My office hours will be 3-6pm Monday-Thursday. This is the time I will be answering emails, responding to Remind messages, making phone calls, etc. If you message me earlier in the day I will reply between 3-6pm. If you message me after 6pm I will reply the next day between 3-6pm.
School Supplies
I was able to get into our classroom to collect supplies for the children, yay!đ I made up 16 supply bags and plan on delivering them to everyone’s houses by the end of the day today. I know during Ramadan many families are sleeping later because of fasting, so please do not stay up/wake up to wait for me! If you see me on your porch please just wave from the window. I do not want to expose anyone to unnecessary germs. I put as many things in the bags as I could think of that your children might need for school work at home. There is also a special book with a message from Ms. Thabet and I. â¤
Homeschool Heroes
Writing the letter R, collecting things that begin with the letter R, and creating a map for Little Red Riding Hood!
Marah’s map.
Haidar used blocks ans chalk to make Red Riding Hood’s map!
Malkeh found rice, rings, a racket, and a rabbit!
Trying out an art activity from the ideas page.
Zaina and her brother using a blanket and toys to make their map.
Yasmine using a pencil and markers to make her map.
Letter of the Week
Work Time
Turn off those screens and play with some toys, color, paint, anything you can think of!
Planning Time (5 minutes): Build your childâs ability to organize their time by having them make a âplanâ with you about what they would like to play with. Children do this everyday with us at school. It helps children learn to organize their thoughts. Adults make plans all the time to organize their thoughts (shopping lists are made before going to the grocery store, to do lists are made to help plan your day etc..).
Kids will tell you what they are planning to do/want to play with/how they will use toys at home.
Work Time (45-60 minutes): During work time kids play WITHOUT ELECTRONICS. Kids can use toys to pretend play, build, and create.
Clean Up (about 15 minutes): Kids clean up the mess they have made while playing.
RecallTime (5 minutes): Build your childâs memory of events by having your child tell you what they did while they played (ask âtell me how you did thatâ or âwhat did you do next?â)
Assignment
1.How many letter R’s can you find in our friends’ names? Count the letter R’s and write that number 5 times.
Amira
Abbas
Lilliana
Yasmine
Rahaf
Roaa
Haidar
Saleh
Saleh
Fatima
Jaifar
Nooh
Malkeh
Marah
Stortini
Thabet
Zaina
Maryam
2.This week we’re reading Little Red Riding Hood, here’s another version of the classic story to listen to.
https://youtu.be/17cnNJkqgIw
3.Read together for 20 minutes.
4.Get outside, play and go for a walk! If you can’t, get your body moving with some fairy tale yoga.
My office hours will be 3-6pm Monday-Thursday. This is the time I will be answering emails, responding to Remind messages, making phone calls, etc. If you message me earlier in the day I will reply between 3-6pm. If you message me after 6pm I will reply the next day between 3-6pm.
Homeschool Heroes
Writing the letter Rr and finding things that begin with the letter r in our houses!
Letter of the Week
Capital R and lowercase r look different. Capital R is tall and has a circle on top, lowercase r is small and has a little curve.
Work Time
Turn off those screens and play with some toys, color, paint, anything you can think of!
Planning Time (5 minutes): Build your childâs ability to organize their time by having them make a âplanâ with you about what they would like to play with. Children do this everyday with us at school. It helps children learn to organize their thoughts. Adults make plans all the time to organize their thoughts (shopping lists are made before going to the grocery store, to do lists are made to help plan your day etc..).
Kids will tell you what they are planning to do/want to play with/how they will use toys at home.
Work Time (45-60 minutes): During work time kids play WITHOUT ELECTRONICS. Kids can use toys to pretend play, build, and create.
Clean Up (about 15 minutes): Kids clean up the mess they have made while playing.
RecallTime (5 minutes): Build your childâs memory of events by having your child tell you what they did while they played (ask âtell me how you did thatâ or âwhat did you do next?â)
Assignment
1.Today we’re going to read about Little Red Riding Hood. Have you read or listened to this story before? It is one of my favorites! Let’s read it together here.
2.Now we’re going to make a map for little red riding hood! A map is a drawing or model to help people find their way around. A map can be flat and made out of paper, or three-dimensional like a model! Think about all the things she passed in the forest, what would you put on your map?
You can use paper, markers, colored pencils, glue, toys…anything you can think of to make your map! Make sure to label the important places on your map (ex. Little Red Riding Hoods house, Granny’s house, the woods).
Here are some examples:
This is a map drawn with markers.
This a map made with construction paper.
This is a map made with toys!
Send me a picture of the map you made so I can see it!
