It’s hard to believe that Thanksgiving is this Thursday!  I am beyond thankful to be in such a loving and supportive community!  Glen Allen is an amazing place to be! I hope you all have a fabulous Thanksgiving holiday filled with relaxation and fun!

The academic information in this entry covers the week we come back from Thanksgiving Break as well as our short week this week.  🙂

School Pictures

If you ordered pictures, your child took them home last week.  Retakes can be taken on Monday, December 9th.  You will need to send the original pictures back with your child to give to the photographer on the 9th.  If your child was absent, your child’s picture can be taken on December 9th as well.  Please send in your payment and order on that day. Please let me know if you need another Strawbridge form and envelope.

Our Science Museum field trip is around the corner!  We will leave Glen Allen at 9:30 and return around 1:15 on Friday, December 6th.  Please be sure students have packed a bagged lunch labeled with their name along with drinks in non-glass containers.  They also need to wear comfortable shoes for a day of exploring the museum.  Chaperones will receive more information the week of the field trip.

MATH

The test on converting and ordering fractions, decimals, and percents will be given on Monday, November 25th.  Thanksgiving math activities are on the menu Tuesday.  We will review many skills with a Thanksgiving theme.  Weekly Math (yellow logic puzzle) is due on Tuesday, November 26th.  When we come back we will dive into adding, subtracting, and multiplying fractions.  We have been reviewing adding and subtracting with unlike denominators and doing a great job with it!

LANGUAGE ARTS

We will not have Word Trek this week!  🙂  The students will work on writing an essay about three things they are thankful for.  Introductions with strong hooks are our focus.  We will also focus on reading skills such as character conflicts, theme, symbolism, and foreshadowing with  Esperanza Rising.  The biography or autobiography book reports are due on Thursday, December 19th.

SCIENCE

There will be a quiz on cells on Wednesday, December 4th.  This quiz will cover identifying cell types, organelles, and the jobs of the organelles.  This week we will create cells, animal or plant, using craft supplies like pipe cleaners, beads, buttons, sequins, etc.  The students will label each part and describe the job of each organelle.  These are so fun and creative!  The week we get back will entail exploration of the five kingdoms.  The students will first learn binomial nomenclature, the method of naming organisms.  Then we will learn about each of the five kingdoms in detail.  This is a great unit as the kiddos have so much prior knowledge to bring in to our class discussions!  I learn new stuff from them all the time.  I love it!

SOCIAL STUDIES

We will continue our tour of the Southeast Region this week.  There will be a quick check quiz on just the states and capitals of this region on Tuesday, December 3rd.  The students will simply match the state with the capital.  They have study cards with this information on it.  We will also discover the significant features and landmarks of this region.  When we get back from Thanksgiving break we will start a partner project called “Pack Your Bags” where the students will choose a Southeast state and then use a manila folder to exhibit their state’s symbols, maps, motto, and landmarks.  We will also look at the climate, economic opportunities, and natural resources of the region.

IMPORTANT DATES

11/25 – Converting and Ordering Fractions, Decimals, and Percents Test

11/27 -11/29 – Thanksgiving Holiday

12/3 – Southeast Region Quick Check Quiz

12/4 – Cells Quiz

12/6 – Science Museum Field Trip

12/7 – Tree Lighting Ceremony

12/9 – Picture Retakes

12/19 – Biography book report due