Traveller's Rest and LOTS of Upcoming Christmas Activities!!

   We had a FABULOUS time on our field trip to Traveller's Rest!  We learned about John Overton, his family and friends, and how holidays were celebrated while the Overtons lived there.  We wrote with quill pens, tried a tasty holiday treat, and danced the Virginia Reel.  The students were excellent and represented Ezell Harding and your family very well.  Below are pictures from our field trip!
   I sent an email discussing and reminding parents of all the activities coming up.  Here is an excerpt from the email.  PLEASE READ AND TAKE NOTE OF ALL THE DATES!!
  Christmas is coming soon, which means Christmas Break is quickly approaching!  There are MANY ACTIVITIES and ANNOUNCEMENTS that will be occurring in the next week and a half.  PLEASE TAKE NOTE OF THE FOLLOWING THINGS:

• Students can wear Jeans and an Ezell Harding Shirt OR a Holiday Shirt all next week (Monday-Friday,  Dec. 10-14) as a reward for reaching our Canned Food Drive Goal.
• Half Days (11:00 a.m. dismissal) are Thursday, December 13- Tuesday, December 18.  If your child is staying in Extended, HE/SHE MUST HAVE A PACKED LUNCH!!
• Book Buddy Party- Thursday, December 13.  Please make sure your child has a wrapped book for his/her book buddy.  The book needs to be in and wrapped by Tuesday, December 11.
• Game Day- Friday, December 14.  Students may bring in a board game or a handheld game to play on Game Day.  I am encouraging Board Games so they will play and interact with their friends.  If your child brings in a handheld game, I must approve all games before he/she may play it.
• Class Christmas Party- Monday, December 17.  We will start our party around 9:15 and be finished around 10:40.  We will have breakfast foods, games, and other Christmas Activities.  Be looking for a sign up early next week.  I would love any and all parent help with our party.  We also will be having a $5 gift card exchange.  This is a fun game where every child will get a small gift card that they can spend somewhere.  Here is what you need to know about the gift card you buy:
• It needs to only be $5.
• It needs to be non gender specific.  For example, some great cards that any child would be happy to receive are Sonic, McDonald's, Target, Walmart,  Chic-Fil-A, Zaxby's, Dairy Queen, Starbucks (for Hot Chocolate),  etc...  Just go to the place and ask for a $5 gift card.
• It needs to be wrapped.
• It needs to be in by Friday, December 14.
• Pajamas and Movie Day- Tuesday, December 18.  We will be watching a Christmas movie in our pajamas!!  So much fun!  Please make sure your child's pajamas are school appropriate and weather appropriate.  We will be watching the movie in the Eagle's Nest where it can get cold!  Your child may bring a blanket to sit on.

Have a terrific week!

"It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas....."

  It is almost December, and our classroom is ready!   We have Christmas lights, snowmen, a small Christmas tree, and WE WRAPPED OUR DESKS!!  Shout out to Molly's Mom who has this AWESOME idea that she did with her 4th graders.  It was a great Math lesson where we had to measure the width and length of our desk tops.  We talked about perimeter and area.  The wrapping paper had 1 inch squares, so the students were able to count the specific number squares for the length and the width.  It was so fun and the students love the festive environment!  Pictures are below!
    We are wrapping up our Canned Food Drive, but WE STILL NEED LOTS OF CANS!!  Mrs. Vinson has extended the date to Monday, December 3.  Our school goal is 1,000 cans.  Our classroom goal is 200 cans.  If we reach our school goal, we will receive a week of jeans and t-shirts!  Students will also get to slime Mrs. Vinson!  Bring in those cans!
    In Science this week, we have been discussing Animal Adaptations.  Today, we did a Penguin Egg Race where students had to keep the egg between their feet and not let it drop down.  We also experimented with Blubber Gloves, where students had to put their hands in ice cold water and then put on the "blubber glove" and feel the difference.  Pictures are below.
    The Scholastic Book Fair is this next week.  It will begin on Monday, December 3 and end early in the day on Friday, December 7.  Students will be allowed to go to the Book Fair as long as they have money to buy something.  We will be having a Book Buddy Christmas Party and BOOK EXCHANGE on Thursday, December 13!  The Book Fair is a great place for your child to buy his/her book buddy's book.  You do not need to get an expensive one.  Just a fun paperback that your Book Buddy would enjoy!  Remember, your book buddy is a 4 or 5 year old!
    We have a field trip to Traveller's Rest on Friday, December 7.  I will be sending an e-mail asking who wants to join us as a chaperone.  Please respond to the e-mail no later than Tuesday night.  This  is the first of our many Tennessee field trips!
   December is a BUSY month!  Here are so important dates in December:

• December 3-7: Scholastic Book Fair (Get your Book Buddy a book here!)
• December 7: Field Trip to Traveller's Rest
• December 13: Book Buddy Christmas Party.  Half Day (Dismissal at 11:00)
• December 14:  Half Day (Dismissal at 11:00)
• December 17: Class Christmas Party.  Half Day (Dismissal at 11:00)
• December 18: Movie and Pajamas.  Half Day (Dismissal at 11:00)
• December 19-January 2: Christmas Break

Thanksgiving Break!

