Welcome to 3rd Grade and to our class blog! I hope you had a great summer. I have been spending a lot of time the last few weeks trying to get our room organized and ready to go. I can not wait to hear and see all the fun and learning that will take place in our brightly colored room! Our new room is very bright, colorful, and a little wild (kind of like me!).
First, let me introduce myself to you. My name is Mrs. Yuska. I know that looks like an unusual name. It is pronounced like "YOU- SKA" (only without the "O"). This is my tenth year teaching 3rd grade. I previously taught 3rd grade in the Marion School District. My husband, Brandon and I live in Cedar Rapids with our two daughters Katelyn (Katy will be 7 at the end of October and be in Ms. Douglas's First Grade class this year), Hayden (turned 4 in June, and is anxiously awaiting preschool with Mrs. Maine), and our son Nolan who was born on April 29th, 2014. We also share our home with our dog Dakota (a German Shepherd/ Black lab mix). He is basically like a 95 pound lap dog.
Other things about me:
My favorite color: bright blue (Basically bright colors, however my house is very neutral, I also love zebra print)
My favorite college team: Iowa State
My favorite professional team: Chicago Bears
My favorite food: homemade macaroni and cheese, any kind of fruit
My favorite junk food: Peanut Butter M &M's, BBQ chips
My favorite drinks: Any kind of smoothie, water, A Starbucks Peppermint Mocha :)
My favorite book: Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
Hobbies: playing with my family, baking, DIY projects, reading, looking up new ideas for school
Interesting fact: Mrs. Ternes who teaches 2nd grade at Crest is my mother. :)
My education:
Elementary- High School: Prairie View, Prairie Intermediate, Prairie Middle School, Prairie High School (I graduated in 2000).
Undergraduate: Elementary Education with an emphasis in Language Arts from Iowa State University
Graduate: Reading Endorsement from Iowa State University
Masters Degree: Collaborative Education from Graceland University
For the last few years I have been using a blog as an additional form of communication. I started blogging because I knew newsletters sent home often got shoved to the bottom of a child's bag or better yet lost altogether. My attempt was to place my newsletters on this site as well as any additional information you may need to provide a place to keep you up to date on what is happening in our classroom. This should also help limit the amount of paper being sent home. It has proved to be a great resource and I look forward to the added use of technology. This also allows be to let you feel like you are more of a part of our class, by posting pictures of work and activities as they are happening.
Some things about 3rd grade...Every night your child will be taking home a planner stating what we have learned that day. If an item is highlighted, it will be an assignment to be completed and returned to school the next day. This is a great opportunity to sit down with your child and talk about the day. I also ask that you sign or initial the bottom of the column so I know you have looked at it. If you have any questions, or comments for me, feel free to add them at the bottom of the planner. There will be random students selected to have their planners checked in the office each week.
We have a lot of new curriculum we will be teaching this year. It should be exciting! :)
I look forward to meeting each of you at Open House on Monday, August 18th between 5 and 8 pm.
Mrs. Jodie Yuska
jyuska@prairiepride.org
