Ms. Kaley's Classroom Room 24

Happy almost December.  Crazy, right?

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.  Thank you to those parents who came to help out Friday for our project afternoon.  It was a squirrely day throughout the school and also busy, so we didn’t get to have 1st graders finish their interviews.  We will have 1st graders finish up tomorrow (Monday) after PE and Music.

December Events!

December is super busy with important things happening:

Permission slips for the ballet are due by December 4th.

The Nutcracker Ballet is Monday December 7th.  Please have your child pack a lunch that day.  We will have an early lunch and recess that day.  The bus comes at 11:00am.  We will be back at MMA by 2:30 for regular pick up.  Since we are going to a nice theater performance, it is asked that students wear something nice.

December 8th– 3rd grade practice Writing Test in the morning.  Have your 3rd grader pack a snack and have their water bottle.

Holiday performance!  Our lower el classrooms attend a once a week Music class.  Ms. Connie, our music teacher is putting on a nice holiday performance on the evening of Thursday December 10th.  If your child’s last name is between A-L- those children will sing at 7:00pm.  Those last names between M-Z will sing at 8:00pm.  Come support your child’s hard work and get a chance to see them sing some holiday songs they have been working hard on!

Cookie Baking and Holiday Store!  On December 14th, our students will get to shop and sell in our classroom store!  We do this activity at the end of the year in May, but our students love it so much that we added another!  Students in our class have been earning money for this store day.  For selling, they may bring gently used books, toys, and games.  Baked goods, flowers, crafts, and small services (painting nails, hair chalking, etc.) also make great store set ups.  This is a great opportunity to have your child shop for their siblings, friends, cousins, themselves or anyone else!  I would love to have a few helpers to help show students how to wrap a present if they are buying for someone.  Let me know if you would like to help that morning.  Holiday store will start at 9am.  Also, on December 14th, I think it would be nice for each level to make cookies for our December 15th Holiday Feast!  After our store morning, each level can take turns making cookies and decorating.  If you want to help students make cookies please let me know as soon as possible.

Class Holiday Feast!  Our classroom would like to invite your family to our annual feast on December 15th.  It will begin at 12:00pm and go until 1:00pm.  Any parents wishing to help with food or set up are welcome to come at 11:15am.  We have the South Kiva reserved.  A link to sign up for food will be posted this week.

MMA’s annual International Festival is December 16th-18th!  This wonderful and festive event is 3 days long.  Upper El’s festival will be on the morning of Wednesday the 16th.  Lower El’s festival will be on the afternoon of Thursday the 17th and Junior High’s will be on the 18th.  Our continent for the festival is Europe!  Students will get to choose what their focus will be on.  This week, I will go over instruction and students will need to pick their focus by Friday.  Students will get chances to work on their report in class, but students should also work on it at home.  If your student needs to work on their poster or board in class, please send them with their board to work on.  If your child would like to put together a PowerPoint together, that works too.  Students who wish to do a PowerPoint will need to bring their own flash drive or external hard drive to save their work.  Parents and families of students are more than welcome to attend the festival!

Volunteering: If anyone would like to help with reading or spelling this week or the upcoming weeks in December, please let me know!  You guys are great!

Cheers!

Ms. K

Hi Everyone!

Past Week:

This week we began an activity that we usually do at the end of the year for Spirit Week, but the kids love it so much and have requested it to be done more that I found it to be a win-win with the holidays approaching.  The activity is called “Store.”  This first round is Holiday Store.  Students earn and owe money based on things they do and don’t do.  Some earning/owing opportunities are whole group and some are individually based.  The kids really enjoy it, plus is helps enforce grace and courtesy and time management/focus when working.  The kids are in charge of their own money.  If they give “the bank” (the teachers) their wallet then we will make sure your money is safe.  Students can also exchange money using $1, $5, and $10 bills.  So, if your child is coming home and talking about earned money or owing, that is what they are referring to.

Permission slips for the ballet went out Friday.  The papers are red and bright green.  Only a few students left theirs on their desks.  Those who were absent Friday will get theirs when they come back.  With Thanksgiving Break coming up in a week it would be great to get these permission slips back ASAP, so I have time to collect them, mark them, and give to the office.  I need to have the slips in on Dec. 4th!

Group lessons:

Level 1s: Polygons and their sides, Noun introduction, Rhyming

Level 2s: Complementary and Supplementary angles introduction

Level 3s: Triangle review

In cultural: Botany

Level 1s: Food Chain Introduction, Land and water food chains

Level 2s:  Pinnate and Palmate leaves

Level 3s:  Types of calyxes, The petals of a flower: Gamopetalous and Polypetalous

Friday: Simple Machines for science

Upcoming Week:

Volunteers: Please let me know if you would like to help with Spelling Tests or Reading for the upcoming week!  Having a spelling volunteer has been great, so I can focus on more lessons!

November home projects are DUE on Friday the 20th!  Studio runs all morning and ends at 11:30am.  We eat lunch at 11:30 and are lined up to go outside by 12:10ish.  We are outside until usually 1pm, but this upcoming week is Library for us from 1-1:30.  I would love to have the rest of the afternoon be focused on projects.  Since 3rd graders are doing a family recipe project, they will share first and everyone will get their plate of food of each recipe and eat while presentations begin.  A question that came up was if parents could come help and I said, “yes, of course.”  or if the parent could help tell more about the recipe, that is fine too, however, if you are coming in to help say more about the recipe, the majority of the report needs to come from the student 🙂  If you want to drop off any food, you can bring it in while we are at the library.  Crockpots and warmers are welcomed as well.

Snack for next week is Sophia!

Have a great weekend and upcoming week!

