Testing Wednesday Thursday, and Friday!

Hello there.

Tomorrow is picture day. The kids all wanted to wear pink, green, or blue shirts/dresses. They thought as long as the top half matches they will all be great. Individual pictures will also be taken UNLESS your child returned the small blue sheet saying you didn't want their picture taken. So far I have those returned from Taylor, Ty, and Nicolas. Students also need to bring their order forms tomorrow in order to secure their class picture. Smile big!!!!

There is no homework or spelling this week. However, we played some fun food chain games in Lead 21 today. The games helped us see the content come to life. They are off to the right under my favorite sites. The kids are welcome and encouraged to play them. I have tried and tried to beat the snake, but I just can't do it. I must have a BELIEVE problem.. :0)

We had a guest speaker today. Inquiry is having a question and then discovering the answer through multiple ways. Have you ever wondered what happens to your letter when you put it in the mailbox? Have you ever wondered how a mailman gets all those letters to the correct house in one day? Well, my good friend Ken, whom we lovingly call Postal, shared the entire process with the kids today. He drilled home why kids need to learn to write neatly now and in real life. When people don't the mailman can't deliver packages. He also shared about writing in pencil vs. pen on packages and letters. Postal also shared the demands of his job. Emily got a taste of this today when she had to carry a 35 pound bag, magazines in her arm, and letters in the same hand. (Sorry about the glare. The bags have reflector tape.) Did you know that mailmen have only 5 seconds to get from one mailbox to the next when on a Billings Walking route. Wow! He walks up to 12 miles a day and is watched by a supervisor and tracked on GPS. Holy moly!!! Ask your child to share one other fun fact that they learned with you. They were all into the topic of man vs. dogs. :0) If they share, write POSTAL in the planner for $10 tomorrow.

This weekend Mr. Chase had an amazing accomplishment. He took 5th at the Expo Science Fair at MSUB. There were 60 contestants, so that is pretty darn great!!!! I am so proud of him! Well done Chase! (And he got his red belt!) What a great weekend for him!

Congratulations to both Taylor and Max, Caden, and McLean's basketball teams for taking first place in their tournaments. WooHoo. Haylee also did very , very well on her cheer competition! What talent we have in here. (Nicolas…don't forget to have mom text me that date and time. :0))

I think that about does it for today! Have a wonderful night and let's all hope for sunny weather tomorrow. Kids will be OUTSIDE for gym class, as pictures are in the gym. Dress warm.

Ms. Erickson

Run away from toxic people. Instead, surround yourself with others who are positive, who support you and want you to succeed. - Anonymous

Happy Rainy Sunday. Our plans of a horseback ride and lazy Sunday seem to be on hold. One thing we did get done is move our chickens outside. It was time. They were flying all around our basement and they have gotten their adult feathers. Amazing how fast chickens grow! So, out to the coop they go. Hopefully they are laying an egg or two by the time we come visit the ranch before school lets out.

I had the pleasure of spending some time on Saturday watching some very talented kids play in a basketball tournament. All three teams won their game. That matters, but not as much as what I witnessed on the court. All three teams played as a TEAM, encouraged others on the court and I did not see one bit of ball hogging! I also noticed the coaches. I tend to always be drawn to them. They were amazing as well and should be commended. They talked with encouraging and kind words. They pointed out the positive. They laughed WITH the kids when things went a little weird, and they didn't allow bad sportsmanship on the court. With leaders like these, how can a child be expected to do anything but their very best? Great job Taryn, Taylor, McLean, Max, and Caden!!! I am so proud of all of you! You were all positive leaders out there. :0)



I know baseball, softball, lacrosse, and other spring sports are starting soon as well. Please share schedules with me as my kids and I love to come and watch. Sunflower seeds are one of the best parts of Spring and Summer in my opinion. I would also love to come to any other event. Rumor has it some piano recitals, dance recitals, and cheer competitions are coming up as well. If I can make it, I will be there.

