Math Rotations

I just wanted to give everyone a run down of how we are going to be doing math this year. We are fortunate enough to have Mrs. Erin Hardigree working in our room for our math block, and we're very excited to have her!

Before we begin a unit, students will take a pre-test over the content. We will use the results from this to group them into a low group, a medium group, and a high group. For the next week or two (or however long the unit lasts), students will stay in these groups and rotate through three activities a day: instruction with the teacher, independent work to practice the skill, and a game. All students will participate in all three activities each day.

We started our math rotation this week by practicing our subtraction facts. Students have been working with me or Mrs. Hardigree, completing fun coloring subtraction sheets in the independent center, and playing subtraction memory match in the game center. I think we're off to a great start with our centers!

We would love to have parent volunteers help in the game center. A big thank you to Colton's mom, who has already volunteered to come help two days a week. If anyone else would like to spend some time in our game center, please let me know! We have math rotations each day from 1-2.

Check out the pictures below from today's math rotations!

Settling In

Wow, it's hard to believe we've only just finished the third day of school. I feel like we are already beginning to settle into the new school year.

Today, we started practicing some things we are going to work on throughout the year. Yesterday, the kids had a chance to look through the books in the classroom library, so they were excited today to actually pick some books for their bookboxes. After practicing how to put books away and making a list of "Good" and "Bad" behaviors for silent reading, the kids had a chance to practice what we had talked about.
We took a break from silent reading to read one of my favorite picture books of all time, "The Wondeful Pigs of Jillian Jiggs," about a girl who sews pigs and plans to sell them to her friends. After reading, we made our own pigs. Tomorrow, we're going to use these pigs to practice writing "SUPER SENTENCES."


During math, we practiced going to different centers. We're going to be doing a LOT of small group work this year, sometimes independently, sometimes with a partner, and sometimes with a teacher. We practiced today by playing a math game on the computer, creating designs with pattern blocks, playing addition war with a partner, or playing addition Candyland with Mrs. Hardigree. Students rotated through two of the activities. Tomorrow, they will get to do the other two.

As an ending note, the students are working on how to do schoolwork with a bunny and a hamster running around the room (don't worry, the hamster is in her hamster ball). We went over the rules for Bailey:
1. Bailey's cage is her safe space. Don't poke things into her cage (this includes fingers).
2. Don't follow Bailey around. She will come to you.
3. Don't pick Bailey up.
4. Don't hold Bailey in one spot.

The kids seem to be doing really well with this! Bailey, on the other hand, looks ready for a break...

First day of school

We had a great first day of school! We figured we would start the year out right with a good book, so as a class, we chose to read "Ramona Quimby, Age 8," as our first read aloud. Mrs. Clark, who will be working with our class, LOVES to read children's books and does the best voices, so she also read a funny book about Cookie Monster.

Throughout the day, we spent a lot of time practicing our rules and routines. Today, we talked about what it means to be respectful in our classroom, such as listening politely, waiting to talk until we have permission, sharing materials, and using kind words. We will continue to practice these rules in the upcoming days.

We also did a lot of getting to know you activities. We decorated the first letter of our first name with pictures that describe us, and we wrote a description of ourselves for each letter of our name. For a math practice, we made bar graphs to show when everybody's birthdays are. It was exciting to learn that Isaiah's birthday is...tomorrow!

We also got to spend some time with our class pet. We went over the rules for having Bailey out, and everybody got a chance to pet her. The kids also got to meet our newest addition, our Black Bear Hamster. Her name is Rita Book (get it? Rita Book??). She's still adjusting to life in a classroom, so she mostly stayed in her cage today.

I hope everybody at home is settling back into the school routine. I know going to sleep early and getting back on schedule can be hard, but hopefully we can all make a smooth transition.

Open House

It's the night after open house, and let me just say that I am exhausted, but I'm SO excited for this school year to start! Out of 21 students in our class, all but two made it to open house...WOW! Judging from the kids I met today, I think we're going to have an awesome year. Every child I talked to seemed smart, friendly, and excited for third grade.

I spoke to several families about getting some gerbils for the aquarium at the back of the room, and I think I may have found our new class pet. I will let you know if my plan goes through, but for now I'm going to keep it a surprise!

Can't wait to see everyone on Monday!

-Mrs. K.