November 28, 2014

Whew!  We had a crazy day (in a good way!) today, and I am ready for the weekend!  Here's all the happenings:

1. Opening exercises - today we wrote an O.W.I. based on an amusing photo of a young girl and a camel
2. Spelling test/memory verse check - marks are in their planners
3. R.W. - Independent reading today
4. Chapel prep - we're getting ready for December 8th.  I hope you can make it!
5. Computers - everyone practiced their typing
6. Music - with Mr. Banman
7. Math - most students completed Show What You Know today, and those who were done went on to a unit problem involving some more complicated number concepts and operations
8. B.U. G. draw - the most exciting day of the month for a lot of the students!  Many fun prizes were awarded, and I hope the fantastic behaviour continues through December!
9. Art - we worked on our artwork for the chapel we are leading.  They will also be on display outside our classroom

November 27, 2014

Hello to all our families out there!  Here's what took place in our classroom today:

1. Opening Exercises - the class worked on a Daily Gram (grammar checkup)
2. W.W. - the students shared their Spelling Stories from yesterday.  They were so creative that I wanted them to share them, and besides, it's wonderful speaking practice for them!
3. Handwriting - the Grade 3's learned heaps of new lower-case letters today: b, f, j, k, h, p, r, and s!  Please practice these at home with them too, as many of them are difficult (especially k, r, and s).  The 4's worked on lower and upper-case L and M.
4. Math - we worked on Show What You Know again, and I'm going to give the class one more day to complete it as most are not yet done, which means our test will be on Monday
5. R.W. - we completed our Guided Reading activity, and went on to the next reading today.  Then the class had independent reading
6. P.E. - with Mr. Banman
7. R.W. - with Mr. Ediger
8. Chapel - led by Mr. Ediger

November 26, 2014

Good afternoon (almost evening!) everyone,

Here's what took place in our classroom today:

1. Opening Exercises - today we did a preposition crossword
2. W.W. - we wrote a Spelling Story!  Ask your child what his or hers was about!
3. Grammar - One of the biggest challenges with this group is run on sentences, which was our focus today.  
4. D.P.A. - I was introduced to 2 corner soccer, and the kids had a blast playing it.  
5. Music - with Mr. Banman
6. Ketchup and Pickles - the class caught up on overdue work
7. Math - we started 'Show What You Know' today, in preparation for an upcoming test (likely Monday, but possible Friday if enough students finish tomorrow).
8. Chapel Preparations - our class will be leading chapel Monday, December 8th.  I welcome all of you to join us for that, starting at 2 PM.  The kids are doing some bible readings, leading the school in songs, and sharing artwork.

November 25, 2014

Here's what went down in our Grade 3/4 class today!

1. O.E.: We did a journal write about inventing a new ice-cream flavor. Some chose yummy flavors, others chose some interesting ingredients to add to theirs--frog legs anyone? I let the students read theirs to the class because they did a really good job on them.
2. W.W.: Last week, I handed out some poems to the class. They can memorize them if they want and recite them to class. If they do, they can get a prize. We started our W.W. with some poetry recitations. We then learned about a new form of poetry called "Cinquain Poems." They did a great job writing these poems for the first time.
3. H.A.C.E.: We finished up our Germ Monsters and did a bit of review of healthy living as we are finishing up our unit.
4. Math: We played a Math game called "I Have, Who Has". It was all about geometry and shapes. The class as a whole had to race against the clock to see how fast they could answer the questions. Our first round we got 2:38, but by the third round, we finished in 1:25! They're a speedy bunch!
5. P.E.: We played Belly Ball today.
6. Science: We started learning about Beam Bridges today and the different shapes that beam bridges can have--straight, arched, zig-zag, droopy, etc. In groups, students had to test to find out which beam bridge shape was the strongest. Here are some pictures from our experiment!

November 24th, 2014

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas in Grade 3/4!  We hung some pretty Christmas lights today to help with the Christmas spirit in our room and it definitely makes things a bit more festive.

