Beginning of the year parent letter:
Dear Parents,
You are cordially invited to be a partner in your child’s education.
Stay-Tuned: Ask your child what he or she is studying, and look in the IPOD Binder for the homework folder every night. The IPOD binder is also where you will find the newsletters and notes that are sent home, as well as any homework that needs to be completed. Our Class News page on this site will help you keep up with important happenings in our classroom. I will also send home progress reports or make phone calls if I feel that your child is not progressing as expected.
Ask Questions: if you have any concerns, or are wondering, why something is happening, please feel free to call or email me at any time. I welcome all concerns, ideas, and feedback that affect your child or our classroom. If something is not working, I am more than willing to talk.
Homework: You should expect that your child will have some type of homework most every day. You will always find the homework assignments written on an assignment log that is kept in the IPOD Binder. It will go home every day. I encourage you to set up with your child a scheduled time for homework each day. Students should be able to do most assignments independently, but do help if it is completely necessary. If you notice that your child is not able to do an assignment on his or her own, please send a note or jot a note to me on the assignment. I will contact you if your child is falling behind or turning in poor work.
Snack: All students may bring a nutritious snack. Please also give me a heads up at least a day ahead of time if your child is planning to bring a treat for his or her birthday.
Arrival Time: I also would like to request that students arrive at school no earlier than 7:30. It is not safe for them to be hanging around or playing on the equipment with no supervision. I certainly do not want your child to get injured prior to the school day. We start learning as soon as we get to the classroom, at 7:50 a.m., please don't be late.
Sincerely,
Ms. Knight
PS- I am considering a rather expensive field trip to Old World Wisconsin because the study of WI is unique to 4th grade. Here is a link to see the museum and hands on activities for the children.http://oldworldwisconsin.wisconsinhistory.org/ The cost with bus fees will run around $25 per person. Please let me know if this is just too expensive for you at this time of the year. Maybe we could have some fundraisers to offset the costs? Please let me know what you think.
You are cordially invited to be a partner in your child’s education.
Stay-Tuned: Ask your child what he or she is studying, and look in the IPOD Binder for the homework folder every night. The IPOD binder is also where you will find the newsletters and notes that are sent home, as well as any homework that needs to be completed. Our Class News page on this site will help you keep up with important happenings in our classroom. I will also send home progress reports or make phone calls if I feel that your child is not progressing as expected.
Ask Questions: if you have any concerns, or are wondering, why something is happening, please feel free to call or email me at any time. I welcome all concerns, ideas, and feedback that affect your child or our classroom. If something is not working, I am more than willing to talk.
Homework: You should expect that your child will have some type of homework most every day. You will always find the homework assignments written on an assignment log that is kept in the IPOD Binder. It will go home every day. I encourage you to set up with your child a scheduled time for homework each day. Students should be able to do most assignments independently, but do help if it is completely necessary. If you notice that your child is not able to do an assignment on his or her own, please send a note or jot a note to me on the assignment. I will contact you if your child is falling behind or turning in poor work.
Snack: All students may bring a nutritious snack. Please also give me a heads up at least a day ahead of time if your child is planning to bring a treat for his or her birthday.
Arrival Time: I also would like to request that students arrive at school no earlier than 7:30. It is not safe for them to be hanging around or playing on the equipment with no supervision. I certainly do not want your child to get injured prior to the school day. We start learning as soon as we get to the classroom, at 7:50 a.m., please don't be late.
Sincerely,
Ms. Knight
PS- I am considering a rather expensive field trip to Old World Wisconsin because the study of WI is unique to 4th grade. Here is a link to see the museum and hands on activities for the children.http://oldworldwisconsin.wisconsinhistory.org/ The cost with bus fees will run around $25 per person. Please let me know if this is just too expensive for you at this time of the year. Maybe we could have some fundraisers to offset the costs? Please let me know what you think.
Purpose Driven Life - Daily Hope
a series of articles on Parenting with the Lord's Prayer
I have found these articles helpful for me as a parent and as a teacher, I hope you will take time to read them, too.
Use the back button to return to this page.
Parenting with the Lord’s Prayer: Overcoming Insecurity
Monday May 02 2011 12:00 AM Posted by Rick Warren
Parenting with the Lord’s Prayer: Honoring God
Tuesday May 03 2011 12:00 AM Posted by Rick Warren
Parenting with the Lord’s Prayer: Creating Stability
Wednesday May 04 2011 12:00 AM Posted by Rick Warren
Parenting with the Lord’s Prayer: Don’t Worry
Thursday May 05 2011 12:00 AM Posted by Tom Holladay
Parenting with the Lord’s Prayer: Forgiveness
Friday May 06 2011 12:00 AM Posted by Tom Holladay
Parenting with the Lord’s Prayer: Do What’s Right
Saturday May 07 2011 12:00 AM Posted by Rick Warren
Use the back button to return to this page.
