Our first Report Card

Wow!  Its been a while.  With report cards, planning for interviews etc. it hasn't been a priority.  

I as a teacher love and hate report cards.

 I dislike them because I have to give a number to something that is always evolving and I know that by the time report cards come out they will have gotten so much better already.  SO know that the number attached to their knowledge was from early November and they have already improved. 
I love report cards because when I look back and reflect I can see how much they have grown already.  The student who couldn't do their name at all can suddenly make their name on their own.  The student who expected others to do everything for them has become capable.  So I get to cheer about their successes. 

So look at the report cards and look for what they are good at or what they have already improved at and then look to see where they can stand to improve.  And know that I love each and every one of them and am at the head of the cheering line when it comes to their successes. 

On another note, we played a little game with letters today.  I brought my iPhone to school and I have an app on it for letter writing(see below).  If we wrote a letter I would look to see who got the letter printed properly and then pick a student to do that letter on the app.  They rocked it!  They were so excited to write the letters on the phone and show it off and they all worked their tails off to get it done properly. 

So if you have an Apple product, check out Letter School.  It has the capability for capital, lower case and numbers and you can set it for three different letter styles (choose HWT as this is the system we use at school).  It shows them, then guides them then lets them do it on their own.  I am somewhat skeptical of using apps as some are less than great but I REALLY like this one.  And the one that I own at home loves it too and will do most anything to get some time on the ipad with it.  So if you are interested, by all means check it out!

So have a great Friday and I promise to blog again soon!