Ms. Feinman's Class at Dora Moore

No spelling words due to the short week.

Click here for the homework packet (This Friday!)

General Homework Tips for Parents 

• Make sure your child has a quiet, well-lit place to do homework.
  Avoid having your child do homework with the television on or in places with other distractions, such as people coming and going.
• Make sure the materials your child needs, such as paper, pencils and a dictionary, are available.
  Ask your child if special materials will be needed for some projects and get them in advance.
• Help your child with time management.
  Establish a set time each day for doing homework. Don't let your child leave homework until just before bedtime. Think about using a weekend morning or afternoon for working on big projects, especially if the project involves getting together with classmates.
• Be positive about homework.
  Tell your child how important school is. The attitude you express about homework will be the attitude your child acquires.
• When your child does homework, you do homework.
  Show your child that the skills they are learning are related to things you do as an adult. If your child is reading, you read too. If your child is doing math, balance your checkbook.
• When your child asks for help, provide guidance, not answers.
  Giving answers means your child will not learn the material. Too much help teaches your child that when the going gets rough, someone will do the work for him or her.
• When the teacher asks that you play a role in homework, do it.
  Cooperate with the teacher. It shows your child that the school and home are a team. Follow the directions given by the teacher.
• If homework is meant to be done by your child alone, stay away.
  Too much parent involvement can prevent homework from having some positive effects. Homework is a great way for kids to develop independent, lifelong learning skills.
• Stay informed.
  Talk with your child's teacher. Make sure you know the purpose of homework and what your child's class rules are.
• Help your child figure out what is hard homework and what is easy homework.
  Have your child do the hard work first. This will mean he will be most alert when facing the biggest challenges. Easy material will seem to go fast when fatigue begins to set in.
• Watch your child for signs of failure and frustration.
  Let your child take a short break if she is having trouble keeping her mind on an assignment.
• Reward progress in homework.
  If your child has been successful in homework completion and is working hard, celebrate that success with a special event (e.g., pizza, a walk, a trip to the park) to reinforce the positive effort.

For details, click here.   and here

When Dora Moore teachers were first told they would be serving breakfast in the classroom....well...they (myself included) kind of freaked out. One reason we were concerned was loss of instructional time.  We were also concerned about little critters. DPS is currently serving Breakfast After the Bell to 87 schools.  

The Good
It was a learning experience in the beginning, and everyday brings about a new challenge.  I am grateful for the program, because I am not hearing "I'm hungry", like I used to before this program.  I do have a few complaints, and they have been heard.  Also, I rarely have students falling asleep in class!  This is a huge plus! I do not have data on the effects it has made in academic achievement.  But working in an urban school and knowing my students have food in their belly is comforting.  

The Bad and The Ugly
One day, I decided to count the grams of sugar that the students were taking into their bodies. IF, a child that particular day had breakfast with juice and/or sugar coated raisins and school lunch with chocolate milk, a frozen dessert and fresh fruit (not including afternoon snack and what happens at home), their total sugar intake for the day would have been over 100g (25 teaspoons)! By the end of the day, I was exhausted and many of the students were a bit cranky.  But let me be clear, this DOES NOT happen daily!  The students are served a variety of foods for breakfast through the week. And I am grateful for the Kaiser programs that have come in to teach DPS children the importance of nutrition, exercise, water intake and media time.   

So what does sugar do to your child's body?

Sometimes, managing a classroom of 24 six and seven year old students is a lot like herding cats.  

I wish I would have found this at the beginning of the year!

Practice typing your sight words!!