January 2020
Happy New Year!
What a precious gift to have been given an opportunity to begin a new year in a new decade!
I hope this year of 2020 finds you happy, healthy, and growing into your best self!
3 Things We Did Today - January 2, 2020
1. We welcomed one another back with a 1-minute "HAPPY NEW YEAR!" greeting.
2. We listened to classmates talk about how they spent their vacations.
3. We began reading and discussing chapters 5 and 6 in "Little House in the Big Woods."
Something else we did: We are learning about remainders in our study of division!
And in our Choose Love journey...
We read an awesome book "I am Love: A Book of Compassion." We learned there is a difference between compassion and empathy. While empathy is actually feeling the pain of another person as if you were going through the same situation, compassion is the understanding that someone is going through a hard time and actively choosing to help. We water colored hearts, stamped our own hands across them, and each created a mini poster, "I Choose Love." They are displayed in our classroom.
We also receive "A Daily Dose of Love" emails from Choose Love. Today's "Call to Action" tasked us with speaking kind words to as many people as possible. We were reminded that technology does not produce compassion - only people can do that.
Have a wonderful evening!
3 Things We Did Today - January 3, 2020
1. We continued practicing quotients with remainders in our study of division. We used base-10 blocks to break up the tens in order to divide into groups. We saw the leftovers as remainders! The kids really did a great job with this concept.
2. We finished reading chapter 6 of "Little House in the Big Woods" and then got started on the comprehension packet. During the reading, we came upon many new words and had so many thoughts and questions!
3. We played volleyball today - kids against teachers! The kids had a BLAST!
Something extra: Our class was awarded with Mini Zeus for outstanding behavior in ALL specialist classes!! Woooo-hooooo!
Daily Dose of Love: We were tasked with leaving positive notes for people in random places anywhere! I left several and once the kids saw that I was doing that, and they were finding them throughout the building, they started doing it, too! Other kids from other classes noticed the notes and loved the idea, as well. Maybe we'll start finding nice notes all over the place!
Enjoy your weekend!
3 Things We Did Today - January 6, 2020
1. We read Lesson 3 in Chapter 3 of our social studies text, learning about traditions of the Abenaki culture. We added important content vocabulary to our Abenaki notebooks.
2. We began reading chapter 7 of our read aloud, Little House in the Big Woods. This is a fun chapter because it's all about maple sugaring! So many kids were able to make connections with the maple sugaring/syrup process!
3. We are continuing with our work in understanding division; how to find the quotient and remainder. We used base-10 blocks to make the learning more concrete.
Special Note: There is definitely an increase in notes of positivity floating around our school! Our class has really embraced this little initiative which is so heartwarming!
Daily Dose of Love: In today's Daily Dose, we learned that it takes courage to stand up for someone else! We read an awesome story about a young man with autism who had never spoken a word in his 21 years of life. When he did, he asked, "Will people like me?" His mom posted this on social media and the outpouring of love was incredible!! When we have the courage to stand up for someone else, only good can come from it!
And in our Choose Love journey ....
We created our Choose Love Constitution. We reflected on the rules of our classroom (Be Safe, Be Kind, Be Respectful, Be Responsible) and then discussed ways we want our classroom to be and feel. Each student was asked to write a "Be" statement on their sticky note. What they came up with: be empathetic, be caring, be thoughtful, be kind, be careful, be yourself, be loving, be positive, be willing to share, be helpful, be apologetic when necessary, be forgiving, be welcoming, be helpful, be understanding, be inclusive. This is quite the list! We can add to it as the year goes on if we think of more!
Top - Class Constitution;
Bottom - Notes of Kindness!
3 Things We Did Today - January 7, 2020
1. We tackled Lesson 3 Chapter 3 key questions in social studies.
2. In math, we continued to use base-10 blocks to find quotients and remainders.
3. We read an awesome book about courage, "Ordinary People Change the World: I am Gandhi." A lot of great connections were made with Martin Luther King, Jr!
One more thing: We had some time extra time today to work on WIP (Work in Progress).
