I BELIEVE I am the LUCKIEST teacher in the world!!!!

Hello there. I have so much to say but I gotta just say this for today...I am so blessed to be teaching these kids! Your generosity, kind words, gifts, emails, and texts are overwhelming. I am so, so blessed and I had a wonderful birthday!

Kids have no homework tonight (unless they did not finish their math). Safe trick-or-treating!!!

I have a million pictures to share from Dry Ice Day, but that will have to wait until this weekend's post. It was so, so, so much fun though. Does dry ice melt????? Ask your kiddo. They should say NO! It evaporates. If they do, write DRYICE in the planner for $10 tomorrow.

A HUGE thank you to Haylee, Abi, Casasha, and Max's moms for all the yummy healthy treats. They were perfect! A BIG HUGE thank you to our room mom, Chase's mom, for organizing that.

Well folks, I am wrapping it up early. I am going to go eat at Buffalo Wild Wings (Thanks Abi's Family), slip over to Candy Town (Thanks Haylee's Family) for my second carmel apple for the day (Thanks Trevor's Family for my homemade super carmelly first one!), then to Target to buy a new outfit for school (Thanks Casasha's Family) that will match my beautiful new scarf (Thanks Max's Family) and then go trick or treating with my kiddos to collect even more candy to add to the pack I got at school (Thanks Spencer's Family). Upon arrival at home, I will plug in my new BELIEVE scentsy pot and find some "Inner Peace"(Thank you Taryn's Family), sit down with my laptop and find  the book that my older sister wanted me to read and order it on Amazon (Thank you Casasha's Family),  all why eating some delicious mint/caramel ice cream (Thank you Haylee's Family), drinking my Mt. Dew (Thank you Spencer's Family) out of my new "Don't follow your dreams, chase them" cup (Thanks Max's Family). Just when you think I couldn't do anymore...I will for sure need a break. So, I will have some hot tea in my new mug and eat a few Take 5 Candy Bars (Thanks Amanda's Family) while I admire my flowers (Thanks Mrs. Moore's Family) and ( My Bitterroot Elementary Family). This weekend, when I am kid and holiday free, I will enjoy a nice dinner with Zachary at Rib and Chop House (Thank you Coewyn's Family) and remember eating my delicious tootsie pop while grading papers last night (Thanks Taylor!) Then, I will go to bed, wake up, and do it all over again!!!!! Life is good when you turn 40!!!!!!

Before I say goodbye, allow me to share just why the paragraph above is so touching to me. Three years ago, my little sister, who was also my best friend, and I made a pact to celebrate my 40th birthday in Ireland. I have always dreamed of going there, and I will some day! Unfortunately, I lost my sister two years ago. So, this morning I was a little sad waking up remembering that pact. Then, I got busy living and look how absolutely amazing all of you were to me. My Bitterroot friends even remembered this and sent me all green flowers as if they were bringing Ireland to me. My heart melts at the kindness people around me display. I have absolutely loved moving to Arrowhead, and I adore each and every child for all different reasons. Thank you again for being all of you, so I can be a better me!

Peace out Little and Big Diamonds!
Be Safe Tonight!
Love,
Ms. Erickson

Happy Birthday Riley!

This slideshow design made with Smilebox

Well folks, as you can see we had another great field trip today. We received compliments from our presenters and from Fuddruckers. Way to go kids. You represented Arrowhead so well, and I was so proud to be your teacher!

In reading, we read a fun Amelia Bedilia Halloween story. I love these books because they are packed with idioms. That is one of our figurative language standards in the 4th grade. After we read it, I passed out cards with the idioms on them and another one that had the meaning of the idiom on it. They had to travel the room and find the correct match. We finally shared them all with the class. 

Our red pens came out in language class today. The final drafts have begun. Writing in pen makes everything more official! I can't thank you enough for all the editing last night. I can tell that you had some great discussions. Hopefully next time we write a rough draft, the same mistakes won't be made again. Again, thank you so much! Those that didn't get edited last night are coming home tonight to get caught up. Final drafts will be finished up at school tomorrow. We will share them all on Friday. I can't wait to hear...especially since my name is in a lot of them. :0) 

Tomorrow is Halloween!!!!! Arrowhead is celebrating by having an orange and black dress up day tomorrow. Kids are encouraged to wear as much of these colors as possible. AND...they are NOT encouraged to wear ALL black in honor of Ms. Erickson being over the hill! :0) 

Homework tonight is two-fold. One part is their DynaMath magazine. They need to go Egyptian style and write and read some Hieroglyphics. Pages 6 and 7 are due tomorrow. The other assignment involves making a cookie. This has nothing to do with the fake money system we use in class. This is a math concept. Kids will actually be able to make their cookie IF and only IF they have all their math exactly correct. If not...no cookie for them until they get it right! :0)

Tomorrow is Dry Ice Day. We will be doing many experiments that involve this amazing scientific substance. However, we will NOT be touching it at all. WE will be doing a safety lesson before we begin. No worries, safety first! As I explained a month ago on the blog, this event had a $350 buy in amount. Some kiddos were not able to buy in. Please ask your child if they were able to buy in. If they say no, ask them why. There is NO reason for kids not to have money in this classroom. If they don't, then they have been loosing way too much for three reasons: missing work or homework, planner not being signed, or talking or goofing around in class. Hopefully everyone is able to get back on track and join in on the next fun event. If you have this discussion with your kiddos write yes if they were able to buy in or no if they were not. Those that were not will have an alternate placement tomorrow.

Today was Riley's 10th birthday!!! I sure hope he does something fun tonight. Having a field trip on your birthday...pretty darn cool! He brought in some delicious pumpkin cookies to sell to the class. He banked the cash! Way to go Riley! Have a wonderful night and I hope you enjoyed your Dr. Pepper in class! :0)

Have a wonderful evening tonight!
Ms. Erickson

I BELIEVE we have a field trip tomorrow!

Hello there.

ALL kids are coming home with their rough draft copies of their realistic fiction piece that they wrote. Their homework tonight is to sit WITH you and edit it. Please don't just edit it for them. They need to hear what you are correcting and why. Please make marks on the story with a pen. They need to have correct spelling and grammar ready to go for their final draft tomorrow. I should see all the corrections on their rough drafts. Again, it is the discussion that is important here. Thanks so much for your help on this one.

Other homework: Page 4-5 in the DyanMath magazine.

We have our field trip tomorrow. We will be walking to Fuddruckers after for lunch. Please remind kids to dress for the weather. Thanks for getting those field trip permissions back so promptly along with the $7. :0)

Rumor has it someone in our class is about to become a year older, and it is NOT me!!!! Mr. Riley turns the big 10 tomorrow. Exciting!!!!!

Speaking of birthdays, a HUGE thank you to Miss. Abi for my delicious carmel apple she made for me  for my birthday. It was a perfect snack mid morning. They are my ultimate favorite, and once I stop I can NOT stop!!! :0) You made my day Abi, and thank you for filling my bucket!!!!

Well, that about does it for tonight! Thanks for all you do!

