Memorizing Spelling Words

At Parent/Teacher conferences I talked with some parents about different ways to study spelling words at home. It is something you should do every night. But how do you keep your son or daughter's enthusiasm? I found a sheet that has 10 different suggestions for studying words. On Monday, March 11, your child will bring this sheet home. It's called "An Activity A Day." You can have your child close their eyes and point at the sheet to see which activity to do. Or grab a pencil and a paperclip. Put the paperclip at the point of the pencil and hold the pencil firmly. You just made a spinner. Now have your child spin the paperclip to see which spelling activity to do that night. Above are two of the activities from the sheet. I hope these ideas help you and your child enjoy studying their spelling words.

FANG'S READING CLUB

      Spring must be near, because the students are now reading to earn a free Timber Rattler ticket. Fang's Reading Club started Friday, February 8 and will continue until Monday, March 18. The third grade is using the Record Sheet to keep track of Fang's Reading Minutes. This way, your children are not doing additional reading time. When your child hands in the Record Sheet on Mondays, I will record the minutes (as I always do) and record who accomplishes the 210 reading minute goal. The Record Sheet handed in this coming Monday, February 18, will be the 1st Base Prize.  It will be up to you and your child to fill in Fang's character and return that to school. Each student has a ball diamond to place Fang on the correct base.

     Spring is coming, so keep on reading!

Back on my Blog

Here's the latest news: 

Our class Valentine Party is this Thursday. Everyone should bring their cards and a Valentine Card Holder to school on Thursday. The party is starting at 9:30. The menu is muffins and fresh fruit. You won't need to pack a healthy snack on Thursday. 

Happy Valentine's Day!

Our class has Jump Rope for Heart this Friday. The kids will be jumping from 1:45-2:15. They will come home tired! Remember to dress for jumping rope.

Looking Ahead:

Conferences are Wednesday, February 27, Thursday, February 28 and Friday, March 1. Be sure you know when your conference is.

Reading Buddy Day

Our class pairs up with Mrs. Frost's kindergarten class when it's time for Reading Buddies. Today all of the students at Spring Road enjoyed sharing a good book with another class.

Christmas Party

On Friday our class celebrated Christmas with a party. We played Bingo and enjoyed a lot food. It was a great way to wrap up 2012. Thank you to everyone who helped out.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

My front yard.

SNOW DAY!

The snow is coming down and I'm cozy in my house. The wood burner is keeping me warm! I must confess I have not been outside yet. I took this picture from our last snowfall. This is what I see as I look out our kitchen window. Today I see the snow swirling around.

So I have used my morning to create lesson plans and look ahead. I'm guessing we'll have school tomorrow, so our Christmas party will be tomorrow from 1:00-2:00. You won't need to pack sweets in lunches since we eat at 12:15 and the party starts at 1:00.

Here's something you may not know: At the beginning of each month all students take 5 Minute Timings for each basic set of facts. These scores are recorded on a graph to show the students are maintaining their memorization of facts or improving their memorization of facts. When we return to school, the kids will take a 5 Minute Timing for addition.  This timing will be on Wednesday, January 3. Since all students have passed out of addition on Rocket Math, all students have to pass the timing with a score of 95% or better. If your child doesn't pass the addition timing the first time, he/she will need to try the test again until they pass. The fun doesn't stop there. On Thursday, January 4 all students, who passed addition, will take a subtraction 5 Minute Timing. Those students who passed subtraction in Rocket Math will need to pass this timing with a score of 95% or better. The timings continue with multiplication and division for the students who are working on those facts or have accomplished those facts. I thought I would let you know about this so over our Christmas break the kids can be reviewing addition facts. These 5 Minute Timings will happen at the beginning of each month.

Enjoy the day keeping warm and safe!

I want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas! May the joy of this time of year fill your lives with blessings!

Mrs. Nowaczyk

Decades Day