Fourth Grade Open House

Dear Simon,

Last night you had your Fourth Grade Open House. Here's what I learned:

1. The technology in your classroom is so cool. You showed me how you use/play with Garage Band. I thought it was cool just watching you walk over to the computer cabinet and carefully pull one out and bring it back to your desk, hugging it to your chest the whole way. I also liked seeing the  "clicker" that each kid uses to "log-in" to the main computer when they arrive in the classroom.

2. The garden right outside the window of your classroom is so beautiful. Right now there are rows and rows of sunflowers. I got to see a great photo that your teacher took of you standing out in the sunflowers on a day that your class spent some time outside sketching (and learning about Vincent Van Gogh and his sunflower paintings). I also noticed at least two very giant pumpkins growing out in the garden. The garden is one of your teachers passions and I really like that about her. She brought in this bowl of little tomatoes and your sister ate about ten of them.

3. Daddy and I got to ask your teacher about spelling homework and tests. You've brought home spelling homework the last couple of weeks and have been really frustrated at not immediately knowing how to spell all the words. We've been talking about how that's part of the process of learning - but sometimes that's hard to understand. She gave us some good tips, suggestions, and perspective and let me know that it was more important for you to just say the words out loud, spell them out loud and then write the words on the line vs. me just saying the word out loud and you guessing the first time. We'll try that next week.

4. It was so awesome to see the math papers on your desk! We saw that you are learning about the Distributive Property ("The Distributive Property lets you multiply a sum by multiplying each addend separately and then add the products"). Here's an example that I found online:

4 x 53
(4 x 50) + (4 x 3)
200 + 12
212

I love that you are learning this skill - I think it's going to come in handy as you get into bigger numbers. I don't think I learned to do arithmetic that way when I was in fourth grade so I might need to do a little practicing with you to get the hang of it.

5. We got to visit all your past teachers again. It's always fun to see you want to see them, say hi, give them a hug as you make your way through the building.

Fourth grade seems to be off to a great start. We are so proud of you Simon! Keep up the great work.

Mama

Related Posts

Sign in or sign up to comment.

44 thoughts

  1. Trisha H says…
    09/28/2011

    So happy to hear this!

    Reply 0 Replies
  2. Suz says…
    09/28/2011

    I am a mom to a 4th grade boy as well and find it interesting the similarities and differences in what is being taught across the country. Thanks for sharing Ali!

    Reply 0 Replies
  3. Jess says…
    09/28/2011

    For spelling, try writing the letter of each word on a sticky note and then have him physically pick out the letters needed and post them on the wall or window in the right order. Kind of like a game, and it gets the kids up and moving.

    Reply 0 Replies
  4. Emma says…
    09/28/2011

    Wow! Distributive property, Im a teacher in Aus and we are just doing that in year 6.......definately think you are more on track over there learning it in 4th grade as it is something that is designed to make learning easier in the latter grades. Keep up your hardwork Simon! (and Ali!)

    Reply 0 Replies
  5. Toni says…
    09/28/2011

    Hi Ali - sounds like an awesome class.
    Just thought I'd also share a few tips that I have found work for my son with spelling...

    For the trickier words, using a black or blue pen/pencil to write the word but write the letters they miss out or get mixed up in a different colour (red really stands out but even green or blue if you've used black). Either I do this for him so he can just 'see' it more clearly otherwise he writes it that way himself.

    The other main strategy I've used is making a story up about the words, e.g. believe (getting the letters in the correct order - I believe in Christmas Eve - the i comes before the eve in the sentence and also in the word.... Sorry only example I can think of at the moment.

    Also have you heard of letterland? Has some great stories for blends - more for younger (might be good for anna) but is still quite helpful for the olders to fall back on when working out some of the rules... If simon still likes reading to Anna it may help pick up some things as he reads that he can transfer to what he's doing. Here's a link you could look at if interested but it may be far too basic.

    http://www.letterland.com/phonics-books/Far-Beyond-ABC-Hardback

    Some other people I know have used rainbow writing i.e. writing the word over the top of itself in a different colour each time. Or jumping, hopping, shooting a hoop saying each letter if they're more physical learners.

    anyway enough on spelling. Have a great rest of your day.