Ms. Erickson

"Children are our most valuable resource." Herbert Hoover, US President

Hi there. What do you get when you have a Monday and add tons of tons of snow? Very well behaved kids!!!!! At least in room E4 that was the case. Way to go Erickson crew! Thanks for having that sit down talk with your kiddo last night. It made all the difference.

We finished up the Little House movie today. Kids got to see the withdrawl symptoms in action. I am guessing that they won't ever want to go through that, and the one on the screen was probably nothing compared to the real deal. :0(

The Red Ribbon slogan posters were a hoot! What creative kiddos you have! We graded them together at CC Meeting. Everyone did a great job.

Tonight's homework is DynaMath. It is a scholastic news magazine with a twist. There are math problems intertwined in the current events articles. Kids need to do pages 1-3 tonight. We will do a few pages each night this week for homework. Kids know not to work ahead or to fall behind. They MAY use calculators if they choose/need to. They will need to be able to tell me HOW they solved it in class however.

Today in math we started multiplication. We learned how to multiply by factors or ten, one hundred, or one thousand. For example, 8 x 3000 = ? Have your child take you through the two step process to solve this. They should be able to say the following: Step One: Find the easy, basic multiplication problem (8 x 3). That equals 24. Step Two: Add the zeros. So they should have seen that 3000 had three zeros and added them to the 24 in step one. Therefore, finding the final product of 24,000. Yay! If they can show you how to do this, write EASY in the planner for $10 tomorrow.

We started our realistic fiction writing piece in class today. Kids selected two locations (settings) for their Halloween story to take place. They also brainstormed some realistic nouns that will be included in our story. Then, the kids selected ten of their Halloween spelling words to use in the story. Finally, they brainstormed the characters that would be in their story. Tomorrow, we will begin to write our rough drafts. Those will come home tomorrow night to proofread with you. Please help kids edit those for grammar and spelling mistakes. For me to do all of them at home by myself would not have any meaning for the kids. It is the discussion piece from you that is going to help make them better writers in the future. I appreciate your help with this tomorrow night. :0)

We have gym tomorrow. I share with kids that our gym floor is so nice and new. We talked about how wearing our gym shoes in the slush and snow is not a good idea. They know to wear other shoes and keep dry gym shoes in their backpacks instead.

Well, that about does it for tonight. Have a wonderful evening!
Ms. Erickson

I BELIEVE it is HALLOWEEN WEEK!

Well hello there! What a gorgeous weekend!!! Rumor has it snow will be here an on the ground tomorrow morning. Therefore, it was a weekend of outside prep work for me. How many of us got our lawn mowed one more time??? I did!!! I also went in and did all my Aunt Meme's stuff too. She is my favorite aunt on Earth and it felt so good to help ease her mind and finish her to do list too. Loving helping others!!!

Miss. Abi was star of the week this week. Who knew one could be born with baby teeth? Well, this amazing little girl was born with 2! Abi also loves to collect fossils. She had some very fun ones to share. Thanks for being you Abi! You are one shining star!!!



Team Up Against Drugs Day was such a fun time. As you can see everyone had their school spirit going. The GRIZ fans were especially awesome! Not a big Bronco fan, but when it came to these three, it was great! Spirit week was fun overall! A huge thank you to all that supported it.



It is Halloween Week!!! Many of our objectives this week will be met through a Halloween theme.

Math: Multiplication, Roman Numerals, and Pictographs. Here is where I drop to my knees and BEG you to go out and buy some multiplication flashcards. Please, please, please! It only took Emma and I one week of drilling at the dinner table for her to remember all of hers. They mastered them last year, but they are up amongst the cobwebs now. It is time to dust them off and refresh. We will spend a little time each day doing basic drills, but we will be moving on to double digit by single digit and triple digit by one digit. Eventually we will reach triple by double digit multiplication. We touched on roman numerals in LEAD 21 last week when we did outlining notes, but I noticed that kids hadn't seen it before, so I want to touch on it a little bit this week. We will also do a fun cookie project on Halloween in math. The assignment will come home for homework on Tuesday

Science: Dry Ice Experiments on Halloween Day. Safety first, and then the fun begins!!! Always one of my favorites! We also have our field trip to the National Weather Center with Mrs. Auch's class on Thursday. We will eat at Fuddruckers for lunch. Kids have already placed their orders.

Writing/Language: Realistic Fiction Halloween Stories. Kids will learn the components and parts of realistic fiction, brainstorm, create a rough draft using 10 spelling words and at least one of each type of plural nouns, and write a final draft to share on Friday.

LEAD 21 Reading-Point of View, author's purpose, sequence, cause and effect, chronological order, compare and contrast, and figurative language. We will also focus on antonyms. We will use the whole group theme reader as well as the small group leveled readers to do this.

SS-MT History and the History of Halloween

Spelling-We will take a break from the book this week. The spelling words all have a Halloween theme. There will not be an alternative list this week. We will practice the words in our writing as well.
The test will be on Friday.

With Halloween comes excitement and the temptation to get a little silly. Students need to be able to have fun while learning, switch from an active lesson to a quiet one smoothly, and be able to be in control at all times. My expectations remain the same as far as classroom behavior. May I encourage you to sit down tonight and talk about this very topic with your kiddo. We will talk in class too, but hearing it from all of us always helps. If you do, would you write HALLOWEEN in the planner for $10 tomorrow.

With Halloween also comes questions. Here are some frequently asked questions and answers.

Q: May I wear my costume to school?
A: No.

Q: May I bring in treats for the class to share?
A: No thank you. (Our room mom has a plan for this and already has notified the people that will help out. I will also bring in birthday treats and we will make a yummy punch with our dry ice experiments.)

Q: May I bring in candy to pass out?
A: No thank you. (We will save the candy for that night when we trick or treat.)

Q: Does Ms. Erickson appreciate my willingness to help out?
A: Absolutely!!!!!!! We are only allowed to have one party a year (district rule). Our school selects Valentine's Day. I know that Chase's mom will need a lot of volunteers, snacks, and help then. I sooooo appreciate all that you do and all that you are willing to do. I have to make sure that I am following expectations put on me as well though. It is not that I don't want to have fun and treats and celebrate every holiday, but it just isn't allowed. So, we will follow the rules. :0)

Red Ribbon Week was a HUGE success. I think it was our best year yet. I have no doubt that if kids were asked today to try a risky behavior, they would have the tools to JUST SAY NO!! Homework this weekend was to come up with a persuasive slogan to help kids remember to just say no. All week we had them at Arrowhead. We had Drugs Stink, Wear Pink...and all the other fun dress up days. It is not the kids turn to create a catchy phrase. It doesn't have to be something that we would wear, but it can be anything. I showed them some examples in class. It could even revolve around an animal. For example, it could be a toad and the phrase could be, We will TOADALLY say NO to drugs! The only rule I had was that the words on the poster need to be the main focus. Pictures may be drawn, but they need to not be the main focus or draw point. They need to written with the persuasive purpose and help kids stay away from drugs. Who knows...next year, Mrs. Meier may even use one for our school!

