Winter Break

Have a wonderful holiday break and I will see you next year!  :) Enjoy your time off and don't forget to fill out your food journal and your rough draft of your persuasive essay!  :)

Student Council Elections Today!

Today we had our student council assembly where not one, but ALL THREE candidates for fourth grade were from our classroom!  WOW!  Congratulations to the lovely ladies from P4 who were brave enough to put themselves out there and be heard!  Good luck to you all!  Here are a couple of shots from the assembly:

 Here is Lily speaking to the packed house!

 

 Yumi was next with a smile on her face!

 

Keiana did a cheer to celebrate school spirit!

 

Great job to all of the ladies and I can't wait to hear the results.  All of you are great candidates. 

 

Have your student write SCA on their planner if you checked the blog and ask your student WHY they voted for their candidate!  :)

Nonfiction DonorsChoose Project!

The holidays are here and with the spirit of holiday giving, there are very few things that I need.  Several families have asked what I "want" for a holiday gift and while that is terribly generous, there really isn't anything I can think of!  So I wanted to let  you know that we have a brand new DonorsChoose project that just got posted that is SO important for our classroom.  If you are interested in getting a holiday gift, I would direct you to our project to give in lieu of a present.  This project is for several sets of nonfiction books that would bring nonfiction reading alive for our classroom.  There are so many fascinating things to read and learn about but with the limited number of books that our classroom and school library have available, the resources are severely limited.  This project provides sets of 5 books (so students aren't all clamoring for one book, like I am experiencing now since I have 2 new books in such high demand!) and will allow students to also read in small book groups to discuss their learning with other students. 

To make it better, right now DonorsChoose has a matching event going on now where if you enter the match code INSPIRE, the people at DonorsChoose will double your contribution!  This is a BIG project, which means it will take a while for us to raise the money.  However, with match codes like these, every little bit counts for so much more!

Thanks in advance for your donations and continued support of our classroom.  I really appreciate it!

If you're interested in making a smaller donation to our classroom, any nonfiction books, specifically about animals, space, or weather, would be greatly appreciated!  You can donate some nonfiction books in your child's name and I will put a sticker in the book that will show their donation for many years to come!

4th Grade Spirit Days

We have four more PACKED days until break!  Holy cow, it's gone by fast! 

This week our fourth grade is challenging each other to see which portable has the most spirit.  Each day we are going to have a different spirit day where students can dress up or show their spirit in some way to keep positive energy high in this last push before break.

Tomorrow is Team Color Day which means that students are being asked to wear something that has the color of their table on it to show their table spirit.  Each person who shows their spirit will get a bonus point for their table AND any table who has all of their table showing their spirit will get 5 bonus points.  WOW!  There are still 2 tables that are waiting to earn their Friday reward so fingers crossed they can be spirited and earn their reward... purple and yellow tables, I'm looking at you!  :)  Write a smiley face on your planner if you read the blog tonight and are going to show their spirit!

Please also send back the white envelopes that grades were sent home in on Friday.  I only got one back this morning (yikes!) so that means 24 of you still have them at home so make sure that you're sending those in soon. 

Emotions Run High

Today was a rough day emotionally for the class.

Grades are sent home and the folders need to be signed and returned before break.  Please be on the lookout for those folders with grades.

In art we made a clay map of Washington that we will be letting dry over the break and we will get to paint them!  It's a great project and I can't wait to see how things turn out!

With the break coming closer and closer, student energy level is high which, as fourth graders, has presented itself as misbehavior and severe attitude problems.  There are several students in class who constantly aren't listening and who constantly are trying to argue with me, other adults, and classmates.  This weekend, as you're resting for the final week before break, have a chat with your student about behavior expectations and how behavior affects others' perception of you.

Have a lovely weekend and see you bright and early Monday!

Carkeek Field Trip!

 Here we are in a circle, getting acquainted with our guides!

 

 We spent the whole morning out in the field learning about salmon habitats... what is a salmon nest called?

 

 Here was our watershed model.... anyone know what a watershed is?

 

 Splash!  We tried not to get too wet!

 

 The ground was so soft here because it was mostly fallen leaves - there was easily 8 inches worth of old decomposed leaves before we hit dirt.  Anyone remember what this kind of ground is called?  HINT:  It starts with a P! :)

 

 We even pretended to be salmon and had to make it through the many hazards salmon face in order to get back to the stream to spawn!

 

Here are our lovely predators... what are some predators or hazards that salmon face in the wild?

 

  Talk about this field trip with your student.  If he/she can answer these questions, write SALMON on today's date (12/13/12) for bonus points!

 

Students have been working hard all year for a reward they earn for 120 points.  Since there have been some groups at 120 for a long time and some that STILL aren't there, I decided that next Friday we will be doing our reward for those groups that have 120 points.  So far there are 3/5 groups that have 120 points and the other two are close so fingers crossed we will all get the reward!  :) Keep working hard these last 7 days before break. 

 

Students will be coming home with a social studies report project that will be due next Thursday about the regions of Washington.  The research portion will be due on Monday, December 17.  Then students will be making a poster or brochure to represent their information to show other people about their region and WHY it would be a great place to visit or live.  Feel free to help them with this research, keeping in mind they must be able to understand and explain all of the notes they are taking so if you don't understand it, don't write it down! :) Happy researching!

Carkeek Field Trip Tomorrow

Tomorrow is our Carkeek Park Field Trip!  The weather is forcasted to be... well this is Washington, so it could change at the drop of a dime, so who knows!  Please come to school dressed for the weather and in clothes that can get dirty.  Rain boots, hats, coats, etc are highly recommended.  If it's sunny and beautiful or if it's pouring rain (like it was last year) we will be out there so please come prepared.  Send students with a substantial snack to make sure that they are able to make it through the whole morning working, though we will be back for lunch on time for the school lunch. 

Today we started our persuasive writing unit.  Ask your student what persuasive writing is.  If they can tell you, write PW on today's date on your planner for bonus points.  Three tables have earned the class reward so hopefully those last 2 groups can catch up so we get those rewards before break!  :) 

Get plenty of rest tonight!  We have a big day ahead of us!

Art and Music Concert Tonight

Tonight is our winter holiday music and art concert at Whitman Middle School.  Please be there by 7 pm when we will start the art portion of the concert.  There will be an art walk through before hand if you're interested in seeing what the students have been working on so far this year.  The students will be sitting with you in the auditorium until the art portion is over.  Then students will be asked the line up in the hallways to get ready for the music performance. 

Dress Code:  Please have your student wear something nice, not jeans or sweatshirts if possible. 

We look forward to seeing you there! :)

Shrinking Bigfoot

Today we had a wonderful assembly about Shrinking Bigfoot - not the mythical creature but our carbon footprint on the earth left by our fossil fuel and daily electricity usage and the impact that has on our environment.  This week we will be taking a closer look at the impact we have on our environments and learning more about how we can shrink our bigfoot!  :)  Ask your student ways that he/she can shrink their bigfoot around the house.  If your student can answer that question, write bigfoot in their planner for Monday for bonus points!

