Parent Tip #7

MAKE AN EFFORT!

Make an effort to tie items you purchase for your child to his behavior at home. If the room isn't clean, the chores aren't done, and there are disrespectful moments, you shouldn't feel the need to purchase anything special for your child.

From Ron Clark

Reading Buddies

On Friday afternoons, the third grade and Mrs. Stanley's kindergarten class join together to buddy read. This activity serves two purposes: 1. the third graders are able to use their reading skills to teach the kindergartners and 2. the kindergartners are able to listen to good readers and earn AR points! Although the time is hectic, the students are settling in to the routine and being quite productive with the time! Several kindergarten students have an impressive AR average and points! Here are a few pictures from our reading buddy time this semester!

DreamBox

I am excited to announce Cravens has purchased a school wide license for DreamBox, a math intervention website. Students can log in at https://play.dreambox.com/login/y4t8/cravenses. The website is also located under Learning Links in teh right column! Their username and password will be sent home later this week!

Parent Tip #6

NEVER SPEAK NEGATIVELY!

Never speak negatively about a teacher in front of your child. If s/he sees you don't respect the teacher s/he will feel it's okay for him to show disrespect in the classroom.

Adopted from Ron Clark

Dec 5-9

So much to do with so little time!

This week we will attempt Winter MAP Testing...again! We hope to test on Tues, Wed, and Thurs. Make sure your child goes to bed on time, eats a good breakfast, and comes to school ready to test their best!

The Blue Reading Group will read a biography about the artist Picasso. We will review nonfiction elements and we will add main idea and supporting details to the CAFE Menu. We will also create an art piece like Picasso which should be fun and interesting!!!

The Red Reading Group will continue reading The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. We will add point-of-view to the CAFE Menu. The students are also responsible for an activity packet including story elements, character traits, vocabulary and more!

During writing, we will focus on IDEA, one of the six traits of writing. I have several activities planned to jumpstart the students creativity!

When we are able to squeeze MIND Time in this week, we will continue working on the cultural Christmas presentations with the hopes of creating powerpoint presentations.

Please don't forget the activities for the 12 Days of Christmas at Cravens. A green paper was sent home last week detailing the events!

Look for a letter this week detailing the 3rd grade Christmas party plan. Don't forget to start sending drinks and snacks for our party as well!

As always, thank you for all you do to make your student successful at Cravens Elementary School!!!

Parent Tip #5

USE CAR TIME WISELY!

Use the time in the car to discuss what your child is learning in class. The music is more fun, and you may have things to think about, but getting your child in the habit of sharing the knowledge he is learning in class will help him greatly in the long run.

From Ron Clark

Nov 28 - Dec 2

Ahhhh...hope you enjoyed Thanksgiving break as much as I did! Although busy, it was relaxing to spend time with Jay and Eva.

This week brings winter MAP testing!!! We will test on Tues, Wed, and Thurs. Please make sure your child goes to be at a reasonable time, wakes up on the right side of the bed, and eats a good breakfast :) But most importantly, please encourage them to do their best AND ask them about the test at the end of the day. It is hard to realize, but even third graders stress over test taking!

The Blue Reading Group will read a story titled The Cat Who Became a Poet! We will add fantasy to our CAFE menu. This group will also begin visiting stations this week. They will have two reading stations, a writing station, and an independent station...if all goes as planned :)

The Red Reading Group will begin ready The Best Christmas Pageant Ever...one of my all time favorites! They will review several comprehension strategies throughout this book!

During writing, we will complete our Turkey Disguise writing piece. As always, I am impressed with the students' creativity! I am also impressed that we have completed THREE writing pieces...WAHOO!!!

MIND time will be interrupted because of MAP testing. However, we will read with our kindergarten reading buddies on Friday aftenoon! I think we are finally getting into a groove with our reading buddies :) I hope to snap a few pictures this week and post them!

All in all, we are going to have another busy week full of learning and hopefully a little fun along the way!