The Spilker Scoop

2011-12-31T11:03:00.000-08:00

You have probably heard that we are working on multiplication. We have moved past practicing multiplication facts to "multi-digit multiplication". That's right! Two and three digits time two digits. "Zero Hero" is now a daily member of our class! :)

The kids and I like to practice math on the white boards. There is just something "magical" about those boards. Things seem so much easier when you can just wipe a mistake away. It doesn't feel as permanent as a pencil! :)

Look at this concentration! Working, working, working! Can't you just see the "thinking" going on here?Sometimes, the students are the teachers. (I can't do all the work!) They actually love to go up front and show their thinking!
If you are looking for something to do with your kiddos, make up some math problems for them. You will be so amazed and impressed!

Fun in the Sun!

2011-12-31T10:47:00.001-08:00

Fourth grade is hard work!! There is so much to learn and practice every day! I think it's easy to forget that they are 9 and 10 years old and, well....sometimes, a kid's gotta be a kid! The weather has cooperated so nicely this year. We can't really pass up a quick afternoon break.

Ok...sometimes the teacher might need it more than the kids!

I love this class! Every recess, half of them head to the playground equipment to play a game they have created called "infected" and the other half heads to "kickball". I have so much fun watching them. They truly know how to play together and no one really ever gets mad when it's just our class playing. They all have an "oh well" attitude. So fun to watch!
You know..we all had choices to make in life about what we wanted to do when we "grow up". I think I made a pretty good one!

Problem Solving in Math

2011-12-31T10:28:00.001-08:00

The kids have been working super hard at learning their math facts and how to multiply with bigger numbers. They are all showing progress and doing great!!
The next step is to apply those skills to "real life" situations. It is important to be able to understand what a word problem is asking you to do. We have been practicing some "problem solving" strategies. Most recently, we have been using "Try, Check and Revise".
First, the students took some time to work on the problem by themselves.

Thinking, thinking, thinking! I love it!
It's ok to use numbers, pictures and/or words to solve a problem. Check out this labeling!

Next, it was time to get together in groups and share each other's thinking. How did you solve this problem?
The discussion about how each person got their answer was fantastic! If they can explain their thinking, they are one step closer to "getting it"! It's so much fun when they realize that there can be more than one way to solve a problem.
After each group shows their work on their chart paper, it's time for a "Gallery Walk". How did all of the other groups solve theirs? More explaining of thinking. So awesome!!
This process sure builds confidence in math. "Do it....solve it...share it!"

Muscles, Joints and Tendons...Oh My!

2011-11-20T14:13:00.000-08:00

After working with bones for a while, it was time to move on to muscles, joints and tendons. First, the kids were given dowels and "joints". Can you figure out how to make these look like a leg? It was easier said than done! Look at this concentration....
Ta-da!! Success!
Next, it was time to add muscles and tendons. What do they do?They make the leg move and bend! Here is Allison explaining how hers works. This was a great unit. The kids did a great job working together and learned a lot!

Halloween Fun!

2011-11-20T13:57:00.001-08:00

Halloween is always a favorite...no matter how old you get! We have some awesome parent helpers this year. The kids had a fabulous time! They had some great costumes and I just couldn't stop taking pictures so I decided to put them into some collages. Too much fun! We could not have had such a good time without all the moms (and dad) that came. I loved all the parent costumes, too!
What would a party be without food?? Believe me! We had that covered. Of course, there were some great games, too. The kids even created some of their own. Yes, the sticky eyeball is still on our ceiling. We have created a little science experiment of our own with it! :)
A HUGE thank you to all the parents who contributed to the party and fun. A special thanks to Lexie's mom for organizing things for me!

There Are Bones In Those Pellets!

2011-10-28T20:43:00.001-07:00

We are still working our way through the Human Body science kits. As a wrap up activity for the bones investigations, the kids are asked to analyze Owl Pellets. The students were to look for bones of small animals in the pellets and then see if they could identify the bone. Here is what they looked like at the beginning.

These were the "tool" they had to research with.
First, they must read the directions.

Good scientists always observe and then record their observations.

Look at the determination in these faces. I love to watch the scientists at work.

Just look at the "treasures"....

They did a great job of identifying the bones once they found them!

Although the science kits are a lot of fun for the kids when they are working through the investigations, there are a lot of important skills that are being practiced. They are learning how to work with others, how to observe and record, make predictions, confirm predictions and how to communicate with each other and in writing. Science is definitely a "highlight" of the week.

Notes and Things

2011-09-28T21:06:00.000-07:00

Pictures are this Friday. Everyone gets their picture taken even if they are not purchasing a picture packet. Please make sure to send the money to school with your student before picture time.

Keep working on those Reading Logs. Your child should be reading 4 times a week for at least 20 minutes each time. Please keep the Reading Log in your child's folder with the planner. I check them on Monday. If it is complete, your child gets a "Hawks Pride" slip for the drawing on Friday. This is also part of their Reading Effort grade.

The planner goes back and forth between home and school each day. Please be sure to check it. If something is circled, it is homework. If it comes back with something circled in red, it means I didn't receive the homework. This is a great place to send me a message and I will do the same. It's an easy way for me to have daily contact with each of you every day. Your child's job is to make sure you see it. Your job is to make sure you sign it each night. They get a sticker if you do!

As always, please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns. We are off to a GREAT start!

The Smartboard Is Working!

2011-09-28T20:55:00.001-07:00

I'm so excited to have a Smartboard this year. It's the first time 4th grade has had them. The kids love being the "teacher" and showing what they know. Here are couple of students working on our DLP (Daily Language Practice).

It's so cool seeing them work at the board and explaining their thinking to us!

Popcorn and Reading Go Together Nicely!

2011-09-28T20:01:00.000-07:00

We have a popcorn jar in our room. Every time the kids are being their "wonderful" selves, they get a scoop of popcorn. When the jar is full, they earn a popcorn party. They also earn a letter when they are doing what they should during Silent Reading. The letters eventually spelled "Squirt". Our friend, Bella, is moving and today was her last day. It was perfect timing for the popcorn and Squirt.
It's funny how food and a camera bring out the "best" in kids! I think the boys were giving me their "cool" faces.
Of course, what fun is popcorn if you can't try to toss it into your mouth?
Apparently, some of us really "love" popcorn!
And some people just enjoyed the treat.Of course, being a teacher...we couldn't have too much fun for too long. We have a lot to learn this year! It was time to take the first Reading test. This was just a "pretest" and I told the kids that it wouldn't count in their grade but it was important information for me. It would let me know what they know and what I need to teach. Just look at these faces and that concentration. They took me very seriously. And, yes, it was as quiet in the room as it looks!

Maybe we should have popcorn every time we take a test!

Bones, Bones, and more Bones....

2011-09-28T19:32:00.000-07:00

We are still working with our Human Body science kits. We are trying to learn the names of some of the bones and what their purposes are. We decided to make it a "life size" project. First, we needed some "life size" bodies....this took a lot of team work.
Gorgeous models and artists, don't you think! Next, the bodies had to be cut out.
Finally, it was time to add the bones. The kids had to draw the bones in and then label as many as they can. I should have taken a picture of the final project but didn't think of it. However, they are proudly on display in our hallway if you happen to stop by!
The Human Body really is a "puzzle". The teachers thought this would be a quick project but we were wrong. It is much harder than it looks, even with a guide to follow. Such concentration!
It was hard, but still a lot of fun. These kids are truly learning the meaning of "perseverance". That is the word of the year in 4th grade. With a little perseverance, we can do anything!!

Watching these "future scientists" at work is one of the highlights of my week!

1st Week Of School...It's Going To Be A Great Year!

2011-09-17T18:49:00.000-07:00

We survived the first week of school! I was a little worried. We have never started school with a full five day week! The kids did great! They worked hard all the way to the last bell on Friday!! I just know it's going to be a great year!

I took a few pictures of their life at school this week. I know it's hard to send them off to school and wonder what they are doing all day. I hope you enjoy these as much as I do!

Yes! Your kids do like to read...no matter what they tell you at home! :) Here they are...enjoying some SSR (Sustained Silent Reading) time.

