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

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!!!



11.30.12

well, it's the last day of november folks....can you believe THAT?!?  Holy moly!  I guess I should go ahead and say, "rabbits, rabbits, rabbits" for the first day of the month tomorrow.  Have you heard of that?  For you superstitious folks out there, saying "rabbits, rabbits, rabbits" as the very first thing when you wake up on the very first day of a new month is supposed to bring you good luck for the entire month.  Pretty nifty huh?  And pretty silly?  But I always still say it.... tee-hee :)
Thus, HAPPY DECEMBER tomorrow!  Won't be much December-like weather this weekend so I hope you are able to get out and enjoy!

MATH:
We worked on breaking whole numbers into equal groups which is the start of division.  We did this with cut-outs of cookies.  We didn't get too very far into this activity because we had a multiplication/ division match-up faceoff and HAD. A. BLAST!  Taybelle won in our class and Tyler in Mr. Featherston's class.  It was so much fun and the kids really got some great practice with related facts and fact families.
HOMEWORK: none, except practice, practice, practice those multiplication facts!!!  We have a few students who will be earning their sundaes by Monday or Tuesday!!!!  YAY!!!!

READING:
Students took their reading comprehension test over, "Tops and Bottoms" with Mr. Featherston and their spelling tests.
HOMEWORK: none

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

**New NEWSLETTERS were sent home this afternoon and have some EXTREMELY important information about the 2nd and 3rd grades' Christmas program on Tuesday, December 18th at 6:30PM at Georgetown College.  The students will need to be there no later than 6:00 and the info today details ideas about animal costumes.

**Garth Storybook Night is Thursday, December 6th at 6:00PM.  Please make plans to attend and send back your RSVP ASAP!

**The week of December 10th - 14th is SANTA's WORKSHOP!!!  Our class will go during our Library time which is on the 12th. 

**Winter Break begins December 19th and lasts until Jan. 1st.  See you back at school on Dec. 2nd! 

Have a terrific weekend in the BEAUTIFUL weather and then...would you please send well wishes for some snow?!?  Mrs. Thomas is ready for some winter over here!
xoxo,
Mrs. Thomas

11.29.12

Hello all and Happy Thursday!  I hope I am finding you well and wonderful!  We had a day full of learning here up in the GES!

MATH:
We worked on fact families as a means for understanding multiplication and division.  Sincewe have been working so hard on multiplication, we are now realizing that we can use it to solve division problems by simply working backwards.  We built houses for our fact families consisting of 4 facts: 2 multiplication and 2 division.  Students are really getting the hang of it and I am so excited to see their minds making the connections!  We even made this wall of tons and tons of fact families...we have some fun!

HOMEWORK: none

READING:
Students worked on sequencing stories today with Mr. Featherston.  It is important to recognize the events in the order that they happen so that optimal comprehension is obtained.
HOMEWORK: READING LOGS!  MY READING GROUP: please complete your sequencing game cards.

PM Activities:
We had a few things to get caught up on from math and then Mr. Andes came in and awarded Jesse for having such AWESOME BEHAVIOR THIS ENTIRE PAST WEEK!  Jesse's name is now in a drawing to win an iPad mini!  How cool is that?!?  Way to go, Jesse...we are SOOOOOO proud of YOU!!!!!!!

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Dec. 4th - Garth Singers will be performing at 6:30PM

Dec. 6th is Storybook Night here at GES at 6PM

Dec. 12th is our day for Santa's Workshop

Dec. 17th - our Class's WINTER PARTY!

Dec. 18th - 2nd and 3rd grade Christmas production at Georgetown College (1:30PM and 6:30PM)

Hope you have a thrilling Thursday evening!

xoxo,

Mrs. Thomas

PS, did you know we only have 13 more school days until Winter Break?!?

