Going to Jail

Hello! Tomorrow is our trip to the Yellowstone County Detention Center. We will be leaving at 8:45 and be back at school shortly after 12. Kids need to remember to bring their sack lunches. This will be the finishing touch to a packed week of oh my goodness learning. Hopefully they shared about the Rimrock Foundation Presentation. Wow! Powerful!

Have a great night!

Wacky Wednesday!

We have had a ton of character learning going on this week. Today, we talked a lot about how our choices also effect our families. Please have a dinner table discussion about the Little House on the Prairie movie we watched today. Albert's choices to use drugs cost his father his job, they had to move back to Walnut Grove, His mom had to stay behind and miss him, His dad almost lost one of his good friends (Doc), His sister was worried sick, His teacher got slapped in the face, His old friends felt belittled. All of these events were caused by Albert's morphine addiction. The worst of it was that Albert lost the trust of his father. He had to work very hard and experience some pretty rough withdrawl episodes to gain that trust back. Luckily he did.

We also had the Skyview trading card kids in today. Their message was also powerful. They said that they don't make excuses as to why they don't do drugs they just tell the people asking them NO! I don't do drugs or alcohol! They said, eventually people just knew their stance and stopped asking. They also said the best way for them to stay away from drugs and alcohol is to stay very busy with school, sports, and clubs. Parents, I can't stress enough that having an after-school activity is imperative in a kids life. If they don't like sports then they were told today that there are clubs for anything...anything! The best thing we can do is never allow them to get bored! Which by the way, was the first answer when I asked them why do you think kids do drugs? Interesting that it came straight from their own mouths!

Tomorrow is No alcohol, no drugs, no tobacco...no sweat! So kids are encouraged to wear their sweats and sweatshirts tomorrow.

Thanks to those that have agreed to allow their kids to stay on Friday after school to help paint the trick or treat street boxes! Nice!

Tomorrow is the pick up day for Trick or Eat! Please remember to make the time to go back to your ten houses and collect the food for the Billings Food Bank. Kids need to bring it in on Friday or make arrangements for me to come pick it up. Thanks!

So far, this class has escaped the flu bug going around. Let's keep it that way! Remember, unless your child has a fever or is throwing up they should be at school. It is crucial to be here every day. Please send your kids in coats!!!!! It may start off nice, but the weather changes quickly. I do not allow kids to have recess without a coat if it is too cold, especially if they have all ready been out sick part of the week. Hats too! Just have them keep one in their bags.

Library tomorrow! BRING YOUR BOOKS!!!!

Have a spooktacular evening!!

Thanks to All!

Don't let drugs "tie" you up! Wear a necktie tomorrow and earn a hundred dollars.

Parents I need your child's help on Friday after school from 3:15-4:15 to paint boxes for trick or treat street at the Harvest Party. If you approve, please write me a note in their planner. Please make pick up arrangements on time. Thanks!

Conference slips whet home today. I did my very best to accommodate your requests. Please select yes or no and return slip TOMORROW. If you cannot do the scheduled time you will need to call the office to reschedule. Mrs. Campbell does ALL of the rescheduling. Thanks!

Ask your child about SADD today and the meth video. Powerful!!

Thanks to the Gustafson family for taking over our pumpkin project for the Harvest family! We know you will do great things!

Trick or Eat!

Hello there. It has come to my attention, by a phone call from the U.S. Post Office, that it is illegal to place items that do not have a stamp on them in a mailbox. I guess that it is punishable with a $2000.00 fine for each flyer. OOPS!! My bad. At any rate, if you have not delivered your bags yet, please hang them on the doors or on the mailbox flags, but NOT inside the mailbox. I think we will be ok, and I was very grateful they called. Just wanted you to know what I now know.

Technology Friday!

OMG! Did we have an amazingly fun technology day. The kids took some of my son's toys and created scenes from a movie. Then they took a digital camera and took still shots by moving their objects one tiny bit at a time, take a picture, move a tiny bit, take a picture... (Some groups took more than a hundred pictures if that told you anything!) Then they downloaded their pictures into a computer program called QuickTime and sequenced the pictures into an animated movie. The results are below. Hello...can you say totally awesome and fun! So, why did we do this? Well, first and foremost because why not, and we also did it to practice using the technology so we could use it even better when we create these kind of movies to act out scenes in our Reading books in two weeks. Cool! (Make sure you click on older posts at the bottom of this page to see more movies.)

Next week is Drug Free week. Please remember to have your kids dress in Hawaiian attire on Monday. If they do, they can earn $100.00 for showing their Drug Free Spirit! I am excited that every kid in my class will be attending all parts of Drug Free Week. Wow! Are we going to make a difference or what?

