What a lovely rainy morning! Well families....we survived our first week! It's been so nice getting to know your children. There is definitely a difference in the noise level from previous years; these kiddos are excited to have human interaction and talk to their friends! I'm sure they will settle in and get used to the expectations of being in school soon...at least I hope they will! : )

I'm pretty sure that I have something booked every single weekend until my son's wedding! That's for the next 2 1/2 months! Today I have two things happening. First, we're all going to my mother's house (she lives just five houses down) to celebrate all the summer birthdays. We used to gather every month for these, but our families are growing and it is just too hard to find dates that work for everyone. Tonight I will have my dad over for dinner. Tomorrow I am going to do some shopping and then make a dinner for a friend in need. Of course I will visit the remodel next door and see what I can do to help. We're getting the flooring done this week, or at least that's what is supposed to happen. 

Let's take a look at what we're doing in the classroom this week.

Language Arts

     Poetry - We'll begin our first poem, "Afternoon on a Hill". The students will have two weeks to memorize this. They will present in front of the class, and we are looking for them to have good voice projection, clear enunciation, maintain eye contact, and hopefully they will enjoy it. 

     Grammar - We'll begin our grammar lessons this week with a review of the 8 parts of speech. This will take us a few weeks to do. Students will have a red spiral notebook that will be used for all of their grammar and writing notes.

     Literature - This week in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Dorothy will meet her traveling companions for her journey to the wizard. Students will learn about sequencing events as we finish the first 7 chapters.

     Writing - We will begin part of our writing curriculum, Writing With Ease, this week. We will read and summarize two different passages and we'll also start the dictations. We'll practice these skills a few times before we try them for a grade. We will also review the 4 types of sentences and discuss the things every sentence needs to have.

Math - We started in our books yesterday and the kids have homework in their workbooks. These books will be coming home most days, as they are the primary texts used for practice work. Our first unit is on place value. Students are practicing skills we use the entire year, so it's important we lay a good foundation in understanding place value.

Science - The students should be able to tell you the steps of the scientific method. Fell free to quiz them! We've asked them to come up with a testable question. These should be the types of questions that one would ask when doing a science fair project. Some have completed this assignment, but some needed to try again. Feel free to help them if they ask you. This week we will extend our studies to learn the different types of variables that accompany an experiment. The green spirals are the ones used for science notes. We don't have a textbook, so it is vital that the students keep good notes in these spirals. We'll check them this week to see how they are progressing.

History - As you have probably noticed, we're learning about latitude and longitude in our maps unit. We'll also learn about coordinates this week. We will have a test on this unit next week.

That's about it! Thank you for your generosity with regards to our classroom wish lists. I think 4A and 4C still have items on their lists, if you have been considering it but forgot. We certainly appreciate it! Enjoy your weekend.