Ford/Powell 3rd Grade

Oh, my….how time flies.  Y’all been missing the blog?  Well, there’s been A LOT going on….and there’s more where that came from!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  Now it’s time to gear up for Christmas.  Around here, we’ve already had ornament swaps, elves on our doorstep, hot cocoa with the Polar Express movie, and kids PLEADING to open “just one present!”…….and we’re just getting started!  And at SCHOOL….well…..wait until you hear this…..

1.  Did you know that your children are just a few letters away from knowing ALL their cursive letters.  Lovely penmanship abounds in our room and we couldn’t be happier!  When you see that special cursive paper come home, use any leftover space to practice, practice, practice!  After Christmas, there will be some things that MUST be written in cursive!  Oh, how grown up is that?!

2.  Furthermore, did you know that your children are just a few facts away from knowing ALL their multiplication facts?  If they’re practicing their flashcards EVERY night (which we’re sure they are….), then they’ll do GREAT on the upcoming 100 PRACTICE FACTS SHEET THAT WILL BE TIMED!   Yep – you heard it right.  BEFORE CHRISTMAS, we will have a timed multiplication drill on ALL facts.  So, read the rest of this blog QUICKLY and get in there and get those flashcards out!

3.  Cursive Camp is coming!!!  This is a super fun day of cursive practice, games, and CURSIVE CRAFTS!  This year’s Cursive Camp will be on December 22….there will be special snacks, a special lunch, games, and activities!  We’ll be in touch about coming to help!

4.  We’re gearing up to experience the classic tale “A Christmas Carol” in various forms over the next couple of weeks.  On December 14, we’ll begin reading the novel together as a class and discuss the character of Ebeneezer Scrooge.  We’ll compare and contrast Scrooge from the beginning to the end of the story and talk about cause and effect as the book moves through the ghost visits.  On December 17, we’ll visit the Bama Theater and see the book COME TO LIFE on stage in the Children’s Theater production.  We’ll then compare that to the book version.  THEN, (oh, yes….there’s more), on December 21, we’ll watch the MOVIE version of the tale and compare that to the other versions.  This is fabulous, I tell you.

And speaking of fabulous, your kids are just that…..fabulous.  We’ve REALLY noticed recently how so many of them are starting to grow up and be more responsible and careful in their work.  They make great book choices, pay careful attention to instruction, work neatly, and actually WANT to do well on each assignment.  And we’re not even done yet!  Please continue to encourage them at home, work on those flashcards, make sure they’re reading, and check those homework squares for important information!

Reminders:

1.  Class picture money due FRIDAY, Dec. 4

2.  Bama Theater money and form due Tuesday, Dec. 15.

3.  Scrips….this is a GREAT thing for our school……first deadline was Dec. 1, but another round will be offered before Christmas, I think.  Please think about doing this!

4.  We visit the Book Fair Friday morning, Dec. 4.

5.  H1N1 packets came home today.  Read through and turn in by the end of next week.

Whew!  What a long post!  That’s what I get for waiting so long to blog!  Please let us know if you need us!  And if we forget to tell you later….Merry Christmas to your sweet families!

Well, I don’t know where in the world October went, but it sure did go there fast!  And this week might just be the craziest one of all!  Here are a few things to know….

Class Pictures/Picture Make-Up Day:  WEDNESDAY!  If you want your child to remake their picture (maybe their hair was sticking up or they didn’t smile just right….) – just send a quick note that you want the remake!  We’ll also do class pictures that day, too!

Rockfest:  Friday…..RODEO style!!!  This will be super fun! 

Red Ribbon Week….ongoing….Wednesday = wear jeans; Thursday = wear a cap; Friday = wear a t-shirt!!!  And SAY NO TO DRUGS!

Now, here’s a little speech….we’re only THREE weeks away from Fall Break….and many of our little lovelies have decided to go ahead and take a mental break.  Behavior is not great, grades are not super, and attention in class is dwindling.  Yes, we know you’re tired.  Yes, we know it rains all the time.  Yes, we know there’s a lot going on.  BUT WE ONLY HAVE A LIMITED AMOUNT OF TIME TO GET YOU PEOPLE READY FOR FOURTH GRADE AND NO ONE IS THERE YET!!!!!!  Okay, I’m done yelling now.  Hopefully for good.  Encourage your child to be attentive.  Encourage your child to practice flashcards (VERY few kids know those threes).  Encourage your child to be on his/her best behavior! 

And hey, on a good note (cause I can’t end a blog with fussin’)…. keep up the good work with that reading.  Just so you know….for the first nine weeks, our class read 1,230 books, earned 1,481 points, and read a total of 9, 730, 001 words!  Gosh!  That’s GREAT! 