This week is one of my favorite weeks of the entire year! It is NWEA Map testing week! This is the week where if I was up flying in Coewyn's plane again, I would see a bright beam of light coming out of Ms. Erickson's classroom at Arrowhead. These kids are going to shine so bright it may be blinding. Three quarters ago, these kids walked into my life. Together, we have learned so much in all areas of academics and character. Through creative lessons and a lot of fun and laughter, their brains have expanded in great diameter. Now, it is time to prove it. I couldn't believe in a group of kids more than I do these ones. I can't wait to see their growth!!!

Testing will be Wednesday-Reading, Thursday-Math, and Friday-Language. We will test right after lunch each day. Please do everything you can to ensure perfect attendance on these days. Makeups take kids out of the learning classroom for an hour and a half, and they don't get to test in their natural environment with me. I am selfish. I want them all testing with me. :0) Thanks in advance!

I know all the children will be very sad abut this next statement. I hope they will recover nicely. Due to testing this week there will be NO spelling or homework. We will also have an afternoon recess on testing days. Horrible I  know! :0) Maybe it is the parents that will be very sad. :0)

With all the testing, don't worry, we will also continue learning. Montana History will come in full force. It is interactive and fun and will be a nice break from rigorous tests. We will be jumping into our Lewis and Clark studies. We will be reading a novel and following the expedition's routes with a lot of hands on learning. This will prepare us for our Pompey's Pillar field trip in June. We will be looking into this topic from two perspectives: westward expansion (white point of view) and eastern invasion (Native American point of view). I believe having both sides helps kids understand the topics taught at a deeper level.

Report Cards come home on Tuesday. My grades were finalized and submitted on Friday. So, if you go online, the grade you see is the grade that will be on the report card. I am proud of all my students!

Tuesday is also class picture day. Kids always like to become a united front for this. The kids will come up with a few colors to wear for it in CC meeting tomorrow. Of course this is optional as it is also individual picture day as well. An order form came home in last Tuesday's folder. There was also a slip that asked if you wanted your child to get an individual picture or not. It was blue. If you don't want them to, please send back that slip. Otherwise, students will get their picture taken.

Well, I think that about sums up our upcoming week. Enjoy your Sunday!
Ms. Erickson

PS-Haylee, I hope that your Cheer Competition went Awesome this weekend in Helena. I bet you were beautiful and shined!

Cootie Catchers!

Hello there.

I am going to start off with the homework. I am guessing many will have questions.Today, we read a story called Encounter. It was a story about the Native Americans meeting Christopher Columbus. One of the little Native boys had a vision/dream of three white ships that looked like birds with sharp teeth. It turned out that that vision was Columbus' three boats. The boy knew that his world was about to change forever. The homework tonight is the same type of thing. Except…I would like them to envision, from a Native perspective, what it was like to meet Lewis and Clark for the first time. Many Indians had never seen white men before this. If they were the little boy, what could Lewis and Clark be seen as? I suggested to them that they look at some Google images of both Lewis and Clark to help them get a visual. The DO need to be colored.

The science fair rocked today. I can't believe the high level thinking in that gym. It was fun to go around to each student and hear their explanations. They sounded like mini adults using words like controls, variables, hypothesis, and data. :0) We wish Chase good luck at the Billings Clinic Expo. I was taking many pictures of procedures so I could do some of these fun experiments at home with my kids this summer. Awesome job! Students received their grade rubrics back today from Mrs. Auch.

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In math we made cootie catchers! I know all of you remember these when you were a kid. Have your child catch you tonight. We were studying our solid shapes in a fun way. If your child remembered theirs and plays it with you, write COOTIE in the planner for $10 tomorrow.

Spelling tests are tomorrow:both alternate and book.

Library books and tennis shoes are needed for tomorrow's class.

Kids are encouraged to wear an animal shirt tomorrow and donate $1 to the KC club at Arrowhead. They are planning to help out a local shelter.

