I believe that if you show people the problems and you show them the solutions they will be moved to act. Bill Gates

Happy Birthday Taryn!!! The BIG 10 today!!! She had a blowout at her bake sale today! Yummy, yummy cupcakes!!! And, thanks for the juice to wash it down with. I hope you do something fun tonight to celebrate!

It was brought to my attention today that there have been some issues with the content on the blog. I am so sorry if I offended anyone. That certainly was not my intention. I feel horrible that I may have done so. I hope that whenever this happens, that you and I can sit down and talk about it. So many times things happen that just need to be clarified. I ask that you please give me a chance to do so before involving the principal or higher. I certainly would like the opportunity to explain any situation to any parent. Again, I apologize.

Homework tonight is to read Scholastic News and complete the back page. These are always high interest and fun to read. Read them together, or they can go at it alone.

Some students have unfinished work from class today as well. All work is due tomorrow morning. They may always ask for more time, but they will be fined the standard $20 fee.

We have PE tomorrow. Please help to remember those shoes.

The off-site evacuation went awesome. We were out of the building and at the Lillis Center in 12 minutes! The kids did great!

We read another chapter in Fallen Rock. Mr. Merical will be here THIS Thursday. Today, Fallen Rock collected two more items to put into his pack. Ask your child what he collected AND where they collect them. If they can tell you a pouch of water from the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon and another seashell from the Pacific Ocean then write WATER/SHELL in the planner for $10 tomorrow.

Have a wonderful night!

"Children are great imitators. So give them something great to imitate."

Make a picture slideshow

Hi there. I hope that your weekend is well. It is supposed to be beautiful weather, which is perfect for Saturday Live. If you attended this amazing event, please write Saturday Live in the planner for $50. What an amazing way for so many people to come together for a sole purpose...Billing's kids. They are one of my favorite! :0)

Friday was a great day! Midterms came home. We spent our CC Meeting time taking a look at where we stand, what we need to do to better ourselves, and a plan to get there. For the most part, grades are outstanding. If your child got a low grade, it may be due to a missing assignment. Please consult the online version for more details or feel free to call me to help you understand them. I will also be adding four more grades this weekend, so they have already changed, and some students turned in their missing work so their grades improved tenfold. I am so proud of every child for their hard work and effort in all academic areas.

On top of the midterm, you will find a character report card. The students filled this one out after reviewing what each trait looked like in a school setting. They gave themselves a letter grade and then were asked to show evidence as to why they gave that grade. They didn't have to do this for all of them, but were encouraged to do it for some of them. They then had to share it with me and if I needed to, I added comments of my own. Kids are generally harder on themselves than I am. It was fun to share with them and just sit and listen to their reasonings. I just love this class! What a great group of kids that have honestly already come so far since day one. Be proud! I know that I am. Midterms need to be signed and returned on Monday. Thanks!

Upon reading the RLJ journal entries last week, I discovered that some kids would like more of a challenge in class. One area that was brought up was spelling words. I had two students ask for more challenging words. This week we are working on homophones. I listed the unit's words to the right, but I also listed a challenge list. I pulled these words from the internet and they were classified as 8th grade homophones. They are not so difficult in the sense of spelling them, as they are in the sense of understanding which word is which. On this week's spelling test, students will have to listen to the sentence the word is read in, and determine which spelling is correct in that context. So, not only do they need to spell it correctly, but they also have to select the correct homophone. If a student spells the word correctly, but selects the incorrect homophone for that number, it will be marked incorrect. I will offer the challenge list to all students. They will need to learn on their own what these words mean, as they won't have example sentences like the ones in our text books. When giving the test, I will read them in my own context sentences. The challenge here...going beyond the teacher and self discovering the meaning of higher leveled homophones. On Monday, students will be asked to select a test in which they will take on Friday. All students will be required to do the weekly work in the 4th grade textbook regardless of the test they choose to take.

I also discovered some issues on homework. I have some students requesting more, and some requesting less. Here is my solution. I will offer higher level math skill sheets. These sheets will require some thinking and problem solving. They are at first glance quite challenging. My fear here, is that they will run to you to help them, creating more work for you at home. That is not what I want. So, I plead with you to encourage them to take a deep breath, go read the directions again, and take it one step at a time. The skills are still the same as what we are learning in class, it is just taking it to a deeper level. Love it! If your child become's frustrated, please just praise their efforts. If you want to sit down and help them, great. If not, then that is fine too. It is simply to challenge those that want to be challenged, and it will be a daily choice to be challenged if they want it, but it will not be required. Keep me posted on how this goes will ya?

Last week, I posted a video of the kids throwing away their "goodbye" topics. Thank you to those of you that shared that the video didn't work. I was finally able to get it put up. I enjoyed watching it again myself, and can't help but smile and getting a little teary eyed watching them let a part of themselves go. I love that I have created an environment that each and every child feels safe  to take risks in. They are really beginning to open up and share their lives with me. That is an honor, and one I take very seriously. There is soooo much research out there that states when a child feels connected and important to a teacher and an environment they will do much better academically. I always think of the age old saying, you can't win their brain until you win their heart. THAT is why I take the time to do CC meeting. THAT is exactly why I feel I can push your child above and beyond their limits. They are beginning to trust me, and I am building solid relationships that don't rely on fear tactics or punishment, but rather respect and an honest sense of them having an important place and role in the classroom. They know that I truly care about them, and that my job is to do what is right for them. What an amazing responsibility that is. One I am again honored to have. Enjoy the show!

Miss Taylor was our star of the week last week. She shared her clacky balls. Those are amazingly fun! She also shared a name plate that she bought. Taylor likes to hike. She found an agate on one of her hikes in the Rims. It was beautiful! Thanks for sharing with us Taylor!

This week academically student's will be learning...

Math: Decimals. We will take numbers to the hundredths place value. We will write them as fractions with whole numbers, words, and in standard form. We will read them, round them, compare them, and add/subtract them.

Lead 21-Small Groups. We will continue to journey down the Heritage trail with ipads in tow. Kids are mastering the skills of determining important information and synonyms. Now, we will branch into Author's purpose, main idea, context clues, and making connections. We will also finish up our fiction book reports and read a fiction piece together looking at figurative language such as onemonopia, similes, and metaphors.

Language-Nouns. We will work on plural nouns this week. Students will show mastery of identifying a  noun, classifying a noun as a person, place, or thing. They will be able to add an s or es to a noun to create its plural form. They will also work with irregular plurals. We will continue to review the types of sentences, subjects and predicates, and basic punctuation of a sentence.

Spelling-Homophones. (See above for expectations)

SS-We will dive into latitude and longitude along with using a map scale to determine distances on a map. We will finish our Fallen Rock novels and have our author visit this week. A study guide will be given for a final test on the novel, and the final test will either be this Friday or next Monday. I will know and share more as the details unroll. The week after next, we will begin our journey through our great country and learn our first set of states and capitals.

Monday is a special day for one of our students. Taryn will be a year older! Happy Birthday to her! This is our first birthday in class and brings up the topic of birthday treats. Students are welcome to bring in treats for the class. We will share those at the end of the day. Since we are a real world classroom, my procedure for treats is for students to open up a birthday shop, like a bakery. They are then allowed to sell their treats for fake money. They get to keep the profits. This is a good thing because then if kids don't want a treat, they don't have to embarrass the birthday person by saying no thank you to their yummy snacks. It also teaches a life lesson to those that don't have extra cash that sometimes in life, our choices limit our fun. I sure am hoping everyone is able to "buy" a special treat from Taryn if they want to, but if they are not able to, I am hoping even more that they are able to step back and figure out why. Birthday treats of course are optional to bring in. Students do not have to bring in treats to share on their birthday. I celebrate birthdays by buying the student their favorite soda to drink in class after lunch. They absolutely should feel special on their special day. If your child has a summer birthday, I will send home a letter with their "unbirthday" date this week. :0)

Monday is also a special day for a second reason at Arrowhead. We will be taking a walk to the Lillis Center to practice our off site evacuation drill. All students and staff will leave Arrowhead at 10:00 and walk to the off site location. This is where you would pick up your child if such an event would ever happen. This is only a DRILL. Parents will NOT need to come pick up kids. We will simply walk over, show kids where we would go, explain the process to them, and then return to school. It should only take a the most 45 minutes. Please make sure that kids have on comfy shoes when they leave for school however. We will practice walking quickly yet safely. Thanks!

