Merry Christmas Daniel!!!

Hello there. Happy First Day of the Week to ya!

Well, as you can see...Daniel is the first to send in a holiday picture of himself. What a fantastic, fun tree that is!! Huge!!!! Wowzers! I bet that was a ton of fun to decorate. I might have gotten one other one on my phone, but remember I don't get pictures on my phone. I am old school like that. If you did try to send one last night, please email it to me instead: ericksont@billingsschools.org. Fun, fun, fun!! Thanks for sharing Daniel and family!

Today, we took our math NWEA Map test. One down, two to go. I love seeing all the growth happening already. I can sure tell they have been paying attention in math class. Remember, Thursday and Friday will be reading and language testing. There will be no READ 180 or System 44 classes on those days, as those kiddos will test with me. Great things coming out of room E4 I tell ya!

Just a reminder that I will be out tomorrow. Mr. Brown, the kids favorite sub!, will be here tomorrow. They have a full day of learning ahead, including a MT History lesson!!! Yay!!! I will still blog that night, so check back. In order to make it easy on Mr. Brown, there is no code word tonight. :0(

Have a fantastic night!

Got Holiday Pics???

Hi there. I hope you had a great weekend doing something holidayish. We just returned from an amazing play at church. It had a great message about how wrapped up we can get in the hustle and bustle and forget to just sit and be with those around us. I always tell people that the my favorite gift to receive and give is time. I love lunch with friends or just a day with my family. It is a gift that has a million memories. I would LOVE to share your Christmas trees/traditions on the blog. If you email me a picture, I will put it on display. It can be any kind of holiday picture! It is fun to see the kiddos in Christmas action. :0)

We have been studying ways that we can have a greener Earth in science. The kids have taken up the issue of removing the styrofoam trays in the lunchroom. I am setting up a meeting with the manager of Fuddruckers this week. I would like to take two-three kiddos in to try to get them to donate some plastic trays to Bitterroot. Kids were told that if this interested them, they should write a letter trying to persuade him. We talked about how facts speak truth, so they should use the internet to research harmful effects of styrofoam. I will read them all, and select two to three that I feel will do the job. If your child is selected, I will send home a permission slip to attend the meeting. Change is good!!!!

We will be taking the Math NWEA Map test tomorrow afternoon. Then the reading and language will follow on Thursday and Friday. I will be out on Tuesday for my kiddos Holiday programs at school. Other than that, it will be a normal week. We will begin to wrap up units before our Winter Break. Please talk to your kiddo tonight about doing their very best on these tests. That is all we can ask, and we need a true reading on how they are growing thus far in the 4th grade. If you do talk, write NWEA in the planner for $100 tomorrow.

Lastly, I went to the Christmas Stroll downtown with Mr. Ashcraft last Friday. He was sharing about the success of this fundraiser for his walk through Spain. Please make sure that your pledges are sent into him. I sent home invoices last month for those that made a commitment to donate to his cause. If you can't find it, you can send in the money and I will sure get it to him. Also, please pick up your surprises this week when you can. Before or after school works for me!!

Have a great Sunday!!!

TEST Tomorrow!

Hi. Not to much to report today.

Kids got to run through the scientific process with Mr. English today when trying to solve our styrofoam plate issue in the lunchroom. The class is trying to remove them from the school, as they are made from oil-one of our NONrenewable resources. Yikes! Ask your child about it. If they can share with you about why, how, and possible solutions write STYROFOAM in the planner for $20.

States and Caps test is tomorrow as well as spelling. Study, study.

Have a great night.

Jeff is in the house!!

Well Hi!

Jeff the Zoo Guy was in the house today! He is always a hoot! As you can see his animation and love for educating kids keeps every single kid engaged the entire time!!!! Kids got to see a wolves skull, footprint, and skin up close...VERY close. It was the perfect way to drive home all the kids learned in class and then some! Every one walked away learning something new. For example, not one kiddo knew what an ungulate is! If your kiddo can tell you now, write what they say in the planner for $20 tomorrow. If your child goes to Zoo Montana AND sees the wolves there in the next two months, write me a note in the planner for a $500 reward! (Can't count driving thru the zoo lights in the car!!! Have to get out and go see the actual wolves!!!!) Snag a picture of them to share while you are there, and your reward will be double. Woo Hoo!

Girls...Volleyball information sheets came home today. What a great way to get some exercise up at Castle Rock when the snow flies!

I know that people are already starting to plan for the holidays. Please know that 4th grade will be taking our Winter NWEA Map tests in reading, math, and language next week (T, Thurs, Fri). Please, please, please be here. It is so important to catch gaps in academics early. If we catch them now, we still have time before 5th grade to teach kids missing concepts. Thanks.

Tomorrow is library. Please find those books and get them into the backpacks. Thanks.

Homework tonight is for everyone. It is a code puzzle for kids to discover some upcoming endangered animals that we will be studying.

Have a fantastic night!

Fitness Club Is Fantastic!!!!

Hello. Yet another day packed filled with learning in Room E4! I wish all of you really could be a fly on our 4 walls and see just how much we do in one day, and how much your kids lightbulbs are going off!!! Wowzers!