Daily Dose of Love: In today's Daily Dose, we read a quote by Margaret Mead: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” What was really awesome about this quote is that there was an example of this very thing in the Gandhi book we read! No task is impossible when you have a group of committed people working together!
Have a wonderful evening!
Check out our growing kindness wreath!
3 Things We Did Today - January 8, 2020
1. Along with the base-10 blocks, we used sticky notes to represent groups/divisor with our division work today and wow!!!!!! The lights shined! I think our mathematicians really have a handle on the concrete method of dividing. Wooohooo, so exciting! Check out this awesome example: The problem is 72 divided by 5 = 14 R2
2. We finished chapter 8 in Little House - that was a long chapter! But the kids continue to really enjoy this book, with the meaningful work that the characters do, the simple joys they experience in everything, and the warm relationships among the family.
3. We worked on a Chapter 3 review pack in Social Studies - crossword puzzles, Venn diagrams, comic strips, really fun!
Daily Dose of Love: We were given an empowering quote by William Jones to think about: "Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does." We talked about what that means exactly and gave examples. Our task today? SMILE at as many people as you can!
Have a fantastic night!
3 Things We Did Today - January 9, 2020
1. Many students were able to complete their Little House packets for chapters 7 and 8.
2. We took our Social Studies quiz today.
3. The kids were introduced to the "partial quotient" method for solving division problems. We will work on it for a couple of days!
Something extra: Mrs. Fowler gave our class a shout-out for the kindness notes that are accumulating around our school!
Daily Dose of Love: The quote today was by Winston Churchill: "Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the COURAGE TO CONTINUE that counts." WOW! What an important reminder for everyone! We learned of a school in Texas who "petaled" it forward by giving 2 flowers each to workers in their town - one flower for the worker, one flower for the worker to "petal forward!" How neat! The kindness task today - buy a friend a coffee or a hot chocolate to surprise them with!
Have an amazing night!
3 Things We Did Today - January 10, 2020
1. We had lots of time to work on Little House in the Big Woods comprehension activities!
2. We continued to work on the partial quotient area model and the kids are totally getting it!
3. We found out our new Choice classes today and got to go to them!
Daily Dose of Love: We were reminded that no matter what we might be going through, any sort of problem, there is always "light" at the end of it, you have to keep going! Our task was to be a light for someone who needs it.
We had a really wonderful first full week back for 2020! Have an awesome weekend!
3 Things We Did Today - January 13, 2020
1. We finished chapters 9 and 10 in our read aloud, Little House in the Big Woods! We feel way ahead! Tomorrow we will be able to finish the 9-10 packet and get started on Chapter 11. There is about a quarter left in the book! I love how much the kids have been enjoying this story!
2. We continued to work on partial quotients today but with a slightly different model that will get us closer to the standard algorithm.
3. We're getting ready to read Chapter 5 in our Social Studies text, which is all about Colonial New Hampshire. So today, I had the kids partner up to brainstorm together what it could have been like to live during that time period with home, school, clothes, jobs, food, and money. They came up with some awesome ideas, some spot-on!
Daily Dose of Love: Our quote today was about having a mentor! We ALL have someone in our life who helped us become the amazing person we are today! Task - write a note to this person to acknowledge and thank them! We wrote notes and then delivered them. Many went home, many were to an adult here in our building!
Have an awesome night!
3 Things We Did Today - January 14, 2020
1. We finished reading Little House in the Big Woods! We will complete a few comprehension projects to wrap up our learning.
2. We have really gotten a handle on partial quotient! I'm so proud of the kids' hard work!
3. We read Lesson 1 in Chapter 5 of Social Studies today, learning a little about and discussing the NH Colonies. If you haven't been to Strawberry Banke, think about visiting! Students completed a key questions worksheet.
Daily Dose of Love: The quote today was about never giving up on something you REALLY want to do - the work is worth it! Our task - do something to make the day easier for someone else. Simple but lovely!
3 Things We Did Today - January 15, 2020
1. We have moved into the standard of algorithm of division and the kids are LOVING IT! What I love about it is that it just makes sense to them, after all the work we did with partial quotient!
2. We read Lesson 2 in Chapter 5 of our Social Studies text, learning about Colonial communities! We were all in agreement that it looks like a nice place to live and work with your family and friends but that Church sounds scary and very different than Church some of us go to.
