The Georgetown Grange, a community service organization, has continued its tradition of providing dictionaries to the third graders at Bauer Elementary. The kids are intrigued by all of the interesting information tucked in along with the definitions. We wrote thank you notes today, but if you know any members of this organization, be sure to thank them.
We have been practicing and practicing addition and subtraction and I am very pleased with how well the kids are doing. In addition, everyone has begun using the numerical method (the way we learned), using proof drawings only when instructed to do so. Subtraction is going well too. A few of the kids are still relying on proof drawings to solve the problems, but it is early in the year, so that is fine. It is possible that we will have our first official math test this Friday. Unit 1 has been a long one. Thanks for supporting the kids and the new techniques as they have been learning the process. I am trying to keep homework to a minimum until they became a bit more proficient. Encourage them to show you how to do ‘proof drawings’ and explain what all of the regrouping and ungrouping really means. Below is a copy of the letter that came home explaining the ungrouping method we use in subtraction.
Some of the kids have been talking about reading books from their home libraries, but being disappointed that they are not AR titles. I have explained to the kids that many of their books at home may be AR titles and that Mrs. Steffes is the person that adds the pink stickers to our books, only for the organization of our library. So, please visit the Hudsonville Public Schools webpage if you are wondering if a book has a corresponding AR test. From the main page, select ‘Elementary Schools’ from the menu on the left. Then, choose ‘Bauer’. ‘A.R. Booklist’ appears as the fourth item in the Bauer list.
We began the MEAP test yesterday and have another session scheduled for tomorrow morning. Please get a good night’s sleep, and eat a healthy breakfast.
And me with no camera! What a full day we had today. First, it was Spirit Day. That was a sight. We were a sea of maize and blue, even some arms and faces were ‘Hudsonville-colored’. We had our first popcorn day and had a special Spirit Day assembly at lunch time. As if that wasn’t enough fun, we had delicious ice cream sundaes before we left for home. Believe it or not, we did manage to get some work done too. We wrapped up instruction in addition with regrouping. The kids are doing very well with it, and most have abandoned the proof drawings unless asked to prove their work. We also took a Social Studies test. The kids were able to use their notes to help them, and they did a wonderful job. Be sure to ask them about the landforms and bodies of water in Michigan.
It was a busy, productive day. We all deserve a weekend to rest up. Enjoy the fall weather.
Congratulations third graders. Our class led the way in fund raising for our recent walk-a-thon. That was such a surprise for all of us. Check out the size of the trophy that now resides in our classroom. In addition to earning the trophy, our class also will enjoy a celebratory ice cream party. We can’t wait!
A newsletter cam home today. In case you missed it, you can view it here. Newsletter
Just a reminder, book orders are due this week. If you would prefer to order books online, check your child’s homework folder on Tuesday. There will be directions as well as a username and password so you can visit Scholastic.com directly to order books. I’ll extend the order due date to Friday, September 25th. For every order placed online, we get a free book for our classroom.
We are still spending time each day getting to know one another better. Yesterday the kids were asked to list three qualities they look for in a friend. The words they chose are below, in a “wordle”. The larger the word, the more often it appeared on the kids’ lists. Are you surprised by what is important to them?
In honor of Milton Hershey’s birthday (the 12th) we had a special kick-off to our year of math instruction. We used Hershey bars, Kisses and M&Ms to study perimeter, area and graphing. The kids got their first experience with a balance scale too. We even spelled words using the letters in the word ‘chocolate’. The great thing is… later in the year when I want to talk about perimeter again, all I’ll have to do is mention the M&M activity, and the kids will remember what perimeter is. And they thought we were just having fun. We’d like to thank the parents that helped us out by leading an activity. Thanks to Mrs. Anderson. Mrs. Brody, Mrs. DeWent and Mrs. Glanville. I couldn’t have pulled it off with out your help. This time, I did manage to take pictures. Enjoy the slide show that follows.
The first week of school absolutely flew by. It was a wonderful week. I am thoroughly enjoying getting to know the kids and watching them become comfortable in a new classroom. We have spent quite a bit of time doing things to help us get to know each other better. It has been fun. We have even spent time getting together with Mrs. Myrmel’s class. On Thursday we met to introduce the kids to their ‘other teacher’. Mrs. Myrmel will be teaching writing to both classes, and I will be teaching math to both classes. We got together again on Friday to make zipper pulls that helped the kids see the similarities and differences among their classmates. We had a great time. With 54 kids in one space, there wasn’t much time for picture taking, but I did manage to snap a few. Enjoy!