We will finish our movie up tomorrow afternoon. Part one was a hit. It set up the story very well. Part two is where the family really starts to be affected by Albert's use of drugs. I have plenty of popcorn left over for tomorrow. However, I told the kids that they may bring their own drink choice. It needs to be in a bottle with a lid. Cans will not be allowed. Too many spills in my experiences. Soda may be brought since we will view after lunch. However, no bigger than a standard bottle of pop please. Juice, milk, or other choices may also be brought. Just make sure it has a lid. :0) PS-Ask your kiddos why Tiny's makes their popcorn so good and salty? If they can tell you that it is a marketing tool to get their customers to buy more drinks then they are correct. It was funny to see the kids come back to buy a second juice box. They did it without even knowing that I knew they would, and that I would make double the money. Another lesson on being cautious of the powers of drugs.

Emma and I had a BLAST at the Halloween Family Fun Night on Friday. Beau was home with strep throat. Poor guy. It was great seeing so many of you! PTA did an amazing job on all the fun games and prizes. I still am not sure what Frankenstein's brain really was, but that grossed me out! Eww!! If you attended that night as well, please write FUN NIGHT in the planner for $50 tomorrow. Thanks for supporting Arrowhead school!



Well, that about sums it up for this week. Again, our field trip is on Thursday. Some kiddos still need to return their permission slip and $7. Many said they were brining it tomorrow and that is great. A BIG thank you to Abi's mom for agreeing to chaperone the event. :0)

Have a wonderful Sunday! Ty we can't wait to see your smiling face again this week. We have missed you! Liam, have a wonderful time making memories with your family, especially your grandmother. You are in our thoughts, and be safe. :0)

More to come on Sunday...Check Back.

Hi there. Lots to say, but too much Saturday stuff to do. So, I will blog tonight or tomorrow. Please check back tomorrow by 4.

Please note, kids have a fun homework project. They are to come up with a new Just say no slogan and create a poster. They all have their papers in their backpacks. I gave them the example of "I "moustache" you you not to do drugs!" I then put moustaches all over my paper. We are working on being persuasive here, and for the slogan to be the main focus of the poster. The pictures or other words need to be smaller and not distracting from the main words. I showed them mine at school. They are due on Monday.

Cya tomorrow. :0)

NO Drugs, NO Alcohol, NO SWEAT!!!!

Hello there! Sweats were in the house today!!!! I am loving all this school spirit!!! Tomorrow is our last day of Red Ribbon Week. Kids are encouraged to wear their favorite sports team gear to school tomorrow. Of course in this class, acceptable favorite teams are: GRIZ, Steelers, or Senior High Bronc gear. :0) Just kidding. All teams are welcome and encouraged!!! What is YOUR favorite team? Write it in the planner for $10 tomorrow.

It is also Kaitlyn's Voice Day tomorrow. Kids may wear a hat ALL day long for a $1 donation to this amazing cause. Kaitlyn is a student at Arrowhead. All the money earned will go towards equipment to help her be even more successful at school than she already is!!! I am thinking my cowgirl hat will be on my head tomorrow for sure!!!

Tomorrow night is the Arrowhead Family Fun Night. The following people need to make sure they bring in their cupcakes for the cupcake walk tomorrow morning or to the booth BEFORE 6:00. Thank you so much for your help and time on this one. :0) I can't wait to see all those costumes. I will be camera ready to take picture for the blog, so make sure to come get one with me!!!

Max Kimbell-1 dozen

Jen Sanders-1 dozen

Abigale Olson- 1 dozen

Casasha Swanson-Wallace- 2 dozen

Taryn Vestel-1 dozen

Haylee Haarr-1 dozen

Coewyn Crawford-2 dozen

Chase Egan-1 dozen. 

Trevor-1 dozen

Ms. Erickson- 2 dozen

Today we had three students from Senior High come in and share their stories of how, why, and when they became hooked on drugs. It was extremely powerful!!! It is always more real when kids hear it from kids not much older then themselves, and that they started at their age. One of the students started in the 6th grade. After they left, it got really powerful. We spent about a half hour just debriefing. It was awesome that the kids just wondered why in the world anyone would even start to do drugs or why drugs were even invented in the first place. Sadly, I had to answer that with the simple word...money. It is all about money! :0( 

Tomorrow, we will finish up our classroom lessons with our Little House on the Prairie movie. We will watch part one tomorrow and part two on Monday. I got the popcorn and the drinks. :0) Please see last Saturday's post if you need more details on what this movie will be about, as I describe it there. There is a sticker in your child's planner. Please mark yes or no to giving permission or not to view the episode with us. It is rated G, but there are some intense scenes that come along with drug addiction. It is absolutely grade appropriate, but I want it to be your choice. Students that don't have permission will have an alternate setting for the hour on each day. 

Homework tonight is to study for spelling tests and to do page 65, 1-8 in spelling. (They have to learn to make Cabbage Soup!!!!)

Well, that about sums it all up. Have a wonderful evening. Remember, please email me a picture of your child with their carved pumpkin to share on the blog!!! Those that do will earn $50. :0) 

I will wrap up the blog tonight by posting this amazing picture. Miss. Haylee has caught the BELIEVE bug too!!!! LOVE it, and LOVE that she was excited to show me!!!! You have EXCELLENT taste in clothes young lady!

Ms. Erickson

Drugs Stink...WE Wore PINK!!!!

Holy PINK batman!!!! When walking down the hallway today, everyone was super impressed with how much pink spirit we had. We even got a compliment from Mrs. Meier!!! Great job Team Erickson!!! Let's do it again tomorrow and wear those Sweats. No Drugs...No Alcohol...No SWEAT!!! And, for these kids it is really sinking in and I am beginning to BELIEVE that they honestly will have NO SWEAT saying NO to drugs.

Today, MCC was in the house. They were sooooooooo much fun!!! Kevin, Mike, and Tauzha once again did a great job sharing information on how drugs are dangerous. Today's focus was alternatives to doing drugs. MCC is all about being out in nature and doing positive things for the environment. They stressed that soon, these kids can also volunteer for MCC on local projects in Billings. However, they stressed that in order to be in MCC you can't do drugs or alcohol. Using a chainsaw, sledgehammer, or dealing with wild bears would not be a good idea or safe for anyone on a crew if you were high or had been drinking. Then, the kids made I-Pod pledges and shared them up on the Elmo with the class. They had to use the statement, I pledge to  _____________________ instead of doing  ____________________. Mine was,  I pledge to play basketball instead of doing illegal drugs. What was your child's? If they can remember theirs and share it with you write the word IPOD in the planner for $10 tomorrow. I especially LOVE the high dreams of Max. He shared his in class, so I know it is ok to share it here as well. If you can't read it, it says...I plan to marry a Victoria Secret model and play for the NFL instead of doing drugs. Crack me up!!!! Reminds me of the show with Bill Cosby called, Kids Say the Darndest Things. Hilarious!!!! Also ask your kiddos about the game that they learned to play with their friends. I tried to film it, but it was so dang funny that I couldn't hold still. Haylee was our winner. Have your child show you their best YEEHAW. If they can (and I would stand back for this one), write YEEHAW in the planner for another $10 tomorrow. LOL!!!!