3.Read together for 20 minutes
4. Get outside and get some exercise! If you can’t, get moving with some fairytale yoga.
My office hours will be 3-6pm Monday-Thursday. This is the time I will be answering emails, responding to Remind messages, making phone calls, etc. If you message me earlier in the day I will reply between 3-6pm. If you message me after 6pm I will reply the next day between 3-6pm.
Virtual Class Meeting
I greatly enjoyed our virtual class meeting last Wednesday, it was wonderful to see everyone! Unfortunatly last week some older students made bad choices and were doing inappropriate things during google meet sessions. Due to this behavior and the desire to keep our students safe we will not be having any more google meet sessions.
Epic Books
Last Friday I sent out email invitations for Epic! Books. Epic is offering 90 days free to families during this difficult time. Epic can be used from your computer, ipad, or phone. The app is free and I use it at home with my own children. I encourage you to try it out! If you did not get the email and are interested in exploring Epic! Books message me and I will resend the invitation.
Letter of the Week
This week we are going to look at the letter Rr. R says “ruh” like rain, Rahaf, and Roaa!
Work Time
Turn off those screens and play with some toys, color, paint, anything you can think of!
Planning Time (5 minutes): Build your childâs ability to organize their time by having them make a âplanâ with you about what they would like to play with. Children do this everyday with us at school. It helps children learn to organize their thoughts. Adults make plans all the time to organize their thoughts (shopping lists are made before going to the grocery store, to do lists are made to help plan your day etc..).
Kids will tell you what they are planning to do/want to play with/how they will use toys at home.
Work Time (45-60 minutes): During work time kids play WITHOUT ELECTRONICS. Kids can use toys to pretend play, build, and create.
Clean Up (about 15 minutes): Kids clean up the mess they have made while playing.
RecallTime (5 minutes): Build your childâs memory of events by having your child tell you what they did while they played (ask âtell me how you did thatâ or âwhat did you do next?â)
Assignment
Do a letter hunt around your house (or neighborhood if the weather is nice!) and find 5 things that begin with the letter R. Take a picture of the items and send them to me so I can see!
I added a new page to our blog that has some new and/or extra resources for you to use at home. It can be found on the top of the blog here:
Click the page link that says “At home learning.”
On the page I organized links and videos by subject matter to make it easier for you to find what you are looking for.
Choose two things from this new page to explore/try out today! Send me a picture of what you choose to try!
My office hours will be 3-6pm Monday-Thursday. This is the time I will be answering emails, responding to Remind messages, making phone calls, etc. If you message me earlier in the day I will reply between 3-6pm. If you message me after 6pm I will reply the next day between 3-6pm.
Happy Ramadan!
Ramadan Mubarek to everyone celebrating!
Homeschool Heroes
Marah writing what she remembered from the Very Hungry Caterpillar.
Three things Saleh remembered about the Very Hungry Caterpillar.
Practicing the letter C.
Malkeh’s caterpillar crown!
Letter of the Week
Last day for the letter Cc!
Work Time
Turn off those screens and play with some toys, color, paint, anything you can think of!
Planning Time (5 minutes): Build your childâs ability to organize their time by having them make a âplanâ with you about what they would like to play with. Children do this everyday with us at school. It helps children learn to organize their thoughts. Adults make plans all the time to organize their thoughts (shopping lists are made before going to the grocery store, to do lists are made to help plan your day etc..).
Kids will tell you what they are planning to do/want to play with/how they will use toys at home.
Work Time (45-60 minutes): During work time kids play WITHOUT ELECTRONICS. Kids can use toys to pretend play, build, and create.
Clean Up (about 15 minutes): Kids clean up the mess they have made while playing.
RecallTime (5 minutes): Build your childâs memory of events by having your child tell you what they did while they played (ask âtell me how you did thatâ or âwhat did you do next?â)
Assignment
It’s field trip Friday! Take a virtual tour of Dearborn’s own world class historical attraction, Greenfield Village!
2. Read together for 20 minutes, have your child describe what they are seeing in the pictures.
3. Put your coat on and play in the backyard or go for a walk! If you canât, get your body moving with the Trolls!
My office hours will be 3-6pm Monday-Thursday. This is the time I will be answering emails, responding to Remind messages, making phone calls, etc. If you message me earlier in the day I will reply between 3-6pm. If you message me after 6pm I will reply the next day between 3-6pm.
Help with Translating Blog Posts
If you need help translating the blog posts into Arabic, click this link below for instructions. Our classroom neighbor Ms. Stafiej made this tutorial!
I was so excited to see everyone during our first class video chat! Thank you for your patience as we all figure out this new technology.
