Traveling Over the Holidays...Take These Tips with You!

Keep Your Child’s Brain Growing! Great tips for summer or holidays!

During a break from school, many skills your child learned during the school year can be lost. To keep learning skills strong and to help your child reinforce the skills he/she learned during the year, here are a few pointers.

1. Visit the public library for great books you and your child can read together for fun. Biographies and non-fiction books are also a great source of informational topics that your child might be interested in exploring. The library also has summer programs that are often cheap, or even free.

2. Take an educational “field trip” to the city park, zoo, museum, or nature centers, or a stroll through the neighborhood or neighboring woods/fields. Make a scavenger hunt and have your child look for certain things on the “field trip”. Take pictures of the trip. When you return home, have your child do a journal entry about what he/she saw/heard/smelled while on the trip. When you develop the pictures, have your child match the pictures with his/her journal entry.

3. Planning a vacation? Let your child help you “plan” the vacation. What should we pack if we are going to the beach/mountains/cruise/lake/grandma’s house/etc. What are we going to do there? Who do you think we will see? What kind of clothes do we need to take for cold/hot weather? How are we going to get there? Let your child map the trip. Check out books from the library and let your child read about the place you will be visiting or cities/states you will be driving through to your destination. Have your child draw a picture of what he/she thinks your destination is going to look like and then compare the picture to the real place.

4. Going out to eat? Ask your child math and reading questions about the menu. If I had $5 what three items could I buy? How much change would I get back if I buy the hamburger, fries, and shake and pay with a $10 bill. What is the total of buying a burrito, drink, and fries? Look at the picture of the cheeseburger. In 5 words or less/more, describe it. Play “What Am I Describing?” Give your child a description of something on the menu and see if they can guess what it is. Tell me a story (or make up a sentence) that has 3 items off the menu in it.

5. Math around the house:
a. Help you child create a map of your house or neighborhood. Let your child help you make the list for weekly grocery shopping. See if he/she can sort items based on food “types” (canned, vegetables, candy, sweets, breakfast, dinner, lunch, or colors). Or, let them keep track of the groceries you are buying by marking items off your grocery list or keep a price total of the number of items you have bought. You can also tell them you are taking $20 to the grocery store and let them subtract items to find out how much you have left to spend.
b. Your child can also help with cooking or baking around the house. Allow them to measure the items as you put them together for the recipe.
c. Track the outside temperature for a week. Ask questions based on the results. How many days did it rain? How many days was the temperature above/below 90 degrees?
d. Sort laundry based on colors or piece of clothing. How many socks are in this pile? How many more socks did we have than t-shirts? What is the total of whites and colors?
e. Play board games that you have around the house. Ask questions as you play. How many more steps until someone wins? What would happen if… I rolled a six instead of a two? How much farther ahead are you than me? Predict who is going to win.
f. Google 100s chart and print off one. There are many activities you can do with a 100s chart just by googling 100s chart activities. Greater than/less than, multiplication facts (7 x ? is 42), multiples of numbers, give a number and see how many different ways your child can find on the 100s chart to make that number.
g. Math flashcards are easy and fast for games and basic fact recall. Play War or “If I have 7, who has a number bigger than 7”. How many flashcards can your child do in a minute? No flashcards, use index cards to write facts on for review.
h. Dice: roll a dice and see who can get to 21 (or pick a number) the fastest by rolling just 1 dice at a time. Or, roll the dice and see which sum comes up the most out of 20 rolls. Help your child chart the results.
i. Make a calendar and let your child track how many days/weeks/Mondays until school starts, your family vacations, or a birthday.
j. Look for different shapes around the house, neighborhood, or on your vacation. Let your child tally how many of each shape he/she finds. Or make a shape book with pictures of shapes your child finds in a magazine.

