A Peek At Our Week 05/25/18

MARK YOUR CALENDARS:

** Newly added dates are marked with ** for those who follow and mark their calendars every week.

Monday, May 28th: NO SCHOOL - Memorial Day

Thursday, May 31st: International Festival 6-8 p.m.

Thursday, June 7th: Children's Museum field trip

**Friday, June 15th: End of the Year Celebration - Poetry Slam 8:30-9:00 a.m.

Friday, June 22: Last day of school for students. NOON release.

NEW INFORMATION FOR FAMILIES:

Poetry Slam: Please join us on Friday, June 15th from 8:30-9:00 a.m. in our classroom for our end of year celebration - Our Poetry Slam. Be prepared to be wowed by our poems and accompanying art. More info to come.  

ASK ME ABOUTS: 

Ask me about...

• the poems I read and wrote this week. We read poems that gave us strong feelings, make us think or question, had rhythm, had juicy words or phrases and had onomatopoeia. Have me tell you about some of these elements.  
• our butterflies. What do I now know about a butterfly's life cycle.
• our plants. What is happening with the plants in the light box, window and in the dark?
• how to use dollars and cents notation when writing monetary amounts.
• different ways to make the oo sound (as in school)...there are 6 of them! What are some words that have this sound?
• different ways to take deep breaths. Why is is useful to take deep breaths? When would be a useful time to use deep breaths as a tool or strategy?

LOOKING FORWARD:

Looking forward, we will:

• continue reading and writing poems.  
• continue work in unit 15 in fundations, focusing on the vowel teams oo, ou, ue and ew.
• begin publishing our opinions.
• continue observing our plants.
• explore maps of Ghana and learn about Accra, the capital city.
• continue working with place value in math.

Enjoy the long weekend! 

A Peek at Our Week 5/18/18

MARK YOUR CALENDARS:

** Newly added dates are marked with ** for those who follow and mark their calendars every week.

Thursday, May 24th: Art Show - 5-7 p.m.

Monday, May 28th: NO SCHOOL - Memorial Day

Thursday, May 31st: International Festival 6-8 p.m.

Thursday, 6/7: Children's Museum field trip

Friday, June 22: Last day of school for students. NOON release.

ASK ME ABOUTS: 

Ask me about...

• a day in Ghana...This week we had a visit from Mr. Joe and Ms. Vida and they taught us about life in Ghana. 
• the poems I read this week. What are some things I visualized as I read? If you have any favorite poems, please share them with me!
• school tools...What tools do I use at school and how do they help me? 
• how to measure in inches and centimeters. Have me show you my measuring skills!
• what I observed about my caterpillar this week. What does it look like? How did it change? Why do I think it changed? What do I predict will happen next.
• what I observed with my plant this week. What does it look like? How did it change? What do I predict will happen next? 

LOOKING FORWARD:

Looking forward, we will:

• continue reading and writing poems. 
• work in unit 15 in fundations, focusing on the vowel teams oo, ou, ue and ew.
• begin wrapping up our opinion unit in writing.
• continue observing our caterpillars and plants.
• work more with place value in math.

Enjoy the weekend!

A peek at our week 5/4/18

MARK YOUR CALENDARS:

** Newly added dates are marked with ** for those who follow and mark their calendars every week.

**Saturday, May 5th (rescheduled from 4/29): Memorial-Spaulding Spring Gardening Project 1-3 p.m. Click HERE to sign up.

Saturday, May 5th: Memorial-Spaulding Community Gala 7 p.m.- 11 p.m. 

**Thursday, May 24th: Art Show - 5-7 p.m.

Monday, May 28th: NO SCHOOL - Memorial Day

Thursday, May 31st: International Festival 6-8 p.m.

Thursday, 6/7: Children's Museum field trip

Friday, June 22: Last day of school for students. NOON release.

NEW INFORMATION FOR FAMILIES:

The Caterpillar Lab: in class, we are currently observing and learning about the life cycle of a butterfly. This community event connects well with our curriculum. You may want to check it out!

CAP: On Thursday, we had our first CAP session. We discussed:

• being safe, strong and free. 
• safe places and people in our lives. 
• having your children talk with you about what you would like them to do if you are ever separated in a public place, such as a store or museum. The suggestions were to either find someone who works at that location or a mom, however talk with your child about what you would like him/her to do.
• stranger safety.

