Sorry to make you wait...

Hello to my favorite families! I must confess...I left for the beach at 8 am Friday morning and got home about an hour ago...some much needed R and R with friends!!


Let me fill you in on how we spent our four days last week and let you know what's coming up in the next couple weeks!


Language Arts
We are still working with fairy tales...we spent time reading and listening to different versions of Cinderella this week! And now your kids are writing their own "Ella" tales...wait until you hear some of these wonderful stories!! They are using themes and/or alliteration to enhance their stories...much like the authors' books we have been reading!


We only had one Writer's Workshop time this week, which is always disappointing to your kids...but they are continuing to plug along with their writing pieces...drafting, editing, revising, peer conferencing, teacher conferencing, publishing...it is a busy place and the kids are using the six traits of writing as they move each piece through the writing process!


Another exciting thing occurred in Language Arts this week...we all became "WORD NERDS"! We spent time making a list of wonderful words...words that sound awesome, words we are unfamiliar with, words we just like...and then we each chose one and completed a word map about that word. This is just one of the fun ideas I got from my 1/2 day in-service on vocabulary last week...and the kids really got into mapping their words!


Math
This week we worked with problem solving and multiplication...the kids worked to use the advertisement they brought to school to answer some questions applying their multiplication skills. Now the kids are working on a culminating project while we move into algebra...they have each created a chocolate company, designed a candy bar using multiplication, arrays, and area, and now they are going to design a wrapper for their candy bar and write a product description that will make your mouths water!! I love to see their math skills and creative skills come together...they are thoroughly enjoying this project!

Science
We have tested each mystery powder with water and recorded our observations...the kids have lots of predictions about what each powder is...but we have SO many more tests to complete before they can make solid conclusions! We will do more with water this week and then we will use vinegar to conduct new tests with our mystery powders!

DID YOU KNOW? This week is National Chemistry Week! Mrs. Shrode, Maddie's Mom, has some fun things planned for the kids...I'll leave the details for next week's post!

I was pleased to read ALMOST everyone's science fair project description!! I read each one carefully and often jotted down comments or questions...these questions are there for you and your child when planning out the next part....some kids thought they needed to be answered and then resubmitted...this is not the case...I just wanted you to consider certain things while working on the project. I am VERY excited about all the different science fair projects that our class is working on! The next due date is not until October 29th...this is when the data collection is due. One child said to me, "Mrs. Wills...my project won't be ready by then." Please remember these deadlines are put in place to help your child manage his/her time...it is perfectly acceptable to not "meet a deadline" as long as the project is underway!

Fall Festival Party - Friday, October 29th
Well, most of you have seen the Fall Festival Party form that went home on Thursday...it is going to be a lot of fun! I hope that any and all of you that would like to attend will join us...please remember that you need to be a trained volunteer to work in the classroom (this includes chaperoning a trip and class parties)...UES now has a quick and easy way to get trained...check out the school website where you can get the link to be trained from the comforts of your own home!

All that being said...the morning of the Fall Festival Party, I am planning a pumpkin math activity that is loads of fun! If you cannot attend in the afternoon, but can come in the morning...OR...you just want to spend the WHOLE day with us...please send me an email. I am hoping to have at least four volunteers for the morning. Each volunteer is asked to bring a medium sized pumpkin and a few easy supplies...if this sounds exciting to you...contact me and let me know you'd like to come join us...it will be from 9-10:30 that Friday morning.

Field Trip - Weinberg Center
Thank you to all the many parents who volunteered to come on our field trip. I wrote all of your names on slips of paper, put them in a basket and pulled out four...it was the most fair way I could think of...Mr. Lizik, Mrs. Sherwood, Mrs. Wolcott, and Mrs. Sobocienski will be joining us this Thursday to see the folktale Strega Nona. I am very excited about this trip! I am sorry that you all couldn't come with us...but there are two more field trips this year, and I promise you'll get to come on one!

I look forward to seeing you all sometime this month...hope you had a great weekend...I sure did!