September 30

Upcoming Dates/Reminders:

• There will not be school on Monday, October 3, so that all are able to attend the funeral of Kevin Witte. 
• Reading Minutes due Tuesday.  The expectation is 125 minutes per week with at least 4 days of reading.  
• New word work lists will be given on Tuesday with a test on Friday
• Grandparent's Day is Thursday, October 13.  We will begin in the gym at 12:45.
• Advanced Notice:  Conferences will be held November 7-9 from 3:40-5:40 and November 10 from 5-7p.m.  Sign-ups will be coming out soon for this.  However, please don't wait until conferences if you have a question or concern.  I am happy to meet with you anytime!
• Thank you to Amy Alderink for helping us in Library this week.
• We will begin our new Bible memory, Psalm 23, on Tuesday.

Curriculum Highlights 

•  Devotions- Our time in devotions this week centered on prayers for the Witte family, the HS staff and students, our community, and learning what it means to BE the body of Christ.  The students really wanted to DO something, so on Wednesday we wrote out Bible verses for the High School students which were then placed on their lockers.  I love how this group wanted to show their love in a tangible way and I was so touched by their idea.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Pizza Party- Thank you to the parent team for our awesome pizza party!  We really enjoyed it!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Math- Our first unit test was today!  Our week was spent reviewing the 2's, 3's 4's, 5's, 9's, and 10's in both multiplication and division, practicing story problems, and learning about the associative property (6x3)x4= 6x(3x4).
• Reading:  We are wrapping up our first reading unit and the students have really taken off with their love of books!  Everyone is leveled and should be reading texts at an appropriate level.  This week we worked a lot with jotting down our thoughts and observations on sticky notes as we read.  We then use these sticky notes to retell what our story was about to a friend.
• Writing:  We have written our rough draft of a personal narrative this week.  We have 4-5 paragraphs to our story and are working at composing a solid lead.  Next week we will work on our conclusions and editing our work.
• Bible:  We have begun learning about the book of Genesis.  Each day the students are reading from their Bibles, having a discussion about what we have read, and diving deeper into the text with our footnotes.  This is a favorite time for many kids. We focused this week on the story of creation.
• Science:  This week we learned more about farmland, runoffs, and oil spills.  We discussed our job of being Christian caretakers of God's earth.  Next week each child will begin a research project on a natural disasters that change the earth's surface.

Blessings!

Lynae

September 23

Upcoming Dates/Reminders:

• Reading Minutes are due Monday.  The expectation is 125 minutes with at least 4 days of reading.  Make sure your child totals his/her minutes and gets a signature from you.  Everyone did a fabulous job with this last week!
• Math Test- We will be taking a test on Unit 1 on Friday, September 30 .  To help students prepare I have sent home a practice Math test.  This is due back to school by Thursday, September 29.  If your child is struggling with a problem, simply circle it and I will reteach this concept to your child.  
• Work work will begin again on Monday with our test on Friday.
• The class pizza party from the Walk-a-thon will be on Wednesday, September 28.  Please have your child bring a caffeine free drink and any other items they would like to eat with pizza.  If your child doesn't want pizza they are free to order hot lunch or take a lunch from home.
• I will submit the book order on September 28.  If you care to order any books simply click on the "Scholastic Book Order" link at the top of this blog and it will direct you to my website.
• Grandparents day is Thursday, October 13.  We will begin our time with the grandparents at 12:45 in the gym.  
• Advanced Dates:  Conferences will be held November 7-9 from 3:40-5:40 and November 10 from 5:00-7:00.  Sign-ups for this will be coming out soon.  However, if you have a concern please don't wait to ask.  I am happy to meet with you anytime!
• Thank you to Carol Stewart for helping our class this week in the library!  
• You are invited to attend Coffee Connections next week, Wednesday, September 28.  Parent Team is hosting an hour of time set aside for you to drop in to Pine Ridge and meet and visit with other parents of third graders.  Grab a snack while having the opportunity to socially connect with other parents.  Little ones are more than welcome!  We will gather in the extra classroom in the third/fourth grade hall.  Please plan to stop by following morning drop-off (8:15/8:20am).
• On Wednesday we gathered for Prayer by the Pole.  However, we got rained out so we moved indoors.  What a privilege to gather together to pray for our nation and our school.
  
• Prodigy- One of the apps that we use during our Math time is called Prodigy.  This app allows students to work at Math problems at their own learning level.  Several students have expressed interest in playing at home, so today I sent home a letter with your child's username and password.  
•  Psalm 8 is due on Friday, September 30.  Many students have already said it to me.  :)

Curriculum Highlights:

Reading:  This week we learned how to retell a story using a retell rope.  The students are getting into the habit of jotting down important details in their story on sticky notes as they read so they are able to recount their story to others when they are finished.