I wanted a picture of everyone, but my camera slipped. I will take one next week for sure!
Amira during work time.
Yasmine’s pink caterpillar crown!
Rahaf acting out the very hungry caterpillar.đ
Letter of the Week
Remember the letter C? This is the letter we have been working on this week. Capital C and lowercase c look the same but are different sizes. C says “kah” like coconut, cantalope, and crazy!
Work Time
Turn off those screens and play with some toys, color, paint, anything you can think of!
Planning Time (5 minutes): Build your childâs ability to organize their time by having them make a âplanâ with you about what they would like to play with. Children do this everyday with us at school. It helps children learn to organize their thoughts. Adults make plans all the time to organize their thoughts (shopping lists are made before going to the grocery store, to do lists are made to help plan your day etc..).
Kids will tell you what they are planning to do/want to play with/how they will use toys at home.
Work Time (45-60 minutes): During work time kids play WITHOUT ELECTRONICS. Kids can use toys to pretend play, build, and create.
Clean Up (about 15 minutes): Kids clean up the mess they have made while playing.
RecallTime (5 minutes): Build your childâs memory of events by having your child tell you what they did while they played (ask âtell me how you did thatâ or âwhat did you do next?â)
Assignment
How many letter c’s can you find in the sentence below? Count the letter c’s you see and write that number 5 x’s!
The crazy caterpillar went crawling along the crisp cool coconut.
2. We’re doing lots of things with the Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle this week. Let’s listen to the story one last time.
Now that we’ve listened to the story four times it’s time to see what we remember! For this activity you will need paper and crayons/markers.
Assignment
Challenge
Challenge Challenge!
Have your child draw any three things they can remember from the story WITHOUT LOOKING at the book or videos.
Have your child draw the beginning, middle and end of the story WITHOUT LOOKING at the book or videos.
Have your child draw 4 things they remember from the story in the order they happenend WITHOUT LOOKING at the book or videos.
Assignment
Challenge
Challenge Challenge!
3. Read together for 20 minutes, have your child describe what they are seeing in the pictures.
4. Put your coat on and play in the backyard or go for a walk! If you canât, get your body moving with some Cosmic Kids yoga storytelling.
My office hours will be 3-6pm Monday-Thursday. This is the time I will be answering emails, responding to Remind messages, making phone calls, etc. If you message me earlier in the day I will reply between 3-6pm. If you message me after 6pm I will reply the next day between 3-6pm.
Classroom Video Chat
Our first class video chat is today at 2pm! I am so excited to see everyoneâs faces and hear your voices! This will be our practice so we can all figure out how to use the website. We will have weekly virtual class meetings on Wednesdays at 2pm for the remainder of the school year.
Due to security concerns the district does not want us using Zoom, we will be using google meets for our virtual class meetings. Google meets can be used on a phone, ipad, or computer. I tested it out on all of my devices first to make sure. On your phone or ipad you can access it from the internet browser or download the app. I downloaded the app because I felt it was easier.
Enter a nickname â I will send the nickname code out on Remind before the start of the meetings.
If you need help with Google Meet message me so I can help you.
Homeschool Heroes
Finding items that begin with the letter C, going on a letter c scavenger hunt, and comparing and contrasting our two read-a-louds!
Letter of the Week
This week we’re working on the letter Cc. C says “kah” like car, cone, and count!
Work Time
Turn off those screens and play with some toys, color, paint, anything you can think of!
Planning Time (5 minutes): Build your childâs ability to organize their time by having them make a âplanâ with you about what they would like to play with. Children do this everyday with us at school. It helps children learn to organize their thoughts. Adults make plans all the time to organize their thoughts (shopping lists are made before going to the grocery store, to do lists are made to help plan your day etc..).
Kids will tell you what they are planning to do/want to play with/how they will use toys at home.
Work Time (45-60 minutes): During work time kids play WITHOUT ELECTRONICS. Kids can use toys to pretend play, build, and create.
Clean Up (about 15 minutes): Kids clean up the mess they have made while playing.
Recall Time (5 minutes): Build your childâs memory of events by having your child tell you what they did while they played (ask âtell me how you did thatâ or âwhat did you do next?â)
Assignment
We are reading the Very Hungry Caterpillar again today! When children read and listen to stories repeatedly it helps them to recognize words, and improves their ability to remember details from the story. Today we have the animated version of the story book.
https://youtu.be/kMjTKNoZn_o
Today you’re going to act out the very hungry caterpillar to show what we remember from the story. Have your child pretend to be the caterpillar and act out the story, they can even make props and dress up if they like! These are just ideas, please don’t buy any new supplies. Your can can use items you have around your house. Be creative and send me a picture or video of your child acting out the story!
