Happy Friday! It's a beautiful sunny afternoon, but it was definitely too wet for Camp Swampy this morning. I am glad we postponed, and I look forward to going next week. Thank you to all of you who filled out the google doc giving permission again. If you haven't done that yet, please be sure to do so by next week. 

We've had another great week here at JES. We have continued talking about strategies for finding topics to write about during our writing time. During Word Study, we have learned about contractions and how to spell them and put the apostrophe in the correct place. In reading, we have discussions about how to write down our ideas, how to challenge ourselves, and how to check for understanding as we read.  I am continuously impressed with the reading stamina in this classroom! This group really enjoys books!

We finished our first math unit today. It was mostly a review of what it means to multiply, but we also learned about factors and multiples, as well as how to identify prime and composite numbers. We are getting into our Math Menu routines, and students are beginning to get work that I have prepared specifically for them now that I know them better as math thinkers. I collect their work weekly and correct it -- I give back any work that needs to be fixed, and I send home all work that is correct. You may see these Math Menu packets arrive in your child's folder. They often ask me if they can recycle them, and I say no! You are free to recycle them, of course, but I'd like you to know what they are working on. If you see some work that is not finished or not attempted, don't be alarmed. There are some pages that are required and others that are just there as a stretch for students who are finished or want a challenge. I don't always correct those, and that's okay!

Our science time this week was spent learning about different animal adaptations and how various structures of animal bodies help them survive. Today, we did another lab trying to decide which dish soap makes the best bubbles. This required deciding the criteria for "best" and then planning out steps and collecting our data. It was messy, but fun. The classroom smells like Palmolive!

During social studies this week, we read a historical fiction book about the Greensboro sit-ins of the 1960's and the protest movements they sparked. This led to a great conversation about protests and picketing. We talked about issues that matter to us, and each student made a "picket sign" that shows a passion worth fighting for. We had everything from "Save the animals" to "No guns." I love seeing how passionate this group is!

Finally, parent conferences are coming up soon. I look forward to (virtually) meeting all of you and talking to you about your children. The students are also welcome to attend the conference since we will be talking about them, but I will leave that up to you. Mostly, we will review how the year has been so far and make some goals for the rest of the year.  Here is a link to sign up for a conference. I have tried to have slots that are early in the morning and some that are in the evenings so I can accommodate a variety of schedules. Please let me know if none of these times work, and we will find another that does.

I hope you all have a restful weekend doing something fun!

Sorry for the late blog -- it was a busy afternoon and I completely forgot! I'll keep this brief since the weekend has already started and I don't want to bore you... 

I am really impressed with this class! They absolutely love to read, and they already have the stamina to read quietly for at least 30 minutes without interruption. That is a skill that is usually not seen at the beginning of 4th grade. They are continuing to read books that they have chosen, and we have short lessons daily about how to figure out unknown words, how to know what genre you are reading, how to make sure you are comprehending, etc.  

This week's writing focused on what is meant by the word "sentence." We practiced framing sentences and looking for the subject and the verb. We discussed capital letters and ending punctuation. Today we discussed paragraphs and topic sentences. This basic nuts and bolts learning will set them up nicely for writing their first narrative piece in a few weeks.

Math this week was all about factors and multiples. Do you know the difference? See if your children can tell you! We also learned about multiplication problems with comparisons, such as "I read 6 pages. Bob read 4 times as many pages. How many pages did Bob read?" This is a whole different kind of problem, and it is good practice for them to conceptualize what that means! 

In science, we moved on from learning about plant parts to learning about animal parts. Each student is working on a short research project -- researching an animal and making a poster of some of its body structures and their functions. We are learning that all of the structures help the animal survive in one way or another!

Since we have no Open House planned and you can't come into the school, I have been trying to email all of you with some updates about how your child is doing. If you haven't received an email from me about your child yet, you will get one next week! If you have received one, I'd love to hear back from you. Let's keep the communication going!

Here are a few important announcements:

Please check your child's backpack for permission skips. I am still missing a few, and our first trip to Camp Swampy is this coming Friday.

Parent conferences are coming up in less than a month. I will be sending out information about them soon, so keep your eyes out for a sign-up email.

As a way to celebrate learning about plants, I am  hoping to make terrariums with the class. I am in need of the following items:

•     2 liter soda bottles (1 per student)
•     potting soil (1 large bag)
•     natural (undyed) aquarium gravel (3 - 4  bags)
•     fish tank filter charcoal (available at places like PetSmart)

If you would like to donate any of the above, please let me know. I hope to  make the terrariums the week after next.

