Sun Moon and Stars

We went outside to look for proof that we are on a moving planet!  We are!  We also looked at this cool clocked and talked about daylight and darkness.  Check this out with your kids tonight!

http://www.daylightmap.com/index.php

Parent Night Outline

Welcome to Parent Night!

Introductions:

Our 3EE Community this year:

My Teaching Philosophy:  The goal is growth!!!!  These kids are beautiful, brilliant and amazing.  Let’s find our passion and find the wonder of living!  The things you do the most are the things you do the best.

Our Daily Schedule:

        9:15  Students may arrive

         9:30  Morning Meeting-Writers Workshop

         10:15 Reading (Guided Reading, Readers Theater, Take Home Selection)

11:15  Snack- Read Aloud

11:35  Specials:  Day 1-Inquiry  Day 2- Phy Ed, Music        

                     Day 3-Media         Day 4-Art       Day 5- Phy Ed, Music

12:35  Spelling and Handwriting

1:00  Lunch and Recess

1:50 Show and SPELL

          2:00  Math

         2:45 Math Intervention Time

         3:15 Social Studies and Health

3:45  Prepare for Dismissal, Planners       

         

Communication:

     Oxbow Main Office:  763-506-3800 

         Oxbow Absence Line:  763-506-3806

         Oxbow’s Website:  http://www.anoka.k12.mn.us/oxbowcreek

         My Email:  Neil.Eerdmans@anoka.k12.mn.us  Voicemail- 506-3843

         2EE Website:  http://www.anoka.k12.mn.us/E2quest

         Bi-Weekly newsletter:  Coming home every other Friday

Homework:

#1 piece of homework:  Read! Read! Read! 

     Reading Calendars:  Record your minutes on your reading calendar.  Any minutes he/she reads count.  Any minutes read to your child count as well!  This is your child’s #1 priority when it comes to homework.  Please return your monthly reading calendar as soon as the month ends.  The first one will be due the first week of October.  We want your child to love to read.  If a reading calendar causes stress please DON’T do it!  Just be sure to read with your child every night!  That is the key!

     A homework packet will come home on most Thursdays. This packet will have math problems that go along with what we are doing in math and a reading selection.  Spelling words come home on Wednesday and the tests will be on the next Tuesday. 

Book a Day- Volunteers!

I love “book a day,” it gets kids to practice reading with quality literature!  As far as “book a day” goes, if your child is not ready to read certain books, read the book to them and they can tell the volunteer what the book was about.  This will show if your child is able to follow the stories and discuss parts of the story. (Plot, setting, and characters)  Get your kids to give the starting sounds of words, words form context clues, and have them read easy sight words.  Get your child to read on their own.  Reading together will model that reading is a fun activity, and something that we can enjoy together!  If you have a book going at home, USE THAT BOOK for book a day.  The key is that we are reading! The kids get a charge out of reading to you and with you as well.  It is critical that kids find reading to be an enjoyable activity!!  I am very flexible with times; we can work it out!  I will also use volunteers for mastery checking, although “book a night” is a great assessment tool in itself!  Have fun with this and do it regularly!!

Spelling:

     Spelling words come home every Wednesday.  Our spelling tests are every Tuesday.  If a week has 3 or fewer days of school in it there will be no list for that week.  Practicing daily will help students retain the words longer than cramming it all in Monday night!

     Those of you who really want to get a jump start should start working on common contractions.  (i.e. does not=doesn’t)  That’s our hardest test of the year!

     Check out this site:   SpellingCity.com    Students can go to this site and test themselves with spelling words, hear a voice pronounce the words, use the words in a sentence.  There are also games to play with the words.

    

What will reading look like in 3EE?

     The Daily 3:  Students engage in 3 out of 4 of the following tasks: 

1. Read to self    2. Readers Theater/ Shared Reading 3. Meet with your reading teacher 4. Respond to your reading. (Writing, filling out a graphic organizer, etc.)

     I get to read with students 1-1 and in small groups.  I am able to keep track of progress and encourage the kids as they grow.  It is great!

         

What will math look like in 3EE?

