Hello.  Hope everyone had a nice weekend.  Please remember that the CANDY SALE ends this Thursday!  We are trying to get every child to sell at least one item-this is one our biggest fund-rasiers!!!  Please Help!  Thanks-top classroom gets a pizza party!!!  :) 

Your child will have a Scholastic book order with them today-it is due Friday.  I'll order the books Friday and get them back in about a week.  If you want them for a surprise present, just let me know.  Thanks.

Language Arts:   We are all working on reading in our just right reading choices during silent reading time.  We will write in our Journals or our Writer's Notebooks each day this week.We are reading and review beginning word list for third graders.  We had a discussion about silent reading and writing.  We are working on increasing our stamina and focus for 30 minutes or longer!  Ask your child about the guidelines for workshop rules we came up with.  Your child will be coming home with a beginning third grade word list-keep this for practice at home.  Our computers are not working right now for AR tests-we are working on the problem and hopefully they will be up and running by the end of the day.

Homework:  Have your child pick 10 words from their word list (that they have with them).  They should think up a story, using these ten words in their story.  The story should be at least 10 sentences.  They should underline the words in their story from the word list.  If they use more than ten words from the word list, they will get extra credit-just make sure all the words are underlined so I can easily identify them.  They should then make an illustration of their story.  Have Fun!!  Let them tell you the story, orally first, them have them write out the story.  All this is should be turned in on Friday.

Math:  We will start Unit 2 - Adding and Subtracting Whole Numbers.   Please look for the Unit 2 parent letter-your child will have it with them.  Lessons 2.1-2.4 will be completed. 

 Homework-Monday through Thursday 2.1-2.4.  "Fact Triangles" will be coming home today.  They should stay at home for further practice if your child needs it.  Ask your child how to practice the facts using these fact triangles.  Can they explain it to you?

Science:  Will will continue with our Water Unit.  We will add substances (soap and maybe vinegar) to the water to see if surface tension and/or other water properties change.  Science Words include:  water, property, absorb, investigation, and surface tension.  What question did your child have last week.  At the end of every investigation, your child will be writing a question that they have.  Ask your child about this.  As always, thanks for your help.

Social Studies:  We will continue with map work, reinforcing the countries that are being taught in Spanish Class.

Art: "Why not a blue cat?"  -Artists sometimes make arbitrary choices of color, choosing colors that express their feelings- we call this expressionism (we had this conversation last week)  Your child will express themselves using chalk and oil pastels.  Has your child told you about the slides?  We usually start each art class by showing slides of both work of an artist(s) and student art work.  Ask your child on Wednesday who they saw and learned about. (I am guessing this lesson might go into next week-we will see-it is the first time we will be using oil pastels.)

Jean Clement