Parenting with the Lord’s Prayer: Overcoming Insecurity
Monday May 02 2011 12:00 AM Posted by Rick Warren
Parenting with the Lord’s Prayer: Honoring God
Tuesday May 03 2011 12:00 AM Posted by Rick Warren
Parenting with the Lord’s Prayer: Creating Stability
Wednesday May 04 2011 12:00 AM Posted by Rick Warren
Parenting with the Lord’s Prayer: Don’t Worry
Thursday May 05 2011 12:00 AM Posted by Tom Holladay
Parenting with the Lord’s Prayer: Forgiveness
Friday May 06 2011 12:00 AM Posted by Tom Holladay
Parenting with the Lord’s Prayer: Do What’s Right
Saturday May 07 2011 12:00 AM Posted by Rick Warren
Positive Parenting website
Here's a great article . . .
Ten Keys to Successful Parenting
It is important that we discipline in a way that teaches responsibility by motivating our children internally, to build their self-esteem and make them feel loved. If our children are disciplined in this respect, they will not have a need to turn to gangs, drugs, or sex to feel powerful or belong.
The following ten keys will help parents use methods that have been proven to provide children with a sense of well-being and security.
read the rest of the article at: http://www.positiveparenting.com/resources/feature_article_001.html
Ten Keys to Successful Parenting
It is important that we discipline in a way that teaches responsibility by motivating our children internally, to build their self-esteem and make them feel loved. If our children are disciplined in this respect, they will not have a need to turn to gangs, drugs, or sex to feel powerful or belong.
The following ten keys will help parents use methods that have been proven to provide children with a sense of well-being and security.
read the rest of the article at: http://www.positiveparenting.com/resources/feature_article_001.html
Good Article . . .
Guidelines for Helping With Homework
Don't Work Harder Than Your Child!
By Dr. Charles Fay
Parents: When you child asks, "WHY CAN'T I SKIP MY 20 MINUTES OF READING TONIGHT?"
4th Grade Curriculum Guides
The following brochure is a brief description of what is learned in 4th grade in all subject areas.
click on fullscreen for a larger view
click on fullscreen for a larger view
Sleep affects student learning
Sleep affects kids in school; how much do yours need?
By Mary Brophy Marcus, USA TODAY Oh, to be the Bildens. Their three kids go to bed at a decent hour — around 9 — and sleep through the night. No little ones tiptoeing out of the bedroom for a third glass of water or fifth bathroom trip. "The embarrassing part is, I go to sleep shortly after them. I raise the white flag and crawl into bed. I get up early, by 5," says Kristin Bilden of Durham, N.C., whose three children range in age from 6 to 13.
Healthy parent sleep habits like Bilden's just might be one of the keys to why her kids are well rested, while technology may be kids' biggest sleep robber, says Nancy Collop, president-elect of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM).
STUDY: Teens benefit from later school day BACK TO SCHOOL: Chefs craft healthy school lunches (and you can, too) "Cellphones, Facebook, iPods and video games are keeping kids up later at night. And the literature is suggesting it's getting worse, not better," Collop says.
With the start of a new school year on the horizon, many parents are concerned about getting kids back on track sleepwise.
Ideally, families should start good sleep "hygiene" in babyhood, but if nocturnal routines have been less than stellar, it's never too late to help your little ones get better Z's, Collop says.
Sleep affects performance
At the AASM annual meeting in June, dozens of studies were presented indicating school performance is dropping because of student sleepiness, Collop says.
"There's more and more information showing insufficient sleep affects cognitive ability, and emotional and physical well-being," says Dennis Rosen, associate director of the Sleep Disorders Program at Children's Hospital Boston.
About 25% of children overall experience some type of sleep problem, ranging from difficulty falling asleep and night wakings to more serious primary sleep disorders. More than a third of elementary-school-aged kids and 40% of adolescents have significant sleep complaints, according to AASM.
While more than 5% of children are sleep-deprived resulting from more serious sleep disorders, the majority of under-rested kids are simply going to bed too late and getting up too early to rack up the hours they need to concentrate in school, feel emotionally stable, even play sports well, says Collop, the mom of two teenagers.
"There's more and more information showing insufficient sleep affects cognitive ability, and emotional and physical well-being," Rosen says.
Teens appear to be at high risk for sleep deprivation, according to a National Sleep Foundation poll that reported only one in five adolescents get an optimal nine hours of sleep on school nights. Over the course of a week, high school seniors miss nearly 12 hours of needed sleep.
Risks stretch beyond the classroom, Rosen says. In a recent study in The Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 15% of students who reported that they had had at least one car crash considered sleepiness the main cause.
There are behavioral strategies you can use to get kids on track, say sleep experts.
"Get the technology out of the bedroom. No TV, no cellphone, no computer. You really want it to be the place where they just sleep," Collop says.
Light exposure from screens suppresses the release of melatonin, a hormone linked to circadian rhythms that's released when your brain registers darkness.
Anything lit up is stimulating and delays your ability to fall asleep, Collop says.
Develop a pre-sleep routine with kids — the younger, the better, says Alon Avidan, associate director of the Sleep Disorders Center at UCLA. It could include a bath, a book, a light snack (avoid chocolate and caffeinated drinks at least eight hours before bed). "They begin to associate those behaviors with sleep," Avidan says.
