Math

Coming up this week we will begin decimals.  This is an introduction to the skill so the kids do not need to master the concept.  We have a packet at school that we work on along with doing the exercises in the book.  They will probably need some help from mom and dad with homework!

Christmas vacation is a great time to learn those multiplication facts and work with fractions - get the kids baking cookies!

They say a picture is worth a thousand words...

With lots of cold days, the kids had plenty of time to enjoy our recess games.

On Tuesday, December 14, the third grade visited the Kalona Rotary and shared some Christmas songs.

This week in science we worked on creating our flashlights.  Many interesting designs!

Mrs. Bailey took the kids sledding for P.E. on Friday

Happy Holidays!

We're very excited that our countdown to Christmas is almost complete!  Don't forget, our final day of school before break is on Tuesday, 12/21.  Grandparents are invited to join us in the morning for our all school carol sing and classroom visits, and students may choose to leave early with a grandparent or stay at school and watch the movie, Jumanji, with their classmates in the afternoon.

Have a safe and relaxing holiday vacation!

Friday Stations

Decorating gift bags!

Smart board!

Working on the "make and take" items from the holiday world tour

Computer time

Reading

Our shared reading story in the anthology for the week has been The Garden of Abdul Gasazi.  This fantasy story is written by Chris VanAllburg, author of The Polar Express and Jumanji. Students had fun trying to figure out if events in the story really happened or not.  Skills covered this week include mapping a story (identifying the characters, setting, and plot elements, as well as the ending), and prefixes.

Social Studies

We wrapped up our study of local and state government, and are now spending just a few lessons reviewing our national government (since we studied government in 2nd grade too).  We discussed the 3 branches of government and what happens within each branch.

Language Skills

Students continued to learn about verbs this week, focusing on past and future tenses. We're learning that while most verbs are conjugated in ways that follow a rule (ex. most past tense verbs have an -ed ending), there are always some words that break the rules!  Spelling words this week are homophones, which are not so tricky to spell, but can be tricky to remember which word/spelling of a word matches which meaning.  Students also finished up their "I Like" poems that they began writing with Mrs. Brenneman.

Holiday World Tour

KE students got to travel the world this week!  Each classroom created a display to teach other students about the celebration of Christmas or other winter holidays in various countries around the word.  We "visited" Mexico, Venezuela, Brazil, Great Britain, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Germany, Africa, and New Zealand.

The third grade displays: 3B - Christmas in Noraway, 3H - Sweden/St. Lucia Day

 

Grandparents' Day Plans - 12/21

• Our last day of school before winter break is on Tuesday, December 21.  This will also be Grandparents’ Day at KE. Grandparents are scheduled to arrive from 8:30-8:45 and report directly to the gym.  Students and staff will join the grandparents for a carol sing, and  then grandparents will enjoy a coffee break while students have recess.  Following recess/break time, grandparents are invited to visit classrooms.  Grandparents should feel free to “come and go” between classrooms, especially if they have grandchildren in multiple classrooms to visit.   Grandparents will be dismissed at 11:00 (as we do not have the capacity to serve all of our guests lunch).

• While the 21^st is NOT technically an “early out” day, many students choose to leave with their grandparents at 11:00, which is fine.  We understand that sometimes grandparents travel to attend this special event, and want to spend time with their grandchildren!  Any student planning to leave early with their grandparent/special senior citizen friend MUST bring a note from a PARENT indicating their plans. 

Need some ideas for a stocking stuffer?

As we are soon approaching the end of first semester, it is a great time to restock!  Pencils, erasers which fit on top of the pencils, white board markers and glue sticks are always in short supply!  Several of the kids have also misplaced their scissors.

What we did this week...

*Mrs. Hartsock is the one who remembers to take pictures, so I am afraid the blog is a little empty this week!

*In reading we worked on "Raising Dragons" in our anthology.
               -Mrs. Bender's class created a dragon egg and a dragon and are writing stories about how they take care of their special dragon.
               -Mrs. Brenneman worked on "Raising Dragons" along with one of her favorite novels, A Dog Named Kitty.
              -Skill work in each of the classes focused on sequencing, suffixes and using the pronunciation key in the dictionary.

*In math we continue to work on place value up to millions.  Keep practicing those multiplication facts!

*In science we made a switch and began making plans for creating a flashlight.

*For stations, with the help of Miss Wendy and Miss Laura, the kids worked on a special surprise for the parents.

Welcome, Mrs. Brenneman!

