About Me

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Carrollton, Texas, United States
Welcome to my blog! My name is Beth Carpenter! I am a 2nd grade teacher at Coyote Ridge Elementary. I majored in Early Childhood Education and have taught for 22 years. I have taught grades K- 3 which gives me a unique ability to know where my second graders fit within those grades. Teaching is more than a profession to me, it is a calling. I love to help light the fire of curiosity to help all my students become lifelong learners!

Schedule

Math 8:00-9:30 Brain Break 9:30-9:40 Enrichment 9:40-10:30 Guided Reading 10:30-11:30 Lunch 11:30-12:00 Writer's Workshop 12:00- 1:00 Recess 1:00-1:30 Reading/Social Studies 1:30-2:00 Science 2:00-2:50 Pack/Stack/Dismiss 2:50-3:00

Thursday, December 17, 2015

Week 16

Dear Parents,
          Even with sugar plums dancing in our heads we were able to accomplish a lot of quality work this week. In math we were really challenged. We learned to add up to four two digit numbers  with regrouping. It was difficult but your children powered through and corrected each problem missed. I am so proud of their hard work and effort in learning this difficult lesson.
         In reading we had a great week of comparing different versions of The Gingerbread Man. We retold a story with the beginning, middle and end as well as looked at the character’s traits. In writing we have been focusing on ideas and have chosen a state to write about and create a poster with a small group or partner. Research was involved and the class has been looking up their states using Facts4 Me paid for by our PTA.
         In Social studies we have finished our study of time and chronology and have been looking at living in the past vs. living in our present. One child shouted out, “ I’m so thankful that I live now!”
         In Science we have finished our study on Motion and have taken our assessment. We truly enjoyed all our hands on experiences and understanding that all motion is caused by a force. A force can be a push or a pull. Friction affects how things move.
          I want to shout out to Kelci Lundrigan for planning our Winter Party! The children had a wonderful time! Thank you all for the wonderful cards and gifts! My greatest gift of all is being able to spend each day learning with your children!


* Please send in a set of 12 pencils for our classroom pencil can. We are completely out! Also I would love a donation of scissors for our classroom. I had 9 pairs that have gone missing. We no longer have a pair of scissors for each of the children in our class. Many of them are in need of new crayons as well. Please ask your child if he/she needs a new box of crayons. Our glue sticks are holding out for now! :) Thank you for your support!

Winter Party Fun!




Friday, December 11, 2015

Killian Mentors







Week 15

Dear Parents,
      It has been another great week of learning! We have been looking at movement in Science and have done a lot of interesting activities to show spinning, sliding and rolling. They are looking forward to completing our time trials through a zig-zag course.
       In reading  and writing we so enjoyed our journey on the Polar Express! We documented our favorite parts on a train and found words within the story to write a poem. We have said goodbye to Fall and Hello to Winter by writing a poem and decorating out hallway bulletin boards with wintry scenes and acrostics. You might be able to recognize your child amongst our snowmen!
       We have mastered regrouping in math. It was a long hard week of correcting our work, writing our problems correctly and solving them with pictures, models, and problems.
        In Social Studies we took a look at different holidays and traditions our families have done each year and how we celebrate them. We also continued to read about the growth of population in America over time. We saw how people became immigrants to this country and read a picture book of one man’s life story . (His immigration from Japan, his exploration of North America, and how he chose to settle in California)
         Middle School Mentors from Killian had a blast learning with our students. 
         I sent your child home with my present to them … a book! I hope you enjoy reading it together this weekend!

Saturday, December 5, 2015

Week 14

Dear Parents,
    Tonight is Family movie night. Come enjoy a movie, have some cookies and hot chocolate. It begins at 6:00! Bring some blankets and pillows!

       Look for the Winter Party Letter coming home today in the Coyote Folder. We are collecting $3.00 per student to cover the food and supplies for the party.
    
     Next week we have an outreach (December 7th-11th). I know that we can reach our goal of raising $1 per student!  If a student wishes to participate in any of the spirit days it is $1 each day or if a student wishes to dress up all week then he/she may pay $3 and dress up all 5 days. I am so excited to see us raise some money for a great project and have some fun while doing so! :) 

  1. Monday: Hat Day
  2. Tuesday: Crazy Glasses Day
  3. Wednesday; Super Hero Day
  4. Thursday: Animal Day
  5. Friday: Pajama Day