Today, we learned about Solar Energy. We talked about how solar power is being used more and more to heat water in homes and business. In this discussion, I told the kids that I would ask you to show your child your water heater at home. It looks similar to a solar one, so I wanted them to see what it looked like. If you do show them, please write SOLAR in the planner for $20 tomorrow. We read a great story about an evil king that made his village mine for coal. This polluted the air (the burning of it for heat) and all the animals were getting sick, and the sun had gone away. When the main character chases her cat out of the village, she discovers that the King has a palace covered with solar mirrors that are heating his house without creating pollution. NO FAIR!!!! The king's nephew finally saves the day by teaching the villagers how to capture the sun's heat using passive and active ways. Can your child tell you the two examples of those terms that the villagers tried? I bet they can!!!

We took our Ch. 6 Social Studies test today. It was open book and they had the choice to work alone or with a partner. Those that did not finish, need to come in before school tomorrow and finish up instead of doing the morning walk. They know who they are. Thanks.

The states and capital's test for the SE region is this Friday. Kids need to match the capitals to the correct state, and be able to locate each state on the map. I would care to bet my farm that there will also be a couple NE states on there as a review. HINT HINT!

This morning Mrs. Neese did a Counseling lesson on bullying. She read a great book about accepting others even when they are different. They had a great discussion about not having to like everyone, but you do need to respect them. It was a great lesson!

The pictures above are from our after school fitness club. It meets every Tuesday and Thursday. I went in today to see what it was all about. Can I just say...holy buckets fantastic! Mr. Putuit had about 50 kids going in all different directions doing all different things. There is no doubt why your kiddo leaves there sweaty and feeling great. I almost wanted to jump in and join them. Kids were hurdling over, crawling under, doing pushups, rope swinging, crab-walking, jump and jacking, army crawling, jumping through hoops, and so much more. AND all of this was done to some super pumped up and inspirational music. Every single kid was on task and involved. What a wonderful high five to our PE teacher, Mr. Putuit. Well done!!!!! If your child would like to join, it is not too late. All they need is a permission slip from him signed and returned by this Thursday. Super easy, and what a great way to exercise twice a week!

Have a fantastic night!

Angles and Wolves????

Right Angles!!!

Acute Angles-Teeny Tiny Less Than 90!

Straight Angle-Nice and Flat on Your Back!

Obtuse Angle-Couch Potatoes!

Well hello.

In math today, the kids got a physical workout. Say what???? Yep, they became human angles and we did some angle situps. (Right, acute, straight, Right, acute, straight) Too fun. As you can see they did a great job connecting the name of an angle to what that angle should look like. We also learned parallel, intersecting, and perpendicular lines as well. Ask them which line says choo choo. Write down their answer in the planner for $20. They should be able to tell you why too!!!

In science today, we created a timeline for the wolf from before the civil war to 2009. Wolves are a hot topic in Montana. As a rancher myself, I was able to explain why wolves are not a farmer or rancher's best friend. But, on the other side, the ecologists have a good point to why wolves are important. The good news is the kids got to hear both sides and can now process that information the way they see fit. On Wednesday, Jeff the Zoo guy will come in and share more about that topic along with some other fun wolf stuff.

Homework tonight is pretty special. So special that if they chose to not do it or do it to my expectations, it will cost them $500 tomorrow morning. Ouch! Andrew's mom found a cool idea online this weekend and shared it. Each student will write a card to a US soldier for Christmas. The cards will be delivered through Red Cross. Andrew's mom checked to make sure it was a legit site. We started the day off by watching the youtube found at http://youtu.be/OdEFaOoSBsw. Please watch it with your child again if you can. It is a poem narrated by "Santa." It talks about how yes soldiers are sometimes gone for the holidays and special events with family, but they don't want us to feel sorry for them. Instead, they want us to feel proud. They chose to do this and they love it! Then, we invited Mr. English in to share his experience with being away from home for Christmas. We asked him what he loved to read about in the letters he got from kids. He said that he just wanted to read about daily life like what is happening at home, with pets, or happenings at school. Just anything to connect him back to life outside of the military. He agreed that reading that we are sorry for them is not what they want to hear. They want upbeat messages. So, that is the task at hand. Kids all got a card to take home tonight. They need to FILL it will positive sentences and connect with a soldier. They are writing to an unknown soldier that is fighting right now or is in a medical facility recovering away from home. They need to write in 4th grade small handwriting and fill up the given space. They may not use any other paper (according to the site rules), only the given card. They are due tomorrow so Andrew's mom has time to mail them out before the deadline. A HUGE thank you to her for doing this! Super cool!

Midterms came home today. Please review them, sign the front page, and return only the top copy. The grade sheet is yours to keep. Please record the items your child needs to replenish their school supplies. I went through them with each child so if it is marked they need to get the supply as soon as possible. Please note where your child is in their multiplication basic facts knowledge. You want them knowing them like their name. xtramath.org will help I promise!!! Lastly, if your child has a behavior checked on the top, please have a heart to heart about it with your child. My expectations only go up higher each quarter. If they are not meeting them now, they will struggle even more soon. All kids are able to succeed in this area!

