Well, I think I have adjusted and gotten back into the daily routine after my vacation to Jamaica. Glad the sunshine is more apparent and a little warmer than when I left. Maybe some of the sunshine followed me back to Iowa and the weather is going to start appearing more like spring?! Let's hope so.
With warming weather comes messy conditions outside. Please keep sending snowpants and boots with your child to school so that he or she doesn't get their clothes all wet at recess. You may also want to send extra socks as many students are complaining their socks are getting wet outside (maybe if they stayed out of the puddles that would change but they can't resist the puddles :)) Although it may appear much warmer outside, these extra clothes continue to keep us dry. Thanks!
I want to commend the students on their student led conferences! I think they did a fabulous job and should be very proud of themselves. I feel that the parents got a lot more from their child about his/her learning than if it would have been just me sitting there sharing information. I am also impressed with how this type of activity builds verbal and communication skills as well. Anyway, great job 3B students. I know I have a few more students to do their conferences, and I hope to get those done this week!
The students represented Crestwood Elementary very well last Friday at our trip to a show at UNI. From reading their blogs and discussions with them afterwards, I think they enjoyed the science show as well. I am very proud of you 3B! You acted like young adults while also having a great time learning! Bravo!
If you did not do so today, please return your child's reading calendar for the month of February if he/she is participating in the extra reading incentive. We will continue the reading incentive through the month of March, with a celebration in February for those who have read every month and reached their goal. Students who have met their goal every month and returned their calendar will have a pizza party supplied by me as a little extra reward for continuing to read at home. As I mentioned, this will be sometime in April. So. . . .keep reading!
Something else to keep working on are the multiplication facts. While I was gone, we got a little off but now I hope to return to checking those when students are ready. Remember it is their responsibility to let me know if they are ready to be assessed on any particular family. Currently, our math unit is about reading and writing large numbers - up to the millions - but we will continue to work on multiplicatoin facts as well.
We have been working very hard on various concepts and skills in literacy, both reading and writing. The students seem to have a great understanding of fact vs. opinion! We are also working through exposure and understanding of different types of fiction. Thus far we have read and been exposed to the elements of realistic fiction, historical fiction, and fantasy. We are moving into science fiction and mystery this week. Along with this, the students are writing different types of pieces as well. They have build a great collection of writing pieces throughout the past month and will have lots to share at the end of the year! Along with this, we will be moving into recognizing types of figurative language, such as similes, during the next few weeks. All of this along with our Daily 5 activities, guided reading, and individual reading conferences makes for a busy but wonderful literacy period!!!
Thank you to those parents who volunteered to be Mystery Readers. I am currently working on the schedule and will be sending that out to those parents by the end of the week! The students are very excited! If you haven't volunteered and would still like to, please let me know as soon as possible!
Well, enjoy the sunshine thise week! We deserve it!
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