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-Music, Phy Ed
Day 2- Inquiry
Day 3-Art Day 4-Music
Day 5- Phy Ed, Media
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
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 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 Thursday 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. Read with a
partner 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.!! Get a calculator! They are pretty cool!
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!!
Our Theme-
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!
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!
THE REPORT CARDS ARE NEW! 4, 3, 2, 1 SCORING SYSTEM MATCHED WITH
THE STATE STANDARDS!!
NEW TEST SCHEDULE: MAP IN FALL, MCA IN SRING.
Why do I like the MAP test so
much? It is like a time
trial! It shows growth!
Dates:
September 17: Picture Day (Envelopes coming soon)
October
7: No school (Staff Development)
October
7, 10 and 15: Goal setting
conferences
October
16-18: MEA (No school)
October
31: 3EE Fall Class Party 2:30-3:30
November
27-29: Thanksgiving (No school)
December
20: 3EE Class Holiday Party 2:30-3:30
Winter Break: December 21-January 5
February
14: 3EE Valentine’s Party 2:30-3:30
February
11, 13 and 18: Winter Conferences
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 second 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 not learn cursive writing in second 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.
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 afternoons 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. IMPORTANT NOTE: We
have students in our room with egg and tree nut allergies.
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 15th of that month!
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 Tell: Each week your
child will have a day for show and tell.
Have them bring a few items that can be shared with our class so we could
better get to know them. An
example might be a boy bringing a baseball, a picture of his dog, and a rock
from his rock collection.
*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!!
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 BBA, Green,
URLoved, Highlights, Cinema, the things you do the most and others… I will try
to get to those tonight or you could youtube search Neil Eerdmans and hear more
about these terms. Thanks!!
