Being a Teacher is Like Playing in a Sandbox All Day. Sometimes We Build, and Sometimes We Bury Our Heads.

Hello there.

Last week, Taryn was our star of the week. She is sooooo crafty! I always enjoy listening to her talk about how she did this or that. Loved the picture of her and Grandpa that she made. So cool Taryn. Thanks for sharing with us. This week, we will learn more about Caden. We will do this on Wednesday, as he will not be here on Friday.



Tomorrow is Field Day. I am for sure this time. Mr. Pertuit only has 4 parent volunteers for the afternoon. Yikes! Please call him in the morning if you can do this. He needs help from 12:45 to 3. It is difficult to have it run smoothly without all the adult help. Thanks.

ALL Library books are due THIS Friday. Please remind your child to turn them in as soon as they are done reading them this week.

This weekend, Amanda and her mom ran in the Run for Heaven's Sake race. This is a race that raises money to help families with funeral costs when they lose a child that is less than a year old. She shared it with me because they named their team The BELIEVE Team. What an honor! I am so proud of them for running for such an amazing cause that makes a true difference in the world! Great job Believe Team!



Homework tonight is some language skills. Feel free to check them over. Many are still having troubles with quotations and commas. We will go over them tomorrow. Many kids also didn't finish their MT History today. We learned all about branding today in preparation of the big trip on Thursday. They now know why and how ranchers brand. Ask them to bellow for you. It is different then just the moo. It is when the calf yells for their moms in a straight moo that is continuous.

The kids enjoyed the band concert today. All the different instruments were shown and heard. It was fun to watch their faces when they heard the trombone and trumpets. :0)

Lastly, Rusty posted this on his Facebook page this weekend. Of course I ordered mine immediately. If your child would like one too, let me know the color and send in the cash. They are $15 and come in all sizes. Rusty will be in Billings next week, so he will bring them with him. Pretty cool diamonds!


Have a wonderful evening.
Ms. Erickson

Do More of What Makes You Awesome!

Happy Birthday to Taylor! I hope that you had a great day on Saturday! The cupcakes you brought were super delicious and sooooo colorful. Thank you!

The week we have been waiting for is upon us. The Grewell Ranch field trip week. We finished the Riding Freedom novel, and we are ready to see it all come to life. We will begin the trip with Cousin Cole. He will show us everything there is to know about horses and more. Then we will swing up to the corals and watch three calves get branded. Kids either like this part or they don't, but either way they can cross it off their bucket list. This week, before we go, we will learn all about the whys and hows of branding. That way kids are ready and prepared. The smell is usually the worst part. :0) Then we will zip across the tracks to see the pigs. Finally, we will stop at my house and eat a branding lunch. This will consist of hot dogs, chips, deviled eggs, watermelon, and homemade chocolate chip cookies. Kids will need to bring their own drink. Here, we will also visit the same chickens I brought to class awhile back (they are HUGE now) and the lambs, Dumb and Dumber. Lots of pictures will be taken and shared. Don't forget, this is a pen pal trip. Bitterroot will load first and then swing by to get us. Kids may bring electronics, but will sit with their pen pals on the bus that day. Fun! A BIG thank you to Haylee and Spencer's moms for joining us. We will be busy, busy, busy. :0)

I told the kids that field day was Monday. I have a serious case of what teacher's call May Brain. It is not tomorrow. Instead, it is on Tuesday. So, kids don't need to wear their hats or sunscreen tomorrow. Please do have them wear them on Tuesday though. Also, please avoid the white t-shirts as their will be water stations and have had some issues with this in the past.

Monday, we do have the band concert though. This is great, as it will be them next year.

On Friday, the kids and I sat down at CC Meeting and had a pretty serious talk. It was brought to my attention that some kids flat out lied to my face on the field trip the other day. They know who they are and what it was about. We reviewed what should be done when this happens (4 step apology). No one came up to me that day. Maybe they needed the weekend to figure out what they were going to say. If kids want to attend future field trips or just be good citizens in the future, they need to be trustworthy. Again, they know who they are.

We also talked about finishing up strong. We are on third base and headed for home plate, but we are not there yet. We need to keep our heads in the game until the last pitch is pitched. Please continue to remind kids of this daily. Thanks.

