Voyage on the Mayflower

Yesterday we learned all about the Pilgrims voyage to America in 1620. We took a virtual field trip of the Mayflower ship and played a board game that followed their route across the Atlantic.

 

You can learn even more details about the Mayflower ship by clicking here

Native American Research & Thanksgiving

We completed our Native American research last week. Our little books turned out great! Here are a couple of samples.

 

 

 The students learned about their tribe's home, food, clothing, and special traditions they celebrated.

 

 

We are spending this week learning about the events leading up to our country's First Thanksgiving. 

Show & Tell on Friday, Nov. 2nd

Hooray! Our class earned another Dolphin Dollar reward! This time we voted to have Show and Tell. Students can bring in one item to share tomorrow. I can't wait to see what is special to each of you!

Beyond the Classroom: Courtney

Courtney and her dad went to Goebbert's Farm and petting zoo last Saturday.

She fed giraffes, zebras, and baby kangaroos.

Courtney even pet a baby tiger!

They watched watched a pig race...Pigbob Squeelpants won.

Courtney picked out a pumpkin...not the one in the picture. It was a great time! 

Fall Party on Friday

Our Fall Party is tomorrow afternoon! Don't forget to bring your costume! We will change into them right after lunch. Remember - NO masks or weapons!

WANTED: Sticks

 

Next week, we will begin researching different Native American tribes. Eventually, we will be assembling Native American booklets with small sticks as the binding. The perfect stick is about the same size as a pencil. Please keep an eye out for sticks this week and bring in as many as you can find!

 

Thank You!!

Habitats

We wrapped up our first science unit, Habitats, a few weeks ago. The students worked in groups to create Habitat posters. These highlighted the different plants, animals, weather, and landforms found in different habitats. They turned out great!

Art Awareness

 

Last week Mrs. Finch did an Art Awareness lesson with our class that featured Pablo Picasso. Did you know that his full name is so long that it took six students to hold it up?!

 

Once we learned about his artwork, it was time to make our very own Picasso Pumpkins! They look wonderful displayed in the hallway.

 

Thank you, Mrs. Finch!

Beyond the Classroom: Emily

This weekend I went to Ohio to visit my best friend who moved.

 

 

 While we were waiting for my friend's dad, we went to this painting place where you pick out a piece of pottery to paint. I painted a cupcake.

  

Before a Halloween party we picked out pumpkins to carve.

My best friend let me borrow her costume. I was a Grecian Goddess.

Right before bobbing for apples, we carved pumpkins. Mine was a bat, my friend's a face, and my brother created his own.

 At the party, we bobbed for apples. We timed ourselves to see who could get 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place ribbons. I got first place!

 

 

 -Emily



Beyond the Classroom: Devin

 Devin plays hockey for the Sabres! Go Devin!



Devin went to the Pumpkin Patch last weekend. He picked out ALL the pumpkins, even his moms.

 

 

 

 

 

 

When they got home they painted the pumpkins. It took all long time, but they had fun!



Beyond the Classroom: Amanda

Amanda's Brownie Troop walked a 5K at Cantigny this weekend for Making Strides for Breast Cancer. What an important cause. Way to go, girls!

Sophie's mom made these adorable pom-poms for all the brownies to pin on their shoes!

Dolphin Dollar Reward!

Hooray! Our class has earned $100 dolphin dollars! We decided to celebrate by wearing pajamas & bringing our favorite stuffed animals TOMORROW!

Beyond the Classroom: New Pets!

Sophie & McKinley both got new pets recently. How fun!

 

McKinley's new kitten is named Pumpkin. They got him from an Oswego shelter.

 

 

Sophie's new cat is named Timmy. He is 3 years old.

Beyond the Classroom: Tanisha

 

Tanisha attended a fun session over the weekend where they were introduced to the art of Alexander Calder who initiated mobile sculpting. You can learn more about Alexander Calder by clicking here .

 

So Cool! Thanks for sharing Tanisha! :)

On Your Own

Yesterday, Marcia Schild of the Naperville Police Department visited third grade to discuss the On Your Own program. She shared some important safety tips for when your child might be home alone.

Have fun going through the booklet she gave each of the kids!

Curriculum Night

Monday Night is Curriculum Night. Please join us for one of the sessions. Hope to see you there!

 

Session 1: 6:30 - 7:10

Session 2: 7:20 - 8:00

Book Order Rewards!

Wow! Our book order just arrived and we got lots of reward coupons with it! If you ordered a book online, I'm sending home a $5 coupon for your next order! AND, I received a $3 coupon for each online order to spend on books for our class library!

Emily's Scorpion

While learning about animal habitats in Science, we discovered that scorpions live in the desert. Scorpions will occasionally shed their skin or molt. Emily's family recently found this scorpion shell in a box that was moved from Arizona. What do you think... is this cool or gross?!

You can learn more about scorpions by clicking here

Beyond the Classroom: McKinley

McKinley's family traveled to Minnisota this weekend for his cousin's wedding. It looks like they had a great time! Thanks for sharing these McKinley!

 

I danced with the bride.

 

 

We visited Great Grannie Luster. She will be 96 on Sunday! WOW!

 

 

We saw a baseball game. Twins v. White Sox. Sox Won!

