Sept. 26

The singers and ringers did a nice job this morning. Thanks to all the parents who got them to church at such an early hour. Being in front of church made us a little nervous, but God helped us through it. To Him be the glory!

Science News
On Monday we will learn how to make a graph out of our rain gauge information. On Tuesday the weather report and Bible verses are due. On Friday we need to bring our anemometers to school, and also the graph and daily record. The chapter test will also be on Friday instead of Thursday. I think we could use an extra day to prepare for our first one.

Tuesday will be our first "Switch Day" for this school year. That means that Mrs. Johnson will be there in the morning, teaching the classes she usually teaches. Mrs. Hackmann will be there in the afternoon, teaching the classes that she usually teaches. This happens occasionally in fourth grade. It allows us as teachers the flexibility to take care of personal obligations once in awhile.

The blog word for this week is switched. It should be written, by the student, in the assignment notebook on the page for Thursday. It also needs to be spelled correctly to get the sticker. I am trying to encourage parents and students to read the blog together.

September 19

I hope you all have made your rain gauge by now. You should have caught some rain! Don't forget to empty it each day also, after you write down your measurement. We want a new number each day, not a cumulative number for the 10 days.

We sing in church on Sunday at the 8:15 service, but we sing at the end. We will meet in the classroom before church, at 8:00, to be sure that all of our ringers are here and to run through the song once or twice. We will be sitting in front of church as a class, so there will be no going to sit with parents this time as the younger grades have been doing.

Parents, don't forget to sign up for the museum trip. There's a list in the "Parent Tray." This field trip was NOT out on registration day. You may have seen ads for the Frog exhibit that is coming. You will get to see it for $4, plus the cost of the bus ($4.00?), so that is a really good deal, as you will see if you check the prices. We are going on Monday, October 25 with the third grade. You can sign up now, but I will be collecting money in October.

I would still encourage your child to bring a water bottle to help keep down the line for drinks. But since it is no longer so warm in the room, they will need to be kept in the hall instead of in the classroom. Some children like to play with them.

Finally, the blog word this week is sing. Write it down in your assignment notebook on the day that will be Thursday, which is when I will look for it and award you your sticker.

One of our science assignments this week will be to find examples in the Bible of God's power over weather. I will be showing the students how to get to a website called Bible Gateway that will help. Hopefully the link to this site is here.

September 17

After talking to some parents, I realized I need to clarify the weather instruments. You need to make two instruments, a rain gauge and one of the wind tools. Then you need to record information once a day for 10 days, preferrably at the same time each day, if possible. That means that Sunday is the last possible day for you to make your instruments and still record for 10 days before the end of this unit. The record should be on a piece of looseleaf paper. After this is finished, we will learn how to transfer that information to a graph.

REMINDER
We are scheduled to sing in church on Sunday, September 26 at the 8:15 service. We will be singing the closing song, so your child will need to stay for the entire service. We will be sitting in front of church, and we are also planning to use hand chimes. If there is a good reason why your child will NOT be able to sing with us, please let me know ASAP because those who are chosen to play the chimes need to be in attendance.

I'm hoping to put up a new blog word this weekend. Stay tuned.

science info for weather and stuff

science weather instrument link

The link above will hopefully take you to the website that shows how to make a rain gauge. It also shows a barometer and wind vane. If you like that wind vane better than the one I sent you, go ahead and use it.

textbook science link

The link above here is for your science text. It will link you to vocabulary games like the one we did in class and also reviews. Check it out.

Our first spelling list came home today. Keep it handy and study from it for your test on Thursday.

I do not have a blog word this week because if you use these links like you should, I will know that you have been here. Also, please let me know if either one does not do what I said it should.

More science

I hope you didn't struggle too much with the science sheet. It was meant to cause the student to think about "what if..." We are talking about it in class today also. They will not be graded on these until they are more comfortable doing them.

The next science assignment is to build two weather instruments and keep track of the measurements for 10 days. After that, we will be putting the information on a graph. Directions for instruments will be coming home in the Tuesday folder along with a link for a website that tells how to make them. After the 10 days are up, I will show them how to turn the information into a graph. There is enough time to fit in 10 days if you want to wait until the weekend to make the instruments, but rain is predicted on Wed. or Thurs. so you might want to get the rain gauge done ASAP. In last year's class, out of those who made a rain gauge, only one student actually timed it right to get some rain. This year I am requiring two instruments so that there will be some information to graph even if it doesn't rain. The student must make a rain gauge, and they also need to make an anemometer (which is easier to make than it is to say) OR a wind vane. The directions for making these are quite simple, but the supplies you use do not necessarily have to be exactly what the directions say. You may make substitutions as long as the instrument still works. And if anyone finds easier or better directions somewhere other than what I give you, please share them with me. Most kids enjoy doing these. If you want to know how to turn it into a science fair project, just ask.

The test for this unit will be September 30. All projects need to be completed and turned in no later than October 1. I'd like all the students to bring in their weather instruments that day so we can try them out at school. In order to have time to keep records and make a graph and turn it all in by October 1, the latest date on which you could make these instruments would be about September 19, so please plan accordingly.

Our science book has online activities your child can do also, including practicing vocabulary words. We have done some in class. I hope to include the link for that also, as soon as I learn how.

Here's hoping you all have a great time watching and keeping track of the weather!

science activity

Your fourth grader came home with a science activity today, which is due on Monday.
A plastic bottle is needed. I used a 2 liter one in class, but almost any size would work. Since we did it in class, they already know what should happen, but they can experience it up close. They also will be writing about it on the sheet. If they struggle with the writing, you do not need to help them too much because it is a learning activity and we will be talking about it on Monday. I am hoping to put together soon a list of supplies you might want to keep handy for science. Mostly it is recyclable stuff like plastic bottles and glass jars, rubber bands, plastic bags, coffee cans, balloons, and the like. Feel free to call or email if you have any questions.

September 7

This is your first official Tuesday note for this year. It contains some important information and a few reminders. It is online as well as on paper. Most future notes will be online only, so if for any reason you would prefer a paper copy to checking the blog, please let Mrs. Johnson know ASAP. Also, you don't need to keep checking the blog if you sign up for email notification. It sometimes can take up to 24 hours, tho, from the time I publish something new until the time you get the email.

There is a singing schedule for fourth grade attached to this sheet. Please keep it home and handy. Also take out all the papers in this folder and keep those at home.

There is another field trip coming. On Monday October 25 our class is going to the Milwaukee Public Museum for the day. We are going with third grade, and we are taking a bus. If you would like to go, there is a sign up sheet in the Parent Note Tray at school. You can do it yourself, or you can email or call me to do it for you. Depending on how many people come, some of you might have to drive instead of riding the bus. The cost will be $4 per person and another $4 to ride the bus. No money will be collected from you until about 2 weeks before we go, but I do need to get an accurate count of how many plan to attend. This field trip was not out at registration day. The one you signed up for there was in December.

We will not be starting spelling until next week. We took a pretest last week, tho, to get an idea of how much we remember.

Whenever your child is absent, you need to send a note of excuse. State law requires a piece of paper, so even if you call the school (which we do appreciate) or tell us in person, we still need the note. The notes we get BEFORE an absence are acceptable also.

Please try to schedule appointments outside of school whenever possible, but if it is ever necessary to schedule appointments during school time, Tuesdays after 2:30 would work the best. Also, please check the school calendar for updates on changes. The dates for Terra Nova testing have been changed.

The blog word for this week is "blog". Write it in your assignment notebook on the day that would be Friday, which is when I will check it and give you your sticker. The blog word will NOT appear on the paper copy that comes home on Tuesday.