It is a normal work week. We will have spelling and homework. We will be doing a final test for Riding Freedom. It will be an essay of what they learned. This will be copied and put into their school file for their 5th grade teacher to see. It is time to shine once again. In math, we will be doing our last unit of study: probability. I would love to take them all to Vegas and show them how this really applies to life, but I think we will stick to spinners, tile pulling, cards, and rolling dice. :0) In MT History, we will continue down the trail with Lewis and Clark's crew. The 50 states and capitals test is this Wednesday. Kids will only need to match them. They will not need to identify them on a map, however I will offer the challenge. Those that get a 100% on that, will add 10 points to their lowest SS grade. There are TONS of online games and songs to help with these.

This weekend the kids and I had a great time at the Boulder/Arrowhead BBQ. That blow up toy rocked! I also enjoyed watching Miss. Casasha in her dance recital. She performed four dances, and one of them was Foot Loose. Awesome! Well done little lady! I am hoping that Chase and Max had a great tournament this weekend in lacrosse. We missed you on Friday! This week, it is my goal to hit some softball games. Hoping for nice weather to enjoy while watching them.

This Wednesday, Mr. Casey has invited you to take a look at all the new books he was able to purchase with part of the funds raised in the Read A Thon. I am very, very excited. If that doesn't entice you…how about some treats made by Mrs. Meier??? :0)

I think that about covers it for the week. Have a wonderful weekend and work week. Cya tomorrow.
Ms. Erickson

WHAT A FUN DAY IN HISTORY!

Hello there. We survived the long bus ride and had an AMAZING time traveling back in time. I have sooooooooo many videos and pictures that I want to share with you. Please enjoy the smile box slideshow below. A HUGE thank you to Riley's grandma, Peggy, for coming along. She took a group of her own and they had a great time learning so many things. We didn't quite make it on time so we missed some the stations (like churning butter :0(). Drats. The ones we did go to were awesome though. Many of the kids said their favorite one was the sewing and quilting with the creepy dolls upstairs (ask them) and the church. They loved to sing an Amercian song out of an old hymnal. Sooooo cool! Please note, I was only able to take pictures of my group's happenings. I snuck over to the other group when they were near us, but they all experienced the same things plus more!

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We were not in tall grass, but we were out in grass. A tick check before bed or showers might be a great idea.

Homework tonight is to write a thank you card. I am not sure who to write it to yet, so I told them to leave it blank until tomorrow. They MUST be at least a half page long and have a picture of something they learned on the bottom. YES, it has to be colored.

Tomorrow is a normal day. We will have spelling tests and our West Regional states and capital's test.

Lastly, it was brought to my attention on the bus ride home that some kids have yet to see the Lego movie. I was shocked! This movie is all about BELIEVING! I think it should be homework this weekend to check it out. :0) I also heard that some parents think the new park over by Faith E church is only for people that go to that church. That couldn't be farther from the truth. It is open to the public anytime, and it is FUN, FUN, FUN! (There Adelaide, Abi, Nolan, and Taryn…I told your parents just like I said I would.) :0)

Have an awesome night! I get to go home and snuggle with Beau Beau. He came home from school sick. Poor guy needs his mom. :0)

Ms. Erickson

Field Trip Tomorrow.

Hi there. What a weird day. The minute we walked in from recess, which was almost HOT, it started raining. Once again, gotta love Montana.

Speaking of Montana, the states and capitals test for the west is this Friday. That is in two days. Students will need to match them and also know where they are located on a map. The 50 states and capital's test was going to be on Monday, but I have moved it to Wednesday. There are a few more review things I want to do first. A study sheet will come home this weekend.

Tomorrow is our field trip for the History Day. We will travel to Hardin first thing, so please have kids on time. We will not wait, as we have a tight schedule to keep once we are there. All kids are going. Kids MUST have on walking shoes (NO FLIPFLOPS or SANDALS). Hats are great and some sunscreen might also be wise. Kids also MUST have their sack lunch and drink. Kids are encouraged to being an electronic devise for the bus ride. Please make sure they are fully charged tonight. We will not be able to charge them midday. All electronics are the responsibility of the owner and need to be kept in backpacks while on the actual field trip.

