STEP UP DAY LETTER for Incoming First Graders

FIRST GRADE NEWS

STEP UP DAY

Dear Parents,

Hi! I am very excited to be your child’s first grade teacher! We
are going to have lots of fun! We have many great themes in
grade one. Some of them include: super heroes, friends, sound,
light, space, maps, presidents, American symbols, environmental
issues, rainforest, plants and animals. We also read many different
types of genre and do author studies.  Some of the authors we focus
on are: Mo Willems, Kevin Henkes, Robert Munsch, Dr. Seuss, Mercer
Mayer, Tracy West, E.B. White and Iza Trapani.

First graders are asked to purchase items to add to our communal
supplies.  We do not use individual pencil boxes in grade one. Stores
usually has these items on sale extremely cheap towards the end of
summer. The items are: Clorox wipes, glue sticks, Crayola markers,
Crayola crayons, one Elmer’s glue bottle, one box of Ticonderoga
pencils (pre-sharpened if they have them), a pack of thin dry erase
markers, one box of plain, brown band-aids, a box of Ziploc sandwich
bags, one box of gallon size Ziploc bags, one watercolor paint set
(the eight circle kind) and a highlighter. Anything you can get from this
list would be greatly appreciated and put to good use throughout the
school year.

Students will also need a backpack and a one inch - three ringed binder.
These help keep the kids organized. Please write your child’s name in
bold print on the cover of the binder. We use the binders to hold our poetry
in. Students will take their poetry book home in June. I will send homework
and notes home in the folder that the PTO purchases for us. I check folders
each morning for notes, homework and/or lunch money. It would also be
helpful to keep a plastic reusable bag in the front pocket of your child’s
backpack. This helps when there are projects to bring home.

Please save any (washed) plastic containers, styrofoam meat trays, empty
paper towel/toilet paper rolls, egg cartons and cut up cereal boxes. We use
these throughout the year for special projects. Another thing that would help
me a LOT is saving any little trinkets you might want to throw away. I have
a treat box in the room. I’m looking for anything from old happy meal toys to
birthday party souvenir toys. If you see any good deals at stores or yard sales,
those would be great, too :)!

I have attached the site word lists that first graders are assessed on. I’ve
attached the Intro to First Grade Everyday Math letter. This will explain
what we will be doing in math the first two weeks of school. Some ways
you can practice math at home are: skip counting by 2, 5, and 10, card
games, board games, computer games, writing numbers and counting
change. Please keep reading to/with your child all summer. Our library
is open on Tuesdays this summer if you need books :).

I am willing to be pen pals with your son or daughter. My e-mail address
is lkimball@veaziecs.org.  I also have a classroom blog.  The address is
http://vcslk1.blogspot.com/. Check it out and see what first grade is all
about. I will put this letter and a few more on the blog throughout summer
vacation.

Have a great summer! I look forward to working with you and your child
this upcoming school year!