January 22, 2012
Dear Parents,
With the much anticipated snow cover finally here, enthusiasm for sliding down hills, snow cave construction, and skiing burst forth from all who have been long awaiting its arrival. Please help your child remember to have all he/she needs to stay warm and dry during these winter activities. Also, indoor shoes are a must to keep feet comfortable and dry between the wearing of boots. Thank you! I have been very impressed with this group’s readiness for PSD skiing. Emily and I appreciate the ease in which our students ready themselves to “hit the trails!”
Our hallway displays art from classroom studies: paintings based on our Winslow Homer focus and portraits from time spent reading about and discussing the work of Martin Luther King Jr. On two benches below the latter are a collection of assorted waterwheels. This project further tapped the design and build problem-solving skills initiated during our straw construction challenges. It was great to see both the positive “can do” approach to initial attempts AND the delight when wheels rotated as water hit wheel fins made from plastic knives, sections of drinking cups, plastic plates, etc. Our next challenge will again focus on wheel and axle constructions, vehicles built from recycled materials.
We will soon complete Farmer Boy and begin long-term projects related to our literature/history unit: an illustrated timeline and an “art box” depicting the 19th century subject of a biography read. Tall tales will consume much of our literature focus in the coming weeks. Reading and comparing elements of each will highlight the distinguishing characteristics of this particular genre of folk literature. Students will begin work on planning their own original tall tales, a long-term writing project that will engage their skills in producing thoughtful revisions.
Working with data of city populations to median monthly rainfall, our math activities have targeted numbers ranging from the millions to the thousandths. Soon we will begin a geometry unit. The need to master the basic multiplication facts is ongoing throughout the school year, starting with the multiples of two, five, and four. Thank you for your support in this.
DATES:
Thursday, January 26 (11:00-7:00): Conference Day-please call Tammy to schedule a meeting.
Friday, February 10 (10:40-12:00): Visit to Thompson House-please contact Michelle if you are able to help with transportation.
Thank you.
Have a wonderful week and I look forward to our conference in a few days.
Sincerely,
Linda
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Monday, January 9, 2012
January 9, 2012 home note
January 9, 2012
Dear Parents,
Despite the lack of snow, the children manage to find creative ways to enjoy outdoor play during recesses. On Friday we had a fun PSD with the fourth graders – a vigorous “Go For 20” game followed by a silly “Amoeba-variation.” Until ample snow cover allows for skiing, we will continue active games and exercise stations focused on core strength and overall endurance.
All the children have completed final drafts of paragraphs describing a Winslow Homer painting of their choice. They have nearly completed watercolor paintings that , like much of Homer’s pieces, include dramatic narrative elements. Our next writing project will introduce activities in preparation of original tall tales.
While reading Farmer Boy the children have also been reading selected biographies from the same period of history. Soon they each will start a biography project, a “Three-Dimensional Art Box” portraying key aspects of a person about whom they have read.( WANTED: SHOE BOXES, BIG, MEDIUM, OR SMALL!! Thank you. ) This week a timeline project will be introduced. This will be a long-term research endeavor, culminating in an illustrated representation of found facts about inventions, artists, leaders, and national events of the 19th century.
BIG NUMBERS has been the topic of recent math activities. Writing, comparing, and reading numbers up to seven digits long have been practiced while working with data presented (e.g. Census maps and tables.) The third graders next will apply this place value work together with multiplication to determine their respective ages in minutes. Then, this is scary, they will calculate MY AGE in minutes. Those calculators will be steaming on Monday morning! During the second half of the week we will transition to small numbers, working with decimals to the hundredths place. Please help your child keep practicing the multiplication facts, especially 2s, 5s, 10s, and 4s.
We are off to the Thompson House on Friday. The children will share original written pieces and we will play a game with our friends. Thank you Kathleen, Laura, and Ray for providing the transportation.
I hope you all have a wonderful week! As always feel free to contact me with questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Linda
Dear Parents,
Despite the lack of snow, the children manage to find creative ways to enjoy outdoor play during recesses. On Friday we had a fun PSD with the fourth graders – a vigorous “Go For 20” game followed by a silly “Amoeba-variation.” Until ample snow cover allows for skiing, we will continue active games and exercise stations focused on core strength and overall endurance.