Speaking of planners, I have been getting a lot of emails about students "not knowing" about homework so I just wanted to make it clear that we dedicate time daily to filling out our planners so that should never be the case unless your student wasn't following the expectations and directions in class.  I do check the planners daily to make sure that they are filling them out but some do slip through the cracks so it's a great idea to check your student's planner at home as well to make sure that homework is done.  Several students have a really hard time actually completing any homework so that follow through is great from you at home.

This Thursday book orders are due, and if you are ordering books as gifts please let me know so I can get them home discreetly before the holidays.

Thursday is also the day our permission slips are due for our next field trip on December 11th (yes it is already next Tuesday!) so please get those in ASAP.  Several students already lost theirs (sheesh!) so I will get those replacements tomorrow.  We need at least 6 chaperones (and I have 1 already) so if you can make it with us, we would love to have you!  If we don't get at least 6 chaperones we cannot go to Carkeek park so please help us go by coming with us!  :) 

Thursday

The field trip was great today and we all really enjoyed meeting Kelly Milner Halls this afternoon - wow, does she have some stories to tell! :)  Ask your child about the books she wrote about.  If they can tell you, write the word "Kelly" on their planner for bonus points.  Book orders are also coming home today so be on the lookout for those.  They are due next Thursday, December 6th. 

Tomorrow we are going to have a class meeting to discuss some social issues that have been coming up both in class and on the playground.  As we mature, we need to start thinking about what kind of legacy we want to leave behind us, how we want people to remember us, not only this year but in the future.  With hormones and social drama coming into play more and more as the year goes on, this will start to become a significant piece of our school "puzzle".  Already Mrs. Jones and myself are starting to see a lot of bickering amongst girls to the point where feelings are hurt and tears are shed, we have seen "crushes" start to form between girls and boys within our classes, we have seen a vast array of maturity levels start become more apparent and students becoming more and more aware of themselves within the classroom setting (fears of teasing, self-consciousness, etc.).  It's important that you take the time to have the conversation with your student about what you value as a family and what impact you want to make on others and on history.  All of the students are making an impact on a daily basis to North Beach and P4, but also on the world as a whole.  We hope that everyone strives to make a positive impact on others so that, looking back on 4th grade, others can see them in a positive light.  Impressions of people last a lot longer than some people may like, whether that's fair or not, and so it's important that you talk about how actions impact others and how others view them. We are hoping to support strong, intelligent students who are confident in their abilities and recognize their faults and having those conversations at home will help bridge that gap between their "home world" and "school world". 

Thank you for your support at home.

Field Trip Tomorrow and Author Visit

Just a reminder that there is a field trip tomorrow.  We will be leaving school right after the tardy bell rings and attendance is taken so it is VERY important that students are here on time or early if possible.  Unfortunately we cannot hold the bus for students who are late.  We will be back at North Beach before lunch so there doesn't need to be any special lunch time arrangements for any of the students.  The weather is supposed to be very rainy tomorrow, and while we shouldn't be outside for long, there is a chance we will have to wait outside for buses or our turn to enter the auditorium.  Please make sure that your student is dressed appropriately for the weather.

If you're interested in getting a sneak preview of what the Jazz Nutcracker will be like, click here for a short video of previous Jazz Nutcracker performances.  If you watch this video with your student, please write the word "video" in the planner under today's date for bonus points! :)

Tomorrow is also our author visit so if your students is interested in buying an autographed copy of one of her amazing books, please send your student with money and an order form if you haven't already.

Our winter concert is one week from tomorrow already!  Mark your calendars!  We will be performing at Whitman Middle School and 4th grade will be starting the show so please be there on time!  :)  I will give you a finalized time schedule as I get it.  :)

Hope you all stay dry with this Washington rain we are having! 

Quick Reminder!

Picture retakes are tomorrow so if you were here and want retakes please bring your entire picture packet back for retakes.  If you were absent and want to purchase pictures, please bring money and a picture packet tomorrow.  Can't wait to see those smiling faces!  :)

Welcome Back! :)

Welcome back from break!  I enjoyed getting to meet with you all this past week and I hope that you all had lovely Thanksgivings!  I enjoyed some relaxing time at home with my puppy and tried to stay healthy!  There are a lot of germs going around so make sure you emphasize to your students about hand washing, especially after using the restroom and before eating, that would be great so we all stay healthy!  :)

Book orders will be coming home tomorrow with students.  If you're interested in buying books for your student for holiday gifts, please email me and let me know that they are surprises so that we can arrange pick ups in more discrete ways.  :)  I am happy to arrange those pick ups after school or can leave them in the office for you to pick up after school.  Books make great holiday gifts!  :)

Speaking of books, this week we are starting our focus on nonfiction reading in class.  Some students cheered in delight while others groaned at the sound of nonfiction.  While it may not be the favorite of the class it is very important that students are reading more nonfiction as they mature to make sure that they are able to learn from texts but also to gain valuable nonfiction reading skills.  Middle school teachers consistently complain of a lack of competency in nonfiction reading so we want to bump up that reading both at school and at home.  A great strategy is to encourage students to read more nonfiction based on their interests and also buying (or checking out books from the library) that are nonfiction.  Often nonfiction has more academic language and is therefore at a much higher reading level than fiction books.  This generally means that students are going to need more help reading those challenging books.  Offer to read the books with your student or ask them what they are reading to make sure that they are understanding what is read!  You may learn something new as well!

Lastly, I just created a request for my classroom: Help Us Get Moving!  If you chip in to help my students, you'll get awesome photos and our heartfelt thanks. Give to my project by November 28 and your donation will be doubled thanks to the DonorsChoose.org Board of Directors! Just enter the code INSPIRE on the payment page and you'll be matched dollar for dollar. Your support would mean so much to us!  As many families have already asked what I am interested in getting for the holidays (you guys spoil me!) this is a great way to support our classroom in a meaningful way that will help our students a lot! 

Thanks for your support for our classroom in advance!

Common Themes: 40 Book Challenge

Having these conferences is a great tool for me because I get to finally hear what the burning questions are from families and one came up over and over: The 40 Book Challenge!

So let's get all of the information out there so we are all on the same page and able to be successful this year!

First of all, yes I have challenged all of the fourth graders to read at least 40 books this school year.  I absolutely expect that ALL of the students will reach that goal.  I have high expectations for my students but they are not unattainable by any means as long as they are worked on consistently and diligently.  The pupose of the challenge is not only to get students reading more books than they thought they might have been able to read otherwise, but also to expose students to new genres that they may not have tried before.  We all know how we get stuck in those "ruts" and read the same thing over and over, it gets easy and comfortable and if we enjoy it then why not?  I totally agree and I would absolutely rather that students are reading something instead of nothing!  However, 4th grade standards require that students are reading in a variety of genres for a variety of purposes.  Since we are all trying to meet standard, the 40 book challenge is a great way to get there!