6. Language Arts:
a. Write a sentence(s) and cut it into individual words. Put the sentence (or each sentence) into a Ziploc bag. Let your child practice putting sentences together using the words in the bag. Question your child about the sentence depending on his/her age. Identify the nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc. How could we make this sentence better? What word chunks do you see?
b. Have a DVR on cable? If so, pause your child’s favorite cartoon, movie, or television show. Ask them questions about what he/she is watching to assess his/her understanding. What do you think is going to happen next? What if this happened? Who is the main character? What is the setting? Why is the character happy/sad/angry? Come up with a new ending for what he/she is watching. If the people that made this movie came up with a sequel, what do you think it would be about?
c. Play Scrabble which is great for vocabulary and word chunks.
Pick a word family (at, ab, ag, an, am, ap, ar, ed, en, et, id, ig, in, ip, it, ob, og, op, ot, ub, ug, un, ut, um) and then see how many words your child can make using each “chunk”. Ex: the “at” chunk—cat, hat, bat, sat, fat, mat, pat, rat, etc. Have your child write sentences with the words he/she makes. Or, each of your can write a sentence and see who can use the most rhyming words in a sentence that makes sense. Ex: The fat cat wearing a hat sat on a mat and watched a bat chase a rat.
Pick a word and letter change. Ex: start with the word cat. Change the c in cat to an r and what word do you have? Rat. Change the t in rat to a g and what word do you have? Rag. Change the a in rag to a u and what word do you have? Rug. Change the r in rug to a h and what word do you have? Hug
f. Read a book together and ask the 5 W questions: Who, What, When, Where, and Why. Let your child act out the book for a family entertainment night. Draw pictures of the setting, main idea, or characters. Have your child compare and contrast the main character to a family member or him/herself. Or, have your child think about how the setting of the book is alike/different to your house/room.
g. Let your child practice writing his/her name in different things you may have around the house like salt, sugar, shaving green, erasable markers, sand, etc.
h. Pen Pals: let your child write to a relative or friend during the summer to keep writing skills fresh.
i. Spelling City (www.spellingcity.com) is a great site for reviewing spelling words from the year or making new spelling words your child learns over the summer.
j. Make flashcards of spelling words, instant words, letter, consonants, vowels, states and capitals, colors, blends, etc.
k. Do daily journal writing. Give your child a topic and let them free write for 5 minutes. Example topics: What are we going to do on vacation? What do we need to buy at the grocery store? What did you enjoy about your day? How are you alike/different than Mickey Mouse/Dora the Explorer/mom/dad/your teacher/your sister/brother/etc.
l. In the car, find road signs that start with the letter A, end with an E, have two words in the title, or contain a number word. Make rhyming words. Play I Spy using good descriptive vocabulary.
m. Play “Would You Rather”. Would you rather be a monkey or a giraffe? A car or a truck? A teacher or a student? President or a NBA player? Have a million dollars or be really smart? Be invisible or fly? Have no toys or have no school? Be the fastest runner or the best dancer?
n. Visit www.storylineonline.net where actors read stories that your child will love. The site also has activities to go along with each story.

7. Most importantly, keep a routine which will help your child transition easily back into school in the fall.

Have a great holiday!

Nancy Fatheree

Dear Parents,

Just a few December reminders.

1. Please check the lost and found for your child’s clothing. With the start of cold weather, we have seen quite a number of coats and sweatshirts in the lost and found. The lost and found is located in the Fisher café. To help with our lost and found, please make sure your child's clothing and lunch boxes are labeled with your child's first and last name.
2. Our tardies are on the rise. Please remember that your child should be in his/her classroom each morning by 8:00. Students are picked up from their morning waiting areas at 7:50 and spend time getting settled and beginning their daily warm-ups in their classrooms from 7:50-8:00. Leaving your house by 7:45 will help your child to arrive at school on time.
3. The Winter Break will start on Monday, December 20, and end on Friday, December 31 so we will not have school during those two weeks. We’ll see everyone back at school on Monday, January 3, 2011.

Happy Holidays!
Nancy Fatheree

Talk So Your Child Will Listen

I ran across a few pages in Good Housekeeping magazine that had great tips for parents. I thought I would share some of the advice that I really liked.

If your well-intentioned words seems to sound like a lecture to your kid (and therefore get, well, ignored), try these tactics instead:

1. Keep your comments clear, concise, and positive, emphasizing the positive action you want to come out of the discussion. For example, rather than, "Stop being mean to your sister!" try, "If you want your sister to know something you think will help her, say it in a way that won't hurt her feelings."

