Elizabeth Busch has been at Hamilton School since 2005. After 5 years in Special Ed, this is her first year teaching Kindergarten and she is really enjoying the change of pace. Elizabeth is an enthusiastic educator who loves language development and being in the classroom.
Elizabeth has a Master’s in Education from DePaul University and her undergraduate degree in Audiology and Speech Sciences from Michigan State University. Prior to teaching at Hamilton School she taught preschool at a private school downtown Chicago.
In addition to spending time with her Hamilton family, Elizabeth enjoys marathon running, traveling, summers on the lake in Northern Michigan and cheering on the Michigan State Spartans.
January 9, 2012
Happy 2012 and welcome back to all! I hope that everyone had a restful break with your first graders. It seemed as though all were busy and none of the kids (or teachers for that matter) had a hard time getting back into the classroom routine.
I wanted to take a moment to introduce our student teacher for the next 15 weeks. Ms. Elizabeth Warwick is a student at Loyola University and will be finishing up her studies in education. She will be shadowing us for the next week or so and then will slowly take over instruction. I will still be in the classroom and will be an active member in the instruction process. Please help Ms. Warwick feel welcome – stop in and say hi!
Today we started a writing project! The students are learning about ’Riddles’. We have read a few stories and then learned about how to write a riddle. We wrote one as a whole group and then the students took time to create there own. We had riddles about sharks, dogs, moms and even a banana! We will be editing them and they will soon be on display for all to enjoy.
Ooops! While reviewing the homework with the kids they were quick to point out they measurement page that has already been completed. An accident on my part – I told them they can skip it – a freebie if you will! Perhaps take that opportunity to do an activity from the January calendar. Please remember that the higher order activities included on the calendar are integral in your child’s success. These activities are linked closely to what we do during the school day and encourage your child to ‘think outside of the box’. A calendar went home this afternoon and is due on 1/31. Post it on the fridge or a family bulletin board – do a couple a night or save them for the weekend. Please help to further build the bridge between home and school.
Please be sure to send your child to school dressed appropriately for the weather. Hats, mittens, gloves, coats, boots and snow pants are all good ideas to send with your child. If you need help outfitting your child, please don’t hesitate to ask.
December 23, 2011
Hats off to all the Room 102 families that helped with the classroom holiday party. Both classes had a great time! Thanks to all that helped!
Just a few suggestions for holiday break activities to reinforce school concepts…
- Read with your child everyday! Several times a day spend about 15-20 minutes listening to your child read. Ask questions about the stories to check for comprehension of the material. Have your child draw a picture and write about details from the story.
- Watch a movie, read a book or go on a trip to one of the city’s many sights – have your child reflect on the experience and write a journal entry. How did the movie make them feel? How would they feel if they were a character in the story? What was his/her favorite part of the day?
- Write thank you notes to those that gave your student gifts.
- Count by 2’s.
- Measure using non standard units – record the data collected.
Don’t forget about the higher order calendar as well! The break would be a great time to complete some of those fantastic activities.
Wishing everyone a very happy holiday and a fantastic new year!
December 15, 2011
The cold and flu season has hit Room 102. Please be sure to encourage your child to cough/sneeze into his or her elbow. Please use you best judgement when thinking about keeping your child home from school.
The amazing Ms. K also added something to the classroom 102 wish list….we are in desperate need of Kleenex, paper towel as well as disinfectant wipes. If you can, please send in any of those items with your child. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
The word is out – the room holiday party will be a week from today (during the school day). We will be having a combined party with 203. Pizza, pajamas, a movie and sweet treats?!?! What fun!!! Stay tuned for details.
December 14, 2011
Thanks to all those that came to the Merry Market Math night. Wow! What fun we all had!
This week we have been learning about plural and singular words. Please help your child to remember that an apostrophe is not needed when adding an ’s’ to represent more than one. We have run into some confusion with this concept! I sent home a packet of sight words that we have learned so far this year. Please be sure to practice these on a regular basis. When writing with your child, please help them to spell this words correctly. Keep them on hand and use as a dictionary of sorts. Also, please be sure to read every night with your child. Encourage them to do some of the reading as well. Nightly reading will strengthen his/her reading fluency as well as comprehension skills.
Our holiday party will be next Thursday. We will be enjoying the celebration with Room 203. More details will be sent out at the end of the week. Please take note…we will be having a pajama party! Your student will be able to wear his/her pajama’s to school and also bring a cozy friend (stuffed animal/blanket or pillow) to school. We will be watching a movie after lunch. Can’t wait! If you would like to donate anything to the celebration please send me an email!
