Weekly Update for the Week of 02-29

·      Spirit day tomorrow!

·      Family Fun Run this Saturday! Mrs. Smith and myself look forward to seeing you all there and ready to run!

·      There is a half day next Friday, March 4^th.

·      I would like to stress how important it is to practice fluency nightly.  Your child needs to be reading their weekly story a loud to you for one minute. They could read again and try to surpass their last word.   Fluency is just one piece of the puzzle, comprehension is also just as important.  When a reader is fluent, strong comprehension often follows.

·      Please take the time to look at your child’s uniform conditions. It is that time of year when they are getting well worn. Uniforms (including stockings, shoes, and dresses) need to be clean of stains and holes.  I will start to send home Uniform Violations if your Scholar’s uniform(s) are not sufficient to pass dress code requirements.  It is also important that if your child has longer hair, it needs to be combed and pulled away from their face. I am seeing lots of playing and brushing, and exchanges of styles during the day. For the girls, braids are great! :]

Math

Fractions were a lot of fun, we are going to be telling time using the hour time, half past, and elapsed time. This can be a difficult skill, but a VERY important one.  I have mini clocks that they will be using to help understand the hands and concept of moving time. Be sure to check math homework nightly. 

Science

Wow, Chemistry! Our students will understand that all matter is made of atoms.  Your child will understand atom components; we will be building a few simple atom structures in class. On Friday, your scholar my make their own atom using anything and everything creative such as cereal, jewels, pom poms, or other supplies! Using the supplies they need to create an atoms with protrons, neutrons, and electrons. They can also come up with an atom name. Make your Own Atom project is due the following Monday, March 7^th.

History

We have had a great time this working actively learning about Conquistadors, playing many games, ask your scholar about them! SO FUN!  Next week scholars will be able to explain the reasons for English exploration to North America.  We will also be reading bout the colony of Jamestown.

Literature

We will be starting My Father’s Dragon! It is a great story that we will be reading throughout the month of March.  Thank you for sending in a copy.  The students will be reading chorally (along with me), it is a complex text.  Comprehension questions, games, character maps, and mini-quizzes will follow daily or after each chapter.  I bought a supplemental packet filled with maps, dragon puppets, character puppets, bookmarks, center work, and a lot more. We will be working on those things as we read and comprehension as well. 

We went outside this morning to scale the Solar System!