Now, all that said, several parents expressed concern that their student is falling behind in their reading or that they won't make it to the 40 book challenge.  To that I have two things to say.  First is to take a deep breath and continue to encourage your student to read.  Go to a public library and have the librarian suggest a new book to your student based on his/her current favorites or maybe something just interesting overall!  Ask other peers for recommendations or go online - there are literally millions of sites giving list after list of ideas of great books at every reading level!  Secondly, don't focus on your student failing the challenge.  We talk a lot in our class about how attitude is everything and if you think you can't, you're right, but if you think you can, you're also right.  Help your student adopt that mentality by continuing to find new books to read and the 40 books will naturally come with that.  Book orders are great motivating tools that students have to choose a book they are interested in.  Scholastic has a number of books that are very affordable and make great stocking stuffers and gifts throughout the year!  Focusing on "what if" situations only distracts you from that goal of reading!  :) 

As long as everyone is doing their best, reading great books, and writing about reading, I couldn't be happier, whether it's 20 books or 100.  The main goal is to read MORE this year than you have in the past or than you thought was possible. 

This year alone there are already several students who are reading close to 1,000 pages and some who are already surpassing that mark and have achieved membership in the 1,000 Page Club and are working toward the 2,000 page club!  Great job and keep up the great reading over your long break!

Wacky Weather

Today is day one of conferences and what a way to start with this crazy weather we are having - I feel like I should have boated to work!

Thank you for everyone who showed up today for conferences!

Just a reminder, if the weather is too treacherous for you to brave, feel free to email me and we can do an email conference.  No problem at all.  :)

Enjoy your holiday break and I will see you all on Monday!

Student Writers

Yesterday we started social studies with Junior Achievement which was a LOT of fun!  Each of the groups had to create a business and decide what types of goods or servies they were going to provide.  Here is what each group had to say!

"Today we had Junior Achievement and we were in groups and made our own business and our name is Purple Doughnuts because we sell doughnuts and we are at the purple table.  We sell doughnuts, coffee, and sometimes purple pancakes, eggs and bacon.  We provide foods, drinks, and we are open 12 hours a day 7 days a week.  Also we are good"

"Our business is called North West Shoes.  We sell shoes, like Vans, Osiris, DC, and Converse.  We provide help finding all shoes and all sizes."

"Our name is Vets and Pets.  We provide medicine and petcare packages for sick pets.  We provide healthy pet care, and we make sure pets go home healthy and safe."

"Are business name is Pixels.  We provide video games, movies, and game systems.  The servies we provide are delivery and checkout.  We also provide rental."

"The name of our business is Glouers Glass and More.  We provide blone glass and poetry we also give lessons.  We have a special pot each week.  The servies we provide are both goods and servies.  Goods because we sell blone glass and poetry.  Servies because we do lessons to teach people how to do blone glass and poetry.  We open and 9:00 am and we close at 9:00 pm.  Hope to see you at our shop"

Guess which group your student was in and ask them about their business plans!

Announcements

Today is a mixed post of a LOT of annoucements that need to be fed through so get ready!  :)

1. Book Orders from November got here today.  There will be one more book order before the holiday break and books make great holiday gifts.  If you're interested in getting gifts for your child from the book order and want it to be a surprise, send me a note or email and I will make sure that they are discretely handled to make sure there are surprises left.  :)
2. Movie Night is this Friday!  The movie is Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted.  Volunteers are still needed to make sure the night is a success so please let us know if you're interested in volunteering and we hope to see you there. 
3. Vision and Hearing Screening was today so you will be notified if there is any hearing or vision needs from you student.
4. A reminder there is no school for students next week, however, it is conference week and so I hope to see you all at the conferences.  If you need a reminder about when your conference is, please send me an email to let me know.

On a personal note, the cat is out of the bag and yes, it is true that I got engaged this weekend!  :)  The kids were very excited and noticed my new ring right away!  Thanks for all of the positive notes I've been sent. 

We Need Seattle Postcards!

This year our class is very fortunate to be part of a postcard exchange with schools around the country!  The project is that each class sends a postcard to each of the schools from around the country that are participating, which means we need to get 50 postcards before winter break!

If you're out and see some postcards that would be a great representation of Seattle or the Ballard area and would like to donate them (or postage) to our class, it would be greatly appreciated! 

And as always, students will receive bonus table points for each postcard brought in!  Thanks in advance for your support!

Supporting P4

Thank you all for your continued support for P4!

Some families have come to me asking what we "need" for the classroom.  Honestly we have everything we "need" but looking ahead at the year, we are quickly running low on a couple of items.  If you think of us while you are "out" we would love your support.

P4 "Needs" (really more like wants at this point):

• White board markers (we use these a TON, especially in math and our supplies are quickly dwindling)
• Erasers - with more writing comes more erasing!
• Playground Equipment - balls, jump ropes, anything that students can use to get their energy out and exercise.  Right now we have 2 playground balls for 25 students to share so as you can imagine, they are at a premium!

Thanks in advance for your support.  Students who bring in supplies or donations for our classroom will be getting bonus points for their contributions as a reward.

Rough Drafts due Tomorrow!

Students have spent the last 2 days in class drafting their realistic fiction stories.  Their finished rough draft is due tomorrow in class.  Students who are not finished should have brought their writing notebooks home to make sure they finished on time.  Stories should be at least 2 pages written, though if your students is writing more than 10 pages, please either let me know so I can help them focus their ideas or help them narrow it down at home.  If this is taking more than an hour to finish, please draw a line and sign where students left off and I will know that is has been attempted at home.  If students are not done they will be spending their recess time making up the work that is not completed since students were given a lot of work time in class to start.

Permission slips are coming home today for the Jazz Nutcracker at Roosevelt field trip that will happen November 29th.  The trip costs $4 per person, chaperones included.  We would love to have you chaperone our trip so if you are interested, please mark on the permission slip and I will contact you with more details as the date gets closer.  The first group that has all of their permission slips signed and returned will get 10 bonus points for their group. 

Today we also spent our entire afternoon (from 2-the end of the day) at YADA.  Ask your student what YADA was and what happened!  We had a lot of fun!  If your student tells you about YADA, write YADA in their planner for bonus points.

School Pictures and Writing

Individual pictures are in today to be on the lookout for those.  If you're interested in retakes, retakes will be later this month, after conference week. 

Thank you for those people who ordered book orders, you're making a huge difference in our class by ordering because we are able to get a lot of books for free to add to our classroom which is amazing and keeps our kids reading!  Book orders should be in late this week or early next week, depending on when things ship out.

