Good morning fourth-grade families. I'm later than usual with the blog because I was working all day yesterday to prepare for and host the bridal shower. It was such a beautiful evening and a lovely party with lots of old friends. Next party coming up is the rehearsal dinner for 50! Thankfully, that's not untl the end of the month. I've got so much going on between now and then. I am taking a couple days off this week to head to Chicago with my husband and some friends. I'll have a few days at home before we leave for Mexico with 3 out of the five kids. I'll return in time for conferences on the 18th (btw, don't forget to book your conference with your child's teacher). Then we will be busy the following weekend helping to clean and prepare the venue (my friend's back yard). And then before you know it, the wedding day will be upon us! Wow! It's gonna fly right by, I'm sure. I had to tell you all that now because in Qtr. 2 you will be hearing from Mrs. Shroll and Mrs. Keilmeyer on the blog. 

Let's see what's in store for us this final week as we wrap up quarter one. 

Language Arts

     Grammar - We'll be taking our second quiz on Tuesday. The students should know the definitions of all the parts of speech for this assessment. In addition, there will be two sentences to classify and diagram.

     Composition - We wrote our paragraph about St. Benedict on Friday, so this week we will summarize a text about Charlemagne. and we'll have one more dictation.

     Latin and Greek Roots - We won't have any new roots or derivatives to learn this week; instead, we'll be reviewing all 18 roots we have learned and we'll take a roots quiz on Wednesday. A word bank will be provided, so they just need to match a given definition with the correct root.

     Literature - We will finish Pollyanna this week. It's been so fun to read this storty with the class. The kids will need to have Robin Hood when we return after the break, so you might want to send it in this week.

     Poetry - There were a few students who were not prepared to recite "Ozymandius" on Friday. Please remind them to study, so they can do that some time this week.

Math - We are working on estimation and division and division with a 4-digit number this week.

Science - We are enjoying the discovery of electricity in science; the kids got to use snap circuit kits on Friday! We will be able to build circuits a couple more times this week, so if you have a snap circuit kit in your home and don't mind sending it in, that would be great! We only have six at school, so each additional kit allows more hands-on experience. Just be sure to label your kits.

History - We will finish this week learning about Charlemagne, "Charles the Great". For this historical figure, we will have several additional texts to read and take notes from. The class will understand the characteristics that made him a good leader. Then, when we come back in a couple weeks, the students will write an introductory and concluding paragraph about Charlemagne. 

That's about it. I'm super bummed to be missing Classical Character Day! I hope the kids have a blast! Thank you to Mrs. Godwin for setting up an amazing schedule of fun for the class! Whoever is volunteering, please take lots of pictures and email them to me. I want to see all of our Robin Hoods, Dorothy's, and the like.