Pumpkin Activity

Hi Families!
Instead of a regular blog today, I wanted to share how great this morning was!
* I did want to remind you that Thursday, the 5th, is an early release day with dismissal at 12:30.
We had a great math activity this morning!   Students voted which pumpkin they thought would be the one with the most seeds.  Then each group pulled the pulp out of the pumpkin and made a pile of seeds.  After that they estimated how many seeds they had in their pumpkin.  Then it was time to count!  Each table did a great job making groups of 10 to count the seeds more easily!  Our results are below…we were amazed at the number!
The students did an amazing job!  They really worked together, shared materials, kept pulp under control and on the table, helped each other if they finished before another table, kept voices at a good level and worked so carefully on counting!  They even earned a baseball from me!  Very proud of them all! Thank you to everyone who donated pumpkins!
Here are some pics from today!  These were before things got really messy!
Enjoy the weekend!

Week ending 10/16/15

Hi Families!
It definitely feels like Fall around here.  The weather is beautiful with the sun during the day and jackets at night.  I hope you all have time to enjoy all the activities Fall has to bring!

Important Information:

• If you haven't yet, please sign up for conferences.  They are about 15 minutes long WITH your child.  Here is the link: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0a4ea8a928a20-deking2

3, 2, 1 things you need to know about our week…

3 skills we've worked on in math are name collection boxes, completing fact families, and solving story problems by identifying the key information, underlining what they problem is asking, and showing our work.

2 moments were I've seen students really show their care for each other were when one student dropped their snack on the ground, the others were ready to jump in and help him clean up without being asked.  Another time was when one of our students lost his tooth, the entire class clapped for him and his smile said it all.  They really are a great group of students that have empathy and show how they care for each other.  

1 very important skill we practiced this week was homework!  Here's what you need to know...

• Beginning Monday, 19th, students will receive a homework packet.
• The entire week is laid out for you and all the sheets you need are there.
• On Monday, students will read for 20 minutes and write the title of their book, then check that off.  They will complete the math sheet listed there, then check that off.  Then they will complete the Fundations practice, and check that off.  
• The packet is designed to do each night on that night, not all on one night or skip around.  The math and Fundations for Thursday will be taught Thursday so it's important that it's done that night.  Please do not jump ahead.
• The packet should be kept in their RED FOLDER.  They will take it out to work on it and then put it back in and go back and forth to school.  They will only pass it in on Fridays. I explained to them that it is their responsibility to keep it in their folder.  
• If there is a page that is difficult for your child or takes too long, please rip it out and send it in the next morning (even if it's not Friday).  This will help me review it with the student that day instead of waiting.  
• We will be watching to see how it's going the first few weeks.  Please let us know if you have any questions.  

Week ending 10/9/15

We've had a busy week in room 250!  We had picture day, our first all school meeting, and cleaned the room for Open House.  I was happy to see everyone who was able to attend.  If you could not attend, you can still see our presentation on my website, under the Open House tab.  There is no school Monday, for Columbus Day.  

3, 2, 1 things we want you to know about this week…

3 skills we worked on in writing were learning to write better beginning, adding endings that may make the reader wonder what will happen and that wrap up the story nicely, and being detectives with our writing to see if it makes sense,  sounds right, and looks right.  

2 things you should know about homework are that we are going to start practicing homework in school next week so students understand what they are expected to do and we are planning to begin homework at home on the 19th.

1 thing Angela wants you to know is that this week we switched seats in the classroom.  (Helps keep everyone on their toes :))

Week ending 10/2/15

Hello families!
We've had our first full week!  I can't believe it!  It's great to really be in a routine and go through the whole week as scheduled.  The weather has been crazy and keeping us on our toes.  I hope it clears out for the weekend for those wonderful Fall activities!

Important information:

• Thursday is an early release day with dismissal at 12:30.  If there are any changes to the usual, please let me know.  
• Thursday night is also Open House for us.  Ms. McManus sent out an email to families regarding times.  Please remember it is an adult only event.  Look forward to seeing you!  
• As the weather keeps us on our toes, please try and have a sweatshirt in your child's locker in case they get cold or send them in with one in the am.  The room can be varying temps and the students go out for recess as well.  
• Please remember we are trying to be a nut free classroom.  Any nut items can be eaten at lunch.  Thanks for helping with this.  

3, 2, 1 things we worked on this week…

3 reading strategies we worked on this week were sounding out words carefully and slowly, continuing to choose just right books, and making connections to the texts we read and hear to our own lives.  These are all strategies we'll practice all year long.  

2 science activities we worked on were observing the lima bean seed and talking about how seeds travel.  Ask you child to tell you two ways sends travel.  

1 thing Kaya wants you to know is that we played a few math games this week in class.  He really liked Top-It.  (We played Top-It which you can play with a deck of cards, Penny Plate which you can play with 10 pennies and a paper plate, and Grab Bag Addition which you can play with a bag and any 20 objects that you can take turns pulling out.  Ask your child how to play these games.)