Fall Festival Party, Walk for the Homeless, Pumpkin Math

Once again, I put the pictures in backwards, so we'll start with the party!

Our Walk For The Homeless!!!! With our buddies!

Our Pumpkin Math activities:

Happy Monday!

I'm so sorry this is so late! What a Friday and weekend we had!

Let's start with Friday first... We had such a great group of parents to come in and help us with our Pumpkin Math! Kids were predicting their pumpkin's height, weight, circumference, diameter, number of seeds, etc. Then... they did the actual measurements. BUT... in the middle of all of this - we did our walk for the homeless. Thank goodness we were first! Our buddy class, Mrs. Marini's kindergarteners, were sooo cute in their costumes! We all walked together for about a mile and then came back inside and finished our pumpkin activities. Kids had their hands up to their elbows in pumpkin gunk. It was very interesting to see how each group decided to count their seeds! Ask your child what EFFICIENT way their group used!

Then we got cleaned up and had a word study test, followed by recess and lunch. After lunch we watched "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" while our room moms got the room ready for a party. We had a short exercise recess and then enjoyed a wonderful party! Thanks so much to Becca Clark and Rose Ann Shapiro for all of their work! We all had a great time!

Then... the weekend! Can you believe the snow? During the bad weather, my husband and I celebrated our birthdays with family and friends... so... that's my excuse for getting this out to you on a Monday. Sorry!

Anyway, here's what we'll be doing this week:
Language Arts: We're finishing up reading Folktales and will begin talking about Fables. We'll be discussing "morals of the story" and the "author's purpose". I find that the students come up with some great ideas on how to teach others these lessons.

Math: My math class is continuing with subtraction. We're beginning double-digit subtraction with regrouping and will go straight into 3-digit subtraction with regrouping. If you want to give your child some extra practice - give him/her some problems where they have to regroup in the ones and the tens places.

Science: Our aquariums are gone! But... this doesn't mean we're done with the unit! We'll be writing a factual essay on our ecosystems. We'll be focusing on putting details in our writing.

Word Study - No words this week. It's too hard to do when there's no school on Friday. We will, however, be reviewing some homophones.

That's it for now - I'm hoping to put the pictures I took on Friday on my blog, so please check it! I'll be sure to let the kids know when the pictures are there!
Have a wonderful week - remember there is no school on Friday so we have time to input grades.

Faith Humerick

Happy Friday... oh wait... it's only Thursday! I hope you and your family have a wonderful, long weekend! It looks like the weather will be beautiful!

Thanks to everyone for taking time out of your busy schedule to meet with me. I love conferences! I love to tell everyone how well their child is doing! It's also nice to express concerns face to face. PLEASE, if you have any questions about what we discussed at your child's conference, email me or write me a note. I don't want you to have any questions!

Here's what we've been doing and what we will be doing: (It was SUCH a strange week, we didn't get to everything I wanted to this week!)

Language Arts: We will continue working with folktales. Next week we'll be focusing on character development -- how and why a character changes during a story. We'll also be discussing the setting of a piece of literature. This includes where and when the story takes place. Stories we'll be reading are: "The Pancake", "The Tiger and the Big Wind", and "The Monkey and the Crocodile". Ask your child about these stories throughout the week.

Math: We're stopping addition with regrouping for awhile (there will still be some practice) and we're beginning with subtraction. We'll be starting with fact families - showing the relationship between addition and subtraction facts. Then we'll continue with word problems where they'll need to subtract to find the answers. We'll be slowly working toward subtraction with regrouping. PLEASE - it will greatly benefit your child to be practicing math facts at home. You can use a computer program/game or flashcards...anything!

Science: Observing our ecosystems (aquariums) is our main focus. We're so proud of the fact we haven't had any more casualties! We'll also be discussing food chains and food webs...using the organisms in our rooms and others in the environment.

Word Study: the next list is homophones - words that sound the same but the meanings are different. Your child will need to be able to spell each word correctly, but must also be able to use each word correctly in a sentence.

