Scenes from the First Fun Friday

We had our first Fun Friday today! There were lots of smiles and lots of laughter all around the room!

Weekly Wrap Up

What a fun first week of school we’ve had! We’ve eased back into the swing of school while having fun getting to know our new classmates, and learning about our new classroom. We’ve also spent quite a bit of time practicing third grade procedures. I think the children are really surprised by the amount of independence (in their eyes) and self-direction that comes with third grade.

Next week reading and math logs will come home in your child’s Jungle Book. Students should read for at least 20 minutes 5 days a week, and record their reading on their reading log. It’s the same log we’ll use in school, so it’s important they get in the habit of putting it back in their Jungle Book at home. For each night they read at home students earn 2 Tiger Tickets. Students are asked to practice their basic math facts for at least 10 minutes, 5 days a week, and record it on their math log. Students also earn 2 Tiger Tickets for each night they practice their math facts. Until we start on multiplication they should focus on practicing their addition and subtraction facts. Ideally, just as quickly as your child knows that 1+1=2, he/she should know other facts, such as 15-7=8.

 Here are some things you might have in your house that we could use in our classroom:

• Plastic spoons and forks for forgotten ones at snack time
• Plastic cups for forgotten water bottles
• Back issues of children’s magazines, such as Highlights, Sports Illustrated for Kids, or National Geographic for Kids

As a reminder, please look over your child’s behavior calendar and sign in the spot for parent signature. Don’t forget to follow our class on Twitter!

Here's what's coming up next week in our learning safari:

• Reader’s Workshop: Routines for Reader’s Workshop and building reading stamina
• Writer’s Workshop: Finding ideas for true stories
• Math: Place Value to 9,999 - including word, standard and expanded forms

Please remember that my door is always open if you have any questions or concerns. I also check email frequently. Together we are partners in your child’s education!

Play Doh Fun for Morning Work

This morning that children walked in to find Play Doh  on their tables, and morning directions on the Smart Board asking them to create something that they've learned or noticed about third grade. They also had paper to write a couple of sentences to tell about it. I love the thought and time they put into their creations. It's also quite cute what really stuck with them, especially the pillows in the room and the Wonderopolis wonder of the day video on how invisible fences work.

Enjoy their creations!

Day One Was a Great Success!

What a wonderful first day of school we had today!

After our first classroom morning meeting and then the school wide town meeting, we went on a treasure hunt to find things around our classroom. (Note: You should be able to click any picture to see it larger.)

We got to pick the color book box we want, and then design our name tag for it.

We BEGGED Mrs. Carnevale to let us read in our new classroom library. How can a teacher say no to kids begging to read?

Later we played Find a Friend, and had to find friends in the classroom who matched things like Flew a kite this summer or helped bake cookies or brownies this summer.

Towards the end of the day we did an activity to help us think about ourselves as learners, what kind of year we wanted to have, and help Mrs. Carnevale learn about us, and what kind of teacher we want her to be.

Here are the final charts from that activity:

Throughout the day there were lots of smiles on the faces of the children, and the teacher! It's going to be such a fabulous year!