Month: May 2026

It’s a nice long weekend, and I hope you are able to enjoy the sunshine and your beautiful children. We had a great week in third grade, even through all the testing. The students are excited to be done with MAP and I couldn’t be more happy with their academic growth this year. Many students surpassing their goals by double digits! Next week we will be back to routines and all the projects we have going on.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR – Monday, June 8th is my traditional end of year award ceremony and celebration with the third graders. All family members are invited. We will have a chance to celebrate each student, a slide show, and a chance for them to go through their portfolios with you. It’s fun to see where they began and where they end the year.

Book Reports – Make sure to note the previous email I sent and the paper copy that should have come home. All students are assigned a day NEXT week to present their biographies. Please let me know if you need costume pieces as I have a large dress up bin at home.

Balloon celebration countdown fun

Academics

Literacy -This week students continued with their figurative language Readers Theater Scripts in reading. For writing they got back to the structure of a good solid paragraph, writing about their families in Religion, which goes with our Family Life unit.

Math -We have been all about angles and quadrilaterals this week. These are difficult concepts and the students are doing well. They are currently working on drawing quadrilaterals with the correct angles in their very own city.

Social Studies -I have to say this is the messiest, yet most creative class I’ve ever had ;). Their villages are coming along and the collaboration and teamwork has been amazing. The other half of the class is getting close to completion on their ten slide PowerPoint. Presentations will be next week.

Science -Students worked with a partner to complete a final Seesaw activity and paper assessment on clouds. They are confident knowing the difference between weather and climate at this point as well!

ESPAÑOL, 3rd – They learned more verbs like: caminar, dormir, cantar, escribir y correr.

We are entering in a very busy and exciting time! Even with testing, we are able to celebrate with my tradition with the balloon countdown. Each day they pop a balloon with a special activity to add to our day. I love that we are able to have fun together and relax a bit this time of year.

We made it through both Reading and Science in our MAP tests. The students are proud of their gains, some of them really blowing me out of the park! Next week we will test Tuesday and Thursday, finishing up our spring round. We know this is just one measure of growth, and I like to remind parents, that these numbers do not tell the full story. I myself, am not a good test taker! 😉

Third graders participating in Literacy Night -What a fun way to celebrate the importance of reading!

Book Reports -Please see email I sent home yesterday with directions. Physical copies went home yesterday as well. This is a fun one, but please make sure you practice! I still have a dress up bin at home if you have something particular you are looking for, please ask.

Congratulations to Mr. Bryce Sebens, our first “Living Legend” of Third Grade 2026! We are all so proud of you and thanks to the generosity of your friends and all your hard work, you achieved the ultimate improvement and honor!

Academics

Literacy – Students are in groups working on a figurative language readers theater, in addition to wrapping up their poetry books.

Math– Third graders wrapped up measurement and are moving into geometry. It’s challenging because this is always our last unit, yet it shows up on the MAP tests. This week concepts covered were lines, and angles. They are confident moving forward with obtuse, acute, and right angles because of our fun NumberRock Song. 🙂

Religion– We began Family Life. Students talked about how God created the human family and how even though they all look different, God made them out of love. Students drew family pictures.

Social Studies– This week students met in their groups based on their Native American Regions. We didn’t have too much time, however they are getting excited to have more time to dive into this project.

Science – We explored a fun Weird But True episode with a written study guide. Students learned how to take notes, while learning about tornadoes and hurricanes. This educational series is on Disney Plus if you have it.

ESPAÑOL -In their book: Juguemos a Leer, we started a chapter where we are going to practice the following letters: F B J R Ñ.

PE -This week in PE we learned how to jump explosively and land safely.  We practiced our traveling, balance, and jumping skills through gymnastics stations.  Some favorites were the balance boards, trampoline, and the rock wall.  

Library -This year we got to participate in the Washington Children’s Choice Awards. We read many books and this week we got to vote on our favorite book.  The winner will be announced from the WLA on June 1st; we can’t wait to see which book gets chosen.  To look at the story or other library activities, check out librarypage.

Music – This week in music we are…Welcoming a special visit from “Beethoven” on Friday! Grant Donnellan, professor of music at WWU, will visit in full Beethoven costume to introduce classical music and violin performance to our 3rd graders. Learning the Dutch partner song Sarasponda, which describes the sounds and motion of a spinning wheel, while practicing teamwork through a rhythm stick routine.

Huge thank you to all the moms who took a break from their very busy schedules to participate in our Mother’s Day Poetry Cafe. The students were so excited to share what they learned and really put on a show for you. Their confidence is just beaming at this point of year and I love to see them in front of an audience! Happy belated Mother’s Day!

