There are quite a few notes below the blog with some helpful reminders. I will keep these up the first few weeks until we are all in the swing of things. After that, notes will only show up periodically, but I encourage you to make a practice of checking below the blog for any important information. This is my main mode of communication with co-teachers, but feel free to reach out with any questions! Students will be receiving Fortis Folders on the first day that should go back and forth between school and home. (The numbers on the front are just for me personally-they help me quickly put the folders in order for recording grades or returning to cubbies.)
I will meet your children in the sanctuary each day. Second grade puts their backpacks in the first row, and they sit in the second row on the left side. See you Tuesday!
Math: Please complete math facts sheet found in the back of the binder. We will be using these sheets for the first four weeks of school so you can either have student use a whiteboard marker and clean them off every day or take them out of the page protectors and make copies. These do not need to be turned in. We will also be completing sheets in class. We will spend about four weeks on a specific group before assessing and moving on. We are taking a slow start to the Singapore Math curriculum. Next week we will pick up the pace and complete a textbook and workbook assignment each day.
Spelling: Please refer to the list in the spelling section of the binder for a list of phonograms students are expected to have already mastered. At least once weekly, or as needed to retain fluency, students should be practicing saying the phonograms when shown the cards and then the reverse of writing the sounds when told the phonogram. The binder also has a list of all of the cards that came with the optional activity book so that you may make your own cards. For the spelling/grammar journal (provided on the first day of school) please always start a new lesson on the left hand side and clearly label the lesson number. If the first left hand page is page one and the facing page is two, then pages three and four should be left blank for class work. Make sure to have students correct sentences. If you need assistance in this process, please reach out.
Grammar: Rarely, if ever, will a full lesson be assigned so pay attention to which sections are assigned. You are free to do more if your student needs extra practice on a concept. Any time the "test time" section is assigned, it is always for practice. Any assessments for Grammar will be done at school. Grammar workbooks and practice booklets can stay at home. We will only use the grammar journal provided by the school in class.
Reading- We will start with review in OPG and many of the students are very strong readers, meaning it may not be necessary at this point for you to review each lesson at home. However, the difficulty will increase and we’ll start tackling some trickier words so hitting each lesson twice (usually once at school and once at home) will be especially helpful.
Comprehension/Writing: Questions for the classical readers at home can be placed in the front pocket of the Fortis Folder (provided to students on the first day of class). I occasionally write feedback on them. You don't need to correct returned sheets-just adjust expectations accordingly for the next day’s work. All reading questions should be completed as copy work on handwriting paper. Student dictates their answer, co-teacher writes down, skipping every other line and then student copies. Please number questions and check over to make sure student copied correctly. Students should be using proper grammar, punctuation, spelling and correct letter formation. Training them now for careful attention to excellence will reap rewards far into their educational future and beyond!
Poetry-This is a cumulative, oral program meant to develop linguistic and oratory skills. Students should be listening to the poems and reciting along, rather than reading (it might help to read the first few times, but after that, listening is much more helpful.) Once we've mastered the first poem, you will see the second poem listed on the blog and then your practice becomes both poems 1 and 2; we'll then move on to 1-3, etc. Assessments will be of a less formal nature in class throughout the quarter. Remember, the emphasis here is on being enthusiastic and expressive with our recitations. Focus should be on inflection, volume, tone of voice, eye contact, etc. We'll be working on this frequently in class as well :)
Read Aloud/Enrichment- These subjects are only taught at school-there is no home requirement for either.
Bible-If able, students should bring their Egermeier Storybook Bible to class.
Science-Science readings are assigned once a week at home. Students don't need to bring their Science book to class, but completing the readings at home sets them up for whatever hands-on activity we'll be doing in class. We won't cover the entire book, but many students become interested in what they're learning and want to dive in more so that's a great opportunity to foster their curiosity.
History- Students will be assigned one chapter and corresponding journal entry per week to complete. This book can stay at home as well. In class we'll be utilizing living books, short videos, and projects to re-enforce the textbook reading. Our focus of study is on the 16 timeline events/people found in the campus binder. Please practice these regularly. Students will be assessed on them quarterly and they are cumulative. Students don't need to know the date, but instead should be able to give a short description of what the event or person was. Examples are given in the binder in the history section.
Geography-Students are learning the Continents and Oceans first. Songs can be found on the homepage of the homework blog, under curriculum. Students don't have to sing (but they may sing if it’s helpful), but do need to be able to point and identify for all geography maps. The maps for assessment do have a black dot marking the countries they should name so students will need to be able to identify the name without relying on the number on the practice map.