Lastly, the 4th quarter ends tomorrow. There a a few missing assignments out there still. Please check online to see if that is your child's case. Those that are not turned in tomorrow will become F's in the grade book. We want true reflections of kid's grades, so turning things in is always the best choice. :0) Report cards come home Monday, April 1st (and I am not fooling ya!).

Have a wonderful night!
Ms. Erickson

Don't Laugh At Me!

Hello there. I have a meeting today after school so this will be quick.

Homework tonight is Spelling, page 170, 1-6 and page 173, 1-8.

Yearbook orders are due today. Please make your online purchases tonight if doing so.

Library books should come back tomorrow if turning in. If renewing, then keep till Friday.

Science Fair is tomorrow. Kids need to bring in their boards and props(if have) to the gym between 7:30 and 8:15am. Kids need to be supervised by a parent until 8. Set them up on the Erickson table please.

Awesome job on the homeless teen food donations!!! Please continue to bring those in.

Don't forget the states and capital's test is THIS Friday.

Finally, ask your child about the Don't Laugh at Me lesson we did in CC meeting today. Ask them what they wrote on their Don't Laugh at Me Poster. Make sure you stop by the library to see it tomorrow morning after you drop off science boards. :0) If your child tells you abut this write Don't Laugh at Me in the planner for $10 tomorrow.

Have a fantastic night!

A day without sunshine is like, you know, night. Steve Martin

Did you see it???? Did you feel it???? We saw it!!!! We felt it!!!! The sun!!!!! Yay!



According to our kids at planner time today, "Man, we did a lot today!" We sure did.

Thank you for watching the character video. That meant a lot to me to see so many of you take the time to take part in that. The kids watched it today. Their homework is linked to it today. All kids need to write a half page note to me in their RLJ. They need to start it saying…Dear Ms. Erickson, I want to be remembered… I don't want to know what they are going to do for a job. I want to know about all  the stuff they saw in the video. Character!!! How do they want to be remembered. After they write it, please have them read it to you. If they do, write WROTE in the planner for $10 tomorrow.

We ended the day coming full circle. We read a story called Little Bear's Vision Quest. It was a Native American story about a small bear that wasn't being the bear that his grandfather knew he could be. So, grandfather banished him to an island. There he had to do some long and hard reflection of the bear he should be. One filled with kindness, compassion, and love. The book had some amazing pictures of Aboriginal style art. Natives often color in red, yellow, black, and white. So, that was all I allowed kids to use. We are going to add a summary writing piece tomorrow, so I am going to wait to show you until then. It was a great way to wrap up the day though.

Tomorrow is the last day to order memory/year books. New order forms came home today in the Tuesday folders if you need one. You can also order them online. A HUGE thank you to Mrs. Pam Berry for all her help on this! She has been around our room a few times taking some fun pictures. :0)

Arrowhead's KC (Kindness and Compassion) Club is challenging all Arrowhead students. Homeless teens at West High has gone up. West High has a food pantry for them. It is running low on food. In your Tuesday folder there is a yellow sheet listing specific items that these teens seem to enjoy and need. The thought of homeless students goes right to my gut. They are often forgotten because they are not the ones panhandling on the corners. These ones especially mean something because they are still in school. I am guessing school is the only constant in their lives and that makes me smile a bit. So, I know that my family will be shopping for some of the needed items and donating to this cause. I would love to encourage you to do so as well. In fact, I will reward kids $10 for each item on the list that they donate. That way it is a win, win. This may just be the only meal this teenager gets, and those of you with teenagers know that even after eating a meal they are often hungry again ten minutes later. Thanks for helping our Arrowhead community and thanks to the KC Club for watching for this opportunity! Please have students bring donations to class rather than lobby so I can reward them accordingly. :0)

A HUGE thank you also to all of you that responded to the field trip request. It looks like I have a back up plan if we need one. I will know more from IEFA soon. Many of you wrote that you would donate for others too. How amazing is this community???? AMAZING!!!!!

