Meet Speedy!

Our high school intern, Miss Johnson, will go away to college in the Fall and was looking for a new home for her pet turtle...guess where he lives now? IN OUR CLASSROOM! She has had him for ten years...he was originally the size of a quarter! The kids are not allowed to touch Speedy, but they help feed him. Everyone is enjoying having Speedy in the classroom.

We had a great week!

Hopefully by now you have seen your child's chocolate commercial...we sure do have a lot of actors and actresses amongst us!! That was a very fun unit...speaking of fun units...we are saying goodbye to all of our aquarium friends as we transition from science back to social studies for awhile. We all had a lot of fun while learning with our snails, fiddler crabs, and newts. Our next social studies unit focuses on economics...and the kids will learn new concepts and apply them while becoming Entrepreneurs...this, too, is a wonderful unit and project!

This past week the kids had a homework assignment about Veteran's Day. They had to determine whether or not the statements were facts or opinions. The following day the kids had to use those facts to write a well-written paragraph. They used a rubric we all developed together. I was very pleased with their writing!! That graded paragraphs came home on Friday.

In math we have been very busy with fractions. The kids have measured equal parts on a number line, explored equivalent fractions, created monsters using parts of a whole, and solved TOUGH word problems! This week they also took the Quarter One post test...this test does not come home, but I'm more than happy to share their scores with you. Send me an email right after Thanksgiving and I will share it with you. Speaking of sharing scores...your child's basic fact test scores will come home with the report card tomorrow. Please review those and let me know if you have any questions.

We had fun this week with "Upside Down Day". This was a theme chosen by the class as a way to celebrate meeting our "Soaring With Pride" goal. The kids worked under their desks, the schedule was upside down on the board, the morning work was upside down on the screen, we had math first (it's usually last)...stuff like that. The kids LOVED laying on the floor and working on the underside of their desks. It was quite funny! There are a few pictures below...enjoy!

As I gather with my family this Thursday, I will be thankful for so many things...and 18 of those things are your children. I am blessed to teach such a great group of eager learners and really cool kids. Thank you for sending them ready to learn each day. Happy Thanksgiving!!

HOORAY...all videos are uploaded!

 WOOHOO!!  

(I'm going to have to find a new way to do that next year!)

More!!

Four more commercials...hope you're in the mood for candy!!

So I emailed ALL of the remaining videos to my home email and only FOUR made it through!  Now I am trying to upload those four from home.  Some of the videos are so big that I guess they won't go through email...AIYAIYAI...the saga continues!  Well, I hope you enjoy these...and don't worry...I won't give up until they're ALL on here!!

WARNING...do not watch if you are craving CHOCOLATE!!

Hungry!? Try Our Chocolate Bars!!

You have NO idea how long it is taking to load these commercials...but I decided it made more sense to go ahead and publish three...and keep you coming back for more!  If I can do three a day...we may have them all up by Thanksgiving!  Unfortuantely, they are saved at school so I can't work on them at home...

I apologize for no blog update this weekend.  I was insanely busy and never got to it.  We had another three day week, but again, got a lot accomplished.

We took a fractions pretest in math and have been working with fractions...of a whole, of a group, on a number line, ordering fractions, etc.  Today we read a book called Picture Pie and then the kids created creatures or designs using parts of a circle.  They will record all of the different fractions they used tomorrow and compare and order the pieces.  Boy, do they LOVE to create!

They have brought quite a few graded papers home recently. The final draft brochure grade sheet, the chocolate unit grade sheet, the science test...to name a few.  Please take time to go through these papers with your child...this helps them improve!  If you ever come up with questions, don't hesitate to contact me!

Today the kids took the facts about Veterans Day from their homework last night and wrote paragraphs.  We made a list of what an A+ paragraph should have and then they went to work.  I am very impressed with the kids writing...and they are going to have more and more of it, so again, discuss the grade sheets when they come home.

Tomorrow is UPSIDE DOWN DAY!  This was voted on...the kids want to work under their desks instead of on top...we will turn the schedule upside down some...and a few more fun surprises thrown in.  They are celebrating 25 more Soaring With Pride stickers!

Thursday the kids can dress up like their future careers in celebration of American Education Week...we will be discussing how education plays a big part in their future plans.  Friday we will meet with our Buddy Class to finish up our American Education Week Celebration!

I will continue to load videos...so check back every few days...and enjoy!!

Fall Fun 2012

Well, Hurricane Sandy sure did make our week crazy...but as usual, we got a TON accomplished! 

Not only did we finish our final drafts of our candy bar commercials, we ALL finished our state brochures, and most of the kids finished publishing their Ella drafts.  We also had a wonderful morning exploring the circumference, diameter, heigh and weight of pumpkins, and all the fun a pumpkin can bring to math!  Thanks to the parents who joined us for that activity!!

We walked to raise money for needy families in our county, too!  We did this with our kindergarten buddy class...it was really very heartwarming to watch the third graders take care of their buddies!  They chatted, told stories, and played hand games as they walked the mile for the homeless. 

And before we had our Fall Festival party, we had one of the best class discussions we've had so far...we prepared for the election on Tuesday.  The kids read two different articles (on a fourth/fifth grade reading level) about Mitt Romney and Barack Obama.  Then we looked for favorable characteristics for each of the two candidates. Regardless of which candidate each student wants to win, they had to search for facts that would make either one of them a good president. This was a very mature way of looking at the candidates and I was very impressed.  Then we had a lesson on the electoral college and discussed popular vote vs. the electoral college vote.  Third grade is a tad young to understand it all, but we put the map up on the screen and worked with the electoral college numbers quite a bit...they seemed to understand why California, Texas, Florida, and New York are such important states for a candidates to win. It was a tough lesson on Fall Festival Party day and the kids were SO into it!  I was thrilled!

Our Fall Festival Party was wonderful!  Our room parents set up three stations where the kids decorated mini pumpkins, played bingo, and ate yummy food!  Then I shared ONE MORE Cinderella tale...a Halloween themed version! Thanks to our fantastic room parents, Mrs. Filburn and Mrs. Canaday, and to all of the parents that were able to send in donations or help at the party!

And now...the kids have ANOTHER four day weekend...and I get them for only three days to get mountains of things done!!  :-(  But on a much happier note...we got the COW back!  WOO HOO!  I can't wait to put it back into play next week!!

And for your viewing pleasure, I put together a slide show of all the pictures I took over the past three days...enjoy the pix...click on the words "Fall Fun 2012" below! 

Have a wonderful LONG weekend.  I'll see your kids on Wednesday!

Fall Fun 2012