Week 14: Nov. 24

HEY...We made it through another week! AT SCHOOL!

 

WE love our new masks. What an amazing gift! Thank you, Donor!

Christmas Around the World:

We're excited to delve into our Christmas Around the World study over the next week!  We will be studying the country of Brazil and their Christmas traditions.  Each class in the school is studying a different country and during December we will have our learning on display for all to learn from.  We're looking forward to this experience!

Christmas Giving:

In the intersection at Rose Park, for the month of December, we will have a display set up representing the work of Tent Schools International. They are formerly known as World Wide Christian Schools. Tent Schools International identifies needs of school-aged children throughout the world and works to set up temporary schools, often in refugee camps, to meet the academic, emotional and spiritual needs of children. What a beautiful example of doing Kingdom work this side of heaven! You can learn a bit about them here .  While touring Rose Park and learning all about Jesus birth celebrated around the world, students will also  learn about the pursuit of Christian education around the world through the eyes of this organization. Do you think we could help collect funds to purchase part of a tent Christian school? We will put a tent frame in the intersection and grow the tent based on the dollars contributed for the school tent purchase. Please read over the note and pledge form that came home today and return it by Tuesday, December 1.  You can either pay for every 30 minutes for all 17 students OR give an upfront donation. Either way thank you for considering. Thank you!

Classroom Christmas Party:

For those of you who like to plan ahead.....this year our classroom Christmas celebration will look a bit different since no visitors are allowed in the building.  I will devote the day to Christmas activities that I do with the students in our classroom.  In the afternoon, we will enjoy watching a Christmas movie together.  (We do not do a gift exchange between the students in 4th grade, so no need to purchase anything for that.)  We would love to have some snacks to enjoy with our movie, being mindful that these need to be individually packaged from the store.  A sign-up genius link will come out sometime in early December for you to sign up to supply something if you wish to do so.

A Special Note To Parents From Our Encore Teachers:

Parents, what a joy it is to enrich your child's learning experiences through art, Spanish, physical education and music! The treats of gratitude your beaming children brought in were simply over the top! How can we adequately thank you for entrusting us with your young one? Please accept our heartfelt thanks. Much gratitude, Amy Luce, Hannah York, Dinah Pereira, Susan VandenBerg, Julie Raak 

Little Maroons Basketball Update

Due to the current safety protocols, our kindergarten through sixth grade Little Maroons basketball programing will be postponed till after Christmas break.  Current registrations will be automatically registered for the new dates.  City of Holland Recreation will also be postponing our 5/6er programing as well, but more specific information will be coming from them as well.  The dates we are planning on at this point for our grade levels are the following: 

K-2: Skill Sessions on 1/9, 1/16 and 1/23.

(10:30-12pm: Girls at Pine Ridge & Boys at High School) 

3-4: Skill Sessions on 1/9, 1/16 and 1/23 & League Play 1/30, 2/6, 2/13 and 2/20. 

(8:30-10am: Girls at Pine Ridge & Boys at High School)

5-6: Skill Sessions on 1/9, 1/16 and 1/23 & City of Holland Dates Coming. 

(12:30-2pm: Girls at Pine Ridge & Boys at High School)

More information about specific safety protocols may be communicated as we get closer to January, but the plan is to continue with our current practice of wearing face masks, 1 spectator per participant, distancing, and washing of hands and equipment.

 

                                Celebrating our writing work with our 4th grade classmates!

 

 

 

Week 13: Nov. 13

On Thursday, we had another great trip to Hemlock Crossing.

We unloaded around 12:30 and headed for the trails. We first stopped at the map and talk about the topography lines on the map. We brainstormed by the river's edge had such steep banks. We reviewed our understanding of erosion and how over time water can cut through and shape a new path.

 

 

We felt the soft stems of a Sumac Tree.

 

We captured a picture of Pigeon Creek and talked about the different water paths that lead into the creek. The students learned about the path of Pigeon Creek and where it flows. As geographers, we study the rivers systems in new places.

We stopped farther down the path and wrote more personification sentences about the nature around us.

"The leaves performed somersaults from the trees."

"The ducks laughed out loud as it floated down the river."

 

 

 

 

We hiked some more and discovered a large meadow. The kids found a spot to read and eat their snack. The sun felt so good.

 

 

 

Clayton and Will found some great treasures along our hike.

 

God is so good. He stays true to His promises. 

We will likely be wrapping up our Bible unit on Saul and David in the next week.  Stay tuned to your child's planner for details about our upcoming test and study sheet for review at home.

We wrapped up two units at school this week.  We finished our character study in reading and the students all made a bookmark to reflect on their reading and their study of a character from a book they read during their independent reading time.  We look forward to starting a Historical Fiction unit next week where we will explore stories that take place during WWII.  We will also complete our math unit on multiplication and take a test before Thanksgiving Break. Next we will delve into a unit on long division!

Thank you for all the goodies. Don't worry, I have been sharing these with others :)

Every day we are in school is a gift!  I love spending my days with these precious children of the King.  Keep praying for health and face to face learning - it truly is a blessing!

Week 12: Nov. 6

Wow! What an incredible week in 4th grade! The beautiful weather was such a motivator. We read outside, drew with chalk during a Bible lesson, and packed up for an afternoon at Hemlock Crossing!

Take a peek at the MANY pictures from our brief time in God's Creation.

First, we took pictures of the map and specifically the trail we would walk during our time there.

 

Second, we headed off into the woods with our backpacks.

 

Third, we found three different spots on the trail. We use the map to trace where we had walked. We used a compass to figure out where we were. Then the students used their "relative location" vocabulary from social studies and wrote multiple statements about our location.

"We are north of the trail head."

"We are west of the valley and stream." 

"We are underneath the red pines."

 

During our walk, the students were able to guess and match the smell of this small plant. It smells like maple syrup and butterscotch. I have search the depths of Google and cannot identify the name. 

 

 

 

 

Finally, we stopped and played in the woods. The students had one job. They had to build a habitat for a small rabbit. I have never seen them work so quickly and efficiently before!

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our time was so short! We will be back! Your kids were so respectful towards God's creation. They were great listeners and eager to learn. 

 

 

 

Now to the details...

MATH - We are still practicing 2-digit by 2-digit multiplication. After this upcoming week we look forward to completing our current math unit on multiplication with a test.  Then we will move on to long division!  

READING - We will also be finishing our current read aloud, The Wishtree.  The class has LOVED this book.  Be sure to ask your child what the book is about.  Encourage them to tell you about how the characters have developed and our understanding of them grew as we got to know them more.  We'll wrap up that book with a celebration project.  

WRITING - We will continue to draft our realistic fiction stories.  I've encouraged the students to tell their story to their family for some extra practice rehearsing the story they plan to write.  Ask them questions that help them add more detail and direction to their story.  We're trying create scenes that show things about our characters rather than tell about our characters.

BIBLE - We're looking at the obedience and disobedience of King Saul and King David.

SOCIAL STUDIES - We're enjoying studying the geography of the United States.

IMPORTANT DATES:
Nov. 25, 26, 27 - NO SCHOOL for Thanksgiving break

 

Praying to our great KING of KINGS on Tuesday morning!

Thank you for your continued support at home with our daily reading and math minutes.  Those are the foundations for your child's success at school as we continue to build on those basic skills each and everyday in the classroom.

Ms. Snoeyink and the WHOLE 4th grade played some soccer during recess!