Happy New Year!!

Welcome back!  We have had a very fun week of learning and everyone has settled back into the routine nicely.  Here is a look at what we have been doing.

Literacy:  We have begun a nonfiction unit in both Reading and Writing.  This week we went to the library several times and picked out nonfiction books of interest that are at the reading levels of each child.  We learned about text features and how we need to look these over and "rev up" before we start reading.  We focused on paraphrasing sections that we read in our nonfiction text.  (This is a tough concept, but the class did really well with it).  We also began learning about the main idea of a section and the supporting details.  As we read, the students are writing out the main idea from each section.  This is a lot of intense reading and writing, but the class loves it.  Thank you to Becky Spykerman for coming in to read with us this week as well.

Bible:  We continued reading in the book of Genesis this week.  We saw God's faithfulness continue as Abraham sends a servant to find a wife for Isaac.  We looked at the birth of Jacob and Esau and we talked about Esau's choice in selling his birthright to his brother for a bowl of stew.  We also saw how God continues to keep his promises to Isaac after the death of Abraham.
Our new Bible memory is Psalm 1.  We have covered verses one and two in class this week.

Math:  We had a big review of time and measurement when we returned from break.  We have moved on in our unit to graphing.  We focused this week on pictographs, horizontal and vertical bar graphs, line plots, frequency tables, and creating our own graphs.  I sent a review test home with the class on Thursday.  Please have your child return this by next week Tuesday.  If any problems are confusing to them, circle the problem and I will reteach it to your child.  Our test on this unit will be on Wednesday, January 13.

Science:  We have begun a new unit called Organisms Have Character.  This week we built a woodland and freshwater habitat and added several different creatures to each.  (I am hoping you heard all about them!)  We spent time reading informational texts on these habitats, observing, and watching video clips to learn more about these animals.  Dealing with beetles, cockroaches, and crayfish sure is exciting to this group! :)  Our learning was messy but so fun and meaningful.

Devotions:  A purple note came home in your child's homework folder on Thursday announcing when your child will be leading devotions in our classroom.  The kids are excited about this and I look forward to starting next week.

Upcoming dates and information:

• A message from the Lacrosse parent team:  We will be holding an informational meeting on January 18 at 7:00 p.m. at HCHS Lecture Hall for all 3rd-6th graders interested in HC lacrosse.

• Wacky Wednesdays are back!  Here is the schedule:
• January 13- Pajama Day
  January 20- Crazy Hair Day
• January 27- Mismatch Day
• February 3- Hat Day

• Reading Minutes due Monday
• Our Math test will be on Wednesday, January 13.  The review test is due on Tuesday, January 12 so we can go over it together.
• Bible Memory is Psalm 1
• Work Work Test will be given on Friday.  
• Preschool and Kindergarten discovery night are January 19 at South Side and January 21 at Rose Park from 6:00-7:30.   Please tell your Holland Christian experience to your friends and neighbors and encourage them to come and check out our school!

Have a wonderful weekend!
Lynae