Congratulations

Congratulations to Jesse on his accomplishments in the Special Olympics last week.  He got 1st place in his division in the tennis ball throw.  He threw 12 m 5 cm to take the gold.  He also got 3rd in the 100 meter dash in his division.  He ran the race in 23.09 seconds.  Here is a picture of Jesse with his ribbons. 

There will be TWO sheets of homework tonight.  We actually went through two math lessons today because the kids are all doing so well with their multiplication.  I think their practice at home is making a huge difference. 

They will also be bringing home their spelling pre-test and a practice book page that they may use to study their words. 

Let's all work together to make it a great week! 

Picture Slideshows by Emma Stroner and Marissa Kaufman

Bridge Building

Today in math we had the challenge of building a bridge between two books with a single piece of paper.  We then stacked calculators on the paper to see whose bridge held the most. 

Kyzer, Cody, Bronwyn, and Ella got their bridge to hold 8 calculators to win the competition. 

There is homework tonight to practice lattice and partial products multiplication.  If lattice multiplication confuses you, below is a video explaining it. 


Lattice Multiplication: Introduction to lattice multiplication

The Y Camp

Wow!!!  What an amazing experience!!!!  Our field trip today turned out to be a great day.  This is the second time that we have gone to the Y-camp and last year it was raining.  This year it was cold, but it was actually a very nice day.  We were so busy and excited that we didn't even notice it was a little chilly.  The sun was shining and it was a great day to be outdoors.  Make sure to ask your kids how the day was.  We will be working on a slideshow of pictures, so look out for that in the future.  You can also see some pictures on Twitter that I uploaded throughout the day. 

Field Trip tomorrow

Please remember that our field trip is tomorrow. Following on some points of emphasis for the field trip.

• Dress appropriately, layers, old shoes, hats are allowed.  
• Lunch if you signed up to bring one from home.   Please no pop.
• Backpack or drawstring bag (if you don't have one we can share, do NOT buy one)
• Be on time.  Bus leaves at 8:15 sharp.
• Water bottle 
• We will not be back until 3:00.  

I am looking forward to a great day tomorrow! Check Twitter throughout the day for updates. 

Earth Day

Today is Earth Day.  I have posted an extra credit assignment on KidBlog for the kids to do for Earth Day.  They are to come up with a plan for how they can help improve the Earth.  I tried stressing to them that they should be able to carry out their plan on their own, with minimal help.  Encourage them to do this assignment.  If you, the parents, were to help that would be awesome.

There is regular math homework along with math facts and reading tonight.  We are also back on track with a reading story this week and a spelling list.  Each child should be bringing home practice book pages with their spelling words on it.  They are to complete these pages but they don't need to be returned to school.

Remember, our field trip is Wednesday.  We will be leaving at 8:15 sharp for the Boone Y-Camp.  If your child is a walker or gets dropped off please help them to get here a little early Wednesday.  As soon as they arrive they may come into the room.  If your child signed up to bring a lunch from home they will need to remember this, if they forget they will NOT be getting a lunch.  We are only able to take as many as we order.  Also, make sure your child dresses appropriately.  They will need old clothes.  They should also dress in layers.  We will be outside even if it is raining for part of the day.  When we went last year it was a day like the last couple weeks and we were all very muddy when the day was over.  Thanks for your cooperation in all of these matters!! 

Have a Great Weekend!

There is no homework other than checkered flag multiplication and reading minutes this weekend.

This afternoon we had visitors here to help us plan our gardens.  We will be planting a small garden behind Sunset if the weather will ever cooperate.  Today we voted on what crops we would plant.  We decided that we would plant carrots, leaf lettuce, radishes, and broccoli. 

Hopefully it warms up soon!  Have a great weekend!

Yearbooks

Students who ordered yearbooks should have got them today.  If they didn't get one and should have let me know. 

We took a few minutes this afternoon with all of the other third graders to sign yearbooks in the gym. 

Tonight there is regular math homework and also checkered flag multiplication and reading minutes to work on. 

Today in reading we took some time to publish persuasive letters to the KidBlog.  If you can, log on with your student and look through some of the students work.  I have been very impressed.  Asking them to publish it online really makes them put forth their maximum effort. 

Don't forget our field trip is next Wednesday.  We will be going rain or shine, or should I say snow or shine???

Factors

Today in math we introduced factors.  Listing factors can be a simple way to practice multiplication facts.  The homework tonight is about factors. 

Most of the students finished their Unit 4 Benchmark test in reading today.  Most did very well.  The first part of the test comprehension of two short stories.  I think the reading they have been doing at home has really helped their comprehension skills.  Keep up the good work at home!!

