Testing, Popcorn and Science!

We started the week off with the Open House/Ice Cream Social. Thanks to everyone who came. I hope I was able to answer all your questions about our routines and why we do the things we do! If you weren't able to make it, please be sure to continue to let me know when you have questions.


We have a new cursive handwriting program called "Handwriting Without Tears". I'm really enjoying teaching it and your kids are taking it very seriously. You could probably "hear a pin drop" in our room when they are practicing. I'm very excited to see how their cursive writing progresses throughout the year.Hallett also started NWEA/MAP (Measure of Academic Progress) this week. We completed the reading test and will take the math portion this week followed by science. In addition to this test, we took our first Reading test in the classroom. This test will be scored but is mainly used as a "baseline" measurement for me. I thought you'd like to see your kiddos in "test-taking" mode. That concentration is very impressive, wouldn't you say!
I'm sure you heard the BIG news this week....the class earned a POPCORN PARTY! I have a jar that gets filled with scoops of popcorn. When the jar is filled, it's "Party Time". The scoops of popcorn are earned with excellent work time habits, great manners in the classroom and if they earn a "compliment" from another adult in the school. I think we will be filling the jar a lot this year! Coincidentally, they earned their "Squirt". Every time we have SSR (Sustained Silent Reading), the class has a chance to add a letter to our reward word. They earn the letter if the whole class is working on their reading skills and being on-task. This time, the word was "SQUIRT". We had popcorn and Squirt at the same time. I decided to throw in a movie. We watched "Deep Sea Dive". It's part of the National Geographic Really Wild Animals series. It's fun to listen to the class laugh out loud!
I have to compliment all of you! I was so impressed with how grateful your students were for the popcorn, Squirt and movie. There were "thank yous" galore and sincere ones at that! It warmed my heart.

Of course, we couldn't have had another great week without Science. We continued our Physics of Science unit. This week we started to work with vibrations, pitch and volume. We explored with tuning forks, water, ping pong balls, a door fiddle and a tone generator. Mrs. Overman was the door fiddle and tone generator expert this week. Ask your kids to explain the tone generator and beans activity. They LOVED this one!

Hope everyone rested up this weekend. There's another busy week ahead! Don't forget pictures are on Friday, Oct. 2nd. Also, we do collect Box Tops so feel free to start sending those in. There is always a competition attached to that! Looks like the weather is going to cool off quite a bit, so bring a sweater or a jacket!

Super Science!

We finally started Science this week. We teach Science using something called Foss Kits which give the kids a lot of hands on opportunities. As you know, when kids are working with their hands, they are having fun. It's awesome when kids can have fun and learn at the same time!

Our first kit is called Physics of Sound. You can visit http://fossweb.com/ to learn more about this unit. The basic goals of the kit are:

Observe and compare sounds to develop discrimination ability.
Communicate with others using a drop code.
Learn that sound originates from a source that is vibrating and is detected at a receiver such as the human ear.
Understand the relationship between the pitch of a sound and the physical properties of the sound source (i.e. length of vibrating object, frequency of vibrations, and tension of vibrating string).
Compare methods to amplify sound at the source and at the receiver.
Observe and compare how sound travels through solids, liquids, and air.
Use knowledge of the physics of sound to solve simple sound challenges.
Acquire vocabulary associated with the physics of sound.
Exercise language, social studies, and math skills in the context of the physics of sound.
Develop and refine the manipulative skills required for investigating sound.
Use scientific thinking processes to conduct investigations and build explanations: observing, communicating, comparing, and organizing.

We were able to get through two investigations this week. We practiced discriminating sounds with Drop Chambers and we used sounds and codes to send messages using the Drop Chambers again. They did great! Next week, we will start recording our findings in our science journals. Those will be fun to show you at conferences.

Scientists in action:

We've been working on math facts in the Computer Lab using a program called Math Facts in a Flash. If your child went to the elementary school, he or she is familiar with it. I like this program because it takes them through their facts starting with addition and works all the way through converting decimals to fractions. (Yes! I will help them with that.) It allows each child to work at their needed level. We have been working on that for about 20 minutes and then they spend about 20 minutes on http://www.coolmath4kids.com/. This is a favorite! There are definitely some "brain stretchers" here. My rules....no "shooting" games and your brain must be challenged! Check out this concentration!
Remember, we have our Open House/Ice Cream Social Monday night (Sept. 21st). It is from 6:30 until 8:00. I will explain the routines of the classroom and answer any questions you might have. Hope to see you there!

Great News!

The Great News is that we finished the 2nd week of school and we are still loving it! "Fourth Grade is sooo much fun!!" Those words are music to my ears. Who knew giving kids a white board for math and letting them erase with it with an old sock was the trick!?! That's right, I got the white boards out this week and the kids were thrilled. (It does make it a little trickier for me to check their mistakes. You might see a note on their papers that asks them to make corrections using paper this time.) Another bonus is that when they finish work early, they are asking if they can get their white boards out and practice math! If you have a reluctant math person when it comes to homework, you might consider picking up a "magic" white board. :)

We finished our first story, The Pumpkin Runner. We've been working hard learning the difference between a summary and a retelling. They are creating a poster advertising the story and are allowed to work with a partner (they have to do their own project but can sit with a buddy or two). Again, I have been so excited by their enthusiasm. Every time there is a break in the day, they are begging to go back to writing. I, of course, have to give a huge sigh and say, "Oh, alright...I guess you can write!" We added more critters to the classroom. (I love critters!) Lauren from Ms. Munyon's room shared her Walking Sticks with us. I will try to get some pictures of those. My daughter, Shannon, brought crickets in one afternoon to feed the Fire Bellied Toads....that certainly caused a lot of excitement! Kids like to watch the strangest things......

Probably the biggest event of the week was Grandparents Lunch on Friday! My goodness, we had a great turnout! We had grandparents and parents. Thanks so much to those of you who invited kids whose grandparents couldn't make to eat with you. I know they really appreciated it!

We have continued to have a great start. Maybe starting with a three day week and then a four day week and then a five day week has something to it!

First Week

We made it through the first week. Even though it was only three days, I was very tired by Friday afternoon. I have a feeling there were some fourth graders feeling the same way! I think we had a great week! I am excited for this school year. I can tell already that they are anxious to learn and ready to work hard. They did everything I asked and worked hard to their best!

So far, they have had Art and Music. We will have PE on Mondays and Tuesdays. Library will be on Tuesday, as well. We did go to computer on Friday. I introduced a website that they loved! It is http://www.coolmath4kids.com/. I have a link on the blog for it. Some of the kids were going to ask if they can do it at home. :)

I snapped a few pictures of them during SSR (Sustained Silent Reading). They really like being able to get cozy around the room with a good book and just relax and read. Of course, I did have to sneak a math test in as well. It was just a pretest to give me some information but I was impressed with how hard they worked.

We also did an activitiy called "Crumple Girl". It is meant to help us think about how doing or saying hurful things makes a person feel. It was really neat. Ask your kids to explain it to you.

I will continue to take pictures of different activities that your kiddos are doing throughout the year. If you didn't see your child on this blog, don't worry. If I have permission, everyone will be on here several times. I hope you enjoy seeing what your kids are actually doing at school!