This I know...

My weekend has been wonderful!  And sometimes after a weekend with family I reflect on things.  So today I'm going to tell you some things that I know.

#1  Family is first!!! 
#2  A good husband is hard to find-and I did!!
#3  Even after your kids grow up there is nothing like hearing them laugh together and play together and joke together.  It makes you think as a parent that you did something right because they really like each other.
#4  A hug can make everything better.
#5  Families should try their best to live as close as possible to each other. 
#6  There is nothing like seeing excitement and surprise in a young child's eyes.
#7  Cheering at sporting events makes you feel good inside.
#8  Tailgating is fun!!  Fingerfoods are yummy!!  Junk food is the best!!
#9  At the end of the day all that counts is the memories you make with your loved ones and hearing them retell memories from the past solidifies this belief.
#10 The NC mountains in fall are hard to beat!!!  Especially when snow starts falling!!

Have a great Sunday!!  There will be no homework on Monday night because trick-or-treating is so much more fun.  We will even do our spelling homework in class.  Love ya!

What a Busy Week!!

This week has been a whirlwind for sure.  We are loving the netbooks and have enjoyed getting online with a cool reading web site.  I have cancelled the science test for tomorrow due to time constraints.  We are going to do a chemical weathering experiment tomorrow and review a little more.  The test will be on Tuesday.  We will also take the graphing test-chapter 4-on Wednesday.  We will continue working with decimals.  The kids are really having a hard time grasping decimal place value and equivalent decimals. 

Thanks to Wesley's mom and Jada's mom for sending in candy for the trick or treating on Monday.  So far Shawn's mother is the only one who is sending a snack on Monday (rice krispie treats).  Would anyone like to send in healthy juice boxes? 

Remember that the end of the 6 weeks is Friday, Nov. 4.  Reading logs and journals need to be complete by then.  Most of the children are really close.  We have a half day on Monday the 7th and we are off on Friday the 11th.  Wow!!!  How did Thanksgiving get here so quick?

On Tuesday, Nov. 8 there will be a reading night at Douglass.  I'm not quite sure what it consists of but I think an author or speaker of some sort will be here.  I'll let you know more as soon as I do. 

There have been lots of adults in to observe our class these past 2 weeks.  Some come from other schools at the recomendation of their principal, Mr. Pyrtle has been one of them, and a new teacher came today from Leakesville Spray.  Everyone who has walked in the door has been impressed beyond belief.  #1They are amazed at how well the kids work together, #2 They can't believe how well we do transitioning from one task to the other, #3 They can't imagine believe the great behavior and class participation-ALL I CAN SAY IS WE ARE THE BEST!!! 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!  What a stupid time of year for me to decide not to eat sugar!!!!  I might have to fudge (get it?) a little on Monday.  Have a fabulous weekend.  I'm off to Chapel Hill tomorrow night with my huband and nephews to watch the Carolina exhibition game.  Then we're off to Boone on Sat. to meet my daughter and her boyfriend, her best friend Elizabeth, my step-daughter Anna, and my son Jake for a great day of Appalchian football, cold weather and maybe a little snow.  There's nothing like App football with snow.  A walk down King Street, a visit to The Mast General Store an a little tailgating-wow, I am super stoked!!!  I hope your weekend is great too!!!

Love ya!!

Mrs. C

Days Out and Updates

SCHOOL PICTURES ON FRIDAY-PREPAY BASIS ONLY-MAKE SURE YOU SEND IN YOUR MONEY.  EVERYONE WILL GET THEIR PICTURE MADE FOR THE YEARBOOK.

I will be out on Thursday, 1/2 day on Friday, Monday the 24th and Thursday the 27th-UGHHH!!  All teachers in our school are required to go to Intel Training in Reidsville.  The only day I'm taking off for myself is the 1/2 day on Friday.  My son from St. Augustine Florida is moving back to NC and I am going to help him move in this weekend.  So I'm on my way to Wilmington Friday at 11:30.

In Math we are going to finish up graphing and jump right in to decimals.  Please allow your kids to get on First In Math.  There are great sections for decimals.  I'm am thrilled to see my kids getting on at night and pumping up our points.

I also want to give a shout out to THE GREATEST CLASS EVER!!!  Mr. Pyrtle observed our class today and all I can say is awesome.  We worked with partners and on the Netbooks and even sang Landform Karaoke.  What a great day.  Treats on Friday for my sweet babies.

Thanks for the Playdoh.  We will be making our topography maps on Friday.  We will be carving totem poles next week and then chemically weather them.  Our final science landform test will be on Nov. 4.  We will jump right in to Ecosystems.

If you can send in any bagged candy for Halloween I would really appreciate it.  We have about 90 Trick or Treaters coming to our class on the 31st.  Any help would be greatly appreciated.  I would also like to have a little healthy Halloween snack.  I need carrots, fruit, juice boxes, Rice Krispie Treats, cheese sticks, or maybe even mini cupcakes :)  THANK YOU!!!

OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD-JUST A REMINDER

Love to all-Mrs. C

Great Altenative to TV

http://www.coolmath4kids.com/

I absolutely LOVE this website for kids.  My nephews and I played it all summer.  Instead of watching TV let your kids play on a great math web site.  They will think they are playing but they are actually learning.  I LOVE IT!!!!!

The Quest for the PERFECT Reading Log

I thought that by putting the reading log in the planner I could...

a. reduce the amount of paper that I use to copy
b. make life easier for you so as you read the planner you would sign only once
c. get a better glimpse of how much the kids a REALLY reading throughout the week

WELL... I am noticing that MOST (over 50%) are really not reading during the week even though the old reading logs were being filled out (isn't that called fibbing, just saying).  That means reading goals are not being met and reading journals are not being filled out. 

SOOOO... I am on the quest for the perfect reading log.  It will still be in the planner but it will be up to the children of my lovely class and all responsible parents to get it filled out properly.  PLEASE MONITOR THIS!!!!  I feel like a broken record, record, record, record (do you get my drift, feel my pain, and all that jazz?)

WE CAN DO THIS!!!  I HAVE FAITH IN MY FAMILIES AND STUDENTS!!!!  IT'S NOT THAT HARD!!!!

SHOUT OUT

A shout out to Emily for being the daily leader in FIRST IN MATH.  A shout out to Jaela too for being our daily leader last week.  Let's get the competition going and continue to lead Douglass as the best!!!

Look for information about a new blog for the kids later this week.  I have set up a blog for the kids to ask and answer questions.  Mrs. Prunty is going to help me get it going this week.

Our class is going to check out the new notebooks this week and get going on a little research to do on landforms.  This will be our first PBL as a class.  Look for more infor. on what in this world is a PBL later this week. 

FUN THINGS ARE HAPPENING IN OUR CLASS!!!  ASK YOUR KIDS QUESTIONS AND LOOK AT THE BLOG FOR INFORMATION.

Have the best day ever!!  Call me at hotline tonight if anyone needs help with homework.  Love ya!!!

OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD

I hope you were able to read the class service project that we are going to undertake this October.  Operation Christmas Child is a lovely way for us to understand giving to others in different countries.  The kids and I have watched a few of the videos and it has touched our hearts.  If you are going to participate please let me know.  I have 1 shoe box and a few items to go in it (THANKS EMILY).  Please look at the website for more information and e-mail me if you have any questions. 

http://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.samaritanspurse.org/occ/&sa=U&ei=6l-PTpqkE4SEtgfDhsSSDA&ved=0CBwQFjAA&usg=AFQjCNEJKN_sWsH2kaBi7aeWPB-vV-UCZQ

Have a great weekend!  Please make your kids read this weekend and get on the new math website (First In Math) so our class can be in first place in the county as well as build our knowledge of math skills. 

http://www.firstinmath.com/

LOVE YA!!!

I'm Back and Welcome to the new newsletter

I'm sorry I haven't posted in a while.  I would like to know how many people are actually looking at the blog.  I'm trying to find a good way to communicate that doesn't involve wasting paper and I would like this to be the way.  So please give me a little shout out if you like t\he blog and will take advantage of it. 

I hope you've heard by now that I will not be doing a weekly newsletter for a while.  I plan to post a newsletter on the blog and in e-mail.  I'll post here but then I will copy this and e-mail it to you also.  I just need to make sure I am still reaching my whole class.  Please give me input.  I might actually need to do a newsletter but until I hear your thoughts I'm going to try it this way.

1.  Spelling words and Reading log will be in the planner.  I will collect the planners on Friday mornings and grading them just as I would the reading log.  Please follow the same guidelines as the printed reading log. 

2.  Spelling homework will change just a little.  Here are the changes.... no more print!!!  Everything needs to be in cursive.  The class seems to enjoy it better this way and we will go with it.  Monday-2 times in cursive, Tuesday-Word 1-10 in sentences, Wednesday-word 11-20 in sentences, Thursday-practice spelling test from an adult, make sure it is fixed and signed.

3.  Look in planners for test announcements and weekly information.  PLEASE MAKE YOUR CHILDREN READ AT NIGHT!!! NO EXCUSES!!!  BE A ROLE MODEL FOR YOUR CHILD!!!!

Sign the parent/teacher/student compact if you haven't.  Send it back as soon as possible.

Mr. Pyrtle is sending me to four workshops in Oct. which means I will have a sub.  Please talk with your child about the importance of behaving and working for a substitute teacher.  I expect the same work and behavior out of them that I get when I am here. 

Have a great week, I'll blog again before the weekend.