These are the cute, little elves that adorn our hallway.

We wrote about why we love Christmas.

Randy just loves his elf!

Paul and Haley learn how to make pottery.

Julie gets her hands dirty while molding clay.

Yesterday, the children had a great time making moon craters out of salt dough.

 Jason received the Catch the Vision Award at the assembly on Wednesday 

for being an outstanding student. 

Way to go Jason!

Haley won a medal in photography and film for Reflections.  She will 

now compete at the state level.  Congratulations Haley!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving Feast on Friday.  Thank you to all the parents that contributed food and other items!

After finishing the Magic Tree House book about Thanksgiving, each child dressed up like a Pilgrim.  They decided they like our modern day clothes much better.

We compared and contrasted boys and girls now to pilgrim boys and girls.  We then made our own pilgrims.  They turned out so cute!

Last Week's Activities

          Last week we learned about the pilgrims. We read books and learned more what life was like for pilgrim children. We then discussed the similarities and differences between our class and pilgrim children. We also painted pilgrims (which turned out really cute) and began making our placemats for our Thanksgiving feast on Tuesday. In addition, we began informational writing by explaining how to catch a turkey.
          In math last week we learned how to estimate the capacity, identify and locate numbers on a hundred number chart, and identify the even numbers to 20. We also practiced the addition and subtraction facts.
          In science last week we completed the pumpkin unit and began our study of the moon. Starting last Thursday, we started handing out the moon bag. Each child will take a turn observing the moon and recording its appearance in our Moon Observation Log. Please remember to return the log to school the next day so another child may have a turn.

Pumpkin Activity

We have been learning about pumpkins. Yesterday we labeled parts of the pumpkin. We labeled the skin, meat, pulp, seeds, and stem. It was a lot of fun! 

11-7-2011 Newsletter

          I would like to have a Thanksgiving Feast on Tuesday, November 22nd. It will culminate our study of Thanksgiving and the Pilgrims. We are going to read the Magic Tree House book, Thanksgiving on Thursday and do various Thanksgiving related activities. In order to have the feast, I need parent donations and help. If this is something that you can provide please let me know as soon as possible. I need parents to help with the dinner at 2:00 pm and the following prepared food items sent in:

• 20 Homemade or Rhodes Frozen Dinner Rolls
• Stuffy for 20
• Mashed Potatoes for 20
• Butter
• Apple Juice
• Plates
• Cups
• Napkins

I will provide the turkey and pumpkin pie.
          In math this week we will learn how to count by 2's, count dimes, tell time to the hour, and subtraction facts: subtracting 0 and subtracting a number from itself.
          In science this week we will begin the pumpkin unit. Each student will recieve a mini pumpkin to use throughout the week for our study. We will study the life cycle of the pumpkin as well as dissect a pumpkin and label its parts. We will also weigh, measure, make pumpkin predictions, and count the seeds in our pumpkins. We're also going to eat pumpkin bread and roasted pumpkin seeds.
          In writing we have been working on a "Fall" opinion essay. The students planned out their essays using a graphic organizer and wrote the rough draft. We will edit the pieces and write the final drafts on Monday. The essays will be on display in our room. Also we have complete the first Writing Journal so look for it to be sent home this week. Compare the beginning of the year to now to see your child's progress in writing.
          Lastly, I have NOT recieved many October Reading Logs. This is worth 100 points so please make sure your child returns it to school soon.

November Calendar

Monday, Oct. 31: Halloween Sing @ 2:45pm
Tuesday, Nov. 1: October Reading Log Due
Wednesday, Nov. 2: Net Safe Assembly @ 9:30am
Thursday, Nov. 3: Scholastic Book Order Due
Friday, Nov. 4: Reflections Art Contest Entries Due
Monday, Nov. 7: McDonald's Fundraiser
Wednesday, Nov. 23-25: Thanksgiving Break

10-31-2011 Newsletter

          We have less than two months before the next DIBELS Reading Test. By the beginning of January all students need to read at least 23 words per minute on grade level material. In order to read at this rate the children must have much practice and experience reading. It is imperative that they read every night at home. Please continue to have your child practice the sight word lists and Fry Phrase lists as well as the weekly poem. In addition, your child should be reading at least one book a night. The take home books are rather short so I recommend buying more lengthy books or borrowing some from the public library.

          In math this week we will learn how to cover a design in different ways, count by 10's to 100, subtract 1 from a number, take a math test, and make a Halloween bar graph.

          In Science this week we will continue our study of spiders and take the spider assessment. On Monday the students will make delicious spiders that they can eat. Yum! Our classroom recently acquired a real live tarantula! The children have been fascinated observing a real spider.

          I encourage each of you to take advantage of the Scholastic Book Club. I send home book orders each month that are packed with good and affordable literature. Some books are even offered for $1.00! Every time you order books for your child we earn FREE books for your classroom. This month I have acquired enough books to offer a free book to each child that returns the October Reading Log on Tuesday. So please take advantage of this program.

Congratulations

Micheala was chosen for the Catch The Vision Award. In the assembly today she received a prize for being such an exceptional student. Way to go Micheala!  Congratulations!!

10-25-11 Newsletter

          This week the children will be introduced to the Poetry Binder. On Mondays the students will receive a new poem to study for the week. They will keep the poem in a poetry binder and bring it home on Monday to practice each night. On Friday the binder needs to come back to school as the children will get into small groups and perform their poem for the rest of the class. Children love to read poetry and it's a great way to increase reading fludency. Happy reading!!

          In math this week we will learn how to weigh objects using nonstandard units, find a sum by counting on, make and read a bar graph, add 0 to a number, and take a math test.

          The students from the Arts Integration class at SUU will return to our class on Tuesday to present a lesson on spiders. We will continue the study of spider this week by reading many spider books. Your child should be able to come home and tell you many interesting spider facts!

          In art this week the students will create patterned owls using using oil pastels and watercolors. Their art will be on display in the hallway later this week. Last week we finish reading Mummies in the Morning. We also learned many facts about ancient Egypt and made our own pyramids. This week we will begin reading Pirates Past Noon!

Week 9 Spelling

I hope everyone has a great holiday weekend. Here are week nine spelling words.

1. us
2. bus
3. bug
4. rug
5. mug
6. must
7. with 
8. then
9. they
10. but 

Challenge words:

1. three 
2. want
3. air 
4. well
5. also

October Calendar

Tuesday, October 18: Red Ribbon Assembly

Tuesday, October 18: ESL Night at 5:30pm

Wednesday, October 19: Picture Make-up Day

Wednesday, October 19: End of First Quarter

Wednesday, October 19: New Reading Groups Begin

Wednesday, October 19: Family Number Book Due 

Thursday, October 20-24: Harvest Holiday (No School) 

Tuesday, October 25: Report Card Home

Wednesday, October 26: Awards Assembly

Friday, October 28: Fall Carnival @ 5pm