Jaeden, our student of the week, had lots of cool things and pics to share. We learned lots about her and had some good giggles at her pictures.
Reminder that next week we have a very short week. Early out on Tuesday, April 3rd (12:00 dismissal) and then we are off until Tuesday, April 10th.
Please get those picture envelopes or picture packets back no later than Tuesday, April 3rd. Thank you. Thank you to all of you that have already.
Obviously no spelling list this next week.
Have a great weekend.

We've Been Egged!

We had a fun treat when we got back from PE today as we had been egged. We found eggs as you can tell from the pics in all kinds of silly places in our room. HMMMM-I wonder who we will "egg" tomorrow!!
Tomorrow is Blue & Gold Day (Yeh!!-Bobcat colors)!! Let's see if Team Hankins can make it 4 in a row for having great spirit day participation.
Tomorrow is also Library so let's get those books back.
Thank you to all of you that have returned the report card envelopes.
Also, picture money and/or any unpurchased pictures are due by Tuesday, April 3rd.
Today in Math we worked with not only fractions & decimals, but now we added the 3rd part-finding percentages. Have your child tell you the fraction, decimal, and percentage for 4/5. Write all 3 answers in the planner for free money.
Have a great night.

Alaska Came to our Classroom

Skyping with Mrs. Clark and her 6th graders in Alaska today was quite a treat. We got lots of good facts & info. from them. Ask your child about the Polar Plunge, animals on the playground at school, and running with the _______before the start of the Iditarod. Write Alaska if they can tell you about them. They asked us a few things about Montana, but of course they didn't have as many as their teacher is originally from Billings.
Today we found the "mean" or averages in Math. If your child can tell you how to do it, write average in the planner.
Today we read about the Jr. Iditarod. Thank goodness it is not as long as the adult version as these are kids 14-17 yrs. old in it. What an achievement it would be to accomplish something like this.
Mark your calendars: The 4th Grade Recorder Concert is on Wednesday, April 25th at 2:45 in the gym. These kids have been working very hard so see if you can get some time off to come and listen to them.
Have a great night.

Ducklings Made a Visit!

We were treated with a visit by Peepers & Ducklin, (Ms. Erickson's ducklings) this morning. Oh they were so cute and quite chirpy I must say. They definitely added music to the hallway today. We loved them-it so is another reminder that Spring is here with lots of new life. Ask your child the difference about how they move and write duckling in the planner for free money.
Today, we investigated our soil & sand samples in Science and recorded and discussed the difference between both. Again visit with your child about this and if they can tell you the difference, write soil in the planner. Tomorrow we will be using them again to see which holds more air & water-sand or soil.
Tomorrow we are skyping with Mrs. Clark in Alaska and we are so excited to hear from her.
In Math, we reviewed range, median, and mode and the kids had fun with it. It was so refreshing to see that they really remembered it from earlier this year when we just introduced it.
Today my reading kids read the 1st chapter of Balto. Ask them about it and we will do this with each chapter and then you will know the story if you don't already.
Have a great night.

What a Great Day Today!

First of all, thank you to all of you for your support and donations of all the goodies for the carnival. We had a blast and it was so great to see so many of you there.
Today, we had a new seating arrangement for the last quarter. We are now into pods again which is my favorite. Students made great choices today and transitions went well. They are working so hard to be 5th graders and also they know they need to show positive behavior this quarter in order to be eligible for our end of the year field trip and fun activities.
Today in Math, we did rounding of decimals. Wow-this lesson went well. These kids have surely mastered rounding numbers.
Have them round 12:56 to the nearest whole number and nearest tenth and write their answers in the planner for money.
Today in Social Studies, we found the record holder for the fastest Iditarod Race which happened last year. Also, ask them who gets the red lantern? Also, ask them why there are 2 different Iditarod trails and when each one is used. Wow-we are learning so much-maybe one day we will have a musher from Billings.
In Science, we started our section on rocks & minerals. Tonight they each got 2 bags and they are to find a sample of soil and another of sand. We will look at these closely tomorrow and see what we find and how they are different.
Have a great night.
Remember we have school all day this week and conferences are only for the primary.

Happy TGIF!!

What a special treat we had today. Yes, Mrs. Yasenak came and talked about and gave a slide show about the Iditarod & Alaska. She has so much knowledge to share that we could have listened to her all day. Unfortunately, she had to get back to her 3rd grade students in Lockwood. We didn't get time to ask our questions so we will get to skype with her next week. We are also skyping with her daughter next week too. Her daughter is a teacher in Anchorage so how lucky we are to have Alaska brought right to our classroom here hundreds of miles away.
Tonight is the carnival. Thank you-thank you so much for all the wonderful cakes and baked goodies. Many of them are adorable and not to mention the fact they smell fabulous too. It has been a tough day having them in here right in front of us all day, right kids? I hope you all can make it tonight. The baskets for raffle are incredible. WOW-Bitterroot kids/families have done a GREAT JOB once again supporting all that we all do for kids and education. Thank you.
We had great representation by our class for Camo Day today. We had 16/24. Good Job.
Congrats to Theo, our student of the week. What great pics and so much to share. I think we all want to go on a cruise now! Great book you had to share.
If you brought treats to the carnival, your child will be paid the money on Monday.
Have a great weekend.

Carnival & Cake Walk Tomorrow

Yes, it is Friday already tomorrow and time for the Classroom Carnival so please bring in those baked goods either tomorrow morning or tomorrow after school. Students will get $100 for each cake or plate of (at least a dozen) baked goodies. Also, if they attend the carnival they will receive an additional $500. See you all tomorrow for some school & family fun.
Today was a normal day and we loved it. We started our Balto and the Great Race book in my reading class. Actually, we didn't start the book, but started some before the book activities. We have lots of great activities and skills to go with it.
In Social Studies, we learned about the Iditarod in preparation for Mrs. Yasenak tomorrow. We watched some video footage of this years race. Ask your child what they saw and learned so far about the Iditarod and if they can tell you 3 things, write them in the planner for free money.
In Math, we started standard measurement conversions such as 4 cups =1 pint. This is a bit tricky and once again they need to know their multiplication and division facts.
Tomorrow is Library so get those books back.
Have a great night and enjoy the beautiful weather.