Writing: We have committed to a story, written a final timeline of our event, and have practiced telling this story to many friends this week.  A copy of your child's timeline came home today in his/her homework folder.  Please have them them tell the story to you as well with as much detail as they can remember.  We will begin writing these stories next week into a 5 paragraph narrative.

Math:  This week we focused on the distributive property (Ex: 8x8=(5x8)+(3x8).)  As you can imagine, this is a tough concept for many 3rd graders, but most of us have it down!  We also looked at multiplication and area (another new concept!) and added our 4's to our multiplication and division facts.

Bible: Much time this week was spent learning about Bible maps, the importance of spending time in the Word, looking up verses that are important to us, using our concordance and table of contents, and then taking a final test on all of the different features of the Bible.  This group of kids LOVES spending time with their Bibles and our "Favorite Verse Rings" are quickly growing!

Science:  We looked at renewable vs. non-renewable resources this week.  One of our experiments was on how farmland is a renewable resource, but there is not much of it and we need to be careful to care for this special part of God's creation.  We also finished making our bricks!  However, the highlight of the week was taking our rocks out of the rock tumbler.  We talked about how the rocks look new and how God does the same thing with us....polishing us and refining us into something beautiful when we continue to spend time with Him each day.

Blessings!
Lynae

September 16

The Walk-a-thon was a huge success!  What a great looking group of 3rd graders!  Thank you for your contributions to this event and to our school.  Our class raised the most money with over $2,100 so we have a pizza party coming our way!  I will let you know when that lunch is scheduled.

Upcoming Events/Reminders:

• Reading Minutes are due Monday.  Have your child add up his/her total minutes and get a parent signature from you.  The expectation is 125 minutes a week with at least 4 days of reading.
• Word Work will come home on Monday.  Our test is Friday.  Your child does practice these words each day at school but home practice is beneficial.
• Math homework will come home on Monday.  This is due back Friday.  An optional Math page will be made available to students on Wednesdays if they would like the extra practice.
• The purple homework folders need to go back and forth from home and school each day.  Your child writes his/her homework and any reminders in this folder.  We are working at becoming responsible for our homework as we grow.  :)
• Thank you to  Jana Rigterink for helping us in Library this week.
• I have our Scholastic Book Orders up and running!  Simply click on the red "Scholastic Book Order" link at the top of this blog to go straight to my website.  All books will be sent to me at school.  If you wish for these to be a gift for your child, please let me know.  I sent home a paper copy of this as well today.
• We can always use more Clorox Wipes. Thanks to all of you who are so faithfully keeping our room stocked with these.  

Curriculum Highlights:

Bible:  We continue to learn many important features of the Bible.  This week we looked up many special verses and began writing down ones that are important to us.  We are adding these to a bible ring so we can place these words in our hearts as we read them often.  We also learned how to use the concordance and footnotes in our Bible.

Reading:  The Discovery testing this week took much of our lesson time, but we did learn strategies on how to problem solve words that we do not understood.  Each day your child should be bringing his/her book home from school.  Everyone has a lot of book choices available in their book boxes and they are excited about what they are reading.

Writing:  We have read through all of our small moment stories and everyone has chosen a story that they want to start focusing on in depth.  In order to do this, we read with partners and tried to choose stories that we remembered with lots of detail.  We have created a timeline to place our story in sequential order and are starting to zoom in on a small moment for our focus.  

Math:  We are working so hard at multiplication and division!  This week we added our 9's and 3's and also starting adding variables into our math equations.  All of Math involves careful reading of story problems and slow work as we draw pictures to help us understand what is being asked.  

Science:  Our rock tumbler is a huge hit in our 3rd grade classroom and I wouldn't be a bit surprised if many of your kids ask for one of these for Christmas!  Besides learning about rock polishing this week, we also focused on particle size with earth materials when mixed with water.

Enjoy homecoming weekend at HC!
Lynae

September 9

Upcoming Dates/Reminders:

• I will be giving the Discovery Reading test on Tuesday morning and the Discovery Math test on Thursday morning.  Make sure your child has had a good breakfast and is ready to go!
• Walk-a-thon is Wednesday, September 14.  We will be leaving for the High School track right after lunch.  Come cheer us on! 
• Pine Ridge pictures will be taken on Thursday,  September 15.  An order form came home today.  :)
• Reading Minutes will begin on Monday.  The expectation is 125 minutes a week with at least 4 days of reading.  These slips are due back to school the following Monday.  Books NEED to go back and forth to school daily as well.  
• Word work will also begin on Monday.  Your child will come home with his/her individual list.  We have been practicing this at school for the last two weeks and the students should know exactly what to do.  I also will send you a photo on Monday of your child's sort so you can see what it looks like.  :)
• Bible Memory is Psalm 8.  We have been reviewing this as a class this week.  I will send home a copy of this on Monday to review at home.  The class will say it to me on September 30.  However, if your child would rather say it to you, that is just fine!  Return the bottom portion of the Bible memory slip to school to me and I will count that.  
• Math homework will begin on Monday.  This is  due back by Friday, September 16.
• Library Helpers- Click on the red library link at the top of the blog if you are able to help me check the students out during our library time.  This frees me up to help students find books at their reading level.  Thanks!