They created their time capsules. A couple of the tasks for the time capsules were to trace hands and feet. They cut these out and put them in their capsules. We will open them in the spring and see how much we've grown!How tall am I?Sometimes, they get to work around the room with their buddies!
Sometimes, I get to take a little break and the kids do the teaching!
We have started science. This unit is called "The Human Body". In this activity, they had to predict how many bones were in different parts of the body and then they were able to look at pictures of a skeleton. They counted to see how close they were. They loved doing this!
Can you believe I get to spend my days doing this? I'm so lucky!

Why In The World Does Your Child Need An Old Clean Sock At School?

2011-09-09T07:21:00.000-07:00

As many of you have noticed, the 4th grade supply list has an "old clean sock' on it. I'm sure read that several times and thought, "What???" Well, it really isn't a test to see if you read the list and follow directions! :) We will use our individual white boards A LOT! The socks are their individual erasers for the white boards. They work perfectly!

Welcome Back To School!

2011-09-08T19:05:00.000-07:00

It was great to meet almost everyone at Open House today. I'm looking forward to meeting the rest of you on Monday! It's going to be a GREAT year! I'm very excited to get started!

I wanted to take a minute and talk about a couple of things. The first is homework. Spelling homework is generally given on Mon., Tues., and Wed. There may occasionally be other homework given. Homework should never take more than 40 minutes. If it is, please talk with me! All homework is due the next day unless indicated otherwise.

Your child will also have a Reading Log. This should be kept in the planner. I ask my students to read at least 20 min a night, four nights a week. I will check Reading Logs on Monday mornings. This is part of the Reading Effort grade.

Spelling: I will try hard to post Spelling words on my website and the blog on the Friday before the week that we actually study them. A "pre-test" will be given on Monday. If your child scores a 90% or higher on the "pre-test", he or she will be given "challenge words" for the week. For the challenge word test, I will record the score that was higher...either the pre-test from Monday or the final test on the challenge words. Challenge words will start the 2nd week of school.

As always, let me know if you have any questions or concerns. We need to work together to create a successful year for your child!

Inside Recess is Fun, Too!

2011-03-06T21:57:00.000-08:00

My class doesn't mind an inside recess once in a while. In fact, sometimes they even ask for one!
Here are some pics from an inside day.

Some serious Battleship Teamwork:

The Opposing Team:

Best Buddies...always up for some drawing...

A Chess Tournament?

They always find a way to have fun!

One More Present....Extra Recess!!

2011-03-06T20:47:00.000-08:00

Yep!! That's right.....they received one more gift from me. We took and extra morning recess! Just look at those faces! You can clearly see that I am the luckiest teacher!

Books and Candy Canes!

2011-03-06T20:34:00.000-08:00

I gave each child two books, a notepad, a snowman pencil, a bookmark and some candy canes for Christmas.
I was truly surprised by how excited they were! I gave them some time to just enjoy them and they couldn't have
been happier. It really did warm my heart! Such a sweet class...I am so lucky!

Cookie Exchange

2011-03-06T19:44:00.000-08:00

Wow! I can't believe I haven't posted any pictures since November! It is time for some catch up! Let's start with the wonderful Cookie Exchange/Hot Chocolate/ Craft party that Hunter's mom organized for us.

There definitely enough cookies for everyone!!

Thanks to Mitchell's mom and dad for running the Hot Chocolate system!
Working on the craft project was fun but serious work.....
Well, maybe it was more fun than serious.....

And a nice almost finished project....just waiting for the picture!This was definitely a fun day!

Happy New Year!!

2011-01-01T18:17:00.000-08:00

It seems like the school year is FLYING by! January is one of the best teaching/learning months and I'm excited to get back to school. I'm sure you will notice that things are really going to pick up.

The New Year is a great time to start "fresh" at school. Please talk with your student and see how his/her school supplies are holding up. It might be time for new pencils, erasers, glue, correcting pens or paper. I have no idea where their supplies go, but they usually need to be replaced around now.

Also, please remember the READING LOGS. They are important and should be considered homework. Your child should be reading 4 times a week for at least 20 minutes each time. It is important to read several times a week and not try to do all 80 minutes in one day. That won't count on the reading log. I check these every Monday.

You may have noticed that it is cold outside! BRRRRR! Please remember to send your child to school dressed for the weather. We do go outside unless the weather is dangerously cold. Please make sure they have all of their winter gear with them.

Thanks for sharing your children with me. We are having a great year and I am truly excited to
get back to school with them!

2010-11-27T11:18:00.000-08:00

Let It Snow Let It Snow Let It Snow......

Ok! Maybe We Have Had Enough!!

I can't believe how much snow we have had in the last 24 hours!

I thought you might be looking for some things to do...

Read and journal or draw a picture about what you have read
Journal about what you have been doing on your days off
Draw a picture of what it looks like outside your window
Put together a puzzle. How long did it take you? Can you do it again and do it faster?
Practice your math facts
Measure how deep it is in different parts of your yard (with your parent's permission.) Can you make a bar graph of that?
Make a "Times Table". How many facts do you know?
Make a list of as many "snow" or "winter" words as you can. Now alphabetize them. Can you write them in cursive?
Write a story about your "Snow Day" in Medical Lake. Be sure to design a cover for your story.
How many different words can you make using the letters in the phrase "Medical Lake's Winter Wonderland"...what's the biggest word you can make?

Have fun! Be sure to bring any of your projects in to share with me!

Math Fun (and practice)

2010-11-25T08:13:00.001-08:00

We took some time one afternoon last week to play some games. Well, that's what the kids thought! Our "games" were actually some fun activities to practice multi-digit multiplication. (Teachers can be sneaky that way!)

There was one activity that was particularly challenging but the kids worked their way through it. It was GREAT multiplication practice. I think it would be a fun game to play at home, too. The picture below is what it looks like when it is set up. I will include directions below the picture.

It's called "In The Gap"......

What you need:

One deck of playing cards
One calculator
Scratch paper and pencils (for every player)
One 2 minute timer

What you do:

Remove the face cards from the deck. Shuffle the remaining cards.
Deal 6 cards face up, in the center of the playing area. Set the timer for 2 minutes.
Players use the numbers on the cards to create multiplication problems that have a product between 350 and 500. They may use estimation or work out problems to find the answers. Numbers can be combined to make 2 or 3-digit numbers. (For example, the problem 51 x 8 = 408 could be created with the cards 5, 1 and 8.)
When time is up, players share the problems they created and use the calculator to see if their answers are correct. Correct problems earn one point each.
Discard the six cards and deal six new cards in order to begin a new round.
25 pts are required to win.

Have fun!

Writers' Workshop

2010-11-24T20:46:00.000-08:00

With 4th Grade comes the MSP (Measurements of Student Progress..formerly known as the WASL) Writing test. The students will be asked to write 2 complete stories in 2 days on this test. They will go through the entire "Writing Process" from Brainstorming to writing the Rough Draft to Editing/Revising and then writing a Final Draft. Whew!!

We have started practicing and working our way through these steps. They are sure working hard.

I love their concentration! They take their writing very seriously!

They even meet with a buddy for some "peer editing".....

I am very sure they wil be ready for that test in May! They will have a "Bring It On!" attitude!

Super Kids!

2010-11-24T20:33:00.000-08:00

Well, the kids earned another Popcorn Party reward. They are such a great class! This time we had it on a day when it was very chilly at recess so I plugged in the crock pot and added a hot chocolate surprise.

Of course, with hot chocolate....you have to have marshmallows and peppermint sticks.

They were warmed up and ready to learn in no time!

Reptile Man...

2010-11-24T19:37:00.000-08:00

We had a GREAT assembly the day before conferences. Reptile Man came to Hallett. Now, I like a lot of critters but I am not a fan of snakes. I have to admit, though...this assembly was pretty cool! Just look at the faces of these kids!

Here are some of the reasons for the excitement.....kids are so funny!

Dale was the "lucky" one from our class! Look what he and 7 others got to hold! Well, this is part of it.....
Reptile Man held another assembly at night for the community and I hear the gym was packed! I'm sure he will be invited back!

IT'S COLD OUTSIDE!!