1. Opening exercises - we started with independent reading today
2. Spelling/memory - Unit 11 is all words that the class has been spelling incorrectly in their writing.  The memory verse this week is 1 Peter 5:7
3. R.W. - We enjoyed some read aloud time
4. Math - Today was Math games day!  The class had a great time playing a variety of dice games related to addition and multiplication
   

   

   

   
5. P.E. - with Mr. Banman

1. S.S. - we studied mapping to do with communities, and then went on to discuss the differences in sounds heard in rural vs. urban communities
2. Chapel - Mrs. Hills led today

November 21, 2015

I can't get over how dark and gloomy it is outside this afternoon!  I hope you all have some joy-filled activities planned today and this weekend to help brighten things up on the inside!

Here's how our Friday went:

1. Opening Exercises - the children wrote a journal entry about what superhero power they'd like to have and what they'd do with it.  They had a blast with this one, and we got some very creative entries!
2. Spelling test and memory test - their marks are in their planners. 
3. R.W. - we worked on Ch. 6 questions from The Chocolate Touch
4. Computers - some of the class worked on their best day/worst day ever stories, while others worked on ATRT
5. Music - with Mr. Banman
6. Math - the 3's finished their work with 1000's and then played a game called 'Race to 1000'.  The 4's worked on word problems using multiplication and division.  The most challenging part for all of them was creating their own problems for others to solve.
7. D.P.A. - we had a game of 'Capture the Flag', but there was far too much complaining and disgruntled children, so we returned to class earlier than planned unfortunately.  I'm not sure if lots of children were just having a tough day, or what happened, but I told them that I didn't feel the game worked well with our group, and that we wouldn't be playing it again in D.P.A.  There are lots of other games we can have fun with, and we'll focus on those.
8. Science - today we talked about the moon and it's characteristics.  Ask your child if he/she recalls the extreme temperatures on the moon!
9. Art - today our origami project was making frogs that jump.  They were such a delight to make and the class really enjoyed it.  Many of the students wanted to race their frogs afterwards, so here's a photos of us getting ready for that, and then the actual race.
   
   

   
   

November 20, 2014

I just realized that one month from now, we will be on Christmas vacation!  Wow! We have lots to cover in class between now and then.  On that note, here's what was taught today:

1. Opening Exercises - that class did a Mad Minute.  They had 50 questions, and only a few got at least half right. Continue encouraging your child to do his/her Xtra Math each evening, as this will help so much with their math work in class.
2. W.W. - Continued work on our narratives.  Everyone is on the publish stage, and many are finished.
3. Handwriting - the Grade 3's learned how to make lower-case cursive a's, d's, g's, and q's today, and the 4's reviewed upper and lower-case J and K.  Write a note to your child in cursive in their planner or lunch kit and see if they can figure it out (I'm optimistic they can, especially the Grade 4's).  As of December 1st, the Grade 4's will be expected to handwrite much more frequently, and as of January 1st, other than a couple of exceptions, they will be writing everything in cursive!
4. Math - The 3's worked on making groups to count to 1000, while the 4's finished up their division/multiplication work
5. R.W. - We had Guided Reading today, and the children read with their small groups and then did some activities to demonstrate their comprehension.  Then we had Independent Reading.  I've been spending one-on-one time with each child during Independent Reading to ensure that the novels they choose are an ok level for them.  I've discovered that most are reading books a bit beyond their ability level, and I've encouraged them to choose something simpler if they find it confusing.
6. P.E. - with Mr. Banman
7. R.W. - with Mr. Ediger
8. Chapel - Mrs. Campbell led and spoke to everyone about fear/courage

November 19, 2014

We had a sweet, short day today, wrapping up lots of loose ends.

1. Opening Exercises - we completed an O.W.I. based on a picture of a man walking through a field of locusts in Madagascar
2. W.W. - we continued working on our narratives of our best/worst days ever.  I hope to have these done and on display in the computer lab by the end of the week!
3. Grammar - today's lesson was about interrogative (command) statements and exclamatory (surprise) sentences.
4. D.P.A. - a fun game of Dungeon Ball was played by everyone!  I may have joined in ;)
5. Music - with Mr. Banman
6. R.W. - we read Chapter 2 from Indian in the Cupboard
7. Math - everyone worked on corrections, and then the 3's worked further with estimating and the 4's focused on related division and multiplication facts
8. S.S. - we continued our comparison between Mt. Pleasant (in North Vancouver) and Chilliwack using a Venn diagram.

November 18, 2014

It's been a while since I was with the class -- 2 weeks! Far too long!! It was great being back with them. They are such an easy group to come back to :) Here's what happened today in grade 3/4.