Trick or Eat bags went home today. Please make sure to deliver them this weekend. It is VERY important to remember which neighborhood/houses you deliver to so you can go back next Thursday and pick them back up. When delivering, you can either put them in their mailbox, put them on their door, or ring their doorbell and hand deliver it. Please make sure your child has signed their name on the bottom of EVERY slip on each bag. Thanks!!

I am looking for some creative families out there, and I know that you are out there. We have two pumpkins in our room that need to be decorated in a theme like way. Now, I am thinking one of them needs to have a BELIEVE theme, but the other...who knows. They can be carved or painted, or decorated, or whatever your creative minds can muster up! These will be auctioned off at the Harvest Party next Friday night so I will need them back by then. The money earned will go to our classroom! Please email me if you want to do this. I need your help on this one!

Well, that is it. Have a super great night and weekend. Play outside!!!

Penguin Destroyer Movie

Connects Movie by Philip's Group

Diego Has a Bad Day Movie by Abby's Group

Airplane Crash Movie by Jordan, Jada, and Arielle

The Boat Race Movie by Maddie's Group

Dare Devil Movie

Bugsy Watches the Train by Mikaela's Group

Jump Video by Preston, Logan, and Garret

Almost Friday!

The popcorn party was a success, but oh my your children get all sorts of crazy when soda is consumed. :0) Fun times. They truly did earn it so it was great!

We are about to finish Ch. 2 in math. There will be the unit tests next week.

Conferences were scheduled today. Your notices will go home next week. If you did not send back your preference sheet a time was just selected for you. Any and all changes will have to be made through the office. Conferences will be held on Nov. 3-5th. Remember that students will get out at noon on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of that week. Please be thinking about any questions or concerns you might have when we meet for our twenty minute time slot. I will have stuff to share, but I LOVE to discuss your concerns/questions even more.

A reminder that next week is Drug Free Week. I still need permission forms from Hanna and Lailyn to participate. Don't forget to get that Hawaiian outfit ready for Monday to Lei off Drugs!

If your family checked the Yes slot for the Trick or Eat volunteer opportunity, and oh my am I proud of this class, students will bring home the ten flyers attached to plastic bags tomorrow. Please make a time to deliver these this weekend. Then on the 29th please don't forget to go back and pick them up and bring them into class on Friday or email/call me to arrange pick up. Again, I am proud to be your son/daughter's teacher. Amazing families at Bitterroot! Our pen pals are also doing this same project in North Carolina. Wonder who will collect more???

Have a great evening!

Wow Wednesday!

For $100 bonus...ask your students what/who these pictures are of and about the oovoo experience we had yesterday in science class. There are three weather instruments on the last picture. If your student can name and explain all three, then write them on their planner by your signature. Get 2 of the 3...$50. Earn another $50 if your child can remember the teacher's name that is standing in the second picture, which is the same teacher that oovooed in to us yesterday! Write his name by your signature as well.

As you know, or at least I hope you know, next week is Red Ribbon Week. A detailed information sheet came home on this last night. It requires your permission and signature. I also sent home information on the October Volunteer Opportunity. Please return both of these slips tomorrow with your child if you have not done so already. ALSO, conference request slips are due today, tomorrow at the latest. I will be scheduling those tomorrow at our staff meeting. Let's make it a time that works for you!

I have posted a survey question off to the right. Please vote today. This night would be partnered with our friends at Burlington Elementary that we oovoo often with! How fun to have a night for two 4th grade classes to get together to create a slide show of your family using technology! Quality time with the kids!!

Don't forget your drink for the popcorn party tomorrow.

A-ha Time for Teacher...

Sub tomorrow! I am at my technology class. Can't wait to see what I will learn next!

Popcorn party moved to Thursday.

So proud to be a teacher and to have such wonderful kids and parents!

Holy Cow Wow Science!

Hello! Below you will find just some of the many videos I took yesterday of your children presenting their science projects to their classmates. Overall, I was super impressed. It was fun to listen to their explanations, but even more than that, it was SUPER fun to see and hear their excitement for learning. They had fun, and it showed in their faces! I will also be emailing you the videos of your child in action today or tomorrow. I am sorry I could not put them all on the blog, but I picked a variety to show you the different ways kids were learning. Some of the videos are hard to hear, so I could not use them. Why is is that 4th graders are loud in class and at recess, but not on video? Isn't video their generation? Hmmmm...