We started drafting our realistic fiction story today, focusing on incorporating all of the parts of a story AND using proper paragraphing.  Ask your student to tell you what a paragraph should look like.  If they can answer you correctly, write the word paragraph (spelled correctly :)) in your planner for bonus points tomorrow.  Remember: to get bonus points, you need to have your planner out on your desk tomorrow morning.  :)

Enjoy your evening!

New Month of Personality

Well Halloween has come and gone but the personality in P4 is stronger than ever.... OY!  Today was a rough day and we struggled slightly to manage behavior with expectations.  Talking is absolutely out of control in the class, especially with the gentlemen in the room.

At this point, students are clear about the expectations that I have for them and they are now choosing not to follow those instructions.  As fourth graders, we talk almost daily about learning to control our body - which includes choices we make, touching things and one another, following expectations, listening, and controlling our voices.  Having a chat with your student about what positive choices they can make would be very helpful to make sure that the positive messages are being reinforced at home. 

Also, because it is unfair for students to continually have their time wasted on management issues from students who are choosing not to cooperate, I am going to be introducing class "think papers" to the group tomorrow.  When students are not following expectations set in our class or in our school, they will need to fill out a think paper and bring it home to you to have it signed.  Until it is returned, they will be losing their recess privileges.  I want to make sure that you're all aware of immaturity of our group and how that is seriously impacting their learning time, so your signature is there to show that you are aware of the behavior and have had conversations about the incorrect behaviors and how they can be fixed with your student.  My hope is that students are able to better regulate their emotions, behaviors, and body spaces as a result. 

Thank you for your continued support at home.

Just a reminder that book orders are due tomorrow by 4 pm.  Happy November!

Halloween Pictures

Just wanted to remind people that are planning to come to the party tomorrow AND bring a camera, that I would LOVE copies of the pictures you take (in a smaller size of course) so that I can make a slide show on the blog of all of the students at the party.  That would be great!  Copies can be sent via email, on a CD, or on a flash drive.  Thanks in advance!

I plan to have time to do a group shot which would be great as well if people could capture that. I will have my camera but I am hoping we get some more photos as well!  :)

First Rainy Day Recess

Well the rain is officially here and so is rainy day recess!  About half of the class chose to work on homework instead of "playing" in the classroom - WOW!  That was pretty impressive!  :)

We had some classroom set up changes today due to severe talking in class so we will see if that calms down the talking and behaviors in class.  Fingers crossed!

Tomorrow, as a reminder, is Halloween and so comes our Halloween Party.  We will be starting no earlier than 12:30 so if you're interested in coming to help, please don't come before that.  We will be changing into costumes, eating lunch, and playing a few quick games.  Time will be limited because of the 2 hour early release and students leaving at 1:35.  We will stop the last 10 minutes to get the class cleaned up as a group and then they will be off to enjoy the raining Halloween!  :)  Thank you to everyone who sent in money for the Halloween party.  :)

Also, book orders are due on Friday.  If you have a coupon for free books from last month's online order please remember to use that ASAP!  :)

Guest Blogger: Lily

This week all of us have been working on a prompt. The prompt was what's the most valuble thing to you and can't be brought in a store.My most valuble thing that I chose was responsibility along with the other core values I know honesty, caring, and respect. I chose responsibility becauseit's not boght in a storeand it's very important to me. Responsibility is important to me because it shows a big part of ourselves and me.


- Lily S.

Have your student write the name of the guest blogger for a bonus point!  :)

Book Orders Coming Home Today

It's the end of the month and book orders are on their way home today.  Students are really excited about this month's books so I can't wait to see what they decide!

I encourage you to order online because our class and your student BOTH get a free book when you order online which is a great deal!  Remember to enter code J2J6H to enter into our class orders.  Orders are due back November 2, which is next Friday already!  :)

Happy book hunting!

Have your student write down a title they are interested in getting in their planner for a table bonus!  :)

Rainy Tuesday

Well the rain has officially hit, and hit hard!  We had quite the downpour during class.  Being out in the portable you REALLY hear that rain!  Just as a reminder, please make sure that students are coming with coats and jackets so that they stay warm when they are outside and make sure that they can stay healthy for as long as possible.

Students have been working hard responding to the prompt, "Think of the most valuable thing you own that wasn't bought in a store.  Explain why that item is important to you."  As a school we are trying to work together to make our writing stronger and so we are all (yes, K-5) giving this prompt and seeing how our writing measures up year to year.  This will give us a lot of information to not only help inform our instruction for the rest of the year but also give us an idea of what we need to focus on for ou grade levels.  You may have heard some complaints about this prompt because many students are struggling with having the restrictions that is cannot be "store bought" but the goal is just to have an idea of what their informational writing is like at the beginning of the year, so rest assured it will all be okay!  :)

Students may have also let you know that we got rid of our "Hoot Loot" because many people told me they felt it was distracting and as an incentive tool it wasn't useful.  So, we changed over (based on class vote) to table points.  I have noticed a huge difference in behavior since we have done this which is great.  We still have our good and bad moments but overall behavior has been much better.  The students will be working toward goals that they will select later this week.

Lastly, the Halloween party is on the horizon (only a week from tomorrow!) and so just wanted to remind you to send back your party RSVP forms for supplies and money.  We will be pooling money to buy sandwiches for the kids so we can have lunch altogether during the party.  Each student needs to donate $2, if possible.  Thanks!  You can also sign up online at: http://missdsp4.shutterfly.com/

Conferences

Conferences seem like a long way away but they are going to be right around the corner before we know it!

Sign ups have been posted since curriculum night and there are still several spots open.  If you haven't signed up yet, please email me ASAP to set up a conference date and time and I will let you know what is open. 

Thanks for thinking ahead!

Guest Blogger: Lilja

Today we have another guest blogger - Lilja!  She has decided to tell us a wonderful sneak preview of her next story in writing!

In writing I am going to write about uninvited guests.Itis about a girl named Alison who has a mythical creature for a pet.His name is Zingbot.Zingbot is very generous with ideas and always tries to cheer up Alison.One day an evil spirit comes. Alisons brother is sure he saw the door knob move.He hears breathing and a grunt and knows right away that there is an evil spirit.Alison,her brother,her dad, and Zingbot hide in a closet until the evil spirit goes away.The next time the evil spirit comes the first thing he sees is Alison.Zingbot leaps in front the evil spirit and sacrafices himself to save Alison.Then he comes back as a ghost,still as nice as before.Then the evil spirit comes again.

Have your student write down the name of the guest blogger for a bonus tomorrow!  :)

Guest Blogger: Julia

I hope every one did great on they're final draft - Julia

If your student writes the name of the guest blogger in their planner they will get a special bonus!  :)

We Need Your Help!

Our class needs your help with an amazing donation incentive brought to us by Donorschoose.org.  For those of you unfamiliar with the site (please visit it, it's AMAZING) it is a non-profit website geared toward people donating money to classroom projects submitted by the teacher for things that the classroom needs or wants.

