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Welcome to 2014! I hope that your holiday break was full of new memories revolving around family fun! I know Em, Beau, Zach, and I had a blast sledding on our ranch, sledding behind a 4 wheeler, reading good books (not school related!), going to see Frozen, playing dominoes with family and friends, eating way too much, and doing a lot of laughing!!!!
The rest of the world is off until Monday, but we are back in action at Arrowhead tomorrow and Friday. We will be in full swing once again. As the new year is upon us, so are some changes in the classroom appearance and expectations. We will be spending ALL of our hard earned cash tomorrow on reward coupons. I have switched out the green money for purple. Green money will no longer be used after our last buy in. Everyone has start up cash of $100 in their new wallets. Some kids needed a fresh start, and some kids had way too much cash on hand. So, new year...new money. :0)
The classroom itself looks different. I noticed that the flow of things were not flowing like I wanted. So, I did some rearranging and freed up some more space. Even though I don't really like my desk front and center, it is logical to have another corner area free to have kids working in groups or independently. It was kind of annoying having to move the big table every day so we could sit together and fill out our planners at the end of the day. So, we will try it. I moved the CC area to the back by all the BELIEVE signs. What better place to start our day than by surrounding ourselves with that word! Rusty also has a great message to welcome the kids back and to the new year as well!
Academically...
Math: Finish up measurement by doing a fun craft that requires all our skills learned. Then, onto factors and finding the greatest common factor of a given pair.
Lead 21 Reading: We are moving onto Unit 4: Space. We will take a look at what is up there, why it's up there, how we discovered it's up there, and how what is up there and our futures connect. As we journey through the great unknown, we will continue learning and practicing fact and opinion, literal questions vs. inferential, sequencing, and text structures.
Spelling: None this week.
Language: We will finish up with adjectives and articles.
Social Studies: The Southeast region. We will tour the states and stop and visit some well known locations and sites. Quizzes will be given daily over what we discuss, and we will play some fun games to help bring our learning to life.
MT History: None this week. Notebooks were collected and graded over the break. Many, many kids did not turn them in and their grades are suffering. While the notebooks were better this round, some were not complete. This is an easy grade, but kids need to make sure it is all done BEFORE turning it in. They were given the opportunity and many reminders to do so before turning in this time. This could be why so many are missing, and that is a good thing. :0) Please check the online grade book to see how your child did. There really is no reason to not have 100%s across the board when it comes to MT History. It is all interactive and 90% of it is done together step by step. It is not designed to be done independently.
Science: Electricity with Mrs. Auch. Snowology in my class. I don't normally teach science, but I wanted to throw in a unit about snow, since we seem to be in the midst of it at the moment. It is a fun unit with lots of experiments and hands on learning/crafts.
CC Meeting: Setting goals and dreaming big.
I hope that everyone that took part in the top secret opportunity enjoyed opening their Fallen Rock shirts. Let's all wear them THIS Friday as a class. I will take a picture and send it to the author. My guess is he will put it on his website. :0) Thanks for participating in this!
I am in need of some parent volunteers on Fridays from 10:00-10:30. We do accelerated math at this time. So many kids need my attention at the same time and they often spend a majority of their time waiting in line for me rather than working. Can you help? Please write me a note, text me, call me, email me, or just show up if you are available...starting this Friday. It is pretty basic math, but kids have to work out problems they get wrong before they can move onto their next assignments. Please consider helping. You will make a HUGE difference in such a short time. Can't come this week...come whatever week works for you! Thanks.
I am in need of some parent volunteers daily from 1:00-2:00. I have some kids that need one on one help with language work and reading aloud. Please let me know if you can help or just show up on any given day. There is always a kid that needs your attention. Thanks!
As the month progresses, and we near MLK, Jr's birthday, we will be taking an in depth look into MLK, Jr and civil rights issues in our CC meetings. Kids will learn about MLK, Jr., Rosa Parks, and Ruby Bridges. I will read many books, do many activities, and we will watch an online movie. This area of study has soooooo much character built into it. That is what CC meeting is all about. Then, at the end, each child will build a display board that will showcase all their learning on their selected person. In order to do this, each child will need to purchase and bring in a large science fair tri-fold board. They can be bought just about anywhere and are around $3 at most locations. I will be using three in class to showcase our learning notes about each person, so kids will know exactly what size I am looking for. Please refrain from buying until I have shown kids mine to avoid confusion. I just wanted to give you a heads up. Of course I will communicate this in more detail later.
McLean was our star of the week before break ended. Who knew he was related to a Green Bay Packer? Wowzers! Pretty interesting stuff. I am not surprised that his ability to play football very well was passed down from a past generation! Thanks for sharing McLean!
Nicolas had his birthday before the break as well. He brought in some yummy donuts for a treat. We sure enjoyed those with our hot chocolate on Polar Express morning. I hope you had a wonderful birthday Nicolas, and thanks for the treat!
Hopefully, you all received my thank you cards for the amazing Christmas gifts in the mail this week. I was spoiled rotten!!!! You all made my Christmas so warm and memorable. Thank you very, very much!
Kids did not fill out planners before we left. We did our fun Polar Express trains up to the last minute. Weren't they super cool? So, no code word for tomorrow, and no need for your signature either. :0)
Well, I think that about covers it. Whew...that was a lot to cover! Enjoy your last day and the fresh falling snow! (AGAIN!)
