June 24, 2014

This is my last blog post for the 2013-2014 school year, and I definitely feel sad at the thought that today is my last full day working with half of these students!  What a special group they are, and I feel so thankful for each one of them.

We spent most of today tying up loose ends.  Most of the students finished their animal research projects, and many also wrapped up their cumulative review for Math.  We also had a practice for tonight, and hopefully everyone will be there (6:45 PM is when the children meet me in the gym)!  I am excited to pass out the awards I have for each student, as they truly deserve to be recognized for their unique qualities that make them an asset to my class!

Have a wonderful summer everyone!  I hope you have lots of time with family and friends, and plenty of relaxation as well.  For those with children going on to Grade 5 next year, I pray that the transition goes well for your child.  For those with children going on to Grade 4 next year, I pray they come back in September eager to do their best and be fantastic role models for the Grade 3 students joining our class!

June 19, 2014

Our last Thursday of school is officially complete.  Today began with some flash cards (either multiplication or division), and then on to our Spelling test and memory verse check.  This was followed by Handwriting and Grammar.  Then the class was off to Library.

Recess was next, and then another Awards Night practice.  Then Math, and the class is still continuing on their cumulative reviews of everything learned this year.

After lunch we had Art, and we began an interesting line project.  Be sure to ask your child about it.  I'm hopeful that we'll complete these at school, but who knows if we'll have enough time.  Hopefully they'll complete them at home if not.

Chapel was led by Mr. Ediger's class today. :)

June 18, 2014

As I'm sure you know, the highlight of today was the Coin Carnival, hosted by the middle school students.  I snapped a few photos from the fun the children had!

We also had WW, where the students worked on their animal research projects (some are nearly done!), and then RW, in which we finally finished Charlotte's Web!  We'll be watching the movie next week during our year end party. :)

The afternoon was spent learning about fighting and negotiating amongst the Aboriginals and Europeans, as well as understanding what treaties were.  Then we moved on to a brief discussion about BC government, learning what MLAs are!

June 17, 2014

Today began with a daily gram, and then we went on to Bible, where we studied a story about a boy who stole a lunch and then a friend took his punishment for him, just as Christ died for us on the cross.  We get lots of insightful discussions going in Bible, and I really enjoy this time with the students!

Then we had RW, and the students used 20 minutes to do independent reading.  Afterwards we worked on our animal research projects, which will hopefully be complete before the last day of school.

After recess the class had an Awards Night practice while I taught French, and then we had Math, with continued review work.

Following lunch we had S.S. and continued our study of the fur trade and the European contact with the Aboriginal people.  The class finished their day with Library and P.E.

Here are a few snapshots from lunch today, as well as some photos of our Father's Day crafts which I promised the students I wouldn't post until after Father's Day so as not to ruin the surprise!

June 16, 2014

We had a day full of singing today as the students had two practices for Awards Night.  It's sure to be a fantastic evening of talent, and hopefully you will all be there (next Tuesday).

Today started with RW (after a daily paragraph edit), and the students finished up their work relating to Chapter 21 from Charlotte's Web.  Then it was on to another chapter from The Hobbit.  This was followed up with our final Spelling unit (Unit 33) and then DPA.

After recess we had a practice, and then Math.  The students are all working on their cumulative reviews for the time being, and I'm marking them as they go so that they're sure they're on the right track.  They will also get review booklets to work on in the days to come, which can be brought home to be completed if they don't finish them in class.

The afternoon was spent finishing our weather idioms sheet and then having some word fun with the letters from 'thunderstorm'.  Then we sang a funny song about clouds to the tune of 'The Muffin Man'.  The day concluded with a second trip to the sanctuary to practice for Awards Night.

June 13, 2014

We had a fun day today focusing on some special men in our lives; our dads! The day began with devotions, and then on to our Spelling test.  This was followed by finishing up our Father's Day craft, which I would love to show you pictures of (I have many) but I promised the kids I wouldn't post any until after Father's Day, so I shall wait!

We had Math after recess and the students did their corrections from their tests yesterday.  Then they moved on to the cumulative review, which is a review of everything they've learned all year.  We will be doing review work for the remainder of the year as we have covered the curriculum for Grade 3 and 4 math already!

We finished our morning with working on cards for our dads.

Following lunch we had Science, and we wrapped up our weather idiom cards.  The class ended their day with P.E. with Mr. Banman.

Enjoy your weekend everyone!

June 12, 2014

Today started with Bible, and we talked about how sin separates us from God, and that doing good deeds for the sake of bragging about them is the wrong reason to be doing them, and that we should be doing good to serve others and show Christ's love.

Then we had Handwriting, which was review for both grades, followed by Grammar, where we did some dictionary work and then review.  The class ventured off to library, and then recess.

There was an awards night practice for the students after recess, and then we had our math test.  I haven't marked them yet, but hopefully will get those done tonight and returned to the students tomorrow.

In the afternoon we completed (our nearly completed) our Father's Day projects.  Hopefully all the dads are happy with what we came up with! :)

Mrs. Ryskamp ended the day with chapel.

June 11, 2014

Today began with an awesome O.W.I. of a scuba diver swimming through a flooded park.  It looked like an underwater world!  Then we worked on our animal research projects for WW, followed by Charlotte's Web and The Hobbit before recess.

After recess we had Math.  The 4's worked on "Show What You Know" which is a review from this unit.  No one finished it, and I encouraged them to bring it home today to practice for their test tomorrow.  The 3's continued with their review as well.

Then the class had P.E. and P.O.W. with Mr. Banman, followed by lunch.