I would like to close by saying thank you. I have so many reasons to be thankful this year. I am blessed with a great class that is eager to learn, wonderful and supportive staff members to help me when I need it, and then I have you! You have all been so amazing to me. I am so glad that we have created a safe environment for us as well. Being able to honestly and openly communicate is essential. I mess up. I know that. But, you tell me I do so in such gracious, professional, and kind ways. I appreciate that. Yo also sing my praises. You share with me when I am doing something right. This may sound silly, but I am a huge believer in pointing out the positives. When you do that for me, it is like you plug my batteries in and charge me up! It makes me want to do more and more for your child and for your families. I love all the emails, planner comments, and texts. Please continue to communicate with me (positive or negative). I can't be the best me without you! Please know how much a appreciate you!

Have a wonderful weekend with your kids.

Kindly,
Ms. Erickson

<
Hello there! I hope that you are enjoying some extra time with your little diamonds today! I am about to head to my afternoon workshop and meeting. It is so fun for teachers to just have time to learn too!

Homework tonight is a front and back review sheet of Place Value and Value. Now that I am starting to figure out who is at what level in math, starting next week homework will be leveled as well. Some kids are ready for an extra push and some need more practice on the basics. So, your child's homework may not look like their friends. That being said, homework should also NOT require a lot of help from mom and dad. If you are finding that you are having to teach or re-teach in order for your child to complete their homework, please let me know and I will adjust their leveled work. I don't want it to be a new teaching session at home. They should absolutely be able to complete it with little to no help at home by doing what we do in the class lesson. I will count on you to keep me posted on that one. The other part of homework today is 2 sessions of xtramath.org. Kids came home with their pin numbers today. The site is on the blog off to the right under Ms. Erickson's favorite sites. They need my email address to log in. They wrote it in their planners, but it is ericksont@billingsschools.org. When they complete each session it will send their report to me through email. This is how I track who did it or not and how they did. Everyone should be working on multiplication basic facts. Need help? Give me a call or shoot me an email.

Today the kiddos had some trouble in art class. For what you may ask? Well, I will say that I am glad it is not just my classroom. They lost three of their five points today in art. One for talking at inappropriate times, one for not listening when the teacher was talking, and one for destroying property of the teacher. Needless to say, when i picked them up I was a little embarrassed. So, when we got back to class we had a big heart to heart talk at CC Meeting. It was actually perfect because Rusty's lesson was taking responsibility for one's choices, thoughts, and actions. We created a class poster of all the things that THEY could control themselves without any outside influences. See the picture above. They got the point! :0) Then, I asked them to take a blank piece of paper and write down the one thing that is hindering their character the most. It could be anything! We then went around and shared so that the kids would be accountable for what they wrote down. Finally, we listened to the song Goodbye, by Mandisa. It is an amazing song about saying goodbye to the one that used to be and hello to the one we want to be. Mandisa is a Christian singer, and there was a mention of Jesus in her song as part of her goodbye process. We once again talked about this topic in school, and students were offered a chance to leave if felt uncomfortable. None did. After the song, I had the kids crumple up their goodbye "topic" and as they left group they slam dunked them into the garbage. Doing so, symbolized that they were letting go of that behavior and saying goodbye to it forever. The video above shows this process. Is it working on your end? I couldn't get it to play. Would you let me know in the planner. If not, I will find a different way to stream it to you! We talked how bad habits take time to get out of our system, but that each time we slip up we can start over in THAT moment! Ask your child what they wrote on their paper. If they can tell you write GOODBYE in the planner for $10 tomorrow. All students were fined $100 for each point they lost in art (tough lesson!). It is a group point system, so therefore it is a group consequence. All agreed that they were guilty for at least one of the three.

Some kids have gone broke in class. This is not impossible, but it is pretty difficult to do. I give out money like it is going out of style in here. So, if a child is broke, they have made some pretty negative choices over and over again. So, this is where my debt policy comes in. If a child is broke, they may either sit out at recess and wait till they earn enough to pay off their debts, or they may run laps and earn $10 a lap. I was happy when the ones that this applied to today chose the second option, and I think they actually thought about why they were running. Both students today earned $100 and were able to pay off some of their debts. Again, it is their choice how they pay it back but they may not have fun privileges until it is. Apply to real life??? I'm thinking you betcha!

Tomorrow midterms go home. My grade book will be up to date as of tonight. Remember, there is still plenty of time to improve all grades. Please sign and return those on Monday.

Here are some upcoming dates for October at Arrowhead Elementary:
September 30-Taryn's Birthday
October 3rd-PTA meeting at 8:30 am
October 3rd-Superintendent Terry Bouck talk with Arrowhead Parents about future of BPS 6:00 PM
October 8-Coffee with the principal-8:30 am
October 8-22nd-BELIEVE fundraiser
October 9-Bike/Walk to school day
October 14-Hearing screening
October 16-Early out at noon
October 17-18-No school
October 25-Halloween Family Fun Night 6:00-8:00
October 25-Wear a hat to school for a $1 donation for Kaitlyn's Voice
October 25-End of Quarter
October 28-Nov. 8-Book Fair
October 30-Riley's Birthday
October 31-Orange and Black Spirit Attack! Wear as much orange and black as possible (school appropriate of course).
October 31-Ms. Erickson's Birthday (Explains a lot I know! :0))

Well, that about does it for the day! Have a wonderful evening!

Ms. Erickson

We are all worms. But I believe that I am a glow-worm. Winston Churchill

Hi there.

A better day today by most, but still working on it with some. Thanks for your support and continuous support. I appreciate you!!!!

We took a quiz on our Fallen Rock book today. We have read 5 chapters, and I wanted to check in and make sure that everyone was on the same page and paying close attention to details. The test was multiple choice and similar to an AR test format. Students were not allowed to look back into their text, as I wanted to know what they know. I will grade those tonight and plug them into the grade book tomorrow. Please continue to look online for your child's grades and to make sure missing assignments are not happening. The fastest way to destroy a grade point average is to have a missing assignment. They can drop an A to a C with just one. There are a few kids with some work missing. I gave them a missing report today if this was the case. All work is due by the time my report cards are due. Kids are welcome to come in early or stay in at recess to finish up missing work.

In math we moved on to estimating sums and differences. This is where rounding kicks into high gear. Students had to round to get an estimated sum/difference, compute the actual sum/difference with a calculator, and then compare the two and determine if they under or over estimated. Wowzers!!! They did great. I had quite a few work with me, but they all had it by the time they left! I did have two kiddos complete the Difficult Problems First challenge and pass it. Love that I am challenging so many at the same time!

Mrs. Auch moved the due date for the Science labs to next Wednesday. Please make sure those are done by then, and ready to come back to school. Thanks!

Tomorrow is a half day. Teachers are in training and working with our grade levels to make more and more amazing learning opportunities for you kiddos! Dismissal is at noon. Please make sure your child knows how they are getting home. If you have this discussion, write HOME in the planner for $10.

The basket for Saturday Live is done and ready to go. It looks FANTASTIC!!! The person that gets that one is going to LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it. Lots of fun places to take the family out to dinner or for those mom and dad date nights! A HUGE thank you again to Haylee, Taryn, and Casasha's moms for all their hard work on this. What a great success.

Saturday Live is this Saturday at Pioneer Park. The entire Billings District will be there with a booth/game from each school in Billings. It is HUGE. A map came home today in the Tuesday folders. Find Arrowhead on there, so you know where to find us! I will be working a shift with my Zachary that day, so stop by and say hi if you come!

Have a wonderful evening!

Ms. Erickson

"Whatever you want in life, other people are going to want it too. Believe in yourself enough to accept the idea that you have an equal right to it." (Diane Sawyer)

Hello there. The weather is turning...and it is showing. Somehow the talking from point A to point B has blown back into our classroom like the leaves falling from the trees. Urg! It only takes ONE student to start talking for it to easily trickle down through a domino effect and all of a sudden, everyone is talking again. So, again, I will be cracking down on this. Just when I thought we had this under control. Please talk to your kiddo tonight once again about how important it is for Ms. Erickson to be able to teach a lesson without having to regroup the class to a calm, quiet, and respectful environment. There are absolutely times to talk and have fun, but when they are over, we need to slip right back into that controlled environment. If you chat about this, please write TALK in the planner for $10 tomorrow.

I totally forgot about handing out Tuesday folders. No excuses, I just forgot. I am sorry for that. The good news is that I received more information that needed to go inside the folders so it turned out to be a good thing. So, this week we will have Wednesday folders instead. :0) Thanks for understanding.

Air pressure labs are due to Mrs. Auch for Science this Friday. Please help encourage kids to bring those in complete.

Today in CC Meeting, we had a lengthy and serious talk about homework again. I again stressed that homework is NOT optional. If time runs out at home, then kids need to come in before school or stay in at recess to complete it. We also discussed that homework is not new material and that they should NOT need to wait for a parent to help them. They need to crack the books as soon as they get home, get on a bus, or reach their after school care location. If they need to skip a problem or two for help..great. But, they need to stop using the excuse of my parents couldn't help me until it was too late. If they need help, they should be asking for it before it even comes home. I NEVER EVER give an assignment without fully explaining the directions and doing at least one model problem in class.

