Update!

Well, we've gone through a lot of new things these past two weeks. I'm so proud to say that our class published their first narrative story and they were great. They're hanging in our hallway! I've been in and out of the building so much lately. It is very hard to be away, believe it or not. It's more trouble to find and plan things for a sub to do. I'd rather be at work with the kids. I can modify and adjust better that way. That's part of being a teacher. I was away at Literacy Lab, which is a class the fourth grade teachers have been enrolled in for two years now. It's put on by a very educated man named Ken Stamatis, who is the Reading Instructor for Harding University. He is the one who has put together the best degree program for teachers of reading there is.

Another reason I've been out is because of being fitted for my new splint which I will wear for the rest of the year. I have TMJ, which deals with my jaws, and have had this since I was a teenager. It's pretty painful and has given me lots of headaches, tension in my face, neck, and shoulders. I even hurt to the point of having a CT scan over a year ago. Needless to say, I'm hopeful that this will subside the pain and I can get on with my life. So, that explains why your kids have probably been saying, "Mrs. Brown wasn't there today." Or, you probably didin't know!

We've gone on into Science and are almost finishing up Weather. We'll be doing some hands on stuff next week. We've also gone to Unit 3 in Math. I have sent home two green sheets in their Tuesday folder that explains a little of the activities we'll be working with for the multiplication in this unit.

I'm assessing every child on a new test called the "Benchmark". I know that sounds like the ACTAAP test we take, but it's just a new reading assessment. It will show your child's reaing level in letters, not numbers, but I will corellate the two on the report cards.

Clayton Scott is here this week. He's a poet and former classroom teacher. He travels all over the state from the day we start school to the day we finish. He is visiting every fourth grade class in Van Buren. We'll have a school Poetry Slam on Friday at about 1:00-2:15. It's going to be awesome!

Conferences will be coming up soon in October. I look forward to talking with you face to face and meeting you. I have really gotten to know your children. They are great. Some like to pull a few tricks with the subs, but they're really a great class. Gotta love 'em!