Dear Parents, 

     Happy Thursday!  We are winding down getting ready to celebrate Christmas.  The kids are a little crazy!  They are just very talkative and can't sit still as well.  We are counting down the days.  We have 4 school days left.  I like that it is 2 this week and then only 2 next week.  I hope all of you have everything done and ready to go.  I still have to wrap some presents.  I am going to Des Moines Friday night to shop for the first time.  I have been doing most everything online.  Now, I am worried some things won't get here.    Sunday I hope to do a little bit of baking.  I didn't even fully decorate this year.    I am ready to spend some time with my kids.  

Language Arts - This week we are reading a story called The Earth Dragon Awakes.  It is a historical fiction piece about the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.  This is a real event that took place.  A lot of the things in the story are factual but the characters and the specific event that happens to the characters is not.  We read about a father and son that are in their tenement getting ready for the day when it hits.  Their tenement collapses around them.  It is pretty detailed of what is happening.   They are buried under the rubble.  In the end they are rescued but it can be a scary story.  Not in a "horror" way but maybe in an "anxiety" way.  The two natural disasters we have read about so far, have made us all agree we like where we live. NO Hurricanes or earthquakes here.  In grammar we are talking about singular and plural possessive nouns.  Nouns that show ownership and we are learning how to know if singular or plural.  The vocabulary strategy was on synonyms which is a review for us because they work on this skill every week when they do their vocabulary words.  Tomorrow will be their post test and end of the week test.

Math -  In math this week we began chapter 3.  This is on double-digit multiplication.  We have already worked on multiplying by tens and the last couple of days we worked on estimation.  The kids don't know it but tomorrow we are going to do the Christmas Math.  We will do that Friday and Monday.  Tuesday is just meant to be a fun day.  When we get back we will be working more on strategies to help with double-digit multiplication.

Social Studies -  They made it through their first map test.  We will take another map test over the northeast before we move onto the southeast.  We are also trying to get our interactive notebook of the northeast states completed.  There is so much to do before starting the next region!  These kids like this subject and are working hard.  We will have a chapter test over this chapter when we return.  Today we are working on vertical timelines.  The kids will work on creating their own timelines.  They were to come with 10 events in their lives today.  I will work with them on how to create that timeline today.  I allow them today and tomorrow to work in class then they have to be done by Monday because they will present them to the class.  

Tuesday, December 22 -  This is our last day before break.  I am not 100% sure what the day is going to look like.  I will show a movie at some point.  They will have caroling with their Advent Angels.  Your child may bring a favorite game from home.  We spend some time playing games and just enjoying everyone's company.  I have snacks and a drink being provided by the homeroom mom. I will probably do they day as it comes.  It will all depend on the kids and their behavior.  Do I show the movie in the morning then play games in the afternoon?  or vice versa.  That will just depend. It is a fun day though.  Your student must bring a sack lunch that day with a drink.  That is really the only requirement.

Dress up days:    Thursday - Wear Red

                          Friday - Wear Green

                          Monday -  Grinch Day -  You can do anything!  I have a t-shirt I wear.  Kids can wear anything Grinch or just colors that deal with the Grinch!  Whatever you want to do. (Even if you have Grinch PJ's)

                           Tuesday -  Ugly Sweater Day!   I got a new one so I am excited.

Friday IS a spirit day!  Wear your sweats with your GREEN.  Pay the $1.00.  It always goes to a great cause.

I hope all of you have a great last weekend before Christmas preparing.  I will be shopping, wrapping and baking this weekend.  Lots of Christmas music will be played.  If I have forgotten anything please email or text me to ask!  I am very forgetful right now.

Merry Christmas!

God Bless,

Mrs. Sickels

Dear Parents,

     Happy Thursday!   I feel like this week has gone quickly!  I am not sure why but it has. Maybe it was the change in Mass days.  We are all back in the room together!  We are very thankful for this.  The kids have missed each other a lot.  Things can finally go back to normal for all of us.  Next week is our last full week before Christmas break.  Remember in November when I told you the rest of the year goes quickly?  Well, it is happening!  I can't believe only one more full week!  We will spend all those days working very hard.  We will still have all subjects with lessons.  The two days in last week (21st and 22nd) We will still have work but I will also sprinkle in some Christmas activities.  

Language Arts -   This unit is focusing on stories dealing with weather.  This week we are reading a story called Hurricanes: Earth's Mightiest Storms.  It is a little above their heads, I think.  It is a non fiction piece talking about how a hurricane forms and the measurement tools used to measure weather.  It is a story that is okay to hear once but 3 times in a week is too much.  I honestly am not looking for very good scores on the  end of the week test tomorrow. This week in grammar we have covered my favorite topic.  The correct way to use: to, too and two, their, there, and they're, and its and it's.  I see so many people use these words incorrectly on Facebook posts.  The vocabulary strategy this week was on suffixes -ful, -less, - ness, -ment.  Tomorrow is their spelling test and end of week test.  Next week we will cover story 2.  Then we will be done in the book until after Christmas Break.

