Important things this week in 3rd grade:

Report Cards:  These came home today in your child's backpack.

Conferences:  Most of you have signed up for a conference time next week Tuesday or Wednesday.  I look forward to meeting with you and sharing how your child is doing in 3rd grade!  As you wait for your conference, please take some time to scan the QR codes on each of the student's lockers.  You will get a great book review from the child whose code you scanned!

Thursday morning with Rose Park:  Your children did a fabulous job on Thursday morning when Mr. Slenk's 3rd grade class from Rose Park joined us for a bit.  We enjoyed a school chapel together, spent some time on the playground with new friends, and enjoyed reading books with a partner from Rose Park.  This was a wonderful example of doing Life Together and I was incredibly touched to see this class care so tenderly for their North side friends.

Pods:  At Pine Ridge each child is placed into a gender specific group of about 15 students. Groups are made up of all grade levels 3rd-6th grade so students make friends in grades other than their own.  During Pod time students pray for the other friends in their POD group, do service projects together, or engage in activities focusing on the school theme.  We had our first pod experience this past Wednesday and the 3rd graders just loved it!  Make sure to ask them what they enjoyed the most about this time.

Koeman's Farm Fieldtrip:  We had so much fun on Wednesday morning out in the soybean fields at Koeman's farm.  Steve Koeman did a fabulous job of sharing how he harvests the crops as well as the many different uses for soybean oil.  The kids were just fascinated with the combine and tractor!  I took SO many pictures which are all up on smugmug.  Enjoy!

All of the 3rd graders with Steve Koeman

Thanking God for our famers.

Many 3rd graders suddenly want to be farmers!

No School: Wednesday, October 21-Friday, October 23 due to conferences and CEA convention.  Have a wonderful long weekend.

Looking forward to meeting with you next week!
Lynae

October 9, 2015

What a blast we had this week!  The kids had such a great time with their grandparents on Thursday.  There are many pictures on the smugmug site so check them out!

We also had several pastors show up to visit our classroom on Tuesday.  The students loved sharing their writing with them and it was a lot of fun to have them in 3rd grade!

Upcoming Date

• Conference sign-ups will begin next week.  Please contact me if you would like to meet at a different time and we will work something out!
• Conferences are Oct. 20 and 21.
• No School October 21-23 due to conferences and the CEA convention
• Reading Minutes are due on Monday
• Psalm 23 is due October 16
• Report cards will go home on October 16.

A Quick Curriculum Summary:

Devotions:  On Tuesdays and Thursdays we are praying very specifically over one child in our class.  This student comes to the center of the group and tells us what he/she would like us the rest of us to pray for.  We then place our hands on that student and hold them up in prayer.  The class gives thanks for this friend.  This is a special time in our room as we recognize how God has made us all so unique.  

Math:  We took our first Math test today and the kids did great!  We read slowly and took all the time we needed to ensure we had done our personal best.   We will start unit two (more multiplying and dividing!) next week.

Reading:  We have begun a new unit where we following characters for meaning.  Our mentor text is Because of Winn Dixie which is quickly becoming a favorite  book of many students.  This week we focused on empathizing with our characters and relating their experienences to our own lives.

Writing:  We edited our personal narratives for correct capitalization, punctuation, and spelling.  We learned how to use spelling apps on our ipads to find correct spelling and locate words we are unsure of.  We also practiced our penmanship before beginning our final drafts.

Science:  Each student has been assigned a different landform that they are researching.  They will be creating a keynote presentation next week to share with the class.  Many students expressed interest in finding a few facts about their landforms at home and that is great!

Bible:  We learned about footnotes and maps in Bible this week.  We also spent time focusing on the importance of spending time everyday in God's word.  Psalm 23 will be due on October 16.

Music Note from Mrs. Boer - About once a quarter information about what we have been learning will appear in this blog. This quarter we learned.....

     *Two hymns of the month - My Heart is Firmly Fixed and We've come This

           Far by Faith

     *To keep a steady beat, even while we played different rhythms on Boom-

           whackers

     *How many beats a quarter note, half note, and eighth note get

     *Tempo

Have a wonderful weekend!
Lynae

October 2, 2015

What we have been doing in 3rd Grade:

Bible:  What fun we are having as we find favorite verses in the Bible and add them to our verse rings!  To help us with finding verses we have been using our table of contents and we are getting used to finding chapters and verses as well.  We also learned this week how to use the concordance in our Bibles.  Your children are so excited to learn how to find passages in their personal Bibles and it is so much fun to watch them dive into God's word with such enthusiasm!

Reading:  We finished our class book The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane this week.  We learned how to retell a whole story from beginning to end, how to find lessons in the books we are reading, and how to write a review and recommendation of a good book.  Everyone wrote an excellent book review and I video taped each child.  Stay tuned to view these great clips!

Writing:  Our drafts for our personal narratives are complete!  This week we wrote leads and endings that involved a setting, an action, or a dialogue and chose the one that went best with our story.  We have read and reread our writings to the wall and to partners as we continue to add detail and we have identified the heart of our stories.   Next week we will be editing our work and start publishing our final copy.

Math:  We added 0's and 1's this week to our multiplication/division facts and also focused more on arrays.  Next week Friday (October 9) will be our first Math test.  I spent home a practice test that is due on October 8.  If your child is struggling with a problem just have them circle it and I will reteach that concept to him/her.

Science:  This week we focused on how to care for the earth.  We did an experiment where we saw how little farmland we have left.  We also looked at what happens when we have a lot of rainwater and runoffs occur due to the changes we are making to the earth.  Lastly we talked about oil spills and what that does to God's creation.  We have been blessed with an amazing world and we are called to care for it!

Upcoming Dates:

• Reading Minutes due Monday
• Bible Memory is Psalm 23
• October 7:  Pastor Visit Day
• October 8:  Grandparents Day from 12:45-2:00
• October 9:  End of the first marking period
• October 16:  Report Cards go home
• October 16-17  Homecoming Weekend at HC
• October 20-21  Parent Teacher Conferences
• October 22-23 CEA Convention.  No School

Have a wonderful weekend!

Lynae