I would like to close tonight by thanking all of you that nominated me for the Golden Apple Award. I am so honored to have your respect and trust. I am a winner each and every day! I will save all of your letters and read them often. I have a "Happy File" and there are days that I pull it out. These letters will recharge my batteries and get me going again when I need it. I love being a teacher, and I love working with such amazing parents that love their kids more than life itself. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Love,
Ms. Erickson

Spring??? Spring???? Are you out there Spring????

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Hi there. Happy Snowy Spring! Really Montana?? My daughter kept saying today, "Mom, it is warm out, and it is snowing." I just shook my head and said, "Only in Montana my girl, only in Montana!" I am wondering if anyone is an avid hunter out there. I may want to put out a hit for a certain groundhog soon. :0) C'mon sun…push your way through!

Snow or not, as you can see above the kids had a wonderful time snuggling with some spring baby chicks. Adorable. It is always fun to see the "tough guys" turn soft and sweet with the baby chicks. The chicks visited 13 classes total on Friday. Can I just say, that I am no longer a fan of chicken poop (not that I ever was) or of chirp, chirp, chirping. But, as always it was sure worth it. It is so great for kids to experience different lifestyles whenever they can. It will be even more fun to see them on the real farm at the end of the year. 

Speaking of that…I am planning on asking Indian Education for All to fund the money for the trip to the ranch. (And they might not because they are already funding our Pompey's Pillar trip for all 4th graders). But, I figure the worst they can do is say no, so I will ask soon. However, if they say no, I need a back up plan. Would you be willing to pay? Because it is out of town and we need the bus all day, last year it was close to $300 I believe. So between our class and our pen pal's class it would be around $10 each for the trip and the branding lunch. Would you be willing to pay that? If so please write YES in the planner. If no, write NO. Those that do, will earn $10 bonus money. It will be easier for me to plan if I know what our choices are. Trust me though…it is worth it and it wraps right into our MT History, S.S., and novel we will read in language arts class soon. 

Academically this week, we have a full week and only have 4 days to do it. 

S.S.-We will take a look into some Native American legends/stories. Kids will add some fun pieces to their MT History notebooks. The following week, we will dive into Lewis and Clark. This will take awhile and will prepare us for our Pompey's Pillar field trip. They will literally see their learning come to life out there. Montana is soooooo cool! Kids also have their SW states and capital's test this coming Friday.There are only 4 states in this region. I have listed them off to the side. 

Science: The science fair is THIS Thursday. See older posts for Mrs. Auch's message to you. Our kids will be in the gym presenting from 1:00 to 2:00 on that day. Please feel free to stop in and listen to them present at anytime during that hour or just come in and wander around anytime that day. It will be in the gym. Questions…Mrs. Auch is your go to person! I can't wait to see all the fun discoveries the kids made. 

Language: Commas and quotations. 

Spelling: Back to normal. I will post the book words soon. Alternates will test on Tuesday and then again on Friday. 

Lead 21 Reading: Nature's Neighborhoods continued. We will also begin small group rotations again this week. We will focus on a review of all skills learned thus far in order to keep them fresh in our mind for the NWEA MAP testing coming up the first week of April. We will also add point of view as a new lesson. 

Math: We will finish up geometry and review some fractions again. We will also dive back into percents and decimals along with a review of graphing. Review, review, review. 

C.C. Meetings: Being true to yourself and your future self. This isn't an issue I see a lot of in my class, but it always a great reminder. We will read some great literature about the subject and also watch Rusty's show.

Lastly, I would like to leave you with a challenge. Would you grab a cup of coffee and watch this video? I will be sharing it in CC this week with the kids. If you do watch this, write WATCHED in the planner for another $100. If you watch it all the way through and really focus in on it, I think you, like me, will discover just what education is all about. :0) https://vimeo.com/79444520

Well, I think that about does it for the week. Enjoy tomorrow with your kids! Hopefully everyone travelled safely to the basketball tournament in Casper. 

