Week ending 9/30

Hello families!  It has felt like Fall this week!  What Fall activities has your family been up to?  I hope you've been able to take advantage of the apple picking, pumpkin picking, and cider with cider donuts! Yum!

Important information:

• There is no school on Monday, October 3, Monday, October 10, and Wednesday, October 12.   If you are celebrating a holiday over those days, I hope it goes well and you enjoy the family time. 
• Please be sure to send in appropriate clothing for the cooler weather.

3, 2, 1 things you should know…

3 skills we practiced during reading workshop are buzzing with our partners about books, using our I-Pick bookmarks to help us choose just right books, and making connecting connections between the books and our lives.  

2 writing skills we have been working on are our handwriting to make sure we are forming the letters correctly and choosing a small moment idea to help us get started on our stories.

1 math game we learned was Addition Grab Bag.  

Open House Questions

Below are the questions we received as a grade level at Open House.

Snack Time
Snack time gives students the opportunity to chat with friends and build social relationships.  We encourage families to send snacks that their child will enjoy, are healthy, and will sustain their nervy throughout the morning.  Healthy snacks sustain energy best and comply with our school's "no candy" rule.  Remember there are many sweet snacks that are healthy too!  Please refrain from sending in candy and other less healthy options.

Recess
Recess is an important part of the day for children.  Each day our second graders have 20 minutes of snack/recess time in the morning and 20 minutes of recess before their 20 minute lunch time.

Collaboration/How did we get so lucky to have such amazing teachers?
Well, how did we get so lucky to have such amazing families?

*This is a repost because the format did show up as expected with the previous post.   :)

Week ending 9/23

Hello families!  It's now Fall and so many activities are happening with all of you these days!  I hope you all get out this weekend and enjoy some Fall fun!

Important information:

• This Thursday, September 29th, is an early release day.  Dismissal for everyone is at 12:30.  Please be there to pick up your child at that time.   There is still extended day.  If there are dismissal changes for your child, please let me know.
• Our library day is on Fridays so please help your child remember to bring their books back that day so they can choose new books.

3, 2, 1 things you should know about our week:

3 strategies we worked on during reading workshop were choosing just right books, how to solve words that are challenging, and making connections to the stories we read to help us understand the important parts of the text.  

2 math skills we worked on were completing pieces of a number grid by adding and subtracting tens and ones and different ways to show a number.  

1 activity we did for science was watch a video on Brain Pop Jr. on observations skills and each student shared a describing word with the class before packing up that day.  

Week Ending 9/16/16

We have finished our first full week of school!  We are all settling back into the routine of the classroom and learning more and more about each other!  

Important information:

• It's was nice to see many of you at open house last night.  I do realize it can be very difficult to attend events in the evening so if you couldn't make it, be sure to check out my website and the Open House page for the PowerPoint showing an over view of our year.  Also, your child is bringing home an "All About Me" apple for you to see and another apple for you.
• Often families ask about birthdays...please do not send any type of food in for birthdays. Another way to celebrate your child's birthday is coming in to read a story to our class near the big day.  You can choose a book from home or your child can choose one from here.  
• Be sure to enter your email address in the spot on our blog that says "Follow by email" so you don't miss any posts.  

3, 2, 1 things we've been working on:

3 math skills we've been practicing are identifying which number is larger in a Top It game (similar to a card game you may already know, so ask your child about it), quickly identifying combinations up to 10 with game called Penny Plate, and adding up larger amounts of money.  We also started working our challenge work. 

2 read alouds we read and discussed were Calvin Can't Fly (about a bird who can't fly and chooses to read instead) and Quiet Place (about how finding a quiet place to be alone and get lost in a book is a great place to be). 

1 Responsive Classroom activity we are working on is writing our hopes and dreams for the school year.  

Below are a few pictures from today's Penny Plate game:

 

Back to School!

Hello Families!
What a busy week it has been!  We have had a great week settling back in to school, getting to know each other, and learning about our classroom.  We have also spent time learning routines, expectations, when we have specials, and more!

Important information:

• Thursday, September 15th, is Open House.  2nd grade will be presenting in the auditorium at 6:00 and then moving to individual classrooms for a short time.  Grades K-2 will have Open House from 6:00-6:40, then Mr. Morris and the PTO will speak in the auditorium, and then grades 3-5 will present.    If you can not make it, do not worry.  All the current information and presentation will be on my website after Open House.  
• Please remember we are a nut free classroom this year so please choose other snacks for your children such as crackers, fruit, cheese sticks, yogurt, etc.  At lunch, children can bring what they choose.
• Specials for this year: Monday is art, Tuesday is no special, Wednesday is music, Thursday is physical education, and Friday is physical education and library.  Be sure to have sneakers on PE days and return library books on Fridays.  
• This blog will be posted almost every Friday and it's the best way to stay on top of what's going on in the classroom and a great way to start conversations with your child about their week.  

3, 2, 1 things you should know:

3 activities we've completed this week are a classroom scavenger hunt, friend scavenger hunt, and getting our book bags ready for reading workshop.

2 discussions we've had are sharing with the class why school is important and what students may need to feel successful this year.  

1 read aloud we read was, First Day Jitters.