2010-11-23T11:46:00.000-08:00

So, the weather has changed....you've probably noticed! I have a basket in my room that has extra gloves in case someone forgets theirs. If you have any extras at home that you could donate, we would greatly appreciate it! Even mismatched ones are very helpful. We go outside for recess on most days unless it is dangerously cold and it is important that everyone is dressed appropriately for the weather. Thanks so much for your help!

Box Tops for Education...

2010-11-07T08:29:00.000-08:00

Hallett does collect "Box Tops for Education". It is another way that PTSO is able to raise money to help support our students. Our first "competition" ends November 12th. We do collect them all year so keep those box tops coming!

District Reading Festival....

2010-11-06T22:06:00.000-07:00

Reading Reminder.....

The District Reading Festival is this Monday (November 8) at 5:30 at Hallett! It's great fun and there are books for ALL!

SQUIRT!

2010-11-06T21:54:00.001-07:00

Did you know your children LOVE to read?? I know some of you are thinking I can't be talking about your child....but I am! They love the time I give them to just get cozy with a book around the room. I usually plan about 15 or 20 minutes for this but almost always end up giving more time because they are really enjoying their books. We call this time "SSR"....Sustained Silent Reading. Sometimes when it has been a very successful reading time, they can earn a letter. They don't know what they are earning but they are very curious to see what the next letter will be. Their first reward was "Squirt!" Some of the guesses were pretty funny. A couple of kids thought they were earning "Squids". :) Here are some pictures of SSR and Squirt time.

Watching them "really reading" is a definite highlight of my day!

More Science Investigations......and pictures!

2010-11-06T21:44:00.000-07:00

We finished our Physics of Sound unit! Your students should be able to tell you something about vibration and how it affects pitch. They should also be able to talk to you about sound sources, sound receivers and if sound can travel through air, water and solids. They investigated all of these questions for the last 6 weeks. Here are some pictures of their hard work. (There were so many, I decided to post them as collages this time.)

We have moved on to the study of "Properties of Matter". We will now be working out of our science book for this topic and will learn about using study guides at the same time.

It's a Harvest Party....with a lot of Costumes!

2010-10-29T21:15:00.000-07:00

The day that the students have been anxiously awaiting finally arrived! They were so surprised when their "teachers" greeted them...

I don't think they knew what to expect for the rest of the day!

Party days are always a toss up. They can be really crazy and exhausting or they can be surprisingly calm and still a lot of fun. I always hold my breath for a while to see what kind of day we will have. The morning went really well! We started with a fun Halloween seek-n-find entry task, then did a science worksheet, our reading groups and even took our spelling test! We did it! We made it through the morning with no problem. I decided it was going to be a great day....and then the announcement came.....INSIDE RECESS! Yikes! We went to lunch and I braced myself for the afternoon....and realized there was no need to wonder...we had a wonderful afternoon, too! We invited Mrs. Overman's class over to watch It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown and went to PE. Then it was FINALLY time to put our costumes on. It's my favorite part of the day! Just look at these faces!
After Ms. Spilker's "photo-op", we joined the parade throughout the school. It's so much fun to see everyone's costumes. When we got back to the classroom, the moms and dads had everything set up and ready to go for our party. I am so thankful for the help!

Now, this is what I call a "pirate's treasure"....good use of your hat, Trinity!

So much help!
Our favorite helper!
It was a wonderful day! Thank you Mrs. Zepp for all of your hard work organizing the party. It was a huge success!

Hooray!

2010-10-29T21:10:00.001-07:00

Thank you so much for the support for Hallett's PTSO! We won the Silver Slide competition. We won free popcorn for everyone in our class since we raised at least $100.00. We also raised the most money in the whole school so we will have a nacho party next Friday! We are very excited. Thank you so much!

Silver Slide!

2010-10-09T10:11:00.001-07:00

For the next weeks, Hallett will be running a fundraiser called Silver Slide. Our goal is to raise $1ooo.oo. The PTSO uses the money for several great causes that support the students of Hallett. The classes compete to see who can bring in the most change. There are prizes for grade level winners and the overall school winner but the important thing to remember is that money raised is helping the whole school. If you have any spare change that you can send to school with your student, Hallett would appreciate it!

Book Orders

2010-10-02T10:59:00.000-07:00

Just a reminder that Book Order forms are due Monday, Oct. 4th. I sent home a letter with information for ordering online but you can still send your orders into the classroom if you prefer. Please make checks or money orders out to Scholastic Books. Thanks for your support with book orders. The classroom earns free books with every order!

Sticks?

2010-09-23T19:32:00.001-07:00

A stick is fun? Really?? Well, ok....maybe one that walks can be! I decide to take one out of the tank for a few minutes today. Oh my goodness! The class came to life! It turns out there isn't a lot that is much more exciting than holding a stick that walks!!

I had to chuckle to myself when I watched them with this stick and wondered how much money they have in video games and toys at home and they were LOVING this little walking stick! Kids are funny!

Diving Into Dictionaries.....

2010-09-23T19:18:00.000-07:00

Dictionaries have so much information in them but they are hard work to learn how to use them! Today's vocabulary activity required using a dictionary. Even though it was hard work, the students seem to love it! They do love a challenge! This activity took a little over an hour in total but they gave it their all.....

Look at this concentration!!

Sometimes I just stand and watch them. Fourth graders are amazing people! They love to learn and love to work hard!

Woohoo! Science Has Started!!

2010-09-23T19:09:00.000-07:00

Kids LOVE science!! We share our science time with our Room 504 friends. We have started our Physics of Sound kits and will be working on "Inquiry Concepts". Our science kits are very hands on and the kids are totally engaged in learning! It's very exciting to watch! Our first lesson started with "Sound Discrimination". Who would have thought that dropping rolled up tinfoil, plastic spoons and pieces of cardboard could be so much fun?? How could we really be learning something?

NWEA Testing

2010-09-19T08:12:00.000-07:00

We will be starting our NWEA testing this week. Our first test will be Tuesday morning. The testing block lasts for three weeks. We will test every Tuesday and maybe one other day during the week, if needed. We will test in Reading, Math and Science. This is not a new test. Your students have taken this test at least twice a year every year they have attended the Medical Lake School District. It's important that they are able to do their best so please encourage a good night's sleep the night before and a good breakfast on the morning of the test. Thanks so much for your help and support!

I'm Not The Only Teacher...

2010-09-18T21:24:00.000-07:00

Look who's teaching today!! Ssshhh! Don't tell.....Ms. Spilker took a little break and the students taught math today! We have a lot of math experts in the room so I drew some "name sticks" and let them explain how to subtract with regrouping. Great job kids!! Thanks for the break!

Handwriting Without Tears....

2010-09-18T21:16:00.001-07:00

We have started our cursive handwriting program, Handwriting Without Tears. We are taking it VERY seriously. Look at this great posture and the seriousness in their concentration. I'm not kidding, you could hear a pin drop during this time! They will be experts in no time!
I don't require anything to be done in cursive yet. We are still practicing and taking our time. After Christmas break, we will try to do spelling in cursive but I will let you know when that will start.

Popcorn Party!

2010-09-18T21:05:00.001-07:00

We have a jar in our room that gets filled with a scoop of popcorn when we earn a compliment for good behavior or great manners. Sometimes I will add a scoop if the whole class is working really well. When the jar is full, the class has earned a POPCORN PARTY!

Imagine how exciting it was when we earned our very first party during the second week of school!! That has to be a record for filling the jar!

I decided to pop in a Winnie the Pooh movie about Making Friends to go with the popcorn...after all, popcorn and a movie just go together, right! You might be surprised but 4th graders still love Winnie the Pooh! Just look at these faces! (I thought they might try to do a math page at the same time....silly me!)

I am sure this is the first of many popcorn parties to come!

Open House/Ice Cream Social

2010-09-10T21:16:00.000-07:00

Remember that Monday, September 13 is Hallett's Open House/Ice Cream Social. Open House begins at 6:30. I am looking forward to explaining some important information for the classroom. Now that we have been in school for a few days, you may have some questions for me and I would be happy to try and answer them for you Monday night.

Also, Book Orders are due Monday, September 13th. I sent home information so you can order online or you can still send your order into the classroom and I will place your order.

One Week Already!