    Reply 0 Replies
  6. Catherine Denton says…
    09/28/2011

    How amazing that they have a garden out the window with gorgeous things to look at like sunflowers! He is such a cutie (his sister too).
    My Blog

    Reply 0 Replies
  7. Mel says…
    09/28/2011

    Van Gogh is my favorite artist, and my favorite of his paintings are his sunflowers series. It sounds like Simon's teacher is a definite keeper!

    Reply 0 Replies
  8. Bec says…
    09/29/2011

    I learned the Distributive Property in my 50s (!). It has made a huge difference and improvement doing math "in my head" instead of relying on a calculator. A math whiz friend of mine taught me how to do it.

    Keep up the good work Simon!

    Reply 0 Replies
  9. heather Prins says…
    09/29/2011

    simply awesome! Do you know I never learned that way to multiply? That is cool

    Reply 0 Replies
  10. Jonda says…
    09/29/2011

    My own Simon is also in 4th grade and your teacher's spelling tip is something we will also have to try! I think writing it and seeing it will be the clincher to making it stick! Thank you for sharing that!!

    "We" are also learning the distributive property and it just makes so much sense. I'm a "numbers person", but had never seen multiplication explained like this before until he started bringing papers home. It's definitely a skill I'll need to grab onto and use often!

    Reply 0 Replies
  11. Laura Melohn says…
    09/29/2011

    Wow, the technology cabinet? I remember in 3rd grading getting to use computers in school for the first time for a math program. And it was a big deal because they were the first computers the school ever had. Oh how times have changed and how old I've gotten. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply 0 Replies
  12. Cindy says…
    09/30/2011

    What an awesome school! Wish my son would have had the benefit of a similar school He took speach therapy for 21 years and others can still hardly understand him (unless you're around him alot). Simon is truly fortunate (great parents, school, teachers and loving extended family). I'm so glad you share your life on your blog. Thank you.

    Reply 0 Replies
  13. Kimberlee says…
    10/01/2011

    I love that you do these letters. It is wonderful that you have them online. I used to write occasional letters to my daughter, but I think most of them got lost over the years. It would be great to have them online and then print them out as a book.

    Your blog is just so heartwarming. :)

    Thanks for sharing.

    Reply 0 Replies
  14. Jennifer S. says…
    10/04/2011

    I am the mother of a child with ADD and spelling was a struggle for him. We found a system that works for us. The first night with the new words, he writes them three times each by himself. We are not involved. The next couple of nights he spells them outloud. (if he has difficult words, we would break them down with a highligher like suggested above). Then we say the words to him and he only has to rewrite the words he missed. By the end of the week, he always had the words down.

    We also try to remind our children about the first time they tried to ride their bike without training wheels or play a new sport about how difficult and frustrating it was for them. Learning is the same thing. Practice makes perfect!
    Best of luck.

    Jennifer

    Reply 0 Replies
  15. Melanie says…
    10/10/2011

    Thanks for sharing! Isn't it amazing how differently kids are taught these days. Just wait until he learns the lattice method of multiplication - that one still blows my mind! Spelling was and still is a challenge for my son. One of his teachers always had fun ways for them to practice there words for one day during the week. Things like taking an old cookie sheet (or turning it upside down) and spraying shaving cream - let the kids write their words in the shaving cream. Spreading sugar or flour on the inside of the sheet and letting them practice that way. Shaving cream words in the bathtub wall. Bouncing the ball back and forth as they spell their words, sitting upside down on the couch. Hopping on one foot. Silly stuff, but fun too. At least one day of fun stuff seem to help our son. Thanks again for sharing!

    Reply 0 Replies
  16. Debbie W says…
    10/14/2011

    Ali, one of my boys always struggled with spelling, but he is a very bright kid and now a 24 year old software developer. He would always mix up things like their and there. I told him the "spell checker" would not fix that - he told me (in 3rd grade - so a long time ago) that by the time it was important to him, there would be a "there checker". He is right, now MS Word can check grammar and sentence structure and correct it for him if he goofs...

    Another thing that made a big difference with one of my other sons was to write the words on a little white board, rather than paper - for some reason it made all the difference in the process. I think being easier to quickly erase helped?

    Reply 0 Replies

Sign in or sign up to comment.