Today we will wrap up our weather unit by having an oovoo session with a science teacher, Mr. Beals, from Sr. High. He spent 6 weeks in Greenland conducting weather experiments to discover how the atmosphere was changing over time. He will be sharing some of the tools he used and some first hand "what does weather have to do with us" knowledge. Next, we will be going into force and motion. We will be pairing up with Mrs. Hankin's class for some fun and crazy experiments. She attended a workshop in DC on this very subject. Can you say...climb up on a roof and do an egg drop...oh my!

Have an excellent day!

More Scientific Weather Tools

Scientific Tools and Tornado Myth

Tornado in a Jar

Weather Art

Eye of the Storm Experiment

Monday

Science Projects will be uploaded soon! Stay tuned, and man were they awesome. Powerful thinking and a lot of "weather words" floating around this room today. Yes!!!

Please return your conference slips tomorrow!

Kids earned another popcorn party for their sub behavior last week! Bring drink tomorrow if you want. I will provide the popcorn.

Have a great night!

Busy Few Days!

The four pictures above are just some of the events that have been happening in E4 lately. Today, Rusty joined us for a school wide assembly that talked about choices, consequences, and tools. The tools that Rusty talked to the kids about were the importance of rules, when to talk and how to talk, the importance of making a few good friends instead of trying to fit with all, being true to others and more importantly to themselves, and listening. My favorite quote of the presentation was, "A good friend is someone that is helping you grow." What a powerful statement. Can I just encourage you to talk about what that means to your child in their unique world. Wow! I also posted the pictures of Sgt. Hodges. Marley and others are waiting in line to greet him with a handshake, hello, name introduction, and a thank you all while holding appropriate eye contact. We talked about how when you are thanking someone your eyes usually drop because it is a vulnerable feeling and you are unsure of the receivers reaction. The kids did a great job and you could tell that they are really starting to understand how powerful using someone's name and looking them in the eyes can be. The other picture is of Arielle, who is the sister of Sgt. Hodges. She stated that she misses and worries about her brother all the time. It was obvious that the entire family shares Arielle's feeling but also has an amazing amount of pride in their son, boyfriend, and brother! Lastly, there is a picture of our star of the week. Maddie is the first person to actually bring in materials to share for this classroom job. She set a great example of how it should be done. I also loved learning new things about her and seeing all her treasures and photos. Good Job Maddie! Abby will be the star of the week next week. Can't wait to see what is in store with her presentation.

Speaking of presentations...is your son/daughter going to be ready to present their two science projects to the class on Monday. Please make sure they rehearse what they are going to say and that they are using some weather words to do it. Avoid words such as stuff and this and that. Show me that you are applying what you learned in class to what you discovered at home. I will be looking for at least 3-5 science words in each explanation. We will also be oovooing in a science teacher from Senior High that spent some time in Greenland and used some specific weather tools next Tuesday. He has some very cool ideas, thoughts, tools, and data to share.

Parent-Teacher conference slips went home today. Please fill out and return to school Monday for a $100 reward. We will do our very best to honor your requests.

Please remember that the Believe fundraiser is due on Monday. Remember it is a $100 reward for each item sold or every $10 donation made. Money will be rewarded on Monday. Make sure your child's name and my name is on their order form and that ALL money is collected. BELIEVE!!

I hope that you all have a wonderful long weekend. Rest up and play hard. See you Monday!

Rusty, Rusty, Rusty!!

Thank you Sgt. Hodges and family! Man, what an amazing experience to be able to talk, see, feel, and interact with a soldier that is on active duty in Iraq. The pictures that were shared were unthinkable and so full of knowledge. Who knew? Ask your kids about them for more details. I will post pictures soon!

Tomorrow is Rusty! I am totally pumped for Bitterroot! His assemblies are packed with the stuff I LOVE to talk about: character! Don't forget your dollar to buy one of his Peace Out Little Diamonds wristbands! Our show is at 10 am. WooHoo!!!!

Have a great night!

So Proud of You!

Hi! Good news from Mr. Ness. He said the Nile was a blast and the kids were great. Way to go! I am proud of you!

Tomorrow we will be having a military guest speaker. I am so excited and honored to have this for the kids. Students that wear their patriotic red, white, and blue will be rewarded for their effort.

Have a great night and I will see you in the morning!

Best Behavior Next Week Please!

Well, the week has come to a close. Next week is a busy one for me and for the kids. Monday and Tuesday I will be on tour with Rusty from schooltools.tv at a bunch of schools in the district. Therefore, the kids will have a sub. Hmmm....do I smell another popcorn party?? We will see! Go team Erickson!