Now let’s get busy and have a great three weeks!!! THEN you can turn your brains off for a whole week! 

Happy Halloween!

A few housekeeping items tonight, folks….

Picture proofs will be in backpacks tomorrow….see gold note for deadlines! Everybody looked so PURTY!

Yearbook orders are due soon….those sheets are green.

Book orders are due FRIDAY….remember,  you can order online (easy!) or send in a check/order!!  Don’t forget….we get FREE books for our classroom if you’ll order LOTS of books!  And we need LOTS of books because your kids are reading like crazy! (That’s a good problem!!!)

Report cards will come home Thursday, October 22.  Will this be a happy day at your house OR will there be wailing and gnashing of teeth???

FLASHCARDS – these should come back to school EVERY day!

Have you seen our cursive yet?  We started learning our lowercase letters and so far, it’s looking lovely!  There’s plenty of room left on each day’s paper, so practice those letters each evening!  BUT – DON’T work ahead of us!  They should only practice the letters we’ve taught them!!!  Many of them have said that some wonderful kinfolk has taught them “how to write in cursive”…..NO.  Don’t do it!  We’ve got special tricks and techniques that will make their letters perfect!  Don’t “help” them…..trust us!

What else???  OH…..have your child sing our Halloween songs or States song to you…..they’re quite fabulous!

Of course, EVERYTHING that we send home to you is important and worthy of your attention, but TODAY…..there’s some REALLY important stuff!  Look for the following in your child’s homework folder today…..a YELLOW note from PTA……all children will receive a FREE t-shirt for Rockfest and they need to know your child’s t-shirt size!  We’ve got to have this back by WEDNESDAY!!!!  Also, there’s a note about the YMCA 3rd grade annual swimming opportunity.  We’d like to have this back ASAP!!!

Also, have you heard about our creepy, crawly visitors???  We were so excited to have the University of Alabama Biology Department visit us with reptiles and amphibians…..lizards, frogs, salamanders, alligators, and PYTHONS!!!!  We’re working on a little video of images from that day….if we can figure out how to load it on this blog, it’s going to be FABULOUS!!!!  That will give you something to look forward to!!!

Well, we FINALLY got our problems solved and we’re ready for you all to SUBSCRIBE to this blog!  Oh, yes….imagine the feeling you’ll get….you’re having a totally horrible day – nothing has gone right – it’s Monday, it’s raining, the dog is sick, your child is cranky, and NO ONE is doing it right…..and then, just as you’re ready to go back to bed…..you get an EMAIL – from FORD AND POWELL!  Oh, my…things are looking up.  With eager hands you click on the link that brings you to the most FABULOUS blog EVER….and you happily read about the happenings in our lovely third grade world.  You find out about all the wonderful things your child is learning….you take a peek into what they’re reading, you find a new link to a game that will help with their multiplication, or you see what we’re writing about today…..All of a sudden, the tension and unhappiness of the day melt away….you’re calm and happy!  AND ALL BECAUSE YOU ENTERED YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS, SUBSCRIBED TO THE BLOG, and GOT THE LATEST UPDATE!!!! Oh, mercy….this is getting good!!!!

(We’d enter all your emails for you, of course, but we don’t want to just assume that you want this happiness to enter your inboxes regularly.  Some people might actually LIKE being depressed and stressed and out-of-the-loop.  Whatever.)

Summary:  SUBSCRIBE TO OUR BLOG!

Okay, people….the Kids College online test practice games are ready to go!  There’s a link over to the right of the front page of this edublog site….click on that link……our class login is KCC65398……then just find your child’s name and GO AT IT!  It’s an unbelievably wonderful way to review for standardized tests and have FUN at the same time!  The kids LOVE it!

And, if you forget the login code….you can always find it by HOVERING your mouse over the Kids College words…..does that make sense?  Try it……

Now, get busy playing!  Any time spent playing on Kids College is time spent reviewing necessary information and skills needed on those lovely tests in April!  Have fun!

So it got really quiet in my house tonight, and I noticed that my boys had snuck away from the table where homework was ALMOST done….then I hear the TV pop on upstairs and I hear the movie Annie singing the infamous, “The sun’ll come out…tomorrow…bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow…there’ll be sun!”

That got me thinking…..

Progress Reports…..if your child’s progress report is less than lovely, fear not…we can all start fresh tomorrow!  Encourage your little one to turn in all assignments, write neatly, and listen INTENTLY to everything that Ford/Powell say!