Good afternoon! Happy Mother’s Day to all the amazing moms of my favorite third graders. Don’t forget our event is on Friday, so all your showering of love will be a little later. We are hoping you are able to join us at 2pm on the 15th.

Book Reports -Students have each chosen a famous man or woman and should be into their books. Just a reminder I give them at least 15 minutes every day to read these. A schedule of presentations will and more specific directions will come home next week. This is one where it is essential to practice ;).

Poetry Cafe -Friday, May 15th at 2pm. Students have been working so hard on their poems and are excited to share them with you. Moms, (and grandma’s, etc), the students are ready to shower you with love!

Academics

Literacy – Students voted to do another round of Readers Theater and we are doing a variety of short skits with figurative language. I love how much they get into it this time of year. It’s so fun!

Math– This week has been all about measurement in length and capacity. We put all our knowledge together from multiplication, division, fractions, and now measurement to do math this week. Students have a conversion chart and we talked about tools that can be used to help us solve capacity problems.

Science -Meteorologists did an exploration of where to have a snow fort festival. They learned about climate and looked at temperature data from three cities around the United States to determine where the weather would be best.

Social Studies -Students are divided into regions and half of them are working collaboratively on a PowerPoint and the other half are doing the 3D model of tribes in their region. I reminded them they are not using LEGOS or any plastic figurines for this one. Thank you to Mr. Sebens who will be providing our bases and thank you to all who volunteered to help with that.

Religion -We read a beautiful book on several Mary apparitions and students are researching in groups and creating posters to share with the class, and maybe even our buddies. They are really into the group projects!

ESPAÑOL, 3rd -They learned some verbs, like: bailar, leer, reír, apaludir y saltar.

Happy May Day! Students participated in a beautiful Crowning of Mary today, a great way to start off this month of Mary. This will be a busy, yet exciting month of celebrations and growth.

Today was a strange day, and you may have heard the students say that they had several teachers. I was in and out, participating in teaching interviews, which was exciting! I will assure you that whatever happens, we will have a highly qualified fourth grade teacher ;). More interviews next Friday and I promise we will share the rest of the amazing book reports next week.

Missoula Children’s Theater -If your child is participating in the theater performance next week, he or she will be excused from homework all week. This is a big commitment and the cast keeps them very busy. We are excited to see the Tortoise and the Hare!

MAP Testing -We will begin our final assessments the week of May 18th. Please try and keep scheduled appointments out of the morning blocks for those two weeks if possible. I’m planning on testing Tuesday and Thursday of those two weeks, with possible carry over on Wednesdays if needed.

Book Reports -For the month of May students are selected an important person in history. They will be reading a biography on their chosen person and put together a presentation “becoming” that person. From the clothing/costumes to the language they use, they will be telling the story of their person. More information is to come, along with the schedule of presentations.

Family Life -Next week we will be starting a short unit required by all grade levels through a program called Family Life. Basically at third grade, we are talking about the family, new life, and obligations we have to our families. If you would like to see the parent version, please let me know. (I don’t give them out to all families due to the fact that I was not getting them back in the past).

Academics

Literacy -We have been reading all about Native American Tribes in the regions across the United States. For writing, we continue our poetry unit, which they are enjoying.

Religion -We completed our chapter on the Paschal Mystery this week. Next week we will shift to Mary for the month of May. I have a beautiful book on her apparitions and we will begin a group project, choosing one to research.

Math -Mathematicians are comparing fractions, ordering fractions, and now working with equivalent fractions, which can be a difficult concept. We will stick with this for a couple days and our fraction test will take place next week, wrapping up the fraction unit.

Social Studies -This week we completed all five regions of our Native American Unit. We watched short, well done videos from a Native American on each region, read books, completed pages, as well as our pocket chart. Students will be choosing a region and starting to work collaboratively on a PowerPoint and 3D model next week. They may be asking for some supplies (wood, rocks, clay, etc.).

Science -Meteorologists learned all about the different types of clouds this week. We made fun flip books with clouds, took notes, and now we will use that knowledge to look at some weather predictions.

ESPAÑOL -They had a test that included words with the following letters: p n c d v. One part of the test was about putting syllables in the correct order to form words. Another part involved matching words and short phrases with their corresponding pictures.

Art -Third grade students created beautiful watercolor bouquets while learning the pressing brush technique to form flower petals. They also added creative details to their vases to complete their artwork.