In terms of supplies for your child, you won’t need much.  I’d ask that you take your child out and allow him or her to choose a couple journals to start the year…journals that they love.  Take them to an office supply store, or even better, an art supply store.  They often carry the best journals in the world.  Speaking from experience, I know how pleasing it is to have a beautiful journal in which to write.  Let them choose the design, the style, and allow them to decorate the cover in any way they choose.  I want them to make this first journal their own in every way. 

 

But if you don’t find the time, no worries.  We’ve ordered journals for the class, but my students tend to go through about 5 journals in a year, and we simply can’t purchase enough to meet my needs.  We write a lot!  If you do plan on purchasing a journal, please be sure that it’s at least as long and wide as a standard college composition book, 9 ¾ inches by 7 ¾ inches.       

 

Your child will also need a box of thank you cards.  Throughout the year I spend a great deal of time teaching your child how to write a thank you card and the value of doing so.  Though I will also encourage to create their own thank you cards, it's always nice for them to have some cards on hand when the occasion arises.     

 

Your child will also need a tee-shirt, though this can wait until the second week of school if necessary.  During the second week of school, your child’s book club will meet to discuss their latest reading and responses, and they will then have a chance to create a book club tee shirt, just like the main character does in chapter 1 of their first book.  White, gray, and other light colors work best, with no logos if at all possible, and please make it one that you and your don’t child care too much about.  We’ll be using permanent markers and perhaps paint to create some original designs for our tee shirts, and we’ll wear these shirts during our book club meetings throughout the year. 

 

I’m also going to be asking for $10 from you, if you can manage, and you can send this in whenever it’s possible.  If it’s not, please don’t worry.  I’m not keeping a list, and I’ll use any money that we earn through fund raising to make up any difference.  The money will be spent in 2 ways:

 

$5 will go toward paying for your child’s subscription to Scholastic News, a weekly news magazine that your child will receive throughout the year.  It’s an excellent source of non-fiction reading material that kids love, and $5 for a yearly subscription is a terrific price.  I’ve already ordered it for your child, so his or her first copy will be waiting on the first day of school.     
 

The other $5 will go toward the purchase of books for your child.  Over the summer I’ve kept a close eye on Scholastic book orders for sale price books that I planned on using while teaching reading this year, and luckily enough I’ve found 3 excellent titles so far.  Each of these books was only 99 cents!  My goal this year is to, when affordable, purchase books for the students rather than having them use books from the third grade collection.  My thinking is this:

 

  1. As I’m sure you’ve heard me say more than once, owning a book excites a child much more than borrowing a book that needs to be eventually returned.  The more excitement I can generate over the book, the better. 

 

  1. If a student owns the novel that we are reading in class, he or she can treat the book as a high school or college student would, highlighting favorite passages, making notes in the margins, and marking up the book in any other way that might make the experience more meaningful. 

 

  1. If students actually own the books that we are reading in class, I can design assignments that ask to students underline words, phrases, or passages that are related to a lesson I may be teaching that day. 

 

For these reasons, I hoped to find some of the books we normally read in third grade at a reasonable price and purchase them for each kid, and I’ve managed to find purchase 3 so far for your child.  I plan on purchasing a total of 5 in all.  

 

I understand that this method of teaching is a bit unorthodox, so I’m not going to insist that you reimburse me for the books either.  I also realize that some of the kids might own these books already, so asking you to buy a second copy would be just silly.  However, if you were so inclined to send in the $5 to cover the cost of the books your child will be receiving throughout the year from me, it would be appreciated. 

 

That’s it in terms of necessary supplies.  Everything else will be waiting for your child when he or she arrives on the first day. 

 

A list of optional supplies that your child may want includes: