12/19-12/22

Looking Ahead
No spelling or memory
Grammar: Review of Types of Sentences
Reading: Centers/Review
Math: Our math program will now feature fact homework sheets with 100 addition facts on them. We will take a "pretest" on Wednesday when we return to see how fast the kids can finish them. The goal is 5 minutes or less. In about a month or so, we will have our final 100 addition fact test to see how much they have improved. I am sending each student home with some fact sheets so they can practice over break if they so choose.
Science: What is matter?
Writing: We will be working on creating personal writing goals for the quarter. Writing will be included on grade cards for both quarters 3 and 4.

Important News and Information:
-If you are looking for services to attend this Christmas, check out Zion! Christmas Eve Services at Zion are at 1pm, 3pm, 5pm, and 11pm. The Christmas Day service is at 9am.
-School will resume on Wednesday, January 4th! See you in the new year!

All Aboard the Polar Express!

We surveyed friends 

We drank hot chocolate

And ate donuts

We did Christmas themed centers

Rolling a Christmas tree

Like making Christmas cards

and playing tic tac toe

We watched the movie

And we finished the day with art and singing Christmas songs! It was a great day at the North Pole!

12/12-12/16

Looking Ahead to Next Week:
Memory: None
Spelling: High Frequency Word List #2

say, great, where, help, through, much, before, line, right, too, means, old, any, same, tell, boy, following, came, want, show, also, around, farm, three, small

A pretest was sent home in homework folders on Friday. We will have our post test on TUESDAY. 

Grammar: ABC Order

Reading: We will be reviewing various reading skills we've learned this year while reading various short passages.

Math: We will be reviewing math facts

Social Studies: Christmas Around the World

Writing: Elf for Hire Persuasive Writing

Important News and Information:

-Wednesday is Polar Express Day! Please look for the informational letter sent home in homework folders on Friday! Kids are welcome to wear pajamas and slippers to school. Please still make sure they have coats and tennis shoes to play outside. They may also bring one stuffed animal or one pillow.  It will be a fun filled day!

-Chapel will be on Thursday next week. Following chapel, we will have our class Christmas party. We are collecting gloves and hats for Sparrows Nest, and are collecting small containers with lids to make gratitude jars. 

-We will dismiss at noon on Thursday for Christmas Break. School resumes on Wednesday, Jan. 4th. Have a very Merry Christmas! 

Painting Wassily Kandinsky inspired Christmas Trees

Wassily Kandinsky inspired Christmas Trees

Reading with friends

Writing Christmas Stories

The kids did a great job at the Advent Service! Thanks for helping them memorize their lines!

Ordering numbers from least to greatest

Moby Max

Ordering Numbers from Least to Greatest

Making Reindeer Food

Dec. 5-Dec. 9

Looking Ahead to Next Week:
Memory: Continue to practice Advent parts
Spelling: all: hall, ball, call, stall, wall, mall, overall, rainfall, fallen, baseball

Grammar/Phonics: Linking Verbs
Reading: We will be reading a whole class novel: The True Gift
Math: We will have a test on Wednesday, and then will do centers reviewing various concepts we've learned on Thursday and Friday
Social Studies: We will finish up our factories unit that began this week, and begin a study on Christmas traditions around the world
Writing: Persuasive Writing

Important News and Information:
-We will have our Advent service next Wednesday at 10 am and at 7pm in the church sanctuary. For the evening service, please have your child meet in the church basement at 6:45. Regular school dress in the morning, and either school dress or church clothes for the evening service.
-We are collecting small plastic canisters with lids on them for our Christmas party service project. We are also collecting new or gently used gloves/mittens for Sparrow's Nest. Please send these in with your child anytime between now and Dec. 22nd

We did a STEM activity: Can you clean up polluted water?

cleaning up the polluted water

The kids discovered, it was nearly impossible to clean the polluted water

We learned how important it is to make sure we don't pollute

Mrs. Helmkamp taught our class computer coding

We played a matching game to practice our irregular past tense verbs

We are beginning a study on factories. We did an experiment where we produced a snack mix. Some kids had to do all of the steps by themselves, other kids worked together in an assembly line. We learned that assembly lines are much more efficient!

