Wednesday, December 5, 2012

12.5.12 - HOMER HAS ARRIVED!

Well, we heard a bit about him yesterday, but today...HOMER (our Elf) arrived and do you know where he was?!?  Hanging from the light in our room!  Silly, silly elf....but he kept a close watch on everyone today and lemme tell you what, his report to Mr. Andes and Santa tonight will not be too sensational.  We were chaaaaaattttty and our behavior chart was lit up like a pack of Skittles!  I do wonder what mischeif he'll be into tonight...he was saying something about the state puzzle the other day come to think of it...

Hilarious Homer!
SHOUT-OUTS today to JULIA and BECCA for earning their sundaes for mastering ALL of their multiplication facts!!!  We are so proud of you girls!!!!  They enjoyed their sundaes with EVERYTHING on top and we watched in jealously as they devoured almost every last morsel!  Caelan earned his 12 scoop today so he'll be having his sundae tomorrow!  YAY CAELAN!  And CONGRATS Becca and Julia!!!

Julia getting some whip cream to the face!!!

Beautiful Becca biting into THAT bodacious bohemeth!

MATH:
We worked on division by using manipulatives and pictures to break a DIVIDEND, by a DIVISOR into groups...and find the number in each group (the QUOTIENT).  We first played our multiplication "I have, who has...?" game to warm-up and then finished our "Picture It!" division displays from yesterday.  Next, we worked on those division terms such as dividend, quotient, and divisor and then used a grouping sheet and counters as manipulatives to practice dividing out a dividend.  It was fun to get hands on with division!  Below are some pics from Mr. Featherston's class doing this activity: 







HOMEWORK: TIMED TEST!!!

READING:
Today, the students traveled to France with Mr. Featherston and learned about the traditions of the French culture.  They had an AWESOME time on their travels!
HOMEWORK: READING LOGS!!!

PM ACTIVITIES:
We went to the computer lab to practice multiplication facts from THIS SITE (<---click there)

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Storybook night is TOMORROW!!!
2nd and 3rd grades production is December 18th at 6:30PM.  Be there by 5:45 or 6!!!
Santa's Workshop is NEXT WEEK!

Hope you have a wonderful Wednesday!
xoxo,
Mrs. Thomas

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

12.4.12

Happy December and Happy Tuesday, folks!  We've had a busy day of practicing division and traveling around the world!  Wait, what?  Traveling around the world, you ask?  Yes, the students are learning about the holiday traditions of cultures around the world in their reading class with Mr. Featherston.  How fun! 

SPECIAL SHOUT-OUT....Josh was the very first of all of my 3rd grade math students to meet mastery of ALL of his multiplication facts through 12!!!!  Yes, folks....he has those facts DOWN so he earned his 12 scoop and then he earned a real scoop of ice cream that he turned into an AMAZING ice cream sundae complete with M&Ms, gummi bears, gummi worms, sprinkles, chocolate syrup, and whip cream.  It looked tantilizingly delicious and we were all salivating while he ate it!  Below are some pics of our awesome mathematician.  Julia and Becca (from Mr. Featherston's class) both earned their 12 scoop today so they will be having their sundaes TOMORROW!  Caelan (from Mr. Featherston's class) is right on their heels and then WHO will be next?!?

This was YESTERDAY after he accomplished earning his scoop - he got a principal award too for being the first to do it and is now in the drawing for an iPad mini!!!!


Just LOOK at allllllll that yummy goodness!

that looks like a little bowl of heaven to me :)  Congratulations, Josh!
MATH:
We first played a game called, "I have, who has?" to get our brains in gear with multiplication and division.  It was neat to see how all the cards connected.  Next, we worked on using manipulatives and pictures to represent and solve division problems.  We also learned some division terms such as dividend, divisor, and quotient.  Students were then given 1 of 3 problems to create a pictorial representation of and then share with their shoulder partners.  Next, they were given some division problems to try and solve using the picture method and finally, they created a picture word problem of their own. 
HOMEWORK: TIMED TEST!!!! 
It is REALLY showing that many students are working so hard on their facts and I could not be more proud.  Keep up that good, hard work, guys and soon, you'll be enjoying YOUR ice cream sundae while we all watch with hungry eyes :)

READING:
Students have been taking a trip around the world with Mr. Featherston to read about the traditions of other cultures during this holiday season.  Yesterday, they went to Mexico, and today, they stayed here in the US to learn about Kwanzaa which is an African originated celebration that continues through the US today.
HOMEWORK: yes, you STILL MUST DO YOUR READING LOGS!  You have your choice of what to read and then must summarize it!

PM ACTIVITIES:
We got a special treat and got to go hear the Garth Singers' Christmas production in the gym!  And guess what made it even more special?!?  Two of our friends from our homeroom, Julia and Griffin were in the drum ensemble playing along (and Thomas of Mr. Featherston's homeroom) and THEY. WERE. AWESOME.  We gave them a standing ovation as they came back to class because they really were just so great!  If you have time this evening, plan to be back here to see the Garth Singers and our special drumming friends at 6:30PM.  You will NOT be disappointed!  I also got videos of our babes performing...but my computer at school will not let me upload them.  I'll try and remember to do it once I get home so stay tuned :)

Julia, Thomas, Sladen (from Ms. Bergman's class), and our Griffin ready to ROCK us in the drum ensemble!
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
**GARTH STORYBOOK NIGHT is Thursday, December 6th.  Please make plans to attend!
**Santa's Workshop is NEXT week!  Our day to go is Thursday, December 13th
**Class Party - December 17th at 1:30PM.  Please let me know if you are able and willing to volunteer!
**2nd and 3rd grades Christmas Program is on December 18th at 6:30PM at Georgetown College.  Students need to arrive by 5:45 or 6PM. 



sweet, sweet babes...and Kenneth.  HA!  Just kidding, Kenneth, you're pretty stinkin' sweet too!  I just love my precious babes!


Yesterday, we had a special treat.  These three lovely ladies came and gave us a special little production of "Christmas Time" (to the tune of "Turkey Time...Turkey Time...")

Did you know we got a NEW pencil sharpener?!?  And it. is. the. bomb. dot. com.  FOR REAL!  We want to thank Mrs. Vergne and Mr. Cook for recognizing our need for such awesomeness and ensuring we receive it.  We are LOVING it...to say the least!
 It may not look like much, but ummm...it's AMAZING!

Have a wonderful evening!
I love you!
xoxo,
Mrs. Thomas
Did you know that Christmas is only THREE WEEKS from TODAY?!?  YAAAAAAY!!!

that means, the start of our new year is only 4 WEEKS FROM TODAY...Holy Moly!!!