2. Ask questions rather than dictating solutions. For instance, try, "Do you think you'll be able to get the whole project done in two nights?" rather than, "You have to start your science project now!" Questions encourage kids to think for themselves and give them the sense you trust them.

3. Or try the "let's collaborate" approach. Explain what you're worried about (maybe your child is staying up too late after you tell him/her to go to bed and say something like, "I've noticed you're having trouble getting up in the morning. What do you think would help you feel more rested?" Let your child try his/her suggestions; then, if they don't work, share yours.

4. Weave advice into everyday conversations. A formal "Come here; we need to talk" approach usually does not work. Instead, catch kids when they're feeling chatty and pay attention to the times of day when they open up naturally--for some it's after school, for others it's before bed.

It's hard to believe tomorrow is December 1st which means only 13 more school days before Winter Break!!

Where has November gone? In just 5 short weeks, it will be time for our Winter Break! The last two weeks have been very busy here at Fisher. Last Tuesday, we had Mix It Up Day at lunch where students had the opportunity to sit with different students during their lunch times. Students were able to interact with old and new friends, while also learning lessons about diversity and friendship.

On Friday, we had a great Veteran's Day assembly where we honored many of our Fisher Family veterans. Just seeing the veterans brought tears to my eyes as I thought about all they have done for our wonderful country! It was truly a great morning!

Monday and Tuesday, I made a road trip to Austin to accept Fisher's three-peat award for the TBEC Honor Roll. Fisher is included among the top 4% of Texas schools to receive this prestigious award, and even fewer who have received it three years in a row!

Tuesday, the Fisher PTA brought the Science of Spin Yo-Yo program to our students during their CAMP time, and let me just say, "Boy, was this program a hit!!" For the last two afternoons, the yo-yo table at dismissal has been very busy! It is fun to see students practicing the skills they learned.

Our shoe drive ends this Friday, November 19, so be sure to send in those gently used shoes. No flip flops or open toed shoes please.

Fisher is also participating in the "It’s a Small World" Angel Program. Each classroom will have one Angel to which they will donate new items to ensure a happy holiday for our local children. You should have received information about this program in your child's folder. Gifts are due Monday, November 29.

Remember, next week, November 22-26, is our Thanksgiving Break. We hope you all have a safe and happy break. We'll see you back at Fisher on Monday, November 29. Everyone have a Happy Thanksgiving!

It is hard to believe it is already November! It feels like the school year is flying by! For me, November always brings to mind thankfulness. We have so much to be thankful for here at Fisher. Here are just a few things I am thankful for:

1. I am thankful for all the wonderful parents and families who support Fisher through our Fall Book Fair, Chick-fil-A Spirit Night, Boosterthon Fun Run, PTA Memberships, and much more!
2. I am thankful for the teachers, parents, and students who came to the Fisher booth at the FISD Chili Challenge and those who came out to walk with us at the Gary Burns Fun Run to show your support of our school.
3. I am thankful for all the parents who came to Parent/Teacher Conference Day to help build and support the collaboration between Fisher staff and parents in meeting the needs of our students and your children.
4. I am thankful for all the students at Fisher who make me smile everyday and who work so hard to achieve academic and personal goals!
5. I am thankful for the wonderful staff at Fisher who make such a difference in the lives of our students each and every day through great teaching, building relationships with students, going above and beyond the “call of duty”, and just being present for students .
6. I am thankful for the commitment and dedication Fisher parents and staff show in helping Fisher become the best possible place for children. Fisher would not be Fisher without you!
7. I am thankful that Fisher has the best staff, students, and families who work hard every day to meet the needs of students!
8. I am thankful that I am the proud principal of Fisher Elementary! I could not think of anywhere else I would rather be!

I love the weekly Love and Logic tips I receive from Dr. Charles Fay and wanted to share this week's tip with you as I am sure we have all been caught in these situations.

When Kids Lie

There are few things that leave parents angrier, or more worried, than when their kids act "truthfulness-challenged." The good news about lying is that kids do it. What I mean is that all youngsters experiment with bending the truth, and it doesn't necessarily mean that they'll end up becoming con men, criminals or politicians. That is, as long as we can help them see that honesty really is the best policy.

One way of achieving this goal is to apply the following steps:
Use "I feel like you lied to me" rather than "You lied to me."
If your kid replies with "No, I didn't!" this allows you to say, "I know…but I feel like you did."

