Week of August 31st

Religion: This week we are studying the 1st and 2nd commandments.  We have had some great discussions in class about how to make God our #1 priority, even when the world doesn't.  I'd encourage you to have a family discussion at home about this as well.  Your kiddos have some great insights and many more questions than I can possibly answer in class.

Math:  We are continuing to learn about time and how to use a clock as well as thermometers.  The best way to help these concepts stick is through practical daily application.  Ask your kiddos what time it is and don't let them look at a digital clock.

Reading:  This week we are reading a story about a little boy who writes letters to his grandmother in Korea.  This would be a great opportunity to connect with long distance relatives.  We will be working on story elements such as plot, setting, and character traits as well as writing letters in the correct form.

Social Studies:  Tomorrow we will be sending home a test review that is required to have filled out and turned in by Thursday.  This will be worth around 10 points.  On Thursday there will be a short 10-15 point quiz over the continents, hemispheres, oceans etc.  If your kiddo is able to fill out the review guide and goes over it a couple of times they will be in great shape for the quiz.

Spelling:  I am still working through a few glitches and perfecting our individual spelling list system.  One thing that I noticed this week while checking lists is that some of the kids picked all of their words from the very first couple pages of the word bank packet.  In order to expose them to all the phonics skills and a variety of words, please make sure your child spends time looking through the entire packet of words and makes an effort to pick words throughout the packet.  

Field Trips: 

• Friday September 4th - Fresh Pasture Farms and Trinity Lutheran Church in Soulard.  I can still use a couple extra parents if anyone would like to come.  Please let me know if you're interested.  Bring good walking shoes and a sack lunch.  The bus will be leaving at 9:15 and returning at 2:15.  
• Monday October 6th - St. Louis Zoo  We will need quite a few parents to help us walk around with the kids on this trip.  Please let me know if you are able to come with us.  The bus will leave school at 9 am and return to school at 2 pm.  Bring a sack lunch and good walking shoes.  

Week of August 24th

Field Trips
We have officially confirmed 2 of our field trips for the year.  You are welcome to join us on any of the trips we have planned.  Keep your calendars open and email me if you'd like to come with us.

• Friday September 4th - Fresh Pasture farms and Old Historic Trinity Lutheran Church in Soulard.  
• We will be exploring the differences between rural and urban communities and how they change over time.  
• We will arrive at Fresh Pasture Farms at 10am and stay for lunch.  We will then meet at Trinity Lutheran Church in Soulard at 1 pm.  
• Bring good walking shoes and a sack lunch. 
• Tuesday October 6th - St. Louis Zoo in Forest Park
• We will meet at the zoo at 9:30 and be back at school by 1:30.  Bring a sack lunch!

This Week

Religion: We are finishing our talks on prayer.  We are also beginning to learn about the 10 Commandments.  Memory work is the 1st Commandment and it's meaning.  

Math: We have set up Interactive Math Notebooks and previewed how to use a textbook.  This week we will review calendar, clock, and temperature concepts.  Your child should still be bringing home a math worksheet at this point.  Depending on how things progress, I am hoping to start having them work out of the book and transfer information after lesson 10.  

Language Arts: We will be analyzing story structures this week by picking out characters, settings and plots.  We will also work with "statements vs. questions" in grammar and apply this to our writing and reading responses.  

Social Studies:  Our first week of Social Studies is all about our community and it's position on the globe.  We are talking about words like hemispheres, equator, the Prime Meridian.  We will be having a short quiz on this information at the end of next week.  You can expect a review coming home on Monday or Tuesday next week.  

Important Dates:

• Thursday August 27th - Curriculum Night 
• This is an adult only night where the teachers share with the parents about our curriculum and expectations for the year. Come and enjoy some cookies at 6:45 pm and then we will begin at 7pm in the Friendship Hall with introductions and information.  Following that, the teachers will have two sessions to share with you about their classrooms.  The evening should conclude before 8:30.   
• Friday September 4th - Field Trip
• Fresh Pasture Farms and Old Historic Trinity Lutheran School - Bring a sack lunch!

1st Week Notes/Helpful Reminders

We made it through our first week and I think we are all still smiling, but maybe a little bit sleepy.  The first part of this post will be some tips to clarify routines and what is expected of your kiddos in class.  At the end, I have shared some of the best moments of our first week together.  Make sure you scroll all the way to the bottom!


Spelling
Today we took our 1st spelling test on everyone's names.  I have some pictures down below.
Check the Spelling Page of my blog to see the steps and instructions for what your kiddos need to do at home this weekend.
Spelling Page  (click)

All About Me Collage
We are putting together collages of the kids that will be hung up in the hall for the whole 3rd grade.  The object of these collages is to learn about each other through riddles.  Here are directions.

1. Write "Who Am I?" on the front of the folder so it can open UP (not DOWN).
2. Write 3 clues about yourself to help people figure out whose folder it is.  These should be unique to you and not too obvious.
3. On the inside of the folder write your name big and make it look however you would like.
4. Fill up both sides of the inside of your folder with pictures and things that tell about you.  Be creative and fill up the whole thing!

Planners

I want to quickly share with you how I am teaching the kids to fill out their planners.  Hopefully this will cut down on confusion at home when we start getting into more daily assignments.  

• Each morning your kids should fill out their planners with the assignments that I have posted on the board for them.  
• I have them write assignments down on the day they are assigned along with a due date.  
• Most of the time assignments will be due the next day, however it will always be specified for you and the kids in the planner.  
• When your child has finished the assignment, I have instructed them to highlight in their planner.  Anything that is unhighlighted still needs to be done.  
• This should make it so that you can flip through their planner and see what still needs to be done.  
• If it is helpful to your family to write reminders in the planner for things or write notes on the day that something is due, you are welcome to do this at home with your child.  