Curriculum Highlights:

Bible:  This week we began our second unit called "Becoming a Bible Explorer."  We talked about the importance of God's word and how it can be compared to bread and light.  We saw how we need both of these things daily just like spending time with our Savior!  We also spent time exploring the "set-up" of the Bible with the Old and New Testament books.  Everyone is gaining confidence as we search for new scripture passages each day and read aloud from the Word.

Math:  We are getting really good at multiplication and division with 5's, 2's and 10's!  Everyone is busy drawing pictures, using their fingers, or counting with manipulatives when we need to visualize the equation.  I am starting to see a lot of fluency come through!  We are also working at writing equations and reading carefully to solve word problems.

Reading:  Everyone has caught the reading bug!  This week we focused on strategies we can use when we get to a word we can not pronounce, predicting and asking questions as we read, and taking time to care about what is happening in our story.

Writing:  We have brainstormed many "small moment" stories to get us thinking about our personal narratives.  We have talked about people, places and objects that are important and that can be remembered vividly.  Once the students talk about a story idea with a partner they then go and "try on" the story by writing it in their writers notebook.  Next week each child will select his/her favorite and we will begin adding detail, paragraphs, and so much more!

Science:  Have you heard about our rock tumblers?  We are busy filling them and getting ready to polish!  This week we also talked about soil.  The class observed clay, sand, silt, and compost with microscopes and took notes on their observations.  God has made many different types of soil and we are having fun seeing His creativity!

Blessings!
Lynae

September 2, 2016

Upcoming Dates/Events:

• Last call for the HC Batons!  I am still missing two or three of them.  Please send them to school this week before I pack them away.
• No School, Monday, September 5.  Enjoy your Labor day!
• September 7- Convocation at 9:00 at the High school.  Please come join us!
• September 14- Walk-a-thon in the afternoon at the High School Track.  Fundraising envelopes went home with your child this week.  They are due back at school on Monday, September 12.
• September 15-Pine Ridge picture day
• I have added a "Library Volunteer" sign-up link at the top of this blog.  I am in need of help during our library times on Thursdays from 10:45-11:15.  If you are able to assist me, I would greatly appreciate it!
• Friday folders came home today.  Please return these on Monday.  
• A huge THANK YOU to Jana Rigterink, Christy Sterenberg, and Sara Wierenga for coming in this week to cover our Writer's notebooks!

Curriculum Highlights:

Encore times:  Monday: Art from 10:55-11:55
                        Tuesday: Spanish from 10:55-11:25
                                        Gym from 11:25-11:55
                        Thursday: Library from 10:45-11:15
                                         Music from 11:15-11:45
                         Friday :   Spanish from 10:55-11:25
                                        Gym from 11:25-11:55

Math:  We have continued to study multiplication and have also started to relate the problems to division.  Every problem we do we draw a picture and write the equation to go with it.  The students are becoming solid with these concepts and gaining more confidence.

Reading:  We are settling in nicely to the Reading workshop routine.  This week we focused on paying attention to the pace of our reading, making sure we can envision the story, and using strategies to ensure comprehension of our text.  Many students are getting close to finishing their first chapter book for 3rd grade and there is a lot of excitement in the air!  We also spent quite a bit of time getting used to our spelling routine this week with a practice list of words.

Writing:  We have continued to brainstorm possible topics for our personal narrative story.  We are making lists of people or places we can write about and then "trying on" the story with a short narrative.  This group LOVES to write and we are getting close to choosing a story we will work at for a longer length of time.

Bible:  We finished looking at the book of Ephesians this week.  Finding Bible passages is getting easier and the students love to read the scripture out loud.  We specifically looked at the armor of God this week and the importance of putting the armor on each day so we can stand!  This lesson was demonstrated with oranges.  One orange contained the armor (pealing) and one did not.  What a visual representation of the importance of spending time with God each and every day!

Science:  This week we talked about particle size as we looked at gravel, sand, silt, and clay.  We also began discussing the importance of soil.  We are having fun using hand lenses, eye droppers, water, toothpicks, and so much more.  The kids just love it!

Have a wonderful Labor day weekend!

Lynae