ASK ME ABOUTS: 

Ask me about...

• what has wowed me in my classmates' China presentations so far...They have been wonderful! Thank you for supporting your children with their special projects!
• life in urban and rural China
• the Forbidden City
• what we can learn from a bar graph
• the zones of regulation. How do I feel when I am in the red, yellow, green and blue zones?
• What happened this week in Where the Mountain Meets the Moon?
• what I observed about my caterpillar this week. What does it look like? How did it change? Why do you think it changed? 

LOOKING FORWARD:

Looking forward, we will:

• have our second CAP session
• begin reading trickster tales and learning about trickster tale elements
• work in unit 14 in fundations, focusing on the vowel teams ou (as in trout) and ow (as is plow).
• learn about Chinese Food and Chinese New Year. 
• continue observing our caterpillars.
• explore measurement in math.

Enjoy the weekend!

A peek at our week 4/27/18

MARK YOUR CALENDARS:

** Newly added dates are marked with ** for those who follow and mark their calendars every week.

**Sunday, April 29th: Memorial-Spaulding Spring Gardening Project 1-3 p.m. Click HERE to sign up.

Monday, April 30th: China Projects Due. Your children have been sharing their learning already as we are studying the topics that they are studying at home. It's been really exciting to them to teach their classmates. Click HERE to access the information sheet if you need it.

Thursday, May 3rd: CAP session 1. Please send back signed CAP forms by this Monday.  Your child needs a signed form to participate. They are attached to the email sent on 4/27.

Thursday, May 3rd: 12:30 Release

**Saturday, May 5th: Memorial-Spaulding Community Gala 7 p.m.- 11 p.m. (I am so disappointed that I will not be able to join all of of you in this wonderful event. It is my son's 9th birthday and we will be hosting a slew of 3rd grade boys for a sleepover that night...Wish me luck!)

Monday, May 28th: NO SCHOOL - Memorial Day

Thursday, May 31st: International Festival

Thursday, 6/7: Children's Museum field trip

Friday, June 22: Last day of school for students. NOON release.

ASK ME ABOUTS: 

Ask me about...

• the pourquoi tale I am writing. What question is my pourquoi tale answering? How did the change happen? 
• the Yellow River and the Yangtze River. Why are they important to the people of China?
• homophones...what are they and what are some examples?
• using an open number line to show the difference between numbers, as we did when we solved number stories.
• the zones of regulation. What are the red, yellow, green and blue zones?\
• Where the Mountain Meets the Moon (a chapter book by Grace Lin, set in China, that we have been reading as a class). What problem is Minli trying to solve?
• my new pet(s) in the classroom. What are they and what will they become? 

LOOKING FORWARD:

Looking forward, we will:

• finish writing our pourquoi tales and share them with each other.
• finish unit 13 in fundations, focusing on the vowel teams oa, oe and ow and move into unit 14, focusing on the vowel teams ou (as in trout) and ow (as is plow).
• learn about life for children in urban and rural China and compare their lives to our own. 
• explore the Forbidden City and find our what the Forbidden City can teach us about Chinese culture and history.
• begin careful observations of our caterpillars.
• create graphs from data and explore fractions in math.

Enjoy the weekend!

A peek at our week: 4/13/18

MARK YOUR CALENDARS:

** Newly added dates are marked with ** for those who follow and mark their calendars every week.

Monday, April 16-Friday, April 20: NO SCHOOL - Spring Vacation

Thursday, May 3rd: 12:30 Release

**Monday, May 28th: NO SCHOOL - Memorial Day

Thursday, May 31st: International Festival

Thursday, 6/7: Children's Museum field trip

**Friday, June 22: Last day of school for students. NOON release.

REMINDERS FOR FAMILIES:

CAP: Please send back signed CAP forms as soon as you can (see email sent 4/6 for forms). Your child needs a signed form to participate.

China Project: Keep working on China projects. They are due on 4/30. Click HERE to access the information sheet if you need it!

ASK ME ABOUTS: 

Ask me about...