Help the child see lying as an index of maturity.
Achieve this by saying, "When I feel lied to, it makes me wonder whether you are mature enough to handle some of the privileges you enjoy around here, like television, your video games, and things like that."

In an empathetic way, let the child know that privileges will return when maturity goes up.
"The good news is that when you can prove to me that you are more mature, I'll know that it's time for you to have these privileges again."

Remember that parenting isn't like a jury trial: There's no need to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Far too many parents get snowed by their manipulative kids and begin to wonder whether they are jumping to conclusions. I recommend trusting your heart and saying, "All I know is that I feel lied to, and I know that your life will be a lot happier if you learn how to avoid leaving people feeling that way."

For more tips on responding to lying, listen to Dr. Foster Cline's CD, Childhood Lying, Stealing and Cheating.

Thanks for reading! Our goal is to help as many families as possible.
Dr. Charles Fay

Happy Monday! I wanted to remind everyone of a few activites going on this week at Fisher.

This week is Red Ribbon Week.
Monday-wear team jerseys/shirts
Tuesday-wear crazy socks or hats
Wednesday-wear red
Thursday-wear sweat suits (or a sweat shirt) as the weather permits
Friday-Wear orange

Tuesday night, October 26, from 4:30-6:30 Frisco Reads will take place at Heritage High School.

Report cards will come home on Thursday, October 28.

Reflection entries are due this Friday, October 29. Please submit forms to Fisher's front office.

The Gary Burns Fun Run will be this Saturday, October 30, at Frisco Square starting at 8:00. Please come out and run/walk with the Fisher team.

Also, please do not allow students to wear Halloween costumes to school or bring treat bags to hand out in class since Halloween is not a scheduled party day.

The things we do for kids! First grade held their annual fairy tales day yesterday and it was so much fun! We had many Big Bad Wolfs, 3 Little Pigs, Little Red Hens, pre and post Cinderella, and Rapunzels. The kids did a super job with their costumes and classroom presentations. During their presentation, students told why they chose the character and a problem the character encountered in the fairy tale. As you can see, I had to get into costume for the morning as a fairy godmother, but did have several students ask if I was the tooth fairy. It was truly a fun and special day.

I want to say thank you to our Fisher staff, students, parents, and family members for all you do to support Fisher Elementary and make it the best place to go to school!

Boosterthon was a huge success and a lot of money was raised for Fisher. It was great to see all the parents and family members who came out to support students as they ran their laps. Mrs. Caras' Kindergarten class received the most pledges so Mrs. Caras was able to throw a pie in Steven's face, one of the Boosterthon representatives. We cannot thank you as parents enough for all of your support for Boosterthon!

Our Chick-fil-A Spirit Night was so much fun! The staff had a great time serving drinks and talking with parents and students at the event. We truly appreciate all the support you showed by attending! Our money totals from the night should arrive soon so we will know just how much money YOU helped raise for Fisher.

A few reminders:
Don't forget to send in your Boosterthon money. The deadline is next Wednesday, October 13.
Collections have started for Barktoberfest so bring in your secondhand/unwanted dog items to donate.
Monday is Parent/Teacher Conference Day so there will be no school.
October 12 is the visit from the Frisco Fire Clowns.
October 13 Author Anastasia Suen visits
October 15 is the deadline to earn a popcorn party for 100% PTA classroom membership.

It has been a great week at Fisher! Boosterthon has kicked off and all the students and teachers are excited about the Fun Run next Wednesday, Oct. 6.

Please make sure to join us tomorrow (Friday) at 7:15 for Walk to School. We would love to see parents and students walking to school and wearing green to support the environment.

To continue with my reading theme, I wanted to share with you a few reading strategies that I borrowed from another Frisco principal.

Do You Know What Your Child Is Thinking About Their Reading?

Reading is the construction of meaning. Your child’s comprehension is the most important aspect of reading. Many times a child will bring home a book that is seemingly too easy for them because they are able to read each word accurately. This is called word call. To fully develop good readers, we can’t stop there! The conversations and questioning you have with your
child after they read is often the most important part!

