Monday, January 3, 2011

Happy New Year!

I hope all of you enjoyed your holiday season. I know I did!! It was nice to relax and spend time with family and friends. I was especially excited to spend time with my new niece, Genevieve. She was born on December 21st, so I got to spend lots of time with her during break. She is adorable!

We'll get back into the swing of things this week. The kids have a new spelling list in their planners. We will test on Friday, January 7th.

This week, we'll read the story A Symphony of Whales. We'll be working on the skill of generalizing. This is a tough skill for 3rd graders, and it's one they will continue to work on in 4th & 5th grade as well. We will take our selection test on Friday.

In math, we're continuing to work on writing and reading larger numbers. We will also move into learning about decimals. Much of our work with this skill will involved manipulatives such as base 10 blocks and the meter stick to demonstrate what a decimal number is and means. Again, this is a difficult skill for 3rd graders, and it's one that we'll continue to work on for the new few years.

We will be writing news stories this week during writing. Our focus will be on learning to include facts in our new stories as well as making sure we've answered the 5 W's (who, what, when, where, why) & the H (how). The kids may choose to share this in their portfolios during our February conferences.

In science, they are continuing to work on measurement skills, and in social studies, we'll learn more about Martin Luther King, Jr. this month.

Please keep the following dates in mind as you look  at your January calendar:

Monday, January 17th: NO SCHOOL
Wednesday, January 19th: 12:00 Early Out

Homework for Monday, January 3rd

• Read
• Study spelling words
• Home Link 5.6
• Cursive Sheet

Homework for Tuesday, January 4th

• Read
• Study spelling words
• Home Link 5.7
• Cursive sheet

Have a great week!

Mrs. Vroegh

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Happy Thursday!

We took our reading test today over the story Night Letters. You should sign and return the sheet tomorrow.

Tomorrow (Friday) will be our "Polar Express Day". We plan to read the book, do some reading activities with it, and watch the movie. We'll also enjoy doughnuts and chocolate milk at some point during the day. The kids have worked hard so far this year, and this is my reward to them. I'm very proud of them!!

Your child can wear his/her pajamas if you choose. I will caution you, however, that we may go outside for recess. Please be sure the pajamas are appropriate for outdoor weather.

Some Things To Do Over Break (in case you're bored)

• READ- I can't stress enough how important it is to continue reading over break. Please try to encourage your child to do some reading each day...or read together.

• Practice Math Facts: Addition, Subtraction, & Multiplication
• Review Telling Time

• Ask your child to read & write 6 and 7 digit numbers to you.

THANK YOU to everyone who brought me a special gift this holiday season. I appreciate your thoughtfulness. I really do feel blessed to have such a great group of students and parents. You are all THE BEST!!

Homework for Thursday

Home Link 5.5
Read
Spelling Test Friday

I want to wish all of you a very happy & safe holiday season! Enjoy the time with your families and friends. I'll see you in 2011!!

Mrs. Vroegh

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Hello!

Sorry I'm a bit behind in my posts....I've been having some trouble with the blog. It seems to be up and running at least for today!

Just a reminder that our class is participating in Project Santa. Your child brought a letter home about this a couple of weeks ago. We are still in need of a few items if you are interested in donating anything. Here are some ideas:

Wal-Mart or Dollar General Gift Cards
Diapers or Pull Ups: Size 6/Jumbo
Mid American Energy Gift Certficates
Grocery Store Gift Certficates

Please send any donations to school by Friday if possible, Monday at the latest. THANK YOU!!!

Homework

Home Link 5.1
Santa's Suit worksheet
Read
Study Spelling

We are reading the play "Push Up the Sky" in reading class. Your child is practicing specific part and may be asking to bring some props or costumes to school. We'll be performing the play for other groups on Friday during reading time. The kids are excited about this, and they are doing a great job planning and preparing for the performance!


Homework for Thursday, December 9

Home Links 5. 2 & 5.3
Read
Spelling Test on Friday

Have a great night!

Mrs. Vroegh