Welcome To Mrs. Lemieux's Home Page! Welcome to the 2008-2009 school year!  Fourth grade is a BIG adjustment for students.  Generally it takes four to five weeks for the students to adapt to the expectations of fourth grade.  Homework seems to be a concern for most students, and parents, but if you just give me a little time to work with the class, the time students spend on homework should decrease.  Currently, I am still experimenting with how much is too much, and how to accomodate those students who work slower than others.  The other issue that arises when talking about homework, is time management.  Traditionally, students need some time to adjust to the idea of working more independently, and to the concept of using the time they are given in the classroom.  We are making progress!  Today, for the first time since school started, I looked during a work time, and EVERY students was working diligently on an assignment!!   We have started a new math program titled Everyday Math.  IIt is a very rigorous program!  The students are enjoying the concepts we are learning, but it takes a lot of time and individual mentoring.  Ask you children what we are doing in class each day.  I think you will be surprised at what we are learning. We have just finished reading The Whipping Boy.   I realize it was difficult reading for some students, but most of the students really enjoyed the story.  I find it a good book to start the year off with because of the high interest.  At the present time, I have a group reading The Stone Fox,  and a group reading   A Taste of Blackberries.  Both are terrific books. and students are enjoying them immensely.  For thsoe parents who are helping their children by reading with them at night, thank you so much.  I know that each of you are tired ast the end of the day, and have other responbsibilities, but I can not tell you what those few minutes mean to your child, or the impact it has on their reading ability.   In Science we have started learning about magnifiers and how they are used in everyday life.  Eventually, we will be looking at single celled life forms under the microscope.  I'm sure your children will have stories to tell you! Social Studies has been interesting.  We have discussed immigration and students have researched their family trees.  That has been fascinating!  They have created Family Trees and Coat of Arms.  We will share  those during parent teacher conferences.  From here, we will be studing how the country grew, and the contributions and impact of immigrants on our growth.