In Lead 21, we read a great story about an alternative energy source. Look at all the skills we did with it!!!! They are learning a ton. Tomorrow, they will attempt this same activity with a different story using this one as a guide. We will keep practicing until I feel they are ready for mastery.



Mrs. Auch, the kids' Science teacher, has a special treat for our class. We get to go on a field trip to the National Weather Center!!!! This is such an honor, and I for one am looking forward to finding out just how all those machines/tools work down there in order to predict this crazy Montana weather, along with hurricanes, tornadoes, and other weather storms around our nation. We will go around 10 and be there for an hour on October 30th. Afterwards, we will walk a block to Fuddruckers for lunch. Could this day get any better?????? Kids already put in their lunch order for either a hotdog, hamburger, or cheeseburger, and it will be ready and waiting for them when they get there. Sweet! Each student needs to bring back the signed permission slip and the money needed. We talked in class about how it will come out uneven and pennies will be needed. If you could be so kind and just round up to $7 total that would be awesome. I really don't feel like dealing with a bunch of change and pennies. I told the kids we will just leave it for a tip. (roughly 27 cents). If you want to send the exact amount that is fine too. Please do that as soon as possible. CASH only please. Thanks! And THANK YOU Mrs. Auch!!!!

Homework tonight is spelling, page 63. They have to find 10 misspelled words and write them correctly. They also need to study those spelling words. I did fix the marooned spelling word. Clearly, I would NOT be taking the alternate test. It may also be due to my age increase coming up! Ha Ha!

Have a wonderful evening!!!

We Won't Get TIED Up in Drugs!

Hi there. Busy, busy day.

Ask your kiddos about DEA Special Agent Dunlap. WOWZERS!!!! If they share, write DULAP in the planner. Due to nature of his job, no pictures can be posted.

Tomorrow is Drugs Stink...Wear Pink! Wear as much pink as ya can find. No wigs or hair spray please.

Have an amazing night! (Conference tonight with my son's teacher, so that explains the short post!)

Ms. Erickson

Sock It To Drugs Day!!!

Hello there. What a great show of school spirit today! Check out all those crazy socks!!! We surely did sock it to drugs today. Tomorrow is Don't Get Tied Up in Drugs! Kids need to wear some kind of necktie, bowtie, or bolo tie tomorrow.

In CC meeting this morning we watched the above video about Red Ribbon week and the man behind it. We only watched the first 6 minutes and then the last bit about Red Ribbon Day. The in between stuff is just news and information that is important, but not really understandable by 10 year olds. We talked about what a drug is today and took a look at some of the drugs out there. We talked about the fact that there is and always will be drugs around us, but we are so lucky to have the DEA agents out there combating it. Drugs are in our neighborhoods...ALL neighborhoods, even these kids' neighborhoods. We talked about what neighborhoods in Billings are "drug" ones. They were shocked that even theirs were! (They said they were only downtown and on south side). We talked about how they will be going to middle school in 2 short years and that there is and will be drugs at Will James and at West High. It is just a fact. However, the main point today was that if they prepare now, and get their character under control it will be easy to say NO and not put themselves in danger. We talked about avoiding parties and how drugs and alcohol are usually there, sometimes masked in food or punch. We talked about playing alone at parks or playgrounds without parents and how strangers look for that, and even mask drugs with candies. Two short years ago, drug dealers were found giving our lollypops laced with meth to kids. Yikes! We also talked about the difference between legal, illegal, and medical drugs. Parents are different then kids. There are different rules (age 18 and 21). We talked about that. Lastly, I ended the meeting by assuring kids that they were ready for all the information they would get this year to help prepare them for the path ahead, and that they should absolutely talk about anything that bothers them or questions them with you at home. They will get more in the 5th grade, and even more in the 6th grade. We talked about how this is not scary, but real. We also talked about how it is even more scary for parents to know that their kids are learning these things. I know it is for me!!! Ask your child about the CC Meeting today. What does character today have with the future selves???? If they can tell you that it matters now to make good choices to be ready for the future then they are on track. Write DRUGS in the planner for $20. If you watch the video yourself, write KIKI in the planner for $50! It is just that important!!!! :0) Remember, if you want to join us for DEA Agent Dunlap's presentation tomorrow will begin at 9:30 am.

Halloween is approaching! I would love to put pictures of your kiddos' with their Jack-o-lanterns on the blog. If you email me a picture, I will put them on display! :0) ericksont@billingsschools.org.

Off to the right is a new typing program called Typing Club. Please do NOT use this at home. They may continue to use the Dance Mat one, but NOT this one. Thanks.

Homework tonight is: Spelling page 60, 1-20 Types of Sentences and Page 61, 21-34. They know how to do this, and should NOT need help. Both the alternate and book words are off to the right for study purposes. I am so wowed that over half the class is wanting to be challenged and study the alternate list. Make sure kids know the difference between lose and loose. :0)

Lastly, Nolan is having a Halloween Party and Costume Contest. He has invited all students to attend. All students came home with an invitation. Due to sensitive information, I can't publish it on here, but it sounds and looks like a spooky good time!!! :0)


Have a wonderful night!!!
Ms. Erickson

When I was a boy, I always saw myself as a hero in comic books and in movies. I grew up believing this dream. Elvis Presley

Hello there. I hope your long weekend was full of great memories! I spent part of mine in Bozeman with my amazing friend, Rusty. You all met Rusty during open house. He is so inspirational and motivating! I enjoyed my time with him very much!

The pictures above show the kids last week working on two different projects. One was a very fun way of learning how to solve algebra problems, called Hands On Equations. I was trained in Florida when I taught there. We will do another lesson this week, and then when we go to the written ones in the book, the kids will see just how easy solving for an unknown really is!

The other picture deals with some first grades. With Red Ribbon Week coming up, each student made a small book to share with a 1st grader. We will get together with that class this week and read the books to them. They are a very basic way of telling little kids to just say no!

Of course we had to have some fun treats to go along with book making. So, what better treat than marshmallows. Now...why would I pick marshmallows????? Ask your child. If they can tell you that is was because at the NILE we learned that the gelatin that holds the marshmallows together comes from the hooves of cows then write HOOF in the planner for $20 on Monday. Gross...but oh so yummy!!!

Red Ribbon Week is upon us. My class will be heavily involved with all sorts of activities revolving around this concept. I know I shared a little about this when polling you about the field trip to the Yellowstone Detention Center. I did find out, later, that they are no longer doing school tours. Drats! But, we have a ton of other great activities planned all week long. Each day will have a school wide spirit day as well. Students that participate are showing that they are uniting as one to say NO to illegal drugs now and forever. They will also earn $20 for showing their school spirit daily.

