Thursday, December 14, 2017

Dear Parents,
     Happy Thursday!! Boy, can you tell it is close to Christmas because I sure can!!  This class is just very chatty and sometimes can't stay in their seats.  We are working on it.  I am keeping them busy.  I have even told them I could give them more to keep them busy.  Tomorrow is the last day to bring items for the Food Pantry.  When I look at it we don't have too much down there.  We could use some toilet paper and toothpaste and I know toothpaste an item they really wanted.  They have trouble keeping it in stock.  Thank again for any donation you are able to give.

Language Arts -  This week they are reading a story called The Life and Times of the Ant.  It is an informational piece about ants and how they live.  It gives lots of information about the ants working together, their jobs, the chambers in an ant hill, and food.  I find it interesting .  Some of the students found it more interesting than others.  This week in grammar we have talked about present and past participles and participle phrases.  These are adjectives ending in -ing and -ed.  Great lesson to follow two weeks worth of spelling lists on words ending in -ing and -ed.  I have put this week's words on Quizlet so they can study them on computer.  Tomorrow will be the regular end of the week testing.

Language Arts Next Week -  I am not going on to do a story next week.  I plan to have some other activities.  One of the activities will take place Monday.  I usually do it during the week of Thanksgiving but it didn't work this year.  Monday will be cuddle up and read day.  The students are allowed to bring a blanket, pillow and a stuffed animal to school that day.  They can bring one thing or all three whatever they want.  We will spend out language arts times cuddled up on the floor reading the whole time.  We will read from 9:00 - 10:15.  It is an easy 75 minutes for book it this month. Plus I like to celebrate the joy of reading.  Tuesday they will be assigned their next book report.  This report will appeal to the artists in the room.  I will go over all the directions on Tuesday and they will then need to begin picking a book for the project.  I will stress a book with a strong character.  We will also do a writing project here at school that week.  This gets them out of the book and doing some other fun educational activities.  It is best to do this on this week because they are all so excited for Christmas break!

Math - The students finished chapter 2 this week.  They took a test made corrections and we have begun work in chapter 3.  We will do the introductory pages and the firs lesson.  Then depending on the students I will take the time to teach them to play Suduko.  I love to do Suduko puzzles.  I have an app on my phone that I do a daily challenge and then there are just other puzzles to do.  Some may all ready know but to some it may be new.  I also have some Christmas Math pictures they will do next week.  I deals with chart and graph skills or plotting points.  They will get specific instructions on how to color in some boxes.  If they don't locate the correct boxes their picture will be wrong.  It is just a fun Christmas item to do.  If they can't handle the fun activities then we will go back and work hard on the chapter.  This chapter will flow pretty easily because it is stuff they all ready know it is just applying it to double-digit multiplication.

Social Studies -  This week we have focused on timelines.  We learned what a vertical timeline was and created a vertical timeline on their lives.  They could pick 10 important events in their lives to place on their timeline.  One day we worked on a list of events and the students were to go home and ask about dates, then the next day I showed them how to create it and they worked on it  in class.  Today they shared their timelines with the whole class by presenting them.  There is a specific standard on reading and creating timelines.  I feel they all understood and mastered it.  We will have another map test tomorrow on the Northeast Region.  Please be sure your children are studying the maps so they can do well.  They also are working on their last state of the Northeast for their interactive notebooks.    We will be getting back into the book to finish the 2nd chapter on the Northeast.  We will finish up and test after Christmas.  Then we move on to the Southeast Region and do all the same activities.

December 21, 2017 - We will have a very busy day celebrating Christmas this day.  I plan to finish anything that needs finishing in the morning in case their is a subject that I need to kind of put an end to before break.  Then we will begin our Christmas Party.  I ask that the kids bring a board game from home that they love to play.  I don't have a ton of games in my room so if they want to bring something that I do not have they can.  We will spend some time game playing games with each other and enjoying a snack provided by our homeroom mom.  They eat lunch with their advent angels that day so they need a sack lunch.  We will have caroling in the gym right after that.  Then the afternoon will be spent watching a fun movie with 3rd and 5th graders.   You are welcome to join your child for any part of this day.  You can join in when we play games or sing carols or the movie i the afternoon.  I feel that we need a day to celebrate Christmas as a class and have some fun.  I may even ask the students to come dressed in the Christmas Spirit. I will have a Christmas sweater on that day for sure!

Important Items to remember:

Monday, December 18 -  Cuddle up and Read and Mrs. Sickels gone in the afternoon
Thursday, December 21 -  Bring a sack lunch, dress for Christmas, and board game.
Friday, December 22- January 3rd -  Christmas Break

I will be gone the afternoon of Monday the 18th.  I will be at the doctor with one of my kids.  I love this time of year but have to pray for patience often.  The kids are all excited and so am I.  My kids are all home and under one roof which makes my heart full during this time of the year.  Only problem is we stay up late enjoying each other's company and then I am tired the next day. I hope all of you have a wonderful and safe Christmas Break.  I have family coming today and we have our first family Christmas this weekend all weekend.  I also am having a baking day with friends on Sunday to make all sorts of Christmas goodies!! I love this time of year.

Merry Christmas!!
Mrs. Sickels

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