Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

This month, to honor American Indian Heritage Month, Jordan's mother came to visit our class.  Her name is Mary and she is a member of the Skokomish tribe based in Washington state.  She shared with us many interesting artifacts and family heirlooms that she has collected including special baskets for cooking and a sheep's wool shawl made by a family member.  She then shared two folktales from her tribe that had illustrations done by her uncle.  A really interesting and wonderful visit!

As a follow up, this week we are reading the story The Rough Faced Girl, a Native American Cinderella tale and following it up with a readers' theatre of a similar story, called "The Hidden One".  We will also be learning a bit about the first Thanksgiving and how the holiday got its start.

Below are some pictures of the students working in pairs to complete their posters for emergency 911 procedures- over the past two weeks, we have learned a lot about basic first aid emergencies and also 911 emergencies.  Ask your child what they learned about what to do in different situations.

Your child should be beginning to memorize their multiplication tables- at this point, I would hope they have mastered the 0,1,2,5, and 10s times tables and begin work on their 3s and 4s. Unfortunately, the good old-fashioned flash card drills still seem to be the best way to learn these facts, although there are tons of awesome online games and quizzes they can try.

A few things coming up: The spelling test will be on Wednesday (11/21) before break. If you would like to order Scholastic books, please order them online if possible- the online code is GYFMB and you can click on the link to the left. You and your child earn a special coupon for $5 your next order and I also earn rewards for our class to get free books!  These books are tax free and there is no shipping and handling fees.  If you are ordering some holiday surprises for your child, simply e-mail me and I will make sure to let you know when they come in rather than give them to your child at school.  I will place all orders by next Friday 11/30 so that they are in before 12/15- it usually takes one week after I place the order.

This week, we all have a lot to be thankful for.  I know I am thankful for my wonderful class full of hard workers!  I hope you and all of your families have a wonderful Thanksgiving!  I'm sure I will get to hear all about it from the kids next week!

Meeting with Parents

The beginning of this week was filled with parent teacher conferences and parents received our new report cards for the first time. I recognize that the new grading system is very different from what all of us are used to and it can be confusing at times.  I appreciate every one's patience as we all learn this new system together!

I really enjoyed meeting with all parents and getting to discuss their student's progress. Even though this conference was our only formal time to meet, please feel free to contact me anytime- by e-mail, phone or to set up a conference to chat.

Did you know that parent involvement (in any form) in a child's education is one of the major factors for success?  Read more about it: "How Parent Involvement Affects Student Achievement"

Since this week is "all about the parents", I wanted to share some parent resources I enjoy and think are useful.

MCPS's Parent Support Page

Helping Your Child Become a Stronger Reader

Helping with Math Homework

Growing Kids who Love Mathematics

Helping your Child be More Organized

Building Capacity for Focus

On the left side of the screen I will continue to add more games and resources for the kids to use that I find helpful.  I mentioned to many of you that I really think the Kahn Academy is a great resource to help your child when they are confused about a math skill- not only can they watch the video lesson but you can watch it, too- and it will give you real insight into how to build understanding of the concept with your child.

In anyway you support them at home, I appreciate all of the great work you are doing and your child is going to reap the benefits!

“We may not be able to prepare the future for our children, but we can at least prepare our children for the future.”
― Franklin D. Roosevelt