So Much To do. . .So Little Time

I am so excited to hear many students talk about their costumes and materials for their biography project!!! Hopefully that is a good sign that things are getting done at home. Yeah!!! I needed to make a comment about due dates. I was not thinking when I said that their notes were due April 2nd. We don't have school that day. . . .so.. . . your child can return his/her notes and books on Thursday, April 1st, or Monday, April 5th. Either one is fine. We will then start preparing for the presentations and a note will be sent home about when to have costumes and props at school. Right now, I am thinking that the costumes should be to school on Monday, April 12th. That is what we are aiming for. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me via email or phone. Thanks for your help with the project and I am anxious to see and hear what every one is learning.

This week we will be putting up a new book review on our blog pages. These book reviews will be videocast so hopefully we will have them up and running by the weekend for everyone to show their extended families. I would also appreciate any comments you, the parents, post for each child as well as that gives them more of an understanding of what and who their audience is.

A note was sent home today about MAPs testing starting next Tuesday. Please do not stress your child out as we have not talked about it yet. This Thursday, I will talk to the students about it in a calm way. On Monday, we will look at our old scores, individually of course, and set goals for the new set of tests. I have no doubt there will be improvement in all areas for all kids, which is what we want to see. Again, please do not stress your child out. It is another set of tests that we will try our best on and move on. I just wanted to call attention to the note that was sent home today.

Many students have been busy at home working through math concepts on my web page. That is outstanding! I am so impressed with the dedication many students are showing. To build in the area of reading, I will be putting some reading activities on my web page as well. I am going to try to post them tonight. It would be great if your child would try some of these sites as well to continue building his/her reading skills and strategies. We all know that students love to be on the computer, so take advantage of that time by having them do something productive and learning in a creative way. I have talked to the students about this and shown some of the activities for them to try.

In conclusion, I am sending home your child's science quiz from last week. Many students did wonderful, some did fine, and a few could have done better. Please take some time to look at your child's quiz and discuss with them the importance of using the study guides sent home (as their was one sent home 4 days before the quiz). Congrats to those who worked hard and studied! I am proud of you.

Report cards will be sent home tomorrow! The students are anxious to see them!
Have a great week and enjoy the sunshine!

Technology Open House - Thank You!

A big thank you to the parents that made it to the Technology Open House last Friday! I was very impressed and hope that you had a great time as well. It was neat to see parents doing podcast and blogging with students!!!! I will try and get the podcast up tonight so that you can listen to them on your 3B child's podcast page. The students we attended thought it was great to have their parents try these activities as well. I hope to have the pictures from last Friday for you to see on the blog page as well by Tuesday night. Stay tuned! :)

We continue working away in all areas. I am hoping that students are remembering to be reading at home for their biography project. Some students have told me they have not started yet, and that concerns me a lot! If you remember correctly, the books and notetaking need to be done by April 2nd. That is next Friday already!!!! If you 3B child has not started reading his/her biography that was sent home, they probably should get started soon!!!! Another thing to start thinking about is a possible costume. Remember not to stress about this but try to be creative!!! The students are very, very excited about the project so I am anxious to see what they come up with. Costumes will not be needed until the week of April 5th so just start thinking about it.

I am currently working on finishing report cards. Look for them to be sent home March 30th. I thought I should make a quick comment about report cards so that some of you aren't caught off guard. As I have mentioned before, we have been having some "finishing homework" problems in 3B. It is getting better, which is great, but we need to continue working on being responsible. This all ties to our behavior and work habits. It is common for this time of year for students to rush and get kind of "lazy". Call it spring fever or whatever, it happens. Please remind your child that they still should try hard in all areas. Behavior comments might show a drop in some areas as I am seeing more carelessness, rushing, waisting time etc. I am sure this will change and we will get back to normal, but I wanted to make a comment about it now. The other area I wanted to mention in connection to the report cards is in the area of writing. Part of our writing process involves mini lessons and teacher conferencing. Many students have been working hard with the teacher in individual conferences working on goals to improve our writing. Many take those suggestions and run with them, working hard, while others just keep coasting by. Mrs. Hartberg and I want the kids to start taking a little more initiative and applying what we have taught them. If there was a goal or skill we have worked on many times with your child and he/she is still not doing it independently, or trying, we want to encourage them to try a little harder. While we will continue to work on it, the students also need to think about it and put a little more effort in those areas. It connects to the effort grade/score. If you have any questions after seeing your child's report card, feel free to contact me via email or phone.

I am pushing back the deadline for completing mastery of all multiplication facts. The late starts and busy March and April months aren't giving us all the time we need. Therefore, I would like students to have mastered their multiplication facts to earn the "Walking Taco Party" by April 23rd. That is a Friday. Please keep working on them at home! There are many students who have completed them or are very, very close!

Enjoy the sunshine and have a great week!