Here's a quick glance at what my planner on the board looks like and what a correctly filled out student planner would look like.  

My planner (Left) Missing Assignments for the Week (middle) No Name Papers (Right)

The purple star means I have checked it.  If there is no star, your child did not get their planner out for me to check.
Highlighted items have been finished.


Great moments from our week!

Playing get to know you board games while we learn how to do group work 

Finding our prayer partners with Mr. Fishburn's class

Taking our first spelling test

First Day of School!

Hello parents!  I had a wonderful day with your kiddos.  They were all so eager to be here and very adaptable to our crazy day.  I think it is going to be a great year.  This week we will be spending the majority of our time getting to know each other and learning routines.  I believe building relationships is the best way to start off the year.  We will then be diving into our schoolwork next week.

Things you should know for this week:

• Most  assignments will be graded on completion this week so that we can get used to our routines in the classroom.  It's always wise to practice.  
• We will have a spelling test with all the kid's first names on Friday.  This will also only be graded on completion so I can teach the spelling routine.  Your kid's should still practice these names:  
• Caleb
• Mason
• Logan
• Colton
• Emma
• Ryan
• Savannah
• Sophia
• Layna
• Joey
• Evaline
• Nicholas
• Kate
• Eli
• Mallory
• Evie
• Thelma
• Our first week of memory will be the only thing graded on accuracy.  It is the theme verse for the year. 
• 1 Thessalonians 3:12 - May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other.  

Here's a little peek at what we did today: 

Classroom Scavenger Hunt to learn where things are in the room. 

Name Art - Due Wed.  

Making classroom Expectations (for me and for them)

Today your kiddos told me what they expect me to do this year. Tomorrow we will talk about their goals and my expectations for them. 

Last Few Notes of the Year

Our school year is winding down, but your kiddos are still working very hard, and I'm sure you are too.  Thanks for continuing to help and encourage them finish out their 3rd grade year strong.

Here are my short and to the point reminders/notes for the next couple of weeks: 

• Service Project Forms - I need to have these turned in NO LATER than Monday 5/18.  Some of you have already turned them in.  Great Job!!

• Last day to turn in work of any kind is this Friday!!! As of this afternoon, MyKoob is completely up to date with the work that I have received from the kids.  

• Field Day - This Friday - all day.  I have posted the colors your kids are supposed to wear outside the room.  I believe Mrs. Knost also sent an email about it not too long ago. 
• Please send in $1 to Mrs. Glackin to help defer the cost of Ted Drewes.  

• Amazing Race Field Trip - Monday 5/18    We will leave school at 9 and meet any parent helpers at the Tennis Court parking lots in Forest Park around 9:20.  Please bring
• good walking shoes
• water
• lunch
• sunscreen/rain gear (we will be going rain or shine)

• 8th Grade Graduation - Thursday 5/21 at 7 pm - Middle School Campus

• Last Day of School - Friday 5/22 - 11am dismissal

We still have a few projects/assignments that we are finishing up this week and next week.  These include: 

• A final science assignment using the app "Skitch" (done in class and due this Friday)
• Reading our Book Club books and filling out reading strategy pages each day 
• I am grading these on completion as well as understanding of the skill.  They are only worth 5 pts each, but can add up if your child does not spend adequate time and care to complete them correctly.  This is a final assessment of where their reading skills are at for the year.  
• Next week we will write and proofread a short summary of their Book Club books.  This will be done in class and only becomes homework if they do not complete it at school.  
• A few more math assignments!!!
• This is the last week for Spelling and Memory!!!

Math Homework

Hi there!  As I told you yesterday, we will be working through the 4th grade way of writing out homework to make the transition a little less stressful next year.  Instead of a textbook, I handed them their regular math worksheets and told them to treat it like a book (no writing on it).  We went through how to record their answers and work out the problems, but I have a feeling some of them may be nervous about it.  Just in case, here is what we went over in class and how it should look.

They need to do both sides of Lesson 105 for tomorrow.  

Pretend Textbook Pages

Answer Sheet

Week of May 4th - 2 more Mondays

"2 more Mondays."  That was the phrase I heard all over the place today and then suddenly realized that it's true.  Holy cow the year went fast!  I owe a huge thank you to everyone who helped out on the zoo field trip.  I know it was a long, hot day, but hopefully you all had a good time with the kiddos and the ipads.  I am excited for you to see their final projects.  Here's what you should know for the next couple of weeks:

Important Dates
Monday May 11th - Ecosystem posters due ( I will be sending these home on Thursday so that you can have a little extra time to work on them)
Friday May 15th - Field Day (Look for info from Mrs. Knost)
Friday May 15th - Last day to turn in Missing/Late Work
Monday May 18th  - Amazing Race Field Trip (Leave school at 9 am and meet at the Tennis Court parking lot in Forest Park)
Thursday May 21st - 8th grade Graduation at Concordia 7pm
Friday May 22nd - Last Day of School (Dismiss at 11am)

Science
We are still working through our Animal Unit.  Most of the work will be done at school, but please refer to the calendar in your child's Science Binder for more specifics.

Math
I will be working with the kids on how to copy work from a Math textbook in the next couple of weeks.   This can be a difficult transition in 4th grade, and I would like to help the kids practice a little bit before the end of the year.  Don't worry, we'll ease into slowly.  Just look for their math work to be mostly done in class instead of being sent home on worksheets.

Reading
I will be doing one more short Book Club with the kids, but we won't be doing the projects at the end like we did last time.  Your child's grades will be based on their ability to write out a summary of the book.

Spelling
Due to our field trip, we will have a short list of words this week.  We will be making these tomorrow in class.  There will still be a spelling project due at the end of the week.

Thank you all for the lovely yellow and pink flowers.  They are making my room smell very sweet!