Think SPRING!

Ms. Erickson

"In education it isn't how much you have committed to memory or even how much you know. It's being able to differentiate between what you do know and what you don't. It's knowing where to go to find out what you need to know and it's knowing how to use the information you get." William Feather

Hi.

MontCas is adios, bye bye, cya later! Kids finished up strong today. The third day is always the hardest because kids are over it and tired of doing it. That being said, that didn't apply to this group. They gave it their all. Results will be shared with parents when they are returned. Next up….NWEA Map testing in April. Our class will test April 2, 3, and 4th. This is my favorite! This is the one that I shared with you at open house. Kids need to show a full year's growth if not more in math, reading, and language. These kids are ready to skyrocket their Fall scores!!!!! I get so excited to see these scores. It kind of is a direct reflection on my teaching, and I KNOW we have learned a ton this year. These scores are generated right after the student finishes the test, so we get immediate feedback. Awesome!

Tomorrow, kids will spend some time with the baby chicks. I will bring in all 12 to share. They worked hard and this is their reward. It is also an awesome tie in to our living things unit in Lead 21 and Farming region unit in S.S.

We will also do our coupon buy in tomorrow. I added 5 new coupons: Popcorn snack, move desk by a friend for the day, sit in the teacher's rolly chair, bring something to do from home for when you finish early, and get a free ticket drawing. All the other ones will also be available. They are $300 each. Kids have a wallet full so they should have fun spending it. Ask your child which ones they have their eyes set on. If they can tell you, write COUPON in the planner for $10.

Kids have PE and library tomorrow. Please help send tennis shoes and books tomorrow.

Just a reminder that yearbook money is due on March 26th. You can also order online.

Speaking of ordering online, our new books came in today. Kids were surprised to see them on their desks. I remember this same feeling when I was a kid and book orders were delivered. Fun! I will do a final one in May. That way books for the summer can be ordered. Thanks to you, I was able to order 10 new books for CC meetings as well! Nice!

I sure hope today, being the first day of Spring, was not a preview of what Spring is going to be like. Yikes! Windy and chilly! It was such a great feeling seeing baseball going last night when I left the school. Spring was in the air. I think they would blow away today though!

Have a wonderful night!

"I'm a great BELIEVER in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I find of it. Thomas Jefferson

Hello there. A BIG thank you to Ty for supplying me with that great quote! NICE!

Day 2 of testing is under our belts. Kids are doing awesome!!!! How proud am I to be their teacher? SUPER proud!!!! One more day and we can kiss the MontCas goodbye for the year. :0)

In math we reviewed fractions with a  four square review. YIKES! We need to review these more often, and we will. Darn fractions are just so difficult and have so many rules. No worries though, we will just do a few each day.

We also did slide, turn, and flip in geometry. To do this, we put on our dancing shoes! We all did the cupid shuffle. The song told us to slide to the left, slide to the right. Turn it about. They also told us to reverse, reverse. Which is flip, flip. After that, the kids were easily able to turn, flip, and slide shapes. Yay! :0) AND…we all know as adults that knowing how to dance a line dance is a lifelong skill!

It was Spencer's birthday today. He brought in a class favorite…donuts and Sunny D. They flew out of the box and Spencer earned some serious cash. :0) I hope you do something fun tonight Spencer. He was lucky enough to have Dad join him for a yummy lunch! Happy Birthday Buddy!



After testing, Tyler got creative with his white board. Check out this creativity! Such a talented kiddo!



