4th Grade Fieldtrip

Our 4th Graders have the wonderful opportunity to go on a fieldtrip to the American West Heritage Center on October 10th!  They do a wonderful presentation and make our Utah History studies come to life!  Please be watching for a permission slip to come home in the next few days.  We have a bus scheduled and will be leaving and returning during regular school hours.  If you would like to donate $6.50 to help with the cost of this trip, please send a check to the front office.  There should also be a way for you to pay online by the end of this week.  Thank You!

End of Normalization

Today marks the end of the Normalization period!  I feel like we have come a long way in these first six weeks of school.  Today we had an amazing work cycle.  The children were so productive and got so much done!  I was so proud of them!  I love seeing how anxious they are to get to work in the mornings.  They are asking for lessons and ready to challenge themselves and move forward.  It is a beautiful thing.  With Normalization being over, you are now free to come and observe in our classroom.  If this is something you would like to do, please let me know and we will set up a time.

Our topic of discussion and writing this week had to do with secrets.  This is a common issue that we deal with in a class full of children in this age group.  We talked about the difference between good and bad secrets, the etiquette of secrets, and the difference between something that is secret and something that is private.  The students got in groups and wrote a story/skit about secrets and shared it with the class this afternoon.  They did a great job!

I had many children ask me today if they could bring their pets in to share with the class.  I am fine with it, as long as you schedule it with me ahead of time so that I can make sure we have time for it in our day.  Also, dogs must be in a kennel or have a muzzle, according to the school rules.

I am working on getting some field trips planned for our class.  If you would like to help be a driver, you must get a background check and be fingerprinted.  If you still need to do this, please contact the front office and they will help you get that arranged.  I believe the cost is around $60, so it is a little pricey.  It would really help us be able to go on more outings, though, so please consider it.

Thank you to all of you who have been providing snack so far.  The children have been well fed!  I have Austin signed up for snack next week.  If you would like to sign up for snack, please see the We Join In link on the right side of the blog.

There are still many children in the class without slippers.  Please try to make sure they have slippers or some kind of soft soled shoe as soon as possible.  This is for their own safety.  Also, there is a continuing problem of girls wearing leggings as pants.  This is against our school dress code policy.  Leggings may be worn under skirts or dresses, but not by themselves.

Also, it is time to start thinking about the science fair!  The science fair is mandatory for all Upper El students.  I would like the children to come up with a topic that they would like to study by the end of next week.  There are tons of ideas at www.sciencebuddies.org.  Check them out!  We will start talking about it in class on Monday.

I know this is a lot of random information!  Hopefully it isn’t too overwhelming.

I love your children!  They are amazing people.  Thank you for sharing them with me!

 

 

6th Grade Science

We are studying Microorganisms in 6th Grade Science!  There is a great website about microorganisms that I would like all of the 6th Graders to spend some time exploring.  It is:  www.childrensuniversity.manchester.ac.uk/interactives/science/microorganisms/  This site is really fun and is full of information that they need to know.

Moving Right Along!

Hello all!

Well, we are moving right along as we start our 5th week of school.  It is going by so fast!  We are getting more into a regular routine as we start work cycle and cultural lessons.  It is so exciting to see the children pulling works off the shelf.  The returning students are picking up right where they left off and the new students are learning and exploring new things.  I have loved seeing how anxious the children are to get to work!  Granted, some are more anxious than others, but for the most part, they are being productive and working hard.

We talked a lot about the September 11th attacks last week.  We read stories and did a writing assignment about different aspects of that day.  This week we will switch our focus to the Constitution, since it is Constitution Day on September 17th.  We will be working on memorizing the Preamble, so feel free to help your student with that at home!

As some of you know, our school is starting a Student Council this year.  We have two students from our class running for office.  Elizabeth is running for Secretary and Annika is running for Vice President.  We are having an assembly on Wednesday morning at 9:15 where they will get to give speeches to all of the Upper El in preparation for the election.  I wish them luck and know that they will do a great job!  As part of the Student Council, each class gets to elect a class representative.  We had several students that wanted the position, so on Friday, they all gave speeches and we had a class vote.  Everyone did a wonderful job and I was so proud of them!  In the end, Alex was chosen.  Congratulations, Alex!  I know he will represent our class well.  Layla had the second most votes, so she will be Alex’s back up.