3. We are finishing up the Little House comprehension activities and then will be starting a final activity to demonstrate and share our understandings and opinions of the book!
Enjoy the evening!
3 Things We Did Today - January 17, 2020
1. We read "Ordinary People Change the World: I am Martin Luther King, Jr." We also read an awesome article that told us about what his granddaughter is doing to change things! We found out, though, you DON'T have to be related to someone famous in order to make changes and raise your voice! And we learned that "using your voice" doesn't have to mean actual talking - it can be in your actions, too!
2. In math, we continued our work on standard algorithm for division.
3. The 4th graders had CHOICE today - they are always SO excited, partly, I think, because they get to walk themselves to their classes!
Daily Dose of Love: Today's quote was by Maya Angelou, "Be a rainbow in someone else's cloud!" We learned that for many, a rainbow is a symbol for hope and goodness. Our task - show gratitude to our beautiful earth by taking time to notice it and helping to care for it.
And in our Choose Love journey ....
This week we have been doing some writing in our journals. On Wednesday, the question was a personal check in with self - How are you feeling today? On Thursday, the question was What is something that makes you feel happy no matter what? And today - what do you do to feel better when you're upset? A few comments were made by the kids that they really love writing in their journals and thinking about their responses to the questions asked.
Have an awesome weekend! Remember, no school on Monday!
3 Things We Did Today - January 21, 2020
1. Our class spent Gym class outside skiing! What a gorgeous day for it, although cold - the kids came back refreshed and excited to have had that time outdoors!
2. As we are learning about Colonial times, what they eat is an important point. So to share our understandings, we are working on menus for our own Colonial Times Restaurants!
3. We began working on a fun book project to wrap up our beloved read aloud, Little House in the Big Woods. We're making lap books which tells various details from the story, with crafty houses on the back!
Have a terrific Tuesday night!!
Check out our ever-growing kindness wreath!
3 Things We Did Today - January 27, 2020
1. We made the most thoughtful Valentines for a 104-year-old veteran in California, Major William White! We sent them to the office where Mrs. Laura Garber will be picking them up and mailing them off for us! The kids loved being able to do this, knowing how happy Mr. White will be to receive them!
2. We are reviewing division by solving word problems - now that we know how to divide, the word problems are easier to do!
3. We had Choice today!
Daily Dose of Love : We received a lovely quote by Mother Teresa: “Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of LOVE, a GIFT to that person, a BEAUTIFUL thing.”
A quote by the late Kobe Bryant was shared as well to remind us about the power of inspiration: “The most important thing is to try and INSPIRE people so that they can be GREAT at whatever they want to do.”
Our task is week-long - each day this week, find a way to show kindness to someone! It will brighten their day AND yours!
Have a wonderful evening with your fantastic fourth graders!
3 Things We Did Today - January 28, 2020
1. We are finishing up our Little House book projects. They are awesome!
2. We started a brand new read-aloud - "The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: Book 1, A Mysterious Howling." We are INTRIGUED! We wondered what the word "incorrigible" means!
3. In math, we are focusing on word problems - how to read them, how to answer them! We have come a really long way since first trimester!
Daily Dose of Love: Our quote today was said by Abe Lincoln: "Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm." The task given was to work toward a goal we have by taking one small step toward achieving it! That one small step can be as simple as listing out what you need to do to be successful in meeting your goal.
And in our Choose Love journey ....
We learned about our brain being responsible for what we DO! We now know that thinking and acting are related within the Triune Brain! The "lizard" part of our brain is responsible for reacting; the "numbat" part of our brain is responsible for social-emotional development and feelings; and the "human" part of our brain is responsible for decision-making and planning. We are learning to leave the lizard to nudge the numbat toward hugging the human!
3 Things We Did Today - January 30, 2020
1. We began our Topic 5 math test.
2. We had extra recess with Mrs. Fowler for winning the 4th Grade Golden Trash Can Award - Lunchtime Edition!
3. It was Game Day! Lots of really cool games were shared!
Something extra: We read some of our new read-aloud,"The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place."