The Training Process…..we’re in the thick of it!  Teaching in our classroom is always very difficult until about Halloween…..by then, the Ford/Powell methods have taken root and the kids are usually performing by our standards…but until then….”I’ll just stick up my chin, and grin, and say, OH, the sun’ll come out, tomorrow, so you gotta hang on til tomorrow, come what may!”

The Work…..it’s not hard, it’s just different.  Things are serious.  The kids are expected to use topic sentences, provide details, use their BRAIN instead of their FINGERS to solve math problems, and THINK!  Yikes!  They’re getting it….oh, yes, they’re getting it.  It’s the process, you know!  Gotta love the process!

So, anyway, things really are swell!  The kids are learning, the teachers are seeing progress, and no one’s crying!  BUT….even when things get gross….we’ve always got TOMORROW!

Oh, and PS:  IS YOUR CHILD READING EVERY NIGHT?  ARE YOU SURE???

Fantasy vs. Realism…..Famous Inventors Research….personal narratives…..strong sentence creation……math boards……and BOOKS, BOOKS, BOOKS…..Our first couple of weeks has been full and wonderful!  The kids are starting to get the hang of how we do it in third grade!  We continue to train them in our classroom routines and are starting to fine-tune some trouble spots we’ve noticed!  These little folks are going to grow up SO much this year!  

There are a few things that you as parents can do to help your child along….first and most importantly….MAKE SURE THEY ARE READING FOR 30 MINUTES EVERY NIGHT!  This cannot be emphasized enough!  We know that it’s hard to cease all activity at home for thirty  minutes every night, but this is CRITICAL to your child’s reading progress.  Because we do have this nightly requirement, we don’t assign much homework in addition to this.  We know that your lives are busy and everyone’s tired at the end of the day, but the 30 minutes of reading is a MUST!  Trust us, you’ll see great results if you do this!!!

Thanks so much for sharing your children with us!  It’s so fun to start a new year with a new group….it’s neat to see how we all mesh together and create new friendships….we’re learning about your kids and they’re learning about us!  We want your children to learn, be happy, work hard, and be nice!  Thanks for encouraging that in your child!

We are off to a great in 3rd grade. What a fabulous bunch of eager learners!

Training in the Ford/Powell method has entered week 2 and almost everyone has adapted. As you know things are a bit different in here ( and by different we mean fabulous)! Be sure to talk with your child each day about what is going on in the classroom and what they are reading. Speaking of reading, we don’t give much homework so that your child has time to read 30 MINUTES EVERY SINGLE NIGHT. We cannot stress how critical this is to your child’s progress. We already know who is and who is not doing this, so be sure to READ, READ , READ !  

Check our website daily for updates and exciting news ! We love to keep you informed about our week. Send us any comments – they make us so happy!

Talk to you soon ! Ford/Powell

Two days left – TWO.  That makes me so happy.  A few things…

1)  If your child has accumulated any of our classroom library books at home, now’s the time to look for them.  Look in the car, under beds, on top of dressers, etc. and make sure all books are returned by Wednesday!  THANKS!

2) Report cards will be given out Wednesday.  If your child will not be at school on that day, you can pick up his/her report card in the school office any time this summer.  We’ll put them in our mailbox….

3)  READ!  Don’t neglect those books this summer.  During the FIRST WEEK of fourth grade, your child will be assessed….those who have read over the summer will make progress….those who haven’t will go backwards – it happens EVERY time.  Make your way to the public library – your child knows enough about what authors and books are out there to make wise choices.  At my house, we make it part of our daily schedule to read for at least 30 minutes – during the heat of the day, at night before bed – whatever works for your family.  JUST DO IT!  (And if you’ll make a list of the books you read, your fourth grade teacher will let you take the AR test during those first days of school – if you want….)

4)  Multiplication Facts – if you don’t use it, you’ll lose it.  PRACTICE THOSE FLASHCARDS!  FIND A WEBSITE TO REVIEW!  MAKE COPIES OF FACT SHEETS AND DO A TIMED DRILL!  Don’t stop just because it’s summer or you’ll be in SHOCK on the first days of fourth grade!!!  

5)  Be safe this summer.  Enjoy family time.  Go for walks.  Eat ice cream.  Throw water balloons.  Use sunscreen.  Read.  Watch movies together.  Write a letter to someone and mail it.  Run in a sprinkler.  Eat watermelon and spit the seeds.  Write a story and illustrate it.  Paint a picture.  Whatever you do – HAVE FUN!  And when you return in August – come by and say hello to your old third grade teachers!  

We’ve had a marvelous time!  It has truly been our pleasure!  Happy Summer!