2010-09-08T21:45:00.000-07:00

I can't believe we have already finished one week of school! Well, four days of school but one week on the calendar. We are all still adjusting to being in school all day. I still answer the questions "How much longer until lunch?" and "How much longer until we go home?" several times a day but I'm sure that will change soon. I'm having a blast getting to know your kids.

We've started our homework routines, planner routines, morning routines and have been reviewing reading strategies and math concepts of multi-digit addition and subtraction. Everyone seems very excited to learn and to show me what they know! I see some great work habits all ready! You should all be very proud parents!!

We have been enjoying some silent reading time, as well. Here are a few pics from our SSR time. Your students can tell you what this means.

Don't forget: we have the Open House/Ice Cream Social on Monday, September 13 at 6:30 pm. I hope to see everyone there!!

Open House Was Great!

2010-09-01T19:41:00.000-07:00

We had a GREAT turn out at Open House today! It was fun to meet so many of you. If you couldn't make it today, no worries! We will meet tomorrow.

I just wanted to explain the Snack policy for our room. As a general rule, I don't provide a snack. The students are more than welcome to bring a healthy snack for themselves for the afternoon. It should be something easy to manage and not too disruptive. The kids are allowed to get their snack out when they are hungry any time after lunch. There is no "set snack time". It is meant to be a "brain boost" for the afternoon.

IMPORTANT NOTE: If you choose to send snacks or treats in for the classroom, please read the label for any peanut products or peanut warnings. We do have peanut allergies in our classroom.

I'm looking forward to the year! Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns!

Welcome Class 2010-2011 4th Graders!

2010-08-28T21:42:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited to start another year and meet all the new faces that will share Room 503 with me! I hope you are all as excited as I am! We are going to have an exciting, fun-packed year! Remember...Open House is September 1 from 1:00 - 3:00. I hope to see you then!

Camp Reed 2010

2010-06-08T20:10:00.001-07:00

With all of the busy-ness of May (testing, Camp, track-coaching, etc.), I have gotten a little behind on my blogging. I had so many pictures of Camp Reed that I thought some collages might be the best way to share some of them.
This year's camp was one of the chilliest years I have attended but it also had the fewest mosquitoes of any year! We only got rained on for a few minutes. I thought it was very successful!

There were some wonderful sessions at camp. The kids learned about "Bugs and Crud", Soils and Trees", Fire Safety, made Camp Shirts and even had some Team Building practice.

Such hard thinkers!

Couldn't have done it without these people! Thanks so much!!

Wait a minute...who's taking whose picture here???

Look who else stopped by to help teach some fire and forest safety....With all this learning, the kids had to have a little rec time.

This will be Mr. Mueller's last year at Camp with us so we had to get one last picture with him.

...but what do the teachers do when no one is looking???

HES is the best!

Camp Reed Meeting

2010-05-10T20:23:00.000-07:00

Just a reminder...tomorrow, May 11th, there will be two parent meetings for Camp Reed. One is at 9:15 am and the other is at 6:30 pm. Any questions or concerns you may have can be addressed at one of these meetings. They will be held at Hallett in the multi-purpose room.

We Have New "Friends"...

2010-05-10T20:08:00.000-07:00

We are finally moving on to the next investigation in our Structures of Life science kit. The Crayfish! Our "friends" came last week and the kids have been anxiously waiting to get their hands on them. Okay, maybe not everyone has been waiting to get their hands on them...but everyone has been excited to see what we would be doing with them.

As the name of our science kit implies, we will be studying the structures of this creature and it's habitats and territorial patterns. Today, we learned how to handle them carefully. After all, they are living creatures and they can pinch! We also studied their structures. That took some creativity...

Remember, you are always welcome to come in and enjoy some "hands on" experiences with us!

MSP Testing/Morning Aleks Group

2010-05-07T22:30:00.000-07:00

During the MSP testing weeks, there will be no morning ALEKS math class. The testing weeks run May 10th through May 21st. If your child needs to ride the early bus to school, he or she is still able to to do that!

Our testing dates for fourth grade are Wednesday and Thursday (May 12th and 13th) and Monday and Tuesday (May 17th and 18th). Please try to make sure your child is well-rested and is at school those days, if at all possible. If your child is sick and can not be at school, a make up can be rescheduled. The kids seem to test best when they can stay in the their regular environment and testing schedule. We have worked hard and focused on being prepared for the test but I also want to stress a "No Worries...Do Your Best" attitude with the kids.

Let me know if you have any questions or concerns!

Special Classes....

2010-04-07T20:32:00.000-07:00

I thought it might be fun for you to see what your kiddos are doing in when they aren't in our classroom. I visited them while they were in PE and Art and took some "action" shots for you. It was a lot of fun for me to see them in their other classes, too!

Mr. Houn had some fitness stations set up for the day. The kids worked out at each station and when the music changed, they switched stations. They definitely worked all their muscles and had fun while they did it! Just look at those smiles!

What do you think of these future fitness experts?? I was very impressed!

Next up...Art with Mrs. Vega. The kids have been working on a very hard project. I don't want to give away any details in case it's a surprise but I will tell you they have been working super hard! Mrs. Vega gave everyone a Hawks Pride slip today!

Ben is thinking hard....

I've said it all year, but it is still so true....this is an awesome group of kids and I am so happy to get to spend this year with them!

Camp Reed Reminder: Camp is May 20th and 21st. Please try to get everything paid and turned in by May 3rd. We are still looking for at least 2 more male chaperones. If there is anyway you can volunteer to go, please let me know and I will send the paperwork home! Thanks so much!

Updates...

2010-03-10T20:26:00.000-08:00

Goodness...has it really been almost a month since I have updated the blog? I'm so sorry! First of all, thanks so much for attending parent/teacher conferences. It was great to spend time talking with all of you about the progress of each of your students!

Next, I want to welcome our 2 newest students. Paige has actually been with us most of the year...joining us for our special classes. We are now lucky to have her with us all day every day! We also had Kaylie join us just a few days before Paige. How lucky are we! Two more great kids for our classroom! I didn't think things could get any better and then they did! Welcome, girls!

We are finally getting back to some routines since conferences are over. As usual, the kids ask me EVERY day for some silent reading time. I have truly never had a class that wants to read sooo much! Mrs. Jones, our librarian, has even been very impressed! I love it!

We have also been working on triple digit by double digit multiplication and the long division algorithm. (Impressive, isn't it!) The kids have been working super hard on it and are now the "experts". They actually take turns doing the teaching now. They would love it if you would make up some problems to practice at home.
Probably the biggest news of the week is the hatching of the walking stick eggs! I had no idea how many we were going to have. I took these pictures one day and the next day, there were about 3 times as many on the screen. Yikes!

Also, remember Camp Reed is May 20 - 21. Mark your calendars. We are still looking for chaperones, especially males. Let me know if you are interested!

Valentine's.....

2010-02-15T07:28:00.000-08:00

We had our Valentine Party on Friday and Mrs. Schulte went to work organizing an ice cream Sundae party. The kids couldn't have happier.....ok, the teacher, too! Kids LOVE choices and creating! What better way to do this than with ice cream and toppings...yum! Just give them a dish of vanilla ice cream and a "few" toppings to choose from and watch them go!

Of course, they still LOVE their Valentine cards. We passed them out early in the day and they were waiting until the party to open them. I have to say, the kids were soooo good all day! They were very patient waiters.
Apparently "Pop Rocks" candy and apple juice do great things when they are mixed together. Science happens when you are least expecting it!
I had to try to catch a few random shots but they are "on to" my camera!
I was able to get one.... check out this thumb wrestling competition!

It was a fun time for sure! Thanks to Collin's mom, his sister and Natalie's mom for coming in to help. Thanks everyone who donated ALL the wonderful treats!

Will the slipper fit?

2010-01-29T19:43:00.001-08:00

One of our stories in our Reading book is called Cendrillon, a Carribean version of Cinderella. We always take a couple of weeks and explore different versions of Cinderella. You'd be surprised at how many different ones there are. We've read western, Native American, Chinese, Russian, penguin, and many other versions. We even read a story about a recycling Cinderella. See if you can find her in the pictures!

