Our Week In Review

We made it to our first Friday!  This week we continued to work on establishing our classroom community, while beginning to focus on our academic tasks.We began our week with our first 4th grade Community Meeting. We greeted each other, and learned a little about one another. We finished our meeting by learning a few yoga poses.

Sharing our cardboard people

 On Tuesday, we were entertained by the FPS Music Department!  The music/band teachers came to JFK to share information about various instruments.  If your child is interested in playing an instrument, information was sent home Tuesday.

TEAM-BUILDING ACTIVITIES

 During math, we have been learning about Place Value, as well as working on our routines and expectations of Math Workshop.  Students can find some videos, games and other links which reinforce this topic on our blog on the Homework Help page (The link is also at the top of this page).  If your child would like to access the online version of the math book, there is a link on the Homework Help page as well.  Our first math quiz - on Place Value- will take place next Wednesday.  Students received a study guide today. 

During Reading this week, we focused on learning the structure and routines of Reader's Workshop.  We read some picture books, and students filled out a survey, sharing their feelings about reading.  We practiced our "Reading Zone" (independent reading) and began discussing strategies for choosing a "Just Right" book.  Next week, Mrs. Merten will help students fill their book bags and we will begin to have formal reading conferences.  One important aspect of Reader's Workshop is that the students read the same book at home and at school.  This maintains consistency with student thinking about the plot, characters, theme, etc. Students should be taking reading books back and forth to school each day, and are invited to take books from our classroom library.  Students are also invited to bring books to school from home. In the coming weeks, this will continue to be reinforced.

Today we also enjoyed our first "Creative Arts Friday".  We began to write bio poems with Mrs. A. Williams, and started some team building activities with Mrs. E. Williams. Be sure to ask your child about the "Marshmallow Activity"!  With Mrs. Merten we worked on organizing our Google Drive and learning about expectations during Tech Workshop. 


Looking Ahead~

• We will be talking more about our Hopes, Dreams and Goals for fourth grade, and writing about these during Writer's Workshop.
• We will begin our first Social Studies unit, Map Skills.

From the Teacher's Desk:

A major focus of fourth grade is independence and responsibility.  There has already been much discussion about what this looks like, and how students can show independence and responsibility. This theme will be woven into our year. I look forward to meeting you at our parent orientation meeting on Wednesday.

National Parks Program:

   Once again, this year, the government has announced a program for fourth graders called "Every Kid in a Park".  This initiative is to encourage fourth graders to visit the National Parks FREE OF CHARGE!  All fourth graders in the 2017-2018 school year can receive a pass good for the year.  Information about this program can be found here.

Homework Help

This week we have learned how to read and write large numbers.  If you are feeling a little unsure ~ don't worry!  You will get there!  Below are some videos that may help you with your homework over the next week.  They will also help you if you are preparing for our quiz!  You can also find links to these videos on the "Homework Help" page. 

Remember to see Mrs. Merten if you are confused!

Reading and Writing Numbers in Expanded Form

Comparing Large Numbers Using Symbols

Author Alert

If your child is interested in meeting authors, check out this author event (Mike Lupica) at An Unlikely Story in Plainville. This event is free, but requires preregistration. More information can be found on their events page here.  As of this post, there are 30 spots remaining.

Our Week In Review

Our first week of fourth grade was AMAZING!  We spent the majority of our week establishing our classroom community.  We want our learning space to be a place where we can all succeed!  We also learned some new things about each other, even about those friends we have known for a long time! 

This week, we began to talk about our hopes, dreams and goals for fourth grade.  We created a list of classroom rules that we all agree to follow (we all signed it, too!).  On Thursday, we got together with ALL of the fourth graders, and we met both Mrs. Williams and Mrs. Williams.  We learned about Creative Arts Fridays, and talked about our weekly morning meeting with fourth grade. Your child can tell you more about how Fridays will run in fourth grade. 

In the next week, we will continue to establish our routines in the classroom, while beginning to focus on academics.  We will begin our first math unit (Place Value) on Monday, and will practice our Math Workshop while learning about this topic. We will work on our Reader's Workshop routines as well, while also exploring our classroom library.  During Writer's Workshop, we will focus on writing about our Hopes, Dreams and Goals. Science and Social Studies will begin later in the month.

Throughout the year, I will ask parents and/or students to fill out brief surveys.  These are meant to gather information in order to continue to learn more about each child/family. Here is the link to the first survey for the children. Students, please complete the survey if possible.

From the Teacher's Desk

Our class blog is written for students and families. At times, I may have a specific message for the parents/guardians.  Those messages are in this section "From the Teacher's Desk".  Look for "adult specific" information here.  Please note that I tweet throughout the day.  You can find our most recent tweets on the right sidebar, or by following our class @mertenladybugs .  

National Parks Program:

   Once again, this year, the government has announced a program for fourth graders called "Every Kid in a Park".  This initiative is to encourage fourth graders to visit the National Parks FREE OF CHARGE!  All fourth graders in the 2016-2017 school year can receive a pass good for the year.  Information about this program can be found here.

T-Shirts of the Day

...like a diamond

...yes she can!  And she will!

#effortiseverything

Today I feel...

What a great first day!  The children were asked to share their feelings today about how they felt. Listen carefully to the video and see if you can pick out your child's voice!

Tomorrow's the Day!!!

I am so excited to FINALLY meet you all tomorrow!  I know you may be nervous, but I hope you are also excited. I know I am.  Our room is ready, and I have chosen some really fun books to read with you tomorrow.  We will complete some activities to help us to get to know one another, and will learn a lot about fourth grade!  I am sure it will be a wonderful day!

We will go to the library for our special tomorrow.  Our lunch is pretty late (1:05), so you probably want to have a good breakfast, and to bring a snack to school. We will snack around 10:15.  Remember your water bottle because it can get warm in the classroom this time of year.

I know our 4th grade experience will be fabulous, and I can't wait to get started! 

See you tomorrow!

~ Mrs. Merten

Welcome New Fourth Graders and Fourth Grade Families!

Class placement letters have been mailed and should be arriving in your mailbox soon!  If you've already received yours, you know that I (Mrs. Merten) will be your 4th grade teacher.  I am so excited to meet you!  (That's me in the black and white shirt, with author, Sara Pennypacker!)

I have posted a letter for you, and one for your family in the Important Documents gadget on the right.  Just click on those documents to learn more about 4th grade and our upcoming year.  If you have time,  scroll through our class blog to see what has been going on this summer, and to check out some of the fun that we had in room 24 last year.  Feel free to leave a comment on the blog, using the directions on the right.  Be sure to ask your parents before commenting.

The name of our blog is "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.

• Comments are welcome on our blog ~  from families as well as from our students.  You can find some instructions on how to best comment in the sidebar to the right.  Please follow the instructions and comment away!  
• 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, which is currently being updated.
• 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.  
• In addition to blogging, I have been working on "tweeting" information about our class.  This is a way to stay connected "in the moment" to our classroom.  You will find our tweets embedded in our blog on the right.  If you would like to follow our class on twitter, our handle is @mertenladybugs .
• 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.
• I know some of you are anxious about starting a new class with a new teacher. If you don't know me, my name is Mrs. Merten!  I have a link at the top entitled "Meet Mrs. Merten".  If you visit that link, you will learn a little about me and my family.
• Below are a few pictures of our classroom.  I hope you enjoy seeing where you will be learning this year! I am looking forward to meeting you!

Some advice from last year's fourth graders.

Our Coatroom

One of my favorite sayings!   A gift from a former class.