A BIG thank you to Caden, McLean, Haylee, Jen, and Max's mom and dads for volunteering to help out with field day. HOWEVER, when Mr. Pertuit called you today, I think he roped you into helping tomorrow for the walk/run day. This is GREAT, and he needs your help, but that is not what I told you. He DOES need help on field day as well, next Monday, for field day. Remember, we will NOT be participating with you tomorrow. Please call or email Mr. Pertuit in the morning if you need to clarify. I told him at lunch today, that I had it right! :0) At any rate….thank you!

Homework tonight is Accelerated Math. Most kids scanned in class today so they do not have any homework tonight. However, there were a few that need to get it done and ready to scan tomorrow morning BEFORE we leave on the trip.

Tuesday folders came home again tonight. There were two important things that needed to reach you. One is the orchestra/band class I was telling you about awhile ago. For $40 bucks you get 3 weeks of lessons. That is awesome. Kids can come in and learn the basics of the instrument they want to play next year and be ahead of the game. Kids do need to have their instruments ready to go, and the class starts the Monday after school is let out. Eckroth and Hansens both have programs to get those. Just stop in and they will get it all set up. I know you can buy out right or rent to own. The other paper is for this weekend. The baseball association is having a Saturday fun day. For $5 you can have lunch and support a great cause. There is also games and bouncy houses to entertain the kids. I am very curious as to what is being built over here in the fields. Could it be a restroom????? There have been many times I was glad that I was a teacher here when I needed one. :0) Please sign folders again and return tomorrow.

I think that about covers it. Have a wonderful night!
Ms. Erickson

Fun Day At Arrowhead!

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Hello there. As you can see from above we had a great time learning about 4 different animals and some special adaptations they each have in order to survive. From unlocking jaws, to camouflage, to webbed feet it was awesome! A HUGE thank you to PTA for bringing this to us, and a HUGE thank you to all those that donated to help the tigers have a new home at Zoo Montana. Jeff the Zoo Guy was blown away! Nice work Arrowhead! 

Homework tonight is to study spelling words and states and capitals. The West regional test is this Friday and the 50 states and capitals one is this coming Monday. The last test (all 50) will not have the map portion. They only have to be able to match the state with the correct capital. There are MANY online games and free apps to help accomplish this. 

In Montana History we took off down the trail with Lewis and Clark. They reported seeing some new animals. One was the coyote. Another was the American badger. The final one was the Pelican. Ask your child how many gallons of water this bird can hold in its mouth at one time. If they can tell you, write the answer in the planner for $10 tomorrow. 

We are reading the last chapter of Riding Freedom tomorrow. Yay!!!!! Charlotte now has her ranch and  Hayward came for a visit. She was also able to vote for the president of the United States of America. Does this make her the first woman to vote???? Awesome! 

Mr. Pertuit has a request. He is in need of some parent volunteers for field day. He needs help setting up, manning stations, and cleaning up. The hours are from 12:40-3:15. Can you help out the entire time, part of the time, or not at all. Please write one of the above in the planner for $10 tomorrow. If you can help, I will pass your name onto him and he will get in touch with you. Thanks! 

Just a reminder that the Lottery Extended Studies meeting is tonight at 7:00 at Poly Drive Elementary. This is only if you are interested in your child being selected for the all day gifted program. It is not at Arrowhead, so if selected, your child would attend a different school. It is an amazing opportunity and great program. Check it out if you want more information. (This includes all the students that just qualified for extended studies). If they are not chosen or you do not attend, your child will continue to be in the one day a week, pull out program we offer here at Arrowhead. 

Tuesday folders came home tonight. Inside you will find a lot of summer opportunities for your child. There is also the field trip permission slip for our Ranch field trip on May 22nd. Please fill out and return tomorrow. Those that do, will earn $50. There is no charge (real money) for this trip. A HUGE thank you to Indian Education For All for picking up the $300 tab! 

I sure enjoyed seeing all those You Are What You Eat pictures today. Too funny! You can tell it is summer time! Baseball, soccer, and all the other sports put a limit on what we can fix for kids. It is often a drive through run through and out the door they go. It is awesome how many people have healthy snacks and fruit with it though. Great job to everyone! I think I forgot to put the fun video on the blog yesterday. So, here it is. :0)

Lastly, Mr. Pertuit challenged the kids today in health class. They had to come up with one bad habit they have and design a plan to help break it. I know Spencer is trying not to pop his knuckles. BELIEVE Spencer! What did your child decide to do? Ask them. If they can tell you, write PERTUIT in the planner for $10 tomorrow. 