This year, Mrs. Overman and I decided it would be fun to have the kids create some "life size" Cinderellas and Princes to go with the summaries the students are writing. It's taken several days but the kids loved the project.

I love seeing them get down on the floor and get creative. They had to come up with their own plans and designs. We supplied the paper and they went to work.

Yep. you guessed it! That was Cinder Edna, our recycler!

Well, "Howdy! Mizz Lurlene.."

Here is a Native American Cinderella from Rough-Faced Girl...

Looks like someone is visiting from Egypt.....

We can't forget Joe Prince from Cindy Ellen...

They are so proud of their work, and they should be! Their masterpieces are hanging outside our classrooms. Feel free to stop by and take a peek!

Math Facts Practice!

2010-01-08T20:24:00.000-08:00

We are back! It's a new decade and we are back to school! I decided it is time to hit those math facts hard and the kids couldn't be happier. One would think they would hate these 3 minute math timings but, for the most part, they love them! The intensity on their faces when they are taking the test is priceless!

I have told the kids that they are more than welcome to take timings home to practice. If you think they need to do this and you aren't seeing them come home, let me know. I will stick some in their folders. I've already seen a lot of growth this week! When the timer goes off, I have so much fun listening to the sounds of "Yes!" or "Oh! Almost!" that are shouted around the room. Keep practicing!!

Geologists at work

2009-12-13T07:58:00.000-08:00

Friday's task was to break the mock rocks apart and sort the minerals out from the rest of the rock. Sounds easy enough, right?

The students were given a tool (nail) that came from the kit and some directions from Mrs. Overman and off to work they went...look at this determination!

Once they were done, they needed to mix the leftover rock material with water in a vial with a lid. They shook it up and left it over the weekend. We will observe it again on Monday to see what happened.

Earth Materials...New Science

2009-12-12T21:25:00.000-08:00

We have finally started our next science unit, Earth Materials. The kids have been anxiously waiting! They've had some experience with sand, pebbles and rocks in second grade so they are excited to see where we go with this one.

In order to set the mood, I dug out my rock collection. It has definitely stirred the interest in the classroom! If your kids have some they want to share, they certainly can...just make sure they have away of keeping track of their treasures.

We started by practicing some observation and recording skills, things all good scientists must do. We are using mock rocks, tape measures and hand lenses. We used some math skills, too, when we measured, diameter, circumference, and depth.

I was kind of chuckling to myself as I watched the kids. I was thinking about everything on their wishlists for Christmas and wondered.."Who knew they could be so excited by rocks...and these are 'mock rocks'?"

And Some More...

2009-12-12T20:47:00.000-08:00

These just make me smile...

More Heartwarming Wishes....

2009-12-07T21:50:00.000-08:00

Yes, I love my job!

Keep checking back for more wishes!

More Science!

2009-12-04T23:17:00.000-08:00

We had a task to perform and a problem to solve. If Ms. Spilker gave us a baby food jar filled to very top with water, how many pennies could we add to the jar before the water would spill over? The results were surprising!
The answers varied. Some groups used only 9 or 10 pennies and some used as many as 27 before the water spilled over the top! It was so exciting to see how many each group could get in there. Next, came the most important question....what prevented the water from spilling over for so long with so many pennies? Hmmmm....puzzling! This time it was mine and Mrs. Overman's turn to get excited! The kids did a water kit in third grade and they had a lot of background knowledge to share with us...some great ideas and thinking!

As always, not only was the experiment exciting, but there was learning involved! We always find a way to sneak that in. The kids are now working their way through the scientific process. They recorded a question, hypothesis/prediction, and listed materials. We will continue through the rest of the process next week!

Wishes...

2009-12-04T22:37:00.000-08:00

Every year I have the kids watch a wonder movie called Annabelle's Wish. It has a really sweet message and the kids love it. Christmas is a time of year when the kids start making their own wish lists and get very excited about all the possibilities they might find under the tree for Christmas. After the movie, we take a few minutes and talk about some "unselfish wishes" and what that means.

The kids talked about what it truly means to "need" at Christmas and they came up with some very heart-warming ideas. After they wrote their wish, we went to the computer lab and learned a little about Microsoft Word and all the different fonts, sizes, and colors. They typed their wishes up and we will display them in the hallway.

This year, I am recording some of the students reading them for the blog (if I have a permission slip). I can only do a couple of them at a time because it take a while to upload. I will try to get as many as I can through the next couple of weeks. You have really great kids!! (You might need to turn your volume up.)

Just think, they are only 4th graders!

Relaxin....

2009-12-04T22:33:00.000-08:00

You know...we work awfully hard all day. Every once in a while, a kid's just gotta relax. It's amazing how much fun it is to get permission to put your feet on your desk!
I wish you could've been there. They were so excited!

2nd Steps

2009-12-04T22:10:00.000-08:00

Every other Friday, Mrs. Earthman (our counselor) comes in and does a 2nd Steps lesson with us. It's a curriculum that helps develop problem solving skills. She has students role play different situations. Today's lesson was working on how to let someone know in a productive when your feelings were hurt or someone made you angry. The kids were practicing using "I feel" statements.This curriculum runs from Kindergarten through Sixth grade so the kids are very familiar and very comfortable with Mrs. Earthman. They participate really well!

Helping Others Project and Food Drive

2009-12-04T22:01:00.000-08:00

Every year our Hallett Hawks participate in a "Helping Others" project. This year, the ASB selected the Humane Society. They came out and visited our school and brought their friend, Titan, with them. He was our special person's "special helper"!

They asked us to donate pet food and especially kitty litter....the non-clumping kind. If every student at Hallett could bring one can of cat or dog food, we would be able to donate almost 300 cans of food! We have a box in our room to collect our donations.

Another wonderful project we participate in is donating food to the food bank. This is a "high need" time of year. A lot of families are in need, especially during the holidays. They always appreciate whatever we can collect. Again, if you can send anything at all in with your student, it will be greatly appreciated!

Symmetry yrtemmyS

2009-11-16T20:23:00.000-08:00

Ok, just having a little fun with the blog title. We have been working with polygons (many-sided figures). When we work with polygons, we learn about flips, slides, and reflections. Reflections brings us to Symmetry. When we look to see if something is symmetrical, there has to be at least one line of symmetry. Things must be exactly the same on both sides of that line. Some figures can have more than one line of symmetry!

Our task....design symmetrical figures. We have very creative minds!

They are Symmetrical Experts now! See how many things around you house have a Line of Symmetry!

Sentences, Subjects and Predicates, Oh My!

2009-10-30T20:05:00.000-07:00

We have been working with sentences. We spent quite a bit of time learning the differences between commands, statements, exclamations and questions. That went pretty well. Now, we have started "dissecting" the sentences. The kids have been learning where the complete subject and complete predicate are. Once they have that figured out, it's time to decide what the simple subject and simple predicate is. This has been a bit challenging. I thought a little "hands on" activity might help. They liked it.
We will be practicing this and starting to work with nouns next week.

It Was A "Spook-tacular" Day!

2009-10-30T19:32:00.000-07:00

The big day was finally here. The kids were so excited. They were wonderful all day and hardly asked when the party was or when can we put our costumes on? They were very patient! When the time finally came, it was well worth the wait. The costumes looked great!We always go on a parade through the school so we can see everyone's costumes and they can see ours. It's a tradition that has carried over from the Elementary School. The kids were working on their Halloween placemats while they were waiting for the parade to begin.

Once we get back to our rooms, it's party time. My, oh my! Did we ever have a party! You parents went way above and beyond. Thank you so much! Thanks, Mrs. Schulte, for "taking charge" and organizing things for me. I really appreciate it!

Juice, cupcakes, cookies, treat bags and more....

How about some pizza, and meat with cheese slices?

Would you like some fruit, too?

I hope your kids didn't have too big of a tummy ache when they got home. I did pass out some "to go" baggies and it looked like most of them were used. :) All in all, it was a great success!

Happy Halloween! Have a great weekend!

Fourth Graders are Great!

2009-10-29T20:40:00.001-07:00

We have a different "special person" each day. The special person runs errands and takes care of any special requests I might have for that day. The job rotates alphabetically and it doesn't take long before the kids figure out when their turn is coming. Everyone is very excited for their day. They keep much better track of it than I do!