Here is this week's agenda:

Monday-Sock it to Drugs Day! Kids wear crazy socks to school. They need to be shown all day long, so roll up those pants! In class, we will talk about the story behind Red Ribbon Week and the man that died for this cause: DEA Agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena.

Tuesday-Don't let Drugs Tie You Up Day! Kids wear some kind of necktie to school. In class (9:30 am), we will be visiting with a DEA agent of our own. Agent Dunlap will talk to kids about the character needed to stay off drugs, what consequences come with drug choices, and his own job experience with drugs. Agent Dunlap has been in my class for 4 years now. He is amazing and his talk on how character TODAY matters in the future is so, so powerful!

Wednesday-Drugs Stink, Wear Pink Day! Kids wear as much pink as possible to school. Please avoid hair color or wigs. The room usually looks like a big blob of Pepto Bismal on this day! LOVE it! In class (9:00 am), MCC (Montana Conservation Corps) will be coming to do some raps and skits about alternatives to drug choices. This group is AMAZING. My good friend, Tauzha, is the head of this organization in Billings (Yep...the same girl that walked across Spain!). They do a great job with kids, and they are always fun to hang out with.

Thursday-No Drugs, No Alcohol, No Sweat Day! Kids wear their sweats and sweatshirts to school today. In class (9:30 am), kids from Senior High (Go Broncs!) will be coming to share their personal stories (grade appropriate) and do a skit on peer pressure. I have had this group in my classroom for 3 years now. They really bring it home. They talk about how they remember sitting in the same chair as these kids, and a year later starting the road of drugs and alcohol. They always say that they wished that their teachers would have told them like we do today. They also show kids that even if poor choices are made, it is never too late to turn it around and get back on the right path. One of my favorite messages here is the trust issue. They share how hard it is to gain back parent's trust after making these kinds of choices, and that their disappointment is the worse punishment for doing drugs. Amazing!

Friday-Team Up Against Drugs day! Kids wear their favorite team's attire. You know I will be sporting that Griz gear! And maybe a touch of Sr. High Broncs as well! :0) In class (10:45 am)-we will focus on the issue of family and friends. Negative paths with drugs don't just effect the person doing them. They effect many, many people: siblings, parents, outside family, grandparents, teachers, friends, and so many more. I have a copy of the Little House On the Prairie TV series. One of the episodes is about Albert getting hooked on drugs due to peer pressure when moving to a big city. Albert gets hooked on a drug called Morphine. The family has to move back to their hometown to help Albert get out of a negative environment. Come to find out, Albert continues the habit by stealing from the town doctor. Once discovered, Pa has to do some tough love and go through the withdrawl symptoms with his son. In the end, Pa and Albert talk about how the trust is broken and will take time to heal. The episode is not rated, but the series is rated G. However, I would like to obtain your permission before your child views it. I will send home permission slips in the Tuesday folder this week. It is soooooo powerful! We will watch part one on Friday, and part 2 on Monday (1:30 pm). It is about an hour for each part. Popcorn and Red Ribbon Punch will be offered as concessions (buy with fake money). If you would like to donate pre-popped popcorn or bottles (with lids!) of Hawaiian punch that would be amazing! Feel free to send or drop them off anytime before Friday! Thank you!!!!

Please, please feel free to join in on any activity you would like to. I take this matter very seriously, and I still have kids coming back to tell me how they remembered all that I did to prepare them. They share that it was easy to just say NO when the time came, and the time DID come. Every activity is age appropriate. They are not designed to scare children, but rather to educate them. Knowledge is power. If we think that 4th graders are too young, then we are fooling ourselves. This is the age that many kids start sneaking behaviors. All research points to ages 10 and 11 as the target age to educate. It doesn't just happen in big cities or in certain areas of cities. It is everywhere, and it is our job to make sure kids have the tools in their toolbelts to JUST SAY NO!




Even though all of this will be going on, we will still do all of our regular academics as well.

Math-algebra.
Lead 21-sequencing, summarizing, antonyms, questioning, making connections, and inferencing.
Language-Types of Sentences and Plural noun mastery.
Spelling-oo sounds.
SS-Montana History!!!!!
Science-Weather and temperature

Homework this week will be spelling assignments. Student will NOT have time to work on them in class, so they WILL have them each night. M-Thurs.

If your child received a letter last week for a morning class to work on some math skills, please note that it starts THIS Monday. Kids need to arrive by 7:20 a.m. sharp. Please see your note for which days this happens.

BELIEVE fundraisers are due this TUESDAY. Please send those back in and have all money collected and attached. Also, please make sure their name and my name is on the outside envelope. Thanks for all you do!!!

Conference slips came home last Tuesday. You were to pick a time that worked for you. I received them back from: Riley, Nolan, Liam, Taylor, Taryn, Caden, McLean, Amanda, Coewyn, Nicolas, Chase, Max, Jennifer, Casasha, Trevor, and Spencer. If you don't see your child's name, they did not turn it in. They are due tomorrow. Staff meets tomorrow after school to schedule them all. If we don't have a request form, we just fill you in at the end. Please return slip tomorrow. Thanks.

Don't forget that this coming Friday is our Arrowhead Halloween Family Fun Night. It is going to be spooktacular!!!! Those that agreed to donate cupcakes, please bring those in on Friday or to the event that evening before 6. I am not a big costume fan for myself, but even I will be dressed up and roaming the halls. :0)

Ty...we hope you are having an amazing time in NY and New Hampshire!!! Haylee...we missed you and can't wait to see you!!!

Have an amazing weekend!
Ms. Erickson

I BELIEVE fun was had by all...even Ms. Erickson!

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I think this says it all for our day at school today! What a FUN, FUN time we had learning and laughing together! I LOVE my job, and I LOVE these kids! Relive the field trip from start to finish with your child by viewing this slideshow. If you do, write NILE in the planner for $10 tomorrow. 

Tomorrow is a half day. Kids are dismissed at noon. There is no school on Thursday and Friday. I will not blog again until Sunday. Monday starts Red Ribbon Week. The jail field trip is no longer offered. :0( A permission slip will go home on Monday for our other events. However, Monday is No Drugs, NO alcohol, NO sweat. Kids should wear sweats on Monday to school to show their support of this statement. Those that do, will earn $20. 

BELIEVE fundraisers are due next Tuesday. Thanks for supporting our school with this fundraiser! 

Have an amazing night! 

Ms. Erickson

I BELIEVE we are going on a Field Trip Tomorrow!!!

Hello there! We are heading to the NILE tomorrow. What does NILE mean anyways?? Have your child find out using Google and share with you. If they do this, write what it means in the planner for $10 tomorrow.

For the field trip...we will be leaving right away. Kids know not to be late tomorrow. They will need their packed lunches as well. We will not eat lunch at school, so hot lunch will not be offered. If they need something kept cold, please use ice packs. We will not have coolers available to use. Kids MAY bring small electronics to keep them entertained on the bus ride there. They need to leave those in their backpacks at all other times, and they bring them at their own risk. Students may NOT use cameras on the field trip or bus ride. Thank you to Nicolas's mom for volunteering to ride along and help rally the troops tomorrow. I appreciate you!!!!

