Welcome to 4th Grade!!

I hope you all have a safe and happy summer!

We will see you in August for the 2023-2024 school year!

A Little About Me

 My name is Hope Crawley and I love kids and teaching. I am looking forward to a wonderful year of growing and learning with you all. This is my twenty-fourth year in education and my twenty-first year teaching full time. I have taught grades: second, third, fourth, and sixth. I have a Master's degree in education and a Bachelor's degree in psychology and elementary education. I am also a wife, mother, and community member. My family and I are all Colorado natives. We love to hike, birdwatch,  geocache, and explore the outdoors. My daughter attends college at MSU in Denver and my husband works in the automotive industry. Pictured above are our dogs. Drake is our black lab. He is sweet and loving. Ripley is our aussie/husky puppy. He is very smart, but also sometimes naughty. It is going to be a great year! I can't wait to learn more about all of you, and work together in the year ahead.

Important Dates:

August 8th: First day of the 2023-2024 school year

September 4th: Labor Day: No school

More dates and events will be shared in the future when they are available.

Here are some fun places I shared with families over the past school year. I hope you can visit some of them over this summer!

Enjoy!

Family Fun Ideas To Explore and Learn About Colorado

February Fun Family Events

Denver Center for the Performing Arts: Our arts center downtown has some amazing shows that are family friendly. Our symphony is also incredible. I know many of our students are exploring music and playing an instrument. This might be a fun experience for your family.

Lone Tree Arts Center: This is a smaller venue but has enriching shows. It is a great place to gain a little artistic culture near home.

Arvada Arts Center: This is another local arts center, a bit north of Denver. It has a variety of cultural opportunities your family might enjoy.

January Fun Family Events

Stock Show: Our state has had this event every year for over 100 years. Today is the kick-off parade and then this weekend is full of events, rodeos, dog shows, livestock, agricultural learning, educational booths, shopping, and more! This event continues through January 22nd and is a whole LOT of fun! Here is the website with information and schedules: Stock Show 2023

Wings Over the Rockies: This is a great museum about air travel, airplanes and more! It is a Crawley family favorite and a great little getaway, without going very far.

Denver Museum and Nature and Science: This is a fabulous museum! Its exhibits are constantly changing. We will be studying fossils this semester, so this is a great place to see dinosaur fossils. It currently has a great space exhibit too. It is indoors, and a fun, warm place to explore and learn!

Butterfly Pavilion: For those of you who might need a taste of spring, try the Butterfly Pavilion. This is a fun, small place for the bug lover. It is another warm place to explore and also learn about butterflies, bugs and small creatures all around us that make a big difference

December

This season there are so many fun things around Denver to celebrate with family and friends. Some of the most common events are : Denver Zoo Lights and the Denver Botanic Gardens: Blossoms of Light.  However, there are a few lesser known events and places I thought I would let you know about, here are a few:

The Littleton Historical Museum has a historical holiday night on December 11th from 5:30 -8:00. This is an outdoor event that highlights historical happenings in Colorado in the late 1890's/early 1900's. It often has storytelling, hayrides, music, cornbread and cookies, and historical lessons in the house by the chickens. It is a ticketed event and tickets can be purchased at the museum. This is a great local museum to visit any time, but a lot of fun on this night!

Hudson Gardens: This is a small garden close to home. It is a beautiful garden that people use for a variety of events. This time of year it is filled with lights for you to enjoy no matter how you like to celebrate this season.

Chatfield Botanic Gardens: This is a historic farm with educational plaques about the buildings and plants. This time of year it is decorated with beautiful lights. It is a wonderful place to learn and enjoy the beauty of winter lights.

November

Hello Families,

Since we visited the Colorado History Center this week I thought I would focus on a few museums and historic parks you may want to explore with your child this month. 

Four Mile : This is a beautiful, small historic park located in Denver. Many people who have lived here for years miss this fun place. It is close to the Cherry Creek Mall and has a lot of amazing history to share!

Byers-Evans House: This historic home belonged to some prestigious families in our state's history. The women of these families were key in building our state's cultural arts and William Byers was the publisher of the Rocky Mountain News.

Molly Brown House: This is one of the homes of the indomitable Molly Brown. She was a famous Coloradan who was a philanthropist, survivor of the Titanic, and influential spokeswoman for many causes and rights of others. This is a great home to visit and learn about this fascinating woman in our state's history.

National Ballpark Museum: This is a fun, small place in the middle of downtown for the sports lover. Since the World Series has ended, maybe some of you are like me and could handle a little more baseball. Check out this fun place and learn more about the sport.

I tried to share with you a few of the lesser known museums that have wonderful historical information to explore. Colorado is a rich state full of culture, history and pride. I hope you and your family are able to take this year in 4th grade to enrich your knowledge and appreciation of our beautiful state.

Happy trails,

Mrs. Crawley

October

Please refer to your child's Colorado brochure for some fun places to explore and learn in Colorado.

September

Rocky Mountain National Park: This is a beautiful National Park. Try out your new free park pass here. Note that for September - Oct 10th there is a timed entry into the park. This means that you have to sign up ahead of time to enter the park. This is to help control the population. Many people love to visit this park in September to see the autumn colors and elk. Sign up early and make sure to have your child try the Junior Ranger program.

Colorado State Fair : (Now until Sept 5th in Pueblo, Colorado) This is a large carnival with rides, rodeos, food and fun!

Littleton Historical Museum: This is a small free museum, close by, that features the local history of Littleton from the late 1800's -early 1900's. On October 8th they are having a Harvest Festival with games, pumpkins and other events from 10-3. This is a wonderful museum and fun to visit anytime!

Chatfield Farms Botanical Gardens:  This is a beautiful garden with a historical farm that is also close by to Highlands Ranch. Throughout the year there are also wonderful events held here. Check out the link below about the corn maze.

Corn Maze: This is a large corn maze that begins September 16th through the month of October. September is a great time to explore the corn maze and enjoy having your child problem-solve their way through this puzzle with you!

Hootenany: I love this annual event on Oct 1. It is an educational event about owls and local wildlife that includes live owls, other educational displays, crafts and activities. This is located at the Audubon Center which is only about 15 minutes away and a fun place to explore on any weekend! 

August

Hello Families!

In 4th grade we will spend all year learning about various aspects of Colorado. Throughout the year I will try to share fun family events to help you discover more about our beautiful state!

August

Western Welcome Week : This is an historical celebration of Littleton, CO, just 5 minutes north of Highlands Ranch. It is a really fun week.  It begins this weekend and continues through next week. Don't miss Hawkquest at the Carson Nature Center on Tuesday night or the town parade next Saturday.

Colorado Journey: This is a local mini golf place that highlights fun historical places and/or events in Colorado. It is a lot of fun and you can get a lot of good ideas for places to visit throughout Colorado.

Carson Nature Center: This is one of my all time FAVORITE places to go! Make sure to go into the visitor center to check out the cool animals and explore the river table. This nature area is along the South Platte River which is a major water source in our area. It is fun to bike, walk, fish, birdwatch, catch crawfish, frogs and minnows, and a ton of other outdoor activities. Their educational programs are fantastic. If I could take all the kids here to all of their nature programs I would. The night hikes are fun too (depending on how you feel about nighttime). In September and October they also have great events.

I have linked the websites to all of these places if you would like more information. I truly hope you are able to take advantage of the beautiful state we are so privileged to live in. 

Best wishes,

Hope Crawley 

Contact Me:

• Email: hlcrawley@dcsdk12.org