This person used paper and scissors to make a caterpillar hat!
This person made a caterpillar headband and used paper and scissors to make the food he ate.
Count the number of things the caterpillar ate during the story. Write that number 5 times.
Read together for 20 minutes, have your child describe what they are seeing in the pictures.
Put your coat on and play in the backyard or go for a walk! If you canât, get your body moving with some Cosmic Kids yoga storytelling.
My office hours will be 3-6pm Monday-Thursday. This is the time I will be answering emails, responding to Remind messages, making phone calls, etc. If you message me earlier in the day I will reply between 3-6pm. If you message me after 6pm I will reply the next day between 3-6pm.
Class Video Chat
Thank you for your patience as we all figure out this new technology! Our first class video chat will be tomorrow (Wednesday April 22nd) at 2pm. I am so excited to see everyoneâs faces and hear your voices! This will be our practice so we can all figure out how to use the website. We will have weekly virtual class meetings on Wednesdays at 2pm for the remainder of the school year.
Due to security concerns the district does not want us using Zoom, we will be using google meets for our virtual class meetings. Google meets can be used on a phone, ipad, or computer. I tested it out on all of my devices first to make sure. On your phone or ipad you can access it from the internet browser or download the app. I downloaded the app because I felt it was easier.
Enter a nickname â I will send the nickname code out on Remind before the start of the meetings.
If you need help with Google Meet message me today so I can help you.
Homeschool Heroes
Pattern caterpillars and practicing the letter C!
Letter of the Week
We’re learning about the letter Cc this week, capital and lowercase c’s look the same but are different sizes! Capital C is a big curve and lowercase c is a small curve. The letter C says the sound “kah” like coconut, car, and cradle.
Work Time
During the school day children have time to make a plan for what they would like to do, and then work with those materials for an hour. We then clean up and talk about what we used, who we played with, if our plans changed, etc. We are all spending a lot of time on the computer or other screens right now and it is important for young children to turn them off for a bit and have free play time.
Planning Time (5 minutes): Build your childâs ability to organize their time by having them make a âplanâ with you about what they would like to play with. Children do this everyday with us at school. It helps children learn to organize their thoughts. Adults make plans all the time to organize their thoughts (shopping lists are made before going to the grocery store, to do lists are made to help plan your day etc..).
Kids will tell you what they are planning to do/want to play with/how they will use toys at home.
Work Time (45-60 minutes): During work time kids play WITHOUT ELECTRONICS. Kids can use toys to pretend play, build, and create.
Clean Up (about 15 minutes): Kids clean up the mess they have made while playing.
RecallTime (5 minutes): Build your childâs memory of events by having your child tell you what they did while they played (ask âtell me how you did thatâ or âwhat did you do next?â)
Assignment
Remember our story The Very Hungry Caterpillar we read yesterday? We’re going to work with that story again today! Here is a video of the author Eric Carle reading us the story.
What did you notice was different about this reading than yesterday? Have your child tell you three differences they noticed. Some examples might be:
Yesterday the words were on the page.
Today a man is reading the story.
This is the author and yesterday a teacher was reading the book.
Walk around your house and count the number of things that begin with the letter Cc. How many did you find?! Take a picture of something you found that begins with the letter Cc and send it to me!
Read together for 20 minutes, have your child describe what they are seeing in the pictures.
Put your coat on and play in the backyard or go for a walk! If you can’t, get your body moving with some Cosmic Kids yoga storytelling.
This will be a long post so please bear with me! đ Dearborn Public Schools has finalized their remote learning plan and it has been approved by the state. I was in several long video meetings last week learning about how to implement the plan. The important thing to remember is that school is still in session, we just can’t use the building right now.
The format of our assignments will basically stay the same, each activity should take you about 5-10 minutes to complete. If your child wants to work on them longer that is great, but please do not feel like they should be sitting and working for hours at a time. I am doing my best to design activities that you can easily do with materials you already have in your house. Our department is in the process of making a list of supplies children need so we can hand out materials when we are allowed back into Cotter. I will keep you posted on that. Thank you to everyone who filled out the materials survey, it was extremely helpful for me to know what you need.
Part of the state requirement is that I must be in communication with students and families. I will continue to send home lessons, and I NEED parents to send me some sort of proof of learning through the week. Basically, keep sending me those adorable pictures of your children!⤠I need at least one picture of your child doing the daily activity so I can mark that assignment complete in my grade book.
Beginning this week we will have a weekly class video chat every Tuesday afternoon. We will use google meets for these virtual meetings.