  It's Thanksgiving Break!  Hooray!!  I hope that your week is filled with friends, family, and cherished memories.  I pray that you are constantly reminded of the tremendous blessings God has given each of us.  I want to thank you all for sharing your sweet children with me.  My day is constantly filled with joyous times because of your children.  I am thankful for my 15 blessings and their parents!  Happy Thanksgiving!
   We had a  great week.  We are in the middle of division and are beginning to discuss animals and their adaptations.  We had a small Thanksgiving celebration with our Book Buddies where we played a few games and a snack of "acorn cookies".  Later that day, we went to see "The Little Mermaid" at The Nashville Children's Theatre.  It was AMAZING! Pictures are below!
   We will be beginning Grow Your Vocabulary when we return to school.  This is a book where students learn various Greek and Latin roots and word that go with them.  This will be a weekly part of our study for the rest of the year.  The grade will go in the English part of your child's grades.  Here is how our weekly schedule normally will occur:

• Monday- Introduce the words, highlight the definitions, write the definitions on index cards, and do Exercises 1-2 (Match It and Select It).
• Tuesday-  Review Exercises 1-2 and do Exercises 3-5 (Connect It, Personalize It, and Complete It)
• Wednesday- Review Exercises 3-5 and do Lessons 6-8 (Finish It, Decode It, and Build It)
• Thursday- Review Exercises 6-8 and do Exercises 9-10 (Solve It and Write About It) and review for the test!
• Friday- Test

   Have a restful and wonderful holiday week!

November Fun

   We have had a great start to November!  The students are working hard on new concepts while still reviewing past ones.  We have started on Division.  The students are totally rocking it!  One student said to me, " I see why multiplication facts are so important!"  I love those "light bulb" moments!  We also started diagramming sentences.  The students looked at the diagramming and said"What is that?".  Now, they want to diagram more than just the subject and predicate.  Haha!
   This upcoming week, we have LOTS of tests and assignments!  Progress Reports were sent home yesterday.  I told the students they have 4 weeks to either keep those great grades up or improve grades they are not pleased about.  Please make note of all the tests.
   We have a field trip to the Nashville children's Theater this Friday.  We are going to see "The Little Mermaid".  I saw it at an Educator Preview, and the students will love it.  We have even learned a little of the dance to "Under the Sea".  It is so fun!
   Don't forget that this is the last weekend to sell Little Lambs Cookie dough and food!  So... SELL, SELL, SELL!  Thank you for all you do to give back to Ezell-Harding!

Our Fall Celebration!

  It is finally starting to feel like Fall! Hooray!  As the seasons change, unfortunately some sicknesses come with it.  Please remind your student to wash his/her hands frequently, cover their cough and sneeze, and be mindful personal space of their classmates.  We do our best to not spread germs, but we know that sometimes it happens.  Also, many students are coming to school with cough drops.  That is fine, but please discuss with your child that the cough drops are not candy, not to be shared with others, and only used when needed.
    We had our Fall Celebration on Wednesday!  The students had a great time handing out candy to their friends, eating delicious food, and watching Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet Wolfman!  Thank you to all the parents who sent in food for our celebration!  It was WONDERFUL!  Below are some pictures!
    November is here and we have some important dates coming up!  They are:

• Monday, November 5- NO SCHOOL because of Christian School In-Service
• Friday, November 9- Progress Reports will be sent home
• Friday, November 16-  Field Trip to The Nashville Children's Theater to see The Little Mermaid
• Monday, November 19- Friday, November 23- THANKSGIVING BREAK

   Please take note of these days!  December is a CRAZY BUSY month, so be mindful of upcoming assignments, tests, and activities!

    Have a FANTASTIC week!

Vocabulary Parade Fun!!

  What an AMAZINGLY AWESOME day we had today!  It was our Annual Vocabulary Parade and I loved every second!  The students were so cute and I loved seeing all the creativity that each child exhibited!  It is such a fun day where students not only shine with creativity, but also learn new words!  SO MUCH FUN!!  Pictures are below!
   This Wednesday, October 31, we will have a small Fall Celebration.  Thank you to the parents who volunteered to bring in some sweet and salty treats.  I will be e-mailing you this weekend to finalize plans!  I am asking EVERYONE to bring in a bag of candy to share with their classmates.  NO PEANUTS, PLEASE!  The students will hand out candy to each other throughout the day, so please make sure there are at least 15 pieces of candy.  If your child wants to bring something that is not candy (pencils, bouncy balls, etc... ), please make sure there are at least 15!
    Thank you for the continued support, love, and care you give to Ezell-Harding Christian School!  We appreciate you!

Book Buddy Fun and OUR FIRST FIELD TRIP!!

   Happy Friday, Everyone!  We are in rocking and rolling in the second 9 weeks!  The students are learning new concepts, working hard, and not giving up!  I am so proud of each of them!  Please continue to work on Multiplication facts at home!
   Today was a fun-filled and exciting day!  We started our day with our sweet Book Buddies!  Each pair made a "spooky" picture using their hands and feet that they traced!  The pictures were so cute and creative.  Pictures of their drawings are below! 
   Later in the day, we had our first field trip!  Even though it was an in-school field trip, the kids had a blast.  It was with Green Door Gourmet.  A local farmer came to speak to us about the life cycle of a pet, designing a garden, and good bugs vs. bad bugs.   The students had a blast!  Below are pictures!
    Next Friday, October 26, is our Vocabulary Parade.  It will be from 8:30-9:30.  We would love to have you come and see all the creative ideas the students come up with!  Remember, your child chooses a word, dresses up to showcase that word, and has a sign to show the word and definition.
    Have a terrific weekend!