Finally, we had a guest speaker today. My son, Beau, came in to share a very cool app he found on the iPad. As you know, we just finished our unit on MidWest farming. This app, Farming Simulator 14, allows kids to actually be farmers. You have to till the land, plant your crops, combine your crops, gather your crops, and then take them into town…all on a budget. When showing it to Zach, he said that it was actually a very realistic and cool game (and is now highly addicted to it himself). It is $2.99 in the app store. Some of my S.S. kids from Mrs. Auch's class got to try it out today after they finished their work. They said that it was not as easy as they thought it would be. Hooking up the tractor to the right tool took patience and skill. Beau actually does a lot of farming with Zach on the weekend so I also had the kids ask him some questions about life on the farm as a kid. It is always fun to see kids talking to other kids. They are just so tuned into each other. A BIG thank you to Beau for coming to help us learn even more about farming. Check out the app tonight. :0)



In Science today, kids built levers using popsicle sticks. Ask your child how that went. If they can share with you, write LEVER in the planner for $10.

Many of you have asked me about science fair information. Here is a quick note from Mrs. Auch:

Arrowhead Elementary 2014 Science Fair

The Arrowhead Science Fair will be held Thursday, March 27th in

the gym. All projects should be brought to school Thursday morning

between the hours of 7:00 a.m. – 8:15 a.m. as there will be nowhere

to put them prior to that time. Please remind your child to pick them

up Thursday, right after school.

Presently, the students should have their projects well under way.

Most have purchased their boards and are working on the labels

that go on the board. Some projects take more than one session:

for example plants etc. The journal should have a minimum of five

entries, all dated. The students have handouts on the abstract,

journal and board. Look at the rubric they will be graded on to see

what else is required. We are so excited to see all of the great

projects! If you have any questions, please email or call me: Linda

Auch: auchl@billingsschools.org 281-6201

Have a great night! First Day of Spring tomorrow…expecting SNOW!
Ms. Erickson

I sat among the stars today, and all of them were shining bright!

Hello there.

Testing went great. Please help remind kids to just relax, take their time, and enjoy showing what they know. They are doing terrific, and I am VERY proud of all of them.

We began our new region in SS today. We are traveling West to the 4 SouthWest states. Since it is a small region, we will have our states and capital's test not this Friday but next. We did our geography challenge to day so kids are familiar with where each state is located.

In math today, we talked about symmetry, similar and congruent, and how shapes move. Tomorrow, we will review the flip, slide, and turn by busting a move. We will do the electric slide!!! It is a great way for kids to see all three of these geometric laws in action! Fun times. Ask your child the following question: If two triangles are congruent, are they also similar? Write yes or no in the planner for $10 tomorrow.

In reading today, we did some fluency work. We did a mini lesson using some 4th grade material on nature's neighborhoods. Then we journeyed down the hall to Mrs. Fagan's 3rd grade class to do their lesson with them. My kids were the teachers and her kids were the students. It was fun to see and hear them be amazing helpers. They gave constructive advise and helpful hints as to how the 3rd graders could be even better readers! We will do this weekly with her class and Mrs. Gleason's class. It takes about 10 minutes each time, but it is worth every minute for both the 4th and the 3rd graders!

Homework tonight is to be in bed early and sawing logs hopefully by 8:30. Dreaming about filling in bubble sheets and number two pencils of course. :0) Ha Ha! Tuesday folders also need to be signed and  returned tomorrow. There are class picture forms in there if you are interested.

Have a wonderful evening. Coewyn, I hope you are feeling better tomorrow. We missed you today!

Ms. Erickson (Eventually Mrs. Grewell-right Abi????)

Happy Irish Day!!!!

Customize your own greeting Hello there. Happy St. Patrick's Day! We had a great day! We walked into quite the mess this morning. Jen's trap sadly did not work. There was signs of leprechaun mischief everywhere! We were cleaned up and ready to face the day very quickly though. The team pulled through.

Later in the day, we had a fun treat. We made lime sherbet and 7-up drinks. Yummy and green! Kids also wore their little leprechaun hats. Earlier last week, kids researched Irish symbols on the iPads and designed their cups. This is what they looked like then…

Today, kids discovered that their large hats had somehow been shrunk down to leprechaun size. Wow, those leprechauns sure are magical! How did that even happen???? We enjoyed both the treat and the hats as we listened to our very last Irish fairytale. It sure has been fun tying in all that history with our March academics. 