A friendly reminder that water bottles need to be the regular cylinder shape. If they are supposed to have a straw in order to drink them, then they need to have a straw. If they are just the squeeze kind, they no straw is fine. We have had some issues with slurping like it is a baby bottle and/or tipping them way above our heads and allowing them to drip into our mouths. We even stopped class the other day and practiced drinking them like a 4th grader. I was surprised that this was not just a know fact. Possibly have your child demonstrate how to drink water from a water bottle and make sure that this is just common knowledge from now. A little silly, but this is sadly happening daily and becoming a distraction. Thanks!

Another friendly reminder that snacks are perfectly welcome in the classroom. We bring them out right after recess and eat them quietly and quickly WHILE we are working. We do NOT stop what we are doing and sit and eat our snack in the 4th grade. Kids need to be able to multi-task. I have noticed that kids are bringing a large amount for snack. ONE pack/scoop of crackers , granola bar, or piece of fruit is enough to tide a 4th grader over until lunch. I have some kids eating two to three snacks a day. Not sure they are even hungry for their lunch???? Also, please make sure your child is only bringing in enough snack for ONE day. Huge bags or boxes of crackers that are meant for a week are not ok. Kids need to take a scoop out at home and put it in an individual container. When large things are brought, we have kids sharing (a big, big no no in Mrs. Meier's book and first day assembly speech) along with snacks ending up on the floor and smashed into the carpet. The only time it is ok to share is when a snack is brought for the entire class...like on a birthday or special occasion. Thanks!

Students needing continuous reminders on snack or water bottle procedures will lose the privilege.
I will go over this one more time with kids tomorrow at CC Meeting. If you talk about these two items tonight as well, please write REMINDERS in the planner for another $10.

Homework tonight is to write a "check in" letter to Ms. Erickson in their RLJ. This is where kids can just write to me about anything. It can be about something that is bothering them at home or at school, it can be celebrations for their accomplishments, it can be about issues they are having socially or academically in class, it can be an apology for a behavior they are showing that is out of character, or whatever. It needs to be at least a half of a page in their journal. Forgot their journal???? A piece of paper will also work.

There is NO cross country tomorrow after school. The weather is projected to be cold and rainy. We talked about a need for sweatshirts and warm pants tomorrow. Brrr!!! That feels weird to say! :0)

I hope that you have a great night, and that a better day is had by all tomorrow.

Respectfully,
Ms. Erickson

"I believe that good things come to those who work." (Wilt Chamberlain)

Hello there!!!! Man, we had a PACKED day today!

In math, we worked on making change. The hardest part the kids had was subtracting by regrouping across zeros. So, when taking a ten dollar bill and then subtracting $3.21 from it, they have to regroup the ten dollars across the zeroes to get ten in the ones column. Yowzers!!! Practicing this at home would be a great help. Only three people were able to show mastery with the Difficult Problems First. Everyone else, did a few more practice problems. I had many kids at the back table working with me. Which is AWESOME!!! I love when kids need me! :0) They will get it! We will practice, practice, practice all year long on our review tests.

Saturday Live is this weekend. The  committee says the basket is looking GREAT. We have over $300 in donations for fun places to eat! Thank you soooo much for all your help. I know that we will earn a ton for all our efforts! Please join us at Pioneer Park. So, so much fun!

Tennis shoes are needed tomorrow for PE.

There is NO cross country this Wednesday after school due to projected rainy and cold weather.

Midterms come home this Friday. Remember, you can get online and check your child's grades at anytime with their user name and password that I passed out at open house. Need a new one? Call the office please. I update grades daily as I correct assessments.

MAP testing is officially done. The last two make up tests were completed this morning. Yay!!!

Honor Choir announcements came home today. Congratulations to Haylee, Casasha, and Trevor for making it. What an honor. I am so proud of all the girls and boys that tried out. What a great risk taking opportunity. If your child did not make it in this year, please encourage them to keep singing and try out again next year. Unfortunately there is limited spots, which is a bummer. I am awaiting the news of my own 4th grade daughter to hear if she made it in as well. Fingers crossed.

I think that about sums it up for today. Have a great night!

Ms. Erickson

"Children are likely to live up to what you believe of them." First Lady Bird Johnson

Hi there. I hope you are having an excellent weekend. What amazing weather we are having!!! Tomorrow is the first day of Fall, and it is surely in the air. Love, love, love it!

It was so fun seeing so many of you this week. Open House was very successful due to your attendance. I hope that you left thinking that your child was in good hands, and that this would be a great year. I know I did. Ice Cream Social was also a HUGE hit. Thank you to the PTA for putting on such a fun evening for kids and their families. I saw a ton of you and it was fun to watch your family units laugh and smile together. There is sooooo much love and support at this school that I am constantly amazed by it, which seems odd because isn't that the way every place on earth should be?
If  you attended the social, please write ICE CREAM in the planner for $50.

As mentioned at open house, the kids and I have been following my very good friend Tauzha on her trek through Spain. Before she left, she asked me for a rock from Arrowhead to lay at the ceremonial rock pile when she got to that point. The rock is a symbol of her carrying away one's burdens and laying them down to rest for good. When I gave it to her, I wrote Arrowhead, Billings, MT on it. At the time, I was simply doing it for the class. However, when she posted it online the other day, it hit me that it means something totally different now. That rock, to me, symbolizes all my fears of starting over at Arrowhead. Bitterroot was my family and friends for 10 years. Change is always a good thing, but for me change is always difficult. When I saw that picture, the first thought in my head was one that shocked me. I no longer fear Arrowhead and the new adventure it represents. I am part of the school and community now. I feel comfortable, and even more importantly...needed. When one can feel as if they are put in an exact place for a reason, then the fear ultimately disappears. I could not have gotten to this point without all of you. Your willingness to share your children with me, trust me, and openly acknowledge that I am making a difference in people's lives has solidified that I am exactly where I am supposed to be at the exact moment I am needed. So, I invite you to ask yourself and your child what that rock symbolizes to you and them. Our burdens have been carried across oceans and placed in a pile of stones. A part of all of us is being left behind in Spain. What part of you and what part of them is being left? May I encourage you to have this discussion with your child this weekend? If you do, write the word ROCK in the planner for $20. Have your child write down what it means and share it with me on Monday...they can earn $100. I am anxious to know! So, so cool!

I am also wondering if anyone knows where or who could make that picture into a bookmark. I would love to have one made for each child to use in class as a constant reminder. Any ideas????? PLEASE let me know if you have a lead on this one.

Miss. Amanda was our star of the week this week! She shared with us her special box of framed coins that her Grandmother gave her from Hawaii. You could tell that they were very special to her. She also shared the coolest project that she did at home relating to our Fallen Rock book that we are reading in SS. She brought in two shells that the ocean can be heard in, a feather, a bag of water, a whisker, and a pine cone. Those are all the same things that the two boys have to collect on their journey across the United States. Now, how big do you think her teacher's smile was when she took her learning from school and connected it to an independent out of the box project at home. BIG, BIG, BIG!!! Amanda also shared that she is excited to go on her big trip this coming week. We will miss her dearly, but I hope that she has an amazing time making memories with her family! Thanks for sharing with us Amanda!

Technology day was a HUGE hit. It was fun to listen to them just having fun with their friends. They figured out how to all join the same game at the end, and even though I had to keep reminding them to bring the noise level down, I was smiling each time I said it. Kids amaze me daily. Their passion for technology is astounding. It is such a different way of growing up then you and I did, but to them it is the best way to do it. I think it was well worth their $400. :0)

In CC meeting, the kids defined the word COOPERATE this week. We talked about what it looked like in a 4th grade class, and we discovered that it is not much different from what it looks like in the real world. I have posted their words on the wall for them to look at and review when we are in a group setting. We practiced using those skills on Friday in math class. They had to work together to discover how much money one had and what they could buy with that given specific specifications. They all did great. :0)

This week academically, we will be learning...

Math-making change using the lowest amount of bills and coins, reading, writing, and shading decimals to the hundredths place value, and beginning our review of basic math facts. Kids will be using an online program called xtramath.org to demonstrate the mastery of all of their facts in addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. The program puts up a problem on the screen and your child has 3 seconds to put in the answer. If they don't they continue to see that problem again on the screen. All kids will begin with addition. If they know it, they will exit out of it quickly and move onto subtraction. On the review quizzes given, it is evident that we think that they know them, but they are not showing that they do.

