I found this awesome site that has interactive tools on just about every subject. I will post this link under my helpful links on the side of my blog page. I plan to use this a lot in class so this will helpful way to look back at what we've done while your kids are doing their homework. Have fun!
Interactive Sites for Any Subject
Monday, February 24, 2014
Week of Feb 24th
Alright my last post was just a little to myself and anyone that chose to read it that February will be over soon. So here's what our last week of February will look like:
Religion
Our class will be working on writing a short devotion to share with the rest of the elementary grades during National Lutheran Schools Week (March 3rd - March 7th)
Language Arts
Spelling words are picked and will be sent home tomorrow. This week's story talks about recipes and we will be doing some fun activities to go along with that. We are going to practice reading and writing our own recipes. I would encourage you to let your kiddos help you cook this week so they can get some practice at actually following a recipe.
Science
We have started our space unit. They will be getting a packet on Wednesday that outlines this a little more. They will also be getting a folder to keep all of their assignments and activities in until the end of the unit. The due date for everything on their assignment list for science will be March 14th. I will be putting up resources for them to use on the blog that can be used as an aid on these assignments.
National Lutheran Schools Week
March 3rd- March 7th
We will be sending out more information this week. Please note that Grandparents day is Thursday March 6th. You should have received an email about invitations for Grandparents a couple weeks ago.
Operetta
Thursday March 6th @ 7pm
Religion
Our class will be working on writing a short devotion to share with the rest of the elementary grades during National Lutheran Schools Week (March 3rd - March 7th)
Language Arts
Spelling words are picked and will be sent home tomorrow. This week's story talks about recipes and we will be doing some fun activities to go along with that. We are going to practice reading and writing our own recipes. I would encourage you to let your kiddos help you cook this week so they can get some practice at actually following a recipe.
Science
We have started our space unit. They will be getting a packet on Wednesday that outlines this a little more. They will also be getting a folder to keep all of their assignments and activities in until the end of the unit. The due date for everything on their assignment list for science will be March 14th. I will be putting up resources for them to use on the blog that can be used as an aid on these assignments.
National Lutheran Schools Week
March 3rd- March 7th
We will be sending out more information this week. Please note that Grandparents day is Thursday March 6th. You should have received an email about invitations for Grandparents a couple weeks ago.
Operetta
Thursday March 6th @ 7pm
A little stress relief
Dear Parents,
I have a confession to make to you all. It seems like every year I end up hating the month of February a little more than I did the year before. Why? I'm not completely sure, but I think it has to do with a combination of things. Number one on this list is the weather...let's face it, it absolutely stinks. Gray skies and snow don't help a girl's mood when she comes from a state that gets at least a little sun almost every day. Reason number 2 that February stinks is that it's smack dab in the middle of Christmas and Spring Break. You just get plain tired and there isn't enough time in the day to get everything done. I'm sure I'm preaching to the choir on this but hear me out. The reason I'm making this confession that February stresses me out beyond belief is because I have a hunch that some of you may feel the same way. If I'm wrong then I'm honestly happy for you. If I'm right, then keep reading.
I don't have a magic cure for this bummer of a month mood. Sure some sun and warm weather would help a lot. Unfortunately that doesn't seem to be in the forecast here in St. Louis. What I do have is a God that promises to give me the exact amount of peace and strength that I need to get through whatever it is that I can't get a handle on. Included in this peace and strength package is a guarantee to provide for me, love me, and walk beside me every day. And since he's already there walking beside me, he even says he'll carry my burdens for me. You know all those seemingly little things like laundry, groceries, grading papers, fighting kids, car problems, sleeping through your alarm, daydreaming about spring, broken cell phones, and stinky colds. Seems like a pretty good deal when you think about it. Now I just need to give myself the permission to trust that he will follow through on his promises, which sometimes seems harder than stressing out about them. This is what I have found that actual works:
Whenever I find myself rushing to beat the clock and pack more than humanly possible into an 8 hour day I say a prayer asking God to make me stop. I never know how he's going to answer this prayer. Sometimes I like his answer, and sometimes he really teaches me patience in his answer. The point though is that he is always faithful in his promises, every single one of them. He's always there with me and if that's true, then I really have nothing else to stress about.
I have a confession to make to you all. It seems like every year I end up hating the month of February a little more than I did the year before. Why? I'm not completely sure, but I think it has to do with a combination of things. Number one on this list is the weather...let's face it, it absolutely stinks. Gray skies and snow don't help a girl's mood when she comes from a state that gets at least a little sun almost every day. Reason number 2 that February stinks is that it's smack dab in the middle of Christmas and Spring Break. You just get plain tired and there isn't enough time in the day to get everything done. I'm sure I'm preaching to the choir on this but hear me out. The reason I'm making this confession that February stresses me out beyond belief is because I have a hunch that some of you may feel the same way. If I'm wrong then I'm honestly happy for you. If I'm right, then keep reading.