There are different types of questions. There are questions that ask them to recall details from the story. Those are explicit questions. The most difficult questions are those that cannot be answered straight from the text. These are implicit questions. After reading a story, it’s important to ask both types of questions to see if your child truly comprehends what they have read.

Here are some question stems to get you started!
Ask questions about the characters, setting, problem, and solution.
“What did the story make you think about?”
“How would you have felt if you were ______?”
Choose an unfamiliar vocabulary word and ask, “Can you tell me what that word means based on the story?”
With any content word ask, “What words in the story help you know what that word means?”
“What happened before/after ______?”
“What is the story mainly about?”
“Why do you think the author gave this story that title?”
“How do you know this story is make-believe/factual?”
“How would you have solved the problem?”
“How could _____ have reacted differently?”

Here are a few hints from our Fisher first grade team:

Invite your child to read with you every day.
• Discuss new words. For example, "This big house is called a palace. Who do you think lives in a palace?"
• Stop and ask about the pictures and about what is happening in the story.
• Read from a variety of children's books, including fairy tales, song books, poems, and information books.

Conversations with your child about their reading can be the most exciting part! Try it tonight to learn what your child is thinking about their reading!

What a fun week it has been with Book Fair and College Week activities! The excitement both of these events generated was contagious throughout the building. We even saw parents at carpool sporting college shirts and camo in support of College Week, and we can't count the number of "loved ones" who visited the Book Fair! Your help and support is greatly appreciated!

In support of our Book Fair theme, Here's to Our Heroes, we do want to thank you for being a hero every day in your child's life. We could not do the fabulous things we do here at Fisher without you!

Don't forget tomorrow is the last day of Book Fair so plan to visit by 2:00 if you need to make a Book Fair purchase.

Another reminder, come visit the Fisher chili team and sample the Best Chili Under the Big Top at the Frisco Education Foundation's annual Chili Challenge tomorrow night (Friday, Sept. 24)starting at 5:00 at Pizza Hut Park.

Upcoming events:
Fall Picture Day Thursday, Sept. 30

I shared the following information in our PTA newsletter, but also wanted to post it here.

Since reading is such an integral part of every student’s education, we as educators promote reading not only here at school but also at home by requiring students to read twenty minutes each night.

One of our wonderful third grade teachers, Linda Moscovic, shared this great story with me which talks about the importance of reading twenty minutes each night.

Why Can’t I Skip My Twenty Minutes of Reading?

Let’s figure it out---- mathematically!

Student A reads 20 minutes 5 nights of every week.

Student B reads only 4 minutes a night….or not at all!

Step 1: Multiply minutes a night x 5 times each week.Student A reads 20 minutes x 5 times a week = 100 minutes/week.

Student B reads 4 minutes x 5 times a week = 20 minutes/week.

Step 2: Multiply minutes a week x 4 weeks each month.Student A reads 400 minutes a month.

Student B reads 80 minutes a month.

Step 3: Multiply minutes a month x 9 months/school year.Student A reads 3600 minutes in a school year.

Student B reads 720 minutes in a school year.

Student A practices reading the equivalent of ten whole school days a year.

Student B gets the equivalent of only two school days of reading practice.

By the end of 6th grade if Student A and Student B maintain these same reading habits, Student A will have read the equivalent of 60 whole school days.

Student B will have read the equivalent of only 12 school days.

One would expect the gap of information retained will have widened considerably and so, undoubtedly, will school performance.

How do you think Student B will feel about him/herself as a student?

Some questions to ponder:
Which student would you expect to read better?

Which student would you expect to know more?

Which student would you expect to write better?

Which student would you expect to have a better vocabulary?

Which student would you expect to be more successful in school?

Wow! What a busy Friday at Fisher! Our Good Morning Fisher assembly was a lot of fun. We started with a visit from Wakeland High cheerleaders who talked about their upcoming cheer clinic. Then, 5th graders in Mr. Muramoto's and Mrs. Hale's class sang about the 50 states and their capitals. Kathy Walter, one of this year's Book Fair chairs, transformed into a flying book and shared her excitement about Book Fair next week. Mrs. Garwacki dressed as a college graduate and encouraged students to participate in College Week next week. The Fisher Chili Team reminded everyone to purchase presale tickets for FISD Chili Challenge to help Fisher win as the school that sells the most tickets, and to attend the event to taste the Best Chili Under the Big Top!