Lead 21-We will begin writing book reports on the fictional stories they read last week in their leveled readers. I will model each section, and then they will complete their own. We will also finish up our selection on Heritage and move into a whole group fictional story. Our small group learning sessions with the ipads will also continue daily. The kids and I will take in depth looks into their leveled texts and pull out skills that are expected of all 4th graders.

Spelling-short o and long o sounds. We will work all week on finding patterns with these words in order to help us spell them by memory.

Language-We will continue to work on types of sentences, subjects, and predicates. We will also delve into nouns.

Regional SS-we will finish up our review section of our geography packets with the basic cardinal and international directions. Some kids are zooming through, where others are having to relearn these review skills. By the end of the week, we will hit the 4th grade level of map skills which is finding locations on a map using latitude and longitude along with using a map scale to determine distances between places.

Science-Mrs. Auch has assigned a lab to do at home. Kids brought it home last Wednesday. It is due this coming Friday. The topic of study is air pressure.

I think that about does it for the up coming week update. I hope that you have a wonderful weekend with your families. Thank you for all that you do!

Ms. Erickson

“Man is what he believes – believe in yourself"

Hello there. This will be super short, as I will be seeing you in just a few hours!!!

Tomorrow is the last day to turn in gift cards to local restaurants for our Saturday Live basket. What a great turnout we have had. It is not too late to have more though!! Thank you so much who have contributed to this cause! We appreciate you!

Tomorrow is the Technology/Electronics buy in day. For $400 fake dollars, kids may use their electronics throughout the day when working on their assignments (music with headphones), after they finish assignments, and for the last half hour of the day. Everyone has worked sooooo hard on being a character warrior this week and I am proud of their efforts. So....choices....POSITIVE consequence! Yay! Kids are welcome to bring any type of electronic as long as it is portable. They may bring chargers if they want to. They know that they may NOT bring them out to lunch recess. We talked heavily about how they bring all of them at their own risk, and that I or the school can NOT be responsible for lost or broken items. They have to be responsible for them. We also talked about how we will NOT rush through our work just to get to "play." If I notice this behavior, I will take the electronic for the rest of the day without a money refund. Yikes! Let's not do that!

Homework tonight is a math sheet on commas. I have noticed that some kiddos are not able to place commas in the correct spot when writing large numbers. They need to start on the end of the number and then think...one, two, three, comma please. We practiced in class, and now it is their turn to show they can do it. Please limit help on this one. Thanks! Kids also need to fill out three bucket fillers. Compliments and positive encouragement are always fun to get on Fridays.

Have a wonderful evening, and if at least one of you attended Open House tonight, write the word ATTENDED in the planner for a $50 reward. :0)

Respectfully,
Ms. Erickson

“Wish it, believe it, and it will be so.”

Hello there! In honor of Max, enjoy the Hump Day video below!!!! We are halfway through.

Classwork went better today, and not as much is coming home for most kiddos. Kids worked on a skill packet in spelling while I started our small group rotations in Lead 21. These smaller groups allow me to differentiate learning and reach all kids on THEIR level. They also allow us to really utilize the new technology we have at Arrowhead...like the iPads! Each group was able to really utilize them while reading today. Each time we just were not able to visualize a concept or understand it from the text written, we would Google it. I LOVED hearing all their Ah-ha moments and them having FUN while learning. This option will always be available to them as they work on their small group work. I also love it, because they even get to teach me things! The A group Googled some images of prehistoric cave drawings to understand how they helped bring stories to life and pass them on from generation to generation. Nolan, then connected to the Pictograph caves and how we are still learning about them today! B group Googled different country's flags in order to match a country's flag to its country. Taylor wanted to know who Emperor Akihito is in Japan, and why they celebrate his birthday on Dec. 23rd. Fun! Finally, S group Googled reggae music. Abi and Emily had never heard it before. They did not look all that impressed with it once hearing it. :0) All of these examples could not have been brought to life in this setting without individual ipads. So...a HUGE thank you for making that happen! We are excited to make them a part of our every day use!

Homework tonight is to finish up the spelling skill packets that they worked on in class. Some kids also needed more time finishing their Capital Building HR (Historical Reflection). I also gave them one more day to finish up their language assignments with Subjects and Predicates. Some kiddos still had not completed it for today. So, hopefully it gets done for tomorrow. We will quiz on the content tomorrow.

As far as the dinner table discussion question tonight, have your kids explain to you what the picture of Mr. Potato Head and the cupcakes is all about.  They should tell you that every time the class earns a compliment from another teacher besides myself, the compliment catcher gets to add in a piece of Mr. Potato Head. When he is filled up, they class earns a small treat from me. This time it was miniature cupcakes. It is not always a snack. Sometimes it is a pencil or extra recess. This class does an AWESOME job walking down the hall so quietly. We earn a lot of compliments then! WE even got one from Mrs. Meier!!!! Wowzers! If they can explain this, write the word COMPLIMENT in the planner for $10.

Tomorrow is picture day!!!! Please make sure ALL kiddos have their beautiful smile on tomorrow when they leave the house. :0) Everyone will have their picture taken.

Tomorrow is also Open House for parents from 6-7. I can't wait to share with all of you!

We are still collecting those Dinner Is Served gift cards for our Saturday Live basket. The last day to donate is THIS Friday. Please send those in if you are willing to do so. Thank you to all of those that have! I know the school appreciates it!!!

I think that about does it for tonight! Have a wonderful Wednesday night!!!!

Ms. Erickson

Hi there. Just a quick blog today as I have a grade level meeting in five minutes.

Today was a jammed pack day of learning. I did not assign homework tonight as many kids needed time to finish classroom assignments. It is imperative that kids pay attention in class to the taught lesson. 4th grade zooms!!! If they get lost, then they get really really lost. Sometimes I am available to help one on one, but sometimes I am in small groups doing other things and can't be interrupted. So, kids need to listen in class and ask questions WHEN we are in the lesson. I will always help after school or in the morning.

PLEASE know that kids are only expected to have 40 minutes of homework nightly. If they are going past this or taking hours, then we need to find out why. Please let me know. Kids MUST use their class time wisely. This IS an issue in our classroom.  There were heavy bags going home tonight, and we talked about how they need to make better choices with their time. I am NOT going to teach a lesson, be ignored, and then teach it again one on one. Kids that listen have a priority in getting my help. We talked about this, and we will talk again tomorrow.

Some kids came home with no homework, but everyone still needs to study spelling words. :0)

Tuesday folders came home. Please sign and return tomorrow.

Ask your child about Fallen Rock's second task today. If they can tell you how he got the eagle's feather then write FEATHER in the planner for $20 tomorrow. Thanks!

Have a great night!

“No matter how many people believe or don’t believe in you, you must be the ultimate believer in yourself!” ― Pablo

Hi there. Happy Monday! We had a great day together. Boy does it make a difference on Monday, when I can see and hear many improvements in behavior choices. Thank you for taking those weekly reports seriously. I also appreciated the many thank yous I read in the comment section for taking the time to communicate with you. It is my pleasure. I try very hard to build a home school relationship and I am glad that we are both appreciating it. Also, your comments fill my bucket and make me want to do that much more for your kiddos! So, thank you for taking the time to write those to me. :0)

I have heard from many of you about the jail field trip. Please remember, that I am only seeking your thoughts at this time and no decision has been made. I still need to hear from some of you, and want to give everyone a chance to voice their opinions. So...please write YES in the planner if you would be ok with the field trip to the Yellowstone Detention Center or NO if you are not ok with it in the planner. Students that have this, will earn $50 tomorrow at check in. Then, I will make the decision. A formal explanation and permission slip will come home when Red Ribbon week gets closer in October. My email is ericksont@billingsschools.org. For more information on this topic, see yesterday's post.

Last week, Miss. Haylee was our star of the week. Who knew she was a knitter???? She shared a scarf that she made and a little peacock that she creatively created as well. I LOVE that kids are still knitting. When asking who taught her, she said that it was multiple people, but not her mom. :0) I shared that maybe now that she knew, she could teach her mom! (and teacher!) Thanks for sharing Haylee!

Tonight's homework is to study our new spelling words and complete the spelling homework given in class. They need to sort their spelling words into two categories by sound, short i or long i. Then, they also need to read the sentences beside each spelling word in their book and determine the type of sentence the author is writing. The four types of sentences are below...
1. Declarative-makes a general statement, ends in a period.
2. Exclamatory-shows strong emotion, ends in an exclamation point.
3. Imperative-states a specific command, ends in a period.
4. Interrogative-asks a question, ends with a question mark.

I have the information you need to be able to see your child's grades online. I will explain and pass that out on Thursday at open house. If you are unable to attend, I will send it home in the Tuesday folders of the following week.