A Gorgeous and Busy Week

I hope this sunshine stays around for a while. It is beautiful outside. Of course the students think they don't need coats or sweatshirts. Not exactly that warm outside if you consider the time they are out before recess. Please remember that before sending your child to school without a coat or sweatshirt. The mornings are still chilly and many students spend a good amount of time outside before school starts. It's best to dress in layers so that they are not too cold but can take off a coat if needed. I also chatted with the students about paying attention to the weather this week. The weather man this morning said that it is to cool back down by the weekend with a chance of snow so don't put those boots away yet.

I am sending some information home about an upcoming activity revolving around reading a biography and then making a video playing the role of that person from the past sharing about his/her life. The students are very, very excited about it so I hope you take some time to read the information that was sent home. Students have until April 2nd to complete the book. During this time, they should also be thinking about a potential costume they could wear for the video cast. We would like to see each student assume the role of the character they are reading about and speak as if they are that person. In the past, we have called this the "Hall of Fame". Look for the information sent home today and further information to be coming.

I feel I also need to make a comment about responsibility. Many students in 3B have been having difficulty finishing the homework that is sent home. I can truthfully say that there is not a lot of homework sent home with 3B students as they know I want them reading every night. The homework that does come home each week should be easy to accomplish and complete. Last week I called many parents to discuss the problem students are having. I also brought in the 4th grade teachers to talk about responsiblity in 4th grade and preparing the students for more homework next year. Today there were students who did not have their homework done again. Please take some time to discuss with your student if they are having this problem and ways to help them be more responsible. It is disappointing when students don't take the time to finish activities sent home; but it is not all students. Many students do an excellent job completing activities when they are sent home. The problem is continuing for some so I thought it best I commented about it. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.

Because of all the snow days, early outs, and late starts, we did not get all of our science unit done before the end of the quarter. Therefore, I am sending home a study sheet today and we will be having a short science quiz this Thursday. The study guide should be used to help the students review what we have covered thus far in science. Please return the book with your 3B student on Thursday.

Congratulations to Shane and Alison for conquering all of their multiplication facts!!!! Super job!

Enjoy the sunshine and have a great week!

Now Comes the Rain!

I was so excited last week that we made it through a full week of school without any late starts, early outs, or inservice! The kids were tired by the end of the week, but we did it. Guess we can't hope for that two weeks in a row. Here comes the fog! Not much we can do about it so we might as well just stay positive and keep trudging through everything. Spring will be here before we know it!!!

Because of having a "normal" week last week, we did get a lot accomplished. I have a few students who only have 1 or 2 sets of multiplication facts to accomplish before they have completed all of them! Great job to all the students who have been working at home. I can really tell who is practicing and who isn't. Along with this, we have moved into reading and writing decimals. This is a tough concept for most students, as it is a beginning skill. We have been using base 10 blocks to build a better understanding of tenths and hundredths, which seems to be working well. We will continue with decimals and large numbers throughout the week with an end of the unit assessment coming up soon. For now, keep working on those multiplication facts. Students have until the end of the month and first two weeks of April to master all of the facts through 10. I know they can do it!!!

Types of fiction has been the focus of some of our mini lessons in literacy the past few weeks. Students have done a great job becoming familiar with the elements of various types of fiction and recognizing the differences. This week, we will be moving into nonfiction by taking a look at biographies and autobiographies in preparation for an upcoming event that has been a favorite in the past. Look for information sent home at the end of the week about a biography project. This project will require a lot of dedication and time spent working at home so please be looking for it. More information will be sent home as well explaining the activity. I am very excited about and know the students will be as well.

We are also having a little fun by moving into figurative language. Thus far, we have discussed and done activities revolving around similes. Students will be writing simile poems about themselves this week as a culminating activity. We will then be moving into reading, recognizing, and writing phrases with personification, onomonopeia, and alliteration. These are all forms of figurative language that students should recognize as well as utilize in their writing. We usually have a lot of fun and read various types of poetry within this study as well.

Science. . . . we are trying to get through our unit on Force and Motion. Last week we did get a lot accomplished, which was nice. The problem is that when we have a late start or early out, science or social studies do not get done because our district wants us to focus on literacy and math every day. Therefore, we are having a hard time getting our science unit done. With the third quarter ending this Friday, I am looking at having some mini assessments over what we have covered thus far and then finishing the unit next week into the 4th quarter. I am still in the "organizing" stage of this and will let you know what I decide. If there is a mini assessment at the end of this week, look for science materials to come home midweek for students to study from. They are doing a superb job with the concepts thus far, which is great! If only we had more time in the day.

If your 3B child hasn't told you, we did start cursive last week. We will be using some of our "Morning Meeting" time to get through at least the lower case letters before the end of the year. The students were very eager to get started! If you remember, ask them to tell you what the "3 P's" are for cursive. I am pretty sure they will remember.

For those of you who signed up to be Mystery Reader, I will hopefully have schedules done this week. I am waiting for one more parent who called me last week. Thanks for being so patient.

Have a great week and stay dry!