Please remember that the Monthly Homework Calendars are due after break. If you are looking for more activities to do with your child – perhaps do a few more that you may have skipped over earlier in the month. What fun!
Please remember that we return to school on Monday January 9th.
December 2, 2011
First off…THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for a very fun birthday celebration on Wednesday. The kids were so much fun to be with and we ended the day with a great dance party, party favors and juice! Thanks for all those that helped out!
Please be sure to post the December calendar on your refridgerator. The activities included on the calendar will reinforce concepts being taught through out the school day.
Just a reminder – spelling words are sent home on Monday and then the test is on Friday. The students do work with the words through out the week but please be sure to practice reading/writing and spelling the words at home.
Mark your calendar – Family Literacy Night is tonite! Next Wednesday (12/7) is our Holiday Performance. Though this is an optional event it is a great family evening that celebrates many different winter holidays. Tuesday, December 13th is the Merry Market Math Night. This event will be held at the school and many classrooms will have math games for all ages. The students will earn ‘market bucks’ they can spend at the student run market during the last hour of the event.
November 22, 2011
Howdy!
Glad that I was able to meet with every parent last week. Thanks to everyone for making it in for report card pick up.
November has been a very busy month and I can’t believe that it is coming to a close.
We have completed our first Shedd unit. Our aquatic mural is complete and hanging outside our classroom. The mural showcases what plants need, surface plants, plants that live at the bottom of an aquatic habitat as well as some camouflaged creatures. Can you spy a frog? How about a fish?
In reading we continue to work on comparing and contrasting both characters and different stories. We are discussing making connections as well. Can your child listen to or read a story and make a connection to his/her life? Can they make a connection between two different stories?
Last week we started to learn about odd and even numbers. The first graders read a story about Odd Todd and Even Steven. Math concepts are often introduced through whole group read alouds. They learned from the story that even numbers always have a “buddies” and an odd number or group of things always have something left out. Can your child demonstrate this to you using manipulatives from around the home? This week we have also focused on solving word problems as well as counting on. Counting on is a great way to improve/solve number sentences.
A great big thanks to all that donated to the donors choose grant. Your support has provided Room 102 with the supplies to create an aquatic habitat. This will allow the students to learn valuable data collection skills. I can’t wait to get the habitat up and running! Thanks again for all your support!
Wishing everyone a very happy thanksgiving! I am so thankful for my totally awesome students and families!
November 4, 2011
Please mark your calendars! Report card pick up is on Wednesday November 16th. I will be sending home the appointment request schedule today. I will also be available on Tuesday November 15th from 3pm – 5pm and aslo Thursday November 17th from 3pm – 5pm. Please let me know if you would prefer to see me on a different day.
The Scholastic Book order is available this year online. Books make great gifts for all children and if you order online the classroom gets free books! Let me know if you need the classroom code.
I have also posted a grant through Donors Choose. We would like to create an aquatic habitat for the classroom. Please share the grant with friends and family members to help make our science dream come true!
November 1, 2011
Happy November to all! I hope everyone enjoyed their little ghosts and goblins. We had a very low key but enjoyable Halloween celebration. Thanks to all that volunteered to help through out the day!
This week we will be kicking off to new things in Room 102. First off, you may have noticed the links just above this post. They will lead you to a new homework element that will be ongoing through out the school year. You will also be recieving a paper copy as well. The calendar is filled with different higher order activities that you can do with your first grader. These activities encourage the application of a skill verses simply memorizing facts. The first grade team will create these monthly calendars with season appropriate learning experiences as well as our weekly sight words. Please help your child to complete the activities. Calendars are due at the end of each month.
We will also be starting our Pioneer unit this week. This unit explores the differences between then and now. We have loads of activities and projects planned for your child. This week during social studies we will discuss where the pioneers came from, why they moved west and also look at a map of early United States.
We had our first Shedd aquarium animal encounter last week. The students have been learning about aquatic habitats and were able to meet a tortoise. Though a tortoise is not an aquatic animal we were able to compare and contrast the two habitats. What a fun experience!
October 19, 2011
Today is picture day! I can’t wait to see all the little ones dressed to the nines!
This week we are focusing on the the short i. Help your child to manipulate words with this sound. Can your child show you the signal we use when producing the target sound? Your child received a book yesterday to share with his/her family. Please encourage them to read it aloud as well as quietly. It is rather long and if your child loses steam – no worries – read a few pages a night. Ask you child to summarize the story and sequence the events.
