Week 23

Good evening! I don't know about you, but I'm LOVING the warmer weather today! I think I've had just about enough of the freezing temps and the ice. It looks like we might even get up to the 70s next week. Yippee!

On a personal note, I am now 99 days away from my due date! I think the kids are enjoying my outie bellybutton a little more than I am. (They keep asking if it will ever go back in, and I'm starting to wonder the same thing.)  If you haven't seen me lately, there's much more of me to love now.  My husband, Kris, and I are getting extremely excited about her arrival and are getting nervous about how fast time seems to be flying.

This week is filled with events, so let's get right to it.

1) Horizontal schedule resumes Monday.

2) The Book Fair is this week! Our class is scheduled to visit Tuesday to make wish lists and again Thursday to make purchases. Also, don't forget that the Book Fair will be open from 5:00-6:30 Tuesday evening if you want to shop with your kid.

3) Our Valentine's Day party is Monday at 2:00.  Thank you to all of the parents who have already sent $2.00 to Donna Downs for the craft. Also, thank you to everyone who volunteered to bring snacks and drinks for the party. If you have any questions or want to know how you can help, please contact Mrs. Downs at dldowns2u@sbcglobal.net.  Kids do not need to decorate boxes or bags at home this weekend. We will spend time in class on Monday decorating bags to hold their goodies and Valentines.

4) There are no clubs on Monday.

5) Portfolios go home Thursday. Your child's recent benchmark test scores will be included to give you a better idea of your child's progress. We are finishing QRI reading level testing this week, so that data will also be in the portfolio.

6) Recommitment letters are due this Friday. If you need another copy, please let me know a.s.a.p. so you have time to meet the deadline.

7) This week's Homework Menu has 2 options for the children. Both choices are writing activities to help the kids better prepare for the quickly approaching Writing TAKS. The Homework Menu is due Friday.

8) Your child should post his/her 20th book this week on the wiki. Many kids are catching up and are even getting ahead! Thanks for all of your support at home in the endeavor.

9) This week we have a Science and a Math Checkpoint. These are district tests to determine student progress. Once we have these results, I will communicate them to you.

10) If you haven't explored the TAKS links on my website lately, please do so when you get a chance over the next couple of weeks. There are full practice tests (with answer keys) you can print off to help your child at home as well as interactive study guides kids can use to practice their skills.

11) Your child does not need to blog this week.

12) We are still working on beating the 4-minute timers for our math drills.

Week 22

What a week! I hope your kids enjoyed their second Winter Break as much as I did.  It was so nice to have some downtime. The plan for this week is to pick up where we left off last week. Just scroll down to last week's post to update yourself on the news, homework menu, etc.


Here are the only new items to add:

1) Wednesday is an early release day. You need to make arrangements to get your child at 11:45.

2) Wednesday we will be taking a Reading Benchmark Test, and Friday we will be taking a Math Benchmark Test.

3) Recommitment letters go home this week. These letters help us know who will be returning and what open spaces might be available. Thanks ahead of time for making sure you get these back quickly.

4) Spring Pictures are this Thursday.

5) Our Valentine's Party will be Monday, February 14th, at 2:00. As soon as I have more information about this event, I will send it your way.

6) The Book Fair begins next week!