I don't have a magic cure for this bummer of a month mood. Sure some sun and warm weather would help a lot. Unfortunately that doesn't seem to be in the forecast here in St. Louis. What I do have is a God that promises to give me the exact amount of peace and strength that I need to get through whatever it is that I can't get a handle on. Included in this peace and strength package is a guarantee to provide for me, love me, and walk beside me every day. And since he's already there walking beside me, he even says he'll carry my burdens for me. You know all those seemingly little things like laundry, groceries, grading papers, fighting kids, car problems, sleeping through your alarm, daydreaming about spring, broken cell phones, and stinky colds. Seems like a pretty good deal when you think about it. Now I just need to give myself the permission to trust that he will follow through on his promises, which sometimes seems harder than stressing out about them. This is what I have found that actual works:
Whenever I find myself rushing to beat the clock and pack more than humanly possible into an 8 hour day I say a prayer asking God to make me stop. I never know how he's going to answer this prayer. Sometimes I like his answer, and sometimes he really teaches me patience in his answer. The point though is that he is always faithful in his promises, every single one of them. He's always there with me and if that's true, then I really have nothing else to stress about.
Monday, February 10, 2014
Week of Feb. 10th
If you had walked into my classroom this morning, the student to teacher ratio would have been approximately 1:5. It was so lovely to have the guidance counselor, our new executive director, myself, our seminarian, and a college student observer in there all at the same time. At lunch, Mrs. Endorf even told me that she thought she was missing a party. Apparently my room has become the fun place to be in the mornings!
We will be saying good bye to our Seminarian, Joe Leech, this Friday. If you happen to see him in the mornings be sure to thank him for all his hard work the last few weeks. I also have a college student, Miss Natalie Grimm, observing for a couple days this week. She will not be doing any teaching, but I will use her as an extra hand on our project in math this week.
Mornings in 3rd grade
I am feeling the need to ask all of you parents for help in getting our mornings started a little sooner. Hopefully getting to school before 8:20 will help your child get organized and feel a little less stressed. I realize that the winter weather and lack of sun makes it difficult to get up and get going. However, the last few weeks I have had 6 or 7 students trickle in after 8:20 nearly every morning. When this happens it makes it hard for your kids to get themselves organized, ask questions, and be prepared for class. It also makes it difficult for the kids who are already there because they have to wait for me to help the kids who are late. I will be shutting my door at 8:20 and starting my day promptly. If they are not ready for class to start then, they will have to finish these tasks at recess. I greatly appreciate any help you give your kids in this area. Thanks a bunch!
Math
We are learning how to use find the area of squares, use exponents to simplify these equations, and recognize perfect squares.
Social Studies
We are using this week to look at the current events happening in Sochi.
Science
Next week we will be starting our space unit. This will be a long unit and will involve some out of class work on projects. More information will be coming next week, but plan on having a due date of March 14th for several projects.
Valentine's Day
If you send Valentines with your child, please make sure there are enough for everyone. We have 22 students in our class. If you would like a list of names, I can send one home with your child in their folder. I do not want to post all of their names on the blog for safety reasons. Another option would be to just leave names off and send enough for all the kids. Our party will be at 2 pm on Friday this week. Thank you to all of the parents that have volunteered to help with that!
Volunteers needed!!!
Mr. Fishburn and I are planning to do some hands - on stations for our space unit and that will require at least 5 parents between both classes to help things run smoothly. We will be doing this on Monday February 24th from 1:15 - 2:45pm. If you can come in and be an extra hand that day we would love to have you join us. We'll give you the directions that day, just bring yourself. Let me know if you are able to come help us out!
Art
I will be putting up the Treasure Maps that your kiddos made for Art/Social Studies. Be sure to check the hallway at the end of the week to find your child's map.
We will be saying good bye to our Seminarian, Joe Leech, this Friday. If you happen to see him in the mornings be sure to thank him for all his hard work the last few weeks. I also have a college student, Miss Natalie Grimm, observing for a couple days this week. She will not be doing any teaching, but I will use her as an extra hand on our project in math this week.
Mornings in 3rd grade
I am feeling the need to ask all of you parents for help in getting our mornings started a little sooner. Hopefully getting to school before 8:20 will help your child get organized and feel a little less stressed. I realize that the winter weather and lack of sun makes it difficult to get up and get going. However, the last few weeks I have had 6 or 7 students trickle in after 8:20 nearly every morning. When this happens it makes it hard for your kids to get themselves organized, ask questions, and be prepared for class. It also makes it difficult for the kids who are already there because they have to wait for me to help the kids who are late. I will be shutting my door at 8:20 and starting my day promptly. If they are not ready for class to start then, they will have to finish these tasks at recess. I greatly appreciate any help you give your kids in this area. Thanks a bunch!
Math
We are learning how to use find the area of squares, use exponents to simplify these equations, and recognize perfect squares.