Picture day is THIS Thursday. Please return your money if you are planning on purchasing. I believe you may also do it online. Everyone will get their picture taken that day, even if they are not purchasing them. We use them here at school and for our yearbooks. These are individual pictures. Class pictures will be later on in the year. Make sure to send your kiddo in their very best that day, and of course a smile! Speaking of smiles, it is our manner motto this week to smile at people when greeting them. :0)

In S.S. today, we read some of our Fallen Rock book. The boys had to complete their first task. Ask your child what that task was. If they can tell you to go to the Atlantic Ocean and find a shell that has the sound of the ocean in it, then write the word SHELL in the planner for another $10 tomorrow. Does anyone have such a shell at home that they would mind sending in so we can hear it???

This Friday, we will have a fake money buy in day. For $400, kids may bring in their iPods or whatever musical devise they have to listen to whenever they are independently working. They may use them all throughout the day while in my classroom. Technology is brought to school is their responsibility and we can't be liable for it. They bring it at their own risk. Fun!!

Lastly, don't forget that this Friday is our Arrowhead Ice Cream Social. Come join us for a TON of fun. I will see you there!

Ms. Erickson

Jumping in Rain Puddles Is One Of My Favorite Things to Do With My Kids!!!! Ms. Erickson

Wow! Where did that week go? It seems as if I was just on the same couch in my living room blogging last Saturday! The time is already flying. Each year I teach, it seems to go faster and faster. Ever feel that way when you look at your 4th grader? I know my Emma is still toddling around the house learning to walk in my eyes, and all of a sudden I blink and she is in the grade I am teaching! Yikes!!! Kids grow up so fast anymore. I wish there was a way to just stop, rewind, and give them giant hugs!!!!

Before I get into this week's academic areas, I would like to seek some feedback on a topic that may seem outrageous at first, but hopefully after a brief (ya right...Ms. Erickson be brief) explanation I can get some honest feedback from all of you. Red Ribbon week is quickly approaching us. This is one of my favorite weeks to be a teacher!! All week long, our morning character circle meetings revolve around this topic. I bring in guest speakers daily that show the effects from all different angles of just saying NO to illegal drugs. We will start the week off with my good friend that is an undercover DEA agent. His job consists of the exact reason that we even have this week in school. It all started with a different DEA Agent named Enrique "Kiki" Camarena. He died, from torture and gun wounds, keeping kids like his own safe from a world of illegal drugs. His wife and children started this campaign years ago to honor their husband/dad and it has been strong ever since. So, I bring in a DEA Agent that shares the story with the kids. Of course he keeps it 4th grade appropriate. More than that though, I bring him in to talk about his job and what kind of character he has to have in order to do it. He talks a lot about how his choices as a child formed him into the adult he is today. He talks about that phrase that you and I say daily to our kids...what you do today will effect your future. And that is the tone I set with every guest speaker. I make sure that not only are they powerful in content, appropriate for this age level, and high interest, but also that each one share how their lives connect with character and how no one is a bad person, but instead has just made some poor choices. We also watch a wonderful episode of Little House on the Prairie (with your permission of course) that shows how the character Albert goes through peer pressure and a road of poor choices. The discussion that comes from this stems onto an amazing discussion of how when kids go down this path, it doesn't just effect them. It effects so many others: family members, friends, teachers, communities and the list goes on. Powerful! So, here is the part that I need your feedback on. At Bitterroot, I always ended Red Ribbon Week with a field trip to the Yellowstone Detention Center. The group of officers that do this tour are absolutely the best. They have a wonderful way of scaling it down to be appropriate, meaningful, and NOT scary. Now, drugs and the life that goes with it is scary, but that is not the intention of this field trip. It is not to scare them so badly that they never do drugs...though that is what our own parents told us they would do if we ever went down this path now isn't it. (At least mine did). My purpose of this trip is different. I believe that knowledge is power. Allowing kids to see the end result of poor choices allows them to see the big picture. There are no questions of what life will be like when these choices are made. Every single time I have done this trip, which is 6 now, the officers share that 99% of the inmates in their facility are there for choices they made while under the influence of a substance. They express that many of them would never had done what they did when sober. They also share that 99% of the people that are in their facility have created habits to lead them to this point starting at age 9, 10 or 11. How old is your child? How old is mine? Yikes! We have to do something NOW to prevent this from our children's future. Each year, I invite every parent to meet us there and go along on the tour (and it is a full tour. We see inmates, cells, booking areas, and more for both the men and the women inmates). Parents come out of there amazed at what just happened. They share that they were skeptical at first, but felt that after a week of study and preparation done in the classroom that it is not only one of the most powerful experiences they have ever had with their child but that it was extremely well done and appropriate. I can promise you that your child is absolutely safe and never without the proper people around to keep them that way. Again, these are not bad people they are just people that make poor choices. There have been inmates that try to comment to kids through the glass windows we view from, but they are dealt with promptly. I am not going to lie to you to try to convince you to trust me. I want you to know all the facts before offering feedback. In all 6 years I have done this, I have only ever had one parent check no on the permission form. The reason behind it was that three days before the slip came home, the student's parent made a poor choice and ended up in jail themselves. Now, saying all of this, I know that you may be saying, "Are you kidding me lady?" There is NO way I am allowing my child to visit a jail. I respect that. I am new here and I don't know you and you don't know me very well. So, I am asking a lot for you to trust me with your most precious gift on a sensitive subject. That is what I want to know from you. Is this something you would want your child to experience here at Arrowhead? Arrowhead is not Bitterroot, and Bitterroot is not Arrowhead. So, I only know that all I can do is ask. I will need to book the trip soon and parents will have to pay for the bus to get there (Probably 3-5 dollars each is my guess). I know that there has been a lot of paying in lately. So, I want that also put out there up front. I have not funds to pay for a bus at this point. Later, I can fundraise for these type of things, but there hasn't been enough time yet. So, could you please do me a favor and take the weekend to ponder this topic. Then, could you either write me a short note and send it in or email me your thoughts by Monday after school. My email is ericksont@billingsschools.org. If most of you want this, then I will get it going. I would absolutely have an alternate plan for those that do not want their child to go, no questions asked. If most of you don't want to do this, then I will not proceed with it.  It is completely up to you. The classroom teachings and the guest speakers will happen either way. They are powerful and they are just too important to dismiss. I will end this topic by saying this. If this trip does happen, my own Emma will be taken out of school this day and join our class on this field trip. It is scary to think that my little girl is old enough to experience this and live in a world that has a need for her to see it, BUT it is even more scary to me to think that someone will peer pressure her in just a few more fast years and she will have to see it in a whole other way. I want her to see it with me and in a way that gives her the knowledge of the consequences if on that peer pressure day she decides to say yes instead of JUST SAYING NO!

At Open House, we will talk about so many things. One of the exciting areas that I am wanting to share with you is "Who the heck is this Rusty guy" that talks via internet with your kiddo each morning. Rusty is the owner of the show scooltoolstv.org. He comes on the big screen daily to talk to kids about social skill and character issues they have at this age. He talks about motivation, identifying feelings, dealing with feelings, friends, parents, teachers, bullies and so much more. He does this in ONE minute a day. I then take that lesson, and create half hour lesson to drive it home. I use youtubes, movie clips, picture books, my own life experiences, debates, and other ways to do this. I have to admit that this is my favorite part of the day. This is where I get to just build a relationship with your child. This is where I get to see into their world through their eyes. I get to hear about their football games, dance recitals, concerts, fears, birthdays, deaths, and anything else that they are going through. It is a way I get to check in with them in a human to human connection. I don't have to be the "teacher", but get to be the person that truly takes an interest and builds trust with them. When co-authoring my book with Rusty, we read endless research and case studies on this topic. If I take the time to build an honest relationship with your child, their academics will go up. It is proven with data, and it is backed with evidence that can't be ignored. So, I have invited Rusty to join you during Open House as well. He will skype in from CA and share with you what he does, and how it benefits your child. It will be brief, but you will get to meet the man behind the screen in person and see just how he is helping me to make a difference in your child's life. Open House is THIS Thursday from 6-7. There will be two sessions for 30 minutes each. This time is for parents only. I can't wait to see all of you!

Weekly reports came home on Friday. I didn't grade the spelling tests yet, so those will come home Monday. I added two lines for you to comment to me if need be. I love to hear all of your thoughts. Please feel free to share anything that will help me help your child to be successful in school.

Some of you have asked about getting online to see your child's grades. We will talk about that at open house and passwords will be given out. That way you can always see my gradebook and how your child is doing in school. I update it daily.

This week in school we will be learning...