Tomorrow, we start our MontCas science tests. We talked about what that means in Ms. Erickson's room. It means that we take it very seriously and do our very best on the test. As long as that happens, I am proud of all students regardless of the outcome. 

There will be NO homework or spelling this week. Instead, I have asked kids to get to bed early so they are well rested. Having some kind of protein in their lunches or for a quick snack would be awesome. Why???? Ask your kiddo. If they can tell you, write PROTEIN in the planner for $10 tomorrow. Kids may also chew regular gum while testing.  (They need to supply their own-regular stick kind).They may also get a drink from a water bottle at any time while testing. There is some research backing all of these things, but most of them is just to put kids at ease. We are ready to shine, shine, shine! 

Today in math we took a look at our Dyna Math. We read an article about animals doing some painting. It was a pretty fun read. We also learned about when to use a line, bar, and circle graph. Ask your child which painting they would have bought: Arbor the Dog's, Karishma the Elephant's, or Brent the chimp's. Also ask them why these animals are painting in a zoo. If they can share with you, write the name of the animal they say in the planner for another $10. 

We will be doing a reward coupon buy in on Friday. Kids have saved their money for awhile and it is time to cash it in for some fun rewards. I have added some new coupons to the list, thanks to Chase! He RLJ'd me a few suggestions awhile back. Fun! 

Today, we also did some accelerated math. While kids were working, I called them up and we found the average of all their test scores that they had completed. That grade is now in the grade book. You can view that online. Quarter 3 is wrapping up all ready! I can't believe that the year is almost one quarter out! Many kids have asked me to loop to 5th grade. I sadly had to say no. :0) I just love the 4th grade too much. :0) All graded tests are in backpacks for you to review tonight. Everyone is doing very, very, very well! I would like to see a few kids doing a few more tests. In order to test, they need to show the computer that they are mastering their practice work. Silly computer mistakes, like not filling in their bubbles correctly, is killing some of these kids. This is a skill they will do all the way through college, not to mention how we vote for the United States of America. :0) 

Well, I think that about covers it for today. A BIG welcome back to Haylee's parents. We are all glad that you arrived home from Hawaii safe and sound (and tan I am sure)! 

Have a wonderful evening! 

Ms. Erickson

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Hello there. I hope you are enjoying the beautiful weekend we are having. What a perfect day for the parade. It was fun to see so many kids having fun. I was bummed to discover my camera was left at home! :0(

Monday is St. Patrick's Day. We will be doing some fun, academic activities. I encouraged kids to show their Irish spirit by wearing the color green. Those that make an effort on this will earn $50.

A BIG thank you to Jen and her mom for making a leprechaun trap. I am hoping we don't walk into any mischief on Monday. In the past, I have been hit pretty hard. So, let's all hope that Jen's fake gold and sticky tape trap worked! A big thank you also to Jen's mom for my fun knitted shamrock. Love it!



Haylee was our star of the week last week. You can sure tell that she spends a lot of time crafting and doing things with art. She brought a fun scrapbook that she has put together since kindergarten. She also shared some drawings she had done while at a camp this summer past summer. It was fun learning even more about this special young lady. Thanks for sharing Haylee.



Friday's Accelerated Math went sooooo well. We had three amazing volunteers helping out. A BIG thank you to Trevor's grandma, Haylee's grandma, and Max's mom. Having so many adults on hand allowed me to spend some one on one time with some kids that needed higher level help. One problem had me stumped for awhile. So much so, that I had to go watch a youtube video to figure it out. It is funny how when you don't use a skill for a long time (or teach one), how easy it is to forget how to do it. Thank goodness for internet. Nicolas and I had fun doing some Abe Lincoln learning (learning without a teacher and having to find the way on our own). Thanks again ladies!

