Tuesday, Dec 20

Slipper Day is tomorrow! Bring a Dollar to wear slippers all day ( this is a fundraiser for the 4th graders camp)

Please make sure your child bring their backpack to school tomorrow-- I will be sending home some art projects and a couple papers.

Monday, Dec 19th

2 days left until break! Remember that tomorrow and Wednesday are FULL days of school.

Thanks to those who returned the sheets about the party-- we will have enough juice, frosting, and sprinkles now! If you are interested in contributing, please bring either heathy food snacks for the kids to munch on (grapes, crackers, pretzels, anything that kids like!), OR sugar cookies.  Let me know if you are planning to bring something! Thanks!!

Today in class we practiced more carrying for double digit addition on our classroom whiteboards.  We also worked on a special gift for our parents :)

Friday Dec. 16th

Happy Friday!!
Today we had a CRAZY day!! We had so much to do and so little time (isn't that always how is goes during this time of the year?)  We started out our day with a new gingerbread story and made another story made to help with the comprehension with the story (as well as our ability to compare and contrast).  We also read a book about Kwanzaa today and made a little activity with Kwanzaa vocab.

In math we practiced a LOT of adding and paired it with some greater and less than practice.

I sent homework home today but it isn't due until Jan 6th (The Friday after we get back from break). There are also a MILLION papers in the orange folder today that I let the kids "file" into their mailboxes on their own so I do apologize for those that are a little less-than-organized!  Lastly, I sent home a little flier about the holiday party on Wednesday.

Thursday, Dec. 15th

Today in class we practiced smallest to largest in math.  We also listened to the Legend "The Indian Paintbrush" and reviewed the elements of a legend.  In the morning we had an instrumental concert highlighting the talents of the middle school students.

We had computer lab this morning as well and a LOT of kids were earning scholastic points!!  Ask your child how many scholastic points they have and ask how they earned them :)

HW due tomorrow!

Wednesday, Dec. 14th

Today in class we read "the Gingerbread Baby" and compared and contrasted it to the Gingerbread Man story we read yesterday.  The kids realized that the problem was the same in both books but the solution was different.  They also identified that the characters were different but the setting was the same.

In writing we made story maps and then later made wish lists :)  Both of these items will be coming home on Friday.

This afternoon we had out PBS (Positive Behavior System) Reward!  Almost everyone was able to attend the Wii Dance Party and it was SO fun!! The kids loved it and I loved watching their moves on the Dance floor :)

***The holiday party will take place on Dec. 21 from 2:15-3:15 We will be decorating sugar cookies and having healthy snacks and drinks.  We will be needing items like cheese and crackers, pretzels, juice, ect.  Shelby's mom is working on a list that I will be sending home asap! :)  We will also be playing a game during the party and making a craft a little earlier on in the day.  All are welcome to attend and help!

Tuesday, Dec. 13th

Today in class we practiced writing notes to friends.  We learned the parts of a letter and then wrote a greeting card to a friend in class.  I will be mailing all the cards this week so be prepared for your child to get a little mail in the mailbox :)

In math we made polygons on our geoboards.  We also reveiwed line segments. I took a few pics of the kids with their polygons that I will upload later tonight :)

In reading we read the Gingerbread Man and found the parts of the story (the characters, setting, problem, and solution)

**I really need gallon sized ziplock bags if youre feeling generous! Thanks!

Monday, Dec. 12th

Hi everyone-- today in class we learned about Hanukkah and read a book that highlighted the important traditions that Jewish people celebrate with during the month on December.  The kids liked visualizing the candles burning in the nighttime and enjoyed the fun picture book we read.  Later in the week we will be learning about Kwanza with a picture book and a quick project.

We also took the Unit 5 math test today and will be taking the next week to focus completely on addition with regrouping and subtracting with borrowing.  We are a little ahead in math so we have a little extra time to stop and work more in depth on the tricky addition and subtraction :)

I submitted the book orders today for those of you who placed an order-- they promise delivery by Monday of next week!

Friday, Dec 9th

Thank you to all of you who came to our conferences yesterday and and Wednesday.  We had almost 100% attendance :)   Most of you got the report card from me at the conference, if not, you will be getting the report card home TODAY! Also going home today will be new HW in the binders and orange folders.

Remember that if you want to make a scholastic book order through the classroom this month that the orders are due on Monday.  I have to put the order in early so that we get the books before break.

I have a volunteer from home opportunity for anyone who wants to help out but works during the day.  You will need a stapler and scissors. Email me if you are able and willing!

PLEASE label your childs snow pants, boots, coat, and anything else with a tag.  A lot of out winter gear looks the same and it would be SO helpful if there were at least initials inside.

Our christmas party will be on Dec. 21 from 1:00-1:30 (Craft making), and then again from 2:15-3:12 (food and game).  Nylah's Mom, Robyn's Mom, and Shelby's Mom are organizing our party :) A note will be coming home early next week about food donations they will need.

Due to a request, I am adding a "Wish List" Tab to the blog to list things that we currently need or things that we just wish we had here at school.  This is for people who want to donate to the classroom and is by no means an obligation to any of you!

Hope you all have a good weekend!!

Wednesday, Dec. 7th

Today in class we explored square pyramids vs. cones.  We used the words point, base, edge, and side.  We will exploring volume next week.  We also practice the concept of sharing items equally among friends (there are 15 candies and 4 friends.  How can they share them equally? How many will be left over?) which is the beginning concept for division.

In writing we are practicing using different perspectives.  We are continuing this concept in reading by thinking about the main character and their motives for their actions.  Next week in reading we will be comparing a bunch of different Gingerbread Man stories to see how the different perspectives change the story.  If you have any Gingerbread books (the gingerbread girl, the gingerbread baby, ect) please send them in!

Tonight we had conferences in the evening-- thank you to all the parents that came! So far, we have had 100% participation :)

NO SCHOOL TOMORROW (Thursday)!! Conferences will be taking place all day and the school book fair will be open.

There will also be a story hour tomorrow in the library between 6 and 7.  Ms. Stocks and others will be reading aloud to the students who attend.  She will also be modeling "good questions" for parents to ask kids when they are reading at home.  Call the office for more details. Please come if you can :)

Monday, Dec. 5th

Sorry I wasn't able to get the spelling tests graded and returned on Friday-- I sent them with the kids today.
I also sent a conference time reminder note with everyone.

**The book fair will be going on all day tomorrow and Wednesday.  Students may bring money and visit the fair at any time during the school day.  You may also visit the fair during parent teacher conferences on Wed. night and all day Thursday.

Today in call we started working on a character project to help students "put themselves in someone else shoes" when writing.  I can't wait for you to see the project-- the pictures that go with it are TOO cute.

In math we worked on polygons and quadrilaterals.  Ask your child tonight what a Quadrilateral is :)  Email me or send me a note if they get the answer correct-- I will have a special prize for them!

Friday, Dec. 2nd Cont.

I posted next weeks schedule below but for some reason I was not able to write any additional text on that post so here is another one to let you know that new homework went home today.  Also, I have everyone signed up for conferences-- let me know if you misplaced your time and need a reminder!

Have a great weekend :)

Friday, Dec. 2nd

Monday   D  Day: Art	Book Fair
Tuesday   A Day: Music
Wednesday   B Day: Library	Ice Cream Sale during lunch Evening Parent/teacher conferences
Thursday   C Day NO SCHOOL	No school for students Parent/teacher conferences
Friday    D Day	Report Cards Sent home Dental service here School Store

Thursday, Dec 1

Homework due tomorrow!! Also, we will be going to the book fair preview tomorrow.  This will be a time for the kids to look at the books that will be available during the book fair and think about what you may want to purchase.  The fair will be officially open during conference days next week for parents and students.

Also, I posted the Dec calendar on the 'calendar' tab a week or so ago.  Take a look at it to see when we will be having assemblies, school store, ice cream sale, ect.  This is the the calendar that I receive from the office and I think is included in the Poupard Newsletter.

Book Exchange today was a big success--- we had a TON of books brought in and the kids got to choose a lot of great new books to read.  I love seeing kids who are bring their old level 1 or 2 books and trading them up for little chapter books! Its just another reminder of how fast they grow and learn.

Wednesday, Nov. 31st

Tomorrow is book exchange-- bring and old book and exchange it for a another book to take home and read!

Notes from the reading specialist about conferences will also be coming home soon--look for it on FRI if your child sees a reading reading specialist.

Today we had a town hall meeting and a LOT of our classmates got scholastic reading count charms!! I have a feeling that we are going to be earning even more points for the next town hall meeting-- I can't wait until everyone earns a charm :) Congrats to our reader, Keegan, and our citizen of the month, Ato!

We have been reading been reading a lot of legends.  Try asking your child about their favorite legend we read in class.  See if they can remember the 2 elements all legends must have.

Remember that HW is due on Friday from the week before Thanksgiving.

Tuesday, Nov. 29th

This morning the kids had a a sub for a little bit (because I had a little dental issue that needed some immediate attention!) who reread them the book, Paperboy.  They drew pictures of their 'visualizations' and talked about what they 'saw' while reading the book.  They also took their math test with the sub.

When I got back to school we played a fun phonics game (a variation of Candy Land) with partners to help us get better at sounding out unknown words using blend we know.  We also learned about "attributes," sorting, and rules in regards to math and geometry.  The kids had to look at a few groups of shapes and determine what the 'rule' was.  We will be doing this more and more throughout Unit 5.

Tomorrow we will be doing some snowflake activities for poetry so I sure do hope the weather man is correct and we get a little snow tonight! We will be brainstorming a lot of sensory words having to do with snow and snowflakes so a little motivation from the weather will go a long way :)

Stay Warm!

Ps- Here are a couple pics from the parade in NYC from last weekend-- a lot of kids told me about the Detroit parade they went to and the ones they watched on TV so I thought I'd share a few fun ones from my trip with you all :)

This is the day before the parade while they were inflating the balloons

Me watching the parade (the kids asked for a picture of me at the parade to prove I was there- haha!)

Monday, Nov. 28th

Today in class we did a TON of math (practicing adding 2 digit numbers like 39 + 87 and even some 3 digit numbers like 235+395)  The students who are not solid on their mental math skills had a hard time with this.  Please practice flashcards at home if you think your child does not have his/her facts memorized yet. We practice them at school and we also do Fast Math to help with this skill.

In reading we read about a paperboy.  We tried to visualize what was happening in the story.  I don't show the kids the pictures during this time.  Good readers can make their own pictures in their head. The kids are getting better and better at this-- they even know the word 'visualize' :)

In writing we wrote about our break.  The kids got a chance to share and I loved hearing about all the things they did.  They were so very excited to tell me about all the fun things they got to do over break. 

Have a good night!

Tuesday, Nov. 22nd

Happy Thankgiving to all my families!! (and a happy-break-from-school to my familiies who aren't celebrating this week but who will be enjoying time at home :)

Today in class we wrote poems, read poems, and presented poems with our partners to the class.  We also looked at pictures of parade floats and saw how they are inflated and then read a poem about a parade float.  My husband and I are headed to the Macy's parade in NYC this week and I can't wait to come back and show the picture to the kids!  They had a lot of requests about which pictures I need to come back to show them (take a picture of sponge bob! take a picture of spider man! ect.) haha :) 

Monday, Nov. 21st

What a great day! We had a ton of fun and the kids did SO GREAT with their little play, with their behavior, with their work--with everything!

I took a video of the two plays we performed for the 1st graders today but they are too big for me to upload on the website and too big to email! I would love to find a way to share them with you all so please email me if you have any ideas or technology know-how :)

Remember, HALF DAY TOMORROW! We get out at 11:30

Friday, Nov. 18th

Today in class we practicing our reader's theater (play) for Monday.  We also made hats for the Native Americans and Pilgrams to wear duing the play :)
In writing we finished a few on-going projects about what we have learned about PIlgrims and Native Americans. We also finished our Magic-E turkeys.  These all came home in the orange folder (a couple kids were not done so I had them take the pieces to their turkeys home so they could finshed up if they wanted)

New homework went home today.  This homework will not be due on Friday, Dec. 2nd. 

Remember not to send a lunch to school on Monday if your child is attending the Thanksgiving feast!

Half day on TUESDAY next week!

Have a good weekend :)

Thursday, Nov. 17th

Today in class we practiced estimating.  We talked about 'easy numbers' being those that end in a 5 or a 0.  Estimating with easy numbers makes it a lot quicker to add and subtract!

We also practiced out native american and pilgrim play :)  Practicing plays help kids gain better fluency when they read aloud. 

In writing we illustrated out big stories. They will be coming home tomorrow :)

***Remember to send me back the conference forms if you havnt!!
***Tuesday the 22nd is a half day. No school the rest of that week.

Wednesday, Nov. 16th

Thank you so much for sending all the conference slips back to me so promptly!! I have all but 3 children scheduled (so you better hurry up and pick a time if you havn't! :) )  I have been so impressed by how on-top-of-it all my parents are this year-- way to go!

Today I will be sending home another piece of paper that couldn't wait until Friday.  It is about our Thanksgiving feast and activities.  Pelase look for it in the backpack.

Also, I need to let you know that I made a HUGE mistake on the conference form!!!!! I thought that Dec. 8th was a hlaf-day for students but it is NOT.  I did not put morning times on the conference form because I thought we had kids in the morning- yikes!! I am so sorry about this-- I felt so silly when I realized my mistake.  I am going to keep all the times the same because the evening ones are usually the ones people perfer anyways but if you currently have an afternoon or evening spot and would like a morning one, please let me know; turns out I will be here at school WITHOUT kids that morning! My apologies.

Monday, Nov. 14th

Today in class we read a book about Sarah Hale and her contribution to history.  We also read a book about pilgrims and native americans and did a retelling activity.
In math we did a LOT of problem solving and this was tricky for many kids.  I had to remind them that they may need to try a few solutions before they find the right one.

**Please read my post from FRI for updates about the food drive and Thanksgiving.  Thanks!

Friday, Nov. 11th

Today in class we working on 'buying' items with money and making change.  We also reviewed estimating.  In reading we worked on the silent E and did some rhyming with silent E words.  I stress to the kids that when the silent E is added, the vowel sound changes to a long vowel (the vowel says it's name).  We start with a word like SIT (the I is a short vowel sound) and then add an E to make SITE (now the I says it's name--a long vowel sound).  Some students who are more advanced readers did not need to review/learn this so they worked in groups reading non-fiction texts.

Homework went home today (thanks to Robyn's mom for filling the binders up for us!).
PLEASE send back the dentist/teeth cleaning form if you have it! This is a totally FREE service so you might as well take advantage!

**We are doing a canned food drive for Thanksgiving right now! We need boxed potatoes, boxed stuffing, kraft mac and cheese, gravy in a can, canned yams, cranberry sauce, and basically anything else that can be eaten at a Thanksgiving meal!  Please start sending items if you are able.  All donations will be packaged up and given to Poupard families in need this holiday.

Also, I am planning a fun Thankgiving Meal for the class on Monday afternoon, the 21st.  We have been learning about the mayflower and pilgrims and will continue to learn about native americans and life during that time.  To wrap up our study, we will be having our own Thanksgiving meal as a 'classroom family.'  I will be making a turkey for the class and would like to also serve them stuffing, mashed potatoes, juice, and cornbread muffins.  I will be sending a note home to all parents letting them know that you will not need to pack your child a lunch on this day.  If you are able to make and send any of the food items or if you would like to come help me carve the turkey (I am not great at this!) and serve the little 'pilgrims' and 'native americans' that day, let me know!

Happy Veteran's Day to any veterans out there! My brother in law did a tour in Iraq two years ago and we are SO happy to have him home now.  I know that Veterans make a HUGE sacrifice for all of us and I truly appreciate it :)  I wasn't able to teach much about this topic today so I hope that you can chat about it with your student this weekend.  The concept of 'war' is hard for them to understand and can be a bit too scary but talking to them instead about having respect and appreciation for the men and women in the armed forces is a great way to celebrate the day.

Hope you all have a great weekend!! As always, thanks for giving me such awesome kids to work with each day-- I love all my 2nd graders :)

Thursday, Nov. 10th

It's been a couple days since I've posted here on the blog; we had no school on Tuesday and I was out sick yesterday.

Today in class we made little mini suitcases and filled them with writing and drawings of items that we would want to take with us if we were passengers on the mayflower.  Some students wanted to take stuffed animals, some wanted pictures, some wanted a coloring book, and some wanted a toothbrush (good choice!) Ask your child what they wanted to pack! The suitcases will be hanging up in our hallway soon :)

We also did a lot of work with thermometers in math today.  We found out that water freezes at 32 degrees.

I am interested in getting a little thermometer that you stick the window to measure the temperature outdoor to help the kids monitor the temperature this winter-- if you have an extra little outside one that you would be willing to donate, I would appreciate it!

The kids had a very short assembly today to introduce the fundraiser that we are doing this month.  The packets were also sent home today.  The PTO will be using the fundraising money earned to continue providing all the amazing resources and items for our kids and school.  Participate if you can!

Homework due tomorrow! Also, please send back that flier about the dental cleaning if you're interested! Thanks.

Monday, Nov. 7th

Don't forget- no school tomorrow!!
I sent home some information about the mobile dentist today.  Please read it.  I try not to send papers home on days other than Friday but this one was time sensitive so I wanted to give it to you right away.  We had this program at my old school and it was pretty neat for those who are interested/need the service! :)

Today in class we learned more about the pilgrims and life in the past.  We looked at their clothes and talked about chores and games that the pilgrim children played.  The kids were pretty horrified when I told them that the kids had to work all day just like the adults! You should have heard their responses-- haha!

Some of us also made some cute Thanksgiving themed place mats and centerpieces today for the senior living/nursing home nearby.  They are having a Thanksgiving feast for the residence and needed something to add a little cheer :) The kids wrote the sweetest things on their little notes to them--I wished I had my camera so I could post pictures for you to see!! Kids are so so precious!