After her 11-year-old daughter eats dinner, wraps up homework and takes a shower, Charolottesville, Va., mom Lisa Climer says Addie likes to sit in the living room, eat some crackers and read a book.
"It's been that way since she learned to read on her own," says Climer, who allows the occasional e-mail check, but not if it's nearing Addie's 9 to 9:30 into-bed time frame. Bedtime has slipped this summer, as late as 10:30 or 11, and Climer plans to get stricter as the start of school nears.
Try a subtle transition
Transitioning back to school sleep timetables doesn't have to be painful, though, Avidan says. Don't just start setting bedtime earlier and earlier, get everybody up a little earlier every day, too, he advises.
"Wake kids up half an hour earlier each morning until they're on school time schedule," Avidan says. "In the morning, expose your kids to sunlight — don't let them crawl out of bed and into a dark den for another hour. Get up, have breakfast."
No need to be Stalinistic about sleep, though, Avidan says. Even at the Bildens' house, special occasions turn into late nights. This past Fourth of July everyone stayed up well past bedtime, says Kristin.
"Let kids be kids," Avidan says.
Healthy parent sleep habits like Bilden's just might be one of the keys to why her kids are well rested, while technology may be kids' biggest sleep robber, says Nancy Collop, president-elect of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM).
STUDY: Teens benefit from later school day BACK TO SCHOOL: Chefs craft healthy school lunches (and you can, too) "Cellphones, Facebook, iPods and video games are keeping kids up later at night. And the literature is suggesting it's getting worse, not better," Collop says.
With the start of a new school year on the horizon, many parents are concerned about getting kids back on track sleepwise.
Ideally, families should start good sleep "hygiene" in babyhood, but if nocturnal routines have been less than stellar, it's never too late to help your little ones get better Z's, Collop says.
Sleep affects performance
At the AASM annual meeting in June, dozens of studies were presented indicating school performance is dropping because of student sleepiness, Collop says.
"There's more and more information showing insufficient sleep affects cognitive ability, and emotional and physical well-being," says Dennis Rosen, associate director of the Sleep Disorders Program at Children's Hospital Boston.
About 25% of children overall experience some type of sleep problem, ranging from difficulty falling asleep and night wakings to more serious primary sleep disorders. More than a third of elementary-school-aged kids and 40% of adolescents have significant sleep complaints, according to AASM.
While more than 5% of children are sleep-deprived resulting from more serious sleep disorders, the majority of under-rested kids are simply going to bed too late and getting up too early to rack up the hours they need to concentrate in school, feel emotionally stable, even play sports well, says Collop, the mom of two teenagers.
"There's more and more information showing insufficient sleep affects cognitive ability, and emotional and physical well-being," Rosen says.
Teens appear to be at high risk for sleep deprivation, according to a National Sleep Foundation poll that reported only one in five adolescents get an optimal nine hours of sleep on school nights. Over the course of a week, high school seniors miss nearly 12 hours of needed sleep.
Risks stretch beyond the classroom, Rosen says. In a recent study in The Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 15% of students who reported that they had had at least one car crash considered sleepiness the main cause.
There are behavioral strategies you can use to get kids on track, say sleep experts.
"Get the technology out of the bedroom. No TV, no cellphone, no computer. You really want it to be the place where they just sleep," Collop says.
Light exposure from screens suppresses the release of melatonin, a hormone linked to circadian rhythms that's released when your brain registers darkness.
Anything lit up is stimulating and delays your ability to fall asleep, Collop says.
Develop a pre-sleep routine with kids — the younger, the better, says Alon Avidan, associate director of the Sleep Disorders Center at UCLA. It could include a bath, a book, a light snack (avoid chocolate and caffeinated drinks at least eight hours before bed). "They begin to associate those behaviors with sleep," Avidan says.
After her 11-year-old daughter eats dinner, wraps up homework and takes a shower, Charolottesville, Va., mom Lisa Climer says Addie likes to sit in the living room, eat some crackers and read a book.
"It's been that way since she learned to read on her own," says Climer, who allows the occasional e-mail check, but not if it's nearing Addie's 9 to 9:30 into-bed time frame. Bedtime has slipped this summer, as late as 10:30 or 11, and Climer plans to get stricter as the start of school nears.
Try a subtle transition
Transitioning back to school sleep timetables doesn't have to be painful, though, Avidan says. Don't just start setting bedtime earlier and earlier, get everybody up a little earlier every day, too, he advises.
"Wake kids up half an hour earlier each morning until they're on school time schedule," Avidan says. "In the morning, expose your kids to sunlight — don't let them crawl out of bed and into a dark den for another hour. Get up, have breakfast."
No need to be Stalinistic about sleep, though, Avidan says. Even at the Bildens' house, special occasions turn into late nights. This past Fourth of July everyone stayed up well past bedtime, says Kristin.
"Let kids be kids," Avidan says.
