Well, this is it. The final day of school is upon us. I can't believe how fast this year has gone by. It seems like just yesterday that I was meeting my students and you at our Open House in August.

 

I just want to say how much I have enjoyed your children this year. They worked hard and I am confident that they are ready for second grade. Please don't let learning take a break over the summer, however. Please have your child read, write and practice math skills over the summer to maintain their progress. We don't want any of their hard work they done this year, lost!

 

The Public libraries have their Summer Quest programs ready to start on June 21st. Please be sure to sign your child up for this free reading program. It is a great way to maintain reading and to accomplish the summer reading goal for our Summer Reading Program. They offer prizes for 5, 15 and 25 books read, plus they offer great educational programs during the day. Computer programs are good to help with reading. www.starfall.com is a good site.

 

When taking trips, have them write about their experiences. I told the students that a great free place to go this summer is the National  Zoo. Besides the many great animals, it has a Rain forest that you can walk through. It is called, Amazonia. Since we just finished learning about the Rain forest, the Desert and the Arctic, this might be a fun summer family trip.

 

To maintain math skills, your child can play many math computer games online. www.primarygames.com is a good site with many activities in all areas. Your child can also practice counting loose change, tell time at various times throughout the day and also practice adding and subtracting. When at the grocery store, you can have them estimate how much an item costs. Also, playing with blocks can help with spatial relationships.

 

Thank you again for all of the support you have given me this year and for sharing your child with me each and every day.

 

I hope you have a wonderful summer! See you in September.