Math-how to order large numbers from least to greatest by looking at place values, discover how to determine how many 10s, 100s, and 1,000s are in a large number like 230,000 by looking at patterns found in these types of numbers, and how to count large amounts of money and make change. I have some volunteers from Mission Ridge starting this week during our math time. They are retired math teachers, so they are going to really be an asset to the classroom when working on kids that need that extra boost or help.

Lead 21-about how heritage can be found in art, generational stories, food, and recreation. IVF summary writing will be a main focus this week. We will start small groups this week as well. Skills will be driven home hard in these groups. Practice sheets will help us see skills in action. I will also be modeling my expectations for upcoming Inquiry research projects next week. Don't you worry...I will also share them with you!! :0)

Spelling-how to spell words with a long and short i vowel sound. Students will also classify them into groups by their sounds. Practice activities will be done throughout the week to help see patterns of these specific words.

Language-about subjects and predicates. Students will need to master this skill by dividing a given sentence into these two parts along with locate the simple subject and predicate.

Writing-paragraph writing with topic sentence, details, and evidence to back the details.

Regional SS-map skills. Students will need to be able to identify the cardinal directions, latitude and longitude of a location, and how to use a key to read a map. We will continue our journey of Fallen Rock and Running Water through the United States as well.

MT History-Ecological regions found in MT. Students will divide MT in regions and discover what type of plants, animals, weather, landscapes, and so on are found in each region. This will require a lot of oral listening and note taking. Wow! High level skills for a 4th grader!

Science-types of scientists. Mrs. Auch had the kids draw what came to mind when they thought of the word scientists. It was interesting to see all the different visuals that come to mind. We had mad scientists, females, males, lab coats, beakers, and out in nature scenes to name a few. They are up for display in our hallway for you to check out when you come to open house on Thursday. Ask your child what you will find in their picture. If they can tell you, write the word SCIENTIST in the planner for $10 on Monday. Fun!

Computer-Keyboarding skills and basic math facts. I programmed the math site for multiplication, but after this weeks quizzes that had addition problems on them, I am going to go back in and start with adding and subtracting. Kids will have to put in the answer within 3 seconds in order to mark it off as mastered. Once they master addition, it will move them to subtraction, then multiplication, and finally division. Flash cards are the only way to go here folks. They just have to be memorized, and kids have to know them like they know their own name.

Testing-We have one test left to take, and that is the math test. I will have data to share at open house for all of you. This test is taken again throughout the year, and all students are expected to grow in points. This is a starting point to track them with and to help us make sure that we address problem areas for each child on an individual level. I use this data in many ways.

Well, that about sums up our upcoming week. I hope that you have a wonderful weekend. Hopefully you were able to go out to your child's favorite restaurant this weekend and have a wonderful meal. AND....while you were there, pick up a gift card for our Saturday Live basket. Thank you for ALL that you do, and trust me I know that is A LOT!!! I appreciate you for the parent that you are, exactly as you are! Each and every kid in here is so lucky to have so many people love them. :0)

Peace Out!
Ms. Erickson

Hi there. I hope you all had as great of a day as I had!!!

This morning we finished up our Character Warrior unit in CC Meeting. The kids are officially Ms. Erickson's Character Warriors!!! I can't wait for you to see them at open house next week. We talked a lot about how I didn't want this to just be an art project but that I actually wanted them to BE character warriors! I want them to really truly work on the things that are on their shields. We finished the unit by reading the story, One Brave Knight by Karen Kingsbury. She is one of my very favorite authors! She writes amazing Christian adult books, but had no idea she also wrote powerful children books. There was the mention of God in the story. That lead to another discussion in class. We talked about bringing God into the classroom. There are times where it is allowed, like saying the pledge and when reading it from a character's point of view, but it is not ok for a teacher to try to impose their beliefs or any religion's beliefs onto their students. Even though this story was under those guidelines, I did offer an alternate setting for anyone who did not feel comfortable hearing a story with the word God in it. No one chose that option. At any rate, the story had a wonderful lesson in ALL of the character traits. Ask your child why the knight from the West Village became prince of the kingdom and why the other three knights did not. If they can tell you that he didn't cheat, lie, or disobey the king's orders then write the word KNIGHT in the planner for $20 tomorrow.

The shields look awesome! Thanks for mounting those last night. A couple came in done incorrectly, so they are coming back home tonight to get fixed. The mounting should be larger than the paper shield so we can see some of the tinfoil. I modeled this in class for the kids yesterday. Those that are coming home had a discussion with me to ensure that they now understand my expectations.

Thanks so much for all the fun gift cards for our basket. Yum!!! Please check the list off to the right of this blog before purchasing yours to avoid duplication. We are going to have a GREAT basket thanks to all of you.

There are just a few kiddos left to bring in their Fallen Rock money. Please remember to send in that $4 for your child's copy of the fun book we are reading in S.S. The author will be here on Oct. 3rd.

Homework tonight is two spelling sheets. One is ABC order of 4th grade level words. it is a cut and paste one. The other is a money connection to spelling. They have to look at words that have the long and short e sound and then find the money value of each word using the chart. The test is tomorrow. Please remind kids to study the words on the blog tonight.

Have a wonderful evening!
Ms. Erickson

I don't believe you have to be better than everybody else. I believe you have to be better than you ever thought you could be. Ken Venturi

Hello there.

Thank you ALL for taking the time to read and discuss the EQ's last night. I know it was a novel, but it just needed to be said. I had 99% code words in the planners today! Awesome!!!

We took our first NWEA MAP test today. We took the reading session. Besides some minor computer issues it went fairly well. There was A LOT of talking in the test though. I was actually kinda shocked. I ended up having to one on one with three students during the test. I am not even sure why they were talking in the first place. Yikes! Some serious money fines were issued, and we are hoping for a more respectful testing environment tomorrow when we take the language test. Overall, well done 4th graders!!!!

Tonight's homework is to mount their character shields onto some cardboard to make them sturdy. PLEASE do NOT use thick cardboard. A regular cardboard box works great! I need to be able to hang them on a wall with a stapler. Please cover the cardboard with tinfoil BEFORE gluing the shield on. Please do NOT attach a back handle. Kids may decorate the front. My only rule is they may not cover any of the words they wrote as their goal. If your child can read and discuss their goals with you, then write SHIELD in the planner for $20. All week, we have been learning about each trait and each student was to write a goal that was SPECIFIC to them. They also had to write a follow up sentence stating how they would accomplish their goal. If you would like them to add on, please do so. We did it to focus on school goals.

We have Library on Friday, so please remind kids to bring back their books tomorrow. Mr. Casey would like them back the day before, since we have it first thing in the morning. That way he is not using class time to check in books. Books that would like to be renewed my be kept until they go on Friday. Thanks!

Have an amazing night with your kiddos!

Ms. Erickson

With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts. Eleanor Roosevelt

Howdy partners!!!! YeeHaw! As you can see, from the pictures above, we did some good ole country square dancing today. We have been reading about different types of dances from many different countries in our reading book. Dance is a part of heritage, and it is a very fun part!!! What a hoot.
Next we will see how art ties into the concept of heritage. Soon, we will begin our first Inquiry research project. Students will be researching a specific Montana Tribe to discover and share what their heritage holds. Yay!!! I bet you already know that I will be communicating all of my expectations and requirements on that one when the time comes. Yeppers!!!

Coewyn was our first star of the week. He brought in a very cool helicopter to share. We learned that airplanes and helicopters are a passion of Coewyn's. He was able to fly it all around our classroom using an app on his iphone. So, so cool! Thanks for sharing Coewyn! Up this week, is Haylee. I can't wait to learn more about her too!

The picture outside is from today. The whole crew is on the fun playground equipment. What a great group of kiddos! I am so proud to be their teacher, and am impressed daily by all of them. They are really growing and maturing quickly!