11/28-12-2

Looking Ahead to Next Week:
Memory: Advent Parts
Spelling: ing/ink: bring, sing, wing, fling, string, link, drink, pink, think, shrink
Grammar/Phonics: Irregular Past Tense Verbs
Reading: We will continue our study on Protagonist and Antagonist characters
Math: Next week we will learn about number lines, angles in a polygon, and the associative property of addition. No test next week. 
Science/Social Studies: Pollution and how it affects our natural resources/how we can prevent pollution . We will have a test on Wednesday, and a study guide will be sent home on Monday. 
Writing: Persuasive Writing


Important News and Information:
-We only have about 2 1/2 weeks left of 2nd quarter, which means that 2nd quarter AR goals need to be met soon! The last day to take AR tests for this quarter will be Tuesday 12/20
-Chapel services for the month of December begin at 10am in celebration of Advent. There are also services at 7pm if you can't make it to the 10am service.
-1st and 2nd grade will have their advent service on Wednesday, 12/14 at 10am and 7pm. Kids were given the script for our advent service.  This is a more difficult advent service than what we have done in the past. It is set up as more of a play, and so some students have longer parts than others. The speaking parts are longer, and some kids have more than one part. Please help your children practice and memorize these parts at home! We will also be practicing some in the classroom, and will have several whole group practices in the church.
PLEASE RETURN YOUR CHILD'S SCRIPT TO SCHOOL EACH DAY! 
-Book orders were sent home today. I will be placing the order next Wednesday. These make fantastic gifts! If you would like your order to be a surprise, please let me know, and I will give the books directly to you!

Making symmetry art to teach us about symmetry

Some awesome symmetrical art!

Practicing our past tense verbs with a partner

The kids looked at different examples of pollution and decided if it was land, air, or water pollution

Freddy the Fish was a very happy fish until one day when people polluted his water :(
Next week we will do a STEM activity to attempt to clean up Freddy's polluted water

11/21-11/23

Looking Ahead to Next Week:
Memory: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder.  And his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6
Spelling: oo: too, zoo, food, room, soon, boot, hoop, scoop, groom, school

Grammar/Phonics: Past Tense Verbs--We will focus on adding -ed to the end of verbs to make them past tense, the different sounds that the -ed ending makes, and on doubling the consonant letter if necessary before adding -ed.
Reading: Protagonist/Antagonist
Math: Test on Friday 12/2
Science: Natural Resources and How We Use Them
Writing: Write to Persuade, Introduction to 5 paragraph Writing

Important News and Information:
-AR point totals were sent home on Wednesday in folders. This was an updated list as of Monday, so any tests taken after that are not included in the list. Please encourage your child to read over break!
-Mark your calendars! Wednesday, Dec. 14th is the 1st and 2nd grade Advent Service. The kids will receive their Advent parts within the next couple of weeks. They will need to memorize these parts to recite during our Advent Services at 10am and at 7pm on 12/14.

We worked together to put numbers in order from least to greatest

The kids worked with a partner to read a Scholastic News Article written from either the Pilgrim or Wampanoag point of view. After reading their article, they joined with a new partner who hadn't read their article. The new pairs told each other what they had learned and then they worked together to compare and contrast the Pilgrims and the Wampanoags. 

A man in Belize who received Bibles purchased with chapel offerings

11/14-11/18

Looking Ahead to Next Week: Nov. 21-25
No memory or spelling next week
Grammar: Antonyms
Phonics: Vowel Teams Review
Reading: Point of View
Math: Test on Tuesday
Social Studies: We will be studying the first Thanksgiving, as well as the different points of views of the Pilgrims and Native Americans who were present for that first Thanksgiving feast.
Writing: What we are thankful for

Looking Even Further Ahead: Nov. 28-Dec. 2
Memory: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder.  And his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6
Spelling: oo: too, zoo, food, room, soon, boot, hoop, scoop, groom, school

Grammar/Phonics: Past Tense Verbs--We will focus on adding -ed to the end of verbs to make them past tense, the different sounds that the -ed ending makes, and on doubling the consonant letter if necessary before adding -ed.
Reading: Protagonist/Antagonist
Math: Test on Friday 12/2
Science: Natural Resources and How We Use Them
Writing: Write to Persuade

Important News and Information:
-We will dismiss at noon on Wed. 11/23 for Thanksgiving Break. School will resume on Monday, 11/28
-Mark your calendars! Wednesday, Dec. 14th is the 1st and 2nd grade Advent Service. The kids will receive their Advent parts within the next couple of weeks. They will need to memorize these parts to recite during our Advent Services at 10am and at 7pm on 12/14.

In our disucssion of natural resources, the use of gasoline was brought up. We talked about how gasoline is a nonrenewable resource. The kids decided to design a form of transportation that ran on something other than gasoline. 

This student designed a vehicle that uses a cheetah to help it move fast. That way it moves much faster than the oxen who pulled covered wagons.

We went on a hunt around the school to look for natural resources that are being used.

Playing a game with synonyms. 

Examining properties of rocks

In a comfy position during writing class. This week we wrote from a turkey's point of view. The kids had to persuade other people to eat something else besides turkey for Thanksgiving this year.

National Cup Stacking Day

We were geologists as we took apart the minerals (chocolate chips)  from the rocks (cookies), learning that rocks are made up of minerals.