Have a fantastic night! 

Ms. Erickson

A healthy outside starts from the inside. Robert Urich

Hi there. Nothing like a fast flying Monday!

It is Healthy Habits Week at Arrowhead Elementary. During CC Meeting today, we watched a little video about we are what we eat. You can preview it as well down below. Chase wanted me to post it. For homework tonight, kids need to take note of what they eat for dinner and a snack. They then need to draw themselves with the body of what they ate. We did this today in class, so they know what I mean. However, these ones will be for display so they need to be colored and take up the entire space. Please have your child share their's with you. If they do, write EAT in the planner for $10 tomorrow.

The second part of homework for tonight is to find a flower or a plant. We will press these to put into our MT History notebook just as Lewis and Clark did to send back to Jefferson. If you could put them in some wax paper that would be great. Don't have any? No worries! I will have some here for the morning. Flowers work best. Nature, nature, nature.

Tomorrow is our zoo assembly at 2:00. Please feel free to join us. The drawing for the stuffed tigers will happen then.

In math today, we reviewed median, mean, mode and range. I taught them a little song to help them remember it. I have posted it below. If your child can sing it without looking, then write DIDDLE in the planner for another $10. They had it down pretty good today!



Everyone has turned in their permission slips for our field trip on Thursday except Tyler. Both Tyler and Emily still need to return their $7 as well in order to go. If we could do this by Wednesday that would be great! Kids MAY bring electronics to busy themselves on the bus. Cameras are not allowed on the actual trip.

Casasha was our star of the week today. She shared some fun crafts she had done. She knits and she also sews. What a talented young lady! Thanks for sharing with us Casahsa.



Tyler went to a competition for Judo again this past weekend. He took first place again! Way to go Tyler.



I leave you with a  short video of two funny fellows. I told them they should both try out for the next American Idol. Oh my!

Well, that brings us up to speed. Have a fantastic night!
Ms. Erickson

Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom. Marcel Proust

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Happy Mother's Day! I hope yours was as enjoyable as mine. I woke up to breakfast and then church. Before the actual service began, they played a video that was really interesting. In the beginning, it was moms talking about what kind of mom they thought they were. Then, the little ones came on and talked about what kind of moms they were. It is funny how we are so critical of our parenting ways and skills. Not once, did the kids ever mention what the moms had said on screen. There are so many times I question myself as a parent and wonder what my kids will grow up to be like. It is even more important that I remember that my kids think I am a great mom and they remember all the little things we do together. What a great message for our special day! Keep being the amazing moms and dads that all of you are!

Baby Egg day was a HUGE success! The kids were so excited and they did such a great job. So many of them really took it seriously. They were rocking their eggs and singing lullabies to them. So dang cute! I had them write letters of empathy at the end of the day. Hopefully, you received those with your cards. So many of them learned just how difficult it is to put another person before yourself. Many little eggs were left alone and were kidnapped. Through this lesson, they learned how responsible parents have to be and how expensive kids are. Some kids totaled out the day around $600 or more. Wow! I asked them how it felt to have to get into their wallet every few minutes. :0) I hope you enjoyed your letters and your "about mom" letters. Hopefully, you also received your flower that they planted and grew in Mrs. Auch's Science class. They took them home last week. If you did see your card/letter, write MOTHER in the planner for $10 on Monday. Below I have a picture of a pretty creative babysitting service at recess. However, it ended up being shut down and all the babies were kidnapped. A lesson on whom to trust was had. :0)

Thank you to everyone for supporting Stripes for Cents for Zoo Montana. Arrowhead raised over $1000 for the new tigers. We will present that to them at the Assembly on Tuesday at 2:00. You are all welcome to join us. All kids that donated were given a ticket for the drawing for the two stuffed tigers. 

On Thursday, the school is doing a school wide walk/bike for Healthy Habits week. Unfortunately, this is the day we will be on our field trip to Hardin. So, please ignore any notices sent home about participating in it. Please remember to send a packed lunch with your child on Thursday for the field trip. A BIG thank you to Riley's grandma for agreeing to be our chaperone for the day. We will leave right away in the morning. 

On Wednesday, we will attend the 5th grade orchestra/band concert. Seeing how this will be these kiddos next year, it is important that they experience it. 

