Vacation is on its Way!

Happy spring!  Hooray for sun and vacation!  This last week before school break I have been meeting with parents.  It's incredibly rewarding to meet again with families and discuss progress, especially of the progress-making kind!
Report cards will be sent home tomorrow, April 11th.
At one of the conferences I discussed making a report card for me.  What do you think?  What should I be working on? One of the things that was brought up was, "Where do I find information about the Great Stone Face project?" So now, I am posting Great Stone Face information in a convenient place. Here is the link.
Last fall, Mrs. Stone, our school librarian introduced this year's picks.  Students were given a dossier to track their reading and comment on the books as the read.  Voting for GSF books has already happened at school, but the final votes for the state must be turned in by April 14th! We'll soon hear of the winners!  Our school library as well as our Lebanon Libraries also carry many of the books.  If you're looking for a good read on vacation, check 'em out!
Enjoy the week...it's a flurry of fun as we travel through the next few months!

March Madness

It's March and we're going MAD!  What a busy and long month March can be.  Today, we took a trip to the Kilton Library.  Amber, the children's librarian. read us From Dawn till Dusk by Natalie Kinsey-Warnock.  We've also been reading Roald Dahl books in class.  We just finished Matilda and we're now reading Fantastic Mr. Fox.  We are focusing on improving comprehension, expression in reading, and literary elements.

In math, we've been studying fractions.  Today we learned how to take a mixed number and convert it into an improper fraction.  Khan Academy has been helping us with our lessons.

We're studying weather in science.  Right now, we are learning about thermometers and temperature.   We've also read about weath and made quizzes to test our learning. In addition to weather, our trout eggs have arrived.  They are being housed in Miss Renehan's room.  We'll be observing the eggs later in the week.

We'll be embarking on our medieval unit soon.  Calling all parents!!! We'll need help with food, set up, and take-down for our feast.  Email me if you can help!

Reading Week

It's reading week at Mount Lebanon School. Tomorrow, we have read you t-shirt day and an author visit!  Natalie Kinsey-Warnock will be speaking to our fourth graders at 9:45 tomorrow.  On Thursday, we'll have wacky hair day and on Friday, we'll wear pajamas to school.

Matilda on Monday!

We'll start reading Matilda by Roald Dahl on Monday, February10th.  As part of the unit, students will participate in a book club, answer comprehension questions, and study the vocabulary of the book.  Take a look in the link section of our website to get more information on Roald Dahl and to access the comprehension and vocabulary pages we'll be using.

Cooking with Kids!

This week we started our unit on fractions using Math in Focus (one of the math pilots the district is trying this year).  To introduce the unit, we baked cookies!  We started out our lesson with writing a chocolate chip cookie recipe. Then, we reviewed fractions with measuring cups and measuring spoons. Each student took turns adding various ingredients into bowls and then combining them.  We baked the cookies six at a time in a toaster oven (thanks to my little brother, Aaron).  It worked!  Baking with kids is so much fun!  If you aren't doing it at home, you should! If you are, good for you! If you are a classroom teacher and haven't cooked with your students, what are you waiting for!?  The cookies won't bake themselves!
One last note...a BIG thank you to Jonica for rescuing us!  I forgot flour and she came to the rescue.  Phew!  Take a peek at the pics!

Jumpin' January

It's January and we've jumped right back in to our studies!  The students seemed to have grown over the holiday break and settled into their fourth grade bodies.  All is calm and collected. 

In math we've been studying graphs and data using our math pilot Math in Focus.  This unit has been easy for most of our students as Trailblazers worked on graphs and data in every unit.  The district will be making a decision about the new math program in April.  The choices are between Envision Math and Math in Focus. 

In Daily 5, we've been meeting daily to read various Roald Dahl books in a book club format.  Our students have been bringing in refreshments to share with their fellow readers to eat while they discuss the books.  So far we've read The Twits, George's Marvelous Medicine, and we are working on The Giraffe, The Pelly, and Me.  The kids are certainly enjoying Dahl's humor!

In science, we've been studying electricity.  Using Delta science kits, funded by the PTO, we've learned how to build a simple circuit using a lightbulb, wire, and battery.  Last week, we started learning about series and parallel circuits. 

We got news from New Hampshire Fish and Game last week. Our brook trout will be available for pick up in February.  We'll be raising them to the fry stage and setting them free in Great Brook in early spring.  

In other news, our class has been given money through Adopt-A-Classroom from our local West Lebanon JCPenney store to support material and technology purchases.   Thank you to JcPenney!

Happy New Year!

Make Yourselves Comfortable!

A few of our girls have made themselves comfortable during read to self. We are glad they have made themselves feel right at home!  

Friday the 20th, we will be out and about.  We will sing at Brookside Nursing Home, Skate at Campion Rink, and have a reading celebration and book discussion about the book, Buddy at Kilton Library.  We need a few chaperones to help with the singing/skating and we need volunteers for set up and take down at Kilton.  If you can help, email me!