Lastly, please make sure that you drop by before or after school to pick up your surprises! And PLEASE do not give them to kids until after the holiday!!!!! We don't want to ruin the surprise for others!!!! Thanks.

Have a fantastic night!!

My Job Rocks!!!!

Hi there. Happy Sunday to ya. My little girl turns 9 today. My how the years fly! Next year she will be in the grade that I teach! Yikes...when did that happen?

This week will be a busy one. Here is a run down of what to expect in each subject:
Math: Lines, angles, and types of triangles. Xtramath and success maker rotations will continue.

Reading: Two of our bookclubs have finished their novels. They will venture to some fiction stories that take place in the SE region. Cricket group will press on and finish their novel this week. Man, they have learned a ton in these groups. They really have come a long way when it comes to making text to self, text to world, and text to text connections. They are also remembering to ask for people's evidence when they say an opinion. The funnest part for me is to see the excited little eyes sitting around the table. :0)

Spelling: We will work with words that end in ed and ing. Kids need to be aware that final e and double consonants are doubled when working with these suffixes.

Language: Linking Verbs and Review DOLS.

Science: We will dip back into wolves with Jeff the Zoo Guy. He will be coming to school on Wednesday to share with the kids the pros and cons of the wolf in Yellowstone National Park. Jeff always does an AMAZING job with kids, and brings his true passion of animals to life. Can't wait. We will also continue to learn about alternative resources to help protect our future Earth. We read a fun story about wind power the other day. Ask your child to tell you how the family saved the farm. If they can retell you the story briefly, then write the name RUBY in the planner for $20 tomorrow.

Social Studies: We finished our tour of the SE region on Friday. We learned how the land is so beautiful, how it has changed history (civil war and rights), and how we have preserved so much history in this region. We will do an open book test this week, and our states and capitals test will be THIS Friday. The kids also will finish up their Penelope Peabody scavenger hunt on the computers for both the NE and the SE regions.

Homework this week will be science related. Everyone will be responsible for turning it in the next day. Please continue xtramath sessions at home. I will no longer be paying the kids to do this. I will pay for this weekend, but that is the last one. Now, they need to do it just because it will help them in the future.

If you have not done so, please mark your calendars for December 19th for the Holiday Music Concert. There will be two identical shows, one at 9:30 am and the other at 1:15 pm. Please plan to stay the for the entire show. It is really distracting when people come and go. Many, many kids in our class have speaking solos and Kayla has a singing solo. Ask your child if they have a solo. Then ask them if they are in the morning or afternoon show. Mr. Goodheart changed the people for each show to allow more kids the opportunity to show off their talents. Why not take the day and eat lunch with your kiddo at 11:50 too! Fun times! If your child does have a solo please practice their parts at home. Mr. Goodheart expects them to be memorized by this Wednesday. They also need to add gestures and or expression.

As I said last week, the surprises are in. Please feel free to stop by anytime before or after school to pick yours up if you ordered one. We decided it might be too risky to send them home with kiddos. I arrive at school by 7:30 daily and don't generally leave until 4. If I am not in my room for some reason, go across the hall to Mrs. Hankins. She knows where they are and can also help you. If that doesn't work for you, let me know and we can work out a different plan for you. Thanks.

It was time for our November Purple Hand Cookie nominations on Friday. Natalie nominated Andrew for encouraging every student during gym class. They were learning to serve a volleyball. Andrew was saying encouraging words to all students. Natalie noticed!!!! Way to go Andrew! Olivia nominated Kayla for holding the door in the morning for all 4-6 students. Usually kids only hold the door for our class. Kayla hung in there for the entire school. Way to go Kayla! Your kindness was noticed! Olivia was nominated by Ethan. Ethan needed a computer and Olivia noticed. She allowed Ethan to get one ahead of her. She didn't respond with get to the back or no cuts Ethan. She simply, stepped aside and allowed Ethan to go first. Wow! Great manners Olivia! It was noticed. Two other students were nominated, but when getting the slip from the box, their nominators were not listed. We recognized their amazingness, but they missed out on the vote process. We went over the correct method to nominate a classmate again. In the end, the votes were counted, and our Purple Hand Cookie Award went to Andrew!!! Great work everyone!!

Collin was our star of the week. He brought, shared, and played his guitar for us. It was so fun to see him in the spotlight. He also shared his grandfather's pocket watch and his Valentine's Day nome. Fun!

We ended the week with ice cream sundaes for Fun Friday, and boy was it fun. As you can see, food brings our culture together. What a great realization for our team building this week. Kids bought all the supplies with their fake money. The more toppings they wanted, the more it costed. Anyone been to the yogurt shops in town. If you have, you know that this was a real life skill. You pay by weight. The more you add to your yogurt, the heavier it is, and the more it costs. :0) Kids enjoyed spending their money though, and everyone was able to enjoy great conversation with their friends while eating a tasty treat! They earned it folks! Great, great kids!

Have a wonderful weekend!