Mrs. Lester's Learners

Hi, parents!                   J0283679               

Welcome to Lester's Learners, my blog site.  In this blog I will be posting upcoming events, sharing study tips, and sharing helpful educational websites.  This blog will have some general information for all of you, and some information specific to your child's grade level, kindergarten or third grade. You can access specific information by choosing that link on the top left of the blog.  Kindergarten News and Third Grade News will have information about events in those grades.  Kindergarten Links and Third Grade Links will have links to websites for that particular age/grade.  I hope you find it helpful.

                                                                                                              

March 31, 2008

April Link

Two_at_computer Since the CRCT is coming up, I thought the following link might be helpful:  http://english-zone.com

This site, English Zone, has many different practice pages and quizzes relating to Language Arts.  Some, like idioms, are amusing.  Others, such as the easy and intermediate level reading pages, provide practice and feedback on reading maps, reading for specific purposes, and reading poetry.  You will find practice on spelling patterns, parts of a story, and verbs.  Immediate feedback is given, so students know right away if their answers were right or wrong.  Some of the pages are for members only, but I found practice pages and quizzes under every topic for nonmembers.  Check it out!!

News You Can Use

Student Third grade is a busy, busy place these days.  Students are finishing color poems for a special bulletin board for Day of the Arts, Friday, April 4.  What is your favorite color?  How does it make you feel?

Thursday, April 3 is the date for the third grade Performing Arts field trip.  Our students are going to be cultural whiz kids!   

Friday is the Day of the Arts, a great day of experiencing many aspects of art:  music, visual art, dance ... it's a fantastic day.

Smiling_stars

Spring Break is the week of April 7-11.  Enjoy the sunshine, your family, and your favorite activities and places.  R and R (rest and relaxation) is the order of the day!

CRCT!  It's coming, it's coming.  The Georgia Criterion Referenced Competency Tests (CRCT) will begin on Wednesday,April 23, for third grade.  We will test on the following dates:  April 23, 24, 25, 28, and 29.  Please be sure students are rested and have a great breakfast for this test.  As you know, third graders must pass the reading section of the CRCT to move on to fourth grade.  We are practicing at school, but students can also take practice tests on-line at home using the information provided by their homeroom teachers.  If you have special concerns or questions, contact me or your child's homeroom teacher.  We will be glad to help.

February 25, 2008

February Links for Third Grade

Splash1_lohi Guess whose birthday is coming up soon! Think cats, hats, and zany rhymes.  Did you guess Dr. Seuss?  If you did, you get a star!  Dr. Seuss's birthday is March 2.  Here's a great way to celebrate it:  go to the following website.  http://www.seussville.com/

At Seussville you can read Dr. Seuss's biography, write a story with Seuss pictures, music, and characters, and play games.  Check it out!

February Links for Kindergarten/First Grades

Mouse1 February is almost history, but here is a link i hope you'll want to remember long after February is over:  http://www.hubbardscupboard.org/

This link will take you Hubbard's Cupboard, a website chock full of wonderful helps for parents and activities for children.  There is so much here i cannot begin to discuss it all, but three areas I found helpful were:  Math, which had links to online games and activities (some better than others, but well worth the look),  Literacy, which had links to reading suggestions, printable books, and other activities for kindergarten/beginning readers, and Family Involvement, which had suggestions for parent/child activities.  Spend a few minutes checking out Hubbard's Cupboard and you'll see what I mean.   

February 01, 2008

February Kindergarten News

February is here!  With it comes Groundhog Day, Black History Month, Valentine's Day, and President's Day.  Here at Nicholson we have some special events on our calendar.  Check out these dates, and mark your calendars.

Feb. 6 - School  Pictures, Early Dismissal

Feb. 8 - Bingo Night, 6:30

Feb. 14 - Valentine's Day, Candygram Delivery

Feb. 18-19 Student Holidays:  President's Day and Teacher Workday

Feb. 29 - Spirit Day, Chick-Fil-A Biscuits, Banking Day

In class we are working on the following:

Math - Graphing, Coins, Numeration

Reading - Letter Sounds for Ll, Vv, Qu, qu; sight words - look, little, nine, do, have, ten, said, and did

We will continue to work on writing a sentence and illustrating it with a picture.