I am so proud of all the work you and your families are doing at home during this difficult time. Keep it up, and please do not hesitate to message or email me if you need any help. There are no sily questions, we are all figuring this out together!
Class Video Chat
Our first class video chat will be tomorrow (Tuesday, April 21st) at 2pm. I am so excited to see everyone’s faces and hear your voices! This will be our practice so we can all figure out how to use the website. We will have weekly virtual class meetings on Tuesday afternoon for the remainder of the school year.
Due to security concerns the district does not want us using Zoom, we will be using google meets for our virtual class meetings. Google meets can be used on a phone, ipad, or computer. I tested it out on all of my devices first to make sure. On your phone or ipad you can access it from the internet browser or download the app. I downloaded the app because I felt it was easier.
Enter a nickname â I will send the nickname code out on Remind before the start of the meetings.
If you need help with Google Meet message me today so I can help you.
Homeschool Heroes
Practicing the letter Qq, completing a book scavenger hunt, and designing their own National Park!
Work Time
This is a new section! During the school day children have time to make a plan for what they would like to do, and then work with those materials for an hour. We then clean up and talk about what we used, who we played with, if our plans changed, etc. We are all spending a lot of time on the computer or other screens right now and it is important for young children to turn them off for a bit and have free play time.
Planning Time (5 minutes): Build your childâs ability to organize their time by having them make a âplanâ with you about what they would like to play with. Children do this everyday with us at school. It helps children learn to organize their thoughts. Adults make plans all the time to organize their thoughts (shopping lists are made before going to the grocery store, to do lists are made to help plan your day etc..).
Kids will tell you what they are planning to do/want to play with/how they will use toys at home.
Work Time (45-60 minutes): Worktime/Kids play WITHOUT ELECTRONICS Kids can use toys to pretend play, build, and create.
Clean Up (about 15 minutes): Kids clean up the mess they have made while playing.
RecallTime (5 minutes): Build your childâs memory of events by having your child tell you what they did while they played (ask âtell me how you did thatâ or âwhat did you do next?â)
Letter of the Week
Our new letter of the week is Cc! C says “kuh” like cat, cake, and cone. To make a letter C you start at the top and make a biiiiiiiiig curve around.
Assignment
This week we’re going to be doing several activities with the story The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. We read this story in school and you may have it in your Daily 5 bag! Here is the link to the story so you can listen to it together.
What was your favorite part of the story? Draw a picture of your favorite part and try to write what you liked about it. (It is important that the children are drawing and writing on their own, I need to see what they can do independently so I know how to help!)
Now let’s do some math, we’re going to make some patterns today! A pattern is something that repeats like; red, blue, red, blue or 1,2,3,1,2,3 or circle, square, circle, square.
These are patterns with shapes and colors.
Using scissors and paper, cut out 10 paper circles. (If you do not have scissors your child could rip the paper with their fingers or draw circles in a line on paper.)
The circles do not need to be perfect, just have your child do their best!
Choose two colors (ex. Red and blue), have your child color 5 circles one color and 5 circles the other color. Then use the circles to make caterpillars with different pattern bodies!
Some caterpillar pattern examples.
Send me a picture of your favorite part of the story and your pattern caterpillar so I can see what you did!
As always, read together for at least 20 minutes.
The sun is shining, get outside and play in the backyard or go for a walk!
What was your favorite park of the national park? If you had a national park what would it look like? Draw a picture of your national park and send me a picture of it!
The National Parks also have a gread kids program, click the link below to check it out.
We dyed Easter eggs and went for lots of walks. My dog Theo is very excited I am working from home, lol! I am doing some home projects I was putting off like redoing the boys’ bathroom floor and crafting. I miss you all! â¤
Finally got around to making my Spring wreath.
This is how I feel about exercising.
Retiling the bathroom floor.
All done!
Rhett found an interesting bug đ on our walk one day.
Dying Easter eggs for the Easter bunny.
Happy Easter!
Happy Easter!
Homeschool Heroes
Sorting healthy and unhealthy foods, writing the letter Qq, and reading about Gregory the Goat!
Letter of the Week
Continue to practice writing the letter Qq. Draw a picture of something that starts with Qq and try to write the word!
Assignment
Go through the books in your house and find as many of the things on this list as you can! They can all be in the same book or more than one book. Send me pictures of your book scavenger hunt!
The sun is shining!âď¸ Put your coat on and head outside for a little bit of fresh air. Afterwards dance and sing along with Koo Koo Kangaroo!
https://youtu.be/if8qfVjVFc8
Read together for at least 20 minutes, and practice writing your name without looking.
