Sunday, October 28, 2012


This week is Halloween!  It is a very exciting week, but we still have lots of learning to do.  We will continue with our Native American unit, finish up learning about verbs, and keep working on our writing.  For shared reading we will be trying to solve a mystery.

The Halloween parade is on Wednesday, Oct. 31 at 9:00.  Our party is at 2:30.  If you do not want your child in their costume all day have them bring a change of clothes.  We will be having lots of fun that day.  I appreciate all our parents for helping out with the party!

Our spelling this week is a little different.  I have a fun Halloween game with homophones so I thought it would be fun to have them as our spelling words.  There are only 15 we use in the game and I thought that might work better since so many of you will have a difficult time studying Wednesday night.

Remember to schedule your time for parent teacher conferences this week.  We will be doing a few on Monday and Tuesday night, Wednesday night, and all day on Thursday as well as Thursday night.

In the computer lab the students have been playing multiplication games on the website:  http://www.multiplication.com.  They love the games and it is great practice.


Spelling for September 10-29 to
11-2:
witch
which
would
wood
hole
whole
there
their
they’re
threw
through
write
right
hear
here

Words are on spellingcity.com
under Halloween Homophones
if you want to practice there.

Words will also be written in their planners.
UTIPS
Homework:
I have put two tests (remember they are not real tests) online for this week. Please sit with your child and work with them on the homework.

Tests are:
Rounding nearest 100
And
Informational Text 1

Keyboarding
Help:

The school has used a free internet program called Dance Mat typing.  It is not my favorite, but it is a good start.  I will continue to look for more free programs.
bbc.co.uk/schools/typing
Reading Days:

So far I have many of you recording your reading minutes on the google.doc that the Weilands set up.  It seems to be working well for those of you using it.  If you do not want to do it that way, please remember to email me and let me know and I will send you the attachment of the note needed to turn in your minutes.  I have only heard from a few of you so I will expect the rest to use the google.doc account.

Your child needs to read 20 minutes or more to count as a day. 

Monday, October 22, 2012


This week will be all about verbs.  Your children had a great time learning about nouns, and I hope they continue having fun with verbs. 

We will also be moving on to a new unit-Native Americans.  Our comprehension strategy will be summarizing as we read about different Native American tribes in groups and then teach the rest of the class all about those tribes.  In guided reading we will also be reading about Native Americans.

In the computer lab the students have been playing multiplication games on the website:  http://www.multiplication.com.  They love the games and it is great practice.


Spelling for September 10-22 to
10-26:
glass
stay
raise
brave
grain
play
clay
stand
slave
nail
tray
stray
gray
gain
taste
aid
hay
shape
past
pray

Words are on spellingcity.com
under List 6
if you want to practice there.

Words will also be written in their planners.
UTIPS
Homework:
I have put two tests (remember they are not real tests) online for this week. Please sit with your child and work with them on the homework.

Tests are:
Rounding nearest 10
And
Comp-mixed 2

Keyboarding
Help:

The school has used a free internet program called Dance Mat typing.  It is not my favorite, but it is a good start.  I will continue to look for more free programs.
bbc.co.uk/schools/typing
Reading Days:

So far I have many of you recording your reading minutes on the google.doc that the Weilands set up.  It seems to be working well for those of you using it.  If you do not want to do it that way, please remember to email me and let me know and I will send you the attachment of the note needed to turn in your minutes.  I have only heard from a few of you so I will expect the rest to use the google.doc account.

Your child needs to read 20 minutes or more to count as a day. 

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Since I have many students out of town this week, we will not be having any homework or spelling.  Please enjoy some time off to play outside, enjoy family time, and have fun.  Have a safe and fun fall recess!

Sunday, October 7, 2012


This week we will be learning about nouns.  We will also be starting new stories about what we are “scared of”.  It will be fun since it is Halloween time.  For the next week and a half, we will be lucky enough to have Mrs. Frandsen, a part-time teacher, work with our class.  She will be working with small groups much of the time on reading and math.  She is great and I am excited to welcome her into our class.

In the computer lab the students have been playing multiplication games on the website:  http://www.multiplication.com.  They love the games and it is great practice.


Spelling for September 10-8 to
10-12:
when
dead
trees
each
reach
head
queen
east
street
bread
seat
dream
great
lead
steam
sled
sweet
breath
beach
death
Words are on spellingcity.com
under List 5
if you want to practice there.

Words will also be written in their planners.
UTIPS
Homework:
I have put two tests (remember they are not real tests) online for this week. Please sit with your child and work with them on the homework.

Tests are:
Informational Text 1
And
Add and Subtract Missing Numbers
Keyboarding
Help:

The school has used a free internet program called Dance Mat typing.  It is not my favorite, but it is a good start.  I will continue to look for more free programs.
bbc.co.uk/schools/typing
Reading Days:

I have totally messed up the reading minutes.  It is completely my fault and a miscommunication with the Weilands.  I will be working on it throughout this week and will let you know as soon as it is cleared up.  I am sorry this has taken so long-again my fault.  I was hoping to make it easy and I am not sure I have.  I will let you know ASAP.  In the meantime, continue reading and I will count all your days-don’t worry!

Your child needs to read 20 minutes or more to count as a day. 

