Friday, September 30, 2011

What a Fun Day Once Again






Wow! I just love these kids. It is so fun to be part of all the learning that is going on on a daily basis in here. Not to mention the TEAMWORK they are using to help each other out.
Today was so fun watching them work with their 1st/2nd Grade Buddies. We played a Native American game together. If they can tell you how they played it, write game in the planner for free money.
Water Cycle Projects are complete and hanging on the wall here at school. Wow-we know lots about water already and we are only getting started. If they can tell you how we created the raindrops, write raindrop in the planner.
Congratulations to Lainey, our Student of the Week. We love all your seashells and pictures.
We earned Fun Friday again this week so we had a class kickball game. Once again, I saw and heard some good sportsmanship going on. Way to go Team Hankins!
Today, the students that had enough money to buy in for the Detention Center field trip did so. Now, we will have our auction next week sometime to spend the extra money they have. Those that didn't have enough money will not be able to participate in the auction. Ask your child their status on this.
Just a reminder to practice those NE states & capitals. We will be having the test on them the week of October 10th.
Have a great weekend and get out and enjoy the beautiful fall weather.
Go "CATS"!!!! Go Griz-

Thursday, September 29, 2011

The Water Cycle Continues

Today we continued Part 3 of our Water Cycle Project-the "pretty" part as the kids say. They got to use glue & glitter. Wow-they did a great job and worked hard at helping each other out. Amazingly enough, with 28 kids, we didn't have a large amount of glitter on the floor and no major spills. I am so proud of them and they were visiting and really loving the project and saying "This is fun". Tomorrow we finish with the written part where they have to explain each part of the water cycle. They are really showing that we can do more projects like this either just our class or both classes together and really handle it with maturity. The worst of it all, is there is never enough time to get everything done. I think I need to keep your kids for 2 more hours each day. What would they think of that???????
Tomorrow we have buddies which is one of our favorite parts of every 2 weeks. We will be helping them with plants & seeds.
We will also take some time tomorrow to trade in some of our money. Some of these kids are really getting lots of money so we are going to have a "buy in" or auction next week where they can spend some of their extra money. We will pay for the jail field trip first and then they can spend most of what they have left.
Please please talk to your child about this. We already talked about it this morning in our meeting and I was hoping to do the buy in tomorrow, but there is no way we can with having to finish these water cycle projects and do buddies so we will do the buy in next week sometime. Sorry if this creates a problem-but they can look at it this way, it gives them time to earn more money.
Nightly writing-the past 2 we corrected together and they seemed to do quite well. Thank you for checking their work to make sure it is 4th grade quality. I will collect tonight's writing tomorrow and grade that one so once again, make sure they have all the editing completed and quality written.
Library tomorrow so get those books back. Some students have overdue slips that came home today so they need to return those books tomorrow as well.
Have a great night.

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Water Cycle Fun & Craziness

Today we continued working on the water cycle project. We got the detailed part finished and now we get to do the part they are all waiting for; the glitter, cotton ball, and Q-tip part. They are looking great already and I love the 4th grade quality they are doing. We will finish them up tomorrow and then get them up in the hall on Friday. We are loving the water cycle song too. If your child can sing along to the YouTube video song, write water cycle in the planner and if they can tell you what happens to Uncle Dan in the song, write Uncle Dan in the planner for free money.
Speaking of great work-nice job on the nightly writing and editing. They are looking good and we have another one tonight titled: The Beach.
We were busy today so your child may have a little more homework than usual, but it is good practice and they can get it done.
Tomorrow is PE so remember the PE shoes.
Have a great night.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Terrific Tuesday

What goes round & round? The water cycle of course. Today we started our new Science unit on the water cycle. We got together with Ms. Erickson's class and started a fun project to help explain the water cycle. If your child can tell you the 4 parts we started with today, write water cycle in the planner. Hint: I just posted a song on the link list to help. Fun song-hopefully it becomes some of your favorite listening music. :)
Northeast States & Capitals: We made flashcards today to help us study them. Those will be coming home tomorrow along with a map of their locations.
In Math, we continue to work on money and decimals. We are doing decimals in the tenths & hundredths. As an add on to this we are already learning the fractions too. Have your child write the decimal for forty-five hundredths along with the fraction.
The 3 skills we are working on this week in reading class are: sequencing events, fact/opinion, and cause & effect.
Have your child write 1 fact and 1 opinion about Mrs. Hankins. :) Be nice-haha!!
They ran the 800 today and let me tell you, they were exhausted. Starting tomorrow, they are going to run 1 lap around the playground at morning recess on a daily basis. Hopefully, this will help for when we have to run it again.
Have a great night.

