OPEN HOUSE 2013-2014

Tomorrow is Open House! It's hard to believe that on Monday the new school year begins, but I always find this time of year so exciting! I am looking forward to meeting everyone between 4:30 and 6:00 PM tomorrow, August 15th.  My classroom continues to be in room 112 of the 4/5th grade wing.  If you are coming from the office follow the directions below:

Head past the office on your right (remember to sign up for parent/teacher conferences sometime this evening)
Take a left at the hallway
Take a right at the next hallway
At the end of the hallway turn right into the first door on the right
Take another right and head into Mrs. Cole's 4th grade!

If you cannot make it tomorrow for some reason feel free to give me a call (457-5732) or send an e-mail (colem@urbandale.k12.ia.us) and we can try and squeeze in a time between now and Monday.  Also, know that we are in meetings all day at another building tomorrow so if you come early I will not be there. 

Looking forward to meeting you all!

Balloons Day 1

As a fun, team building wrap up to the year I blew up 10 balloons with surprise activities inside, with the help of students, and taped them to the blue cabinets.

Then, after class meeting I drew a stick to have a student pop the balloon and find the activity inside.   Alexia, was our lucky first!

She popped the balloon and then found the activity the Human Pretzel.  Students had a great time!

New Baby

Many, many thanks to Kevin Burke, Jordan Sousa's grandpa for donating a guinea pig to our classroom.  Our new, 7 week old, Teddy Guinea Pig has been named Luna.  We look forward to watching her grow and enjoy holding her throughout the rest of the year.  I will be looking for volunteers to take care of her over the weekends, and the summer.  If your family would be interested, let me know.

We Give Books

Subject: Read, Give, and Share with We Give Books!

I just found an amazing free resource and I wanted to pass it on to all of you. We Give Books is a free online library of children’s books that enables your kids to help other children around the world while they’re reading. The best part is, your reading will directly impact the great work of non-profit organizations around the world! Their tagline says it all, “combining the joy of reading with the power of giving.” It’s the perfect tool for parents, teachers, caregivers, and anyone who loves children’s books!

When you go to www.wegivebooks.org, you’ll be able to access my account and you’ll have access to over 150 quality children’s books! There are a lot of familiar classic titles, and even more new ones for us to discover. You can sort the books by age level, genre, author, and seasonal selections in the “Featured” section, so everyone can find something they like.

On the Causes page you can learn more about where your donated books are going. This fall, We Give Books is focusing on early childhood literacy across the United States and supporting great causes like Jumpstart for young children. In the winter, you’ll be able to read to support global literacy and give books to non-profits like Room to Read. They also give you the option to donate to help your book donations reach even more children.

We Give Books is a program of the Pearson Foundation and Penguin Group. Penguin works with its authors to provide an outstanding selection of online books while the Pearson Foundation donates print books to charity partners. We Give Books is a great way to get your children excited about reading and to teach them about the importance of helping others.

My login is: MColeKA

Password: ucsd4

Enjoy!

Magazines are coming in!

Students are thoroughly enjoying the new magazines that were ordered for each of our classrooms.  During their read to self and read with someone time the students are choosing to read the different magazines.

Cougar Dens today

Today in Cougar Dens we were studying the pillar of trustworthiness.  As part of this study, we discussed a lot of things about trust.  The discussion led us to lying, secret keeping, following through on things you say you're going to do.  As part of our time together, I had students place a rolled up t-shirt over their eyes, and hold it behind their heads (a make shift blind fold, if you will).  Then, they chose a partner to guide them from one side of the classroom to the other, with only their words.  I even let a student lead me across the classroom.  He did a fantastic job and I made my way safely, twice.  I learned so much by letting him guide me.  I know I thoroughly enjoyed the activity and students seemed to enjoy it just as much.

COLOR DAY!

FOURTH GRADE TEAM SPIRIT was displayed when students came to school wearing our "given" color of black.  Here is the class picture from fourth grade.

Students with Big Hearts and Welcoming Arms

On Wednesday, January 9th we got a new student in our fourth grade classroom.  One 4th grader took it upon herself to get a BIG cookie that said "WELCOME TO KA" on it to share and celebrate the arrival of our new classmate.  I was so impressed that day with how excited students were, how welcoming and friendly they acted, and what kind and sincere thoughts they had about our new friend.