Mrs. Smith (our friend in the office) donated some "frog eyes" to our classroom and the special person gets to wear them all day, if he or she wants. As you can see, lots of us still want to. (I will get everyone's picture eventually!)

Can't you see why I love Fourth Graders?

A Week Of "M's"

2009-10-16T20:39:00.000-07:00

We had a week full of "M's"! This week we finally started working on "Multiple Digit Multiplication". The kids were nervous and excited at the same time. They have been working really hard on single digits times two and three digit numbers. It was finally time to tackle two digit times two digit numbers.

I love their determination! I introduced them to their friend, "Zero Hero".....and off they went. Soon, they were saying, "Ms. Spilker, can we have another one? Can we have a harder one?" Ah....music to a teacher's ears. We will be practicing this a lot. We will be working our way up to three digit times three digit numbers. I'm sure you will be practicing a lot, too! Be sure to have your student introduce you to Zero Hero. He makes things so much easier. Please let me know if you are noticing any problems on the homework.

Another "M" for the week, was some "Mapping" skills. Our class worked with Mrs. Overman's class getting to know our state. Using some Washington State maps and a list of locations, they filled in their own Washington State maps. They should at least now know that Seattle and Spokane are on opposite sides of the state, where the Cascade Mountains are, where Puget Sound is, that the Columbia River runs throughout the entire state, and a few other things. If you are ever looking for something to do with your child, grab a map and look at it together. As you can tell by the pictures, they are fascinated by maps.

The last "M" was "Minigutbucket". I know...I said "What???" as well. It was one of our tools for testing vibrations and pitch in the Physics of Sound Unit. Mrs. Overman and I had a quick review of the unit with the kids today and we were very pleasantly surprised. They have learned a lot about high and low pitch, vibrations, sound discrimination and how to journal what we have been doing. We are getting ready to move into our third and final investigation of our unit.
I let the kids have some buddy reading time today. I also let them get my Halloween books out. I told them they could read together and before I knew it, some of them were actually becoming teachers and reading to their partners. I love this class! They are always surprising me.

There just isn't a much sweeter sound than a 4th grader reading! (Sorry about all the background noise...more 4th graders reading! I will work on blocking that out with my camera.)

It's a busy time of year. We are in the middle of our Silver Slide Fund raiser. It's a class competition. The class that raises the most money wins a candy bar and a book for every student in the class. The PTSO does a lot for our students and this money helps fund many of the activities they provide. The Halloween party will be on the 30th. Collin's mom will be contacting you with information for that. Conferences are the week of Thanksgiving and will be here before you know it. Progress reports will come home on Monday. We are finishing up our first theme in Reading and did begin writing our first stories this week. We are doing that one paragraph at a time. Thanks for all of your support. Homework is coming in very regularly and keep up the great work on the Reading Logs!

Goodbye September and Hello October!

2009-10-02T20:07:00.000-07:00

I finally found something that challenged everyone! Spelling Sudoku! It was fun and challenging but also a great way to practice their spelling words. This class likes to finish what they start and they have been determined to finish this. They don't give up easily!

After all that "brain-stretching" with the Spelling Sudoku, we needed a brain break. We have to take a little advantage of the nice weather while it is here....and sometimes, kids just have to be kids! I love these pictures!

Birthdays are important in 4th grade! We had one this week! The birthday girl loved celebrating but was a little shy for the camera.

Happy Birthday!!

It's always fun to be asked to help pass out the birthday treats...

But the best part is EATING the treats!

Sometimes, the teacher needs a break! We've been practicing and practicing multiple-digit multiplication (I'm sure you've noticed). This was a great time to let some "experts" do the teaching.

This week in science, we continued with the Physics of Sound kit. We focused on vibrations and that brought us to "pitch". While exploring many different activities, they discovered that the slower the vibration, the lower the pitch. It was very interesting (and maybe a little noisy!)

Thought you might like to hear some scientists actually discussing their discoveries about "pitch".

We finished our first full month of school and we have gently moved from reviewing skills to working on fourth grade curriculum. I think the kids are doing great. As always, be sure to let me know if you have any concerns!

Testing, Popcorn and Science!

2009-09-27T09:37:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-09-18T20:53:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-09-12T22:10:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-06T22:51:00.001-07:00

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!

First Day of the 2009-2010 School Year!

2009-09-02T18:46:00.000-07:00

Today was our first day and it was fabulous! I loved meeting each and everyone of the 20 students in my class! They all gave me a thumbs up at the end of the day and said they will be back tomorrow. They must have enjoyed the day as well.

I didn't take any pictures yet. It was a very busy day and I am waiting to check the permission slips. We, of course, had to spend some time talking about expectations for things like walking in the hallways, using the restrooms, going to lunch, going to recess, coming in from recess, getting the teacher's attention in the classroom, going to the bus, coming off the bus in the morning, etc. Poor kids! I have to say, tho, these kids handled it great! They were awesome listeners and did everything I asked them to do.

We managed to sneak a few academic things in (ok, and some fun things, too!) We started working in our cursive handwriting books, took a math timing, did an "I Can't Project" and "Crumple Girl". The students also filled out their planners for the first time. Please be sure to check it EVERY day and initial it at the bottom so I know you saw it. Thanks!

I'm sure your child is tired tonight. I know I am! I am looking forward to a great year!

Last Week of Summer Vacation....

2009-08-23T23:14:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe but this is the last week of summer vacation! Well, last full week for the kids. The teachers will be in meetings all day Thursday and Friday so we are down to half a week of vacation. It's ok with me, though! I am excited to meet my new students and I hope they are getting excited to be Hallett Hawks! I've spent some time at school getting the room all set up and am looking forward to teaching again. Remember, September 1st is Open House. Come and meet your teacher and find your classroom. Open House runs from 1:00 - 3:00. Wednesday, September 2nd is the FIRST Day! Hooray!!

Looking forward to meeting you all very soon!
Ms. Spilker

Tomorrow is the Last Day!

2009-06-11T19:55:00.000-07:00

Today was our last full day of Fourth Grade. Tomorrow at 11:30, we are 5th graders! I took a few pictures today to "commemorate" the moment. We were having Otter Pops (Thanks Mrs. Redell!) and I tried to catch everyone but realized Alex was no where to be found in my outside pics. I suspect she was busy swinging! She is always swinging or hanging upside down!

I did manage to get a group photo (unfortunately, Robert and Annika had already left)...just not great timing today! Alex was in this one, tho!

It's hard to believe the year is over. I have enjoyed watching your children grow and mature. I was looking at them the other day and can't believe how tall they are! They've not only grown in size, they've grown academically and in confidence, too. They are truly ready to move on to 5th grade. I have no hesitations! Thank you so much for sharing your children with me and for all of your support. Enjoy your summers and I hope to see you all in the fall!

Field Day....or was it Court Day?

2009-06-08T21:01:00.001-07:00

Today was Field Day and the weather did not cooperate so we were inside. Shay thought it should be called "Court Day"...I agreed! It was a little crowded in the gym with four 4th grade classes but I thought it went well and the kids had fun anyway.

Field Day consists of four classes divided into four teams. Here are our teams (with most of their members):

The kids spend the next hour running different relays. Mr. Houn does a great job of coming up with creative and fun relays.

Let's play "Twins"...remember....NO HANDS!

Great job! Now, can you pass the Hoola-Hoop down the human chain without letting go of hands?

I think I would have gotten stuck in the hoop! The next task was to carry a marble on a plastic spoon down and around a cone and back. The catch was that the spoon had to be carried by the very end of the handle. This is one event that was a little easier outside. If the marble drops outside, it doesn't go bouncing across a hard gym floor!
Speedway was my favorite and of course my camera was acting up so I didn't get great pictures. The kids were on scooters.....
They had to go down and around the cone. Sounds easy, right? Well, if they fell off, their "pit crew" (the rest of their team) had to run out and pick them up and put them back on their scooter. Just to make it more fun, if Mr. Houn blew his whistle, they had to fall off the scooter and the pit crews went to work!