Monday, September 26, 2011

Marvelous Monday

First of all, great job to all of you that attended Saturday Live. We had a great turn-out from our class. Way to support our schools. Guess what-I promised a picture of my day hike, but forgot my camera at school on Friday-so no pics. Sorry. Just take my word for it-the hike was gorgeous. I have never seen so many shades of green, orange, yellow, and red.
Nightly writing has a new format. Students got a 1/2 sheet of paper titled: "Street hockey". It has mistakes in capitalization, punctuation, word usage, and spelling. Students are to edit it on the 1/2 page and then write it correctly in their nightly writing notebooks with indentation and correction of mistakes. We are going to use these as teaching points daily in helping make their writing better.
My reading kids are reading the book called: "There's A Boy in the Girl's Bathroom. If they can tell you a bit about the 2 main characters, write their names in the planner for free money. For Read 180 kids, have them tell you the book they are reading and write the title for free money.
In Math, we continue to work on counting $ using the fewest bills and coins. We are also working with tenths and hundredths.
Our problem-solving strategy is "patterning". If they can finish the following pattern, write it in the planner. 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, ___,
____, ______.
In Social Studies, we are going to be starting our tour of the U.S. with the Northeast region. Students will have to learn the states and capitals for this region as they will be tested. A practice map will be coming home later on in the week. The state names and capitals are on the side of the blog.
Thank you, Jeremiah for sharing your awesome "student of the week" pics. We loved them.
Lainey is our new student of the week this week.
Tomorrow is PE and Mrs. Buss said the kids are running the 800. They can bring IPODS for running if they choose to. They will be used for this only and not as a buy-in to use in the classroom.
PTA fundraiser: The large envelopes came home last week. You are asked to collect donations. I will give free money $50 for each donation your child gets. Let's see if we can get 100% class participation.
Have a great night.

Friday, September 23, 2011

Happy TGIF Everyone

Today is Friendship Friday. We talked a lot about what it takes to be a good friend this morning in morning meeting.
If your child can tell you 3 things, write FRIEND in the planner. What a kind, caring group this is. We love our school/classroom family.
In Math, we continue to work with counting money both bills & coins. We are moving on to Making Change for money amounts so if you get any extra time, practice counting money and making change.
Today, we started our counseling lessons with Mrs. Salazar. A note went home today explaining her job as our school counselor and she talked extensively today with the students.
Tomorrow is Saturday Live from 10-4 at Pioneer Park. If you go, write Saturday Live in the planner for free money. Have fun if you go. I would love to go, but my husband and I are going on a day hike up to Glacier Lake. It is such a beautiful place this time of year as the trees are turning color. I will post a pic on Sunday of our trip.
Have a great weekend.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Short & Sweet

Today's post is going to be short due to the 1/2 day. The morning just flew by and of course we try to get more in during the day than there is time for.
Jeremiah, please remember to bring your kid of the week stuff tomorrow so you can share.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY today to Ilyssa. Have a great day.
Remember Library books tomorrow. Also, wear some comfy shoes for Fun Friday as it looks like you are going to earn it for the week. Keep up the good job.
Have a great afternoon. Think of me as I will be in a workshop.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Nervous Young Ladies

