Honoring the Light

There are many winter holidays around the world, but the one thing they have in common is the celebration of the return of the light.  One of the good things about our late dismissal for our holidays is getting to be in school on the solstice, December 21st...a first for me in all my years of teaching.

A few days earlier, on the 19th, I hope you will be able to come to school for the 2nd grade music concert. The children have been practicing with great intent.  

The concert begins on the 19th at 6pm and lasts about 30-40 minutes. Children should arrive by 5:50. They enjoy wearing their holiday best. Please let me know if your child will not be attending so that I can pass the information on to Mrs. Gonzales. Many children have special parts and this way she can make adjustments before that evening. 

Last month, our math focus was gathering data and creating and reading graphs. One of our surveys was about favorite seasons for the class. The children worked together to sort, count and double check their data.

This survey was favorite party food:

And we also did one on favorite types of weather:

We also learned about probability. We learned that we can use our prior knowledge to make an educated guess about whether something is likely to occur. In the task that follows, the children put 2 different colored blocks in their bags. (Example: 5 yellow and 7 red) They closed their eyes, shook the bag and pulled out a cube and gave a tally for each color. This was done with several combinations and showed that the selection was not random.

For social studies we honored all pilgrims by doing a country report poster. Thank you to Mrs. Pace and Mara's "Mimi", and to Mrs. Billiau for their assistance as the children navigated their non-fiction texts. Most of the children worked in teams and learned that teamwork on research can be very beneficial! 

 Team Brazil

 Egypt

 Team Portugal

 Team Australia

 Hawaii (once a Kingdom of its own)

 Team England

 Mexico

 Team Sweden

We have had 2 more authors publish and share their work. Claire wrote a non-fiction book on favorite art designs and Lincoln wrote a personal narrative about a funny mishap while trick-or treating. Well done!

Our holiday break is just 3 weeks away! I hope to see you all at the Concert on the 19th! (children at 5:50)

I have another all day volunteer opportunity on the 22nd for our arts and crafts workshop.  Shoot me an email if you can come (9-3pm) Oh! Also, would you check your grocers for berry boxes? They are very handy for carrying home our treasures.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

One-Two-Three--Fall

I have been thinking lately about the juxtaposition of the school year and nature's year. We are just getting started as Nature is getting ready for her rest. Getting up in the morning is harder for  all  because we would like to tuck in and hibernate. Thank you all for doing your best to keep absences to a minimum. It is more than classwork missed; there is a momentum to the school routine that get's thrown off with repeated absences. Illness is, of course, to be respected....we all appreciate a watchful eye to wellness.

Our month was packed with fun and learning. For science, we observed the beginning parts of a plant's life cycle. We planted lima beans against the side of a clear cup so we could see the process of germination.

PM

 The seed expanded and the seat coat wrinkled just like we had seen when we carried one in our pockets. The children were so excited when the first roots started to sprout.

Roots became stronger and more spread out. Seedlings began to sprout under the soil, reaching for the light.

 Then the first leaves pushed through. This was an excellent teaching about how we all grow at different rates. All in good time, as they say.

 Finally, it was time to take our plants home. Some children needed to replant and our last plant will go home this week. Success for all!

In math, we have been exploring addition and subtraction to understand how they are related. We used the first grade addition strategy of part-part-whole to see its reverse...Whole-part-part. Using manipulatives helps children construct their knowledge.

During our graphing and data studies, we took some time outside the classroom to practice being statisticians and gathering data. In teams we counted all the different kinds of doors we have in our school. The information will be plotted on a graph that we create.

 Mr Pace was our Watch Dog Helper!

Part of our language arts studies this month was poetry. We learned the No Witches Rap, The Autumn Song, and The Lantern Song. The children created their own lanterns which will be coming home soon, after some finishing touches. They can be lit with a small candle or an LED candle. ( A tea candle will be included.) 

As the children wait for me to join them at the guided reading table, they have a game to practice their reading, grammar, or phonics skill. Compound words are a favorite.

We also got moving with compound words with an all class game. The children had to put heads down and close their eyes while they received a placard with a word on it, When everyone had a card, the music started and they had to look around the class to find a friend (or lonely word) to go with their word to create a compound word.

We celebrated Pumpkin Day on the 31st.  The day before, the children made estimates on weight, circumference, height and how many seeds were inside, and whether their pumpkin would float or sink. Big thanks to Maria Teresa Correll , Kristin Billiau, and Ashlee Pace for volunteering to man these stations the next day. The children worked in table teams to verify  their estimations.

Later that day, the children changed into their costumes. We had a classroom fashion parade and played a rousing game of Halloween Riddle Bingo.

We closed our month by saying goodbye to our classmate Myracle who moved to a new school district. We were fortunate enough to know ahead of time so we were able to make cards and show her how much we would miss her.

We have a full week coming up and then we celebrate Thanksgiving. Wednesday the 22nd is a Half Day with dismissal at 12:35. 

Please mark your December calendars for our  

December Music Sharing evening:

Tuesday December 19th from 6-7pm

Our last day before Winter Break is the 22nd. 

We are off from the 23rd and return on the 8th of January.

 I am so thankful to get to learn and grow every day along with your beautiful children.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend, 

See you Monday,