One thing for sure about Ohio, you can count on it for unpredictable weather. First, we get all of the snow for the winter in one week. Then we get all of the frigid temperatures in the next. Temperatures look like they are rising for this week, but I say, don't let that fool you! Please make sure students continue to come to school in their winter gear. They are expected to wear it at recess, too. If you have a child who does not have snow pants, I suggest sending in an extra pair of sweatpants; some of the children sit in wet slacks all afternoon. 🥶

We had a good week in school. Because of our snow day, I did push back some due dates for the children. An independent study on the American Revolution is now due tomorrow (January 31st). It includes three activities: a timeline in the slides, a paper timeline, and a quiz. Some students owe me a language arts packet comparing a painting on eagles to an image on geese. The assignment also got pushed back to a due date of tomorrow. Please check with your children to make sure these activities are done. If they don't know, they should check their email.

In language arts this week, we will continue to read Because of Winn Dixie. We are almost done with it! Once we reach the end, students will need to turn in their reading journals. I have noticed some are getting carefree about finishing the pages we work on in class. Again, it might be worth asking your child if they are caught up. Everyone should have all pages done through the summary of section 6. This journal can be accessed in Schoolwork on the iPad.

In addition to reading, we are learning about the Northwest Ordinance and how it affected Ohio after the Revolutionary War in social studies. My math friends and I are focusing on fractions or line plots while we also refocus on multiplication and division facts during a Math Facts Pro competition that runs through February 18th. And in grammar, we will study run-on sentences and fragments this week at your child's level of readiness.  

Finally, in IE, we are completing our board games at the end of the day. These educational games that the students are creating (thanks to the Shenigo Family) are amazing! I think all of them will be operational by our "Global School Day of Play" on Wednesday. After that, students will have an opportunity to write a commercial script and record the video ad. It would be neat to have it all wrapped up by the time we start STEM with Mrs. Racin on February 9th!

Dates to Know:
January 28 - Report Cards posted! Visit ProgressBook!
February 2 - Miss Rice starts! Global School Day of Play! Kids can bring board games (no electronics!!) 
February 3 - Children's Concert Society U of A Dance Group Assembly
February 3 - Book Fair for our class (during Library)
February 9 - STEM Encore starts (and goes through February 24th)
February 11 - Teacher Professional Development (no school for students)
February 14 - Valentine's Party (information will be sent home this week)

I cannot believe we got lucky enough to get that extra day this past week. What a nice treat! I had the children write about what they did during the snow day. It sounds like everyone took appropriate advantage of the situation! I know we did! We probably clocked six hours out in the beautiful white stuff!

Despite the excitement of recess, we managed to get right back to work Wednesday morning. We started the second half of Because of Winn Dixie. We now know all of the essential characters, and I think one of my favorites continues to be Mrs. Gloria Dump. I hope to take all of my life lessons and see them with positivity when I am her age!

Everyone did a fantastic job finishing their bird essays at school and their 3D bird models at home in science. We will begin presenting those majestic creatures this coming week. Meanwhile, I will be adding the report and model grades into ProgressBook to be a part of the second quarter grades. Everyone did a fantastic job!

We have some special events coming up that are worth mentioning. From January 27 through February 10, the PTA is hosting a Read-A-Thon. We have already raised over $500 in our class, and we haven't officially started! Please check out the flyer that came home with the children on Friday. Now, here is the cherry on top... If the children in our class raise $2,000 or more, the Rotili Family has volunteered to reward the class with a pizza party! Woo hoo! Thank you, Dana and Ronnie!

In addition to reading for fun, we will also be participating in the Global School Day of Play in Room 111. I know this sounds like every day in our room, but this day, February 2, is a bit more intense than usual! Please check out this website for information: Global School Day of Play. We will have math like normal in the morning, and then we will use our time before lunch to kick off the fun. This will be non-electronic, child-oriented play. Want to help? If you have any board games your child loves that can be brought to school, please encourage them to bring it on February 2. I also have seen a wicked fort created in my room on this day, so old blankets are also allowed!

Finally, the children heard about Miss Rice this past week! Ally Rice is a student-teacher joining us from Kent State two days a week. She doesn't know it yet, but her first day coincides with our Global School Day of Play! She will be with us every Wednesday and Thursday. I know your children will welcome her with open arms, and I am excited to share our room with her. 

Upcoming Dates to Know:
January 24 - In-Service Day (no school for students)
January 26 - PTA meeting
January 28 - Bath Team Hero Shirts / Popcorn Friday
January 28 - Report Cards posted in ProgressBook for families
February 3 - Children's Concert Society U of A Dance Group Assembly
February 3 - Book Fair for our class (during Library)
February 11 - Teacher Professional Development (no school for students)
February 14 - Valentine's Party

It was a fantastic week! I did not tweet a lot, but that certainly doesn't indicate our workload. Your children were rock stars from math all the way through to IE this week!

