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!