Week of Oct. 19th

Reading: 
This week we are working on using our voices as we read out loud.  We will be doing some Reader's Theater skits and recording them to work on the fluency of our voices as well as tone and inflection.  We will also be looking at summarizing stories by pulling out the characters, setting, and plot of what we read.

Math: 
We are beginning to work with money more in depth this week.  On your child's math homework, it is imperative that they correctly use the dollar sign and decimal point when writing answers that deal with money.  Starting today we have begun doing more challenging time tests for addition facts.  Each child will work their way through addition from 0-12 and then move on to subtraction 0-12.  The goal is that they can complete 50 facts in less than 2 minutes.  The quicker they can move through these, the easier math will be for them as we dig into more challenging concepts.

Science: 
We have finished up our Animal Unit and are doing a short week on the 3 states of matter.  There will be some homework assignments coming home since this is a short unit.  We will have a 10 point vocabulary quiz on Monday of next week.  They will have a study guide in their science binders at the end of the week.

Conferences:
We will be spending a large chunk of time this week and next week getting ready for our student led conferences.  This just means that we have a little less time for study hall in class.  I will do my best to compensate for that in terms of how much is assigned.  Please be sure to send back the yellow conference time request form by Wednesday to make sure you get your preferential time slot.

CCLS Book Fair:
The book fair is set for Oct. 27th - 29th.  This is a great way to get your kiddos interested in reading, do some early Christmas shopping, and support your school.  The book fair committee is always looking for more volunteers.  You can click on the Volunteer Sign Up link to find a way that you could help out.

Book Fair Hours & Special Events:

Tuesday, 10/27:                    

7:15am–7:45am ~ Teacher Preview!

8:00am–3:30pm ~ Fair is open.  K-4 students will visit with their classes.

6:00pm–7:30pm ~ Fair is open during the Candy Corn Festival!

Wednesday, 10/28:   

7:30am–3:30pm ~ Fair is open.

7:30am–8:15am ~ Breakfast With A Buddy!  Students may invite a relative or special friend for a light breakfast and book fair shopping!

                                                                                                                                    

Thursday, 10/29:       

8:00am–7:00pm ~ Fair is open during school and Parent-Teacher Conferences.

Important Dates:

• Wednesday Oct. 21st - Conference time request forms due back 
• Friday Oct. 23rd - Fall party at 2pm 
• Thursday Oct. 29th - Half day of school (Parent Teacher Conferences)
• Friday Oct. 30th - No School (Parent Teacher Conferences) 
• Monday Nov. 16th - Field Trip to Daniel Boone Home (Mr. Fishburn and I will send out an email regarding chaperones and other information.)
• Friday Nov. 20th - Thanksgiving Feast - ALL parents are invited to come!

Week of Oct. 12th

Important Notes:

• Book It - Book It is a reading program that encourages kids to read for at least 20 minutes a day.  Studies show that kids who read for that amount of time each day are more successful in several aspects of their lives as they grow up.  Here are the basics of the program: 
• Each night that your child reads (they must be the one doing the reading) they can color in the day on the calendar that was sent home last week.  
• Since I sent it home a week after October started, I told them they need to complete at least 18 days of reading.  
• If they bring it back to me with 18 days filled in they will receive a coupon for a free personal pizza from Pizza Hut.  
• These are due back on November 2nd.  
• Scholastic Book Orders - The next due date is October 28th.  Every book you buy for your child earns points for me to buy books for the class with.  Here is our class activation code to order online with.  PBGXF.  I will post this permanently at the top of our Reading page on the blog.  
• Student Led Conferences - The next couple of weeks will be spent working heavily on preparing our conferences for you.  If you haven't seen certain papers come home, it is most likely because your child is saving to use at their conference.  If you would like to see it before then, feel free to come down to the room and look in their conference binder.  Your child should know how to help you with this, but I am willing to help if needed.  
• Book Fair - Look for more info to come home this weekend.  

Reading:
We have been exploring the Problem and Solution of stories in class.  Last week we looked at Curious George books and found the problem, solution and action steps in his stories.  This week we will be applying this skill to writing our own stories.  You can expect to see a full cycle of the writing process in the next couple of weeks.

Math:
We have begun working a lot more with word problems.  Addition problems are referred to as "some and some more" problems and subtraction problems are referred to as "some, some went away" problems.  These problems build on the assumption that students are fluent readers and can decipher information into multiple steps.  In class I have the kids pick out the important information first and then turn it into an equation or number sentence.

Science:
We are finishing up our Animal Unit this week in class.  The kids have shown very good understanding of the concepts we covered and I don't feel it is necessary to have them take a test for this unit.  Instead we are using the app "Pic Collage" to create collages out of their zoo pictures.  They must classify the animals accurately in order to complete this project.  After today, most of the kids have either completed or almost completed the project and will not need to work on this at home.  
Religion:
We are still talking about the 10 commandments.  This week we are focusing on the 8th commandment and how our words hold great importance.  We will also be finishing up a small service project for Webster Gardens church.  Our class was asked to write notes to put inside the pockets of coats that are being donated to kids in the community.  Not only has this been a great lesson in letter writing, but it has opened up discussions on how to share our faith with those outside of our immediate circles.  The kids are doing a great job!