See Below Post Re: Gumball Math

I have changed one detail regarding the flashcards - students will make these in school on Mondays and they will get sent home that day. If they lose them, it is their responsibility to create more at home using paper or index cards or online sources. Thank you!

Gumball Math!

In Math we are really working hard at strategies for addition and subtraction, having "Fact Power" (knowing facts quickly) and soon we will get into turn around facts and fact families. I am going to begin "Gumball Math" timed fact quizzes beginning this week. Each Monday the students will be given the facts to practice for the week and they will make their flashcards in school to be brought home that day and practiced throughout the week. I realize that students have many different tasks and assignments to work on throughout the week, however the students need to begin to have automaticity with their facts. Just a few minutes each day at some point is asked, however you can practice as much as you feel necessary based on how your child does.

On Fridays we will have our quiz. There are 50 facts and the students will be given 3 minutes to complete the quiz. Everytime they successfully complete a quiz, they will get a (paper) gumball on their own gumball machines that are hung in the room. Please note each child works at his or her own pace and this is not a contest. Some students may have only one gumball for a few weeks while others have three or four.

Should you have any questions, please don't hesitate to email me or send in a note. I do think this will be motivating for the children, they seem to love timed activities. Thank you for your support!

Mystery Reader #11

Mr. Hanna (Megan's Dad) was our 11th Mystery Reader! Mr. Hanna is in charge of the Tech Studies program at Plymouth South High School. He came to our class during his busy day to read a wonderful story by Mia Hamm called "Winners Never Quit!". Then he stayed to answer some questions about his job at the high school. Thanks for coming by Mr. Hanna!

Valentine's Day

We had a great Valentine's Day complete with lots of Valentine related literacy centers, Candy Heart graphing, valentine making, and then our Valentine's Day snack party. Here are some pictures of the fun day. Thanks for all of my valentines and treats!

100 Days of School!

We celebrated our 100th Day of School on Monday and had a fun packed day! The kids came in to find a special 100's day treat on their desks. We created hats with 100 pictures or stickers, tried to find and write 100 different kinds of words, filled in a mystery picture on the 100's chart, read a poem about 100 things, and got to go on a number hunt to practice number identification and navigating on the number grid by coloring in the number box with the corresponding color. Some students found almost all 100 numbers! The trickiest number was 100. The kids had a tough time finding that one until Mr. Spencer walked in at the end of the day and had it on his back. The students were so excited to find it and thought it was hilarious that he had it the whole time. :)

Mystery Reader #10!

Abby's mom was our 10th mystery reader! She read a cute story called "Missing Mittens" and then answered lots of questions about her job as a nurse at Jordan Hospital! Thank you so much for reading to our class!

Patriots and Predictions!

We have been working hard in Reading Worshop with our thinking about our reading. Last week we focused on strategies for making predictions. I decided to tie in our lessons with some fun for the Super Bowl so I read a cute story called "Super Bowl" to the kids and they had to make a prediction about which team would win. Either the "Super Ducks" or the "Animal Champs". The Animal Champs won. We then made our own predictions about which team would win the Super Bowl and also included a reason for their prediction. We attached them to Super Bowl Buddies. They turned out cute! This was a craft I found on a blog "A Cupcake For The Teacher".

Valentine's Day!

Hi Everyone!
I will be sending home a class list for Valentine's Day next week. We will be having a little snack celebration while we pass out valentines. Our room mother will be in touch with some of you. I am also asking that parents send in one (or two if you have an extra) CLEANED OUT, gallon milk jugs (preferably the clear kind)! These will be used for Valentine's Day but I would like to collect them all by Friday, Februarly 10th since we need to decorate them. I will send home a paper notice on this but I figured if anyone has a chance to read the blog during the weekend, they can put aside their milk jug! Go Patriots!

Challenge Time!

I am so pleased with the responses to the first little "challenge" on the blog. Here are my next challenges. If students can answer, please EMAIL me the responses and your child will get recognition and a little prize. They only need to be correct for 1 out of the 2.

1. What pattern do you notice is happening with the sums when you add doubles facts? (0+0, 1+1, 2+2, etc.) *Parents, you may need to work with your child to write these facts going down in a column style so that they can see this. We have done this and discussed it already in class, of course.

2. An atlas is a book of ________________.