We will also meet our pen pals from Bitterroot Elementary tomorrow at the NILE. Their class will be there too. Today, kids read descriptions about them and when they heard something that created a connection with them they raised their hands and I assigned them that person to be their pen pal. They will find them tomorrow, greet them, and talk about the connection they had. We will write back and forth throughout the year and hopefully meet up to do some fun things at least once.

Homework tonight is an Author's Purpose review. It is similar to the one we did last week in class. They need to hi-light key words to show evidence for their answers.

We will have PE in the afternoon so please remind kids to bring their shoes.

I think that about sums up the day. Dressing warm with layers would be very wise tomorrow...but as I say daily in class...I can lead a horse to water, but I can't make them drink!!! :0)

Ms. Erickson

It's kind of fun to do the impossible. Walt Disney

Hi there. I hope that you are having a wonderful frosty weekend. It was quite chilly walking the dogs this morning. Yep...I have two dogs. I shared a picture above. The black one is named Dog (yep dog), and the smaller one is Sally. They are best friends and love to take daily walks.

Miss. Jennifer was our star of the week this week. She loves Monster High Dolls, puzzles, and all sorts of fun things. She has a love for her family and for her mom's earrings. Thanks for sharing such interesting fun stuff Jen. I think I am going to have to do some Christmas shopping in this Happy Days store that she loves so much! :0)

The picture above of the poster deals with this week's Weekly Report that came home on Friday. Together, we discovered that our class needs to focus in on 4 issues. They are listed on the poster and on the weekly report. We talked a lot about these things again, and we brainstormed strategies we could use to help correct them. These are small potatoes, but they are life skills that need to be addressed and corrected before they become a larger problem. Please know, that I told the kids that by me checking that they need to work on these does not mean they are a "bad" kid by any means. ALL kids have come incredible lengths since day one. These are not behavior issues (which is such a positive thing!). This is Ms. Erickson raising the expectation bar just a little bit higher and sharing a life skill with them. They work sooooooooo hard on their work, and they just need to show that they take pride in that. So, please have a simple discussion, allow them to share their strategies with you, and then we will work on it together in class. Thank you so much for your support on this. Please sign the report and send back to school on Monday.

Pictures came home Friday. I put them in the Tuesday folders because it was pouring at dismissal and they are a little tougher than just the picture packet. Please sign the Tuesday folder...even though it is not Tuesday...and return to school on Monday. Each student also got an Arrowhead ID card as well.

Spelling tests were also in the Tuesday folder. I am soooooo impressed how so many are taking the challenge words and running with them. They are doing great! Those are some tough words!!! Due to the short week this week (half day on Wednesday and no school on Thursday or Friday), we will NOT have spelling this week. I did put up the book words already though for the following week. I will add the challenge words soon. So, they can get a jump on studying those ones over their break.

Halloween is in the air. I happen to LOVE this holiday, as I was born on it. :0) I keep telling the kids that my magic powers have arrived and that I get especially spooky this time of year. Hee Hee! Kids may NOT wear their costumes to school on Halloween. However, they are encouraged to wear them on the night of the 25th for the Arrowhead Halloween Bash. I appreciate all of you that agreed to donate cupcakes for the cupcake walk. My kiddos and I will be working it for an hour, so please drop by and say hello. Trevor's family, thank you for also committing to bringing a dozen cupcakes. I passed that on to the appropriate people! Awesome! With Halloween, also comes a fun science buy in with fake money. Mrs. Moore and I will be combining our classes together on Halloween day to do some fun dry ice science dealing with the principle of matter and temperature. I have done this for years, and the kids love it!!! There is no contact with the dry ice by students, and safety instructions will be explained and enforced. There will be a $350 buy in fee. Students that can't buy in will have an alternate setting for that time.

After Halloween, comes other holidays. 4th graders do not do a holiday concert. They will however have a recorder concert later. Gotta love those recorders!!! I am blessed with one at home already. So, now I have a drummer and a recorder player. I suppose they will try to become a band soon. :0)

Conferences are right around the corner. I will share a lot of data with you on those dates. I feel that we are pretty in touch on the day to day stuff, but I would like the opportunity to see all of you face to face and talk directly about your child and their education. Of course, if I had concerns I would have already contacted you by now. I promise that I will always be open and honest with you. Hopefully, I have proven that to you. Watch for conference slips coming home in the next week or two. They are not until the beginning of November, but it is not too early to begin to think about any and all things you would like to discuss as well.

Tuesday we will be loading onto a bus and heading to the Metra for our NILE field trip. Students will need a sack lunch on this day. We will eat on the Metra grounds after the presentations. This will be our first field trip so I will be discussing my expectations before we go during our morning meetings this week. There is a poster in our classroom that says, True Character is how you are acting when no one is watching. Discuss this with your child. They also say it in our morning promise pledge. If they can tell you how that would relate to a field trip situation, write FIELD TRIP in the planner for $50 on Monday. I am still in need of a volunteer. It is for a half day.

It is a short week, but we will be packing in the learning! Academically this week we will be...

Math: Testing and showing mastery of all decimal concepts.

Lead 21: Going green. We will begin Unit 2 in our series. Students will get new leveled readers. Some kids switched groups due to their course work on the last unit. Some moved up, some moved down. Every child however is where I feel they will benefit the most from what we do in small groups. I will again adjust after this unit is complete. Students will focus on inference skills, making connections, antonyms, using text features, and sequencing events in chronological order.

Spelling: None

Language: Irregular Plurals. Some nouns don't change at all when made plural and some form entirely new words. Examples: one moose, many moose and one child and many children.

MT History: State symbols. (The basics). State bird, state tree, state animal, state quarter, state flag, state motto, and so on.

Regional Studies: latitude and longitude wrap up and political maps with keys.

Science: weather and temperature

Well, that about covers it. Have a wonderful weekend with your kiddo! Haylee...have a wonderful trip! We will miss you!

I believe that children are our future. Teach them well and let them lead the way. Show them all the beauty they possess inside.

Hi there! Wowzers-thank you for the cupcake help. I emailled your name to the contact person and she has you down. Cupcakes need to be brought in and dropped off at the office with Teri on October 25th OR bring them to the actual event that night BY 6:00 PM. You rock! Much, much, much appreciated. So far we have Max, Jen, Abi, Taryn, Haylee, and Chase committing to bringing in one dozen cupcakes and Casasha, Coewyn, and Ms. Erickson for 2 dozen. If you also would like to donate, it is not too late. Just write what you can bring in the planner and I will let her know. Thanks!

The Fallen Rock test went very well today. I could tell that the kids connected and enjoyed the book.

Spelling tests are tomorrow. Kids need to do a final study tonight as part of their homework. The other part is to read any type of reading material for 20 minutes tonight. Then...they need to come to you and tell you if the author's purpose was to inform, persuade, or entertain them. They also should tell you why they think this. If they do write PIE in the planner for $10.