1. Opening Exercise: We did a crossword about penguins.
2. Bible: We did our second day in our prayer journals. The students wrote about people they wanted to pray for, what they needed prayer for, and what they were grateful for.
3. Writing Workshop: Since it was 2 weeks ago that we talked about alliteration, we did some review of alliteration. The students wrote their own alliteration poems, using any letter they wanted. Some were ambitious in their letter choice!
4. Math: We spent a bit longer on math today since it was 2 weeks since we had talked about geometry. We did a math review game called SCOOT! We rotated around the classroom answering different geometry questions at each desk. After about 3 minutes at one desk, I would say "SCOOT!" and the students would rotate.
5. Library: With Mrs. McNutt.
6. P.E.: We did some warm-up with skipping ropes and hula-hoops. Then we played a few rounds of Dungeon Ball.
7. Science: We took our knowledge about shapes from geometry and applied it to Science. We wanted to know what shapes make the strongest structures: squares, arches, or triangles. Turns out that triangles are the strongest. We learned this through a hands-on experiment.

November 17, 2014

Good afternoon everyone!  It's a beautiful, brisk fall day outside today.  We had a great time in this gorgeous November weather at lunch recess.

Here's how our day went indoors:

1. Opening exercises - today we corrected some poorly written sentences.  Ask your child if they found it difficult or easy to find the mistakes, and which ones they missed.  
2. Spelling/memory verse - this week's memory verse is a long one!  Ephesians 4:29.  We also got the words for Unit 10 (-ing words for the 3's and long 'e' words for the 4's)
3. R.W. - we read Chapter 6 in The Chocolate Touch
4. Math - After finishing up some work from Friday, we went on to estimating with the 3's and further work with related multiplication and division facts with the 4's.
5. P.E. - with Mr. Banman
6. Lunch - here's a photo:
   
7. S.S. - we compared Chilliwack to Mt. Pleasant, and discussed other aspects of our community
8. Chapel -

November 14, 2014

Happy Friday everyone!  Most of today went well, with one small blip (read below to find out more).  Here's what we did:

1. Opening exercises - today the children did some silent reading and also listened to Aiden's show and tell about his martial arts
2. Spelling test and memory verse check - marks are in the student's planners
3. R.W. - We started our new read aloud, The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynn Reid Banks.  After just one chapter, the class was begging me to read on.  I'm making them wait until next week though! ;)
4. S.S. - Tyson and Alexus shared their election articles with the class.  Thanks to those families for helping the children choose something to bring in!  
5. Computers - We spent some time doing typing today, and then the class had some time with educational games as well
6. Music - with Mr. Banman
7. Math - the Grade 3's continued their work with counting coins by skip counting, and the 4's worked on dividing using related multiplication facts.  Some of the 3's have unfinished work that they're bringing home to complete over the weekend.
8. Science - today's focus was on why we have seasons. Hopefully your child can tell you that it's because the earth is tilted.
9. D.P.A. - we enjoyed a game of Capture the Flag,
   
    but this was where our one small blip happened.  As the class was getting into line I had 5 different children involved in pushing and shoving to get ahead of other children.  Seeing as this has happened many times before, I decided that from now on we'll line up alphabetically, until January at least.  I need everyone to feel safe in school, and many of them are getting caught up in the chaos of getting into line.  Please reiterate to your child the importance of being kind and considerate with our classmates.  Thank you!
10. Art - we had some fun trying out origami today!  Your child is coming home with a ladybug that we made, and we'll be doing more in the weeks to come.

November 13, 2014

Brrrr!  It's cold outside!  I am so glad to see that most of the students are dressed for the weather.  Please make sure your child is warm enough with the clothes they have with them.  Even if they don't want to wear mitts it doesn't hurt to throw a pair in their backpack just in case. :)

Here's how our day went:

1. Opening exercises - the students wrote a journal entry about if they could travel back in time, when would they travel to!
2. W.W. - We focused on quotation marks today, and Punctuation Pig came out to help us along too.  The students generally seem to have a solid grasp on how to use quotation marks, and were enjoying editing students writing. 
3. Handwriting - the 3's moved on to letters u, w, c, and o, while the 4's worked on I, i, and some review
4. Math - the 3's worked on counting money today (ask them about the "bag of money" they received), and the 4's worked on dividing using arrays.
5. R.W. - we started our first guided reading groups of the year today!  Each child has been placed in a group that best suits their reading level.  They will work through a book with their group, reading out loud, and occasionally on their own, doing group activities together about the book as well.  This will culminate in a project about their book as well.
6. P.E. - with Mr. Banman
7. R.W. - with Mr. Ediger
8. Chapel - led by Mrs. Ryskamp

November 12, 2014

After an unusual day off yesterday, it was back to work for all of us today, and we definitely had a productive day!