There is a "teacher participation" relay. I put Miss Landeene to work on this one. Why not take advantage one last time? :) The kids had to run down to her, chew up a soda cracker and then try to whistle. Remember, most 4th graders can't whistle to begin with....now try to do it while eating a cracker. It is a guaranteed cracker shower! This is something every student teacher should experience, don't you think? Miss Landeene is a great sport and loved every minute of it!

The final relay was the kids favorite one. They "relayed" to the big yellow cooler for a popsicle! The kids handled the inside field day wonderfully. Thanks, Mr. Houn! We had a great time!

6 and a half days of school left....what to do?

2009-06-03T21:10:00.000-07:00

As you can imagine, everyone is getting anxious for summer break and it's getting harder to stay "interested" in sitting in class. I decided it was time for some math! Did you ever wonder how long the hallways were at Hallett? I thought it might be time to find out.....we through ourselves into our task....literally! We had a rather unique measuring tool!

Yep! That's right....our bodies. We measured the hallways from head to toe. We started in 4th grade hall and went down 5th grade, then 6th, across the multipurpose room and back to our room.

Our trip measured 9 and 1/2 Spilker class lengths.

Of course, Ms. Spilker being who she is, we had to turn this into a learning experience. We talked about variables. If every 4th grade class measured the hallways in the same way, would they come up with the same answer? Why or why not? These soon-to-be fifth graders had great answers. They said the other classes might have more students, taller or shorter students, they might measure closer to a wall and not down the middle, and their classrooms are not as far down the hall as ours so their measurement would stop sooner. I was so impressed! In fact, so impressed, I had to extend this into homework. :) Describe the activity as if you were the teacher leaving directions for someone else and include the variables. I can't wait to read their papers!

I also took the opportunity to get some "close ups". Too much fun!

Danielle and Dylan were the beginning and the end of our line.

I can't believe this year is almost over and it's time to turn them over to the fifth grade teachers. I will truly miss them!! They are a fun group!

Take Me Out To The Ballgame!

2009-05-11T20:23:00.001-07:00

Tyler asked me to come see him play. I was worried about the weather all day but it turned out to be a beautiful night and a fun game to see.

He's getting ready to steal third......and he is safe!!

He had to shake a little dirt out of his helmet after that slide!
It's hard to wait in the dugout. Boys want to be out on the field!

Imagine my surprise when I got there and saw a familiar face....looks who's pitching! That's Jayln, a former student of mine. He did great, too!

Tyler's up to bat. Look at that concentration!

Good eye..that one was a little inside!

Good sportsmanship is always nice to see after a game!Look at these "Happy Feet"...can you tell who won?

Congratulations! Great job!

Purple Piglets?

2009-05-07T21:21:00.000-07:00

Yep! That's right...the Purple Piglets! That's the name of the softball team that some of our girls play on. Annika, Alex and Tayah have been leaving me notes written in "purple" ink (coincidence??) inviting me to their games. I was able to make it to one tonight and it was really fun!

Look at these girls....talk about the ready position! I love it!

And there's always time for a little advice from Dad.... They have obviously been working hard at batting practice....look at these swings!Girls are always up for a "photo-op"....thanks for inviting me! I am so glad I went! You played great!

Physics of Sound....

2009-04-25T22:43:00.001-07:00

Miss Landeene started our new science kit, Physics of Sound. It's a fun, "hands-on" science unit.

Teacher Talk: The Physics of Sound Module consists of four sequential investigations, each designed to expose a specific set of concepts. Students learn to discriminate between sounds generated by dropped objects, how sounds can be made louder or softer and higher or lower, how sounds travel through a variety of materials, and how sounds get from a source to a receiver. The investigations provide opportunities for students to explore the natural and humanmade worlds by observing and manipulating materials in focused settings using simple tools.

The first lesson focused on sounds discrimnation. The kids used "drop chambers" to see if the other team could figure out what had been dropped in the chamber without looking.

Then came the tricky part. They had to come up it words that described the sounds each object made. Sounds easy, right? It's not! What sound does a tinfoil ball make? (The man in the picture is Miss Landeene's supervisor from EWU. He was observing her lesson.)

This lesson took place last week. This week they used the sounds they were already familiar with to create a code. They took turns sending each other messages. It was definitley "lively" and fun!

It's WASL Time....

2009-04-16T20:06:00.000-07:00

Well, we have finished our first week of the WASL. The kids have done great. We finished two days of the Reading WASL and one day of the Writing WASL. They wrote their Expository papers without too many struggles. You should be very proud of them. It is definitely a long day for them. So, if they seem a little bit more tired than usual, it's very understandable. They wrote, edited and rewrote an entire paper today!

Next week is two days of the Math WASL and one more day for Writing. I think they are feeling like it's going a lot better than they thought it would.

I'm very proud of them!

Floating Fractions.....

2009-04-08T23:45:00.000-07:00

Math with Miss Landeene~Whew! We worked really hard with Miss Landeene today. We worked on parts and wholes, numerators and denominators. We used our white boards and brains!

Look at that concentration!Way to go, Annika!

We are becoming Fraction experts!!

Learning Isn't Just For The Classroom....

2009-04-08T23:21:00.000-07:00

It was just too nice to stay inside, so we grabbed our books and headed outside.....

Believe it or not, we settled in and actually got some reading done!

We just love to read!!!!

Spring Has Sprung!!!

2009-04-07T22:24:00.000-07:00

We just got back from Spring Break. Since most of Spring Break looked like this......We just had to take advantage of the great weather we are having. Miss Landeene took us outside for an extra recess.

Wow! Look at Cole flexing his muscles!

I wonder if Dylan sleeps with a football......he always seems to have one.

Did he really catch his own pass?

Calista is helping Miss Jodi figure out how the swing works.
Analysa and Danielle....giving their best camera smiles!

Whitney brought a "friend" from home...

Garet and Bryon campaining for "World Peace"...:)
Alex and Colby......I think "HAPPY" says it all.....

WASL? What WASL?? Just kidding! We've been working hard, but a kid's gotta have some fun, too!
Can you believe I get to spend my day with these faces? How can you not smile?

Math is VERY Cool!!!

2009-03-19T23:28:00.000-07:00

If you didn't know, the Fourth Grade Math Is Cool team competed today at Mount Spokane. We had six kiddos from our classroom on the team: William, Tylor, Alex, Mikal, Shay, Annika (Dylan also made the team but was on vacation so had to decline.)

Here is the Math Is Cool team participants from Room 503 (minus Tylor....he will be in the "after" picture). There were about 12 other 4th graders on the Hallett Team. They have been working very hard with their coach, Mrs. Gilbert, for the past few weeks in order to get ready for the big day....they were very nervous and excited at the same time......

We took this picture just for fun....but I think it's a fitting way to let you know that the Hallett Hawks Math Is Cool Team took

SECOND PLACE!!!!! CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!

Also, Congratulations to Shay for an overall 5th place finish and Alex for an overall 6th place finish. I am so proud of ALL of you!!! Thanks Mrs. Gilbert for all you did!

Prefixes, Root Words, Suffixes, Oh my...

2009-03-19T23:06:00.000-07:00

We have been working with prefixes and suffixes and it has been "oh so confusing".....so, Miss Landeene came to the rescue. She designed a great lesson to help us out.

Her professor from Eastern came and watched her, so we helped her out, too! Funny how that worked out!

We also had a chance to practice working in groups.....always a great opportunity.

Prefixes, Root Words, and Suffixes make much more sense to us now!

March 16th....

2009-03-19T23:00:00.000-07:00

March 16th was a special day...Annika brought some very green cupcakes in to share with us. She wanted to celebrate her birthday with us. She was born the day before St. Patrick's Day and wanted to prove it with glittery Shamrock cupcakes. They were so yummy!

Happy Birthday, Annika!!

Friends and Food....

2009-03-12T19:40:00.000-07:00

I thought it might be fun to snap a few pictures of the kids in the lunchroom today. I was hoping to get some candid shots but no such luck. They were "hammin'" it up for the camera. Gotta love the smiles! Some of the kids were still in line getting food and I didn't want to try taking pictures while they were filling their trays....:) There will be more pictures to come!

Can you believe I actually get paid to spend my day with these smiles?