If you are wanting extra homework for kiddos, then please have them do the crossword puzzle on the computer on the spelling website. Kids need to just log into my blog and go to Bitterroot site, then to learning links, then to spelling, then to Houghton Mifflin site, then to 4th grade, then to unit 7. They know...we did it in class once. This is optional, but helpful. :0)

Have a wonderful evening.
Ms. Erickson

The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing. Walt Disney

Happy Hump Day!

First and foremost...I LOVE teaching your kids. They are so kind and good hearted. They love to learn, and they love to share with me. I enjoy every single second...yes, even the seconds that drive me crazy! :0) Thank you for trusting your most prized treasures with me!

Tomorrow is the Fallen Rock Final test. Kids need to square away their answers tonight, so they are ready for tomorrow. They have their study guides already at home. Tonight for homework, kids also need to read Selection 2 in their leveled books. They need to make sure to read the captions, graphs, and text. They can read with you, to you, or you may read to them. They should be learning something new about heritage. This is our last reading about this topic.

In math today, we finished up our unit on decimals. Kids now should be able to show mastery on reading, writing, saying, finding value, rounding, and comparing decimals. That means that we are ready to do just that. We will take our final assessment on these standards tomorrow. They are doing great and can convert numbers from a decimal to a fraction to a word form very well. Wowzers!!!

In reading today, we took time to write Tauzha a thank you letter. Part of this consisted of a small heritage lesson. We discovered that our names mean different things. For example, when googling my name, it turns out that it means palm tree. It also means that I like to control others. Yikes! Not sure that one is true...I hope. Tauzha doesn't mean anything however, so part of the kids thank you letter assignment is to figure out what it could mean knowing her like they do. For example, I said it probably means courage. Then kids had to write statements of evidence for why they thought what they did. They also had to pick ONE character trait that she possesses. Many kids chose caring and responsibility. I could totally see where their evidence would go on these ones. :0) One might say, how is this a reading? Common core tells us that in the 4th grade one of the most important standards for kids to learn is to state an opinion about something and back it with sound evidence. They got it. :0) Ask your child what their name meant, or look it up together. If you do this, write NAME in the planner for $10 tomorrow.

Today was walk/bike to school day. All kids did this or walked the morning circle if they rode a bus. Therefore, everyone was entered into the drawing for our classroom prizes. Congrats to those that won!   If your child is in need of a new helmet, please send them to Mr. Pertuit. He has a limited supply and will even fit it. He can also help out with fitting their current ones.

Lastly, PTA needs your help. The Halloween Family Fun Night is on Friday, Oct. 25th. One of the games is a cupcake walk. They are in need of cupcake donations. I am donating 2 dozen. Can anyone join me in helping out? If so, could you write what you are willing to send in the planner for $20 tomorrow and I will pass it on to the appropriate person. Fun, fun, fun...but not so much fun if you don't have cupcakes to win.

Have a great night!
Ms. Erickson

Thank You Tauzha!

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Hi there! We had an AMAZING time visiting with our friend Tauzha. As you know, she took a journey for the past 5 weeks across Spain. She logged in daily and facebooked the kids. She would ask them questions, give them research projects, and give her location. Since everything is in km over there, we learned how to convert them to miles here. They discovered daily how many miles she walked. In all, she walked over 355 miles in 5 weeks. It was sooooo much fun to bring another culture to life this way. It was absolutely perfect that we were studying heritage and culture at the same time in Lead 21. Today, she came and shared with the class even more about her adventure. The kids had a great time asking questions and seeing all of the things she had to share with them. Each student received a shell from the Atlantic Ocean. The cool part is...it was on the other side of the ocean that most of us have yet to go to. Have your child show you their shell. If they do, write TAUZHA in the planner for $10. WE also got to try those Ham flavored potato chips that she told us about online. Pretty salty if you ask me. :0) It was a great, great visit and we will miss following her daily. So proud and honored to call this lady my friend! (We have been friends since kindergarten!)

If you and your child want to learn more about this walk and actually experience what Tauzha did, I encourage you to watch the movie The Way with Emillio Estevez. It is on netflix. When I watched it the other night, I felt like I was right there with her. It does have some adult issues, so preview before showing your kiddos. Very cool. 

Tuesday folders came home tonight. Inside you will find three things. 

1. The NILE permission slip. All 4th graders head to the Metra Arena for some educational classes on MT History. Perfect for us!!!! I will need one chaperone. If you are available, please let me know via text, email, or planner. If you want to join us, but not chaperone, please feel free to meet us there. I told kids that I will remember to take my allergy medication, as I am deathly allergic to horse and cow hair. And to think I live on a ranch!!! If your child has allergies, please take precautions as well. They will be around animals. There is no cost for this field trip. The NILE picks up the bus price. Please sign and return the permission slip tomorrow. Thanks. 

2. Bookmark. Max's mom took the picture of our Arrowhead rock that Tauzha dropped for us on her walk and created a bookmark for each student. So, so cool!!!!!! Kids may sure use that at home or at school. They do NOT have to use it at school or at home. Totally their/your choice. I posted above a picture of the entire pile of rocks. As you can see, there are a TON of rocks that people have written on and had people carry and drop in the pile for them. I apologize in advance if I offend anyone that our rock ended up next to a rock with a bible scripture on it. That surely was not my intention, nor did I have control over that. Pretty darn cool that a little piece of Arrowhead was left in Spain forever though!!! Maybe one day, one of these students will follow Tauzha's footsteps and see that rock up close once again! Maybe even me????? Thanks again Max's mom!!!! 

3. Believe Fundraiser. Now, how could you not love a fundraiser that is named BELIEVE???? Please take time to read through the instructions and fun details. Remember, kids are discouraged from going door to door. Safety first. 

Homework tonight is an RLJ check in letter to Ms. Erickson. I like to check in each week and make sure all kids are doing ok. They can tell me about anything and everything. They need to write AT LEAST a half of a page to me. IF they skip lines, they have to write a full page. They know. 

Fallen Rock study guides came home today. Kids were walked through this with great detail. They need to use tonight and tomorrow night finding the answers to anything they do not know. The questions on the bottom carry the most weight. They must back their answers with SPECIFIC examples from the story! They may not just use general answers. They know what I am talking about! 

Have a wonderful evening! 

Ms. Erickson

Believe in Me and I Will Do Great Things!

Happy Monday! I LOVE when kids say that they are feeling happy today because it is Monday and they are back at school. Makes my day!

Today we talked about having courage. Rusty shared with us that courage is when we are afraid to do something, but we still do it because it is the right thing to do. Courage is such an amazing quality to have. I think of people like Rosa Parks, Jackie Robinson, MLK, Jr., and all of our Golden Apple Award Teachers in Billings and say Wow! They had the courage to stand out and stand up and be different! Makes me so proud to think of myself as getting there!!!! :0) Ask your child what they have done that has taken courage lately. Write what they say in the planner for $10 tomorrow.

In MT History, we took a look at the three different regions found in Montana: the west, the central, and the east. I read to them about each region and they had to glue in different pictures that matched my descriptions. They had to pick a landscape, an animal, and a plant for each region. Loved that thye ended the lesson saying that they had fun.