11.27.12

I finally get to say WELCOME BACK after our break!  I hope your Thanksgiving with your friends, family, and loved ones was sensational!  Mine sure was :)

MATH:
Our Learning Target for the day was 3.OA.3: I can identify the unknown whole number in order to solve a multiplication or division equation.  This is more on the lines of algebraic thinking and students were given a multiplication product with a missing factor and they had to identify that unknown number.  This is a higher order thinking skill and is virtually impossible without background knowledge of basic multiplication facts.  With that said, I cannot stress enough how very, very important it is to be continuously practicing at home.  I certainly will not be naming names, but I CAN TELL who is and who is not practicing at home.  It REEEAAALLY shows here.  On the same tune, some students are really doing quite well with their facts and I am very pleased!  Thank you to all who turned in their flashcard projects that were due today (7s, 8s, 9s)!  I put the sticker of completion on the bag and then sent them back home with your student so he/ she can practice, practice, practice away!  The reason for this project is for the students' benefit and I'd like to see them utilizing these fun and friendly flashcards!
HOMEWORK: timed test, GET. IT. SIGNED.  6s and 12s (the last of the flashcards) are DUE MONDAY, DECEMBER 3RD.

READING:
Students are reading from the reading textbook the story, "Tops and Bottoms" and are focusing on the skill of identifying the Author's Purpose and locating details within the text to support their reasoning.  They will also be looking at how the animals are personifying humans.
HOMEWORK: READING LOGS!

PM activities:
We are beginning work on our personal narratives!!!

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Picture Retakes are TOMORROW!

Midterms will be coming home TOMORROW!

6s and 12s of FLASHCARDS are due Monday, Dec. 3rd.

Garth Storybook Night is Dec. 6th.  Please send back RSVPs ASAP!

Have a tremendous Tuesday!
xoxo,
Mrs. Thomas
 

11.15.12

It's been a thrilling Thursday all!  Hope yours has been dynamite too :)
It was nice to see all the friends/ family/ loved ones here for our Thanksgiving lunch!

MATH:
We are catching up on the properties of multiplication (associative, distributive, identity, and commutative) and are also learning about patterns found in multiplication.  Ask your child/ tell your parents about our zeros trick! 
HOMEWORK: timed test - GET. IT. SIGNED!!!  Remember, 3s, 4s, and 11s FLASHCARDS are due on MONDAY, NOVEMBER 19TH!!!!!!

READING:
With Mr. Featherston, students talked about connections they can make with the text through text-to-text, text-to-world, and text-to-self
HOMEWORK: reading logs!!!

This afternoon, we had Guidance with our school Social Worker, Mrs. Hanser.  We learned about the different between telling and tattling and how to deter bullies and bullying.

Have a thrilling Thursday evening!
I love you!
xoxo,
Mrs. Thomas

P.S. Thanksgiving is ONE WEEK from today!!!!!!!

11.14.12

Hello all and Happy Wednesday!  Sorry to be out for the past few days, but I'm back and I'm feeling better!  It sure was nice to see all these sweet, smiling faces today...they were so excited to see me and so sweet about everything...makes me thankful for what I do and grateful that I have such amazingly wonderful kiddos to interact with daily!  If I missed you at the conferences, I am terribly sorry.  Can we please reschedule if you'd still like to meet with me?  I will be sending home information regarding rescheduling if that is something you wish to do.  Thank you for your cooperation!

DO NOT FORGET: OUR CLASS HAS LIBRARY TOMORROW SO BRING MONEY FOR THE BOOK FAIR!!!!

Thanksgiving Lunch is TOMORROW!!!

MATH:
We reviewed all of what the substitute started with the students which are the properties of multiplication.  We also tooked our timed tests and we have several students onto their 5s and 6s and even 3 onto their 7s! 
HOMEWORK: none, but 3s, 4s, and 11s FLASHCARDS are due by Monday, Nov. 19th!

READING:
Students are reading Thanksgiving themed passages through the week with Mr. Featherston and are working on reading comprehension.
HOMEWORK: READING LOGS!!!

I hope you have a wonderful Wednesday!
Gahhhhh, I MISSED YOU!
xoxo,
Mrs. Thomas

Again, don't forget...THANKSGIVING LUNCH IS TOMORROW!!!