Week of January 3rd!

Happy New Year Everyone!  2011.....it hardly seems possible!  Better hold on tight to your cute little 4th graders because you will blink and they will be in middle school like my baby girl!  Cherish them, make time for them, cuddle them, play with them.  Can you tell I'm feeling a little emotional.....my soon to be 14 year old is away at Winter Retreat with our church youth group and I am missing her like crazy!!  Giving her roots was the easy part, but giving her wings is very hard on this mama! 

Hope you have had a magical and wonderful Christmas!  Can't believe the break is over, but it will be nice to be back in a routine! 

Remember that Monday your child may bring a game from home, including an electronic one.  We will have some game time while we settle in to our new classroom. 

I don't have my lesson plans at my fingertips (they are in a box in my class marked "important stuff"), but I do know the main things we will be doing ! :) 

Reading: Leveled reading groups studying the genre: Mystery.....We will be exploring plot, character, and setting.

Science: Space

Math: 2 and 3 digit by 1 digit multiplication

We will be doing spelling and English as well, but can't remember the specifics.  The children will get a new spelling list Monday.

I wanted to thank you so very much for the thoughtful cards and gifts I received for Christmas.  It touched my heart deeply to be thought of so warmly.  The children will receive a thank you note in the mail from me sometime soon.  I also wanted to update you on our Boxes of Hope project.  It was a beautiful scene to watch unfold!  The children all did a wonderful job.  I think they really enjoyed this project and hopefully learned a little about the true spirit of Christmas...the giving of ourselves.  :) Thank you for helping to make it so special.

Talk to you soon!

Week of 12-20

Merry Christmas Families!

Just a short post to let you know what we will be up to for our 3 day week:

Practice Testing
Review Work
Fun Work
Christmas Movie
Kindergarten Buddies
Packing up our belongings to move to our      portable

****Things to Remember****

Banana Split Reward Party - Tuesday at 1:00
Christmas Party - Tuesday at 2:15
Box Buddy Gift Exchange - Tuesday morning

Week of December 13th

Hello Families!  Here is the agenda for this week:

Math - Adding and Subtracting with Decimals

Reading - Leveled Independent Reading

Spelling - Christmas Words

Social Studies - First of all I wanted to say "WOW"....the kids rocked at their American History Test!  I was so impressed with the majority of their test scores!  They did so well! I could tell most of them studied with test scores like A's, B's, and C's!  Now let's rock the classroom again this week!  We will be finishing up our NE Region Posters this week. (Due Thursday)  We will also take a NE Region Location Test on Wednesday and a NE Region Capitals Test on Thursday.  I will send home a study guide on Monday.  This first location test usually gets some of the kids.  Make sure to spend some time helping your child study for this test.  It can get kindof tricky remembering where all those New England states are.  The test will include the states and they will match them with their correct location.  The capital test will be matching as well, and the children need to study for this too.  I try really hard to teach the children about that BIG word called PROCRASTINATION. They have got to learn how to use their time wisely and to not put off things until the last moment.  This is an important skill necessary for future success!  As a mother of an 8th grader, I'm telling you the truth. :) As my pastor's 8 year old daughter told her daddy.  "School is a lot like Mario Brothers with each level getting harder!"  I thought that was a clever analogy!  We as parents and teachers need to prepare our children for that next level!

***Side note: We will still remember to have fun though and enjoy 4th grade as we stretch and grow!***

English - We will finish up our Owl Reports.  They are due Thursday as well.

We will get back to Spanish in January.

****THINGS TO KNOW AND REMEMBER****

Show and Tell will be Thursday.  (No pets...sorry)

Friday is Polar PJ Day!  Your child may wear their pajamas and slippers.  We will be doing learning stations in the morning that include reading, science, social studies, math, and art.  In the afternoon, we will watch the movie Polar Express and drink hot cocoa and eat s'mores!  This should be a fun day!!