Everyone is at least 1/3 of the way through our three fraction topics for those who do math with me. I am pleased with our work effort coming back from winter break, and I can tell we are motivated to get into the fifth-grade material at the end of the year! Now that we have mastered equivalent fractions in Topic 8, students either add and subtract fractions or multiply fractions. It is time to do some baking at home. Challenge your kids to cut the recipe in half... or double it! 

In language arts, we are halfway through Because of Winn Dixie. Students turned in the first reading journal and did a fantastic job with it. We are working hard to make inferences, focus on character development, and write complete sentences. This coming week we will start the second journal, and we will add some vocabulary skills to our work as we navigate the book.

Finally, the students opted to do the mini bird unit before starting the American Revolution. They have done a great job in class, researching their individual birds and preparing multi-paragraph essays. I have been pushing them hard on mature writing. I know a couple of children are frustrated by reworking their drafts a few times, but the end products are impressive! At home, children should be working on their 3D models. This model needs to resemble (as much as possible) the actual bird chosen. We have looked at the models from other classes and have seen clay, feathers, duct tape, wood, and painted styrofoam. Your fourth grader can use whatever materials you have at home as long as it is not a 2D bird made of plain construction paper. 

I also want to take this opportunity to announce that we will be getting a student teacher this spring. Our teacher-in-training is joining us from Kent State University, two days a week. As I get more details, I will share them. So far, I am enjoying my email exchange with Miss Rice, and I think the kids will like her! 

Upcoming Dates to Know:
January 17 - No School
January 24 - In-Service Day (no school for students)
January 26 - PTA meeting
January 28 - Book Fair begins
January 28 - Bath Team Hero Shirts / Popcorn Friday

It did not take long for our class to get back into the swing of things. I love how everyone came back with fun family stories, travel, meals, and gifts. It was delightful to hear all of it! I was also pleased to see everyone was ready and willing to jump back into work. 

We started the week off with a craftivity the children will bring home this week. By studying Martin Luther King Jr.'s big words, we brainstormed our own big words for 2022. The result was beautiful. We assembled it as an agamograph, making it visually appealing from two sides. Wait until you see it!

We will be reading more of Because of Winn Dixie in language arts this coming week. We will use some of the words from the book as our focus for spelling this week and next week. We will also be working on some text comparisons with short stories. This, in addition to inferences, seem to be an area we can all work on in our class. As a result, I would encourage you to ask your child to draw conclusions at home, make "educated guesses" about what will happen next on a show you are watching, or ask your child to make connections to things you see while shopping to your own family. These little skills help our children to begin thinking outside their circle. 

The children also voted to continue with science for a little bit, before moving on to the American Revolution. The other classes have started bringing in 3D models of birds the children have been researching. It has made us all (myself included) quite envious! As such, we will be studying Ohio birds in class, and soon your child will bring home information about how they can make their 3D model.  

Finally, we are looking forward to another movie this week. The class has been earning bonuses and salaries all year long, and now some are working together to buy class rewards like this. I love the collaboration and financial acuity! A special thanks to Dana Whitmire-Rotili for providing the class with popcorn during these events. The kids love it!!

Upcoming Dates to Know:
January 11 - Class Movie Reward (students may bring snacks and stuffed animals)
January 13 - MAP Reading Testing
January 14 - MAP Math Testing
January 17 - No School
January 24 - In-Service Day (no school for students)
January 26 - PTA meeting
January 28 - Bath Team Hero Shirts / Popcorn Friday

In some ways, it feels like we just left school, bellies full of Christmas goodies and minds full of childhood excitement for the days to come. And in other ways, it feels like it has been forever since I have seen your smiling kids. I miss the banter in the morning, the whispers of hard work underway, and the squeak of the guinea pigs each time we move about the room. Concerning the latter, I am looking forward to Monday morning! Honestly, I wish we had snow to go with the season!

We have some fun things coming up as we embrace the new year. We will be starting a new novel, Because of Winn Dixie. I am so excited to have Dr. Keira Mellion come in to talk to all of our fourth graders about dog behavior, and that will be a great way to kick off the book! And for those children that stay with me for math, we will be starting fractions together in a fun way. (I can't give away that secret!)

We will wrap up fossils and our Animals Through Time unit in science. Then we can return to the American Revolution, the Antislavery Movement, and the Underground Railroad in Ohio. Please email me if anyone has any connections to those spellbinding historical times. We would love to see and hear from anyone that can make the past feel more true-to-life.

Finally, I want to thank you for spoiling me this holiday season. I am humbled that you spent time thinking of the perfect gifts and investing in me. It is too generous. I love the Ember mug, ornaments, gift cards, the "Design a Game" kit, and all of the unique hand-made gifts I brought home with me. I will cherish it all. 

Upcoming Dates to Know:
​January 3 - School resumes
January 6 - Girls' STEM Club 
January 13 - MAP Testing
January 14 - MAP Testing
January 17 - No School