I was able to take a brief tour of the Book Fair this morning and let me just say, PTA has done a excellent job transforming our library into a Here's to Our Heroes zone. A lot of hard work has gone into decorations and events planned for next week. Remember, the Book Fair dates are Sept. 20-24. During the week, you will see many heroes on our campus during morning carpool. Monday, the Frisco Fire Department will be here, and Tuesday you will see the Frisco Police Department. We hope to have other visitors throughout the week. Plan to Honk Your Horn for Heroes on Friday as you come through the morning carpool as Fisher staff heroes will be out greeting students and parents as you come through the line.

Constitution Week is Sept. 17-23. As I walked through classrooms this morning, students were already working on learning activities related to Constitution Week such as learning what the words to the Bill of Rights mean and what it means to be a U.S. citizen. I saw group and individual projects where students did individual drawings of what the words to the Bill of Rights mean to them and others who worked together to identify rules they think are important for not only the classroom, but Fisher Elementary.

Next week is also College Week so encourage your child to dress the part. Monday's theme is College is Cool, wear something to represent your favorite college. Tuesday is Hat's Off to Education, wear hats. Wednesday is Mission Accomplished-Focus on Education, wear something camouflage. Thursday is Your Future is Bright, wear sunglasses. Friday is Commit Not to Quit/Wakeland Day, wear blue and orange or your orange Fisher t-shirt. Mrs. Garwacki has done a great job of talking with students about continuing their education and goal setting this month in her guidance lessons so we look forward to students carrying through with their goal setting next week for College Week.

To wrap up College Week, on Sept. 24 at 2:15, we will watch President Obama's back to school speech. Please remember to let your child's teacher know if you DO NOT want your child to watch the video.

Don't forget to mark your calendars for the FISD Chili Challenge on Friday, Sept. 24. Fisher will have a chili team so bring your family and friends to visit and have a bowl of delicious chili from The Best Chili Under the Big Top.

Thank you for sharing your children with us. It is such a joy to visit with students as they come through the front doors each morning and then to see them throughout the day in their classrooms or at lunch. Your children have such great stories to share, and their smiles and excitement just warm my heart.

I am proud to be principal of Fisher Elementary!

It is hard to believe that we are already into our second week of September. As principal, it feels great to walk the building and see students and teachers firmly settled into their routines and actively involved in learning. On my stroll this morning, third grade was getting started on a math BA, second grade classes were wrapping up calendar time, one Kinder class was practicing letter formation, a first grade class was receiving a College Week lesson from Mrs. Garwacki, a fourth grade class was learning about sound words, and a fifth grade was taking an Istation assessment. It truly is amazing to see all the different learning activities that take place each day.

I received an email a few days ago stating Fisher has once again been selected as a TBEC Honor Roll school. Fisher has now received this award three years in a row so we are all very excited! The TBEC Honor Roll recognizes schools that have demonstrated three years of consistent, high performance in all subjects compared to other schools serving similar student populations. It is the most prestigious award for sustained, academic excellence in Texas. TBEC Honor Roll schools have the highest percentage of students performing at the state’s most rigorous standard -commended- in every subject. I know we will continue to sustain and grow in achieving academic excellence.

Fisher Elementary was awarded another honor this summer, our Exemplary rating. Not only was Fisher awarded this honor, Frisco ISD made history when we became the largest district to obtain an EXEMPLARY rating without using special provisions the state provides to help districts bump up an additional rating level. Frisco ISD is the place to be and so is Fisher Elementary!

A few reminders:
**Please remember to drive slowly through the carpool lane.
**Please allow your child to enter the school building each morning unescorted which helps to foster independence and growth in your child. If you need to enter the building, please sign in at the front office.
**Please remember the no cell phone ordinance in active school zones. This includes morning and afternoon carpool lanes.
**Tardies start at 8:00 a.m. Students are picked up from their morning waiting areas at 7:50 so please be sure your child arrives at school on time and is in his/her classroom by 8:00.
**You are invited to attend Good Morning Fisher which is held each Friday morning at 8:05. Please remember to leave all strolls parked outside the building.