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)

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:

1. Remove the face cards from the deck. Shuffle the remaining cards.
2. Deal 6 cards face up, in the center of the playing area. Set the timer for 2 minutes.
3. 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.)
4. 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.
5. Discard the six cards and deal six new cards in order to begin a new round.
6. 25 pts are required to win.

Have fun!

Writers' Workshop

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!

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...

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!!

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...

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....

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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

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?

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.....

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!