October 16, 2025

Dear Parents,

Happy Thursday! Here we are again. This has been a great week. I feel like they have done a lot of testing this week. Math test, spelling post test, End of story test, and selection test. We are moving along in 4th grade quite well. We had a few bumps in the road with some late slips. I will say that is to be expected, no one is perfect. I am very happy with the way we are adjusting to 4th grade. As I am planning for next week, I am pretty much planning for the next one too since it is only 3 days. I try to be sure each subject is at a good stopping place for a small break.

Language Arts

We finished up a story yesterday with a post test and end of story test. So today we moved on to a new story. They took their spelling pretest which is over Homophones. This list tends to be hard. We also added a new strategy to our composition book. This strategy was on figurative language. It has 6 different types of figurative language on the page: simile, metaphor, personification, alliteration, assonance, and sensory words. We will discuss these as we read the story Blind Ambition. This story is nonfiction and it is about a person who is blind and all the struggles and challenges he faces. It also talks about how he overcomes them. It is not a long story. The grammar this week will focus on capitalization. We will talk about capitalizing Historical Events and documents, Titles, languages, people's names, and Nationalities. In decoding we will talk about Syllable division in Patterns: VCCV, VCV, and VV.

We will finish this story up next Friday the 24th with the post test and end of the story test. The following week is just 3 days due to conferences, so we will do a writing projects on an Opinion paper. They will learn how to put together an opinion paper with specific paragraphs.

Math

The student took a Math test over Addition and Subtraction of larger numbers yesterday. I was a little disappointed with scores. We went over the review together very thoroughly. They made corrections on their tests today. I plan to start Topic 3 tomorrow. We will also add Multiplication to our basic fact testing starting the 22nd. So if you are working flash cards at home to help them add multiplication to it.

Social Studies

We have started chapter 4 this week. We have talked about Niagara Falls and how it is not only beautiful but also very powerful. Today they read about the mountain ranges of the Northeast. They learned about 3. One of them was the Adirondack Mountains in New York that house Lake Placid where the 1980 Winter Olympics were held. I specifically remember watching these Olympics. I think because I was finally at an age to be interested in them. Next week I plan to give them a map of the Northeast so they can create an answer key of located the states. On the following Wednesday (29th) they will take their first Map test over the Northeast. They will need to be able to label a map of the Northeast with the 11 states.

Spirit Day

Tomorrow is a Spirit day! Pay $1.00 to wear sweats or a hat.

Conferences

Wow! I am super impressed! All of you but one has signed up for a conference time. Thank you! I look forward to meeting with each of you.

I hope everyone has enjoyed the cooler weather this week. I know that I have. I will say I am very ready for the time change. I hate getting up in the dark. I have a hard time getting out of bed. I want to stay snuggled up until it is lighter. You are going to quickly learn I am a lover of winter. I prefer winter. It is the perfect time to just sit inside and read under a blanket with coffee or hot tea and sometimes hot chocolate. Even better when the snow is flying.

The end of the year in a teacher's eye goes quickly once we hit conferences. Because then in 3 weeks it is Thanksgiving then in 3 more it is Christmas. It flies by. Maybe not for you or for the kids but for me it does. There is so much to plan and get accomplished. It is my favorite time of the year. This weekend I am getting some Grandma time. I will be picking up my granddaughter Friday after school and having an overnight. I am super excited! I love when Maddyn comes to Grandma's house. I also have a new (used) play kitchen with dishes and food for her to see.. I am all about any Grandma time.

God Bess,

Mrs. Sickels