April 27, 2018

Upcoming Dates/Reminders:

• Homework next week includes reading minutes due on Monday, math page due on Friday, and word work with a test on Friday.
• MAPS testing:  We will take our final MAPS test (Math) next week Wednesday.  The kids were troopers this week and took their time with the first two assessments.  
• May 9 (Wednesday): Dismissal at 11:30 for Tulip Time.
• May 10 (Thursday):  We will be walking in the Kinderparade.  See attachment to email.
• May 15 (Tuesday):  End of the year Convocation.  Join us at 9:00 in the High School gym as we wrap up the school year with the entire student body.  
• May 28 (Monday)- Memorial Day.  No school
• May 29 (Tuesday)- Field  Day in the afternoon
• June 1 (Friday)- Last day of School.  This is a half day.
• *Dates for tetrahedron kites will be added soon!*

Curriculum Highlights:
Math:  As you can see from the photo below, we have been busy learning all about polygons.  We are getting good at these definitions and today we began working with area and perimeter.

Literacy:  In reading we are working our way through our final week of mystery book clubs.  I love listening to the discussion groups debate with each other on their opinions and theories!  In writing we continue to work on a piece called How I Know God Is Real.  This week we drafted different ways we see God in the Bible.

Bible:  We looked closely this week at the tabernacle that the Israelites built for God.  We talked about how God desires for us to spend time with him each day and how it is important for us as Christians to also gather and spend time with other believers.  We also looked at the furnishing in the tabernacle and what each item meant to the Israelites.

Social Studies:  We finished studying the French Voyageurs this week as we looked at their relationship with the Native Americans.  We have begun studying the arrival of the British and how this impacts the relationships with those already in Michigan.

Have a great weekend!
Lynae

April 20, 2018

Upcoming Dates/Reminders:

• Reading minutes are due Monday, Math homework is due Friday, and a word work test will be given on Friday.
• MAP Testing:  I will be giving the final MAP's tests the week of April 30.  We will do reading on May 1, Language on May 2, and Math on May 3.  These tests will all be given in the morning so please make sure your child is on time and ready to go.  
• Tulip Time:  We have half days of school on Wednesday, May 9 and Thursday May 10.  On Wednesday your child will dismiss at 11:30.   On Thursday your child will be walking in the Kinderparade.  He or she will need to wear a dutch costume for this.  Your child will need a sack lunch that day.  We will stay at school after the dismissal, eat lunch, be bused to the parade route, walk in the parade, and then you can pick your child up from me at the end of the route.  I will send a map of where your child will be marching in the line-up as well as a letter with more detail in the next couple of weeks.  
• End of the year convocation:  9:00 at the High school.  Please come and join us as we worship as an entire student body
• MUSIC NOTE FROM MRS. BOER - Performance and Assessment Day for recorders is quickly approaching. Your child was sent home with a list of songs from which they may choose to play. Please remind your child to choose a song and to practice. The progress report given at the end of the year will be a culmination of the recorder learning that has been our focus this semester.

Curriculum Highlights:
Math:  We finished our unit on fractions this week.  Your child is coming home with the test today.  We have begun our final unit dealing with polygons, area, and perimeter.

Literacy:  We are working our way through mystery book clubs.  The kids are busy reading each day and also recording their reading in their all star books for the varsity baseball game.  In writing we have begun a persuasive essay called How I know God is Real.

Bible:  Today we concluded our unit on God's law with a fun game of Bible Jeopardy!  We will continue to follow the Israelites as God shows them the importance of worship with building the tabernacle.  We have been journaling as if we were Israelite children making our way through the desert.  We are learning Acts 2:1-4 for Bible memory.

Social Studies:  This week we looked at the Native American tribes that were in Michigan (The Three Fires) and their impact as the French arrived.  We talked about legends, the importance of the French Voyageurs, and recalled what we were taught from the Outdoor Discovery Center.