Miss Landeene

2009-03-12T19:26:00.001-07:00

I have been trying to get a few pictures of Miss Landeene but she seems to quietly step aside when I am pointing my camera. As she is starting take over more of the teaching responsibilities, she has become a "sitting duck". I wanted to include her in our blog. Many of you met her at conferences, but if you still aren't sure who she is, she is an Eastern student who has been spending time in our classroom since January of last year. She is now at the point of beginning her student teaching. We are both excited and I know she is going to do a great job!

Miss Landeene read The Lorax by Dr. Suess to us and helped us with a fun writing project.

She makes reading groups exciting and fun....Shay can hardly wait to share!

She is always very interested to hear what everyone has to say.....

Even though Miss Landeene hasn't officially started student teaching, I have no concerns...she is a natural and the kids love her! We are so lucky she is spending a year with us!!

Writers' Workshop and More.....

2009-02-23T20:29:00.000-08:00

In fourth grade, we learn about several different forms of writing but mainly focus on Narrative and Expository forms. We were really lucky today as we found ourselves with a huge "chunk of writing time"! That doesn't happen often so we took advantage. The kids got their writing folders, their editing bags, dictionaries and got busy.

Analysa has an idea and is on a roll!

Alex is "reading to the wall". This is a step in the "revising and editing process". Sometimes it helps to read the story out loud and hear what we actually wrote and not what we thought we wrote!
Phillip is really concentrating on revising. Great job, Phillip!
Looks like Mikal found a change to make. That's some serious erasing! Cole is re-reading. Does it sound "just right" yet?
Calista and her clipboard...what more does a writer need? She has some great similes in her story!
When in doubt, get the dictionary....great idea, Garet!

Of course, the Reading Counts deadline is almost here so why not squeeze a test in when we can. Smart thinking, Brayden. That has been one busy computer!

And...a couple of our friends were caught up on everything so they challenged themselves with a new math dice game in the hallway. Nicely done, Alexandra and William.

So, what do teachers really do when they are gone?

2009-02-19T17:24:00.000-08:00

Do you ever wonder what your teachers do when they are gone? Well, today we were gone to a science training. We actually had our final training for our "Structures of Life" science kit. Yep...that's right....we got to visit the seeds, crayfish and snails one last time! It was so much fun.

This time, we even learned some more. We practiced observing them. We had to draw them from three different views. That was hard! We talked about what we saw them doing and we shared what we learned from our students. That's right....we learn from you, too!

And then, we did something completely new! We explored "Bess Beetles"! We knew they were an option, but we were nervous about them so we chose to work with Land Snails instead this year. Guess what! We liked them!

Do you remember the snail pull?

The beetles pull washers as well.....we have to use dental floss tho! :) I didn't get a video of them but we are thinking they might actually be stronger than the snail but we aren't sure yet.

This video is blurry but I couldn't resist these "snugglin' snails".

You can see that we learn a lot and we do have fun at science workshops, but I do prefer to be in class with you!

New Poll

2009-02-14T20:00:00.001-08:00

The Poll has been updated. The correct answer for last weeks question was False. Only six of the seven have beards. Happy, Doc, Grumpy, Sleepy, Sneezey, and Bashful all have beards. Dopey does not have a beard and he is also the only dwarf that can't talk. This week's question looks a little more challenging to me so good luck! Also, if you hold your curser (mouse) over the astrology picture, the name of the will come up. Have fun!

Miss Landeene to the rescue....

2009-02-14T16:18:00.000-08:00

I am very happy! Miss Landeene just sent some pictures of the party to me. It looks like you had great fun!! Your cookies look very yummy!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2009-02-14T11:42:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!! I'm so sad that I missed the party yesterday but I am sure you had fun anyway. I stopped by school quickly yesterday. Thanks for all the wonderful valentines! I will see you all on Tuesday!

Buddies Reading

2009-02-09T21:16:00.000-08:00

We partnered up for a little while to practice reading. Our assignment was to focus on what our buddy does when he or she gets stuck on a word. What strategies did we notice? What strategies did we offer to help? Ms. Spilker told us we will do something with this but she hasn't told us what yet....hmmm....:)

I have to say...this class loves to read!! If given a choice, they always choose reading! It's a teacher's dream. Today, I let them choose any story they wanted from the book...that was a student's dream!

You might be wondering why they are sitting like they are. At my last science training, I learned that they can hear each other read better when their ears are next to their partner's mouths. You wouldn't believe the change in the noise level in the room. They can actually hear each other so they aren't shouting! Teachers learn something new all the time, too.

Pictographs Are Finally Finished!

2009-02-09T21:01:00.000-08:00

After a lot of data gathering, analyzing, and discussing....the pictographs are finished. There was a lot of great math conversation happening. There is a lot of planning that goes into making a pictograph. What symbol do we use? What is the value of that symbol? What are the names of the categories? The most challenging part of all turned out to be how to word the question that our pictographs answer. It was hard! After all the graphs were completed, we had quite a discussion. I think we decided that "How much time does does a class of fourth graders spend doing these activities in a 24 hour period?" I think William gets a "quick clap" for that one! One, two..clap, clap! :)

Poll Updated

2009-01-31T11:50:00.000-08:00

The answer to last week's poll was "The Lost Boys". They were the group of boys in Peter Pan. Thanks to everyone who participated. Be sure to check out this week's question!

Pictograph Partners.....

2009-01-31T11:30:00.000-08:00

As a teacher, there is no better sound than when your students say "When are we going to graph again?" We are finishing up with our pictographs and will be moving on to other graphs. On Friday, we worked in partners or groups of three to create the graphs making sure we had our data, key and title. It took some serous thinking to organize that information. This is just a little video of the work in progress. I will add the finished graphs after they are presented on Monday. (Sorry there is no sound on this video. Hopefully, it will still be fun to watch.)

All Work and No Play?

2009-01-27T20:24:00.000-08:00

In case anyone was wondering if we ever give our brains a little break......

Since we can't "dribble" a basketball on the snow, we are now playing basketball with a football...genious!

We did venture out for a little fresh air this afternoon. It was a little slippery but the kids were not slowed down one bit....Robert also shared his birthday with us. Thanks Robert's mom! We loved the cupcakes, cookies, and juice!

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ROBERT!

Day Three....

2009-01-26T19:26:00.000-08:00

Today was our third day of learning about graphing. On the first day we learned about writing survey questions to gather data and then we actually gathered the data. The second day was spent compiling the data.We finally started talking about graphs today...pictographs in fact. We spent a little while looking at a pictograph and had some great discussion about the purpose and usefulness of the graph. I was impressed with how much they knew.

Next, the students figured out that we needed to total up all of our data in each category and then we needed to make sure everything was in the same units of measurement.....minutes. Sounds easy, right? Just add a few numbers together, right? Well, I have to say, you could feel the brain work in that room. It was so exciting to see them work and work and work until everyone in their group came up with the same answer. They talked about the best way to solve the problem and tried several different strategies. Oh yea, did I mention that there were 17 numbers in each column and (here's the best part).....no calculators!!

They are so excited about learning. Gotta love that teamwork! Isn't it great!

Learning, Learning, Learning...

2009-01-23T18:59:00.000-08:00

I love this time of year! The kids are settled into routines and we can really take off with new and fun activities. We have been reading The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. Even though most of us saw the movie, the kids are loving the book. It's so much fun to read it with them. Today we started a project to show that we are "comprehending" what we read. They are making a "post card accordian folder". They jumped right into work and I put the CD of their music program songs on. They were singing while they worked! I was so proud of them!After that, it was time for math. We are starting to work with different kinds of graphs. Graphing requires having some data to graph. One way to gather data is to take a survey. Yesterday, the students brainstormed things a fourth grader might do in a typical 24 hour time period. Next, they came up with five questions for the survey.

How much time did you spend reading?
How much time did you spend sleeping?
How much time did you spend coming to school and going home?
How much time did you spend playing video games or on the computer?
How much time did you watch T.V.?

Oh, look! There is the need to figured out some elapsed time in these questions. Hmmm....I wonder how that happened! :) Answering these questions was their homework assignment. Today, we spent time compiling the data.

Next week, we will graph this information in a variety of ways. It should be fun!