Pumpkin Math...Part 2

Pumpkin Math was AWESOME today! The kids, most of them, had a great time scooping out the guts and seeds of their pumpkins today. It was a really fun way to practice our estimating skills, as well as a good preview of circumference.

A big THANK YOU to Mrs. Handly, Mr. Lethbridge, Mr. Stegenga, and Mrs. Whitaker for coming in to help out. Check your email for the pictures I sent out from today's event.

Up next...Halloween Party!

Pumpkin Math

Pumpkin Math is tomorrow at 9 AM. Be sure to send your child in with a pumpkin, average size, if you have not already done so. It should be a fun day! Come on in if you have a chance.

I just hope no one ends up like the pumpkin above from the smell!

No Newsletter Last Week

I just wanted to let everyone know that there will be no newsletter from last week. It was a slow week and not much is going on. However, this week is quite a week!

Thursday - Pumpkin Math 9AM
Friday - Halloween Party 2PM

Planting Plants

Today in Science class we planted our first plants. The class discussed what all plants need to survive and then we designed an experiment to conduct with the plants. The class wondered what would happen if we took either light, air, water, or warmth away from the plants. In our experiment we did just that, to the best of our abilities, and we are going to observe what happens.

One plant doesn't get light, another won't get water, and one is even living in the refrigerator for now. And we are going to observe what happens to these seeds over a 2 week period. I love the excitement this class has for learning...it's so fun!

Parent Conferences

So as Parent Conferences rapidly approach I just wanted to remind you to send in the form saying if the time I assigned you works or not. I sent it home in the Friday Folders this past week and have not received all of them back. Please email me and let me know if you did not find this, or even lost the form, so I can send you a new one.

A Busy Monday Here at TJ

Well it's always nice to hit the ground running as they say. This morning when the students arrived fresh off their weekend, we had our first Health class with Ms. Huber. We also had our first computer lab with Mr. Evans where we worked on a Virginia Native Americans webquest and took a look at where in VA each tribe lived as well as how they used their environment to SURVIVE. Feel free to check out the webquest and see what we did today. Click on the word webquest and you should end up there.

Do you see all the pieces fitting into place? In science we are talking about plants, social studies Native Americans, and Literature reading Survival themed books. School is so much fun when everything ties in and the kids can make so many great connections.

This afternoon I began my QRIs with your children (Qualitative Reading Inventory) to assess their word recognition and comprehension skills. The first part I completed, but the 2nd part will have to wait for now.

First Science Lab of 2008

Today we had our first Science Lab of 2008. After spending 2 days studying the parts of a flower we went to the lab and disected a poor lily, or several poor lillies! Anyway the kids had a chance to get in there and locate the main parts of a flower (sepal, petal, pistil, and stamen) and actually got their hands a little dirty while doing this...there was pollen everywhere.

We had a great discussion afterwards about the parts and their functions. The class made some really great observations...which is what good scientists do!

Where Has Mr. Evans Been?

Well after a crazy Friday...Picture Day, VA Pizza Day, and all the normal to do's at TJ; Mr. Evans decided to take a little time off to catch up.

Anyway the kids did an awesome job creating their Virginia Region pizzas. Watch for the pictures being email to you sometime this week.

Hopefully the rest of this week will allow me to keep up with this. Oh yeah and we started Science!

Finally!

We have FINALLY finished our 1st social studies unit. The 5 Regions of VA are done in room 309. Now we will move on to creating our VA Regions Pizza tomorrow around 9 AM.

We will start to create our pizzas around 9:10 or so, right after we take our pictures. Please be sure to send in the items we need to create these delicious treats...I mean this assessment of student learning! :)

Crazy Crazy Morning!

Today was like a tornado came through TJ. We started the day with Math. Well that was normal, except for the excitement of the Math Olympiad test. Many of our boys and girls chose to participate in taking this test...not an easy task.


Some quotes you may have heard in the halls of TJ...



"Man that was the hardest test I ever took!"

"I can't even see straight right now!"

"Who made up that test anyway?"



Then we had an assembly....Percussion Discussion. The kids love it and even got to participate and dance a little. Ask them about the history of the drums in American Music and see if they are able to tell you some of the songs played today!

Character Traits

Today during Literature we read The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein. We looked at the Boy and discussed what kind of character traits he posessed. The big point of the lesson, besides character traits, was to use EVIDENCE from what we read to support our responses. The class did an AWESOME job completing this task.

When talking with your son or daughter about certain issues/topics ask them why they think this way. Or what happened to make you say that? That will go a long way in 4th grade!

New Reading Unit

Today we began our new Literature unit...Survival! The class was asked to read several statements about survival and had to decide if they agreed or disagreed with the statements. We then read a book entitled Souperchicken. Ask your children about the story and how it fit in with the them Survival.

Last Night and This Morning

It was great to see so many of you last night. Hopefully I was able to give you a little more insight into 4th grade and what the expectations are for your son or daughter. If not please feel free to email me.

This morning we had a very special treat! The President's Own United States Marine Band come in and perform for us. A parent of one of our 4th graders is a member of this band. It was truly awesome! Check out our student blog early next week for a full report on this performance!

Blue Ridge Mountains

Today in SS we discussed the Blue Ridge Mountains. We learned that there are really no major cities there. As Jake said, "Just itty bitty cities!" and lots of apples.

See everyone tonight. Remember 8:00 - 8:30 in room 309.

VA Regions Brochures

Today we started, and most finished, our VA Regions Brochure. So far we have studied the Tidewater and Piedmont regions of our state. Ask them to tell you a little about the land in each region. Or ask them what the phrase "Please read your journals." means. I'll give you a hint...it helps them identify the major rivers in Virginia from north to south. :)

Sorry about no posting yesterday, but Mr. Evans was super busy. A full day of teaching as well as having to present a budget last night in class. Which in a sick way was kind of fun, but I am sure that was because I wasn't really presenting a real budget to people. :)