     Daily Math Message, Mental Math, Using different strategies to problem solve, Understanding vs. memorization, Spiraling skills, Math journals, Student reference books, Math games, Homework Links and I love to challenge the kids with new math mathematical concepts.  The math curriculum that we started a couple of years ago is great!! 

Science- Our Inquiry class is going to be great!!  Get ready for crayfish!

Social Studies

Health

These will be intermixed with the theme books and centers.  They will rotate throughout the year.  We are now working on bus safety for health.  The virtual journey is an incredible way to address these objectives!!

What will grading look like in 3EE? The star system.  Keeping it simple.

Field Trip volunteers are done by drawing names… over the years that seems to work best.  I would like to apologize in advance if you do not get to go.  On our last trip everyone gets to go!

Why do I like the MAP test so much?  It is like a time trial!  It shows growth!

The Virtual Journey!!- This is a fun learning experience that I have done for years!  The learning comes to life!

E2 Quest:  From Coast to Coast

This year we will be touring the United States.  Each of the students will be a local yocal and take a city along the route.  They will tell us about where they live and what is significant about the area.  It is fun and we will all learn a lot.  We use the Internet to share our many exciting adventures.   The writing is real.  The trip teaches that writing is used to convey information, communicate, and to entertain.  There is a natural application to math when considering a trip.  There is the budget, miles, traveled, problems faced and solved, packing, and transportation.  There are easy ties to our science, health, and social studies  curriculum as well.  Simply put, traveling is one of the best ways to learn, even if it is virtual.  The places are real and all the situations we face teach lessons of independence and interdependence.  As we pedal we will face many celebrations and challenges.  Each of these challenges contains a lesson.  We have to deal with the weather, people, terrain, and each other.  The lessons are applicable to life and made real by the Internet.  If you want a peek, check out last year’s trip at www.e2quest.blogspot.com  I will use the first two months to insure we have a grasp of the standards and the packages.  In November we will begin to work with the theme and I hope that you can take part! 

Dates:

September 20:  Picture Day  (Envelopes coming soon)

October 17:  No school (Staff Development)

October 8,9, 11, and 16:  Goal setting conferences

October 18-19:  MEA  (No school)

October 31: 2EE Fall Class Party 2:30-3:30

         November 22,23:  Thanksgiving (No school)

December 21:  2EE Class Holiday Party 2:30-3:30

                  Winter Break:  December 24-January 1

         February 14: Valentine’s Party 2:30-3:30

February 19, 21, 26 and 28: Spring Conferences
             May- Class Campout at Baker

Some practical ways to help your 3rd Grader:

  1.  Read with your child:  Read to them and let them read to you!  Talk about what you read.  Make it pleasurable!

  2.  Limit screen time:  When it comes to reading I don’t think T.V., video games, and computers are our enemies… but they surely are our competitors! 

     Look at the math if your child replaced just one ½ hour show a day with reading:  30 minutes x 30 days = A monthly calendar with 900 minutes!

  3.  The pleasure principle:  Do all you can to connect pleasure with reading.  Get cozy!  Curl up together.  Stack books around the house.  Put books by your beds!  They are watching you, story about Owen.

  4.  Money Jar:  Give your child a jar with change and/or bills.  Change the amount often.  Practice counting.  Ask your child to show you different combinations to make specific amounts of money.

  5.  Telling Time:  Time can be very difficult for third graders.  Point out the hour and minute hands.  Count the minutes around a clock.  Talk about what time it is throughout the day.

  6.  Writing:  In third grade we do a lot of writing about everyday life experiences.  Some kids have a tough time trying to figure out something to write about.  As fun, interesting things happen in your child’s life remind him/her to write about it at school!

  7.  Handwriting:  Help your child to keep practicing the correct formation of their letters.  Remind him/her when to use upper and lower cases letters.  We do learn cursive writing in third grade. 

  8.  Learning on the Computer:  Useful Links on Oxbow and 3EE’s Website:  These free links will connect you with all sorts of games and activities that support our learning.  Kids will be familiar with these websites since we visit them during our computer time. 

New Policies at Oxbow…

1.  Silent Hallways, great practice for self-discipline!  (Dr. David Walsh)

2.  Bullying Record Keeping and Connection to home.

Miscellaneous:

     Plastic home folder: Please check every night and send back every morning!