I would like to remind you all to ask your students for their student planners every day.  They are expected to bring them back signed every morning!  I make a list on the board every day of everything we did that day and give the students time to write it in their planners.  They have no excuses for not having them filled out and bringing them home each night.

Also, please check www.montessorimanager.com as another way to see what your students are doing in class.  Ms. Kristina spends a lot of time every day inputting the data for you to see.  If you aren’t seeing any work for your child, it is likely because they are not bringing their work charts to Ms. Kristina so that she can see their works.  As this is a new system, we are all getting used to the routine and hope to have all of the kinks worked out soon.

Thanks to all of you who supported the school’s 5K yesterday!  It was a great event and the weather was perfect.  I think we all had a good time!  I hope to have a picture of the participants from our class up soon.  I am still trying to figure out how to do everything I want to do on this blog.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns!

The Knights of Realm 9

We had a great second week!  I can tell the children are starting to feel more comfortable and they are coming out of their shells.  It is fun to see their personalities come out!  We have such a wonderful group of children.  I am excited to spend this school year with them.

Last week we expanded on our theme of  knights.  We solidified our Classroom Code of Chivalry and hung it up in our classroom.  The children came up with some great ideas such as, “Be loyal to your friends”, “Be helpful”, and “Thou shalt not bully”.  They also made their own Coat of Arms.  Next we will make a Class Coat of Arms that will be a representation of what our class stands for and how we want to be known.   I am hopeful that these things will help the children remember their grace and courtesy and think about their actions.

August 31st was Maria Montessori’s birthday.  To celebrate, we read a book called Mammolina, which tells the story of her life.  The children loved it!  I could tell that some of the children were inspired by her story, especially the girls.  She really was a marvelous example of girl power!  We were also able to compare her to a knight.  She was strong and courageous and stood up for the less fortunate.  I would encourage you to learn more about Maria Montessori.  Ask your children to tell you about her.

We started learning about “The 7 Habits for Happy Kids” last week.  We made it through the first three which are:  “Be Proactive”, “Begin With the End in Mind”, and “Put First Things First”.  These are habits and skills that, if learned now, can help the children throughout their lives.  I am hoping to get through the last four habits this week.  We will be referring back to these throughout the school year.

There will be an important meeting for the parents of 6th graders this Wednesday, September 4th at 4:30 PM in the library.  You will be discussing the fieldtrip to the Redwoods in California.  You will also find out more about the expectations for you and your students for volunteering and helping with fundraising.  If you would like to be a chaperone for this trip, you will also get information about how to do that.  Please plan to be there!

Don’t forget about the MMA 5K on September 14th!  The race begins at 8:00 AM, with registration at 7:00 AM.  This is an important fundraiser for the 6th graders!  For more information, go to http://mma5k.blogspot.com

Please help your children remember their student planners!  This is an important communication tool and helps your children to learn responsibility.

The We Join In snack sign-up sheet is up to date and ready to be used.  There is a link to it on the right side of the blog. Please try to fill in the empty weeks!  Snack is an important part of our day and the children really miss it when we don’t have it.

This week we will be getting more serious about our work.  The children will be introduced to work charts and how to keep track of their work.  We will begin having our Book Club, learn the 6 traits of writing, as well as the Great Lessons of Grammar.  We will begin our cultural lessons in History, Geography, Botany, and Zoology.  We will also have a review of some basic math operations, terminology, and place value.  We will also start our Spanish class with Ms. Kari Anderson on Thursday.  It should be a busy week!

Last but not least, Don’t forget to subscribe to the blog!  I have 25 students and only 8 parents have subscribed.  This will be your way of keeping up to date on what we do in class.  The blog is replacing the weekly e-mails, so you have to subscribe!

Thanks for all you do!