Box Buddy packages are due Tuesday, December 21st. Remember, this is a wrapped gift for a secret friend that includes: 
              1) 5 Thoughtful Compliments
                     2) Acrostic Poem
                     3) Letter of Encouragement
                     4) Drawn and Colored Picture or Collage
                     5) Handmade Gift
We have been working secretly behind homemade tents on our desks :) on the first 3 or 4 items, but the children need to make their handmade gift at home as well as wrapping their package with all 5 things inside it.  Please help me to help your child follow through with this special and worthy project.  It would be awful if your child's secret friend didn't get a special package that day because your child didn't finish it.  I love each and every one of my students and I am putting my trust in them and you to complete this assignment.  I don't want anyone left out.  The children and I talked about how this gift will be probably one of the hardest gifts they will ever make and give, but oh what a lesson in the giving of ourselves!!  Hopefully, they will realize that in blessing others, they will in turn be blessed, probably more. :)

I want to thank all my volunteers that helped on Gingerbread House Making Day!  What a crazy, but fun day!!  Thanks in advance for all who signed up to help on Polar PJ Day this Friday!  Also thanks to those who are donating to our Banana Split Party!  Look for those two information notes to come home on Monday if you signed up.

Week of 12 -6

Good Day Families!

Here is this week's agenda:

Reading - We will begin leveled books this week.  The children will be doing a book report in class when they finish their books.

English - Owl research reports

Spelling - Time and Calendar words  List 9 on spellingcity.com

Math - Money!

Science - Disecting Owl Pellets!  Fun!  We will also have a test on owl facts on Thursday.  We will create an owl fact study guide on Tuesday to go home. 

Social Studies - NE Region Posters.  We will also be reviewing the (NE Region) American History.  That study guide will go home on Tuesday as well.  That test will be on Friday. 

****Things to note or remember****

Science(Owl) Test - Thursday

Social Studies (Amer. History) Test - Friday

Gingerbread Houses - Friday - Don't forget to send in: 1 container of frosting, 6 graham crackers, and 1 large bag of candy by Thursday.  If you can help out by mixing the candy and putting it into bags on Thursday or Friday morning, I would greatly appreciate it!  Let me know.  The gingerbread house event will be around 1:15 ish on Friday, so parents that signed up for that, please come around that time.  Thanks so much!!!

Box of Hope and Inspiration - I sent home a letter about this special project on Friday.  Please help your child at home with this.  We will work in class some on it too, but not for all of it. 

Thanks for your continued support and help!!  I greatly appreciate it, but mostly I appreciate your sweet children.  They are an absolute joy to me!!

Week of November 29th

Hi Families!  Hope your Thanksgiving was as wonderful as mine!  Time with family is priceless!

Here is the agenda for the week ahead:

Reading - Owls in the Family - We will work on story vocabulary as well as literal and inferential comprehension.

English - Owl Research Report, prepositions

Spelling - Double letters - List 8 on spellingcity.com        The enriched list is list "v".

Math - Multiplication Properties, Word problems, Order of Operation

Social Studies - Liberty Bell, Ellis Island, NE poster project

Spanish - We will finish up Unit 7 this week and have a test on it Friday.  I will send home a study guide on Tuesday.

I will be sending home a note about the supplies needed for our gingerbread houses this week.  Please look for that.

If your child has not finished learning his/her multiplication facts, please continue to work on that at home.  In January, we will be doing large multiplication and then moving on to long division. 

Have a geat week!!

Thanksgiving Week

Two day week....wahoo....I think we all need a break!!  These two days will be spent reviewing concepts through Thanksgiving themed work.  We will also be continuing our owl story and comprehension questions.
Take a look at the three that mastered their multiplication speed tests this past week! Good job kiddos!!

Marquise mastered his 12's!

                                                                               


Amanda mastered her 12's!

Shelby mastered her 12's!

These smarties became debt free this month!! Awesome work!!

Week of November 15th

Hi Families! Let's take a look at the week ahead!

Reading/Science - We will begin a thematic unit on owls this week.  It is always one of my favorite topics of study as well as one of my students' favorites.  I will be reading a book based on a true story called Owls in the Family.  The children will be answering both literal and inferential questions about the story.  The children will be reading several nonfiction passages about owls on their own as well as an owl legend.  We will also be working on the skills, fact and opinion, comparing/contrasting using a venn diagram, vocabulary, and reading for information.