1. Opening exercises - we worked on a Mad Minute, but with 50 questions this time instead of 30.  They were more challenging addition questions too, so very few of the students did better than they had previously.  Encourage them to continue with their Xtra Math (here's the link in case you misplaced it) to help with their basic fact retention.
2. W.W. - we were back at our narratives about the best/worst day ever today.  They had been put on the back burner while we worked on the Veteran's postcards, so it took a bit to get going, but we're back at it again.
3. Grammar - Today's lesson was about different types of sentences (interrogative vs. declarative).  A frequent mistake I see children in this class making is forgetting to put an end mark on their sentences.  They must have one, whether it be a period, a question mark, or an exclamation mark.
4. D.P.A. - The popular vote was for another game of Dungeon Ball, so we all played today (I even joined in too!).
5. Music - with Mr. Banman
6. R.W. - We finished our read aloud, and soon we'll be on to The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks.  It's one I read when I was this age, and I'm looking forward to sharing it with the children.
7. Math - the Grade 4's got to play a fun multiplication game with my fancy 10-sided dice today. Ask them to play it with you at home - they can easily do so with two 6-sided dice, and it's a great way to practice multiplication facts as they don't even realize they're working!  The 3's finished up work from yesterday, and then both grades went on to an assignment where they have to push their thinking a bit beyond what we've done in class so far.  This proved challenging for many, but by the end I believe they all understood! We had a big problem today with students talking while I was talking and it made for a lot of wasted time in class.  As a result of all the lost teaching time, I had the students stay 5 minutes into lunch to cover what we hadn't covered during class time.  Hopefully that will never happen again.
8. S.S.- Continuing through our unit on 'Communities', today our focus shifted to Chilliwack, and what is unique about our community.  We learned about the population of Chilliwack and we also discussed the election as well.  Please read the homework assignment description on the homework page. 

November 10, 2014

We had a busy day of tying up a lot of loose ends and preparing for the assembly.  Here's how it all went:

1. Opening exercises - We worked on an O.W.I. of a person at camp #2 on Mt. Everest.
2. Spelling - the students received their words for this week and their next memory verse
3. R.W. - We finished up the Chapter 5 assignment from The Chocolate Touch
4. Assembly practice - we ran through where everyone would stand for the Remembrance Day assembly in the afternoon
5. P.E. - with Mr. Morrow today!
6. S.S. - we finished up most of our postcards, as well as our letters to the scientist who came to visit.  
7. Assembly - everything went very well, and our class sang beautifully.  Here's a link to the video of their song: In Flander's Fields.  I'm a very proud teacher. :) 

Have a wonderful day off from school tomorrow and we'll see you all back on Wednesday.

November 7, 2014

Three cheers for Friday!  This week was great, but I think everyone in our class is excited for the weekend.  I hope everyone has a restful time with their family and friends.

What were we up to today?  Here`s the scoop: 

1. Opening Exercises - We worked on a daily gram, where the children correct grammar mistakes in writing
2. Spelling test and memory verse check - this was our first really big memory verse check and most kids did really well!  Their marks for both memory and spelling are in their planners.
3. Ketchup and pickles - the students had an opportunity to catch up on late work
4. Computers - we worked on typing today
5. Music - with Mr. Banman
6. Math - We played some fun place value games today and talked about greater than and less than with the 3`s and the 4`s reviewed related facts in multiplication.
7. Science - today`s lesson was about how we have seasons.  See if your child can explain to you that because the earth is tilted on it`s axis, as it orbits the sun, different hemispheres get more sunlight, leading to different seasons.  We also started a short Bill Nye video about the seasons.
8. Art - we all made some commemorative poppies today, with words that came to mind when reflecting on Remembrance Day.  These are on display in the hallway.
9. D.P.A. - I figured we should enjoy the sunshine that the Lord has blessed us with and took the children outside for their last 15 minutes of the day!

