Our First Week

Our first week of school was AWESOME!  We enjoyed getting to know one another, and have started to come together as a group.  I have no doubt we will establish a wonderful classroom community.  We brainstormed ideas, and created some classroom rules.  We all signed them, too.

This week in math, we began to learn about place value.  Mrs. Merten was quite impressed with all of the information we already know about this topic!  Our math lesson today was interrupted by our first FIRE DRILL.  We were all impressed by how quickly and quietly the whole school left the building.

In writing, we said goodbye to two unnecessary words, "I Can't". We had a small retirement celebration as we raised the "I Can't" shirt to the rafters.  All of the things we "can't" do are attached to the bottom of the shirt. 

In reading, Mrs. Merten read a new book, Carnivores, by Aaron Reynolds.  This is a book that stresses the importance of realizing who you are.  We also listened to the story Aunt Chip and the Triple Creek Dam Affair, by Patricia Polacco.  We have a few more pages to read in this book, but we have enjoyed the story so far.  This book is a wonderful way to remind students about the wonderful things we get out of books.

Mrs. Merten handed out our first reading log today. This will help guide the children's reading throughout the year.   Logs are due on Fridays.

Here we are "turning and talking"

Today we had our first Poetry lesson with Mrs. Williams, and our first Technology lesson with Mrs. Merten.  We loved both of these times today.  In technology we learned how to sign into our computers and then to set some bookmarks.  We are excited about all of the things we will learn this year!

What a Day!

Well, we did it!  The first day was fabulous!  We had a lot of fun getting acquainted, and we started to learn a little about one another.  We will spend this week really getting to know each other, and establishing our fourth grade community.  Today we started to work on our classroom rules, and brainstormed somethings we think about how to treat each other. I hope everyone had a wonderful day.  I know I did !

We started off the day creating posters about ourselves .  It was quiet !

We did a carousel activity where we wrote our thoughts about a few topics.  This will help us create our  class rules.

Welcome!!!

Welcome to 4th grade and our class, Room 24!  By now, you have learned that you will be with us, and you have Mrs. Merten for a teacher (that's me!).  I can't wait to meet you; we are going to have so much fun together.  Don't forget to read the "Summer letter for Students," and the "Summer letter for Parents," in the Important Documents section at the right.  There is really good information in both of these documents. You will also find  a "Suggested Supply List," in case you misplaced the one that was in your report card at the end of third grade.  Our blog is full of information.  Just scroll down and you can see some of our past blog posts.  If you have any questions for me, leave them in the comment section of this post and I will answer them.  Remember to check with your parents first!  I hope to post a few pictures of our classroom next week.  Check back for those!  Enjoy your last week of summer vacation! 

~ Mrs. Merten

Two Weeks and Counting

Welcome to our class blog, "Ladybugs on Learning"!  I hope you will find this page helpful for both parents and students.  If you are new to our blog, welcome!  If you are a returning guest, welcome back!  I'd like to share a few things with you, to guide you through using our blog.

• We welcome comments on our blog from families as well as from our students.  We began encouraging this last year, and have left some instructions on how to best comment in the sidebar to the right.  Please follow the instructions and comment away!  
• Last year, we began to use Twitter to communicate "up to the minute" updates to our blog.  There is a twitter gadget also in the sidebar to the right.  You may find pictures, links or just some quick "tweets".  Bear with me, as I learn how to best navigate this part of our blog. If you tweet, follow us @JFK24Ladybugs.
• I have posted some links to important information to the right as well.  You will find summer letters to both parents and students, as well as the suggested supply list for incoming Fourth Graders.  You will also see our class handbook, however I haven't updated that quite yet.
• I try to post updates to our blog on Fridays, and very often include pictures or videos of our week.  I also try to include links(games, study guides, videos, etc.)  which could help students with homework or studying.  If you would like to follow our blog by email, there are two options.  You can enter your email in the "Follow by Email" gadget, or you can become a "Follower". Both of these options are in the section on the right.  
• If you or other members of your family speak a different language, I've included a translator gadget to the right.  This will help  families from around the world to keep updated with your child's school activities.

In a week or so, you should learn if you are in our class.  I hope to post some pictures of our classroom, so that you can see what to expect!  I know we are going to have a great year!

Enjoy the last few weeks!