Spelling - We will be learning the meanings and spellings of our owl story vocabulary. Look for the list called "Owls" on spellingcity.com.

English - We will finish up a story project we started last week using the book 'Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving.  The children have been making a story map finding rhyming words, colorful adjectives, and vivid verbs from the story.  They will also write a character description and a summary. Once they complete their story map, they will peer edit and complete their final project.

Math - Relating multiplication with division

Social Studies - 13 Colonies, William Bradford, How the Revolutionary War began, Boston Tea Party, George Washington, and Declaring Independence

As always, we will work on daily math and English review as our bell work. 

This week is American Education Week.  Here is a list of Glenwood's daily themes for the week:
    Monday - Wear Red, White, and Blue to support American Education Week
    Tuesday - Wear your favorite college wear to support higher education
    Wednesday - Wear your pajamas to follow your dreams to a higher education
    Thursday - Wear your sweats to get your educational workout
    Friday - Wear your school colors or school shirt to support your school

Don't forget to have your recipe in to me by Tuesday.  Thanks so much for all you do to support education, your children, and me!!

Week of 11/8/10

Hey Families!  Here is a glimpse into our week:

Reading - We will be finishing up the BFG.  The children have done well on their comprehension and vocabulary pages!  We will be watching the movie on Friday and will compare/contrast the book to the movie. 

English - Pronouns and Possessive Nouns

Spelling - Sounds of "u"  List 7 on spellingcity.com 

Math - Coordinates, Line and Circle Graphs

Social Studies - We will begin studying the NE Region of the United States.  We will start with looking at the geography and resources of this region, as well as the states included in this region.

We continue to do daily review work in English, math, and reading.

*****IMPORTANT THINGS TO REMEMBER**********

Our Turkey Creek School field trip is scheduled for Tuesday.  Please don't forget to send the $3 admission charge for the trip to school by Monday.  Your child will need to pack a lunch that day, and try to dress as the pioneers did.  The dressing up part is optional but encouraged. 

Pressed leaves are due on Friday for our science/art project.  The pressed leaves are worth 100 points in science. 

We are going to have a Read and Feed on Friday, so the children may bring a special snack and drink, as well as a stuffed animal, pillow, and blanket.

The edible animal cells were absolutely phenomenal!!!  I so enjoyed looking at all of them!  The children loved sharing too, but they especially enjoyed eating them!!  Here are pictures of your cuties with their cells:

Our winning door!!

Week of November 1st

Hi Families! Hope you had a fun Halloween!  We had a ton of fun at our church's Trunk and Treat last night!  Eli didn't quite know what to think. :)

This week we will be back to normal with Red Ribbon Week and Halloween over.  Whew! Here's the agenda:

Reading - BFG  We are loving this fantastic tale!  The children are doing great on their comprehension pages!  We will also be doing some nonfiction comprehension pages in the morning.

English - Adverbs, Daily English Review

Spelling - Sounds of  "o"  List 6 on spellingcity.com 

Math - Graphs - pictograph, bar, and double bar graphs

Science - We will finish up our animal unit this week.  The children did fabulous on their biomes!  Most worked well with their group, but we still are definitely learning how to get along and give and take when working with others.  This is a huge skill that we will practice a lot this year! People skills are very important in life, wouldn't you agree?  We will also watch a Ben Franklin video on Thursday and learn a little more about electricity.  We had a guest speaker from OG&E come about a week and half ago to teach the kids about electrical safety.  It was interesting and I think the children learned a lot!

***Don't forget that the edible animal cells are due this Friday!***  It should be fun seeing all the examples...don't forget to label the parts...either with toothpick flags or by a written key.

I will send home a note Monday about our Turkey Creek field trip!  It will be lots of fun...the children will always remember it.  Please send $3 to school by next Monday, November 8th or $10 if you are going to purchase the class picture they will take.  The picture is really neat! 

I will also send home a note about leaf collecting and pressing this week.  This is a science grade that is due on November 11th.  The children should be watching for the leaves to change colors and collecting 10 - 15 leaves in various shapes, sizes, and colors.  I notice that most of the trees are still green, so if that doesn't change soon, I might postpone the project for a little longer.  We want to collect some of those awesome shades of red, yellow, and orange!

