Last week...

I'm not even sure I know where to begin!  Let's start with our VIP Cowboy...
On Thursday, he had a special lunch with his mom!

And on Friday, he brought in some special items to show and tell us about!  Zinedean is extra special proud of his "football" player dad!

I love these special weeks when we REALLY get to know the littles.  Such special times!

Last week our Grammar Talks sentence was...

I wanted to tell you that everything you told me was exactly right!

From the text Molly Lou Melon

On this day, we were editing.  When we edit we are making sure the first letter of our sentence is capital, our word wall words are spelled correctly and there in ending punctuation.  We also, make sure there are spaces between the words and the handwriting is neat!  

Reading was all about setting a purpose for reading based on genre of text.  We did not go into the genres DEEP but just looked at the covers mostly to decide if we thought it was fiction, nonfiction or maybe some poetry.  Once we decided then we set a purpose for reading that particular text.  We might read fiction for enjoyment or to FEEL something, to find out about characters or the plot of a story.  We might read nonfiction to learn something, to help us cook or fix something, to find out facts and someone said for FUN...some people enjoy nonfiction (great answer)!  Poetry made us think a little harder.  I read some different poems and we concluded that they are enjoyable to listen to and they can be fiction or nonfiction!  

This week we are going to look into the STRUCTURE of fiction and setting a purpose based on that structure! And we will follow up with TEXT FEATURES of nonfiction text and setting a purpose using those features!  

Good Readers:  set purposes BEFORE reading!

Writing has been all about informational writing and responding to text.  We have looked at good responses in depth.  When asked when a writer might need to respond or tell all they know about something (be an expert)...the littles came up with during reading, we respond to books and tell others about them, in math we have to "explain our thinking"  and sometimes we have to write it down (math journals) and scientist are always writing down what they observe and facts!  GREAT job little FireBalls 312!  

We read a short text about night titled, Nighttime by Joy Cowley and the littles responded!

I had video of other informational writing...BUT...I couldn't make my imovie until I had freed up some space on the device! OH MY... However, I am pleased with the GRIT our little writers are showing.  Mrs. Corley was in the other day and was impressed as well!

Math has been about place value.  We used lots of manipulatives to show place value.  This seems to stump the best of them every year and we will continue to revisit!

These two see to HAVE it!!!  We used place value to order our numbers this week during problem solving! WHOOOP WHOOOP!

I love those responses to "EXPLAIN YOUR THINKING"...if that isn't some great thinking and use of place value I'm not sure what is!  This week we are going to continue with our discussion of place value and use it to compare  numbers.  {greater than and less than} We are not required to know the symbol YET...but it will be included for those that are ready to recognize and/or use it!

Science was all about changes in the sky.  Day and Night.  We did some observations and used our schema to record those changes in our science journals!  Just in case some of our little scientists are interested!  I'm going to TRY to stay awake!!!

A supermoon will be the star attraction on Sunday night and will coincide with a total lunar eclipse. This full moon will be the closest of 2015 and will appear up to 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter than a full moon at its farthest point from Earth, according to NASA. (AP file photo)

Here are the times to know for prime skywatching:

*The moon will rise around 6:30 p.m. CDT Sunday in Alabama and hit peak fullness at 9:50 p.m.

*The lunar eclipse will begin at 8:07 p.m. CDT.

*The total eclipse will begin at 9:11 p.m. CDT.

*The moment of greatest eclipse will be at 9:47 p.m. CDT.

*The total eclipse ends 10:23 p.m. CDT.

*The partial eclipse ends 11:27 p.m. CDT

*The moon will set between 7-7:15 a.m. CDT on Monday.

Yesterday...I had a FUN FILLED day of sports, family and friends!  I started my morning with my nephews  BOTH playing baseball at 9:00! Of course both games were delayed because of mud on the field...(NOT today...please...I've got a schedule to keep, I thought) But both boys had winning games and win or lose I just love watching them play and HAVE FUN!  I then had brunch with one of my besties (Ms. Weinke: 1st grade Hosp Elem) at one of our FAVORITE places, 5th Street Cafe.  GUESS who I had the pleasure of seeing there...my SWEET Alyssa!  I was on my way out when I saw her so I didn't get to take a picture or talk much!  It was time for the Badgers game to start...I was running late and I think it was half time when I finally arrived!  NO BUENO Ms. Guy...but I made it and LOVED seeing those littles playing/cheering their hearts out! SMILES all around! Thanks for letting me come be a part of it!!!

And then...I FOUND this picture on the camera and just because it makes me smile I must include it!

Have a great Sunday! Can't wait to see my Little FireBalls tomorrow!  Please JOIN our class on TWITTER...@GuysFirsties the littes will begin TWEETING in October and would love interaction from you all!

LOOK AT THAT FACE!!!