, but avoid saving the longest or hardest assignments for last. 3. Designate a study space. Your child should study in the same place every night. This doesn't have to be a bedroom, but it should be a quiet place with few distractions. All school supplies and materials should be nearby. If your young child wants to study with you nearby, too, you'll be better able to monitor his progress and encourage good study habits. 4. Set a designated study time. Your child should know that a certain time every day is reserved for studying and doing homework. The best time is usually not right after school -- most children benefit from time to unwind first. Include your child in making this decision. Even if he/she doesn't have homework, the reserved time should be used to review the day's lessons, read for pleasure, or work on an upcoming project. 5. Keep organized notebooks. Help your child keep track of papers by organizing them in a binder or notebook. This will help him/her review the material for each day's classes and to organize the material later to prepare for tests and quizzes. Use dividers to separate class notes, or color-code notebooks. Separate "to do" and "done" folders help organize worksheets, notices, and items to be signed by parents, as well as provide a central place to store completed assignments. 6. Conduct a weekly clean-up. Encourage your child to sort through book bags and notebooks on a weekly basis. Old tests and papers should be organized and kept in a separate file at home. 7. Create a household schedule. Try to establish and stick to a regular dinnertime and a regular bedtime. This will help your child fall into a pattern at home. Children with a regular bedtime go to school well-rested. Try to limit television-watching and computer play to specific periods of time during the day. 8. Keep a master calendar. Keep a large, wall-sized calendar for the household that lists the family's commitments, schedules for extracurricular activities, days off from school, and major events at home and at school. Note dates when your child has big exams or due dates for projects. This will help family members keep track of each other's activities and avoid scheduling conflicts. 9. Prepare for the day ahead. Before your child goes to bed, he/she should pack schoolwork and books in a book bag. The next day's clothes should be laid out with shoes, socks, and accessories. This will cut down on morning confusion and allow your child to prepare quickly for the day ahead. 10. Provide needed support while your child is learning to become more organized. Help your child develop organizational skills by photocopying checklists and schedules and taping them to the refrigerator. Gently remind him/her about filling in calendar dates and keeping papers and materials organized. Most important, set a good example. Adapted from "Tips for Developing Organizational Skills in Children" * WEAR TENNIS SHOES on Physical Education Days. Communication is the key to our success this school year.PLEASE, return folder daily. Books spend the night only one night. If you don’t have time to read it or you want to reread it than just have your child bring it back to school and communicate to me they want to take it back home that night. Books do not spend the week-end at home. EXCEPTION books from the Information Center ( Media Center). I will send home a schedule of our “Specials” sometime in the near future. Record and initial your child’s Home Reading, nightly. This is a report card grade. You and your child will be rewarded when you see what a GREAT reader they become. Mrs. W! Ages and Stages: First Grade Is your six-year-old on track? Below are some general development milestones to help you understand your child's progress over the school year. Keep in mind that every child is different and may not fit perfectly into this framework. Where They Are The average six-year old is extremely egocentric and wants to be the center of attention. He/She: Wants to be the "best" and "first." Has boundless energy. May be oppositional, silly, brash, and critical. Cries easily; shows a variety of tension-releasing behavior. Is attached to the teacher. Has difficulty being flexible. Often considers fantasy real. Where They're Going? School isn't just about academics. Your child's teachers are also helping him/her grow socially. At six-years-old, your child is learning to understand him/herself. You can help by encouraging him as he: Develops a positive, realistic self-concept. Learns to respect him/herself and others Begins to understand his/her own uniqueness. Gains awareness of his/her feelings. Learns to express feelings. Learns how to participate in groups. Begins to learn from his/her mistakes.   Mrs. W’s First Grade READING, WRITING, SPELLING! Real Readers! Read, Read, Read!  Read to your mom, read to your dad, read to your brother, read to your sister.  Read to a pet, read to a stuffed animal.  Read on a bed, read on the floor, read under a tree, read at the commissary, read the signs when you in the car.  Read! Read! Read! LOG what you read for “Home Reading”!!!!!!!! World Writers! Write in a journal, make a science log, write about a real life math problem, be creative and bring it in to read and share. Write a letter to a friend or to your teacher.  (I'd love to hear from you!)  Write down a shopping list.  