We won the Red Ribbon Week door contest!  Yay!  We won a pizza party, so they will be letting us know soon when that is. 

Take a look at your kids at work on their biomes and their finished murals!

Need help.....

The lunch ladies have received $7 cash from my room to pay on a lunch bill.  There was no name on the lunch envelope.  This happened last week.  If you know you paid $7 cash on a bill, please let me know.

I received a book order with no name for 2 books: the newest Wimpy Kid book and a book called Oregon Trail.  If you ordered those 2 books and did not receive them, please let me know.

If you would like to email Tamira Crawford your email addresses, she will vote for you on our school playground grant.  We have only a few more days to try to win this grant!! Her email address is:
usha_majere2000@yahoo.com

Week of 10/25

Hi families......hope you had a terrific Fall Break!  My family had an enjoyable one.  We had a couple disappointments with being rained out on Eli's first zoo trip :( and OU losing.  Oh well, there will be other zoo trips and OU games. :)  This week will be a busy one with Red Ribbon Week and Halloween!  Here is what's on the agenda:

Reading - We will begin the novel, the BFG by Roald Dahl.  It is a great and funny story!  I think the children will get a kick out of it.  We will be working on webbing characteristics of main characters, along with answering literal(answers stated in the story) and inferential(answers inferred from the story) questions.

Spelling - We will be working on a poem for fluency this week called Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich.  Our spelling words will come from the poem.  They will be listed under "Halloween" on spellingcity.com.

English - Adverbs, Animal Report -We have been studying biomes in science.  The children got to pick out animals to research that were found in the biome they were studying.  We spent 2 days in the computer lab researching and taking notes on the animals' habitats, life cycles, descriptions, etc..  We will now learn how to turn our research notes into paragraphs for our reports.

Math - Telling Time  Please work on this skill at home with your child, as well as elapsed time....such as, "It's 5:00 now, what time will it be in 2 and half hours? or It's 3:30, what time was it 1 hour and 15 minutes ago?"  Also, don't forget to continue studying multiplication facts with your child...(if he/she doesn't know them).

Science - We will finish our biomes and work on our animals to put into the biomes.  We will also be reading about animal characteristics during our morning work time. *Remember that the edible animal cells will be due next Friday, November 5th.

****Other things to remember:

Red Ribbon Week
   Monday - Wear your PJ's and Follow your dreams, don't do drugs
   Tuesday - Wear your favorite team jersey and Stay in the game, don't do drugs
   Wednesday - Wear your clothes inside/out and remember that Drugs will turn you inside out
   Thursday - Wear a tie-dyed shirt and say Peace out to drugs
   Friday - Wear red for Red Ribbon Week

Halloween Party
   The Halloween Parade will be first thing in the morning with the party directly following it.  The children need to come to school in costume(if they are dressing up) and will take turns changing into their regular clothes during the party.

Fall Leaves
   I've been watching the trees.  Some of the leaves are starting to turn colors.  This is a beautiful time of year.  Children, you need to be on the lookout for pretty leaves in the next 2 weeks.  We will be doing an art project on November 12th that will require leaves.  Look for different colors, sizes, and shapes.  You need to collect around 12 to 15, maybe even more.  Once you have collected them, you need to rinse and press them.  I always soak them in a sink of water for around 10 minutes, take them out, blot dry them with a paper towel, and then lay them in between layers of newspapers.  I then will stack heavy books on top of them.  They need to press for at least 3 days.  Do not try to bring in leaves that have not been pressed.  Your art project will not work.  You have plenty of time to do this, if you start watching and thinking about it now.  Happy leaf collecting....have fun.....our art project is really cool!

Spider cookies!

Pumpkin measurement!

Pumpkin Playdoh

M & M math

Video and quiz on the history of Halloween!

Pumpkin candle holders!

Just finished painting acorns!

Halloween Diorama

Finished pumpkin candle holders!

But the cutest pumpkin is my little pumpkin!