1. AGENDAS: Your child will bring his or her agenda home every afternoon beginning the second week of school. Filling out the agenda is a valuable organizational skill. I'll teach the children how to write short notes (often reminders) in their agendas, and childrens' nightly homework is to ask parents to read and sign the agendas. The agenda books are handy places for teachers and parents to send notes and newsletters back and forth. 2. HOMELINKS: I will send home the Home Links pages from the Everyday Math program and the Fundations language arts program. You will not receive these on the same day every week; rather, I will send them as they appear in the programs. Some of the Home Links pages include information only, others constitute a homework assignment that children will need to return the next school day. (Take an extra day if need be.) You will be able to tell, as you read the Home Links page, whether or not it will need to be completed and returned as homework. 3. READ, READ, READ! I will only occasionally send other homework. Since our first-grade days will be quite academic, I prefer that when children go home to you they have plenty of time to relax, play outdoors, help you with family chores, play sports or games, and spend time talking with you. However, there is one family activity that nearly every child looks forward to, and which will most promote a child's success in school: reading aloud with parents. I strongly encourage every family to read aloud with children every evening. Talk about books, compare versions of stories, and explain new vocabulary. Your child will flourish, and you'll love the family "together time!"