We have also been working on writing persuasive letters.  I asked each kid to write me a letter trying to persuade me to let them do something here at school.  I am going to ask them to type their letters on the KidBlog and then I will reply through the comments section.  It should be interesting to see what they write about!!!

One More Day in the Books

When it gets to this time in the school year it seems like the days click off right before your eyes.  They come and go before you can even blink.  Before we know it these kids will be leaving 3rd grade and moving right on to 4th grade. 

There is regular homework in math today.  I am aware that the walkers or riders didn't receive homework so they will all get a free homework pass.  It was my fault that they didn't get it.  However, I do expect all of those kids to do both their reading and math practice and return recorded minutes with a signature since they didn't have to do the regular homework. ;)

Encourage your students on the new Kid Blog.  I still can't get over how interested they are in this.  If you are around while they are on it check it out and see what some of the students are contributing.  Try to encourage your student to write something.  They could write about what they did after school, what they learned in school, something they are excited for that is coming up, etc.  Any writing is better than no writing. 

Thanks for all of your support as the support you give at home makes a tremendous difference here at school!!

Partial Products

Partial Products is a new method to solve a multiplication problem.  Below is a video demonstrating a couple problems.  The kids' homework in math is about partial products. 

I have been amazed at the involvement of the Kid Blog over the weekend.  That is awesome!  There is an extra credit assignment on the Kid Blog website.  I would love to see as many people writing on the blog as possible. 

We will not be doing a spelling list this week.  We also will not be working on a story in reading this week. 

Kid Blog

I am happy to announce that our class now has a Kid Blog set up. 

Kid Blog is a blogging website similar to this site.  It is private to only the people in our class though.  The best part about it is that the kids can write on it from anywhere that they can access the internet.  Each kid has a user name which is their first name and a password which is their last name. 

There is a link to the Kid Blog site in the links section of this page.  You can also get there by going to kidblog.org/mrbrim.  We have only been out of school for an hour and Devon and Mollie have both found their way onto the blog and made a post.  That is great!!  Let's see how many kids we can have write something over the weekend!!

Have a great weekend!!

Study, Study, Study

Please have your child take a few minutes tonight to study their spelling words.  I am sending home a double sided worksheet that they could complete as their spelling practice.  This is not required but highly encouraged. 

There is also a math worksheet for homework tonight.  Along with the math homework they can practice their math facts and read for 15 minutes.  I realize that this adds up to be a lot of work sometimes.  Do what you can and forget the rest.  Anything is better than nothing. 

Ask your student about our science activities.  I think the kids are really enjoying these lessons and having a lot of fun with them.  I know I am!!

Scholastic News

The homework for tonight is to read the Scholastic News Magazine that was sent home and to write down 3 things that the kids learned by reading the magazine.  If your child is in Project Explore they weren't in the room when we handed out the magazines and don't have to do the homework.

A little over half the class finished the reading portion of the MAP test today.  Our next test will be Language on Friday afternoon. 

I did ask if a couple of the kids could bring a apple or orange tomorrow for our science lesson.  I don't need a bunch but a few would be great.  Thanks!!

MAP Testing

Most student finished their Math MAP test today.  Most of the kids went up about 8 points which is great.  Encourage them to keep up the good work. 

We will be taking the Reading portion tomorrow and the Language portion on Friday.

There is no homework this evening.  You could use this rainy day as an opportunity to work on multiplication facts and reading minutes. 

Spring Has Arrived

It finally feels like spring outside.  Remember the rule we use at Sunset about coats is that if it is below 60 degrees students must have jackets to go outside.  If it is about 60 degrees they may go out in t-shirts.

This week we will be taking our Spring MAP tests.  Our class will be testing on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoons.  Remind your students to do their best.

There is math homework tonight.  Along with the homework students may work on reading and checkered flag multiplication. 

Let's make it a great week!

April Fools

I made it through the day without being tricked with any April Fools jokes.  You never know what third graders might come up with.  I am hoping that Mother Nature is playing a joke on us with this chilly day.

There is no math homework tonight.  Kids could however practice their math facts.  March Mathness is over and our class scored 551 points which translates into 1,653 minutes of fact practice.  Today we are starting a new incentive that is very similar called Checkered Flag Multiplication.  Check out Twitter for a picture of our race track.

Spelling practice book pages are also coming home tonight for practice.

Out of everything coming home tonight the most important is the field trip packet.  Our field trip will be to the Boone Y-Camp on April 24th.  Students CAN"T go without returning the green "Health Form".  They also need to bring back their lunch choice by the 8th of April.  Look for further field trip details at a later date. 

Tomorrow is the last day for yearbook orders!

Happy April!!