Donors Choose is starting an AMAZING incentive program where people (like you generous folks!) may go online and purchase a gift card for a future project for our classroom (and I have about 2 in the works).  Here is where it gets even better - now through October 15th, DonorsChoose will DOUBLE your contribution if you enter the code word PUMPKIN in at check out!  That can make a HUGE impact on our class and provide a huge benefit throughout our school.

If you are interested in supporting our class, please visit this link: http://www.donorschoose.org/we-teach/381550 and don't forget to enter the word PUMPKIN in at check out.

Thanks in advance for your continued support of our classroom!

Talking, talking, TALKING

Well students are chatting constantly.  It's not only frustrating for me as a teacher, but it is unfair to the classmates in our room who are doing what is expected who are getting their learning time taken away. 

Students in P4 are having a hard time understanding not to correct me and other students, especially while I am talking.  Now, we all make mistakes, of course, but it is important that students are learning to say things in a positive way and not rudely. 

This is something we are going to be working on a lot in our room this week and this year in general.  Learning appropriate ways to talk to other human beings is an important life skill to have a successful future. 

I appreciate those families who have a talk with their students about how to talk with other people to say things in a positive way and to give helpful criticism instead of being "bossy" or "rude".

Thank you for your support at home.

Guest Blogger: Ben

Thursday we had P.E.  We went outside to the field to play soccer.

- Ben C.

Have students write the name of the guest blogger in their planner for a bonus on Monday!

Class Store Donations Welcome!

A big thank you to those families who have so generously donated materials for our class store!  The kids are going to be SO excited and it is a great way to pass on toys or small items (books, pencils, pens, etc) that are no longer being used at your house!

The class store is scheduled for this Friday but students are going to have to EARN the right to participate and have the class store.  Right now, with a change in schedule due to MAP testing, students haven't been on their best behaviors.  Sleepiness, forgetting items at home, not listening to directions and ALL the talking has been getting in the way of our learning.  If we are losing time for learning, we are losing time for the more fun things as well.  Some students don't even have money at this point for our class store because with bad behavior and poor choices come fines.

My hope is that students can improve behaviors and earn the chance for the class store so it doesn't have to be rescheduled.

I appreciate the families that are having a frank conversation with their students about the expectations while they are at school as well as appropriate behavior.  Thanks for your support both at school and at home.

First Class Store Coming Friday

October is already here - wow is this year going by quickly!

Today was a rough day for behaviors in the classroom overall.  Our class has a LOT of personality which makes things difficult to contain all of that personality in a positive way.  After our math MAP test behavior wasn't great at all.  We had a chat in class about following expectations and hopefully tomorrow will be better.  Please help emphasize at home the importance of listening to instructions the FIRST time and respecting others by not interrupting while they are talking, since those are both common concerns in our class. 

This week we start music and art, which is super exciting!  We also have our reading MAP test on Thursday so make sure students are well rested and well fed that day.

Friday will be our first class store for students who have been participating well during class this week.  If you have any small items to donate to our class store that would be greatly appreciated!  Some examples are erasers, pencils, small toys, stuffed animals, etc.  Anything kids would get excited about, especially large packs of stuff from the Dollar Store are always good hits with the class!  :)  We would love any extra support from home and can't wait to see what you send in!  The kids are SUPER excited for Friday's store.

Thanks for keeping in touch with our virtual classroom!

Guest Blogger: Annalise

This week starts our guest blogger job in class!  Each week one student will get a chance to write something of their choosing on our class blog and Annalise chose the perfect day to get started - an early release!  :)  Take it away Annalise!  :)


half day off! Everyones exited about early release.

- Annalise

Tonight, have your student write the name of our guest blogger in their planner for an extra bonus tomorrow!  :)

Enjoy your extra time off!

If your student needs to leave early....

Please, please, PLEASE.... stop by the office and sign them out.  You MUST tell the secretaries that you are taking a student out early (whether that be for an appointment only or for the rest of the day) and they will call down to send the student down. 

There have been some cases at our school where students aren't being signed out properly, which is a liability for our school, and so we as a school are cracking down on this issue. 

If you come down to the room and try to pick up your student early, I have to send you back to the office and have them call down, just to make sure everything is in order.  Sorry if this causes any inconvenience for you but it is for the student's safety in mind.  Thanks for your help in keeping North Beach safe!

Book Orders due by 5 pm Tuesday! and Announcements

I will be putting through our book orders sometime after 5 Tuesday night.  Get those orders in!

Also, the book fair at North Beach is going on now so come on in and browse for gifts or donations to our classrooms.

Wednesday is a 2 hour early release so students will be dismissed at 1:35 pm.

Thursday night is Curriculum Night from 6 - 8 - can't wait to see you there!

Whew!  Sorry for the quick update - things have been a bit crazy around P4!  :)

Spelling and MSP Coming Home Today

Spelling homework is coming home with students today.  They will have a yellow piece of paper in the writing section of their notebooks that needs to stay in there all year long.  It explains homework expectations and due dates.

Spelling homework is due every THURSDAY at the beginning of the day.  This is part of their writing grade.  Each week students must choose three activities to complete - one from each row.  No activity can be completed more than once per week.

MSP scores (for those students who were here last year at North Beach) came home in sealed envelopes today with the students.  Everyone was so nervous to find out how they did, and overall everyone did well.  Unfortunately, other than the print off that you're receiving we don't get any more information about why things are scored the way they are, what questions were missed, etc.  That would be helpful but unfortunately we don't get that information!  So if you have questions or concerns about scoring you'll have to go to the website on the back of the report (at the bottom) to get more information.

WANTED: Clear 2-Liter Soda Bottles

Our class needs to collect 60-70 2-liter CLEAR soda bottles for a spring science unit.  In order to collect that many, we need to start getting ready and collecting now.  So, I am offering a reward for any student who brings in the bottles (empty, of course).  Each bottle will be worth $10 in class money so send them in!  We have 2 so far, so we are a LONG way from our need.  Keep us in mind for birthday parties, family gatherings, office parties, and holidays!  :)

Thanks!

Adios to a classmate and Spelling

Well today started off with one of our wonderful classmates leaving for Salmon Bay!  Clara will be DEARLY missed in our classroom.  She had such a sweet presence and was such a wonderful student!  Salmon Bay is lucky to have her.  :)

Spelling words came home today.  Normally, spelling will be given out on Friday, and spelling tests on Thursday but we are just starting this week so we will do our best.

Spelling in P4 is decided by first previewing the words with the students.  This lets me know where they are as spellers.  If they have 3 or more wrong on the preview, they will be studying those words for the week.  If they have fewer than 3 errors on the preview, they will be given a list of additional challenge words to study.  They will be words that have the same "theme" or central idea but are leveled differently for difficulty.  We stress to students that it is important that they are doing their best on the preview so that they can learn the most from their spelling.  Spelling words from the preview list will be words that ALL students will be expected to know both in their spelling test AND in their writing.