Social Studies
We are using this week to look at the current events happening in Sochi.
Science
Next week we will be starting our space unit. This will be a long unit and will involve some out of class work on projects. More information will be coming next week, but plan on having a due date of March 14th for several projects.
Valentine's Day
If you send Valentines with your child, please make sure there are enough for everyone. We have 22 students in our class. If you would like a list of names, I can send one home with your child in their folder. I do not want to post all of their names on the blog for safety reasons. Another option would be to just leave names off and send enough for all the kids. Our party will be at 2 pm on Friday this week. Thank you to all of the parents that have volunteered to help with that!
Volunteers needed!!!
Mr. Fishburn and I are planning to do some hands - on stations for our space unit and that will require at least 5 parents between both classes to help things run smoothly. We will be doing this on Monday February 24th from 1:15 - 2:45pm. If you can come in and be an extra hand that day we would love to have you join us. We'll give you the directions that day, just bring yourself. Let me know if you are able to come help us out!
Art
I will be putting up the Treasure Maps that your kiddos made for Art/Social Studies. Be sure to check the hallway at the end of the week to find your child's map.
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
Boxes Anyone?
Our seminary student will be doing a very fun unit on "the armor of God" next week as his last unit. He has asked me to see if anyone has boxes they could bring in to help with an activity. Ideally if we can get the following per student that would be great:
- 1 small moving box
- 1 medium moving box
Snowy Day Proofreading
Since we have another lovely snow day, I told your kiddos to ask you for some help in proofreading their Slavery Reflection Papers. I hadn't planned on so many of them using google docs to write them, but it actually helps a lot. Here's what we will do:
- If they shared a google doc version with me, I will read it quick and leave comments to let them know if they are on the right track. You can find the comments on right side of the document. These will mostly be comments on the content of the paper. If you can help them check for spelling and punctuation errors, that will be wonderful.
- My suggestion would be to either highlight the text that needs to be fixed and let them use dictionaries to find the correct spellings. For punctuation mistakes, you may just have to point them out directly.
- You could also just print their document and then use the proofreading mark chart that I provided the link to below.
- If they have a paper version, still check for spelling and punctuation errors, but feel free to use the marks on this chart. This is what we use in class, so they should be somewhat familiar with them.
Final Draft will be due on Friday. Even if they have done it on google docs, I would still like a printed copy turned into me.
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
Tumble Books
I forgot to tell you the username and password for tumble books. It will be permanently on my Reading Page but here you go.
username: christcls
password: books
username: christcls
password: books
Week of Feb. 3rd
Welcome to our crazy busy week parents! We started on Monday with our field trip to the History Museum. The kids learned a lot about Thomas Jefferson and slavery. We then came back to school and answered their questions as well as read books about Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth. They will be bringing home a writing assignment to help them reflect on what they learned. I will also share the google doc with all of your kids so they can access it at home if we don't have school tomorrow.
Rough Draft - Due Wed. ( if we have a snow day tomorrow I would ask that parents proofread their rough drafts so that I can have a final draft by Friday.) I'll put up another post if we have a snow day to help you with that.
Final Draft - Due Fri.
Spelling
We will spend 2 weeks on this spelling list. The list will get posted tomorrow (Wed.) after the kids and I have a chance to pick the words. Check the spelling page tomorrow afternoon for more directions about tests and assignments.
Keep working on multiplication. Normal math homework will start again on Wednesday.
Bus Money
I know I've been collecting for a lot of things lately, but I am still missing bus money from a few of you. If you aren't sure if you owe still, email me and I'll let you know. I have to have it all in by Thursday at the latest. ($5)
Tumble Books
We are using an online library at CCLS called Tumblebooks. You can access this library at home to search for books or find ones that we've read in class by visiting this website.
Tumble Books
Rough Draft - Due Wed. ( if we have a snow day tomorrow I would ask that parents proofread their rough drafts so that I can have a final draft by Friday.) I'll put up another post if we have a snow day to help you with that.
Final Draft - Due Fri.
Spelling
We will spend 2 weeks on this spelling list. The list will get posted tomorrow (Wed.) after the kids and I have a chance to pick the words. Check the spelling page tomorrow afternoon for more directions about tests and assignments.
Keep working on multiplication. Normal math homework will start again on Wednesday.
Bus Money
I know I've been collecting for a lot of things lately, but I am still missing bus money from a few of you. If you aren't sure if you owe still, email me and I'll let you know. I have to have it all in by Thursday at the latest. ($5)
Tumble Books
We are using an online library at CCLS called Tumblebooks. You can access this library at home to search for books or find ones that we've read in class by visiting this website.
Tumble Books
Shoeman Water Project
We are collecting shoes for the Shoeman Water Project. Please bring gently used shoes (no holes) to school through February 28th. Shoes need to be tied or rubber band together and placed in the bucket at the Elementary building. Thank you for your generosity.
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