Happy New Year!
Ms. Erickson
The rest of the world is off until Monday, but we are back in action at Arrowhead tomorrow and Friday. We will be in full swing once again. As the new year is upon us, so are some changes in the classroom appearance and expectations. We will be spending ALL of our hard earned cash tomorrow on reward coupons. I have switched out the green money for purple. Green money will no longer be used after our last buy in. Everyone has start up cash of $100 in their new wallets. Some kids needed a fresh start, and some kids had way too much cash on hand. So, new year...new money. :0)
The classroom itself looks different. I noticed that the flow of things were not flowing like I wanted. So, I did some rearranging and freed up some more space. Even though I don't really like my desk front and center, it is logical to have another corner area free to have kids working in groups or independently. It was kind of annoying having to move the big table every day so we could sit together and fill out our planners at the end of the day. So, we will try it. I moved the CC area to the back by all the BELIEVE signs. What better place to start our day than by surrounding ourselves with that word! Rusty also has a great message to welcome the kids back and to the new year as well!
Academically...
Math: Finish up measurement by doing a fun craft that requires all our skills learned. Then, onto factors and finding the greatest common factor of a given pair.
Lead 21 Reading: We are moving onto Unit 4: Space. We will take a look at what is up there, why it's up there, how we discovered it's up there, and how what is up there and our futures connect. As we journey through the great unknown, we will continue learning and practicing fact and opinion, literal questions vs. inferential, sequencing, and text structures.
Spelling: None this week.
Language: We will finish up with adjectives and articles.
Social Studies: The Southeast region. We will tour the states and stop and visit some well known locations and sites. Quizzes will be given daily over what we discuss, and we will play some fun games to help bring our learning to life.
MT History: None this week. Notebooks were collected and graded over the break. Many, many kids did not turn them in and their grades are suffering. While the notebooks were better this round, some were not complete. This is an easy grade, but kids need to make sure it is all done BEFORE turning it in. They were given the opportunity and many reminders to do so before turning in this time. This could be why so many are missing, and that is a good thing. :0) Please check the online grade book to see how your child did. There really is no reason to not have 100%s across the board when it comes to MT History. It is all interactive and 90% of it is done together step by step. It is not designed to be done independently.
Science: Electricity with Mrs. Auch. Snowology in my class. I don't normally teach science, but I wanted to throw in a unit about snow, since we seem to be in the midst of it at the moment. It is a fun unit with lots of experiments and hands on learning/crafts.
CC Meeting: Setting goals and dreaming big.
I hope that everyone that took part in the top secret opportunity enjoyed opening their Fallen Rock shirts. Let's all wear them THIS Friday as a class. I will take a picture and send it to the author. My guess is he will put it on his website. :0) Thanks for participating in this!
I am in need of some parent volunteers on Fridays from 10:00-10:30. We do accelerated math at this time. So many kids need my attention at the same time and they often spend a majority of their time waiting in line for me rather than working. Can you help? Please write me a note, text me, call me, email me, or just show up if you are available...starting this Friday. It is pretty basic math, but kids have to work out problems they get wrong before they can move onto their next assignments. Please consider helping. You will make a HUGE difference in such a short time. Can't come this week...come whatever week works for you! Thanks.
I am in need of some parent volunteers daily from 1:00-2:00. I have some kids that need one on one help with language work and reading aloud. Please let me know if you can help or just show up on any given day. There is always a kid that needs your attention. Thanks!
As the month progresses, and we near MLK, Jr's birthday, we will be taking an in depth look into MLK, Jr and civil rights issues in our CC meetings. Kids will learn about MLK, Jr., Rosa Parks, and Ruby Bridges. I will read many books, do many activities, and we will watch an online movie. This area of study has soooooo much character built into it. That is what CC meeting is all about. Then, at the end, each child will build a display board that will showcase all their learning on their selected person. In order to do this, each child will need to purchase and bring in a large science fair tri-fold board. They can be bought just about anywhere and are around $3 at most locations. I will be using three in class to showcase our learning notes about each person, so kids will know exactly what size I am looking for. Please refrain from buying until I have shown kids mine to avoid confusion. I just wanted to give you a heads up. Of course I will communicate this in more detail later.
McLean was our star of the week before break ended. Who knew he was related to a Green Bay Packer? Wowzers! Pretty interesting stuff. I am not surprised that his ability to play football very well was passed down from a past generation! Thanks for sharing McLean!
Nicolas had his birthday before the break as well. He brought in some yummy donuts for a treat. We sure enjoyed those with our hot chocolate on Polar Express morning. I hope you had a wonderful birthday Nicolas, and thanks for the treat!
Hopefully, you all received my thank you cards for the amazing Christmas gifts in the mail this week. I was spoiled rotten!!!! You all made my Christmas so warm and memorable. Thank you very, very much!
Kids did not fill out planners before we left. We did our fun Polar Express trains up to the last minute. Weren't they super cool? So, no code word for tomorrow, and no need for your signature either. :0)
Well, I think that about covers it. Whew...that was a lot to cover! Enjoy your last day and the fresh falling snow! (AGAIN!)
Happy New Year!
Ms. Erickson