April 13

Upcoming Dates/Reminders:

• Homework:  Reading minutes are due Monday.  Math homework is due Friday.  Word work test will be given on Friday.  Acts 2:1-4 is our new Bible memory.
• All-Star Reading:  Any reading minutes at home can also likely apply to your child's all star reading.  Everyone is busy filling in innings in their books and a few have already completed five innings which is the requirement to play a baseball game with the varsity baseball team.  We will schedule the game for the end of May.
• Wednesday, April 18:  POD Service Trip.  We will be going to serve at various organizations with our POD groups around Holland in the afternoon.  We will be out of the building from approx. 1:00-3:00.  

Highlights in Photos:
Devotions:  Since the last post we have finished student led devotions.  Eddie, Charlotte, and Davina, and Eddie finished strong for us.  The kids loved this time!

Outdoor Discovery Field trip: We had a wonderful day learning about the Native Americans, the French Voyagers, an the history of Michigan.  It was a bit chilly but we enjoyed archery, learning how to make a fire, and dressing like a voyager.  Here are a few pictures from our day.

Have a wonderful weekend!
Lynae

March 23, 2018

Upcoming Dates: Reminders:

• We will take next week off from reading minutes, math homework and word work.
• All Star Reading:  Your child brought home a letter explaining all star reading this week.  The kids are really excited about this and everyone is working to complete at least 5 innings to attend a baseball game with the Varsity Baseball team. 
• March 26 and 28:  Conferences from 4-8 p.m.  Time slots are 15 minutes and I will do my best to stay on time.  
• March 30-April 6:  Spring Break
• April 11 (Wednesday):  Outdoor Discovery Center.  We will be learning about Native American Lifeways and Voyageurs.  We will be leaving school around 8:30 in the morning and returning around 2:30.  Students will be spending most of the day outdoors and will need to be dressed appropriately.  They will also need a sack lunch and drink.  I am still able to take one more parent volunteer along.  Let me know if you are interested in joining us.

Curriculum Highlights:
Devotions: Aaron, Alyssa, Leila, Gavin, and Gabe led us this week in our morning devotions.  We have enjoyed a lot of creative ways to spend time with God.

Bible:  We have been looking at the story of Easter and taking a couple of weeks to review the stories that led Jesus to the cross.   Each day we do a small craft on an Easter poster, talk about the story, and sing praises as we work.

Literacy:  We are almost done with our nonfiction animal books.  This week we wrote a chapter on how we see God in our animal.  We also wrote our conclusions,  a chapter about the author, and worked on the glossary.  I look forward to sharing these books with you at conferences.

Math: We have begun a new unit on fractions.  This week we began talking about how a fraction is part of a whole, looking at fractions that are larger than one, and identifying fractions on number lines.

Social Studies:  We continue to study the economy of Michigan.  This week we talked about specialization of items Michigan makes as well as interdependence on other states/countries to get goods we need.

MUSIC NOTE FROM MRS. BOER - This is what we have learned this quarter....

  *Three Songs of the Month - Come Now, O Prince of Peace; O Day of Peace, and 

                                                   May the Lord, Mighty God.

  *We learned the elements of reading music (the musical alphabet, lines & spaces, a poem for the lines of treble clef, quarter notes and rests, half notes and rests).

  *We began playing recorders (notes A, B, G) and learned how to take care of them.

  *We learned about the discipline of learning an instrument and practicing (3X3).

  On Sunday, March 25 the Holland Symphony will perform Peter and the Wolf at the DeWitt Performing Arts Center, Zeeland East High School. Pre-concert activities will begin at 2:30 and the concert will begin at 3:30. Tickets are $5 for students Kdg.-college and $20 for adults.