We sure had some nervous, young ladies in here today as they were anxiously awaiting their Girls' Honor Choir tryouts. Good Luck to you all and just remember if you don't make it, that you tried your best, and you made us all proud here at Bitterroot.
Money-money & decimals: Today in Math, we started counting our change and relating it to decimals. If your child can tell you how some coins are related to tenths & hundredths, write decimal in their planner for free money.
Also, we started our Step Up to Writing paragraphs. We are using a very detailed organizer that resembles something, if your child can tell you what the card we used today resembles and what the color yellow means, write yellow in their planner.
Reminder: Tomorrow is a 1/2 day with a 12:00 dismissal. Please make arrangements for your child.
Also, get those permission slips back ASAP. Thank you.
Have a great night.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Crazy Day






Wow-what a crazy & busy day. It all started out with us taking our NWEA math test first thing. Therefore, we didn't get to have our morning meeting. Boy, did we miss that-it sure sets the tone for our whole day. We didn't even get to go over planners until after PE (1:40). Now I can see why we LOVE our morning meetings together. It's our TOGETHER SCHOOL FAMILY time.
No 800 today as Ms. Buss was not here. She will let us know when they will run the 800. Also, I did not charge for the IPODS today as we didn't use them much due to testing and no 800.
Well, the work load in reading really started today. Students are finding out they have to manage and use their time wisely. If your child has reading & spelling homework tonight, that means they probably didn't manage their time very well. We have 90 min. to do spelling, language, read-a-loud, and reading. YIKES-see why we have to be organized and movin.
Hidden treasure maps-for the most part these were great and they got to share them with their groups. Some were a bit challenging. Great job kids. If your child can tell you about one of their group members maps, write treasure in planner for free money.
For math, we are starting money so we played the dollar dice game with a partner. IF your child can explain the game to you, write money in their planner.
Tonight is Zumba sponsored by the PTA. Please join in the fun. I will be there for some fun exercise. $500 to your child if you attend.
Large golden envelopes: Your child brought one of these home from the PTA. They are for their fundraiser. It consists of money donations. (No nothing to sell or buy). How easy is that! Remember our PTA does many awesome things for our kids so let's all join in in helping them raise money. If each student from each class gets at least 1 donation (100%) participation, the class will earn an ice cream party. I am going to give the students $50 in free money for each donation they get.
They have until October 15th to keep collecting. What a great way to earn that field trip money.
Speaking of field trips, permission slips came home for the NILE trip today. Your child already paid and checked that section if they had enough money. All you need to do now is give them permission to go, sign it and return it to school. We do have another one coming up at the end of October so they will need another $1000 for that one. Like I told you at Open House, it is so easy to earn money in here.
Hope to see you tonight at Zumba.
Have a great night.

Monday, September 19, 2011

Talk Like a Pirate Day


Great day today and it started out with fun in Music with Mr. Goodheart. Yes, it was talk like a pirate day and he had lots of fun music and activities. In fact, we tied this into our nightly writing. Students have to make a treasure map with a hidden treasure. Then they are to write 5 clues for me or another classmate to find their treasure. I am hoping they use some the social studies map skills that we have been learning in their clues. I can't wait to see the awesome, creative maps.

Today in Math we played a rounding game with partners and then took our rounding test. Overall, the kids did a great job and we are moving on to money. Lots of fun games and activities for this concept coming their way.

Tomorrow in PE the students have to run the 800 so make sure they have their tennis shoes for sure. I don't know if they can use IPODs to run or not. In the past, Mr. Ness let them use them, but I don't know if Mrs. Buss will allow it or not. But the kids can bring them and then they can listen to them in here during independent work time for sure. They will have to spend $500 fake money for this buy in and only if they have enough money budgeted for their field trips ($2000) coming up in October. Just like we adults have to budget our money and then use what is left for fun things. So talk to your child about this.
Tomorrow is Zumba in the gym from 6-7 sponsored by the PTA. Please join in on the fun. Your child can ear $500 if you and them attend. See there is the IPOD buy in.
Congratulations to Ilyssa, out student of the week. We enjoyed hearing about you and seeing all your pictures.

Friday, September 16, 2011

Car Lot Anyone?

