Peter's Adventures with Swinger

On Friday I got to bring Swinger home with me.  When I got home, I introduced him to my mom, dad and yiayia.  That night, we ordered pizza like we do every Friday night.  Swinger sat at the kitchen table with us while we had our dinner.

On Saturday, we started our day by going out to breakfast at Egg Harbor.  Swinger got to see a lot of people since it was so crowded at the restaurant.  After breakfast we had a lot of errands to do.  First we went to Mariano's, then we went to Costco and our last stop was  Whole Foods.  Swinger really liked being in the car.  My mom and dad had to remind him to wear his seatbelt!  Later that night, we went to Wild Fire for dinner.  We all had filets.  It was so good!

On Sunday we went to go and see my great grandma.  She is going to be 90 years old at the end of the month.  She liked Swinger and she even read us a story.  After we left my great grandma's we came home and played XBox.  Swinger liked watching me and was cheering me on to beat my dad.  While we were playing XBox, I found out that I didn't have school on Monday and Tuesday because it was going to be so cold out.  Swinger was so excited that he got to spend two extra days with me.  Later that night, my nana and papa came over for dinner.  My mom made all of us leg of lamb, roasted Greek potatoes and spinach pie.  Swinger got to sit right next to me at the dinner table.  

On Monday, we woke up and had breakfast.  Since it was so cold out we couldn't go any where.  We spent the day watching movies and helping my mom with all the laundry.  

On Tuesday, we woke up and had breakfast.  It was colder than it was on Monday.  We could not go anywhere.  My cousin Mason came over and we played games and watched some movies.  Swinger liked being with us boys!  I am really going to miss having Swinger around!

What Can We Do on these Cold Days?

Weekly Crandall Chronicle

What's Happening This Week

Spelling: Our spelling pattern this week includes words with the /ou/ sound.
Reading: This week we are focusing on drawing conclusions and identifying the moral of a story using fables. For vocabulary we are practicing using context clues to determine the meaning of words with multiple meanings. 
Writing: We recently finished reading the book My Name is Maria Isabel by Alma Flor Ada. The students have been summarizing key parts of the chapters and identifying character traits that the main character possesses. We will begin working on writing our responses to literature, in which students will make a claim about the main character, Maria Isabel, and use evidence to support their claims. 
Grammar: Our focus is identifying and correctly using linking verbs in sentences.
Math: This week students will be learning about a variety of concepts through short mini-lessons. These topics include congruent shapes, volume, and fractions. They will also be introduced to math extended response questions, which require them to use more critical thinking and for students to explain not only how they solved the problem, but also why they did each step that they did.   
Science: We will be having our second light test on Friday, February 14th. A review guide will be completed today in class and will be sent home with your child. Concepts on this test will include identifying objects as opaque, translucent, and transparent; modeling how light travels, and using key vocabulary from this unit. These vocabulary words can be found on the tab above called "Science."
Social Studies: The NE states and capitals test will beThursday, February 13th.

Weekly Reminders

* The January Student Challenge involved observing spinning circles called Benham spinners. If your child has not yet turned in his/her observations and would still like to participate in the challenge, please make sure they are turned in by Friday. I will be doing a demonstration with these spinners in class, so if your child does not have the opportunity to view them at home, he/she will be able to experience this neat activity in class. 

* The February Student Challenge was sent home last week. To complete this challenge, students will select 8 countries they would like to "follow" throughout the Winter Olympics. They will predict which of the countries will win the most medals and then tally the number of medals that each country is awarded. This will be due after the closing ceremony. 

Study Tip

The students are working in class on extended response questions in the areas of both reading and math. We are practicing the process of answering these questions with a specific formula or steps. In class we are highlighting the various steps in different colors to help the students visualize their answer and check that they have included each necessary part. Please review these problems with your child once the papers are sent home. This will help them to remember and better understand the process.

Here are the meanings of the different colors:

Reading

pink = beginning and closing sentences (use words from the question in a statement)

blue = book / a specific example from the passage

yellow = you / an explanation of how this example supports the answer 

*** The sequence should usually be as follows for most responses: P, B, Y, B, Y, B, Y, P

Math

purple = beginning sentences (states what the child is trying to solve) and answer (with a unit)

green = what steps were taken to solve the problem

orange = why those steps were taken

*** The sequence should begin and end with P. G and O should alternate multiple times.

Chicago Symphony Orchestra

We had a terrific time watching the Chicago Symphony Orchestra play at Orchestra Hall during our field trip on Friday! The musical selections focused on New World Music and there was even a little comedy thrown into the concert with some alien performances.

Renee's Adventures with Little Blue

Adventures with Little Blue

Friday January 31^st: I brought Little Blue home and introduced him to my family. He ate McDonald’s with my family while we watched Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2.

Saturday February 1^st: I went to Woodfield Mall with Little Blue and my family. I played in the indoor play pen with Little Blue and my sister Olivia. We played hide and go seek with my old friends from Westgate. After that Little Blue and I got a pretzel. Then we drove home. We ordered a pizza for dinner. After dinner we went to bed.

Sunday February 2^nd: We watched the football game. We were very excited. Mom cooked lots of food and desserts. There was lots of yelling. Mom was right, the Seahawks won! Everyone was tired after that, so all of us went to bed.

Monday February 3^rd: Today was my last day with Little Blue. We had breakfast and then went to school.

Light Unit - Shadows

After learning about opaque objects and shadow formation during our light unit in science, students created and demonstrated their own shadow creations!

Weekly Crandall Chronicle

What's Happening This Week

Spelling: Our spelling pattern this week includes words with the /aw/ sound.
Reading: This week we are focusing on comparing and contrasting story elements and themes. For vocabulary we are looking at literal and figurative language with an emphasis on idioms. 
Writing: Students continue reading from the book My Name is Maria Isabel by Alma Flor Ada. They have been identifying character traits that the main character possesses and using evidence to support their claims. New writing words for February were sent home earlier this week. There will be a cumulative test at the end of the month.
Grammar: Our focus is using the present tense forms of the irregular verbs be, do, and have.
Math: We concluded our unit on geometry last week. Students were given a mid-year assessment covering all of the topics taught throughout the first half of the school year. After meeting individually and going over the concepts with the children I will send home these assessments and additional practice sheets to help review any missed concepts.  
Science: We are currently exploring objects and identifying them as opaque, translucent, and transparent. Students will have the opportunity to use a light sensor and software called Logger Lite to measure the amount of light that can pass through different objects. We will use the data to determine if each item is actually opaque, translucent, or transparent. We will be having our second light test near the end of next week.
Social Studies: The NE states and capitals test will be Thursday, February 13th.

Weekly Reminders

* The January Student Challenge involved observing spinning circles called Benham spinners. If your child has not yet turned in his/her observations and would still like to participate in the challenge, please make sure they are turned in by next Friday. I will be doing a demonstration with these spinners in class, so if your child does not have the opportunity to view them at home, he/she will be able to experience this neat activity in class. 

* The book fair will be at Dryden through the 6th, so if your child would like to purchase any books please send the money to school and I will make sure that he/she gets a chance to visit the book fair. 

Study Tip

New science terms have been added to our science page. (Click the science tab at the top of this page.) These will be helpful for the students to practice as we get closer to the unit test.