Spelling homework will be given tomorrow and is turned in Thursday morning first thing.  It will be important that students complete their spelling homework as a way to practice their spelling words but also practice spelling their words in writing, which is ultimately the most important thing and reason why we are doing spelling.  The spelling homework sheet should be kept in student binders at all times.  If it is lost, it will not be replaced.  (Again, we are stressing responsibility in our 4th graders and with that responsibility comes organization)  The spelling homework that will be turned in is to be done on regular notebook or computer paper, depending on the activity that is chosen.  Students are expected to use their best handwriting.  If it cannot be read, it will not be accepted.  Also, students need to use proper handwriting with their spelling homework, meaning unless otherwise specified, there should NOT be random capital letters thrown into words, which is a common problem in our class (for example, tHey).  On spelling tests, if students write with capitals in their words, it will be marked wrong.

Please help your student by checking their spelling homework and stressing the importance of proper handwriting.  We are building those foundations for the future and we want to make sure ALL students are prepared.

Wednesday Update

Today the students are helping me write this post so that we can start learning how to blog.  Starting next week we will be having a student post once a week on the blog as their class job!  :)  Here we go!  :)

Lily: We decorated our writing journals

Clara: We learned not to put more than 10 d-cell batteries together because you could hurt yourself

Hayley: Today was really really fun because I paid attention and it was really easy for me

Grant: We learned more about motors, d-cell batteries, and wires

Yumi: We learned all sorts of different ways to make the motor shaft spin

Annalise: When we were decorating our journals I stopped a lot of people and made them give me stickers

Keiana: We did math again and we did a math game with the cards.

Ben: We learned 4 or more ways to make a d-cell battery make a motor spin

Bailey: We did our bioglyph and tried to guess who was who.

We will continue to expand on our ideas to get ready for the blog posts starting next week!  :) 

Please make sure your students are starting to take more responsibility for their own homework/backpack/lunch/etc.  I have been flooded with "my mom forgot to put my homework in my backpack" excuses lately and we want to make sure that as fourth graders we are learning to become more independent in our daily lives since it's an important skill for the future.  We will be working on it a LOT this year but some ways you can help at home is to let students pack their own lunches, make sure that students are returning their homework and supplies to their backpack each night (with reminders at first and then natural consequences after that), and helping to make sure students are remembering all of their supplies/homework daily.  With your help we will make sure we have strong and independent fourth graders who are ready for their futures! :)  Thanks for your support!  :)

Not School Related: My puppy, Otto! :)

Well I've had many questions asking to share a picture of my new puppy that I told the kids about on day one so here he is! :)

This is from when he was just 8 weeks old and he's now 4 months old but he sure is a cute little guy!  He loves his spiderman toy the most.  :)

Tuesday Grumbles

Getting back into the swing of school and work is a hard thing for everyone!  I know I had a hard time giving up summer break but the time has come to be back in school and our class is having a hard time getting back into the swing of things.   The grumbles and complaints were out in full force today and that is something we will continue to work on as we get back into "school mode". 

I've been letting the kids know that when they are grumbling from the start of the day, it sets a bad tone for their day from the minute they walk in the door and that's not what we want!  We want HAPPY students who are excited to be here!  I know I am excited, so I want to see that excitement from them!  :)  Things that can help are making sure your student gets a full night's sleep each night and sending students with healthy snacks and lunches that are full of nutrients, like protein, so they stay full.  As growing students I know sometimes food goes super fast, especially for those kiddos who are just growing like weeds!, but that healthy snack will help manage that hunger.  And as a reminder, peanut and nut products are not allowed in our room due to severe allergies.  Thanks!  :)

Science was a LOT of fun today!  Students got to experiment with a D-cell battery and small motor with wires to get the motor shaft to spin!  Every group was successful and it was a great time!  For an extra $10, have your student draw a diagram of one way they connected the battery and motor so that it WOULD spin!  :) 

Math homework came home today so have an eye out for that.

Also, tomorrow during writing we will be decorating our writer's notebooks so I encourage everyone to bring pictures, magazine cutouts, stickers, etc to decorate and personalize those notebooks! 

See you Wednesday!!

Our First Monday - Notebooks Galore!!

Well we made it through our first Monday of the school year!

We started all of our content areas, including math, science, writing, AND reading.... WHEW!  I'm exhausted with all of the new stuff we went through today.

Our first science kit is circuits and pathways so we will be learning about creating circuit breakers and lighting light bulbs with batteries.  It's going to be SUPER exciting!  I am very excited.

Starting today students have reading homework (starting at 20 minutes per night for September) and math homework will start coming this week (probably tomorrow).  Make sure you check your student's planner to double check their assignments each night.

Tomorrow the work continues with building our reading stamina.  Ask your child what he/she can do to improve their reading stamina tomorrow.  Our goal is to be reading for 25 minutes straight by Friday - we have a long way to go since we started at 2:12 minutes today was our top record!  Let's keep working to get that goal!  :)

New Year and New Room!

WOW!  Back to school time is ALREADY here!!  Time definitely flew by us this summer.  I spent my summer relaxing, hanging out on Pinterest (yes, I'm obsessed too!), and playing with my new puppy, Otto!  He's a mini husky and just super cute - I showed his baby picture to the students so they could see him!  :)

Well the past two days have been great out in P4!  We are really thankful to be in the portables with this sudden heat wave because we have air conditioning!  Thank goodness, otherwise most of us would be sweaty zombies by lunch time. 

We have a TON of supplies we are trying to find room for, so thank you for making sure that your students are prepared for 4th grade!  We have a REALLY busy year ahead of us with math, reading, science (we have 3 science kits this year which are fairly intense), social studies, where we are studying Washington State history, and writing which will be a HUGE emphasis to bump up the level so we are ready for the MSP this spring!  Whew!  I'm tired just thinking about it!

Thanks so much for checking our class blog!  Make sure that you are signing the students' planners nightly.  Planners are also a great way to communicate with me (other than email of course) if you need something quick to chat about.  I will try to check those daily to see any notes that may have been left for me.

Students should have brought home their packet of information from the office today.  That needs to be returned ASAP.  Also, students need to bring in $5 to pay for our class magazine we get monthly which is National Geographic Explorer.

Ask your student about our classroom economy!  We spent a long time deciding on salaries for our class jobs! Ask your student to tell you what their ideal job would be and why.  Write down the name of the job under today's day in the planner and it will be worth $5 in class money!  :)  Let's see who is checking in today!  :)

Have a wonderful night and see you Friday!

See you Next Year!

Well our year finished off with a TON of work getting done - I honestly think it was the fastest week of the year.  In a blink of an eye we were finished!

I am excited to be moving to P4 to teach 4th grade next year and am excited that some of you will get to join me for another exciting year together!