     Water Bottles:  Our brains need water so water bottles are very welcome in 3EE.  Remind your child to bring it home for regular washings! 

     Snack Time:  Sending a snack with your child is optional but the mornings do get long!  Healthy (or at least somewhat healthy!) snacks only.  Students are not allowed to “share” snacks.

     Birthday Treats:  Students may bring a store bought birthday treat if they so choose to.  We presently have 29 students in our class. Going outdoors:  If it is above zero degrees we go out.  Please send your child prepared!  If your child is well enough for school our school policy is that he is well enough to go outside so staying in is not an option.

     Morning media check out:  Students can check out books every day of the year from 9:15-9:30A.M.  What a great privilege!

     Bring home books from our classroom:  Students are also allowed to borrow my books.  That’s why I have them!!!  Please don’t forget to return them!

Scholastic book orders:  Almost every month I will send home Scholastic book order flyers.  These are totally optional but usually include a lot of great deals.  They are always due on the 15^th of that month! We do them online now too!  It works pretty slick!

     Lunch money:  Try to remember to write your child’s pin number on your check when you send lunch money.  If you have to send cash put it in an envelope and label it with your child’s name, homeroom (3EE), and pin #.

     Supply list:  If your child needs something a note will come home.

     Show and SPELL:  Each week your child will have a day for show and tell.  Now that they are in third grade they will need to write a script for what they are going to tell us about.  It is a great activity for practicing writing with a purpose.

     *Reading calendars:  Just one more reminder…Reading calendars are due at the beginning of each month with a record of all the minutes read in the previous month.  Don’t forget that minutes your child is read to by someone else count as well!  If this stresses your child DO NOT use this.  Some kids love it others don’t.  We want to make reading a good thing!

Parties: We will have 3 parties this year and I have a sign up for party volunteers.

If you would like to help that would be great!  We usually meet in the room a couple

of weeks before the party to make our plan!

Field Trip volunteers are done by drawing names… over the years that seems to work best.  I would like to apologize in advance if you do not get to go.  On our last trip everyone gets to go!  We have a lot of great ideas brewing!! You have to be registered as a volunteer with the school district. Check your folder for signing up!

We are partners- 1/3, 1/3, 1/3

I hope we will be friends!

I need to be your partner.  Please communicate with me!  If I don’t return a call during the day, I will try in the evening.  Your child is going to go through some big changes this year and will be learning a lot.  Let’s work together to make this a great year!

Call Me! Or Email Me!!

Please call if you have a concern.  I am almost always check my voicemail by 7:30.  The number is 506-3843.  Each night I will leave a detailed description of the days activities so that you can discuss the days events with your child.  I am great at replying to e mail at all hours, Neil.Eerdmans@anoka.k12.mn.us!!

Our Goal is Growth!

P.S.  You may here the terms Go Green, BBA, Green, URLoved, Highlights, Cinema, the things you do the most and others… These ideas provide the foundation for a great year of growth!

Show and Spell List

Monday                                                Friday- Katherine, Isabella, Asha, Kyle

Hibo                                               

Lexi B                                               

Bruce                                               

Jaden

Amber

Christina

Tuesday

Lexi G

Tucker

Isam

Zaniah

Jon

Rylen

Wednesday

Grayson

Izzy

Tommy

Jack

Ashton

Charlize

Thursday

DJ

Brandon

Ella

Madeline

Ben

Sami

Friday- Katherine, Isabella, Asha, Kyle

A Chance to Read and a Chance to Give!

The kids are loving the readers theater scripts and want to do them at home!  I LOVE IT!  Here is a link to the list of scripts! Get in there and read!

http://timelessteacherstuff.com/

Also, one of our students brought in an opportunity to give to the relief project in Haiti through purchasing a bracelet that was made in Haiti out of cereal boxes.  If you would like to know more go to www.apparentproject.org and see what they have to offer!

Two great opportunities to grow and give!!

We are off to a great start!

What a nice day with a great group of kids! Wonderful start! We are going to have a great time learning and growing! Look at the archives of the blog to get a feel for things that we do in class! Thanks! Neil