November 6, 2014

Here`s the lowdown on today:

1. Opening Exercises - the class worked on a word search together
2. W.W. - we finished up (or nearly finished) our postcards to the veterans.  I`m hoping these will be done tomorrow and will mail them off asap.
3. Handwriting - the class finished work from previous weeks
4. Math - Grade 3 continued with their work on skip counting, starting from more challenging numbers (i.e. skip count from 323 by 4`s), and the 4`s worked on their multiplication facts, and how related facts can help them solve more difficult problems.  Some students were very distracted today in Math, so there has been homework assigned.  Most children are done, but if your child isn`t, it`s likely because they were busy socializing instead.  This also resulted in a desk change, as being in groups was just a bit too tempting for many of the students to visit instead of complete their work.
5. R.W. - We finished up Chapter 4 in The Chocolate Touch, and read Chapter 5 today as well.  We are almost done our read aloud too (ask your child what Fudge did today!)
6. P.E, - with Mr. Banman
7. R.W. - with Mr. Ediger
8. Chapel - Ms. Dyck led

November 5, 2014

Good afternoon everybody!

Here's what happened today:

1. Opening exercises - we planned the chapel that our class will lead, on December 15th.  Feel free to play and join us that day to watch!  It begins at 2 PM.
2. W.W. - we started work on our postcards to veterans today
3. Grammar - the class completed work from previous lessons
4. DPA - everyone enjoyed a game of Dungeon Ball
5. Music - with Mr. Banman
6. R.W. - overdue work had to be completed first, and then the students went on to independent reading
7. Math - the 3's worked on their skip counting, forwards and backwards, while the 4's focused on using multiplication facts you know to help you figure out those you don't.  We also played a couple of games together, so be sure to have your child tell you about those.
8. S.S. - the class finished off their postcards about a community in B.C.
9. Library - in lieu of the missed library class yesterday

November 4, 2014

Today was a very productive day in grade 3/4. The students listened very well today and came eager to learn :) Here's what we did today:

1. Opening Exercises: The students wrote a journal entry about the scientist that came to visit them yesterday.
2. Bible: I started a new thing with the students today. It's a prayer journal. This is something that the students can use to write down their own prayer requests, things they are thankful for, and write down things that other people need prayer for.
3. Writing Workshop: Now that the class is more familiar with different poetry terms (simile, metaphor, alliteration, etc.), we started writing some poetry! We made silly poems today using alliteration. The students had to work their way through the alphabet and think of sentences that used alliteration. In each sentence, they had to use an adjective, noun, and verb. The sentences were hilarious! The class was laughing lots as we shared some of our favorite sentences we made.
4. Math: We worked through 3D shapes today as we determined how many faces, edges, and vertices each shape had. The students then did a little assessment piece for me to see how much they knew.
5. Health & Careers: We made germ monsters today--no, not actual germs! We used blobs of paint and straws to create splatted looking germ monsters. Next time, we will add some googly eyes to finish off our germs. Better on paper than on our hands, right? :)
6. P.E.: We played another round of Dungeon Ball.
7. Science: Today we learned about posts and beams and what materials make the strongest posts and beams. We did a hands-on experiment where the students tested which material was stronger: straws or popsicle sticks. They had to see which material held up the most marbles in a yogurt container. There were only a few times where students were losing their marbles--literally.

November 3, 2014

We finished our day in a pretty unique way today, but here's what happened first:

1. Opening exercises - we started with a journal entry about the weekend
2. Spelling - Unit #8 words are posted on the Spelling page.  This week's memory verse is Psalm 100:3-5.  Each student needs to only write that entire section one time for homework each night this week, not three times.
3. R.W. - we finished Chapter 4 in our literature study, and then we worked on some higher-level thinking skills to do with our reading
4. Math - the class finished the work that they started with Ms. Dyck on Friday
5. P.E. - with Mr. Banman
6. Science - this was the surprise today!  Mr. Ed Tadeuszow (also known as E.T.) came from Science World and talked to the class about space. Ask your child what they learned from him, as he had lots of knowledge to share with us. 

Chapel - led by Mr. Ediger