Thank you so much for making my first year at North Beach so wonderful and I look forward to another wonderful year together!  Enjoy your summer vacation and we will see you in September!

Only 3 More Days

Wow!  Only three more days already!  These days are SOARING past us!

The balloon incentives are going fantastic!  The class has gotten game time, time to sit anywhere they would like in class (coming soon!), and a read in, among others. They are LOVING it!  It's been a blast to see how excited they are every day when we pop the balloons.

The field trip is Thursday, for the Science Center, which should be a BLAST!

Several of you have emailed me asking about end of the year gifts - first of all, THANK YOU!  You've been such a generous and support group of parents during this first year at North Beach and I honestly couldn't ask for more!  If you're looking to get a "gift" for the end of the year, I would love any and all donations to go toward our newest donorschoose.org project found here.  We are asking for class sets (30) books of several different popular chapter book titles for use next year with the 3rd and 4th grade classes.  Anything helps us get closer to getting more books for our students!

Thank you again for all of your support this year!

And the Countdown Begins!

Well we have begun the countdown toward the end of the year... only 12 days left!  WOW!

I have started a fun motivator for the students where there are balloons hung all over the classroom, similar to the one found here.  Each of the balloons are numbered and at the end of each day (good behavior willing) we pop a balloon and see what reward is hidden inside for the following day.  The kids are LOVING this and so am I!  I will try to share what the rewards are as they come up so everyone is able to follow along.

Yesterday they got a "sweet treat" where there were candies left on their desk in the morning and today the balloon revealed NO HOMEWORK for Friday!  This is for spelling in our class only.  However, I made sure the students remembered that there WILL be a spelling test on Friday, but I will not be collecting their homework formally since the balloon gave them no homework!

The kids are almost obsessed with the rewards they get every day and behavior is definitely at it's best to make sure they get the mystery reward!  And hey, that's all I can ask for as a teacher at the end of the year!  :)

Half of the book order came in today so those books headed home with students and the other part should be here by the end of the week so keep an eye out for those.  And just a reminder, Field day is June 15th, so dress in comfortable shoes and get ready for fun!

June is here... and only 14 days left!

Well the end of the year is here... or almost, at least.  We have 14 school days left and they are going to be a BUSY 14 days!

We have assemblies, final social studies and science projects, and activities to boot!  WOW!

It's very important that students are here every day... I know it's the last days but we are down to work on the most important parts of the whole year!  Thanks for helping us make sure we end the year on a positive and strong note.

Tomorrow there will be a fun surprise to keep motivations high in class!  I can't wait to see everyone's reaction!  :)

3-5 Art Show and Music Concert

The spring concert is almost here!  Students are bringing home notes that have this information but I wanted to make sure that everyone had it, in case it gets lost!  :)

This year the spring concert will be held at Whitman Middle School on May 30th from 7-8 pm.  Please make sure that your student arrives by 6:45pm and meets in Room 200.  The students will be performing songs from Africa, England, Japan, and Australia.  Music ranges from AC/DC to the Beetles to tribal languages and should be a LOT of fun!  Please make sure that your student dresses nicely, with no jeans or t-shirts please.  Please feel free to invite family and friends because there will be enough seats for EVERYONE!  :)

Thanks for your support and see you there soon!

Teacher Appreciation Flowers

Our classroom looked like a beautiful garden with all of the flowers today!  I wanted to send a big

THANK YOU

to everyone who brought in flowers!  It is just a small gesture but makes us teachers feel mighty special!  Thank you again!  :)

Math MSP on Thursday

Just a quick reminder that we have our MATH MSP this Thursday.  We will be doing practice all this week to get ready so students won't see any "surprises" and will be ready to put their math brains to the test!  :)

Please make sure that students get a full night's sleep, have a good breakfast and have a positive attitude in order to do their best!  :)  If you want your student to have a snack other than pretzels, please send that snack with your student Thursday morning.  They will be given pretzels in the morning during the break.  If you would like to send a snack or juice for the whole class, the students would LOVE that... we have 25 students so please make sure there is enough for everyone!  :)

Thank you for your support!

Spring Fling Tomorrow Night

Tomorrow night is the Spring Fling!  Hope to see you all there for a fun evening to support our wonderful school!

Enjoy!

One Down, One to Go!

Today was our first MSP!

The students did an awesome job doing their best!  Round of Applause for them!

Thank you so much for making sure everyone was well fed and well rested!  Everyone was on time and I couldn't have asked for more!

Next Thursday we have our next MSP in math.  This one is a traditional paper and pencil test done in our classroom.

Get lots of rest and have a wonderful weekend!

MSP This Week

The MSP is here!  As a third grade, we take the reading and math MSP.  This year we have decided as a school that we are going to take the reading MSP on the computer.

We will start the test first thing in the morning so it is important that students are IN SCHOOL and are ON TIME so that we can start right away.  If students are late to school they will NOT be allowed in the classroom and will have to make up the test on a different day.  Students will be given bubble gum and crackers for a snack during the test but if you want to send your student with another snack you are welcome to.  We will be taking time for snack during the testing period so everyone can do their best.  Please make sure that your student gets plenty of sleep the night before and gets a good breakfast that morning so everyone is ready to go and do their best!  We have been practicing in class all last week and this week so we are READY!  The students have been doing a great job and I know they will be awesome.

For our class, we will be taking the reading test on May 3rd (Thursday).
We will be taking the math test on May 10th (the following Thursday).

Thank you for all of your support for your student is year and during our test!

Science Fair Poster Due Tomorrow!

Just a friendly reminder that the science fair poster is due tomorrow. The poster should have ALL of the student's information on it - hypothesis, testable question, test results, materials list, etc. ALL of the things that have had mini-due dates over the last month or so on a poster. This will be the poster that is shown at the science fair on Thursday. However, we will be presenting the poster on Wednesday morning in class as part of the student's grades so they need to have it here. If you are bringing materials to show with the poster for the science fair judging, those can come in anytime between now and Thursday morning. We will be displaying our science fair posters Thursday morning in the cafeteria for judging so that needs to be here on time. If it's not here on time, it's not judged.

Thanks for all of your help and support over this past month to prepare for the science fair! Our students couldn't do it without you!

Science Fair in Full Swing!

Students have created a topic, a materials list and a hypothesis... let the testing begin! There have been a LOT of questions about the science fair experiment but students ARE expected to be starting their science experiment now, especially if they are doing an experiment with plants of any kind. Their experiment is expected to be done by April 6th (next Friday) so that we can start analyzing the results and preparing for the science fair. We will be spending some time in class preparing the materials for the science fair but students WILL need to work on their poster board, write ups, etc. at home. There is no extra homework given during this time because it is expected that students are working on their science experiment.

If you have any questions or concerns about due dates, feel free to contact me ASAP. The project is due April 10 so students can present their findings in class on the 11th and have the materials AT SCHOOL to set up for the science fair on the 12th.

Thanks for all of your help and support!

