God's Most Amazing Creatures...: It's Been a GREAT First Week of School! :)

Hello, parents! We have had an amazing first week of school!

We have learned many new routines and have had a lot of fun getting to know one another, with some fun games and activities. We have eased into the transition of all the core classes, with the exception of Language Arts. We will begin that on Monday! I have had so much fun getting to know your child. This group is so sweet, and truly love each other. It is beautiful to witness. I am so proud of all of them, and feel so blessed to be their teacher! Besides all of the fun we have had, I have highlighted just a few things below that we have learned this week:

Religion- This week, we discussed the Creation story, and the Fall into sin. We discussed ourblessings, and read Bible verses sharing the power of God. We had our first memory work today: God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. ~Psalm 46:1 This will be our theme for the year!

Next week’s memory:

August 28-

The Old Testament

Genesis

Exodus
Leviticus
Numbers
Deuteronomy

August 31-

Joshua

Judges
Ruth
1 & 2 Samuel
1 & 2 Kings
1 & 2 Chronicles
Ezra
Nehemiah
Esther

Language Arts- We read and wrote when we created our time capsules, which we will put away and get back out in May to see our many changes. We measured our height and traced our hands and feet. We also filled on surveys about our Favorite Things, interviewed a friend, and created self-portraits. We began writing about our summer vacations yesterday. We will continue to work on these narratives at school. Next week, we will have our first Reading story (Because of Winn Dixie) out of our basals, and we will have our first spelling test next Friday. Spelling words, and our challenge word will come home on Monday in the assignment books. They will always be in this note, and I will also put them online for you to access. I ask that your child take their reading book home at least twice a week to review the story. We will have a comprehension test over the selection on Fridays as well. Next week, we will also begin English, where we will identify complete and incomplete sentences. The students were introduced to Judy Blume, the Author of the Month, this week, and they love her! We read Freckle Juice and began Tales if a Fourth Grade Nothing. Do you remember that story? One of my favorites! :) Monday the students will also receive information about book reports, when they are due, and what is expected. They are reading Newbery Award winning books. Thank you!

Words for the Week of August 31

Because of Winn Dixie
blade, gray, past, afraid, magic, delay, amaze, drain, maybe, break, sale, hang, stain, glass, raft, jail, crayon, fact, stale, steak, fraction, trait
Challenge Word: garrulous

Math- We took our first mad minutes and I assessed where each child was in this process. Many of them already know their multiplication facts, and that is wonderful! We worked on place value through the hundred thousand, and also worked with putting numbers in standard, expanded, and word form. We completed some Problem Solvers, which takes real world math problems, and breaks them down, so that they can solve and experience them. This is such good practice! Please practice math facts at home with your child through flashcards and computer games. Thank you!

Art- We created “Who Am I?” pictures. These are self-portraits made with construction paper and other media, and wrote riddles for the rest of the school to solve. Please come by our hallway to see if you can pick out each child in our class. Fun!

As a reminder, Friday Folders will come home this afternoon filled with graded work. Please empty these and return the folder on Monday. Although we did not have very many assignments this week, anything with a letter grade can be “redone” for half credit per answer, and turned back in on Monday. So far, everybody is doing very well and working very hard!

Next week, Special Classes begin! We will begin Writers’ Workshop, Art, P.E., Music, and Computers. Fun times in the 4th grade!… :)

Have a great weekend! Please come and cheer on our 4^th grade volleyball girls at their tournament at Hope Lutheran tomorrow. Our first game is at 10:00.

Upcoming Events:

AUGUST

25-4/5 volleyball girls preseason tournament at Hope Lutheran; first game at 10:00
28- First Day of School for Home School Students—Special Classes begin!
31- First spelling test!

SEPTEMBER

3- No School or Childcare, Labor Day

7-Volleyball games at Timothy (5:30, 6:15, 8:30, 9:15)
8-Volleyball games at MLA (9:00, 9:45, 10:30, 11:15); Timothy soccer at LHS 10:15
10-6/7/8 volleyball game at Timothy against Plaza Heights
11-Volleyball and Soccer pictures 3:45
14-16- Fall Fun Fest Timmy Burger Booth; Volleyball games at Timothy (5:30, 6:15, 8:30, 9:15)
16- Blue Springs Fall Fun Fest Parade: 10:00 am
17- School Picture Day
21-1st Quarter Mid-Term; Volleyball games at Messiah (6:00, 6:45, 7:15)
22-Timothy soccer at LHS 10:15
28-August/September Book Reports are due
29-Timothy soccer at LHS 11:30
30-Book Fair

Here are some pictures from the first week of school!