Hello Everyone!
Wow! I can’t believe we have already completed the first week of school in Ms. Hahn’s 3rd grade class. We had a great time getting to know each other this week.
I thought I would start this post by telling you a little about myself, so here it goes. I’m a married mother of 3 boys, all of which have gone to PCCS. My youngest is in 5th grade here and the older two are in high school at GCHS. The Green Bay Packers are my favorite football team, but I’m also a Bulls, Blackhawks, and Cubs fan (so I’m not all bad!). I have two dogs and one cat and I enjoy taking them on walks (not the cat). Red is my favorite color and pizza is my favorite food. In my free time I enjoy watching my kids play sports, gardening, reading (Harry Potter is my favorite), and photography (I run a photography club here at school, please sign your kids up!). I also have a strange obsession with pens and stationary products. So I have an unusually large collection of pens, markers, notebooks, etc. including fountain pens which has become a new hobby. 
So anyway, back to your kids. We started the week with the opening ceremony, which many of you were probably at. Then we went inside and got to know each others names by playing a fun memory type game. Supplies were organized and put away, classroom rules were discussed, and we talked about expected behaviors and our Hawks Tickets rewards. We also got to work with Naomi a couple of times as we looked at prairie plants and learned about phenology (if you don’t know what phenology means, ask your child). We found out your kids like insects when we did an insect sweep at the edge of tall prairie grasses.
In math, we started with reviewing time. Most everyone is able to tell time correctly and by the end of the week they were practicing telling time to the nearest minute. Some of the kids could use a bit more practice of figuring out what happens at certain times. For example, it is 4:15 am what should you be doing? Answer: sleeping. It is 11:30 am, what should you be doing? Answer: recess. You could help at home by saying things like “it is 7:00 am, time to eat breakfast” or “it is 4:15 pm, time to get your homework done”. The third graders really enjoyed working with different math manipulatives that we put out one day too.
The 3rd graders got a tour of Ms. Hahn’s very well organized library and they learned how to keep it that way. They also got to load up their book baskets with good fit books. Ms. Hahn and I have been reading aloud to the class quite a bit this week and the students have had time to read to themselves too.
We also started a writing assignment so that we can get a feel for your particular students style. And in spelling we gave everyone the same spelling sort this week, just so they can all learn the process that we use for in class spelling work as well as spelling homework.
By the time Friday came around we had been to every special at least once. The new PE teacher, Mr. Flynn had them running over a mile already in gym, and the other special teachers spent time talking about expectations and what they will be doing in their classes this year. 
Recess has been fun, although we are anxiously awaiting the return of the gaga ball pit.
Well I think that is a nice recap of the week. Return here weekly so you can get a feel for what we are doing in the classroom. And please remember, you are welcome to come in whenever you like to see for yourself. It should be a great year with a great group of kids!
~ Mrs. Steinbeck
tsteinbeck@pccharterschool.org