Five Books Done: The Fast and The Furriest by Andy Behrens

 The fifth Iowa Children's Choice Award nominee that I chose to read was The Fast and The Furriest by Andy Behrens. 

Genre: Realistic Fiction
Description: Kevin and his dog Cromwell are classic couch potatoes until Cromwell sees a dog agility contest on TV.  Read on to find out how this changes Kevin, Cromwell, and their family.

Fourth Book Done: Hiss-s-s-s! by Eric A Kimmel

  The fourth Iowa Children's Choice Award nominee that I chose to read was Hiss-s-s-s! by Eric A Kimmel.  

Genre:  Realistic Fiction
  Omar wants a pet snake, but his mom is less then thrilled.  Read to find out how the story unfolds and how mom and Omar both grow and change through this adventure.

  If you are a snake lover this is a must read.  Even if you detest snakes I recommend picking up this book!  Also if you get a chance check out Eric A. Kimmel's website.  

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Third Book Done: Waiting for the Magic by Patricia MacLachlan

  The third Iowa Children's Choice Award nominee I chose to read was Waiting for the Magic by Patricia MacLachlan. 
Genre: Fiction
Description: In Waiting for the Magic, William and Elinor's father decides he needs a break from the family, so he leaves for "a while".  Their mom copes with dad leaving by adopting four dogs and a cat.  Read Waiting for the Magic to find out how the canines and feline help the family figure out how important they are to each other.

Second Book Done: The Ghost of Graylock by Dan Poblocki

 The second Iowa Children's Choice Award nominee I chose to read was The Ghost of Graylock by Dan Poblocki. 

Genre: Mystery/Suspense 
Description: Neil and Bree, his teenage sister, are spending the summer with their aunts.  The aunts just happen to live near an abandoned, supposedly haunted state hospital called Graylock. When Graylock was operating it specialized in trying to help people with mental illnesses.  
Being typical kids Neil and Bree decide to explore Graylock.  This is where the spooky twists and turns of the novel begin to appear.  

If you enjoy a book that is a bit spooky, The Ghost of Graylock should be on your must read list for the summer!

Working on My Goal: First Book Done: Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliet

   One of my reading goals for the summer is to read the Iowa Children's Choice Award nominees for the 2014-2015 school year. Being a fan of Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliet, I decided to start with Hold Fast. Upon completion of the book here are my thoughts.
            Hold Fast by Blue Balliet
            Genre: Mystery
            Description: Mystery about a young girl whose father disappears, which lands her family in a homeless shelter.  The story unfolds as Early Pearl works to find her father, Dash.  If you enjoy a good mystery, I highly recommend this fast moving, enjoyable read.  

End of the Year Video

Follow the link below to view the end of the year slide show:

http://mrsmorrisonskinder.blogspot.com/2014/05/2013-2014-end-of-year-video.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+MrsMorrisonsKindergarten+%28Mrs.+Morrison%27s+Kindergarten%29

Staying Sharp!

   Just like sports skills our reading and math skills need to be practiced to stay sharp!
   The best way to practice reading and become a better reader is to read.  For motivation and reading practice this summer visit the Lied Public Library.  Library cards are free.  Students must have a parent with them to sign up for a card.  They also offer a great summer reading program. Sign up for it! 
  I have offered a small math review packet to students who wanted it.  Here are some links to other review packets. There are also links to many websites where students can play math games.  These are found on the websites section of our classroom page.  

http://www.tccs.k12.in.us/userfiles/69/Classes/422/4th%20Grade%20Math%20Practice%20Packet.pdf

http://www.woodward.edu/data/files/gallery/ContentGallery/rising_4th_math_packet.pdf

http://www.apsva.us/cms/lib2/VA01000586/Centricity/Domain/72/4th%20sum%20rev12.pdf

http://www.flushingschools.org/parents.cfm?subpage=846407

http://www.district196.org/hl/ClassConnect/4th/SummerMathPacket.pdf

Enjoy your summer!  Stop by and see me next fall.

Mrs. Sunderman

More Flight History!

  On this day in 1927, Charles "Lucky" Lindbergh took off to attempt a solo flight across the Atlantic.  Students in Mrs. Sunderman's class researched Lindbergh and created short presentation sharing some facts about him.  
   Then we discussed what it means to be a hero.  We brainstormed examples of heroes within our tribes.  Some heroes that were mentioned where:  parents, Abraham Lincoln, Bill Gates, The Wright Brothers, and Henry Ford.  We then brainstormed a list of character traits that our heroes have in common.  Some traits that where mentioned were:  bravery, being crazy, heroic, being inspiring, gifted, persistent, and creative.  

Field Day!

               Please note that field day has been moved to tomorrow because of weather concerns.  Please see the purple note for further information.

Summer Reading

  If you are looking for ideas for summer reading, check out the link below.  It is the list of Children's Choice Award nominees for next school year. 

https://sites.google.com/site/iowabookawards/icca/icca-list-2013-14

Garfield Library Closed

   As of today the K-8 media center is closed for the rest of the school year.  Students are being allowed to check books out of our classroom library, those are due back on Monday, May 19.  I have requested that they not be taken home.  Please remember that the public library is a create place to find books!  While your there make sure you sign up for their summer reading program.

Learning to Fly

   Fourth graders at Garfield have been studying about the history of flight.  We have read about Orville and Wilbur Wright and Amelia Earhart.
  Local pilot, Matt Ridge(who is also famous for being Mrs. Ridge's husband) came and talked to us about airplanes, flying, and what it takes to get your pilot's license.

Visiting Our Kindergarten Buddies

Mrs. Sunderman's fourth graders visited their kindergarten buddies, Mrs. Morrison's class today.  We worked on a special project together and enjoyed ice cream!

Math News

In math we are reviewing patterns and using them to study input/output tables.  We are looking at various ways to present data, such as line plots.  

We are doing well building stamina during our math rotations.  We have math writing activities and math by myself activities to choose from during our rotation time.  The math writing activities involve problem solving and place value review.  One math by myself activity provides us with an opportunity to practice multiplication, subtraction, and addition.  The other provides us with a chance to practice finding the mean, median, mode, and range for a set of data. 

Trip to Lisle's and Ez Way!

      Students from Mrs. Sunderman's room traveled to Lisle Corpation where they were taken on tours of the operation there and at Ez Way.  Lisle Corporation is our Adopt-A-Class sponsor.  Ann Wilson from Lisle visits us 3-4 times throughout the school year and teaches us about the day to day operations and the products they make in both operations. Our final activity together is getting to tour both operations.  Helping with our tours this year were Jerry Stanton, Scotty Kurtz, John Williams, Ann Wilson, and Vera Vastenau.  Vera attended the tour with her grandson, Ethan, who is in Mrs. Sunderman's class.  Thanks to all of them for taking time out of their busy day to have us visit!

Note from Mrs. Peters

Please make sure your child shows you the note from Mrs. Peters, our school nurse.

Remind101

   If you or your student wish to get reminders about homework, test dates, early dismissals, etc. make sure you sign up for Remind101.  I sent home a purple note that explains how you to sign up.  Thanks!