Have a great weekend!
Lynae

March 16, 2018

Upcoming Dates/Reminders:

• We are out of Kleenex!  Well, we are using the school brand, but everyone prefers the kind that mom buys.  :)  Everyone is healthy but we seem to have a lot of colds.  If you are willing to provide a box of soft Kleenex, it would be greatly appreciated.  
• Third quarter ended today.  Report cards will come home next week Friday.
• March 26 and 28:  Conferences run from 4-8 each night.  The time increments are 15 minutes long and I will do my best to stick to the time frame so that you can stay on schedule for any other conferences you may have booked.  I look forward to meeting with all of you!
• March 30-April 6:  Spring Break
• April 11 (Wednesday):  Outdoor Discovery Center.  We will be learning about Native American Lifeways and Voyageurs.  We will be leaving school around 8:30 in the morning and returning around 2:30.  Students will be spending most of the day outdoors and will need to be dressed appropriately.  They will also need a sack lunch and drink.  I am still able to take one more parent volunteer along.  Let me know if you are interested in joining us!
• Reading minutes are due Monday.  Math homework is due Friday and our word work test will be given on Friday as well.

Curriculum Highlights:
Devotions: This week Michael, Charlie, Landon and Wesley led us in devotions.

Literacy:  We are getting there with our animal nonfiction research.  We wrote our interesting facts chapter, created our title page, and wrote our introductions this week.  The kids are working so hard on this and the final product will be worth it!

Math: We have wrapped up our multistep word problem unit and taken the final assessment.  I will go over your child's test with you at conferences.  Next week we will begin fractions.

Bible:  We have followed the Israelites as they go through the desert.  We saw how God cares for his people by providing them with manna and quail and we tried to make some manna of our own.  We wrote as Israelite children about what it would be like to travel in the desert and see Moses get water for the people from a rock.  Over and over we see God's goodness to the Israelites and we talk about how He care for us like this too.

Social Studies: This week we learned about scarcity, opportunity cost (your 2nd choice), incentives,  specialization of Michigan products, and interdependence on other states and countries for things we need.

Have a wonderful weekend!
Lynae

March 9, 2018

Upcoming Dates/Reminders:

• Fun night is TONIGHT at Pine Ridge!  
• March 16: 3rd quarter ends
• March 23:  Report Cards go home
• Conferences:  You are now able to sign up online for your child's conference.  These will be held on March 26 and March 28 from 4-8 p.m. in 15 minute increments.  I look forward to meeting with all of you.
• March 30-April 6:  Spring Break
• April 11 (Wednesday):  Outdoor Discovery Center. We will be learning about Native American Lifeways and Voyageurs.  We will be leaving school around 8:30 in the morning and returning around 2:30.  Students will be spending the majority of the day outdoors and will need to be dressed appropriately.  They will also need a sack lunch and drink.  I am able to take 3 parents volunteers along.  Please let me know if you would like to come.  
• Reading minutes are due Monday.  Math homework is due Friday and our word work test will also be given on Friday.

Curriculum Highlights:
Devotions:  This week we were led by Brooke, Micah, and Clara.  Thanks for starting our morning off with time with God.

Literacy: I am feeling a bit repetitive, but we are busy plugging away on our nonfiction animal books.  This week we finished our physical characteristics chapter.  We then researched for behaviors and defenses of our animal, wrote the main idea sentences for each of our paragraphs, and began our rough drafts.  We are SO busy with this and the final product will be awesome!

Bible: We wrapped up the Israelites leaving Egypt by playing a Jeopardy review game for our final assessment.  This kids just loved this!  We continue see God's goodness to his people as he leads them to Marah and then to Elim.  We talked about how the Israelites have put their trust in God.  We continue to memorize Matthew 28:1-10.

Math:  We are reading carefully as we solve two step story problems.  Often the wording of the problems is tricky and we need to be sure we understand what the question is asking.  We will be wrapping up this unit next week.

Science:  We finished our Changes in Motion unit by doing a fun experiment involving a race track, mass, friction, gravity, and a few different variables!  This unit was a ton of fun and the kids loved it.

Social Studies: This week we began studying the economy of Michigan.  We have learned about natural resources, capital resources, human resources, economics, and entrepreneurs.  This unit has a lot of terminology so I do my best to make it "real" to the kids.

Hope to see many of you at fun night!
Lynae