Happy Weekend!

Hello! The first few weeks of school have been wonderful. I love your children already! This group is kind and sweet and they are so good at following directions and taking care of our classroom. :)

Important Info:
1. There have been a few cases of lice in our classroom. I have talked to the children about not laying on the floor or rubbing their heads together etc....You may want to do weekly checks on your child to be sure!
2. I will be sending a form for Parent-Teacher Conferences soon. They will take place throughout the month of September. I will have morning and afternoon slots available.
3. WALKERS:  I'd like your input...Would you rather pick up your child at our side door when it is raining, or at the back door? I have no preference other than to help you stay dry.



Curriculum: Last Week

Reading: Building a Reading life and reading stamina

Math: Strategies for addition, working with the 100's chart *Ask your child to show you a different way to solve an addition problem without using the traditional algorithm!

SS: Prime Meridian, Equator, and lines of Latitude and Longitude  * This is a tough concept for 8 year olds but they had fun learning about it! (see photos below)

Writing: Generating story ideas for personal narratives

Next Week:

Reading: Comprehension Strategies/Comprehension self-checks * Look for a bookmark that will come home with self-check questions

Math: More Addition Strategies and Rounding to the nearest 10 & 100.

SS: Georgia Habitats (Expedition begins soon)

Writing: Personal Narratives, writing several leads for our stories

Playing the Longitude/Latitude Game

Making a Calendar in Spanish  & Learning How to use Seesaw 

Playing "CLOSE TO 100" 

Creating Heart Maps for Writing Ideas

Making 1,000 with Legos! 

Playing Math games with Ms. Gainer! 

Listening to Ms. San Angelo introduce the Authors for our Skype session!

RIP Milla Girl *We lost our 14 year old pup last week.
Your children gave me lots of hugs and kindness. 

One more thing...

Please fill out this survey ( I know...another one?) if you are interested in helping us with our expedition!

Happy Weekend!

Hello! The first few weeks of school have been wonderful. I love your children already! This group is kind and sweet and they are so good at following directions and taking care of our classroom. :)

Important Info:
1. There have been a few cases of lice in our classroom. I have talked to the children about not laying on the floor or rubbing their heads together etc....You may want to do weekly checks on your child to be sure!
2. I will be sending a form for Parent-Teacher Conferences soon. They will take place throughout the month of September. I will have morning and afternoon slots available.
3. WALKERS:  I'd like your input...Would you rather pick up your child at our side door when it is raining, or at the back door? I have no preference other than to help you stay dry.



Curriculum: Last Week

Reading: Building a Reading life and reading stamina
Math: Strategies for addition, working with the 100's chart *Ask your child to show you a different way to solve an addition problem without using the traditional algorithm!
SS: Prime Meridian, Equator, and lines of Latitude and Longitude  * This is a tough concept for 8 year olds but they had fun learning about it! (see photos below)
Writing: Generating story ideas for personal narratives

Next Week:
Reading: Comprehension Strategies/Comprehension self-checks * Look for a bookmark that will come home with self-check questions
Math: More Addition Strategies and Rounding to the nearest 10 & 100.
SS: Georgia Habitats (Expedition begins soon)
Writing: Personal Narratives, writing several leads for our stories

Playing the Longitude/Latitude Game

Making a Calendar in Spanish  & Learning How to use Seesaw 

Playing "CLOSE TO 100" 

Creating Heart Maps for Writing Ideas

Making 1,000 with Legos! 

Playing Math games with Ms. Gainer! 

Listening to Ms. San Angelo introduce the Authors for our Skype session!

RIP Milla Girl *We lost our 14 year old pup last week.
Your children gave me lots of hugs and kindness. 

One more thing...

Please fill out this survey ( I know...another one?) if you are interested in helping us with our expedition!

It's Like We Never Left..

Hello,
 Week 2 in 3rd grade has been great! Your children have learned the routines quickly and are settling into their new environment well!

Important Info and Dates:

MAP testing next week!
     Monday=Reading, Tuesday=ELA, Wednesday=Math
     We will test from 10:50-11:50

HOMEWORK Info
  Your child will bring home his/her blue folder daily. It may be empty most days, however, it is a it is a way for you to send in notes, lunch money, forms, etc...
  In addition, your child will have his/her HW agenda and Reading Log. We spend a few minutes at the end of each day writing HW in the agenda as a means of communication and building independent organizational skills. Your child should record 30 minutes of reading each night in their logs.

*** I realize that this is not always possible each night, so use this as a way to teach your child how to add up the minutes in total each week. If  one day is busy and you can only read for 15 minutes, just make up the time throughout the week. ***


THIS WEEK:

In Reading...
1. Practiced choosing "good fit books" which are essentially books we like and that we can read independently. We practiced building reading stamina and choosing a good spot to read.
2. We have been working on reading assessments one on one and we created our reading journals and reading logs.
3. We also completed our Hopes & Dreams complete with selfies!

