Thought You Were Done With Me?

Just when you thought you were done hearing from me I have one more blog post (unless I find something else interesting).

This just fit in too well with your new fourth graders to pass up, so I wanted to add one more post.  The app below (for iPad only) is currently free, but it usually only lasts a couple of days.

It gives kids quizzes and shows what they need to work on for the STAR test, which is similar to our MAPs test.  It seems like a good way to get a little review in over the summer without stressing them out too much.

4th Grade HD

Hope your summer is going great!

Thanks

I'll try to keep it short and sweet for our last post.  Thanks for a great year!  I had a really nice group of students who I enjoyed working with this year.  Also, I appreciated the supportive and committed parents that I had this year too.

Have a great summer and make sure you stop in and say hi next year!

Last Day Reminders

A class picture from our field trip!

Just a few reminders before our last day of school.
  -  We dismiss at 11:15 tomorrow.
  -  No lunch will be served at school.
  -  There will be breakfast still if the kids choose.
  -  Report cards will go home tomorrow with the kids.
  -  Remember to wear clothes and shoes you can run around in.  Also, bring a sweatshirt as it may be cool.
  -  Everything is coming home tonight so the kids won't need to bring a backpack tomorrow.

Everything is Turned In!

Our class has everything turned in for the year!  Great job students and parents!  All our library books are turned in.  Every registration form has been sent to the office and there are no outstanding fees to be paid.  Thanks for getting everything in, I know that there is a lot of stuff sent home at the end of the year.

So that means I will be sending all the students report cards home on Thursday.  We'll pack up everything else on Wednesday so their desks will be emptied and they shouldn't need to bring a backpack on Thursday if they don't want.  The state pillows will be sent home tonight.

Reading Calendars

Congratulations to the following students for turning in their last reading calendar of the year!

Mariah
Emma
Nicole
Jackie
Hailey
Skyler
James
Hailee
Zach
Savannah

Reading Calendars Due Monday!

The May Reading Calendars are due on Monday, June 3rd.  We will have our extra reading recess Monday afternoon.

A few other notes, since I didn't post much during the week.

• We did a fondu fountain for my birthday treat.  It was fairly messy, but we survived.
• The field trip was great and went without incident or bad weather.
• When we got back to school though, we went straight into the boys bathroom because of the tornado warning.  The nearest interior room to us is the boys bathroom and we had just gotten in the room when the alarm went off.
• Friday the students got their extra recess for getting to FIVE MILLION words!  That was a challenging goal, but they made it.

Last Day of School

There is a letter going home tonight that describes our last day of school.  We will be dismissing kids at 11:15 this year and no lunch will be served on that day.  On the sheet going home there is also a release form if you need to make different plans than other early release days.

Also, on the last day of school, please have your child wear clothes they can run around and play in.  We do several fun activities that don't work well with flip-flops and/or dresses.  Shorts and tennis shoes work great.  Thanks!

Teachable Moment

On Thursday we had a "teachable moment" that seems to have stuck with the kids.  When we are working on writing projects I often play music.  I had just downloaded a new song called Clouds by Zach Sobiech.  I liked the song and had no idea about the amazing back story.  One of the kids told me about how he was writing the song as a way to deal with cancer.  He just passed away this week at the age of 18.  His story is very inspirational and it was a great reminder for me to focus on enjoying the people in my life.

If you haven't heard about him here is an article that shares more details:  CNN

Also, here is the YouTube video of his song:

Classroom Visitors

When the kids were at library we had a couple of visitors at the window.  They kept trying to fly in while they were gone.  The birds left before the kids got back though.

Hobby Fair

 

The kids will be presenting a hobby of theirs to younger classes on Friday, May 31st. This is a pretty informal presentation where they share information about their hobby to the students who come to their desk or table.   The students will just have to decide what to bring in, we will do all the preparation next week in class.

We will start coming up with hobby ideas today, and students can start bringing in materials on Friday or next week.  Students can bring in whatever hobby they would like, but whatever they have needs to fit on the top of their desk. In the past, some students have needed to take a picture of things because they were too big. Some have asked if they can change their outfit to match their hobby and that would be great. They could also have things that they hang in front of their desk.

 No live animals or real weapons please:)

Tests

Here are a list of the final set of tests we have this year.

This Friday will be our last spelling test of the year.  Next week we have a short week as well as a day that we miss for the field trip.  The last week of school will also be quite crazy so we won't do it that week.

The last math test is scheduled for either Friday, May 31 or Monday, June 3.  We are working on fractions and should be able to finish the unit by the end of the year.

At some point next week we'll also take our 50 states test.  We have taken a break from this to work on our states pillows this week, but we'll learn some of the Midwest states on Thursday.

Adverbs

We did our last Schoolhouse Rock video of the year, Lolly Lolly Lolly Get Your Adverbs Here.

Schedule

Below is a schedule for the last few weeks.  I'm sure there will be more things added too.  The end of the year is always a crazy time.

Here's a little more information about some of the notes:

• The Registration Packets for your child go home tonight!  Please return the paperwork as soon as you can.  Thank you.
• This Friday, May 17 is the last day for students to check out books.  
• On Monday, May 20 the students will run 10 minutes in gym.  Since they have met this goal Mrs. Frey and I are going to run the 10 minutes with them.
• May 22 I will be gone in the morning.
• May 24 the students will sew their pillows with the help of parents and grandparents.
• May 27 - Memorial Day
• May 30 - Folklore Village
• Friday, May 31 the students will have their Hobby Fair.  I will send out information soon, but wanted to wait until after permission slips, pillow cloth, and registration packets were done.  The students will need to bring in their hobby stuff, but they will prepare what they are going to do in class.
• We'll have our first third grade spelling bee on Monday, June 3.  Reading calendars are also due.
• June 6 is the last day of school and dismissal is at 11:30 a.m.

Field Trip Chaperone

Nicole's mom won the drawing to come on the field trip with us on May 30th.  Thanks to all those parents who volunteered to help out.  I wish we were able to bring more.

Also, I have most of the permission slips turned in.  Thank you for returning those promptly.

Mud Run

In our Time for Kids magazine this week we were reading about Adventure Races or Mud Runs, which are becoming popular.  As we read, now they have Mud Runs designed for kids.  There is a short video of the race from the magazine here:  Running the Race (at the bottom of the page)  I decided to look up to see if any of the races were in Wisconsin, and there is one at Miller Park in September.

The kids are super excited about the idea so I told them I'd leave a link:  Spartan Race at Miller Park  The kids race part is at the bottom of the page.

On a side note, I will be competing with my wife's family in my first adventure race this summer.  I was excited, but after seeing some of the videos I've gotten a little nervous!  My race is in Fond du Lac, and they also have a kid's race this year.  Here is that link too:  Edge the Ledge