Art, anyone?

Today we learned about the muralist, Diego Rivera,

thanks to our wonderful art appreciation expert!

We had a wonderful time creating murals on the sidewalks by the school.

I wonder if the people who visited our murals later in
the day wondered who the fantastic artists were?

Student Teacher

I love having a Student Teacher! My favorite part is getting to know each child better as we sit next to each other over the course of the week. I hope each 3C student enjoys the experience as much as I do!

Spelling Practice

Spelling practice did not look like this when I was in third grade!
Is it tite or tight?????

Hmm...

Keep thinking!

Three is a lucky number!

Any volunteers??

I am looking for parent helpers on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11:45 am until 12:45 pm. Anyone interested? Please let me know.;) Thanks!

The Joys of Teaching Third Grade

Need I say more?

Getting to know you, getting to know all about you...

Today 3C conducted its annual People Search. The first week of school the students are asked to write down a "secret fact" about themselves - something that they consider uniquely theirs. Today it was our turn to see if we could connect interesting fact with the correct person. We had a great time guessing and questioning each other about all of the information on the "People Search" paper. At the end, the true identities were revealed and the kids gave us the scoop on his or her special fact. Did you know that Mrs. Clark loves anchovies on her pizza? No? Well thanks to the People Search now you do!

Love makes the world go 'round...

This past week 3C reviewed one of the 6 traits of writing - the trait of ideas. Writers produce their most thoughtful work when they write about subjects they know and care about the most. To generate some ideas, the students created maps of their hearts. These maps always show me so much about the kids - not only about what they love, but also about their priorities. Here is a sampling of their work - check out our hallway sometime next week to get a complete view of just how big their hearts really are - not only in size, but in their capacity to love.

Have playground will play

Despite the fact that our new playground isn't finished yet, 3C still manages to have a great time!

LWS is the place to be

Today's message is not about our 3C family, but about our LWS family. Long story short, it is very rare that you will find me in the staff lunch room during my 40 minute lunch. I take my lunch and scurry back to our room to eat and prepare for my afternoon session. Early in the week I was approached by members of my third grade team, requesting that I at least have lunch with them on Fridays since they don't get a chance to see me during the week. I gave a vague "we'll see" with a smile and off I went, scurrying as usual.
Well, yesterday as I slid into the lounge to get my lunch and quickly retreat I turned around and there, on the table where my team usually eats, sat this beautiful place card. (Yes, that is a spork attached to the card compliments of the lunchroom). When I saw this card, my heart skipped a beat and I went from the old Grinch to the new Grinch because my heart grew two sizes at that moment.
This old teacher learned a lot yesterday.... I was reminded that we have to smell the roses everywhere - not just with our families, but with our dear friends, as well. I was also reminded that the little things in life mean the most. I hope I can pay this sweet, oh so meaningful gesture forward soon. Thank you, thank you , my dear friends for making me feel so important on a Friday.

Thoughts for a Thursday

Woohoo! We are really getting into the third grade groove now. Math review is underway and math facts are being practiced regularly. We are learning about the hemispheres, the continents and the oceans, too. (The kids had a great time pretending that they were astronauts who blasted off into space. ) As we "float" closer to Earth, we have to figure out how to get home without contact from NASA. Pretty cool stuff, huh? I wish I did those things when I was in third grade! The kids have been building stamina during independent reading time. It is a favorite time of our day - be sure to ask your son or daughter about this special time when we get lost inside our "good fit" books. Today independent writing started - cool, little red notebooks filled with blank pages just waiting for the creative thoughts and dreams of a third grader. Okay - I admit it - I am the lucky one - I get to witness it all happening, right here in our little 3C world.

Finally, business as usual...

Well, it seems like Labor Day brings us more than just a long rest - it seems to get us all focused on the task at hand. Today finally felt normal - kids learning and working hard and teachers learning about the kids and working hard, too! It was such a pleasure to get the day going with procedures that are finally in place and everyone seems to "get."

Good news - our LRC friend, Mrs B. gave us the nicest (and well-earned) compliment. She told me that 3C was the best behaved, most well mannered and totally "with-it" group that had come to the LRC to check out books so far this year. :) I was beaming with pride - as were the kids! You have so many things to be proud of - namely 23 fantastic kids! Bravo! Let's keep it up, shall we?

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Ahh, to be a kid again...

Sigh...