If you drove by the school around 1:45 you would have seen Mrs. Hankins out there running with the kids. I LOVED IT!! Wow-we had a great week and earned our Fun Friday privilege of a group activity. We played Car Lot and I got to be one of the car crushers. Great job kids, let's keep working together as a team to have another fun activity next Friday. If your child can explain to you how Car Lot is played, write car lot in the planner for free money.
Thank you to all of you who donated candy already. We appreciate you-keep it coming.

Happy Birthday to Staley & Darian. Have fun, safe birthdays this weekend. Also, thank you for the yummy treats.
Book Orders: They are due on Monday. Remember you can do on-line or the order form. If you lost the form, you go to www.scholastic.com/bookclubs. Our class activation code is: GZN8L. Thank you.
Our first field trip is coming up on October 17th. We will be going to the NILE down at the Metra. It is for 4th graders as it ties into our Montana History studies.
Sports schedules: If your child is in any after school sports activities and they have a schedule of games, I would take a schedule and try to get to at least one of their games.
Have a great weekend.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Hurricane Mania



Wow-look at all those hurricanes blowing down the 4th grade hallway. They look so cool and colorful. We did a great job and had fun creating them. We have one more project with them and that is a writing project where we are going to create some awesome paragraphs.
Rounding numbers in math is going well and I think it is due to the Rap song. It is on my link favorites so please have your child sing it for you and if they do write Rap in the planner for free money. Also, if they can round the number 456, 987 to the nearest ten thousand and show you how we do it.
The hemispheres in Social Studies-if your child is disappointed with the paper they did yesterday, I told them not to worry as we did the one today that came home and I think they understood it much better.
I am going to send home a copy of the latitude and longitude game that we play here at school next week and you can play it together at home for extra practice.
Reminder-tomorrow is LIBRARY!!! Also, hopefully it is Fun Friday. They are working real hard to earn those tallies to "beat the teacher" for the week. Looks like it will be a good day for some classroom kickball.
Have a great night.

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Rounding Numbers Rap

What a great day we had today. In Math we started the concept of rounding numbers. Of course, we had to introduce it with a little fun and music. Well, we were rappin' in here and I think we now have the concept of process. I would love for you to have your child do it at home for you and please join in with them. I posted the site on my favorite links on the side of the blog.

How did we connect hurricanes with math you ask? Well in Science today we started origami pinwheels which spin just like a hurricane. What a great math connection as origami paper folding uses a lot of geometry math terms. We will finish them tomorrow. I am sure your child will be saying in their sleep; "crispy creases & folds-crispy creases & folds"- a big key to them turning out correctly.

Book orders went home yesterday and on-line ordering is encouraged as we get a free classroom book for each order purchased. You may still use the paper orders if you choose to.
Tomorrow is HE/PE so remember those tennis shoes.
Also, tomorrow we will be taking the NWEA Language test during our reading block.
Map skills in social studies-we keep working hard on that longitude and latitude along with the 4 hemispheres. Practice at home any extra chance you get.
Today is the birthday of the Star-Spangled Banner. If your child can tell you who wrote it and why, write Star-Spangled Banner in the planner.
DRESS FOR THE WEATHER-We all noticed a change in the weather today. Please check the weather daily and send your child to school with the appropriate dress. We had some chilly kids at recess today.
Have a great night.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

WOW! Where Do the Days Go!!!




Time is just flying by. I can't believe it is almost the middle of Sept. already. YIKES!! The BEST thing about it all though is that we are making so much growth academically, socially and behaviorally. I am so proud of each and every student already. Those that still need to practice their lining up skills know who they are. :) Please visit with your child about this. Thank you.

Today we played a fun game practicing our latitude and longitude with Ms. Erickson's class. They did a great job and it is so fun to work together. Tonight's nightly writing is that they have to write about a place they want to or like to go visit. If they can find the latitude and longitude of their location, write it in their planner for free money at check in.
Speaking of working together, today was Teamwork Tuesday and we wrote an awesome class acrostic poem about teamwork. If your child can tell one thing we wrote, write teamwork in the planner for more money.

Great job to those WISH tutors who showed up on time today. You meet again tomorrow at 8:00 sharp. Those who didn't show up on time or at all, you are no longer signed up to be a tutor.