Sunday, September 30, 2012


We will continue to have library on Monday so remember to bring your books back. 

We will be finishing reading The Enormous Crocodile as a class and learning about trickster tales.  We will also be finishing up our Communities Unit.

In the computer lab the students have been playing multiplication games on the website:  http://www.multiplication.com.  They love the games and it is great practice.

As far as parent volunteers, I am still looking for someone who would like to do Meet the Masters for the yellow class and a music leader for the yellow class.  If anyone is interested, let me know.


Spelling for September 10-1 to
10-5:
less
feet
mean
green
team
been
sleep
web
speak
clean
keep
sweep
teeth
heat
week
weak
next
peach
leaf
teach
Words are on spellingcity.com
under List 4
if you want to practice there.

Words will also be written in their planners.
UTIPS
Homework:
I have put two tests (remember they are not real tests) online for this week. Please sit with your child and work with them on the homework.

Tests are:
Comp-mixed 1
And
Place value
Keyboarding
Help:

The school has used a free internet program called Dance Mat typing.  It is not my favorite, but it is a good start.  I will continue to look for more free programs.
bbc.co.uk/schools/typing
Reading Days:

I am so grateful for all the help from the Weilands to get our Reading Minutes set up.  I put a sticker on your child’s planner letting you know their class number and what class they are in so you can record the number of days your child reads.  Remember, it is number of days not number of minutes!  Please enter those days each Friday.

You should get an email from Weilands so you can put in your number of days.  If you haven’t, let me know and I will forward your email to them.


Thank you! 


Your child needs to read 20 minutes or more to count as a day. 

Sunday, September 23, 2012


We will continue to have library on Monday so remember to bring your books back. 

We will be reading The Enormous Crocodile as a class and learning about trickster tales.  (We ran out of time last week.)  These tales help to shape different communities.  We will also be finishing up our community scrapbook.  Please make sure send in the pictures you have been taking of the community if you haven’t already. 

As far as parent volunteers, I am still looking for someone who would like to do Meet the Masters for the yellow class and a music leader for the yellow class.  If anyone is interested, let me know.


Spelling for September 9-24 to
9-28:
Cube
Food
Crust
Bloom
Smooth
Dude
Skunk
Brown
Mood
Bump
Fruit
Suit
Built
Juice
Trust
Build
Moon
Prune
Spoon
Tooth

Words are on spellingcity.com
under List 3
if you want to practice there.

Words will also be written in their planners.
UTIPS
Homework:
I have put two tests (remember they are not real tests) online for this week. Please sit with your child and work with them on the homework.

Tests are:
Comprehension1
And
Borrowing-
Carrying 2
Keyboarding
Help:

The school has used a free internet program called Dance Mat typing.  It is not my favorite, but it is a good start.  I will continue to look for more free programs.
bbc.co.uk/schools/typing
Reading Days:

I am so grateful for all the help from the Weilands to get our Reading Minutes set up.  I put a sticker on your child’s planner letting you know their class number and what class they are in so you can record the number of days your child reads.  Remember, it is number of days not number of minutes!  Please enter those days each Friday.

You should get an email from Weilands so you can put in your number of days.  If you haven’t, let me know and I will forward your email to them.


Thank you! 


Your child needs to read 20 minutes or more to count as a day. 

Sunday, September 16, 2012


It was a great first week back.  The yellow class had a great time with Jr. Achievement and the red class loved music.  I really appreciate all the volunteers who have helped out this last week. 

We will continue to have library on Monday so remember to bring your books back. 

Next week we will be reading The Enormous Crocodile as a class and learning about trickster tales.  These tales help to shape different communities.  We will also be starting our community scrapbook.  Please make sure send in the pictures you have been taking of the community. 

As far as parent volunteers, I am still looking for someone who would like to do Meet the Masters for the yellow class and a music leader for the yellow class.  If anyone is interested, let me know.


Spelling for September 17-21:
Lost
Drove
Road
Chose
Boat
Love
Goat
Soap
Knock
Slope
Foam
Load
Whole
None
Toast
Soft
Toad
Coat
Float
Cross

Words are on spellingcity.com
under List 2
if you want to practice there.

Words will also be written in their planners.
UTIPS
Homework:
I have put two tests (remember they are not real tests) online for this week. Please sit with your child and work with them on the homework.

Tests are:
Review 2-4 Reading
And
Borrowing-Carrying 1  
Keyboarding
Help:

The school has used a free internet program called Dance Mat typing.  It is not my favorite, but it is a good start.  I will continue to look for more free programs.
bbc.co.uk/schools/typing
Reading Days:

I think an easy way to record reading minutes has been found.  I just want to make sure you are all comfortable with it.  If you are uncomfortable will you please let me know by Wednesday.  Amy Weiland has agreed to set up a google doc account.  She will mass email you to remind you to add the number of days your child has read for the week.  We will go Friday to Friday so I can get the information into the person in charge at the school.  You will find your child’s class number (I will let you know what that number is) and add the number of days to that number.  No names will be used.  If you do not want your child’s reading days to be recorded this way, or if you do not want me to give out your email address, please let me know by Wednesday.

Thank you! 


Your child needs to read 20 minutes or more to count as a day.