Next Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday we have our MONTCas Science test. Only 4th graders take it. Mrs. Auch has prepared the kids well. They will do great! All we ask is that they do their very best and take their time. We will take it in the afternoon after lunch. Due to this, we will not have spelling this week. We will also not have homework. That way, kids can enjoy some outdoor time and get to bed early and stress free. Eating a protein breakfast and having some kind of protein in their lunch has research to prove that it helps kids do better on tests. Students may also chew gum while testing. They will need to bring in their own. One pack should be more than enough for the entire testing week. Tests should take about an hour or hour and a half each day. Please try to have kids at schools on this day. It is not in their best interest to do make up testing. They don't get to do it in their natural environment or with me. They are pulled to do it in a different location, thus also taking away more learning time. It is just easier to get them done in class and move forward together. Thanks for your support on this issue.

In math this week, we will finish up our geometry unit. We will work on congruent, similar, and figures with symmetry. We will find missing angles in quadrilaterals and triangles. We will also look at circle parts and finding diameters and radius measurements.

In reading, we will continue on with Nature's Neighborhoods. Inquiry projects will be discussed later this week.

The Arrowhead Science fair due date is coming up. Please make sure all experiments are done completely soon.

S.S.-We will begin to look at our next US region. It only has four states. So, our states and capital's test will be a lot easier this time. We will also begin our Lewis and Clark unit in Montana History.

Langauge-We will review all parts of speech by doing Daily Oral Language, Mountain language, and Drops in a bucket. We will also practice combining sentences using conjunctions and commas when needed.

I leave you with some pictures of our newest family members. So cute! Tis the season for baby animals on the farm! I will bring a few in this week to share. Not the ducks though. They are non stop quackers! :0)



Have a great weekend!
Ms. Erickson

I LOVE MY JOB!

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Hello. Sorry this is so late. We had a staff meeting after school that ran long. So, I am just now blogging at home.

Coewyn and I had a great time up in the air last night. He did such a great job of keeping me safe. Thanks again Coewyn for asking me to ride along. What an honor! I can't wait till ten years from now, when I am flying on Delta, and all of a sudden you come on the speaker and say this is your captain speaking!!!!! (And no, I did not get sick!) 

Zach and Ricky were in today. What a great presentation they put on. We even got to see an actual scythe. Kids got to ask many questions about how farming has changed over time, what farm life is like, and they even got Zach to talk too. (He is very, very shy in large groups).



Kids finished up their Irish flags today. We have been working hard on them all week. As you can see, kids took each section and divided it up into all sorts of different geometry skills. The orange section is different types of labeled polygons, the white section is different types of quadrilaterals and triangles. They had to label them correctly as well. The last section, the green one, is regular and irregular polygons. They had to use a ruler to measure equal and non equal sided shapes, which isn't as easy as it sounds. They did a fantastic job and the Irish would be proud!



Ever wonder what your kiddo does at recess? Well, the other day a few of us decided it was so nice to see the sun that we would just lay down and enjoy it. Too funny! We were all wishing that we were with Haylee's parents in Hawaii on a beach!

Homework tonight is Accelerated Math. All kiddos need to be ready to scan tomorrow. Some kids were saying that they couldn't do homework tonight because of sports. I said, oh no, no, no. Homework has been given nightly since day one. It should be in routine by now to find a time that works to do at least 40 minutes of homework each day (I often don't give that much). I told kids that if sports or any after school activity is not allowing them to do homework I would be happy to talk to coaches or parents. If this is the case, please feel free to share my phone number or email with any coach and ask them to contact me.

I will be gone tomorrow afternoon. Kids will have a sub after lunch. I will be back on Monday, and will blog normal on Saturday by 4.

I leave you with some great news. Adelaide and family have welcomed a new baby boy into their family. So, so exciting!!!! I can't wait to see a picture soon. Congratulations to all, and hope mom is doing well too!


Have a great weekend!
Ms. Erickson