On Monday, the kids go to the Nile. Mr. Ness will be there sub. Students need to bring their sack lunches on Monday. If your child ordered a sack lunch it will be ready to go. They will leave at 11 and arrive back at 2. Thank you to Jasa's mom for agreeing to chaperone the trip. You will need to be here at 10:45 to catch the bus. Students will need to eat lunch before they go, around 10:30ish. So, they may want to bring a snack for when they get back. Part of the Nile is outside or in barns so students need to dress for the weather. Students also will experience a Native jingle dancer and some fry bread before the trip on Monday. Oh my!

On Tuesday, Arielle's brother will be visiting the class. He has been overseas in the military and has agreed to share with the kids. I am so honored. I am going to try very hard to sneak here and see it too! The time has yet to be determined as he doesn't arrive back in the states until tomorrow. Very cool!

On Wednesday, Rusty will be at Bitterroot! The assembly will be at 10. Feel free to join us in the gym. It is also a half day on Wednesday. Kids need to be picked up at noon sharp. Lunch slips went home today if your child needs to order one.

Thursday and Friday the kids do not have school. Teachers will be attending the MEA conference and learning all sorts of new things, or if you are like me, teaching all sorts of things. Yay!!!

On a different note, this week we took our unit one language test. There were some areas of concern so we are going to review a couple of skills and rethink our answers next week. We also completed our review testing in spelling. Many students had demonstrated that they have added 60 new words to their vocabulary. Others have shown that they are memorizing how to spell words for a Friday test and then dumping the words out of their brains. These words are every day English words and need to be transferred to the long term memory. Science project packets went home yesterday. Students need to select two at home projects that are due Oct. 19th. Please, please discuss these with your child and make a plan to help them. They have learned so much about weather and they are dying to extend their knowledge with your help. So, sit down and watch the weather channel or discovery channel this weekend with some popcorn and a warm blanket and just talk weather with your kiddos! :0) In Social Studies, we are continuing to explore Montana and how it came to be. Next week will be the start of our Lewis and Clark journey. In the spring, students will travel to Pompey's Pillar for a day of fun. In math, we are still working on adding and subtracting. Can I just beg you to buy some flashcards and re-look at all the student's basic facts knowledge in addition, subtraction, and multiplication?

On another note, it came to my attention the other day that parents are not aware of some of the changes 4th graders are experiencing in their specialist classes. In the 4th grade, library is an hour long. Half of that time is used to find a book of their choice, and the other half is spent on an actual library lesson such as reference materials like dictionaries, encyclopedias, atlas, and computers. They have assignments and projects. Part of their grade is also based on book return each week and keeping a log of the books they check out. PE/Health has also changed. In third grade, students only had PE. Now they have an hour of health class as well. Again, there is actual note-taking, assignments, and projects in this class. Art is also new. They have never had an actual art class before. Now they have an hour. In art, they learn different techniques and many new vocabulary words. Finally, there is an hour of music. They are learning the history of music, different types of music, tons of new rhythms, and even take a district music test. So, when you see grades in these classes please know that they are to be taken just as seriously as reading or math.

Finally, grade sheets went home today. Please note that only the hi-lighted grades have been updated. Other teacher's will not update their grades until report card time. Overall, besides some missing assignments grades look pretty good for first quarter 4th graders.

Well, have a great weekend and stay warm!

Library Reminder

BRING LIBRARY BOOKS TOMORROW!!!!

Feel free to join us for Tears of Joy tomorrow at 1:15. It is an awesome play that our PTA is bringing to us. Thank you PTA!

Have a great night and stay dry!

Tuesday Happenings!

Today in reading class we oovooed Jeff the Nature Guy from Redlodge. We learned all sorts of cool owl facts and had quite a few oohhh and aahhh moments. The class you see in the picture is our buddy class over at Burlington Elementary. We are down in the very bottom corner in the small square. Students collected more owl facts to add onto their reading projects on the computer this week. I can't wait to see all that they learned in an organized fashion. Cool!

Fitness club officially starts today. We are getting out there and running! Ready or not. The weather is supposed to get bad again tonight so just remember the rule: If is is snow, pouring rain, or below zero than we will not be running. If not, we are on! Dress warm and hats or hoods are always good.

Today, students met Ms. Handford. She is a junior field from MSU-B. She will be working with kids and teaching a few lessons for the next month or two. Be watching for a picture and information post on her soon. :0) Welcome!

On Friday, we will be having a guest speaker. She will be teaching the class traditional native games and facts. We will be joining Mrs. Hankin's class for this adventure. Exciting Montana History!

I hope to see you at Mckenzie River Pizza tonight. Remember, every first Tuesday is Bitterroot night. Mckenzie will donate 20% of your bill back to our school. Yippee! Can't think of a better excuse to eat out! It even works on take out. Just don't forget your coupon voucher slip that went home with your child yesterday. Yummy!