Boy's Honor Choir-The permission slips went home yesterday and Mr. Goodheart said to return them by next Wed. Well, that has been changed and their 1st audition is here tomorrow so permission slips are needed by tomorrow.

Saturday Live-thank you to those that have brought in candy for the candy shack. You Rock!! Others-please help out if you can.
Have a great night.

Monday, September 12, 2011

Smilebox from Buddies Friday




I hope you take the time to enjoy the Smilebox made from our Watermelon Buddy fun that we did on Friday. We watched it today and the kids LOVED it. I know some were disappointed that they weren't in it, but it was difficult to get everyone. They will have their chance again.
Math game-today we compared numbers with greater than and less than with our game boards and cards. I would like you to have your child practice saying large numbers to you. For example: 3, 456,786. Say it out loud. If you spend some time practicing these larger numbers, please write large numbers in your child's planner for free money.

Character trait: We have spent the past 2 weeks talking and modeling the "responsibility" trait. Now it is your child's turn to write 5 ways they show & use the trait at school and again 5 ways they show and use it at home. These are to be in sentence/paragraph form and not just a list.
This week we are working on "Respect". We will chart, practice, and role play many examples of this trait.
Today in my reading class I worked on the questioning strategy and the 2 kinds of questions-literal & inferential. We will be using these and get great at questioning during our book clubs. The GOAL is to ask more inferential ?'s as the year progresses.
Tomorrow's charades-students in my reading/language need to have a "verb" ready to act out for us and we will make a chart of verbs that will help us do our subject & predicate skill in Language.
Latitude & Longitude-we are working hard on this concept and will play a game tomorrow somewhat like Battleship to help us understand this difficult concept a bit better.
Congratulations to Ilyssa Schmidt as she is our STUDENT OF THE WEEK. Please bring in your pics and things by Wed.
Remember tomorrow is PE so bring those PE shoes.
Girls & Boys Honor Choir-Mr. Goodheart sent home notes for students interested in trying out for this wonderful program. Tryouts are on Wednesday, September 21 at 3:15. Your child needs that permission slip filled out if they are interested.
WISH TUTORS: Remember WISH tutor training starts tomorrow morning in the Library at 8:00 sharp.
Saturday Live Candy-once again Bitterroot is doing the Candy Shack for Saturday Live. If your child helps out and brings in non-chocolate candy, they will get free money.
Have a great night.

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Friday, September 9, 2011

Fun Day

Wow-we had a great day again today. We got to start our day out with our interactive Skyping with Mrs. Pearce in Florida. The students had some great questions and she shared so much with us. We sure are lucky we don't have to worry about hurricanes here in Montana.

Watermelon relays-our buddies had done a few watermelon activities in their classroom and then we were able to get together with them outside for some relay fun and then the best part of eating watermelon. We wanted to have a seed spitting contest, but we couldn't find seeded watermelons. Bummer- Oh well, we still had fun. We will have some pics posted when I get them loaded.
Also, we had our NWEA reading test today. We will be doing the Lang. and Math next week sometime.
Hurricanes brewing-I believe there are a couple hurricanes brewing out in the Atlantic so if you get a chance watch the Weather Channel this weekend to see their amazing power. If you do, write "hurricanes on the Weather Channel for free money at check in.
Have a great weekend and hopefully you get out and do something fun.
Good Luck to the Bobcats & Griz this weekend.

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Skype Tomorrow


Yeh-we get to do our first skyping tomorrow with a teacher in Florida who has been affected by a hurricane. We are so excited to hear from her first hand that our job for tonight's nightly writing is to come up with at least 6 questions you would want to ask her. For example, what do you do with your pets during a hurricane? Speaking of hurricanes, students shared their stories that they wrote the other night when they pretended they were a storm tracker. As I was walking around listening to them I heard some great facts and also lots of creativity added into them.
We had our 1st math quiz today. They look good overall, but I have not graded them yet.
We learned more about Montana today so ask your child how many indian reservations there are and write it in the planner.
Also, we finished our chapter 2 notes in social studies. Have them tell you the difference between latitude & longitude for more free money.
Just a reminder that PTA is tonight from 6-7. They do provide child care. I will give $100 to your child if you attend and support our wonderful PTA. Just make a note in the planner.
Tomorrow we have our Fall NWEA reading test so please make sure your child gets a good night's rest.
Library tomorrow so get those books back.
Congratulations to Brady Sherburn, our student of the week. We so enjoyed your pics today and hearing about you.
Have a great night.


Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Hurricane Fun

Wow our room was a hurricane this afternoon, yes literally.
We got both 4th grade classes together and made them out of glue and shaving cream. Then labeled the eye, eye wall, and feeder bands. We also did an activity about how hurricanes start. Great project and fun for all.
In Math today we continued to talk about patterns and different ways to make a number. For example, 6200 can be 6 Th + 2 H or 62 H. Please practice these as we will be having a quiz on this tomorrow along with all that we have learned about expanded, standard, and word form.
Today we started a little Montana History. If your child can tell you our state flower and the year we became a state, write it in the planner for free money.
Thank you to all of you that came to Open House last night. It was so good to see you taking an interest in your child's education.
Wish tutors: Anyone who wanted to be a tutor was accepted. Mrs. Zimmerman came and announced it today and training will be next Tues.-Thurs. at 8:00 pronto in the Library. You need to be at all 3 trainings to be a tutor. :)
Thank you and have a great night.

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Open House Tonight

I will make this short and sweet as I am so hoping to see you all at Open House tonight.
Today was a busy day and we are making wonderful steady progress in all academic areas.
We took the SRI reading test today and I saw some pretty amazing results. Awesome job kids.
Today we reviewed last week's character trait that we worked on which was responsibility. If your child can tell you one thing we posted about it on our poster, please write it down. This week and into next we will focus on Honesty.
Today, we talked a lot about social skills and what they are, and how they help us work together as a team. This was Rusty's message this morning. I will show you a Rusty clip tonight so you can see what we tune into every morning.
Thank you so much for all your help and support thus far this year. You have wonderful children and I love being their teacher.
Have a great evening and see you tonight.


Friday, September 2, 2011

Buddies!!!

Wow-what an amazing day we had today. I think this was the best ever. I am sure it was because of our little visit from Mr. Senitte this morning. He was wearing something special and it had the words "Sho-Shin" embroidered on it. Ask your child what it means for free money at check in on Tuesday. It is something we all need to think about daily and truly live by its' meaning. We teachers heard it at our open district wide meeting.
We started buddies today with Mrs. Niemeyer's 1st grade class. They are so little, but sweet and we will get together with them every other Friday. If your child can tell you their buddies' name, write it in the planner for free money.
Our spelling test was practice this week and didn't count, but they will from now on. Some of you will need to practice on a nightly basis from now on.
Remember Open House is on Tuesday, September 6th from 6-7:15. Please make every effort possible to attend. I will be presenting my agenda 3 different times, so hopefully you can make one of the 20 min. sessions. Thank you.
Have a great weekend and get out and enjoy something fun and relaxing with your family.

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Important Papers Came Home Today

We had a great day once again today. Wow-are we cruising in math and doing such a fabulous job reading large numbers. Homework for these to maintain this skill will be coming home over the long weekend and to practice as time allows. Thank you.
We finished our book on hurricanes and went on to YouTube to follow Hurricane Katia which is way out in the Carribean, and we also saw there was a tropical depression in the Gulf of Mexico which may turn into a hurricane. Ask your child the difference between a tropical storm and a hurricane for money at check in.
Important emergency numbers paper went home today. Please fill it out and send back with your child tomorrow for $100 and also free ice cream if the whole class brings it back. Also, if the PTA form comes home there is $100 for that too.
Library tomorrow as we changed from Thursday to Friday so bring those books back.
Just a reminder that our school-wide Open House is on Tuesday, September 6th from 6-7:15 so mark your calendars to come in and learn about how the 4th grade runs on a daily basis.
Have a great night and GO BOBCATS!!!! Their season starts today.
I am so thankful for this cooler weather. :)