We continue to learn about plants in science. This week we learned about bogs and even were able to see some real aquatic plants. The students are able to observe and journal the plants while using the science center during reading workshop. We have a small collection of aquatic plants that are looking for a permanent home in the classroom. If anyone has an old aquarium (10-15 gallons) that is not in use – we could definitely use it in the classroom!
We have also been talking about fire safety. Please reinforce these measures at home. We have read several Scholastic News articles as well as watched a safety video. If you have any questions regarding how to discuss this very important topic with your child, please don’t hesitate to ask.
October 12, 2011
Happy Walkathon Day! A big thanks to all of those that donated and participated. We have surpassed our goal of $10,000! I am sure the kids will have a fantastic time today with all the fun things planned this morning.
We continue to work on manipulating the short /a/ sound. Activities include word searches through magazines and newspapers, word building and even some fun activities that include our new Smartboard. Please be sure to check your child’s backpack every night for a new story which can be read aloud to family and friends. I will be sending home several stories a week. These are for you to use to build fluency and comprehension. Yesterday you should have found ‘Dan the Tan Man’. Can your child retell the events in the story? Did it end the same as the traditional Gingerbread Man folktale? For those looking for an additional challenge, pull out the traditional tale and help your child read it aloud. Can they find any differences? What about similarities?
I also provided each student with a copy of the sight words we have learned over the last few weeks. Please use these flashcards to reinforce the concepts your child is working on at school. Keep the activities fun and light. Write the words in shaving cream, sand, pen or search for the words in the newspaper!
In Wordly Wise this we week we are reading about a family that goes camping. The robust words (or fancy as we call them) include liquid, shallow, peak, dip, swift compass, wild, flash and clear. Ask your child to act out the meaning of these words. Can they run swiftly through the park?
We will be learning a new game this week in Math. Think and Spin uses a spinner with the digits 0-9. Students spin and fill in the ten frame and then builds a number sentence that fits the ten frame. For example, if a student spins a 6, they will add 6 counters to the ten frame and write the following sentence 6+4=10. This is an easy game to reproduce and play at home!
We have also started our Reading Workshop. During this time your child works in small groups at various centers in the classroom. This year I have added an iPad station as well as the iPod listening center. The children are working with Ms. K to learn all about this technology. If you have any suggestions for apps for the toolsl, please let me know. We are always looking for new programs!
Any interest in being a mystery reader? Let me know! The kids love listening to stories and it is even more exciting when the reader is a mystery!
September 30, 2011
Wow! We have some blossoming scientists on our hands! Today the students participated in a dissection of a Lima bean. Prior to opening up the seed we hypothesized about what might be inside of the beans. After recording our thoughts in our journal we opened the seeds. Each child was able to see the seed coat, food and baby plant. Ask you child to explain the dissection. Perhaps soak some dry beans over night and participate in your own dissection this weekend! Choose a different type of bean and ask you child to compare to what we saw during science!
Progress reports go home every Friday. Please review and keep for your records. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me either through email or during the school day. We are just finishing up content review in Language Arts. We will begin new material next week. The work may begin to become more challenging for your student. Please remember to reinforce the concepts they are learning during the school day.
Oops! We just realized that the schedule you received a few weeks ago is incorrect. Our library time has changed – please note that Room 102 has library on Wednesday. Sorry for any confusion. Please help your child to remember his/her library book.
The 3rd annual walkathon is right around the corner! Please help your child to get donations to support this awesome project. If every child in the school collects $20.00 we will be even closer to that new artificial turf field that we want so, so badly! Can you imagine…no more scrapes? Wow!
Have a great weekend!
September 27, 2011
Greetings!
This week we started our FOSS and Shedd Aquarium Science units. We will be learning about aquatic plants as well as land plants. The students created some pretty great collages after listening to the read aloud “The Tiny Seed”. Did you know that Eric Carle uses collagingin illustrating his books. Ask your child to describe the four different parts of the plant (roots, stem, flower and leaves). Can you child describe what a plant needs to survive? If you have any plants you would like to share with the classroom feel free to send them for us to observe! We will be dissecting a lima bean on Friday. I wonder what we will discover?!
I am sure you have all seen the book links I included in the homework packet. Please complete a link with your child as you complete stories. Reading is vital to reading development. Chapter books are also a lot of fun to read with your child every night before bed. Read a little every night and ask your child to summarize prior to reading and also at the end of the reading time. Summarizing is a very important skill.
If your child gets hot lunch, please remember to send in the money. The plastic sleeve in the BEE book is a great place to transport the lunch money.
Keep those walkathon donations coming! We have raised over $1,000 – this money will be put towards the new athletic field that is on our wish list!