February Third Grade News

February is here!  With it comes Groundhog Day, Black History Month, Valentine's Day, and President's Day.  Here at Nicholson we have some special events on our calendar.  Check out these dates, and mark your calendars.

Third Grade P.E. Show and P.T.A. - Feb. 5 at 6:45 p.m.

School Pictures - Feb. 6

Foundation Bingo Night - Feb. 8 at 6:30 p.m.

Moe's Night - Foundation's Third Grade Night at Moe's

Spirit Day on Friday, February 29, with Chick-fil-a Biscuits and Banking

In addition to these special days, the students will enjoy some time off from school. 

February 6 - Early Release Day, 12:20 Dismissal

February 18, 19 - President's Day Holiday, Student Holiday/Teacher     Workday

For a short month, there is much to do at Nicholson!

January 23, 2008

Happy New Year!

Blue_star Happy New Year greetings from Nicholson Elementary.  We are back in the swing of things now, working hard to help our Nicholson stars shine even more during the second half of the year.

Upcoming Events You Won't Want to Miss

Jan. 22, 23, 24, 25, and 28 - Parent/Teacher Conferences, Students dismissed at 12:20 p.m.

Coming in February:  3rd Grade PE Show, Early Release, Presidents' Day/School Holiday, Inservice Day for Teachers/No School for Students

Helping Your Favorite Nicholson Star Shine Brighter

BooksBack when I was a child, when the rocks were warm and the earth was young, parents were limited to a few basic tools to help their students at home.  Flash card drills, trips to the library, reading with their children, and educational trips were the main methods parents used to help their students succeed in school.  Those are all still great ways to help students.  The good news is there are now so many more ways available to help your students through CDs, educational DVDs, and of course, through the internet.  Properly used and carefully supervised, the internet can provide everything from on-line games to virtual field trips. 

Two_at_computer Below are some helpful links to internet sites I recommend for you and your child.  Explore them and enjoy them.  I think you will find that math drills no longer need to be boring, and field trips do not have to be expensive.  As always, provide supervision any time your child is using an internet site. 

For Kindergarten:

http://www.starfall.com

Starfall has a section marked ABCs that is great for practicing short vowels and consonant sounds.  Choose ABCs, then click on the letter you want.  When the letter screen comes up, click on the letter and enjoy!

http://www.abc.net.au/countusin/

This site is full of math games:  counting, time, making sets, etc.  You will want to show your child how to get started with the game, then he can do it by himself without any help.  What a fun way to practice math!

For Third Grade:

http://school.elps.k12.mi.us/donley/classrooms/berry/sitton_spelling_activities/main_page.htm

This site provides many different activities to practice spelling.  When you go to the web site, choose third grade spelling.  Then choose Core Words Spelling Activities.  The next screen has units; find the unit you want and click on the spelling activities.  You will be able to choose how to practice spelling:  puzzles, memory games, crossword puzzles, etc.  (FYI:  We are about to finish Unit 14 at the time of this post.)

http://aplusmath.com/Games/index.html

This site is a great place to go to practice math facts.  There are different types of games available for addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Check it out!

January 21, 2008

January Links

For Third Grade:

http://school.elps.k12.mi.us/donley/classrooms/berry/sitton_spelling_activities/main_page.htm

This site provides many different activities to practice spelling.  When you go to the web site, choose third grade spelling.  Then choose Core Words Spelling Activities.  The next screen has units; find the unit you want and click on the spelling activities.  You will be able to choose how to practice spelling:  puzzles, memory games, crossword puzzles, etc.  (FYI:  We are about to finish Unit 14 at the time of this post.)

http://aplusmath.com/Games/index.html

This site is a great place to go to practice math facts.  There are different types of games available for addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Check it out!

January Links

For Kindergarten:

http://www.starfall.com

Starfall has a section marked ABCs that is great for practicing short vowels and consonant sounds.  Choose ABCs, then click on the letter you want.  When the letter screen comes up, click on the letter and enjoy!

http://www.abc.net.au/countusin/

This site is full of math games:  counting, time, making sets, etc.  You will want to show your child how to get started with the game, then he can do it by himself without any help.  What a fun way to practice math!

April 2008

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