Upcoming events:
September 19th-Picture Day and Open House
September 20th-Ice Cream Social
September 26th-Early Release
September 30th-Saturday Live

Today at CC meeting we talked about what a 4th grade EQ looks like. EQ is not the same as IQ. EQ helps people get along in society and social situations. Here is what we feel a typical 4th grader's EQ should entail so far...
1. They know that homework is NOT optional. (I had 8 kiddos with unfinished work this morning :0()
2. They use nice, neat and appropriate sized handwriting always!
3. They spell words correctly if they can be found on or in the assignment. There is no excuse to spell a word wrong when it is in a word box, a spelling word, or in the reading material they are using to complete the assignment.
4. They know not to turn work in unless it is 100% finished. If they need more time, that is fine. I don't dock points for late work. There is the standard fine of $20 and then time is granted, no questions asked. If they need help before turning it in, then they need to ask me for help. Kids sometimes think that adults are mind readers. I was born on Halloween, but I don't possess any magical mind reading powers. :0) They need to let me know, and they need to let me know BEFORE a quiz or test begins. I ALWAYS try to catch kids after quizzes/test/assignments are graded if they did not do well. I try to pull them or have a volunteer pull them to reteach. Five minutes one on one is an amazing thing. Once a paper is turned in however kids are saying to me that they finished it, seeked help if needed, and that they did their best. That grade will be recorded. If kids turn in incomplete work, I do not hand it back and allow them to finish it. They receive the grade they earn. On occasion, I will notice that many students are not doing well. Then, that is my fault. I obviously did a poor job at covering the concept. I, of course, would then reteach the concept and re-assess.
5. They know to write their name, date and the word BELIEVE on every paper, but only BELIEVE if they really mean it. If a child doesn't write BELIEVE then I know they need to conference with me and are not feeling good about the material.
6. They keep a clean and organized work area. We have a couple of kids that need three desks already. Being in pods, it is distracting when one student's work area is all over the entire groups desk tops and floor. Kids need to arrange to come in early before school to clean out desks if need be. They have specific places for all their materials in their desks, their book shelf, and their art tubs. There is no reason to have things sticking out of desks, piled on top of desks, or on the floor. It is also not safe when walking around and/or during emergency drills.
7. They need to apply a lot of effort. 4th graders need to try. They are doing such higher level work than they are used too. They need to look back in stories, support answers with evidence, write in complete sentences, take organized notes, draw more than a stick figure and so on. It is different, and they need to adjust to raising that bar for themselves.
8. They know to only turn in their very best work. Today, I shared two examples of this. The students were to place words into a paragraph using context clues to help them. I had paragraphs that made absolutely no sense when reading them. The students obviously didn't go back and check or just selected any old word and threw it in. When calling them up. they both looked at me weird when I asked them if that made sense. They knew that it was wrong and that they need to check their work BEFORE turning it in to make sure it is their best work.
9. They TRY before asking for help. I am here to help. That is my job. Part of helping though is guiding them to strategies so they can help themselves. Today, I told them that Ms. Erickson is not going to follow them to college or the work force. They will eventually have to stop asking how to do something and start discovering for themselves how to do things. Part of my job is to teach your children concepts, and I will. Another part is to teach them HOW to learn. How to google. How to read. How to follow the written and spoked directions. I absolutely will help your child, but today we talked about appropriate and inappropriate times to ask for help. After I say go, is not going to work very well for them. When going over the directions and when I ask if there are questions is a great time to ask for help. While doing an assignment and they get stuck, as long as they have TRIED to do it, I will absolutely help them. Usually, my first question to them is What have you already tried to do? Did you read the directions? What did Ms. Erickson say to do? Did you look at the example problems? Did you look in your notes if we took any? Teaching them HOW to learn. Please, please, please know that I will help your child. I just ask that you trust the system and methods to get the help they need.

That is the ones that we talked about today. I want all of you to be on the same page as school. It is soooo helpful when the kids know that you know what I expect of them. If their planners come home, and they are sloppy, please make them recopy it. I don't always have time to catch it all. If papers come home messy, please have them redo them on a piece of paper. The only way to break bad habits is to correct them. I absolutely will do my part here! If you have read the above and understand them, please write EQ in the planner for $50 tomorrow. This is just that important. If you want to talk about any of the items above, please call me or email me. These are pretty standard expectations, but I may be missing something. We can talk more about these at open house too!

Tuesday folders came home today. A HUGE thank you to Max's mom for stuffing those for us! All papers inside can be kept at home. Just the signed folder needs to be returned tomorrow.

Thank you to all of you that sent in Saturday Live donations already. Those that sent in money, that is awesome too. The basket crew will enjoy spending that for you! :0)

Thank you to all of you that sent in the $4 for the Fallen Rock book, and for all the grateful notes for doing this with the kids. Warmed my heart! If you have yet to send it in, no worries. Do it when you can. Thanks.

Homework tonight is an interactive math sheet with you. Kids need to sit next to ya and read off each of the numbers. They will quiz on this starting tomorrow. If the number is 4,356,210 then they should say to you...4 million, three hundred fifty six thousand, two hundred ten. Your signature on the bottom tells me this was done. Thanks!

I think that is about it. Enjoy your evening. It seems to be cooling off a bit!

Respectfully,
Ms. Erickson

“It's what you choose to believe that makes you the person you are.” ― Karen Marie Moning, Darkfever

Happy Monday! And, a happy Monday it was. Thank you so much for talking to your kiddos this weekend about the issues I checked on the Weekly report. Behavior was much, much, much better today! I am impressed daily on how they are all coming along. I had a few not come back today, so please get those in ASAP. Thanks!

Cross Country Club starts tomorrow morning. If you child is participating they need to have their permission form turned in or bring it tomorrow morning. Kids need to meet at the baseball field. The times and days are on the yellow sheets that came home yesterday. Run, run, run! Fun, fun, fun!

Honor choir tryouts are Wednesday at 3:05. This is for boys and girls. If they make it through this audition then they will have another one. They will receive more information on this if they make it through.

Homework tonight is two bucket slips and to finish up unfinished classwork. I noticed a lot of kids taking stuff home. Using class time wisely helps reduce homework brought home. We are allotted 40 minutes a night for homework in the 4th grade. This is strictly homework time. If they have classwork to finish, that is in addition to the assigned homework. Homework always includes studying spelling words and some type of review practice problems from any given subject area in class. Homework to its truest form will be in full swing next week. I am trying to just let kids adjust and settle in before doing this. If your child is coming home with a lot of homework, please contact me for a conference and we will find out what the issue is.

Yesterday, I made a mistake on the blog. I had said that the Ice Cream Social was scheduled for Sept. 10th. That is incorrect. It is on September 20th. Open house is the 19th and the Ice Cream Social is the next night. Please mark the correction on your calendar.

Two informational pieces came home with kids today. The first was our Saturday Live Basket Letter. The basket crew decided that the theme would be Dinner Is Served. We are hoping to put together a wonderful basket full of all different gift cards for local restaurants in our area. Yum!!! I have put a column on the right of the blog to track these cards. Each time a donation is made, I will log it on this list. That way duplicate locations can be avoided. It would be fun to go get a gift card for YOUR child's favorite restaurant. Donations can start to come in tomorrow and will be accepted thru Sept. 20th. Please put them in an envelope and write Jennifer Haarr on the front. She will be collecting them. Again, a HUGE thank you, to Casasha, Haylee, and Taryn's mom for putting this all together! What amazing moms!!!!!

The second sheet that came home is the letter about our Journey of Fallen Rock book for S.S. I briefly talked about this on the blog this weekend. I explained it even more on the information sheet. The kids were sooooo excited to see THEIR very own signed copy of the book. We read the first chapter today. Ask your child how they are feeling about this book thus far. If they share with you write the word FALLEN in the planner for $20. We can't wait to meet the author personally in October here at Arrowhead! To ensure that your child receives their copy, please send in the $4 needed to pay for the book ASAP. Please send it in in an envelope marked with your child name.

Many of you commented in the planners that I forgot to put in a bonus word this weekend. I sure did. I am sorry about that. I sometimes just get so into the information I am sharing, that I forget the fun stuff. I apologize for that. I will try to be better about that in the future.

I sure hope that you have a great night!

Ms. Erickson

“Be believing, be happy, don't get discouraged. Things will work out.” ― Gordon B. Hinckley

Hi there. Happy Weekend! Lots to blog about, so grab that cup of coffee and snuggle in. :0)

I had the pleasure of attending the PTA meeting last Thursday. WOWZERS!!! There are so many wonderful parents here at Arrowhead. There was so much on the agenda and it was so fun just sitting there taking in all the amazing things you all do for kids. These kids are sooo lucky!

There are some important events coming up to mark on the calendar. First up is the Arrowhead directory. Mr. Lohof has asked us to remind all of you that your mint green directory sheet is due no later than this Wednesday. How awesome to have that resource to connect with others for playdates, carpooling, and family get togethers. What a great idea! There is even a small portable copy for your car or purse. Now, that will make calling all of you a lot easier! :0)

Open House is on September 19th. It will be from 6-7. This is for parents only. There will be two sessions. One from 6-6:25 and one from 6:30-7. I can't wait to share all the wonderful things about 4th grade with all of you.

The following night is the Ice Cream Social on September 20th from 5:30-7:30. The committee asked if anyone had a couple of yoga mats that could be borrowed along with some pedometers. If you have such items that you would be willing to lend for the night, could you please drop them off at the front office. Please remember to label them. It will be such a fun night filled with games, pizza, t-shirt sales, and of course ice cream! Come one, come all! I know I will be there enjoying all the fun!