If you have kiddos in the 3rd grade, their music concert is this Friday at 1:30. We may or may not attend the school one in the morning. It depends on the library teacher as that is our library time. However, if you have a sibling in my class and want them to attend, just write me a note in the planner. We already missed library class last week, so it is important that we don't miss again. This is the last week to check out books. 

Just a heads up…next year my name will be Mrs. Grewell. Zach and I are getting married this July. There will be notices going home in 3rd grade report cards, like supply lists, and it says that name. It is not a new teacher. It is just me with a different name. :0) 

To finish up Teacher's Appreciation Week, Chase's mom organized a little surprise for me. Each kiddo had written a note telling me how I was a super hero. It was fun to go down memory lane. I love how they didn't thank me for teaching them math and reading. I know that is a weird for a teacher to say, but I love that they thanked me for helping them become better people, and how I helped them learn in a fun way. That is what touched my heart. Then, each kiddo decorated a rock for me. They wrote their name and put a symbol of something that would remind me of them on it. Finally, they all placed it in a glass jar for me to keep. It is now on my BELIEVE shelf. I will treasure it forever! A HUGE thank you to Chase's mom for doing this for me. I felt so special all week, but even more on this day! Thank you for that.

To show my appreciation for teachers, I asked my 6th grade teacher to come in and meet the class on Friday. Mrs. Laird (now Mrs. Robinson) was my favorite teacher. She was the one that made me who I am today. She took the time to connect with me and often would let me stay after school or in at recess to just talk to her. My parents were divorced and I had to take on the role of being a mom at an early age. I missed out on my childhood. However, one day, she pulled me aside and she said to me, "Tammie, if you don't want the same life as you have right now then sit down, be quiet, and get to work changing it! " From that day on, I did just that. This amazing lady has been at every single one of my important life events, and she will be at my wedding this summer as well. She is the one I call upon when I need to know what to do when life throws me a curve. She has always made time for me on the phone or to have lunch or coffee. She is and always will be my forever role model of what a teacher is and what a teacher does. I so appreciated her coming in and answering all the kids questions about what I was like as a student. (And yes, it wasn't always good!) I am so very fortunate to have her in my life. Thanks Mrs. Robinson!!! I will forever look up to you!

A HUGE thank you to everyone for making my week special. From the breakfasts, to lunches, to gift cards for dinners and dessert, believe signs, candy and snacks, flowers and plants,  jewelry, and all the other fun stuff in between, I felt sooooo appreciated. However, this is nothing new from this group. I feel special every day! You have all allowed me into to your lives and to be a part of your child's life inside our four walls and out. You have welcomed and invited me to be a part of their lives outside of school. In many cards, you have thanked me for going above and beyond, and in a way that makes me sad as a teacher. It seems odd to me that all teachers aren't like that. I am a relationship teacher, and I am not sure how one can connect without connecting. I don't feel like I do anything above my calling, but apparently I do. My only hope is that I get to continue to do so. I hope that when the last bell rings, I still get to be in these 22 lives. Please continue to invite me to their events. I will come!  I have always felt there was a higher purpose to teaching. I am happy that I have shown you that and that you have accepted it so willingly. Thank you for trusting me with your most precious gifts.

Spencer was our star of the week last week. He shared many favorites. He loves sports and collecting cards. He also loves to build things with Legos. The helicopter he brought in was awesome! I am sure he sat down and built it from start to finish in one setting. Spencer is so dedicated to a task! What a great kiddo! 

During our talks about Mother's Day and Egg Day this week, I shared a bunch of pictures from my past. I also shared a shirt that for some reason I have saved for years. It is my soccer shirt from when I was little. I was number 7! It is pretty little. Adelaide wanted to put it on and see if it would fit. Looks like it fits her perfect! Too funny! Max also talked me into allowing him to try it. He came back out laughing and said nope! :0)

Midterms came home on Friday. Please sign and return the top page. If your child has missing assignments, I stapled them onto the midterm. They need to get those turned in ASAP for a better grade. I am very proud of all kids!

Well, that about covers all our happenings past, present, and future. This week will be a normal week academically. We will have both book and alternate testing this week. The new words are already posted to the right. 

Have a wonderful week, and thanks again for everything! 

Ms. Erickson