Write a story.  Go to a movie and then write a 'review' of it. Read a book and write about your favorite character. A Phonetic Method:      This method is used from the first week of school to the school year.  I use the phonics method to enable them to write on their own, getting their thoughts down on paper.  If we expect developing writers to spell every word correctly in their rough drafts, we would find they would be writing much less!  I have found that by teaching them how to write by sounding out words...many students transfer that ability over to reading and are thrilled when they've made that connection. Super Spellers! Spelling is a very important part of our First Grade writing program.  Our society expects well-educated, literate people to know how to spell correctly.  I want my students to understand that spelling is NOT for a spelling test on Friday, it is for improving their writing! Some words you can sound out others will have to be memorized.    “Wonder Words” that your child will use daily for reading/writing and communicating in all subject areas. a  and  are  at   big   but    can    come   did   do   down   for   get   go   good  have   he   here   I   in   is    it   like   little   look   me   my    not    now   on  out   play    run    said   see   she   that   the   then   they   this   to   up   we  what   who    will    with  you    your     about   after    all    away    back   be   boy    by   call   came    day    eat    father    find   from    girl   go   had    help   her   his   house   how   into    know    make   man   more  mother   must   new   no   of   one   over   put    ran    saw   so   something  three   too   two    very    was   water   went     were    when     where    work    an   around   as   ask   could   cut   does   first   gave   has   home  if   just   let   light   live   long   made   many    much   never   night   old other   people  right   say    school   some   soon  still   stop   take   tell  their   them   there   thing   think   time    told   tree   us   use   walk   want  way   well   why   would Play games using these words, find them in a book, menu, catalog, magazine or even in the comics. August 28, 2006 Dear Parents, Daily reading at home will be an important part of your child's first grade reading program.  As you may know, every minute your child spends with a book brings him or her closer to becoming a fluent reader.  Even children who have not yet begun to read can gain reading skills simply by sitting down in a quiet location, and looking through a book.  However, parents reading to, or along with, your child is more effective and highly encouraged!      Let me explain how our home reading program works.  Every day, your child will be selecting a book from our classroom library for reading at home.  It will be your child's responsibility to read for about 15-20 minutes every evening, and to carry the book back and forth to school each day in their book bag.  Your child will be expected to take good care of this book.  There will be a probation period for books not returned daily. You and your child will be keeping a reading log of all books read at home.  This log will stay in your child's homework folder and returned daily. No books go home on the weekend because they may ONLY spend the night one night.   Every night, after reading, you and your child will write the date and the title of the book and you initial it.  (Parents may need to write the date and title at first and turn this responsibility over to the child as the year progresses.)  Students will need to return their book and home reading log to school the next morning.      Over the school year, consistent daily reading will expose your child to various author's styles and will improve your child's fluency, vocabulary, comprehension and writing.  Our main goal will be for your child to enjoy reading and to choose to read for pleasure.      Please join me in inducting children into the wonderful world of literature, so that they can enjoy books and reading for a lifetime.      Thank you for your help, support, and cooperation with our home reading program.  If you have any questions, please call or email me. Thanks in advance for all your support! Mrs. W!   Reading Strategies for Parents   When helping your child read at home, several strategies may be used to aid in decoding unknown words. 1.  Tell the child to look at the picture. You may tell the child the word is something that can be seen in the picture, if this applies to the text being read. 2.  Tell the child to look for chunks in the word, such as it in sit, or at in mat, or and and ing in standing. 3.  Ask the child to get his/her mouth ready to say the word by shaping the mouth for the beginning letter. 4.  Ask the child if the word looks like another word he/she knows. For example, Does cook look like look? 5.  Ask the child to go on and read to the end of the sentence. Often by reading the other words in context, the child can figure out the unknown word. 6.  If the child says the wrong word while reading, ask questions like:                      Does it make sense?                      Does it sound right?                       Does it look right?   If you have any questions, or if I can be of any further assistance, please send a note to school or email me.