Well, another week is done! I think the kids are getting more and more used tothe classroom routines. It's been pretty warm in the classroom, but hopefully September will bring cooler weather. The kids filled in their September calendars this past week and hopefully parents have had a chance to look them over. If not, here's a copy!

READING! We started small groups this past week. The kids are in reading groups of 4-6 kids and reading books at their own instructional level. While 1 group is with me, the other groups are doing other reading related activities. Some kids are re-reading with partners or whisper phones, others are working on word work with sounds and rhyming patterns, and others are doing our spelling program called Word Journeys. Mrs. Lindstrom comes over from the high school for the first 30 minutes of the day to help us out. It's great to have extra hands in the room!

SPELLING! We've started a spelling/phonics/word pattens program called Word Journeys. Students will bring home a "Refrigerator Note" on Mondays with the spelling pattern for the week. They will be tested over words with those patterns on Friday. Some of the words will be from the "refrigerator note," but others will be "transfer words" to see if they are able to transfer their knowledge into everyday use. If you have questions on this, please let me know.

MATH! We hit the road running with multiplication and division this week. It was great to see the kids solving problems their own ways and sharing their solutions with their friends and encouraging them to try other ways to solve things faster. The latest discovery in the week - it's faster to count things by grouping in 10's instead of 1's! Great discovery - all on their own!!

SCIENCE! We have continued talking about living and non-living things. Katie, the BV County Naturalist will be here this week to tag some butterflies. This will kick off a few weeks talking specifically about the awesome life cycle of butterflies and moths.

Book order notes are going home in Tuesday's folders (you can order through the order form and send it back to school, or order online with the directions attached to the book order).

Homework will also go home in Tuesday folders. Please watch your child complete - and maybe ask a few questions - and return it back to school Wednesday.

"Refrigerator notes" are going home on Wednesday. Normally, "refrigerator notes" will come home on Mondays, but with the holiday on Monday and the Julia Cook assembly during our reading group time on Tuesday, small group will have to wait until Wednesday to get running again!

Have a GREAT week!