All the children have completed final drafts of paragraphs describing a Winslow Homer painting of their choice. They have nearly completed watercolor paintings that , like much of Homer’s pieces, include dramatic narrative elements. Our next writing project will introduce activities in preparation of original tall tales.
While reading Farmer Boy the children have also been reading selected biographies from the same period of history. Soon they each will start a biography project, a “Three-Dimensional Art Box” portraying key aspects of a person about whom they have read.( WANTED: SHOE BOXES, BIG, MEDIUM, OR SMALL!! Thank you. ) This week a timeline project will be introduced. This will be a long-term research endeavor, culminating in an illustrated representation of found facts about inventions, artists, leaders, and national events of the 19th century.
BIG NUMBERS has been the topic of recent math activities. Writing, comparing, and reading numbers up to seven digits long have been practiced while working with data presented (e.g. Census maps and tables.) The third graders next will apply this place value work together with multiplication to determine their respective ages in minutes. Then, this is scary, they will calculate MY AGE in minutes. Those calculators will be steaming on Monday morning! During the second half of the week we will transition to small numbers, working with decimals to the hundredths place. Please help your child keep practicing the multiplication facts, especially 2s, 5s, 10s, and 4s.
We are off to the Thompson House on Friday. The children will share original written pieces and we will play a game with our friends. Thank you Kathleen, Laura, and Ray for providing the transportation.
I hope you all have a wonderful week! As always feel free to contact me with questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Linda
Sunday, January 1, 2012
January 1, 2012 home note
January 1, 2012
Dear Parents,
It is a New Year and I look forward to spending the introduction of 2012 with your children.
There are a few pieces of information I should share with you as we enter the first week. While there are no snowflakes to be seen, it is New England and who knows what weather will come our way on short notice! So, ski tubes in the ski hut are labeled with your third grader’s name just hopefully (if tubes can hope) awaiting your child’s cross-country equipment.
We will continue our homework schedule of Monday through Wednesday, with Thursday reserved as a “catch-up night.” Please help your third grader commit to a nightly reading time (independent and/or with a parent) of at least thirty minutes. A new homework element that you will see regularly is a Reading Comprehension book, a compilation of essays across a wide range of topics.
During Tuesday ski program weeks our Thompson House visits will be on Fridays. Starting in March we will return to Tuesdays. The following dates are for the visits during the 2012 part of this school year:
January 13 and February 10 (both Fridays)
March 20, April 17, May 15, and June 12 (all Tuesdays)
Please let Michelle Clark know if you are able to help with transportation, and thank you for all of your support with this ongoing community service. On December 22 I brought to Thompson House lovely cards the class made and the residents were so pleased and happy to have that additional connection with the children.
Have a wonderful week. I look forward to seeing twelve energetic third graders tomorrow morning!
All the best,
Linda
Dear Parents,
It is a New Year and I look forward to spending the introduction of 2012 with your children.
There are a few pieces of information I should share with you as we enter the first week. While there are no snowflakes to be seen, it is New England and who knows what weather will come our way on short notice! So, ski tubes in the ski hut are labeled with your third grader’s name just hopefully (if tubes can hope) awaiting your child’s cross-country equipment.
We will continue our homework schedule of Monday through Wednesday, with Thursday reserved as a “catch-up night.” Please help your third grader commit to a nightly reading time (independent and/or with a parent) of at least thirty minutes. A new homework element that you will see regularly is a Reading Comprehension book, a compilation of essays across a wide range of topics.
During Tuesday ski program weeks our Thompson House visits will be on Fridays. Starting in March we will return to Tuesdays. The following dates are for the visits during the 2012 part of this school year:
January 13 and February 10 (both Fridays)
March 20, April 17, May 15, and June 12 (all Tuesdays)
Please let Michelle Clark know if you are able to help with transportation, and thank you for all of your support with this ongoing community service. On December 22 I brought to Thompson House lovely cards the class made and the residents were so pleased and happy to have that additional connection with the children.
Have a wonderful week. I look forward to seeing twelve energetic third graders tomorrow morning!
All the best,
Linda
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