Cheers!

Ms. K

Hey Everyone!

A few of you have emailed me regarding wanting to come to the ballet with us.  Since the ballet only had space for each class to have 1 chaperone I know that puts many of you out.  However, I asked Jalee if any of you wanted to come if it be possible to buy separate tickets.  She said yes, but if you want to come to buy them ASAP.  You would call Perry’s Egyptian Theater in Ogden.  I can’t guarantee the theater will put you next to your child, but we’ll see what happens!  Let me know if you call and get a ticket 🙂

Thanks!

P.S: November home projects are due NEXT FRIDAY!

Hi Everyone!

Past Week:

3rd graders took their language and math practice tests this past week.  3rd grade practice writing test will be December 8th.  

Due to the 3rd graders taking their tests, I focused more on individual lessons than group lessons this week.

In cultural: Geography

Level 1s: 7 Continents and 5 Oceans

Level 2s: Faults and Folding patterns

Level 3s: 7 weather elements, breezes, and weather fronts

Friday: Magnetism

Upcoming Week:

Volunteers for reading and spelling: please email me if you can help read or do spelling tests on Thursday morning.

Friday is an Early Out.  Please make arrangements to have your child picked up at 1pm.

I’ll be making up the field trip permission slips for the Ballet on Monday December 7th.  Lori Stewart will be the chaperone for our class.  We will be leaving at 11am on December 7th and will be back in time to be picked up for regular dismissal.  We will be riding by bus.  Since MMA is covering the cost for your child to see the ballet and for their transportation, we are putting up a link for a $3.00 donation towards our class’ field trip funds.  Buses are super expensive and even splitting the costs with other teachers it takes a chunk away.  If you are willing to donate please click on the link below.  Thanks!

Ms. Kaley’s Class’ Field Trip Donation Link 

Have a great upcoming week!

Cheers!

Ms. K

Hello Everyone!

Upcoming Week:

3rd graders take their Language PRACTICE SAGE test Monday morning.  The PRACTICE SAGE Math test will be Wednesday morning.  For tomorrow and Wednesday, please send a water bottle and a snack with your 3rd grade child.  Please help your child that it is just a practice test.  USOE has very strict regulations on what I can do when your child tests.  I can help with technical difficulties to a degree, so if your child gets emotionally upset because they can’t read a word or feel like they can’t do it, please have a talk with them today/tonight that breaks are allowed.  Students are NOT timed.  If a child does take longer, that child may finish up with another class who is finishing up testing.  I will take 3rd graders outside for recess in the morning for a little bit and then we will be in the library on Monday and Wednesday.  If your 3rd grader is absent tomorrow or Wednesday, those students will test with another class.

1st and 2nd graders will do morning work in our classroom with Ms. Emilee.  3rd graders who finish early will go back to class and work on morning work too.  Wednesday morning in our monthly health lesson from Ms. Julia, so 1st and 2nd graders will have that.

Volunteers for this week:  I am not going to push Spelling tests on 3rd graders this week.  It will be optional for 3rd graders to take a break this week from their spelling tests.  We need 1 or more volunteers for spelling tests Thursday morning (9am).  Please email me if you would like to help.  Anyone who wishes to help with reading this week, times open are: Tuesday (morning or afternoon), Wednesday afternoon, or Thursday (morning or afternoon)

Past Week:

Thank you for all the parents who supported and came to our Fall Party.  It was a GREAT success!  For November, a lot of classes do a Thanksgiving feast with their class and invited parents.  Our class does a Holiday Feast in December.  Jaida and Sarah, that will be our next sign up situation 🙂

Lessons this past week:

Level 1s: Money, Partitioning squares into equal pieces, Halloween stories

Level 2s: Halloween stories

Level 3s:  Halloween stories, SAGE practice

Cultural: Zoology

Level 1s: Fish

Level 2s: Whales, Dolphins, Porpoises

Level 3s:  Platyhelminthes and Nematodes (types of flatworms both parasitic and non)

November Project- DUE Nov. 20th

Students will do a home project for November that focuses around family and history.  Projects will be shared on November 20th in the afternoon.  

Level 1 project: Interview a grandparent or great-grandparent about their life.  If no grandparents or great-grandparents exist, have your child interview a neighbor, aunt/uncle, family friend etc. (Just not mom or dad).

Interview Questions *Please choose 10-15 (or more if you would like) This link contains 150 questions.  You are welcome to make your own questions too 🙂

Once your Level 1 interviews their family or family members (Example: both grandparents), make a poster (big or small) about that person (Example: collage of pictures, things that they liked or experienced)

Level 2 project: Ancestor/Genealogy project.  Students will make a family tree poster and present their posters to the class.  Please have your child understand who they are talking about. They don’t have to know everything about that family member, but I would hope they would know their name.

Level 3 project: Family Recipe project.  3rd grade students will need to ask their family members if they have a passed down recipe or special/favorite item that gets made for Thanksgiving or special family events.  Students will learn to make that recipe at home and bring into class to share.  I would like 3rd graders to share the lineage from the recipe (a report on who started the recipe, how many times it has been passed down etc.)  If your family doesn’t have a passed down recipe, find one together and maybe start one for your family!  Example: if your child chooses a green bean casserole recipe, then have him/her write about the history behind the green bean casserole).  Really do involve your child in the cooking process.  Definitely have your child read the recipe, find the measurement tools, do the measuring for you.  You are acting as a safety measure and guide.

3rd graders will bring in the dish they are sharing and share with just our class on Nov. 20th.  If it has to stay hot, you can send it in a crockpot to keep warm until the afternoon.

Have a great upcoming week!

Cheers!

Ms. K