Saturday Live is quickly approaching as well. Each classroom is creating a basket for the silent auction. Cashasha, Taryn, and Haylee's moms are all over this one. They have been emailling back and forth coming up with some fantastic plans. Please check the Tuesday Folder for details on our basket theme! Pretty cool! A HUGE thank you to them. PTA is looking for MANY volunteers to help work the carnival game booths. There is a sign up sheet in the office. Please help if you can, whenever you can. You guys rock at this! Last year all the money earned from the baskets went right back to Arrowhead's kids. It bought 5 different computer programs with a license for each kiddo. Wow! Now, that is a chunk of cash and so amazing for all kids!

Honor choir tryouts for boys and girls is this coming Wednesday after school at 3:05 in the music room.  Information sheets came home with those students that were interested. Need one? See Mrs. Wadell, the music director.

Cross Country running team starts this Tuesday morning. A yellow permission slip came home with those kids that said they were interested. Need one? See Mr. Pertuit, the gym teacher. It will be every Tuesday and Thursday morning and Wednesday after school. Bring those water bottles and tennis shoes. I may have to join in on the fun!

There were so many other things coming up, but I will blog more about them as the time comes closer.

In the classroom this week, we will be...

Spelling: working with words that have the long and short e sound. The words are already posted for kids to start studying. One parent shared that he just copy and pastes that list into a word document and then prints them out for the week. Awesome idea!!! The test will be next Friday.

Language: We will review the 4 types of sentences and make our way into splitting a simple sentence into the complete subject and predicates. We will discover that subjects are nouns and predicates are verbs. If we master that, we will journey on to nouns of all types.

Lead 21: We will continue on with our theme book whole group. Heritage is the topic and we are discovering what that entails. Along with the content, we will work on determining important information, synonyms and antonyms, context clues, and author's purpose. We will also begin our small group rotations. Rotations will consist of spelling seatwork, language seat work, handwriting, and meeting with me for leveled reader skills. When with me, we dissect the text and are able to learn so many skills at a deeper level. We will also review the different text features such as titles, headings, illustrations, captions, and charts/graphs. Each group will have a reading guide that we fill out together practicing all of these skills.

Writing: We will continue on with paragraph writing making sure we have a solid topic sentence, sound key ideas, and evidence to back each idea.

Math: We will move on from the three forms of numbers (however they will continue to show up in classwork and homework) and move onto rounding numbers. This skill requires kids to identify given place values, looking to the place value on the right, determining if it should be rounded up or left alone, and converting all numbers behind it to zeros. It is a little confusing at first, but once they get it then it is smooth sailing. They will have plenty of opportunities to practice. A parent asked me last week about multiplication and division in the 4th grade. Common core suggests that 4th graders come in knowing their basic facts from 0-10. We quickly introduce 11s and 12s. Then we move on to double digit by double digit multiplication and even triple digit by double digit. If kids don't know their basic facts before hitting this level, it is VERY difficult for them to focus on this new algorithm and back away from the thinking of the basic math. They become frustrated quite quickly. Division is the same way. We jump right into long division. We don't spend a lot of class time on the basics besides some quick reviews. It has been awhile since students have done multiplication with the summer and all, so pulling out those flashcards or games might not be a bad idea to make sure they are ready to rock and roll very soon.

Science: YAY!!! The kids will start science this week. They will travel to Mrs. Auch's class. I will be communicating with her to see what they are learning so that I can keep you informed on the blog. Kids will have science every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for one hour. So, so grateful we were able to fit this in.

Regional S.S.: This is also a new start for us. You have heard me blog about MT History already, but regional studies is the second part of the 4th grade curriculum. Kids will journey across the United States and visit the 5 regions. Each region takes about 3-4 weeks. Kids will be expected to know all the states and capitals of each region. I will post them on the blog just as I do the spelling words. We will also make two sets of flashcards. One for school and one for home. The test will be at the end of each unit. Students will be expected to identify each state on a map and then match it to its correct capital city. They will NOT need to know how to spell them, as there will be a word list for them. We will study in class using many different methods. I will also put online games on the blog to help. Studying at home will help as well. At the end of the 4th grade, students will be expected to know all 50 states and capitals. So, studying for the test and then flushing out brains is not a good strategy here. Keeping them all fresh in our brain when studying is a better strategy. Students will also take an in depth look into each region and discover why  and how each one is different. Projects will also be assigned. Some will be done in class, and some will come home. Before we even hit the text book or the first region however, we will listen to a novel called, The Journey of Fallen Rock. I luckily came into contact with the author of this book last year. He is amazing, kind, and all about kids! I wanted to bring him out to meet the kids at Bitterroot, but wasn't able to do it. However, I have secured a visit from his this year on October 3rd and 4th. He will be coming to Arrowhead!!! A letter will come home on Monday will all kids about this very topic. The best part of this author is that he personally autographs books for kids before he mails them out. So, we sent in all of our 4th grader's names and ordered them their very own copy of the book! They arrived the other day! Each child now has a book autographed with their name from the author, AND they get to meet him very, very soon! The even better part...yes it gets better...is that the book is amazing and perfect for our regional studies. It takes the reader on a fun adventure across the United States. Did I mention how excited I am to teach this??????

MT History: We now know where MT is and a little about its rivers and mountains. We will now divide the state up into 3 different regions and see what makes MT so amazing and beautiful.

Computer Lab: We will go to the computer lab twice a week. While there kids will complete a keyboarding session along with a multiplication/division fast fact program. Common core expects kids to be able to type complete essays on their standardized test. This used to be a highschool skill, but in today's digital world it is now being taught as soon as kindergarten and first grade. So, we need to get these 4th graders typing with all their fingers and say goodbye to the hunt and pecking fingers once and for all. We will get there, one letter at a time. :0)

CC Meeting: We will continue to make our Character Warrior Shields. Kids are coming up with some great goals on how to make their character more solid. We will soon create our knights using a bobble head type method and shields will come home next weekend to decorate and mount. I can't wait to have these up on the wall for display when you come for open house. Kids are really starting to understand that IQ is only half the reason they are in school. The other is their EQ. Learning how to get along in society is just as important as academics. Therefore, it is treated like any other subject in my classroom. Students have enjoyed listening to all the picture books that bring each trait to life. They have also enjoyed watching Rusty each day online, along with the songs about each trait, especially the rap song about responsibility! I may have to video that soon and post it on the blog for you to enjoy. We will also learn this week where the handshake came from and how to do it correctly. This is a skill that is never to early to learn. One of my classroom jobs is Classroom Greeter. Anytime an adult comes into our classroom for whatever reason the greeter goes and handshakes them, gives them great eye contact, and says welcome to our classroom. It has already shocked some adults when they have walked in. Trevor did an AMAZING job at this last week.

M.A.P. Testing- We will take our MAP testing this week on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday afternoons. Students take this test throughout the year to show how much they have grown. This test is also called the NWEA test. We will take the math, reading, and language portions of this test. I will share the results with you soon after we take them.

Weekly reports came home on Friday. Please discuss them with your child this weekend, sign, and return them on Monday. Kids did soooooo much better this week. We are still working on transitioning as a group, but they are better each and every day. I also attached their spelling tests to their report. Great job by all kids. I am so proud of all of them.

Kids were able to see their hard earned cash in action yesterday. I offered juice and donuts for a morning snack (I rarely go the unhealthy route, but I wanted to entice them to spend their cash). It was fun to see the kids come in and get excited about it! In the afternoon, they were able to buy into a game of Pirate Ship Attack. You can get the idea of what that was all about by looking at the pictures above. They had a blast (a cannonball blast) trying to sink their classmates ship by using the powerful tool of teamwork. They all did a great job and had fun! Total cost to them: $150. It was $50 for each thing. It pays to save!!! I was happy that all kids were able to buy into all events that they wanted to do. :0)

I would like to close by just taking a minute to say thank you. I have to admit that I was pretty uncomfortable with the thought of working at Arrowhead. I knew that the level of expectations on kids and staff was higher here. However, is just a short time I have come to settle in perfectly. I thank you so much for all of your kind notes in the planners and emails about how you like what I am doing. I can't tell you how much I appreciate all of them. I LOVE that you LOVE the blog. I LOVE writing it. It is a great way for me to share with you just how amazing each and everyone of your kiddos are! I love your high expectations of your kids, and I love your high expectations of me. It makes me excited to do more and be a better teacher. I also love the level of professionalism found in and out of this school. It is a wonderful place to work, and I thank you for making me feel so welcome.

Have a wonderful weekend with those precious kids. Go out and make some great memories together!

Ms. Erickson