Welcome March!

Next week we welcome March, my very favorite month of the year!
 We had a great last week of February! We loved wearing our spirt shirts today!

Here is a look at our upcoming week:
- Coming soon, I apologize for technical difficulties!
Language arts: We will be starting a new literature book this week; Sarah, Plain and Tall. We will dive into new vocabulary, like what is a hearthstone, and what it means to be feisty. We will also discuss why Sarah feels like a move is necessary, and why Pa places an advertisement in the newspaper! Be sure to ask your literature experts for answers to these questions. In spelling we are still working hard on our beautiful cursive, and are tackling some challenging spelling words this week! In grammar, we will continue to classify sentences and even start making our own sentences when given a list of parts of speech.

Math: Next week we are working on making change! We will be working hard on picking different menu items and paying for them, while doing mental math in our heads to make change! We will continue to work on attacking word problems, focusing on multistep word problems, for example if I buy 4 pens that cost $1.40 each, and give the cashier $10.00 how much change will I receive? If students get step 1 incorrect, it sets them up to do poorly on step 2!

Science: Simple Machines will continue through taking a closer look at inclined planes, wedges, and screws. We will do a few hands on experiments to explore how these simple machines work. We will also be sending home a "Simple Machines Scavenger Hunt" for scholars to find examples of Simple Machines at home! **Warning: Cheesy science joke ahead** What did the tree say to the wedge? - I'm stumped! :]

History: The scholars will dive into a brief study of, what some refer to as the second war of independence: the War of 1812. Ask your scholar to identify key points for the Merchant's and War Hawks.

Week 25!

I hope you had a great 3-day weekend with your families! I spent mine doing boring housework, including painting the garage (insert eye roll here) - glamorous I know..

We had so much fun this past week! We learned CURSIVE and the kiddos were PUMPED! They did an amazing job! We also had a blast during Great Hearts Day, and worked together so well!

The next book we will be reading is Sarah. Plain and Tall. Please send it in with your sweet student by Monday February 27th. 

Here is a look at our learning this week:

Language arts: In ELA this week we will read a tall tale and discuss the components of a tall tale, and how that differs from a fairy tale. We will continue to diagram sentences in grammar, we are doing SUCH a great job with this, and can diagram sentences with TWO prepositions! We have finished up Cricket in Times Square and will be starting our next book; Sarah Plain and Tall next week!

Math: We are learning about MONEY! Coins, dollars, change, oh my! We will work on reviewing coin value, adding two prices together, as well as attacking word problems. When purchasing something talk to your child about the cost, and ask what the cost would be if the item were 10 cents, or 2 dollars more. Mental math is still a strategy we are working to strengthen!

Science: We are moving from learning about how our human body work as a machine to learning about simple machines! Can your scholar identify simple machines at  home or around their community? We are excited to embark on this hands-on unit!

History: We will continue looking at The Constitution, paying close attention to The Bill of Rights this week. We are working to memorize The Preamble, how much an you history buff recite (sing) to you? 

Week 24!

Wow! What a week! I feel like the students are growing and maturing before my very eyes!
We celebrated the end of our Greek Unit by making Laurel Wreaths, and we had to work together to create our own countries. The theme for the week was COMPROMISE!

Updates and Announcements:

Great Hearts Day: On Tuesday we will be celebrating friendship all day for Great Hearts Day! We will have a virtue award assembly in the morning, and a celebration in the classroom from 2:00-2:30. While I don't need help for the celebration, you are more than welcome to come in and feel the joy of friendship!

Field day: We are Persia and our color is BLUE! Students can decorate shirts, and are allowed to wear athletic clothing. Please email me if you are able to donate a cooler, ice, snacks, or mini water bottles.

Here is a look at our coming week:

Language Arts: In Spalding next week we will learn CURSIVE! The students are SO excited to start on this adventure! We will not have spelling words next week, and Spalding homework will be to practice cursive letter formation. A packet will be coming home Monday night for parental reference as well. As we move forward, students will choose whether they want to write in cursive or manuscript, but Mrs. Smith and I will switch to writing in cursive. In third grade students will have a cursive refresher at the beginning of the year, but will be expected to be able to read cursive from the get-go! In literature we will finish Cricket in Times Square! It has been so wonderful to watch the students fall in love with the characters. In grammar we will continue to diagram sentences and work on writing paragraphs.

Math: We will finish up our unit on multiplication and division with a test on Thursday. Wednesday math centers and Wednesday night homework will provide great review and practice for Thursday's test. On Friday the students will be introduced to our new unit, MONEY through review of coins and their value!

Science: Next week we will take our test over the Human Body on Thursday! Please help you scholar review their study guide at home and ask them to tell you how much they remember about each body system, healthy eating, cells, tissues, and organs! We will be playing a "Jeopardy" style game in class!

History: We will continue to study the Constitution, and learn about our Founding Fathers. We will discuss the Anti-Federalists and what they stood for!

Happy Friday!
Announcements:
Great Hearts Day is coming up on Tuesday February 14th! We will be focusing on friendship that day, doing activity to promote teamwork, and having a fun celebration. Please sign up here to donate to our activities!

This week we celebrated the 100th day of school! We wrote about all the things we will and won't do when we turn 100, the things we will know, and what we will look like! As usual we had a super fun week full of learning, growing, and laughing! Here are some pictures of what we'd look like at 100!

Here is a look at our learning for the upcoming week:

Language arts: Next week we will look at direct and indirect quotations in the story The Hare that Ran Away. In Grammar we will also continue studying pronouns and subject pronouns, as well as classifying parts of speech in sentences. The students are doing a wonderful job classifying sentences, and can go through the question and answer flow of a sentence independently and confidently! Stay tuned for video evidence! :] In literature we will read chapters 10-13 in Cricket in Times Square and continue to follow the adventure of Chester Cricket, Tucker Mouse, and Harry Cat! Ask your super scholar what happened to the Bellini's newsstand!

Math: In math next week we will work through division problems and fact families! We will discuss different ways to attack a division problem, including repeated subtraction, drawing pictures, and thinking of the "friend" multiplication problem! Students are loving this unit!

Science: Next week in science we will review the functions of our body systems and learn ways we can help make sure that our body systems continue to run smoothly so we can stay healthy. We will also learn a new word: calories! We will spend time reviewing ALL the concepts we have learned in our Human Body Unit through playing a fun review game. A study guide will be sent home with you school on Thursday night. We encourage you to read through it and ask your scholar to retell some of the things they have learned!

History: In history this week we will not only journey to another place, but a much later time in history to discuss the American Constitution. Challenge your scholar to make connections between the US and Ancient Greek democracies.