August 28, 2020 - First Official Week
First week of 4th grade is done. Wow. What a week of 1sts.
These kids have done AMAZING this week! People ask me how my class is and I say, "I LOVE them!" AND I really do. Their personalities are so varied and fun, and they are such kind and caring kids. They are truly happy to be at school learning and growing together. Families, you've done a great job with this bunch of kiddos!😉 Thank you for sharing them with me. I can already tell that this is going to be a very fun year!
We had some HOT days this week, but the kids showed such perseverance. They are embracing their responsibilities and enjoying the feeling of being productive with their time.
This week we spent some time getting to know each other through various activities and conversations. We enjoyed opening our days together by prayerfully bringing our praises and petitions to God in prayer each day (outside too!). We started developing routines, and got some assessments underway (reading and spelling assessments). We brushed off the cobwebs in the math portion of our brains and began to revisit place value this week. We started generating ideas for our first descriptive writing piece this year, which will be a personal narrative (a real story from our own lives). We began to explore the adaptations God put on organisms bodies so that they can survive in their environments. We've been learning about how God organized the writing and preservation of His stories in the Bible. We've enjoyed reading some picture books out loud together. We've enjoyed selecting our first chapter books for our book boxes this year and spent 30 minutes a day reading from them. We've spent time outdoors letting the breeze blow past us as we sat in the shade learning together. We've also enjoyed freezer pops as a cold treat some afternoons after pretty warm recesses. We've gotten the mask and hand washing routine figured out, and are doing a great job with it. We feel like our classroom is a welcoming, warm, and safe environment with lots of learning choices and opportunities. We enjoy being there. Great friendships are forming. Kindness is being shared. It has been a great week!
We found a grass hopper during our first fire drill.
A few notes of what to look for at home:
PLANNER - Our real planners were here by Tuesday, so we were able to abandon the piece of paper we started with on Monday and transfer over to the real deal. It appears that your children were very responsible in retrieving your signature in their planner this week, so they received two beans for their efforts to add to our classroom reward jar. Please continue to make it a daily habit to peek at your child's planner for any notes concerning upcoming assignments and reminders. Everyone has remembered to bring their planner everyday this week - that is AWESOME! Keep up the good work!
MATH FACT PRACTICE - Watch for the first math minutes homework of the year to start on Tuesday after the holiday. A note will come home this coming Thursday (before Labor Day) explaining all the details of it. The math minutes will be on a long skinny yellow piece of paper, and the mad minute will be on a full white sheet.
READING MINUTES - Reading minute homework will also begin the week of Labor Day. Watch for that recording sheet to come home as well. The 4th grade requirement is 30 minutes a day, at least 5 days a week (for a total of 150 minutes per week). Reading minutes will be on a long skinny pink piece of paper.
THINK! ENERGY - We have been selected to be part of a program called THINK! ENERGY. We will learn about preserving resources related to energy production in our community and homes. As a part of this program, our class will be awarded a $100 grant if we have 100% of our students participate with the at-home portion. For this, your child will receive a kit with energy saving devices that you can use in your home (it's got some pretty useful items in it - and it's free to you!). There is a page of questions that go with it which your child will have to answer and return in order for our class to get credit. On Monday I will send home a white consent form for you to peruse that allows your child to participate in this program. You do have the option to opt out, but I really think you'll want your child to experience this. Sign and return the form by Wednesday only if you do NOT want your child to participate. If I do not receive a form from you, I will administer a kit to your child and I will look for the questionnaire to be returned from them at a later date. Thank you!
Thank you for all your prayers and support for a successful first week. It has been so great to be back together at school. God is good!
Please feel free to connect with me if you have any questions or concerns or celebrations you'd like to share. I'm always ready to listen!
A box fan makes a great reading partner.
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| Spent our morning, learning and reviewing our Bible story with a partner. |
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| You can teach about God's story anywhere! |
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| Practice writing our name in Hieroglyphics. |
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| Instead of staying inside for recess, we took our shoes off and played tag in the rain during recess. |
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| Sharing our writing stories with a partner. |
