Well, we finally have our first week of 2011 under our belts!  It took a couple days for us to come back into our routine but I have to admit they have done very well.  January is my favorite month to teach Reading because we spend the entire month reading Honus and Me by Dan Gutman and study baseball!!!!!!!  It was very exciting today to see them watch me as I read aloud and for them to want to go on to the next chapter. 
     The students have also been trying to adjust to another teacher this week with our addition of Miss Ragusa.  They all have done great giving her the respect that she should have as well as following her directions.  We all will still be working to learn how each other operates and I expect it to take a couple of weeks to have things down.  I am very happy to report though that today the entire class filled up their "Being Good" chart.  I add a sticker of stickers any time the entire class gets a compliment or I have been impressed by the entire class and their behavior or response to something.  They voted today that for this first reward they would like to have a pizza and soda party.  So one day next week I will be rewarding all of them with this!  I am looking forward to it also!  I am so proud of them for already filling up their chart and now they begin working on another one.  Once it is completed they will get to choose another reward they would like. 
    We have so many very fun things planned for the month of January and I am really looking forward to all of them.  Thanks again for everything you all do!

First I wanted to say how much fun I had having all of you visit with us and enjoy lunch and recess with your children.  I loved being able to put all of the faces with the names that I hear so much about.  This week was very exciting for me where I feel the students learned ALOT about immigration and Angle Island and Ellis Island.  We continued the story we were on last week and had GREAT discussions in class about it.  Then on Wednesday I got to teach one of the most exciting lessons for me in all of my teaching.  We read the nonfiction version of our character, Kai, from our reading book.  The students were able to make so many connections!  It was great to see them so excited about learning and eager to show me what they had found or what they felt.  I have to say that was probably my most fun and proudest teaching moment and some of you even got to see it! 

We also discussed heredity in Science and your child might have even come home and asked you if you can roll your tongue, stick out your thumb, look at your ears, and eyes.  They were able to teach those lessons we had learned to Mr. Sander today which made me one proud "mama".  I am so blessed this year with an AMAZING class and I thoroughly enjoy coming to work every day!  I hope everyone has a great weekend and I look forward to seeing you all soon for parent teacher conferences!

  I just wanted to remind all of you that the first midterm will be coming home on Wednesday.  Students need to have their midterm signed and returned no later than Monday.  Many of you will notice that your child may not have "honor roll" grades right now.  I will warn you that fourth grade is a very tough year and I am a teacher who requires a lot from my students.  Students are encouraged every night to take home all of their assignments so they can be checked.  They should then be sure to turn them in first thing in the morning as they are unpacking.  Students are also given the option to correct any assignments (not tests or quizzes) that are a D or F.  This will help their overall score on their midterms and report cards.  Please remember if you have any questions or concerns please be sure to get in touch with me. 

    I just wanted to make sure to let everyone know that the fundraiser packets came home on Tuesday.  There are a variety of classroom contests and school "rewards" for those students who participate.  If our school can raise $22,000 Mr. Sander will wear a duck costume all day to celebrate.  The students should also be returning their slips each time they sell that number of items on duck days.  We have 2 duck days scheduled next week so use this long weekend as your chance to sell your 10 items. 
    

has been a great one!!!!  I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know all of your children.  I am so blessed to have such a great group of kids to be working with this year.  Thanks for completing all of the papers on the first day of school.  I know it can be a lot but the information you provided to me is very beneficial for me all year long.  I loved being able to hear all of your special comments and I do appreciate the time it took you to complete.  Today is officially the middle of our first week and if these first three days were any indication we will learn a lot this year.  On Friday your child will bring home their friday folder for the first time.  This folder will have all of the papers from the week.  I encourage all of you to go through each paper with your child.  The only thing that must be signed and returned each week is the conduct and effort sheet.  The rest of the papers are your to keep unless you have something that needs to be filled out and returned.  You will also notice my weekly calendar in their.  This calendar will give you all of the things that are going on in our classroom for next week.  On the back will be a list of the spelling words they will be responsible for along with some notes from me.  Please keep these schedules every week so you will be able to stay up to date with everything going on in our classroom.  Thank you so much for all of the snacks that have been sent in for the class.  The students have really appreciated it!  Have a great rest of the week and check back to my site often.

Well it is almost time for school to start and I am sure we are all getting a little excited as well as nervous.  Just in case any of you are checking out my web page I thought I would let you know (I will inform the kids on the first day) that during the first two weeks of school while we are on heat schedule I do make time in the morning to have a snack.  Our lunch time is noon and that still stays the same during heat schedule.  However, since we start an hour earlier we all (me included) get very hungry.  Every day during heat schedule around 10 we will take some time to have a healthy snack.  You are welcome to send in a healthy snack with your child each day to hold them over until lunch.  Please don't send any candy for their snack.  Some good things to bring in might include granola bars, fruit, raisins, etc.  I will provide the snack on the first day and will notify the kids that they can then bring in a snack for themselves for the next two weeks.  If you would like to send in a snack for the entire class to enjoy that would be great.  Right now we have 22 students in the class.  Check back often to stay up to date with what is going on in 4W!  See you all soon!

I am so excited to have added this blog feature of my website.  I am still trying to figure out how to use this website and keep things updated but it is actually going pretty well. 
     If you are checking out my website then I assume you found your child's name on the class list.  Welcome to my family!  I am excited for this new school year to start and eager to meet all of my students.  Please feel free to post a comment on this blog or send me an email just to say hi and tell me about your family!  I am so excited to start this year and meet all of you!  Have a great rest of your summer and I look forward to seeing you soon!