Monthly Newsletter: April and May 2023
Dear Parents,
It’s hard to believe that we are already into the third trimester this year. The year is passing so quickly, and I am thoroughly enjoying my time with your children.
Thank you to all the parents that have helped with preparations and donations towards our Pioneer Day. Our Pioneer Day is scheduled for April 20th from 8:20-11:45. Thank you to those that have signed up to help.
Our State Testing is coming up at the end of May. You can also help by making sure your child gets a healthy breakfast and gets a good night sleep. I will send out the dates as soon as they are available.
We are in the middle of Chapter 10 on fractions and decimals. Soon, we will move into perimeter and area and then onto geometry.
Working through ST Math, ALEKS Pie Chart, Freckle Math, and keeping up with ALEKS Quicktables each day will help the students stay sharp on math concepts for 4th grade.
The novel that we are reading now is called Patty Reed’s Doll. This is the story of a doll who survives the fateful trip of the Donner Party over the Sierra Nevada mountain range. Students have created their own character and are writing journal entries as they travel with the Reed family. The journal entries will be part of a scrapbook they are keeping to remember the trials and tribulations of the journey.
The next novel that we will read is titled By the Great Horn Spoon. This is a story of a boy and his butler who head out for the gold fields in California. Adventure and the harsh realities of this time period come to life in this delightful tale.
We just finished learning about the closing down of the Missions and the influence Mexico had over California with the Rancho period.
We are now reading how the pioneers and the Gold Rush both impacted California’s population which led to California becoming the 31st state.
Science:
In our next unit, students will explore energy. Students will investigate how energy is stored, how it can make objects move, and how collisions transfer energy between objects. Students will also explore devices that convert energy from one form into another, such as heat into motion and electricity into light.