 

 

We swam in our hotel pool. It had a waterslide!

 

-McKinley

No Graded Folders This Week

Last week was a short week, so no graded work will be sent home today.

Have a wonderful weekend!!

Beyond The Classroom: Devin

Devin made a replica of our class using Legos! How creative!! Thanks for sharing this with us Devin!

Reading 20 Minutes at Home

Dear Parents,

Up until now, a large part of your child's school day has been spent learning to read. In third grade, a shift occurs where your child will begin reading to learn. Meaning now that your child can skillfully read books, they will start getting more enjoyment and information from reading.

In our classroom we spend about an hour each day doing Reader's Workshop. At this time your child will be reading their leveled book from the library, reflecting or responding to what they have read, and also conferencing with me about their reading. This is a very important part of our day and your child's library books are the key to making this time meaningful.

For this reason, I've asked that your children do not take their library books home for their 20 minutes of nightly reading. When kids take their library books home, 2 things are likely to occur which impact the effectiveness of Reader's Workshop:

1. They forget their book at home and have nothing to read during Reader's Workshop.

2. They finish their books at home and spend most of their Reader's Workshop time down in the LMC looking for new books.

Your child's nightly reading is like the icing on the cake, a bonus to all the purposeful reading they have done here at school. You're probably wondering what your child can read for their nightly 20 minutes... here are some ideas:

• They can borrow a book from our classroom library.
• They can read books that you have at home. Reading with siblings and parents is a great way to spend those 20 minutes.
• They can read books from the public library.
• They can read children's magazines that you might subscribe to.
• Anything else that you feel is appropriate reading for your child!

Please let me know if you have any questions about this change from last year! :)

Mrs. Meyer

Graded Work Folders

Every week (usually on Thursday) your child will bring home a folder of the graded work they have completed.

Please remove the papers, sign the front, and return it to school the next day. These papers will give you a good idea of what to expect on your child's progress reports and report card.

Scholastic Book Order

Scholastic Book Orders were sent home yesterday!

There was an important letter stapled to the top which explains how you can order books online. This is the only way you will be able to place an order this year.

If you order a book this month, you will get a $5 credit for next month's book order AND our class will get a $3 credit to help build our classroom library!

This month's book orders are due on Thursday, September 13th. Your books will arrive the following week.

Have fun shopping!

Binders

This year we are staying organized with binders. 3M students will bring these to and from school every day. It's very important that they are never left at home!

Here is an overview of each binder section:


WHITE FOLDER = DOLPHIN FOLDER
The white folder is our Dolphin Folder this year. We labeled it as such this morning.

Things that are in the 'Take Home' side need to stay at home. Things that need to be completed  and brought back to school are on the 'Return to School' side.


OTTER CREEK FOLDER
Your child can practice their Otter Creek level by using a dry erase marker with the plastic sleeve. The leveled pages should NOT be written on or taken out of this folder.


WTW TAB DIVIDER
Your child's spelling words will be in a baggie and stored in this pocket. They will also write their list on a piece of paper. They can use either of these to study their spelling words during the week.

Occasionally, there might be a spelling page that we are working on together in class. This is not homework, it's class work. Homework will always be in the White/Dolphin folder.


ALL OTHER TAB DIVIDERS
We will keep all of our classwork in these tabs. This work should not be completed at home or left at home.


If you have any questions, your child should be able to explain it. If they aren't sure, feel free to email me! :)


Mrs. Meyer

Happiness Is...

Last Week, we read this adorable book by Charles Schultz. Afterwards, we made our own Happiness Is book. Here are the things that make 3M students happy! :)

Happiness Is....

Florida (Ryan)
making a good drawing (Tanisha)
music (Madelyn)
friends (Christian)
playing with friends (Mary Kate)
getting a butler (David)
peace (Shravani)
my dog (Tony)
a piece of cake (Jamiya)
winning the basketball game (Courtney)
playing Minecraft (Devin)
presents on my birthday (Jacob)
playing football with my friends (Aris)
playing Minecraft (Mckinley)
spending time with my family & friends (Josie)
baseball (Lucas)
snow (Rajiv)
legos (Glendon)
eating ice cream on a hot summer day (Emma)
soccer (Morgan)
dancing recital (Amy)
a warm house (Eddie)
playing with my dog (Emily)
going on a cruise (Tanmay)
my teacher (Amanda)
an A+ in Math (Gauri)
driving to the airport before a trip (Sophie)
pulling a prank (Zach)

Class Dojo on YouTube

Class Dojo Video

Click the link above to watch the Class Dojo video I showed today.

Class Dojo: Secret Codes

We had a phenomenal first day of school! I hope all of you are as excited as I am about using Class Dojo this year!

Your secret code is in your binder. If you'd like to  customize your avatar you can get to the website by clicking here. You'll need an email address to create an account so make sure you ask permission first! :)

Have Fun! See you tomorrow!

Mrs. Meyer

Hello 3M Students & Families!

I hope you've had a fun-filled summer vacation! Can you believe third grade begins in just a few short days? I am so excited to meet you all in person! We are going to have a fantastic year; I can feel it!

Check out the 'About Mrs. Meyer' page next and feel free to introduce yourself by leaving me a comment!

See you on Thursday!
Mrs. Meyer