Homework tonight is a math review. Gotta keep those basics fresh. Those that have proven mastery on these topics by passing all difficult problems first in these sections were given an alternate homework sheet.

Some kiddos needed more time to finish their Reading quiz. I gave them a pass to class so they could come in early tomorrow morning. They need to be here by 8 so they can have the full 15 minutes to finish up. Please ask your child if this is them. They know.

Tauzha will be joining us from Spain tomorrow at 9:30. Please feel free to come listen to her share about her journey. I can't wait to hear all about the culture and heritage of Spain!

Well, that about sums it up for today. Have a wonderful night!

Ms. Erickson

“Mr. Albert Einstein was right: If you feel you need to go one way, even when everyone else is going the other way, do so, do so to make positive changes in your life and for this world. I guarantee you, that you will never regret that decision. Believe in yourself, other people will also believe you in time. I believe in you. Yes, I believe in you.” ― Martin R. Lemieux

Hello there. I hope you are enjoying your weekend. I constantly find it fascinating living in Montana. One minute...snow, the other 70 degrees. No matter what though, I find that that is one of the reasons I LOVE Montana!

Liam was our star of the week this week. Liam enjoys hiking and collecting fossils. He also shared a soft cloth that his grandmother gave him along with a bag he was given with some soccer player autographs. It was great getting to know him a little better! Thanks for sharing Liam!!!

Academically this week we will be learning...

Lead 21 Reading-We will be wrapping up Unit One: Heritage. Each Unit we will be doing an Inquiry project to help us bring what we learned to life. Sometimes this will include a research project and presentation. When thinking about what to have students do for this unit, I looked up and noticed our Where in the World Is Tauzha wall. I then realized that we have been doing an inquiry project all along. We have been curious learners about another culture while following her across Spain each day for the past 5 weeks. It's funny how teacher's think that there has to be a poster, powerpoint, or other visual report to show that we learn. When really, we have been learning all along just by having amazing conversations full of I wonders! Tauzha is now back in the USA, and she will be visiting the class next Tuesday morning at 9:30. She has many things to share about all of her adventures. Please feel free to join us if you are free. She is quite the amazing woman!!!

Language-We will continue to review subjects, predicates, types of sentences, and nouns. We will be adding on irregular plural nouns this week, including those that end in y. By the week's end, students will know when to add an s, es, ies, complete spelling change, or leave the noun as it is.

Spelling-We will be doing two things this week. Unit 6 is a Review Unit for words used in Units 1-5. Students will do classroom activities helping them to keep these words fresh and active in their brains. We will also move onto Unit 7: vowel sounds. We will work with words that have the u/oo/yoo sounds. Those that passed the homophone test with a 100% and/or took the alternate test last week will be able to decide if they want to be challenged with this week's challenge words. These words contain the same vowel sounds, but may take a little more effort to discover meaning to and connect to. They are words on a 5th and 6th grade level. Student's will need to decide on Monday which test they are taking. Once decided, they may not change their minds. I am so proud of all of those that took the challenge last week, and I am even more excited to see that challenged they were. It was fun to see them having to go the extra mile, use dictionaries and ipads to discover word's meanings. Even I learned some new words! Awesome!

Math-We will continue on with our decimal study. We had to delay our lessons this week and do some reteaching and retest on Ch. 1. The retakes were sooooo much better for the most part. Math is challenging in itself. When you throw all of the skills onto one sheet of paper, it can seem even more challenging. So, we scaled back and slowed down. Those that did not improve their grades will work with our volunteers this week to find out the trouble areas and help with a better understanding of those concepts. By the end of this week, students should be able to demonstrate mastery of reading, writing, and saying decimals along with rounding, comparing, and drawing them.

MT History-Now that we have completed our Fallen Rock study, we will look at the different regions found in Montana. Students will visit all three regions and discover why different plants, landforms, animals, and weather is found across our amazing state. They will also include writing into this process. They will be writing a narrative about an event that they imagine will happen in one of the regions, using all that they learn.

Regional SS-Students will take their final Fallen Rock tests. Study guides will come home this week. Test will be on Thursday.

Upcoming Events for this week...
October 8, Coffee with the principal at 8:30 a.m. Come join Mrs. Meier for coffee and talk "Arrowhead shop."
October 8-The BELIEVE fundraiser will come home and begin. Man our PTA rocks!
October 9th-Walk or Bike to school day. Those that do, will be eligible for prize drawings.
October 11th-School Store before school in front lobby.
Tuesday Folders-NILE Field Trip permission slips come home.

Lastly, I would like to poll the parental group. I have received many Scholastic book catalogs. When I was a child, I always loved the day that I came to school to find new books on my desk. There are some pretty fun books in these and they are pretty reasonably priced. The best part, for every book you order online our classroom gets one for free for our library. This is usually where all our fun CC Meeting books come from! So, what I need to know is are you interested in these? If so, please write YES in the planner. If you would rather wait or not have them at all write NO. If the majority of you want them, I will begin to send them home in November. (Thinking Christmas gifts!!!). We have the bookfair at Arrowhead at the end of October, so I don't want to interfere with that. Hence...the wait till November. It is totally up to you! Thanks for your input!

Have an amazing weekend with your kids!
Ms. Erickson

Let it Snow!!!!

Well hello there! What a fantastic day! Mr. Bill Merical, the author of The Journey of Fallen Rock, was in the house today! He was so kind and so honored to be here. He allowed so many questions and the kids LOVED visiting with him. As you can



see, the man was super tall! It was funny to see the kids all look up and go wow. What a respectful man that truly made a difference in your child's life. Thank you so much to the parents who came as well. I know that it meant a lot to him. Hopefully we will be able to have him return next year as well!

In math today, we did a redo test for Chapter 1. The kids kinda made some silly mistakes, like doing the wrong skill at the wrong time and not following directions. For example, they would tell me the value rather than rounding the number. So, that grade is in the gradebook now, but if they do better today they may raise that grade. I told them they can't go down...only up. I am sure hoping that is the case when I grade those tonight! BELIEVE!!!!

Homework tonight is to do 3 bucket slips that are SPECIFIC. We are steering away from things like "you are a nice fiend" or "you are the best teacher." Instead they need to tell specifically WHY they are nice or the best. Please have your child show you these. If they don't seem specific, could you help me out and have them go back and try again? If they do, write the word BUCKET in the planner. Thank you!

Please feel free to have your child do xtramath whenever. They can not do this too much!!!!

I have shared with you before about us following my friend Tauzha through her trek through Spain. She arrived back in the United States tonight! She will be coming to visit the class next week. She has some fun items to share! We sure have enjoyed her and all her facebook comments to us, and we are all so proud of her. She walked over 300 miles in a month's time! Wow!!!

Have a great, sloppy wet night! Remind kiddos to bring their gym shoes to change into out of their boots if needed. Dress warm....brrrrrr! No worries though, it is supposed to be back in the 70s this weekend. Gotta love that Montana weather!!!