Buckaroo News - November 3rd to 7th

The weather has turned colder but we are still "cooking with gas" in room 118!  I feel like the most blessed person on earth because I get to be with these little ones all day!  We have been practicing many songs for our upcoming Thanksgiving Program on Monday, November 24th at 2:45 in our classroom.  Next week, each child will receive a special speaking part that he/she can practice at home.  We will also be practicing everyday at school as well.  We hope that you can make it!  On Tuesday, November 25th, the students earned a movie with popcorn for their exemplary behavior while I was out one afternoon this week.  The guest teacher left a glowing report about all of them!   The Book Fair will be going on from November 10th-21st and they are still in need of volunteers.  If you'd like to help out with this, please go to mysignup.com/scebookfair to sign up for a spot.  Dad, Dudes and Doughnuts will be on November 11th in the morning before school.  We've talked a lot about why this day is so special and I shared that Mr. McNeal is a veteran and I always thank him on this day.  Multicultural Day is next Friday and we are really excited to learn about other cultures!  The Spell-A-Thon is next Thursday.  I hope that your child has been practicing his/her words!  

Today the children went out for recess and many of them didn't have coats or sweatshirts.  Please remember to send your child with a coat or jacket as they will be going outside even on these chilly days.  We all seem to also be passing around a nasty cough (including me:() so keep an eye out for this.  

In word study, we have been working on the long vowel /e/ hunk-and-chunks of  /ee/ and /ea/.  Each team has also been working on certain word features such as short vowel and long vowel patterns.  In Writer's Workshop, we have been writing from the perspective of a Pilgrim.  Each child chose a name of a real passenger on the Mayflower and, using quills (feather taped to a pencil:), they have written from that Pilgrim's perspective.  We learned about why they left England and what is was like to travel on the Mayflower.  Ask your child to share with you what they've learned so far.  It definitely wasn't a Disney cruise!!!  In social studies, we are learning about what school was like in the past.  We learned that they used coal-burning stoves to heat the one-room schoolhouses and that children of all ages were in one room together.  Ask your child to share what else they have learned.  Next week we will be looking at how and why transportation has changed over time.  Finally, we will be looking at how appliances have changed over time.  This is where I need your help.  If you wouldn't mind taking a picture of your kitchen and/or laundry room and send it in with your child that would be great!  In math, we have moved on to Topic 5 which is about doubles and near doubles.  I've noticed that the children are still having difficulty with story problems so I've added a new feature to our math workshop time.  Each day, they will receive an additional story problem to glue into their math journals to practice showing their thinking and strategies.  In Reader's Workshop, we have finished up the initial study of reading strategies and how to "coach" someone if they get stuck on a word.  A fun way to practice this with your child is to read one of his/her "warm up" books to him/her and purposely struggle with a word.  I always say something like "Wow!  That's a tough word and I'm stuck."  Your child should say "Do you need more coaching or time."  If you ask for coaching then they should be able to suggest some strategies for you to try.

We are singing in a group.  This group of kids are singing from their poetry and songbooks from the  new songs that they got.  One of the songs is called "My Country 'Tis of Thee" and one song is called "Hero."  It is about heroes that fight for our country and do "fill the bill."  "My Country 'Tis of Thee" is about the land of liberty.  It is the land where my fathers died.  This means all of those people that died in the past for our country.  

This boy is doing math.  He is practicing his numbers.  He is very proud of himself!