First Emergency Lockdown Drill

Today, we discussed the procedures for an emergency lockdown drill.  We will have our first drill at 9:00 Am tomorrow.  Students know where to go in the room that is not visible from any window.  This discussion led to many concerns and worries about if a situation like this were to arise.  I would like to encourage you to take the opportunity tonight to talk with your student about any concerns or feelings they may have.  Our intention is to practice these situations to keep kids the safest they can possibly be in the event of an emergency.

NEW YEAR'S GOALS

Today, we reflected on last year, and set a new goal for 2013!

New Monday Folders

We have new Monday folders in class! I always struggle with how to keep track of and/or consequence students if they don't have them anymore.  Getting work home, and showing the teacher that the parents received the work is a very important communication tool in elementary school.  With that being said here is my new plan for 2013:
Students need to bring back their Monday folders signed the next day.  If they don't we'll write a reminder in their planners.
The next day, if they don't have it, there will be a homework warning.
By the following Monday if it's still not back, they will be in charge of creating a new one.
The goal here is to help create responsibility in students taking things home and bringing things back to school- a skill they will need for the rest of their lives :)

Letters to Veterans

In the spirit of Veteran's Day and Thanksgiving, we are writing letters to Veterans thanking them for their services.  Today students worked with partners writing letters that will be delivered to the Veteran's Hospital of Des Moines.

MACKIN VIA

Today, students used guided reading time to explore Mackin Via website, that can be found on my moodle page.  This is a library of eReader books that students can use to read at school and at home.  This way, students can choose good fit books, with the help of the Guided Reading identifier on the webpage.  You'll need to check your e-mail for the username and password.  If you have any questions, let me know.  Please, use this resource for reading minutes at home! It's such an awesome resource! http://www.mackin.com/viaenter.aspx

COUGAR DENS- RESPECT!

Today, students participated in our monthly Cougar Dens.  Here's the youtube video we watched on RESPECT http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGuT9-_Y5J4

Layers of the Earth!

Today in class, students took half and apple and drew a picture of it.  We measured the peel, the middle, and the core.  Then, we discussed how the Earth has three layers (crust, mantle, and core).  Students had to write three sentences to share with the class about how the apple is like the Earth.  Students really enjoyed this activity, especially eating the apple.  Thank you for sending those in!   Colin enjoying his apple while writing sentences.  

  Jordan and Sanja hard at work drawing the Earth and its layers. 

Alexia's awesome learning in her science notebook!

Math Flowchart

Students are moving through the addition/subtraction chapter in math at their own pace and following a flowchart.  I'm hoping to wrap up addition and subtraction by the middle of next week.  Take a look at an example of the flowchart students see during math, right now...

Proud Teacher

Fourth graders impressed me as they spoke tonight at the Urbandale School Board meeting.  Their poise and enthusiasm was overwhelming.  I was so very proud to be called their teacher.

BOOK COMMERCIALS

As part of the fourth grade Realistic Fiction book report, students are asked to give a book commercial about their book.  In the book commercial they talk about the plot and characters from the book they just read, without giving away the ending.  They also say whether they recommend the book or not for reading.  It's a quick 30 seconds and they are allowed three seconds at the end.  It's a great way to get students interested in reading books that their peers have already read.

Pinwheels for Peace

We read a book today about September 11- Then and Now.  Students were very interested on what happened and the affect it had on our country.  I could tell they were emotionally impacted by what they learned.  It was really neat to see how passionate they were about learning! After we read, we made Pinwheels for Peace.  Students wrote what they dream and hope for the world on the pinwheel and then decorated it.  We planted them out front in the garden beds for all to see.  If you weren't able to come by Karen Acres after school here are a few pictures from our work.

Online Planner

Thanks to Mrs. Kerr's genius I have created an online planner.  If you have questions about your students' planner, they forgot it at school, or you're sitting at their extra curricular activity wondering what they need to finish for school today, you can now see the planner online:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1n8SJfrVBUJqmYYjGIcSujjwANzf0_2MfreQmq0qTTMg/edit

I will create a link to this site from my school webpage and blog as well.  I would love feedback on what you think of this idea:  good, bad, what should I add?