It's Been Awhile

Well, I had been checking the site meter and we don't get many visits to our blog unfortunately. This is a great way for me to communicate to you what we are doing in class. This week has been really busy! We had the Book Fair! Lots of students have been buying AND reading books. I have purchased some and also have had some donated to our class by our peers and the book fairy. I also have titles from the book fair that are aleady in my library for the kids to check out. We also had Grandparent's Day Wednesday and Thursday. It was quite busy here and in the parking lot too!

We are currently working on establishing and maintaining the Reading Workshop procedures for Aug./Sep. and I am conferencing with your children on what they're reading, reading orally to me, and taking them to books in our class library that they might enjoy. We have discussed the importance of reading that 20 minutes per night. Ask them what they thought about it. We had a good turnout on the purchasing of books from the book order. I'll probably send one home for October, just because there's always good fall books in them. Lots of students are giving book talks to their peers, which is like a mini-commercial for a book, or book reccommendation. I am very pleased with the progress we've made so far.

In writing, we have a MAJOR due date for our published works: September 30th! Last week, the students went through the writing process of outlining and drafting of a small moment or narrative story from their life. I have them home with me as I have been enjoying reading them this week. We chose a new topic on Monday and have gone through the process again, only this time we'll revise and edit this piece for publication on September 30th. It's a little challenging to get students to realize that they can live a writer's life just by observing things around them. They think that if they've never been anywhere special or won something, then they have nothing to write about. I always give my little simple pleasures of writing about my son. They think I'm silly, I'm sure.

In Math, we're on to the study of Data, and have learned about line plots and graphs, and how to analyze those graphs. They will be creating their own survey question next week to ask other classes and continuing the data dissaggregation process.

We are wrapping up our study of the American Revolution in Social Studies and beginning our study of weather in Science Monday. There will be no performance grade on the progress report for Science.

I hope everyone has a relaxing weekend with the nice weather! GO HOGS, BEAT BAMA!

Check Out Scholastic Site

If you would like to read the standards that will be assessed during the first nine weeks on the report card for Math, please go to our Class Scholastic Site. It's under the announcements section. I also added some new things to the Homework section.

Holy Enchilada!

A Recipe for Hank's Zingy (But Not Too Zingy) One-of-a-Kind Killer Enchiladas

2 cups of tomato sauce
1 tablespoon chili powder (for zing)
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups shredded cheddar cheese, or blend of Mexican cheeses
1/3 cup chopped onion
16 small corn tortillas

Instructions:
In a saucepan, combine the tomato sauce, chili powder, oregano, garlic powder, cumin, and salt. Go get an adult to help you turn on the stove to medium heat. (remember to get an adult to help you. Take it from me: You don't want to burn yourself, inside your mouth or out. That is no fun.)

Cook the sauce until it comes to a boil, then turn the heat down low and let it cook uncovered for 15 minutes. Stir it every once in a while. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix 2 1/2 cups of cheese with the onions.

Warm the tortillas in the microwave, then dip them into the tomato sauce mixture. Lay them in a greased 9 x 13 inch casserole dish. Fill each tortilla with the cheese-and-onion stuff. Roll it up, Keep filling and rolling until the dish is full.

Sprinkle the leftover tomato sauce and cheese on top. Go get a grown-up to turn the oven on to 350 degrees. Let it warm up for a few minutes. Put the whole pan in the oven. Bake it for about 25 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

PTA Memberships

If you haven't joined Rena PTA this year, please do! It is a wonderful thing to do for our school. We are looking forward to reaching 100% schoolwide. Even if you are unable to volunteer or attend meetings, it's still great to join. Our PTA is so supportive to our kids and the teachers. If we need something, they always do their best to see that we get what we need. You can join many members of your family! If you need extra forms, let me know!