September 24 KC Zoo Field Trip

Here we go :)

Polar Bears...really cool!

I tried to find everyone at the zoo to take a picture of their group...I hope I got everyone!

Class Picture taken right before we left the zoo.

September 22 Blubber Experiment

I always enjoy doing this with the kids and this year, Mrs. Howell was able to. To show the students how blubber works, you fill a plastic bag with Crisco and then place another bag over top and put it into ice water. The student puts one hand in the blubber bag and one hand in the ice water. They are shocked they can't feel the cold water with their blubber hand.

September 23 Team Simmons News

Parent Information:

• KC Zoo field trip tomorrow! Please do not send your child with money to purchase items at the zoo. Thank you for understanding.


• Don't forget to pack your child a disposable sack lunch. If you are a parent helper, don't forget a backpack to hold your group's lunches while you walk through the zoo. Also, if you are a parent helper, plan on coming into the classroom on Friday. We will leave at 8:45 a.m. Thank you ;)


• Don't forget to record all of that great reading your child is during at home :) September calendars due in October.
• I sent home a parent teacher sign up today. Please look it over :)
• I also sent home a piece of paper stating how your child is doing with their goal. There is only about 2 weeks left of the quarter.
• If it is too rainy to go on the field trip tomorrow, we wil re-schedule and let you know the date as soon as possible.

Ask You Child About:

• Reading: For reading this week, the students learned more letter sounds and continued to review "chunks" they have learned such as the ck, dge, and ea.


• Small Group Reading: We worked on using the reading strategies: look at the picture clues, does this make sense, and sounding out words. I also warmed up with each group by flashing those important sight words!


• Math: For math this week we concentrated on using number touch points to solve addition problems.


• Science: We have continued our unit on animal adaptations. This week the students learned about mammals that live in different environments. On Monday they learned about what makes a mammal a mammal...warm blooded, drink milk, and have fur or hair. On Tuesday they learned about desert mammals. On Wednesday they learned about ocean animals. While the students covered ocean animals with fur (cotton balls) Mrs. Howell called over small groups of students to do a blubber experiment. The kids loved it! Today the students are going to study mammals in the rain forest.


• Writing: We worked on writing captions. Yesterday the students took pictures of students during things around the school and next week they will write a caption for it.


• Counselor Time: bullying

Next Week's Specials:

• Monday, C day, Computer


• Tuesday, D day, P.E. and Music


• Wednesday, A day, Library


• Thursday, B day, P.E. and Music


• Friday, C day, Computer

Mark Your Calendar:

• Tonight (Thursday) order Pizza from Pizza Hut to help raise money for Kade's and Andrew's scholarship funds


• Oct. 6 fall pictures


• Oct. 7 third grade musical 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.


• Oct. 8 half day, dismiss at 1 p.m.


• Oct. 11-12 Teacher in-service


• Oct. 13-14 Parent Teacher Conferences


• Oct. 15 No School


• Oct. 18 First Quarter Recognition Assembly in the primary pod area

Class Wish List:

• Shaving cream


• Clorox wipes

Coming soon, pictures from the zoo field trip ;)

September 17 Newsletter

Parent Information:

• Thank you for participating in Book-In-A-Week. Please keep the book and papers in the bag and turn them in on Friday ;)
• The zoo field trip is next Friday (24th). More information for parent volunteers coming home soon.
• I am still missing some student goals...one last chance to turn them in :)

Ask Your Child About:

• Reading: For whole class reading we have finished reviewing all of the vowels, Yay! The students are still grasping the concept of the "i" sound and "e" sound. For small group reading, we have been working on two reading strategies: look at the picture clues and think what makes sense?
• Math: We ended patterns on Monday and started addition to 10. This week I taught the addition strategy of using a number line. Next week the students will learn how to add by using number touch points.
• Science: The students are studying animal adaptations. This week they took an in depth look at amphibians.
• Writing: Writing about places. Being specific when writing about a place...It has a yellow swirly slide...
• Counselor Time: Bullying

Next Week Specials:

• Monday: B day, Music and P.E.
• Tuesday: C day, Computer
• Wednesday: D day, Music and P.E.
• Thursday: A day, Library
• Friday: Kansas City Zoo Field Trip

Class Wish List:

• Shaving cream to use as a writing tool...students write words in shaving cream on desk
• Clorox wipes

Mark Your Calendars:

• September 24 Field Trip to Kansas City Zoo
• October 7 3rd grade musical and science fair
• October 8 Early dismissal: 1 p.m.
• October 11-12 Teacher In-Service
• October 13 -14 Parent Teacher Conferences
• October 15 NO SCHOOL
• October 18 First Quarter Recognition Assembly

September 16 Animal Adaptations

We have been studying how animals adapt to their environment. We've learned about birds, reptiles, and now amphibians. Mrs. Howell (my student teacher) led the students through a habitat lesson on caecilians. The students enjoyed making their very own caecilians home.

September 13 Patterns

To end our study of patterns, the students came up with their own fruit loop necklace pattern. Super cute and super yummy:)

September 1 Lunch Reward

The students earned 50 points in the lunch room for wonderful lunch behavior. For their reward, we ate lunch in the classroom! How Fun!