We concluded our day with S.S., continuing our study of the fur trade, the HBC and the NWC.

Have a lovely afternoon everyone!

June 10, 2014

Today began with a daily gram, and then we went on to a big combination of tasks. Some students were finishing up part 1 of their Father's Day projects, some we're working on part 2 with me, others were completing a typing assessment, others were finishing off their poetry webquests, and a few were working on their animal research projects!  What a productive start to the day!

Following recess we went on to an awards night run practice, and then Math. A reminder that our tests are on Thursday, so please review some of the basic facts with the 3's, as well as long division with the 4's.

After lunch we continued with our study of the fur trade.  Then the students had library and PE.  All library books should be back now.  If you still have some at home, please return them soon!

June 9, 2014

Good afternoon to all my students and their families! Today started with a summer crossword, and then we went on to RW, where we read the second last chapter of Charlotte's Web. Today's reading was quite a serious topic and one that hit close to home for a few students in our class as it was about death and dying.  We talked about how that made us felt, how the characters would have felt, etc.

Then it was on to Spelling, and we did Unit 32 this week.  The memory verse, 1 Peter 3:18, is our last of the year, and will be assessed June 19.  There will be a Spelling test in Friday this week.

We enjoyed the glorious weather outside for DPA, and then it was recess.

Math was the subject the kids started in on for the second half of their morning, and the 3's carried on with review while the 4's continued practicing long division. Then the class had a practice for awards night, which used up all of our writing workshop.  This led to the poetry webquest being bumped to Wednesday because we didn't have time to work on it today.  The Math class will now be Thursday.

After lunch we had Science and we learned what an idiom was (hooray for cross curricular instruction!).  We did some work with weather idioms, so be sure to ask your child for an example of one.

The day concluded with chapel led by Mrs. Bloch.

June 6, 2014

It's the weekend!  The kids are buzzing with excitement, and I'm assuming that's because they know summer vacation is fast approaching.  Hopefully the weekend helps to expend some of their extra energy! :)

We began today with devotions, and then had our Spelling test and memory verse check.  Then it was on to RW and the students worked on Charlotte's Web for a while and then went on to Guided Reading groups.  

Following recess we had Math, and the fours pushed through more long division (I can confidently say half of them completely understand it now, but please practice at home!), and the 3's continued with basic multiplication and division.

We ventured off to the computer lab afterward to work on the poetry webquests.  These are due on Tuesday. 

After lunch the class presented their weather reports. I'm going to try to publish them to the blog later if possible!

June 5, 2014

We had an awesome Sports Day today!  Thanks to all the students for their awesome attitudes throughout the day and to the parents who helped out in so many different ways - we couldn't have done it without you!  Here are some photos for you to enjoy (I was the leader of the green team, so there's more of them as they are who I was with for most of the time):

June 4, 2014

Hi parents!  We had a jam-packed Wednesday today, starting with RW, and then on to our top-secret Father's Day projects.  After much frustration and problems, we got Step 2 finished!  Hooray!  I wiped the sweat from my brow and ventured forth into a short but sweet WW, where the students officially all began their discovery drafts of their animal research projects.

After recess we had Math, and the 4's mind's were exercised as they started long division (dun dun dunnnnn).  I've emphasized with them that this a practice makes perfect type of math, so please work with them at home a bit.  Here is an awesome site for working on the steps of long division: Long Division . Also, there is a free app called "Division for Kids" which is very helpful with long division.  The Grade 3's are of course encouraged to try these out too!  Many are ready for the challenge! :)

Then the class had P.E. with Mr. Banman followed by continued practice with their math.

After lunch we had an hour of Sports Day preparation, creating banners and songs for our teams.

Everyone's excited for tomorrow!  Remember to wear your team colours!!

June 3, 2014

Today started with a paragraph edit.  Each child received their grade-appropriate level paragraph and were told what to look for (commas, apostrophes, capitalizations, language usage, etc.) and tried to find as many of the errors as they could.  For Bible today, the students shared the stories they had found about trust.  Thanks to those parents who took the time to help their children with this task!

This was followed by RW, and we worked on some activities pertaining to Chapter 20 of Charlotte's Web.  Then it was on to WW and the students had a significant chunk of time to work on their poetry webquests.

After recess the class had Music followed by Math.  The 3's are wrapping up their unit, although we will continue to do review work and some further work on problem solving through the remainder of June.  The 4's worked on division with remainders today, and will venture into long division tomorrow (pray for us!). :)

Then it was lunch, and then S.S. where we started to discuss the fur trade.  Then Library, and P.E. with Mr. Banman.

June 2, 2014

It's so hard to believe that we're actually in the last month of this school year already!  We have lots to do yet, both work and play, so this month is sure to be a busy one. The students are definitely excited for summer holidays!

We began the day with an assembly, and then we had our opening exercise, which today was a math drill.  Again, I encourage you to work on these at home as it will make what we're doing in math right now so much simpler for your child.  Then it was on to RW (independent reading), followed by Spelling and DPA, which we did outside to enjoy the beautiful weather.

Following recess we had Math, and both grades completed work from last week and the 3's went on to learn about related multiplication and division sentences. Then we worked on our animal research projects, and almost everyone is done their research, which is great news.

After lunch we had Science, and the class worked on a fun little project we're doing with our weather unit called 'Weather Station'.  Ask them to tell you about it, but basically they get to do a weather report.  The only downfall was that I couldn't, no matter how hard I tried, find a simplified Canadian weather map so we're stuck using U.S. maps.  It could be worse, I supposed, but it's not quite what I had hoped for.

Mrs. Campbell led chapel today, which we attended during the last block of the day.