Rewards...

Although we had a "snow day," we were still able to enjoy time reading in tents, which was one of our classroom rewards.  They were so cute with the giggling and enjoying a change of pace.  The pictures speak for themselves...

We have been up to so much!

Everything from historical fiction to economics to computation has been in our lives the past few weeks!  Take a peek using the content tabs above!

Art Print was so much fun...for all of us, including me!  :)  Mrs. Driscoll showed us The Milkmaid, which Vermeer used a great deal of light in his painting.  We created a story based on what we see in the painting, then we darkened the windows and drew a cornucopia with oil pastels using artificial light.  Then we drew back the shades and drew the same thing, but with different light.  Many student's work had a lighter feel with the second drawing.  Did you see your child's drawing?

Analyzing The Milkmaid....

Creating a story...

The cornucopia...

 Drawing the cornucopia using oil pastels...

Look at how much fun we had!

There was so much going on this week that it is hard to recap!  Just take a look at all the tabs to get a glimpse!

An end to the first 9 weeks...

We ended our first 9-weeks with a BEE Boppin' Bang!  What a great week...outside of the super long assessment in Science.

A local author visited us!

So many interesting things happened last week!

We were thrilled to host local author, Lisa Martin, to 3rd grade today!  She shared many experiences with us about creating characters, researching information, writing and publishing a book.  What a pleasure to have an author read to us from her own published story!  We'll begin reading Anton and Cecil, Cats at Sea as a read aloud book very soon!

 Lisa worked on this book with her Aunt!  What a special way to write a book.  They shared ideas by email and Skype, since Lisa's Aunt actually lives in New York.

 Lisa's characters, Anton and Cecil, are based on her own cats, TJ and Albert.  We can all get ideas for writing from special things in our lives.

Stories aren't very interesting unless there is a problem!  Lisa talked to us about how to develop a problem in a story.

Lisa Martin's book will be on sale at 

Over The Moon Bookstore in Crozet 

Can you believe we are in our first week of October?

Hi everyone!  It is so hard to believe that we are already into October.  Whewy have we been on a roll!  Please read through the content tabs to see what's been happening in class this past week and what we will be up to in the upcoming week.

I will be going to Colorado for my nephew's wedding this week, so I will have a sub on Thursday and Friday.  I will prepare the students for this, but wanted parents to know as well.

I will NOT update my blog next weekend, so look for detailed notes on the blog this week that will cover the content for the next two weeks.

Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions that you have about the content, though.

Lastly, in lieu of a Halloween Dress-Up party, students are asked to leave their purchased costumes at home, but instead dress up as something we have studied, if they'd like to dress up.  Last year I had a student come with decomposers (worms and mushrooms) in her hair and glued to her cheek.  I also have had several maps and globes walking around during the day.  Please make these costumes yourselves, as they are more creative that way and it's a way for students to be thinking about all that we've learned this year! 

Check out these zipliners!

        

Last week of September

My, my where has the time gone.  Can you believe we have already been in school a month?  We had a wonderful week getting into our Language Arts routines, and playing some great games during morning meeting and math!

Please view each tab to gain information about what we are doing in each content area.  Please notice the vocabulary words that are bolded in each section.  These will be words your child will need to know!

Have a fun 3-day weekend!

Oh what fun we had!

Oh my did we have a fun week!  Don't forget to read the tabs above for more information on each content area!

I will be including test dates in the Date Reminder section to the right, BUT know that those dates may change.  Typically, I have a general date in mind, but I base the real date on whether most of the children are "getting it."  The test dates will always be in their planner as well.

What a GREAT week!

We are really diving into content now!  We introduced word study, made maps, and surveyed our friends to create graphs.  What an eventful week!  Take a look at the pictures in the different content areas!

It's been a week of projects!

Projects, projects, projects!

We have been working hard on several projects this week.  Check out the individual tabs above for a description of the projects!

After a full week

We have been very busy!  We have organized our classroom so all students know where everything is located and can be used at all times.  We have begun curriculum (synonym and antonyms, government and citizenship, time, and data and graphing) as well as homework!  Just a reminder about homework; all homework is due on Friday...no exceptions!  Students will do homework during an extension time, such as computer time or free-choice time.

Date reminders:

September 4
BEE Fall Registration Begins

September 10
Back to School Night (Grades 3-5)
6:00 to 7:30 - Begins in the Community Room then two identical sessions afterwards

September 16
BEE Fall Classes Begin

September 17
PTO Meeting

Pictures from the week:

It was great to see so many of you at Open House!  The smiles on your faces made me light up, as I am happy that you are excited about the new school year (parents and students).

Today was a terrific first day.  It's always boring going over procedures and organizing supplies, but they all seemed happy.  See the tweets to the right for a brief synopsis of our day!

This blog will be my way to communicate with you.  The main page will have reminders and upcoming dates to remember.  The tabbed pages will provide you with a highlight of the current and upcoming learnings.  You will find vocabulary on these pages.  Please use this vocabulary with your child.  Lastly, you can view our more recent tweets on the sidebar.  We will start the year with me typing our thoughts, but eventually students will be taking on this role!

Misc. reminders:

There were errors on the supply list.  If at all possible, please make sure you have TWO 1 1/2" binders and TWO 1" binders by the beginning of the first full week of school.

If you were not at Open House and/or did not complete my simple questionnaire, please email me (dpalmer@k12albemarle.org) to let me know dismissal plans for the first three days of school.  THANKS!

Date reminders:

August 26
Attractions Fundraiser Begins

September 2
NO SCHOOL

September 4
BEE Fall Registration Begins

September 10
Back to School Night (Grades 3-5)

September 16
BEE Fall Classes Begin

September 17
PTO Meeting