Dollar Matching with DonorsChoose!!

It's back again! The excitement is building this spring over at DonorsChoose.org!! This week only DonorsChoose.org has a FANTASTIC dollar matching offer this week. For every dollar you donate, DonorsChoose.org will match that dollar amount.

If you're interested in donating to our classroom project, click here. We are getting so close to help our classroom AND school library by getting a lot of new books. Anything that you can give is so helpful. When you are checking out, enter the match code BLOOM and your money will be matched dollar for dollar!

Thank you in advance for supporting our classroom and school!

Keeping up with Room 15 - A Week in One Post

Well we are all back in the swing of school after break and we are having quite the adjustment period! Our class is MIGHTY giggly and distracted it seems, so hopefully we can sleep that off after our early release today!

This week we finished up our fantasy reading and writing unit with our final writing drafts and our book reports. Fantasy writing reports turned out great overall! I can see that all of our time spent editing and revising have paid off. I saw SIMILES and great WORD CHOICE. WOW! The QUOTATION MARKS looks great! I was very impressed with most of the drafts and could tell all of the hard work that was put into it.

Our book reports are due tomorrow about a main character from our book club books. Students are telling details about their character and making an illustration of the character. I can't wait to see how those turn out!

Tomorrow we are staring our new unit of study, NONFICTION! Nonfiction is often times the hardest genre for third graders to read, digest, and interact with. No longer is student imagination getting to play the lead role, the facts are taking the driver's seat. We will be taking this non-fiction unit step-by-step to make sure that everyone knows how to read it well and pull out those important details from the text. It is also important that students are being supported at home with digging through the nonfiction depths! Encourage nonfiction reading whenever possible! Newspapers are great starts and getting books that are about anything your child is interested in - animals, space, sports, you name it! The sky is the limit!

Science fair packets will be coming home tomorrow and more information will be available soon to answer all of those burning questions! I can't wait to see what wonderful projects you're coming up with! The science fair is mandatory for all third grade students so put those thinking caps on and start brainstorming!

Happy Mid-Winter Break!

I know the posts have been few and far in between lately with such a busy schedule at school but I'm hoping you all enjoy your mid-winter breaks and get some much needed rest! I'm hoping that after the break I can be back to posting at least once a week! :) Fingers crossed for the best!

Get plenty of rest and have fun! See you in a week!

Valentine Party

Valentines Day is tomorrow so bring in those Valentines! We will be passing out our valentines starting about 2:15 tomorrow afternoon and please make sure that EVERY child has a valentine to make sure that feelings don't get hurt. Thank you! Can't wait to see all the pink and red!

LICE

Just a warning that lice was found in our classroom today. As a class we discussed ways that you can prevent the spread of lice which included, pulling long hair back, not sharing coats, jackets, hats, scarves, etc., and not touching our heads together.

Our classroom was deep cleaned today so we should be safe but we want to make sure we all take care and do our part to stop the lice from spreading.

Thanks for your help and support!

**NEW** DonorsChoose and Book Clubs

Well we are back from that crazy snow schedule and trying to get back into our routine of school. We are getting ready to start our first book club rotation of the year, which is super exciting! We have been studying the fantasy genre in reading and writing and we are getting ready to start reading fantasy books! I can't wait to see how things go!

We have been taking a look at some videos from a great teacher blog Life in 4B... on how our reading discussions should go. Thanks for Miss Bongers in Wisconsin has an AMAZING blog that has been an inspiration for our classroom this year! We watched this video to see a bad example of book group discussions. Then we watched this video and saw what a good book group discussion should look like! Talk about a difference! We saw so many things that will help our book groups go much smoother!

In other news, as promised, our newest DonorsChoose project is up and running! We are requesting a set of leveled books for our classroom and for the school book room. I am working hard to finish our winter reading assessments. This will allow us to have students reading at their appropriate reading level - books that aren't too hard and not too easy. We would really appreciate any financial support that your family would like to give to make sure that our reading improves and grows to get ready for fourth grade! You can look up our project on www.donorschoose.org as "Lovin' a Leveled Library"! Thanks in advance for your support!

February is almost here already - wow, did January go by fast! Our wonderful room parents will be getting a Valentine's Day Party letter to come out fairly soon so we can get ready to party! I will be sending a class list home as well if you're interested in sending in Valentines. Please make sure that you send enough for everyone in the class if you're going to send some in to make sure there aren't any hurt feelings! :)

Thanks again for your continued support throughout the year!

UPDATE: No School 1/18

Due to weather concerns, schools are cancelled tomorrow, Wednesday, January 18th. Enjoy the weather and stay safe and warm out there!

NEW DonorsChoose Project Coming Soon

Well we have another project on www.donorschoose.org coming down the line. It has been submitted and is awaiting approval. I have had several families ask how they can financially support our classroom and this is a GREAT way to help us out! This project not only helps our classroom get some MUCH NEEDED nonfiction books into the hands of all the Rockin' Room 15 students, but also provides another set for the school book room to make sure that all students at North Beach can have access to these books as well! So tell your friends, family, and neighbors to check out our page and support us if they can! Every little bit helps! I will post a link to our project as soon as it's funded. THANK YOU!

Wacky Weather!

Well today was quite a weird day! 2 hour late start AND a 2 hour early dismissal... let me just say that that doesn't happen too often (and thank goodness! I feel like we were only in class for about an hour today!).

Keep an eye on the weather and listen for the district to make a final call on whether school will be cancelled tomorrow or not. Who knows what's going to happen tomorrow!?

Stay safe and warm tonight!

No homework for students tonight. Rest, relax, and enjoy the time with family! :)

We are Back!

Welcome back from break (even though we came back last week!). :)

Things are back in full swing, trying to make the most of this short month. This week is our only full week in January so time is precious!

Thursday is our first field trip to Garfield High School to see their production of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I CANNOT WAIT! That was one of my favorite books in third grade so I can't wait to see what happens and how amazing it is. Several classes went and saw it today and they had nothing but great things to say about it.

Thursday is also when the book orders are due! Your student should have an order form and I will be placing the order Thursday night. If you want to order online, and haven't before, our classroom activation code is J2J6H. There are some amazing deals on books this month so have a look!

We are also starting our Fantasy genre study. Next week we will be working in book groups to read and discuss different fantasy novels. We are also writing our own fantasy story and the students have some AMAZING ideas so far! This project will really let their imaginations run wild, and with this group there is plenty of imagination to go around!

We just want to try to harness our creative energy in positive ways. There have been several students lately drawing on... well... Everything they can get their hands on. Desks. Chairs. Hands. Clothing. The list goes on. I know that our class has so much creative energy for the arts and I hope that we can channel that into our art projects and into creative ways of expression rather than doodling over the entire classroom. Hopefully this fantasy project will get some of those creative juices out in a positive way. Fingers crossed!

Thank you again for all of your help and support!