Have a restful, healthy, happy Thanksgiving 🙂

• I have signed up for a 14 day (13 days now) free trial of Raz-Kids.  This is a web program that gives your child hundreds of free books at their personal reading level.  They can listen to the story, read the story themselves, and then take a quiz.  This can be done on a computer, ipad, or tablet.  Avery’s awesome kindergarten teacher gave her access to Raz-kids last year and she loved it!!  The note that explains how to log in came home in today’s folder.  I also showed it to them in class and told them to start a few levels before the end.  So if they have access up to level “M”, they should start around level “j” and see how that works.  Please, please, please have your child try it a few times over the break.  If we like it, then I may need to buy a subscription.
•  It was a green day today, so if anyone came home without their square colored, you can rest easy they were on green!
• Today we made corn muffins and butter!  We did a lot of shaking to turn that cream into butter, but it worked 🙂

• I am completing the book order tomorrow.  So if you haven’t ordered yet, and you want to, please make sure to send it in tomorrow.
• Math tests came home today.  I do not need them back this time.
• Everyone got a new book today and should be reading tonight.  They will keep this same book until we are back from vacation next week.
• RESEARCH!  It was all in the name of research today 🙂  We started an informational writing paper today about how to make hot chocolate.  We decided that before we could teach someone else, we had to try it ourselves.  Writing was so much fun today!!

• I mentioned to the students that we will be doing a book exchange on our last day of school in December.  Each student will bring in a wrapped book to place in the exchange.  We will play a game so that they all go home with a new book.  Why am I bringing this up so early?  I thought that the book order form that went home might be a great chance for you to purchase a book for the exchange – that way you don’t have to stress about shopping for one later.  Just an idea 🙂
• Book orders are due on Monday, November 24th.
• I was so excited to receive play-doh this week!  Thanks to Brooke, Nigel, Yousef, Celine and their families for the donations!!!
• Homework tonight is a clock worksheet.  We will have a math test on Thursday or Friday – pretty much the whole thing will be questions about time and money.

• First, I must give a GIGANTIC “thank-you” to all of the parents who drove/chaperoned on our field trip.  I appreciate your flexibility and patience – and I am very grateful that you were able to take the time and spend it with us!  The kids were very excited with the 3D production 🙂
• Another “thank-you” to my parents who came to conferences last Thursday!  I enjoyed the evening and appreciated the good conversations about your students.
• Don’t forget – the PTA meeting is on Wednesday, November 19th at 3:00…that’s awesome for all of you who come to pick your students up anyway – just come a teeny bit earlier.
• I will be at meetings on Monday morning and Thursday morning.  Instead of running all my reading groups, I will spend time doing individual conferencing and goal setting.  About half of my groups will still meet like normal.
• Besides our field trip, slipper day, and our ice cream treat for winning the box tops competition,  Friday was also very exciting because it was Ethan’s birthday!!!  HaPpY BiRtHdAy Ethan 🙂

• Drivers for the field trip should be in our classroom about 9:00.  That way we can split up and hopefully be out of the building by 9:15ish.  The show will take place at the Mackenzie Fine Arts Center at Henry Ford Community College.
• Friday volunteers…I would like to try something new for library check-out.  Instead of going as a whole class, I am asking for a parent volunteer on Friday mornings at 11:15 to take the students to the library in small groups.  I have created an event on sign-up genius (or at least I tried to) – if you would like to help out on Friday mornings, please follow this link:  https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0A4EA9AF2BA0F94-library

• Late start tomorrow!!
• Don’t forget our field trip is coming up on Friday.  If you have any questions, please let me know.  We will be back in time for lunch 🙂
• Slipper day is Friday.  Students can donate $1 to wear slippers at school.  Since that is the same day as our field trip, our class can bring their slippers in their backpack and put them on after lunch recess.
• I kept their Unit 2 Math test and their Science test to share at conferences – just in case you were looking for them 🙂
• I sent home yellow confirmation slips with most students either yesterday or today for their conference time.  Please return the bottom portion.
• The turkeys are AMAZING!!!  Everyone was so creative!  Thank you for helping your child disguise their turkey.  All of the conversations we’ve had in class sound like they had a great time completing the project.  You can get a good look at all of them when you’re here for conferences 🙂
• We need play-doh.  If you are out shopping and think about it, can you grab us a little?  We use play-doh to practice our spelling words during word work.
• We started writing opinions today.  Everyone had to decide which they liked better – goldfish or fruit snacks.  Of course, we had to taste test to make sure we knew what we were talking about 😉

• Don’t forget tomorrow is a 1/2 day.  Students will be dismissed at 11:45.  We will still do library check-out so don’t forget your books.  We will also take the spelling test and our science quiz.
• HERE’S A PEEK at most of the information on our Science quiz tomorrow.  Other than this, it will also ask students about “mixtures”.

sciqz1 sciqz2

Our first 2 turkeys were brought in today.  They are awesome 🙂  Please don’t panic, they are not due back until next Monday, but since they are here I thought it would be nice for you to have two more examples.

Check out Darth Vader and Anna:

• NO SCHOOL TOMORROW! (11/4/14)
• 1/2 day on Friday, 11/7.  Students will be dismissed at 11:45 a.m.
• Spelling tests are graded, but we had so many things to put in/do to our folders that they just didn’t get handed back.  Sorry!  They will come home on Wednesday.
• I sent some October ‘Book-It’ calendars back home to be signed before I can attach the certificate.  November ‘Book-It’ calendars came home today.  Students must have at least 25 acorns colored to earn a free pizza!
• Science quiz coming up on Friday.  This will cover the properties of matter, mass, and mixtures.  They will bring home their science folders on Wednesday and Thursday night.
• Turkey is in Trouble!  Today I read my very favorite story about Turkey who is worried he will be eaten for Thanksgiving dinner.  In the story, Turkey tries to disguise himself to hide from the farmer.  Today, your child has brought home their own turkey.  It is their job to think of a creative disguise for him.  I showed them some examples today and we talked about different ideas.  This does not have to be turned in until next Monday, November 10th.