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)