• pourquoi tales - what are they...what do they contain? 
• my opinions. Ask me for reasons and examples to support my opinion.     
• buyers, sellers, producers and consumers. 
• long o words. What are the ways to make the long o sound in words. Notice them when you are reading.
• using an open number line to show the difference between numbers, as we did when we played Hit the Target
• the 3 steps to problem solving (1. Stop and calm down. 2 Think about positive solutions to solve your problem. 3. Try out a solution. If it doesn't work, try something else.) 

LOOKING FORWARD:

Looking forward, we will:

• continue our folktales unit by reading and discussing pourquoi tales and also trying our hand at writing some of our own! 
• continue work in unit 13 in fundations, focusing on the vowel teams oa, oe and ow. Our new trick words are Monday, Tuesday, cousin, lose, tomorrow and beautiful.
• learn more about things that come from China.
• continue writing opinions about beloved books!
• continue math work focusing on subtraction, data and fractions. 

Have a wonderful week!

A peek at our week: 4/6/18

MARK YOUR CALENDARS:

** Newly added dates are marked with ** for those who follow and mark their calendars every week.

Wednesday, April 11 12:45-1:15: You're invited to join music class for our first annual folk dance week! 

Monday, April 16-Friday, April 20: NO SCHOOL - Spring Vacation

** Thursday, May 3rd: 12:30 Release

Thursday, May 31st: International Festival

Thursday, 6/7: Children's Museum field trip

NEW INFORMATION FOR FAMILIES:

CAP: Please send back signed CAP forms as soon as you can (see email sent today for forms). Your child needs a signed form to participate.

China Project: Your child came home today with a yellow sheet in his/her folder with information about an exciting home project that s/he will be working on over the next few weeks. Click HERE to access this sheet if you need it!

ASK ME ABOUTS: 

Ask me about...

• my fable reader's theater.  
• my opinions. This week, we began writing about our favorite books and gave reasons why we love these books.    
• Beijing. What would I like to see if I were to visit Beijing? Why? 
• the life cycles presentation that I had today. What living things did we encounter and talk about their life cycles.
• the spelling rules of oi and oy...When do you use oi? When do you use oy?
• telling time...ask me tell you the time on analog clocks when we encounter them.  

LOOKING FORWARD:

Looking forward, we will:

• continue our folktales unit by reading and discussing pourquoi tales.
• work in unit 13 in fundations, focusing on the vowel teams oa, oe and ow. Our new trick words are Monday, Tuesday, cousin, lose, tomorrow and beautiful.
• learn about buying, selling, consuming and producing in China.
• continue writing opinions about beloved books!
• begin a new math unit, focusing on subtraction, data and fractions. 

Enjoy the weekend! 

A peek at our week: 3/29/18

MARK YOUR CALENDARS:

** Newly added dates are marked with ** for those who follow and mark their calendars every week.

Friday, March 30: NO SCHOOL - Good Friday

Wednesday, April 11 12:45-1:15: You're invited to join music class for our first annual folk dance week! 

Monday, April 16-Friday, April 20: NO SCHOOL - Spring Vacation

Thursday, May 31st: International Festival

Thursday, 6/7: Children's Museum field trip

ASK ME ABOUTS: 

Ask me about...

• fables...What are fables and what do you find in fables? Ask your child about some of the fables we read this week and the lessons that they set out to teach. Maybe you could read some fables together, too. There are many available online. 
• the opinions I shared this week. When sharing our opinions, we are working to provide reasons and examples to support our opinions.    
• what I learned about China through reading maps this week. 
• Our mystery reader this week.
• how I can solve this number story:
• Madison had a box of 64 crayons. She gave 26 to Maya. How many crayons does Madison have now? 

LOOKING FORWARD:

Looking forward, we will:

• continue our folktales unit by reading and discussing fables and working on a fable reader's theater.
• work in unit 12 in fundations, focusing on the vowel teams oi and oy.
• learn about Beijing.
• continue in our opinion writing unit, writing our opinions and providing reasons and examples to support our opinions. Next week, we will begin writing about beloved books!
• Work more with arrays and take our unit 6 assessment in math (focusing on solving number stories, time, and arrays). 

Enjoy the weekend!