That is all for this week. As always, feel free to contact me with questions or concerns. I hope you all have a splendid weekend with your sweet children!

 Happy Friday everyone! It's been a short week, but it has been full. I am continuing to get to know the students and I am really enjoying them! They are good at being silly when appropriate, and good at getting serious in a hurry when it is work time. They love to read, they are fully in the swing of math, and they know the classroom routines and expectations. I'm feeling very lucky!

We started our first math unit this week. While some of it is review, there are some new concepts as well. The main focus is on factors and multiples (and keeping track of the difference) and using arrays as a representation for multiplication. We will continue to practice our multiplication facts and learn to use the ones we know to figure out the ones we don't know. Today we learned about prime numbers and square numbers. Ask your children to explain them to you!

During reading time, the class is learning routines and procedures like how to choose books, how to "buzz" about their books with their reading partners, how to write about their books in their notebooks, and when it is okay to abandon a book. When it is time to read, they are completely engaged! I love seeing them relax with a book.

During writing time, we finished making collages on the covers of our journals and we did a little bit of writing based on a silly photo of a dog. Next week, we will learn about sentence structure (subject/verb) and practice, practice, practice using capital letters and punctuation (which 4th graders always seem to hate using!) We will also learn how to take an ordinary sentence and "explode" it by adding who, what, where, how, why, etc.  Finally, we will learn how to use paragraphs by writing a simple letter. After all of that, we will be ready to start our narrative writing unit!

We started our first science unit this week. The unit is called "Structure and Function" and we are learning how the characteristics of living things help them survive. Today we dissected some marigolds and discussed the function of the leaves, the stem, the roots, and the flowers. I am impressed by how much this class knows!

Here are a few important updates:

Please look in your child's folder today. There is a school photo envelope as well as a permission slip. Please let me know if you have questions about either. I'd love the permission slip returned by next Friday.

The class earned their first celebration. On Monday, we are having "bedtime day." This means they can come in pajamas or comfy clothes, they can wear slippers (or socks) in the classroom, they can bring a blanket, and they can bring a stuffed animal (please be reasonable -- it should fit in a backpack!) They have PE on Monday morning so they need to bring appropriate footwear as well. This is a choice -- they can wear their regular clothes if they don't want to participate!

I think that's all for this week. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

 It feels good to have one full week off school in the books! We had a very busy week getting to know each other, settling into the classroom routines and expectations, learning where to put our folders, our notes, etc., and figuring out how to behave in the classroom space. I am pleased with how well I feel like I know each student already!

During our reading time this week, we learned about how to select just right books, how to distinguish fiction from nonfiction, and how to write about our reading in our journals. The students practiced all of these skills, and they read quietly most days as well. They love to read, and they know that it is always an option when they are finished with other work. We will take some time next week for me to read with each child and to learn a few more routines. The following week, we will begin our first official reading unit. Of course they will read every day in the meantime!

We haven't started our first writing unit yet, but we did do a little bit of free-writing this week. We also wrote some "biopoems" that I hope to share with you all soon. They are lovely! Next week, we will take Tuesday to decorate our writing journals. Then we will begin our first writing unit on Wednesday. Our first unit will be a narrative (story) writing unit -- always a favorite!

In math this week, we learned some really fun Math Menu games. These are mostly for reviewing addition and subtraction facts, but caused some giggling too. Today the students completed a pre-assessment for our upcoming math unit, which will begin on Tuesday. This is the first of 3 multiplication units. This first unit is mostly review of what they learned last year, and will boost their confidence before we get into harder concepts with larger numbers later.

I love teaching science, so we took some time this week to play with a variety of fun "science" toys. We learned to make observations, ask questions, and write down what we THINK we know. We also learned about the scientific process and how to conduct a lab. We had a blast trying out 2 different kinds of vinegar with baking soda! We will do a few more labs in the coming weeks.

In addition to all of the above, we learned the importance of having a growth mindset, we wrote our hopes and dreams for the year, and we continued with our "I can use my hands to..." posters. These kids have beautiful ideas for how to protect their planet!

Finally, if you haven't sent in a foot photo yet, please do that between now and Monday. It is fine to email me a photo. I can print it here! We will do the foot photo challenge on Tuesday and I am hoping no one will be left out.

I hope you all have a wonderful and restful weekend!