Actually - that should be welcome BACK!  I (Mrs. Hartsock) have been absent this week, and most likely will be gone all of next week too due to serving on jury duty.

Mrs. Brenneman (who taught 3rd grade in previous years) is back to sub for me while I am gone - how fortunate for myself and the students to have an "expert" in our classroom!  Should you have any questions or information for me, I am able to check my school e-mail account from home in the evenings, but am not able to receive e-mail during the school day. If you have a need to communicate with Mrs. Brenneman, please send a note or you may reach her by phone at school during the school day.

Due to a short day in court today, I was able to be back in the classroom on Friday afternoon and enjoyed seeing the kiddos!  It sounds as if all is going very well, and I know they're in good hands with Mrs. B.

- Mrs. Hartsock

Holidays Around the World

Kalona Elementary is working on a special project this year for the holiday season.  Each classroom is learning about a different country around the world, especially about their holiday traditions.  Mrs. Hartsock's class is learning about Sweden and Mrs. Bender's class is learning about Norway.

In Mrs. Bender's class we have been making a paper quilt about different topics the students can research.  Next week we will be looking into some web sites about Nisse -the Christmas Troll, paper weaving - a craft Norwegians make for their Christmas trees, along with learning about the different animals found in the country and the king and queen.

Mrs. Hartsock's class has answered questions about St. Lucia Day (the main winter holiday in Sweden), and has created a bulletin board with their findings decorated with Swedish boys and girls that they colored.  Next week we will begin preparing our display for the KE holidays around the world event.

Math and Science

This was a short week for us in math and science.

-In math we finished up our Chapter 4 in math which focused on the 0-5 multiplication facts.  Please continue to practice as in Chapter 6 we will be revisiting the multiplication facts and learn the 6-9.  By second semester we try to do the multiplication facts without using any charts!

-In science we worked on parallel and series circuits.  The question this week was to find which circuit would light two lights and have one light stay lit when the other one is removed.  Ask your student which circuit was the correct answer.

"Dogzilla"

While reading our story in our anthology, "Dogzilla" we took some time to learn about volcanoes.  We colored a diagram of a volcano and labeled the parts, along with writing directions on how to make a volcano.  We used a clay mixture of salt, flour and water for our mini volcanoes.  Then we were able to watch the erupt after Thanksgiving break.

Winter Weather is Here!

Though we've enjoyed a warm fall season, we are now experiencing wintery weather - and students NEED TO WEAR WINTER COATS to school for recess. The temperature has been very chilly, and it has been windy - making it feel even colder outdoors.  A sweatshirt is not warm enough for 30 minute outdoor recesses.  PLEASE take a moment each day to be sure your child has their coat, hat, gloves, etc. so that he or she is equipped for outdoor recess.  Thanks!

Science

We were being great electricians in science this week as we figured out how to light our bulbs.  We then talked about the difference between the incandescent bulb (originally invent by Thomas Edison) and the compact fluorescent bulb.  Even though the compact fluorescent bulb is more expensive, it does save you money as it lasts a lot longer than the incandescent bulb.

Next week the kids will be trying to recreate Thomas Edison's experiment and get a homemade light bulb to light.  The have drawn their plans in their science journals and some students have shared their ideas with the class.

Math

In Math this week we continued working on the multiplication facts.  In this chapter we work on 0-5, but feel free to study all of the basic facts at home.  We learned a new game this week called "Baseball Multiplication" which the kids really enjoyed.  You can plan the same game at home using a deck of cards and the chart below.  If you are using Ace-6 (Ace being one) use the top chart.  If you are using Ace - 10, use the bottom chart.  A scratch piece of paper can be used to make the ball field.

Baseball Multiplication (1-6)
If the product (answer) is:
5 or less = out
6-15 = a single
16-24 = a double
25-35 = a triple
36 = A home run!

Baseball Multiplication  (1-10)
If the product (answer) is
20 or less = out
21-50 = a single
51-75 = a double
76-90 = a triple
91 or more = A home run!

Challenge: Use all the cards, Jack can 11, Queen can be 12, and King can be 13.  You may need to adjust the scoring chart.

*Sometimes the kids use the "Joker" for the zero.

Scenes from Stations

 On Fridays 3rd graders look forward to Stations - a time when we rotate through several activities such as a craft, Smart board use, computer games, math catch-up/games, and independent or buddy reading time.  Here's a look at some of today's stations!

Craft

Smart board activities

 
Using computers to play games 

 Reading

Math catch up