Our First Monday

Well we made it through our first Monday together!

Today we started a LOT of new things. Today was the first day of reader's workshop - I was VERY impressed with how well and how long the students can read! 30 minutes just flew right by us!

We also started our first class read aloud called Clementine by Sarah Pennypacker. It is a great story about a goofy girl and all the trouble she gets into. Ask your child what the last part they remember was! If they need a hint, ask about Margaret's hair! :)

"Walk to Math" started today as well! I am currently teaching the third grade math and Mr. Paul is teaching the advanced math. We are off to a great start together!

Today we decorated writer's notebooks to show ownership which turned out great! Writing seems to be the biggest struggle for our class at this point. When it is time to write, whether it is about our own stories, given topics, or to explain understanding, the vast majority of the class starts a LOT of complaining. I promised them that I have not lost anyone yet to writing - but it is still an issue. A good idea is to have your child write down their favorite thing they did that day at school and then read the story to you. That encourages their writing AND you get a sample of their best work! Win, win!

We also started our science unit on Rocks and Minerals today. Today we got through writing what we think we know and questions we have about rocks and minerals. Tomorrow we are getting hands on with some REAL rocks to find out if what we thought we know is true and to hopefully learn something new. Students are welcome to bring rocks found outside to class and we will start our own rock garden to display.

Keep up the great work as we head into Tuesday! :)