In Math....
1. We took a math pre-assessment for Unit 1.
2. We started our Math Stations that focus on addition fact fluency, place value, and composing & decomposing numbers.
  ** You can help your child by playing Math War! All you need is a deck of cards.

In Social Studies...
1. We have learned about MIMAL (Who is MIMAL? Ask your child!) in order to locate and identify 5 major rivers in the US.
   * Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Hudson, Colorado and Rio Grande

In Writing....
1. We completed our "I AM" poems, created a self-portrait and recorded ourselves reciting our poems. You will see our fantastic project when you visit soon!


NEXT WEEK:

In Reading...
  We will work on noticing our reading patterns and setting reading goals.

In Math...
  We will continue to learn about how to make 10's and manipulate numbers to better understand place value.

A PEEK AT THE WEEK:

Some Selfies....

SOME MATH

 

MORE SELFIES

         

GRAPHS FOR KINDERGARTEN

Week One As A Third Grader

Hello Friends,
  Your children have had a productive week so far. In addition to "learning the ropes", we have completed several get to know you activities, team building & collaboration exercises, a math assessment, an awesome reading life collage for our reading journals and self-portraits! Thank you for sending in magazines. Ask your child about their"Pay It Forward" homework! :)


Reminders and Important Dates:

•  If you haven't turned in all the forms that were sent to you in the mail before school, please send them in as soon as possible. If you need additional forms, just send me a note or an email.        **This includes a blue handbook/cyber-safety form, a health form, a walking field trip permission form, transportation form, and the OPT out form (ONLY if you do not agree with the items listed on it).** 
• Send or email a family photo for your child to put on our family wall.
• MAP Testing will take place August 15th-17th. 

A Peek at Our Week:

First Day Photos

(I needed an even number...so I added my baby to the mix!)

        Marshmallow Tower Challenge

          Cup Stacking Challenge

    Self-Portraits

    

Thanks for a great 1st Week! 

Daily Schedule

Mrs. Soons’ Schedule

2016-17

       

	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY
8:00-8:30	Morning Meeting	Morning Meeting	Morning Meeting	Morning Meeting	Community Circle
8:30-9:00	Music	Spanish	ART	Music	8:30-9:15 SS/Science
9:00-9:30	PE	PE		Spanish	9:15-10 Library
9:30-10:00	Spanish	SS/Science	Spanish	SS/Science
10:00-11:00	Reading Workshop	Reading Workshop Ms. Nesbitt	Reading Workshop	Reading Workshop	Reader's Workshop
	ESOL 10:30-11:30	ESOL 10:30-11:30	ESOL 10:30-11:30	ESOL 10:30-11:30	ESOL 10:30-11:30
11:00-12:00	Math	Math	Math	Math	Math
12:00-12:30	Lunch	Lunch	Lunch	Lunch	Lunch
12:30-1:00	Recess	Recess	Recess	Recess	Recess
1:00-2:00	Writing Workshop	Writing Workshop	Writing Workshop	Writing Workshop Ms. Nesbitt Resource	Writing Workshop
2:00-2:15	Read Aloud	Read Aloud	Read Aloud	Read Aloud	Read Aloud
2:15-2:30	Closing Circle	Closing Circle	Closing Circle	Closing Circle	Closing Circle

Welcome To Third Grade 2016!

Hello Friends,

    I'm glad you found the classroom blog! You may want to bookmark this site so that you can find it.  If you ever need to find it again, it is linked on the Westchester Website and in my email as well!

     I will post weekly, usually on Thursday nights. This is the place to find out all of the information you'll need throughout the year. (I don't generally send out mass emails.)

      I will also invite you to REMIND, so that you can receive texts or emails about urgent information such as transportation changes etc.... 

If you'd like reminders that tell you I've written a new blog post, you can sign up to FOLLOW BY EMAIL located to your right..........

Here's how it works:

1. Type in your email address

2. Look for an email in your inbox

3. Accept the terms
4. You will get a notification that I've posted

I am looking forward to meeting everyone! Our MEET & GREET will be on Thursday July 28th from 5:00pm-6:00pm immediately followed by an ice cream social from 7-8! 

****If you would please complete the form below, it will be helpful for the first week of school. ****

 Google Form Link

   

Farewell My Sweet 4th Graders!

Farewell Friends!
  It was a wonderful year! I will miss you all next year but I am confident that 4th Grade will be wonderful as well. You are all amazing, beautiful people.
   Remember everyday that life is about perspective: Is your glass half full or half empty? We spent a lot of time talking about that this year. We also talked a lot about how change helps us grow and brings about new and exciting memories. Enjoy your summer and don't forget to share your work with me next year via Google Drive!
xoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Here are the video links from your Moving On and some photos from the last few weeks! I have shared the vimeo passwords via email. I will share them with you in Google Docs!

https://vimeo.com/167820965 

https://vimeo.com/168186266 

https://youtu.be/E0RXN-b6caY