Thanks to the parents who signed up to help out in the classroom on the morning of the 28th. The Pumpkin Math activities are really fun and the kids really love it! If you can't make it to that...please try to stop by for the party that afternoon. Thanks to Becca Clark and RoseAnn Shapiro for getting everything together for the party!

Well...that's it for now...have a wonderful weekend!
Faith Humerick

Happy Rainy Day,

I wanted to get this out today since every Friday is so hectic.

Here is what we've been doing and what we will be doing:

Language Arts: We've read some folktales. This week we focused on the beginning, middle, and end of each story. Next week we'll be looking at characters. Are they major or minor? Do they change throughout the story?

Math: My math class has been working on 2-digit addition with regrouping, 3-digit addition with regrouping, and column addition with regrouping. They will be taking a quiz tomorrow on all three. Next week we'll be starting with subtraction with regrouping.

Writing: Our Writer's Workshop is in full swing. Ask your child about our "pitstops". We start out our time with 10-15 minutes of quiet thinking or writing. Then I do a short writing lesson. Next, they go to "pitstops". These stops could be drafting, peer conferencing, editing, revising, teacher conferencing, or publishing. They are really into it and are always focused during this time.

Word Study: We worked with synonyms this week. Next week we'll be working with homonyms (sound the same but have different meanings).

Science: We have aquariums!!! Yes...nothing has died all week! Ask your child the difference between a population and a community. Also, ask what organisms we have in our aquariums and have them tell you a little about each one. Next week we'll continue to observe and talk about predator, prey, food chains, and food webs.

Other Information:
Thanks to everyone who has gotten the Fall Festival money in so quickly. I'm sure my room moms are appreciating it! Also, another big thank you to everyone who has returned permissions slips and money. Again, sorry everything is coming all at once!

Please check your child's take home folder, agenda, and book bag and be sure to initial the agenda. I have not had one day where 100% of my class came to school with all homework done. The work I'm sending should not be too much for them to handle.

I'm looking forward to seeing everyone at conferences. Please let me know if there are any specific questions you'll have... 15 minutes is NOT a long time!

Have a great weekend,
Faith Humerick

OH, what a beautiful day!! My message to the class on their morning powerpoint was: GO OUTSIDE AND PLAY THIS WEEKEND! I hope everyone enjoys the sun!

Here's what we have been doing and what we will be doing:

Language Arts: We have started our Short Stories unit. We have watched and read three folktales so far. The kids are really good at figuring out the "lesson" of the story. We'll continue with more stories next week. Our focus next week will be characters, setting, plot, climax, problems, and solutions. Ask your child what stories we watched this week!

Math: My math class has been working on double digit and triple digit addition with one regrouping. Next week we will be working with double digit and triple digit addition with two regroupings. We will also begin with three-column addition. If you have time at home, please practice math facts with your child - it's so important to know them to be able to do these skills.

Science: After one shipment of dead guppies, we are trying to get our aquariums put together. Monday, we will be observing aquatic plants and newts and putting them into our aged water. We'll see how that goes... we're looking at growing populations, predator and prey, and habitats.

Writing: We are finishing up our first informative essay on a Frederick County landmark. The kids each used a peer to conference with about their work. They did a great job!

Word Study: Next week's words will be synonyms. Words that mean the same but are spelled differently. Your child's list will look like the antonym list where they will have to come up with five of their own words.

Other Information: Check out under this post!!! I put pictures on from when the class was observing their daphnia. Great pics!

The Fall Festival is just around the corner on Friday, October 28th from 2:30 - 3:20. A letter will be coming home on Monday. Please read the Urbana News that came home on Friday to see what the guidelines are for costumes.

Today (Friday) was our first "Pal Day". We are paired with Mrs. Marini's kindergarten class and your child has been paired with a child in that class. Today the third graders interviewed the kindergarteners. They were so well-behaved and really set a great example!

That's it for now!
Have a great weekend!
Faith Humerick

Observing daphnia

Here are my scientists at work! They are observing daphnia... how they move and how the adults and babies look differently. And then... trying to get five adult daphnia into a vial of aged water. Not so easy... just ask them! I LOVE how they work so well together!