Friday, November 20, 2015

Week 13

Dear Parents,
           We had a great week learning about the first Thanksgiving, comparing it to our Thanksgiving traditions and Writing a “How To” paper about how to bake a Thanksgiving turkey. These writings are so cute because the students get to use their imaginations or write about what they’ve noticed while walking through the kitchen. They created a Thanksgiving mat with their writing on it that could be the center piece of your table. We also learned how to be a “TURKEY”! Their small books will be coming home today. Encourage your child to be a turkey over the break. We have been having fun exploring magnets and learning how they are part of our every day life. 
         Last night at the PTA meeting we celebrated our two Prideful Paws, Milan and Katie! Your child’s art was on display for you to enjoy or purchase the framed picture.
          We had a wonderful field trip yesterday! Thank you to Mr. Garrett, Ms. Newman, Jihyun Sung, and Hong for chaperoning! Look on our blog for all the above pictures!
            I hope you all enjoy this break with your families! I will be reflecting on all I have to be thankful for … working with your wonderful children each day is a big part of that. Partnering with you to make a difference makes me Thankful as well! 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Field Trip Fun










Art Show




Prideful Paws





Friday, November 13, 2015

Week 12

Dear Parents,
                We had another great week of learning. Our class continues to grow as good citizens as we are earning Coyote Coupons throughout the school! Our Veterans day Assembly was a success. The students of CRE honored our veterans at an assembly by singing, poetry writing, and letter writing. Each grade level performed their own song. Two classes from second grade used streamers and a routine, taught them by Coach Pacio, to amaze the audience. Krisha Poudel from our room was chosen to read her Veteran Acrostic to represent the second grade. 
                We had fun reading The Ugly Pumpkin and used many thinking maps to write down our observations about how the character in the story changed from the beginning, to the middle, and the end of the book. We created our own squash character and wrote about a time we felt “squashed’ As the Ugly Pumpkin had felt. We are learning about Native Americans in social studies and using our map skills to see where they used to live before the settlers came. We are learning expository writing, but that is all you get to know right now, as we are making a special Thanksgiving present to take home with us next Friday. A special thank you to Kelci Lundrigan for helping us with these Projects!We are learning about number lines in math and ordering numbers by their values to the thousand’s place. We are learning the signs for greater than and less than. This week has been full of more fun learning opportunities.

Enjoy the weekend with your families!

Saturday, November 7, 2015

Week 11

Dear Parents,
               I am so proud of my class! They are earning many Coyote Coupons for their behavior around the school. We are settling in and being good citizens! We are working independently and know the routines. Homework is being turned in on time as your children take responsibility.  Please keep encouraging them as they are doing very well! 
               This week in science we have done experiments with light, heat and sound. Ask your child which experiment he/she enjoyed the most. Our reading story this week was quite difficult as the students were expected to make inferences about the story, using key words like before and after. Most of them were able to find their text evidence to answer the questions. We have been learning about proper nouns and will be adding them to our noun town. We are learning about past, present, and future in our new social studies series as we see how things change over time for communities and people. Thank you for helping your child fill out his/her family tree so that we can add it to our giant tree in the hallway. Bring it Monday if they have not yet brought it to school.

              The best part of last week for me was when a former student of mine came to visit our school. I taught her in a first grade class that I had years ago. She has become an author and has her own You Tube Channel where she teaches about ocean conservation and has many short science videos on marine life. The order form to purchase her books is attached. You have through November 16th to get your order turned in to our school. If you would like to subscribe to her Friends with Fins youtube channel, that helps her out immensely and gets you free access to educational content for your children! Here is the subscribe link: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxnA3JmSg-387paBRM60lnA?sub_confirmation=1 It’s fun ocean conservation and marine science videos! Feel free to share it around to other parents because these videos are great learning tools and the kiddos love them.

Sunday, November 1, 2015

Week 10

Dear Parents,
      Thank you for supporting me on another wonderful week of learning! We had many fun learning opportunities this week. We discussed pumpkin facts, including the life cycle of a pumpkin. We also estimated the weight, the circumference as well as how many seeds were inside a real pumpkin. We were all surprised to find out there were 422 seeds! We all had fun reaching inside, getting a little slimy, then putting the seeds into piles of 10. The students outdid themselves with their pumpkin projects! 
       We had two assemblies this week. Our Quality Coyotes, Aidan and Kaylee, were announced at our end of the nine weeks assembly. We had a Red Ribbon Week assembly in which the theme of do not do drugs was reinforced by bikers who did many wonderful tricks outside our school on a huge ramp, including jumping over five teachers. 
         The best part of the week for me was when a former student of mine came to visit our school. I taught her in a first grade class that I had years ago. She has become an author and has her own You Tube Channel where she teaches about ocean conservation and has many short science videos on marine life. The order form to purchase her books is attached. You have through November 16th to get your order turned in to our school. If you would like to subscribe to her Friends with Fins you tube channel, that helps her out immensely and gets you free access to educational content for your children! Here is the subscribe link: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxnA3JmSg-387paBRM60lnA?sub_confirmation=1 It’s fun ocean conservation and marine science videos! Feel free to share it around to other parents because these videos are great learning tools and the kiddos love them. 

Jaclyn Friedlander Visits CRE











Our First Nine Weeks Quality Coyotes


Pumpkin Projects