Have a super night!

Snow? What? It's October

Let it snow! Well my request for better weather did not come thru. This weather is supposed to last throughout the week. Students need to wear warm clothes, boots, hats and gloves. It is not sweatshirt weather anymore. If students do not wear a coat they will be asked to stay inside for recess and walk the halls for their exercise. Please help students remember to dress warm in the morning.

Fitness club will not meet in heavy rain or if there is snow on the ground. Sorry. I am just as bummed as the kids!

We tried to name all fifty states today in class without looking at a map. By the end of the day they had 48. They were missing Maryland and New Jersey. Very good for day one.

Kids also need to start to remember and be able to locate all seven reservations in Montana. Maps can be found online to practice at home. This will be on the final Montana History Test.

Have a great night!

Jeff the Nature Guy from Redlodge!

Find Out Friday!

It is Friday!! Can you say cold, rain, freezing wind, sun, warm, CRAZY!!! I hope the weather makes up its mind next week.

As you can see in the picture, today in reading class we used a computer program called inspiration. This program is one that allows kids to brainstorm and organize information in an organized way. So, today we watched a youtube of Jeff the Nature Guy from the Redlodge Beartooth Nature Center and collected facts about the Great Horned Owl. Then we put those facts under the categories we had previously brainstormed together. Then we began to add pictures to our webs. Next Tuesday, during Reading class, Jeff will be oovooing in to talk to our class along with our Burlington School Buddy class across town. He will be giving us more details to add to our webs. Fun!! I have posted the video we watched today above.

Fitness club starts Monday after school. Since I am one of the directors this might mean that the blog is not updated until after four but still before five. I am really going to try to update before school gets out though. We will be running/walking our two miles come rain or shine, and it is only supposed to be in the high thirties on Monday so dress warm kids!! Students may bring their I-pods to listen to while running but them MUST stay in their bags until fitness club. Remember, if picking up kids you need to be in the parking lot at 3:45. Thanks!

Ms. Hankins and I are starting to plan our events for Drug Free Week. It is the last week of October. We will be having guest speakers daily that week and we will end our unit by taking a trip to the Yellowstone Detention Center on October 30th. This field trip will have no cost real or fake money. Thanks to the PTA for paying for our bus! I have one chaperone already, but I would love to have one or two more. Kids are split up into groups and need adults that are as strict as I am with making Bitterroot proud with our excellent behavior and mannered kids. If this is you, shoot me an email or note in the planner. Any and all parents are invited to meet at the jail to join in on the tour with your child. It truly is an eye opener to the kids to see how life with drugs just continues down a road of bad choices, not bad people.

Next week we will also continue our journey back in time to see how Montana became the state it is today. We will be talking about the 7 Indian reservations and tribes found in Montana, and taking an in depth look at the Battle at Little Big Horn. Very interesting! We will conclude the week by having a guest speaker about the Montana tribes and some traditional Native American games. You know I will be filming those for you!

Next week in science you will be seeing a list of options come home. Students will need to select two of the options or make one of their own to complete and share with the class. This will end our unit on weather. I am hoping for a field trip to the weather station, but nothing is finalized quite yet! Keeping our fingers crossed. If all works out we will take the Met bus and possibly have lunch at Fuddruckers and also visit the National Weather Station to learn a little more about Earthquakes and Hurricanes. We shall see!

Well, have a wonderful weekend! Don't forget to sell, sell, sell those Believe items. PTA is awesome to us and I hope to help them to help us! See ya in two day! Peace!

Hey There!

Hi! Boy is life busy or is it just me?

The Believe Fundraiser is coming home today! BELIEVE oh my! My favorite word in the entire English language. So, lets get out there and hit all the people we know in order to support our school. This is the biggest PTA fundraiser at our school and ALL profits will go towards buying a third computer lab and you know I am all over that! Please make sure that students sell safe. Avoid door to door sales and feel free to take the packet to work. When my daughter did this last week for Miles Ave. it was helpful to have more than one catalog to pass so ask PTA or the office if you feel this way too. An extra incentive: students will earn $50 fake dollars from me for each item sold. They will get paid when they turn in their packet. On a final thought, think Christmas and think ahead. Sell, sell, sell and thanks!

There is an October calendar of upcoming events is also in your child's take home folder. This needs to stay in the folder. We will be adding events as they come up. Feel free to make a copy for your fridge, but return to their folder soon! Thanks!

On a final note, I just want to say thanks to all the parents that have been communicating with me on a daily, weekly, every now and then basis. I love that we are building this bridge.

Have a great night!