Oh! The most exciting addition to Room 102 is our SMART board! Whoa!!! It has been so much fun to use. We are learning how to manipulate the board. Slowly but surely we are learning the way with this new technology and I am looking forward to using it when we begin centers.
Oh…and I forgot to mention the kids of Room 102 earned a special treat today! They were able to go outside for an additional 15 minutes due to really, really great behavior! Add that time to the activity log! Please remind your students about appropriate school behavior. We are working on being safe, kind and responsible. Can you child describe what that behavior looks like in the school community? What happens when they are caught being good?
September 21, 2011
Greetings from Room 102!
Just a few reminders…
Our walkathon is right around the corner. Please help your child in collecting donations for this awesome event. All children involved will receive a 2011 Hamilton walkathon t shirt designed by a Hamilton student. The event is fun for all.
I will be sending home book order forms tomorrow. If you are interested in placing an order please do so by visiting the classroom page at www.scholastic.com/bookclubs. If you need the password please email me directly at ekbusch@cps.edu. Room 102 receives a coupon for every order placed online. Don’t delay…order today! 
Please don’t forget there is NO SCHOOL on Friday September 23rd. Take your child to the library or go on a shape walk. Perhaps build sight words out of play doh. Words should include: a, come, for, go, he, here, I, like, leap, my, the, to, where, what, capital, leap, monument, swamp, trunk, load, steep, globe, coast and nation.
Have a great weekend!
September 16, 2011
Happy Friday!
It is day 9 and we are off and running! We have reviewed Mm, Nn, Pp, Rr, Ss, Tt and Cc as well as their corresponding sounds. Can your child identify those sounds in print? At the beginning of a word? How about at the end of a word? The following words have been introduced and added to the word wall: a, come, capital, go, he, here, I, like, my, monument, leap, like, swamp, the, to, trunk, for and where. Encourage your child to write sentences using these words. Can they find them in a story?
Today is the kick off assembly for the 3rd annual Hamilton Walkathon! Please check your child’s BEE book for the packet of information. We are asking every child to collect at least twenty dollars. Remember…no donation is too small! There are prizes for the highest collector as well as prizes for the classroom that collects the most – prizes range from a Potbelly gift certificate to a movie and popcorn during the school day! What fun! Get out there and get those donations. Ask your child all about the assembly! It will be a blast!
Did you know that Room 102 has mystery readers? Last week we had our science teacher Ms. Badalucco come and visit and read a great book about a science fair. Would you like to mystery read? Let me know and we can set up a time. It only takes a few minutes and it is a great way to spend some time in your child’s classroom.
September 12, 2011
Happy Monday! Please be sure to check your child’s folder for his/her homework. Review the “planner” and help your child to complete the homework over the course of the week. Homework packets are due on Monday, September 19th. Homework is not graded but I do review your child’s work and will give credit to those that complete it and turn it in on time. If you have any questions, please let me know!
The summer reading program celebration is this Wednesday at 2:00 pm. If your child reached the summer reading goal, you and your reader are invited to enjoy ice cream sundays with Mr. Gray. If you have any questions about this program or any other Hamilton library programs please see Ms. Lang in the library.
Our Fall Open House is tomorrow night. This is a family event. Stop by between 5 & 7:30 pm to meet your child’s teacher, tour the classroom and learn more about your child’s school day. Hope to see everyone there!
September 8, 2011
Wow! Can’t believe we have almost reached the end of week 1! The students are transitioning nicely.
We have spent a lot of time this week working on establishing and building a community. Please be sure to maintain this conversation at home. It is essential that all the students remember to be safe, be kind and be responsible. Can your child provide you with examples of this type of behavior? Can they tell you how to follow these rules?
If you haven’t done so already, please be sure to return all the forms that have gone home over the last few days. It is essential that we keep our records up to date. Also, if a person is not listed on the emergency form as authorized to pick up or Ms. K or myself do not know the individual we will ask the person for an i.d. and in some cases we will contact you to confirm arrangements have been made. This is for the safety of your child. If you have any questions regarding this policy, please don’t hesitate to ask. If pick up plans change during the day, please be sure to contact the office to avoid any issues.
We have been reviewing Kindergarten word wall words and also have jumped in to our new vocabulary curriculum. We have been reading about a family that takes a vacation to visit a ’capital’ and several ’monuments’. With this story in mind we have started reflecting upon our own summer travels. We are mapping our summer vacations and would like everyone to respond. We will then compare and contrast yarn lengths as we plot the vacations on the US map outside our classroom. Please check your child’s backpack for more information regarding the writing activity.
Have a great weekend!
September 1, 2011
The count down has begun! Can’t wait for the first graders to come!