Math -  We finished up Chapter 2 and took a test this week. You will find the results in your child's take home folder.  They began chapter 3 today.  I plan to work hard on Math all next week.  I hipe to get through the first 2-3 lessons.  Then I have a "Christmas Math" activity for them.  It deals with coordinate pairs and coloring pictures.  Seems weird it is math but that is what it is.  Kind of like Battleship.  That is working with coordinate pairs and is considered Math.

Social Studies -  This week I have introduced the Map test to the students.  This is where I give them a blank map of the Northeast Region and ask them to label all the states and capitals.  They have created an answer key and I have given them 4 practice pages.  That is one for every day.  They will take an official Map test on Monday of the Northeast region.  I do this by region because at the end of the year they will expected to label all 50 states and capitals.  It is easiest to  learn by region.  I am having them sing the States and Capitals song also.  I will have them sing the song before the test then I will have them work on it.  They have also begun to put the Mid-Atlantic states in their interactive notebooks this week.  We started with Delaware.  We are getting close to taking a test.  I plan to get that done before we go to break.  We will spend a lot of time working on finishing the Northeast in our interactive notebooks also.

Christmas Program Filming -   The plan is to film for the Christmas Program next Tuesday the 15th. Please be sure to send your student in their Christmas BEST that day.  Also, yes they still have to dress in Mass clothes on Wednesday the 16th.  We are exciting to be getting something out to you to show their work in Music and our Holiday Spirit!

December 22nd - This is our last day before break.  It is a full day. It will look a little different from what we normally do.  I will give you more details next week on what exactly the day will look like.  Yes, we have a Christmas Party it will involve treats but I am not sure what time of the day it will happen yet.  It is sack lunch day though.

Just in!  We are in a Winter Weather Advisory for Friday night at 6:00PM to Saturday night at 6:00PM.  I will take it!  I love it!   The only thing to make the season better is SNOW!  I love snow.  Reminder that tomorrow is NOT a spirit day.  I repeat NOT a spirit day.  Though I wish it was!

Well, I hope everyone has a great weekend!  I hope you are all getting ready for Christmas.  I even wrapped some packages last night!  I hope to get home in time tonight to put my lights on my porch.  Tis' the season.  

God Bless,

Mrs. Sickels 

 Dear Parents,

      Happy Thursday!  What a whirlwind of a few weeks.  I was gone with COVID and teaching from home and students were here and there.  Whew!  It's just Crazy!  Add Christmas in there and WOW!  We will get through all this together.  I am very grateful for excitement of Christmas to take away from the disappointment from everything else. Thanksgiving was a bummer but we made the best of it.  The students have been great through this whole thing and I so much appreciate it!

Language Arts -  We have been working on the Unit 2 test this week.  I am so thankful that this test is online so I can see the online kids results immediately.  We will be finishing that test today.  We have started the upper case letters in handwriting.  We have worked on handwriting every day.  Tomorrow I will have the 3 kids who are here share their  book reports.  The ones online will share when they return.  Thanks to COVID this has been way to long!  I also plan to assign them their next book report.  A few have been asking and we have been trying to find books for them all ready.  Next week we will start Unit 3 and get back to spelling tests and worksheets.

Math - We are working on a Dress Rehearsal for chapter 2.  The students finished those up today.  Tomorrow I plan on going over every problem on the test to help them understand what they are to do and maybe what they did wrong.  On Monday I plan to give them the actual test.  Then we will begin Chapter 3.  This is a shorter chapter and will not take us to awful long to get through it.  There might be a place where I need to slow down to make sure they are all understanding.  This chapter will focus on Double-digit multiplication.  Yes it is harder but because they are very good at single-digit this should be a smooth transition.  I am looking forward to doing some Christmas math things closer to Christmas!

Social Studies - We are working through our chapter.  We have been learning about the Narragansett Native Americans this week.  We also worked on some map skills.  They were looking at Map Keys and deciding if they used symbols or pictures in them.  We worked on vocabulary words today.  

Spirit Day - Tomorrow is a Spirit Day!  It is the perfect day to wear sweats and pay that $1.00.  Any money tomorrow will also go towards our adopt-a-family.

Book It - Remember to have your students turn in their book it calendars.  I need a parent signature.  I will give out the awards tomorrow.  

This week has kind of been exhausting for me!  Coming back after being sick is a lot.  But the only way to do it is to dive right in.  My evenings are spent doing nothing!  I hope to have more energy next week!  The students are really hanging in there and doing such a great job maneuvering around all this COVID business.  I am super proud of them!

God Bless,

Mrs. Sickels