In math today we practice added 2 digit numbers.  We will be doing the traditional algorithm this week (stack the two numbers on top of each other, add the ones place, add the tens place) without carrying.  We will start to do it with carrying in about a week and half!

Hope you all have a great night-- don't forget to place any book orders that you would like to place by the end of next week! Im putting in a bunch of new books for the classroom along with your orders and would like to get them ordered before Thanksgiving break. Thanks!

Friday, Nov. 4th

Happy Friday!! We had a great day today and I was especially excited to see that EVERY CHILD turned in a full reading log today in the homework binders!! All that reading at home and at school IS going to pay off for your child :)  They are going to be the smartest 2nd graders around :) Thank you for helping to get all that homework completed each week.
We also had a great day today because ALL of us were on green! Yaye!
In class we wrote the beginning of our "big story" we will be doing the middle of the story on Monday.  We also added and subtracted weight using pretend fish--ask your child about the fish in math today :)

Those who brought a dollar in today got to order a bagel.  The bagels will be delivered Monday morning.

Have a great weekend!
No School next Tuesday for kids.

Insect Projects :)

All the insects were so cute!! The kids loved sharing their work with eachother and with the 1st graders in our 'insect museum.'  We invited the 1st graders over to walk through our classroom and look at our insects.  We set up the displays like they would in a museum and played soft music.  They kids sat with their insects and answered quesitons about their creations.  Here are a few pictures of the day:

Thursday, Nov. 3rd

Today in class we took our math test.  Ask your child how they think it went!
We also talked about Native Americans and Pilgrams.  We will be learning a lot about American history in the next couple weeks.

We also got to the computer lab today! Lots of kids took Scholatic Reading test today-- ask your child how many points they have!

HW binders due tomorrow.
Have a great night :)

Wednesday, Nov. 2nd

Today in class we wrapped up our insect unit with a compare-contrast insect venn diagram.  We will be starting a new social studies unit tomorrow about history and the settlement of America.  This is a super fun unit and I know the kids will love it :)

In math we finished Unit 3 and will be taking our test TOMORROW! The unit is mostly based on adding and subtraction patterns, graphing, and mental math.  As always, the test will also include some review about money and time.  On Friday we will be starting Unit for with some weight and measurement activities.

In writing we are making our first REAL BIG writing project!!  We brainstormed today (ask you child what the problem and solution of their story is going to be!) and will start drafting on Friday.  Next week we will be doing revising and then onto editing and publishing! Writing a 'real big' writing project take a lot of time and hard work!

Friday will be the first day of a new fundraiser for the Reading Specialists.  We will be setting bagels and cream cheese (from Eastside Deli) for $1.  The kids have to order and pay on Friday and then will get the bagels Monday morning.  All the classrooms are doing the delivery of the bagels a little different but I will having the kids eat theirs first thing in the morning like a little breakfast OR they can save it for snack.  The money raised is going to go toward buying books for EVERY student in the school to take home--wow! Participate if you can.

**The book order finally came in today!! I sent them home in the backpacks.

Tuesday, Nov. 1

THANK YOU so much to all the parents who sent in snacks and treats for the halloween party yesterday!! Thank you also to those parents who came to help and a HUGE Thank you to Robyn's mom for sending out the flier, bringing treat bags for the kids, planning a fun treat-bug for the kids to make, and making our party a success :) I hope all of my families had a great night last night.

Today in class we read a Poppleton book about a helpful friend.  We are focusing on the reading strategy of "picturing the story as we read."  When I read to the children I do not show them the pictures.  They are supposed to visualize the story themselves and use the TEXT (sometimes they want to use their imaginations!) to create an imagine.  The book also taught us a lesson about being helpful to our friends :)

In math we practiced making change using a pretend vending machine.  Some students are able to do this so quickly! Others still need practice. 
Try handing your child a bunch of change tonight and letting them count it independently.  See how they do!

Halloween

No late start on Monday!! Come at 8:20 dressed in costume for the party.  No need to bring a backpack or snack.  The parade will begin at 8:45ish followed by an assembly for the kids until about 10:30.  We will come back to the room to begin the party at 10:30 and start cleaning up around 11:20.  All parents are welcome to join :)  Robyn and Shelby's moms will be in the room a little early (while we are at the assembly) setting up if you would like to assist.

**Kids who do not celebrate Halloween will go straight to the music room in the morning where they will have fun fall activities to enjoy :)

Centers

Fall poem writing at the poetry center

Este and the Fast Math and computer links center :)

Carson writing a friendly ghost story at the writing center

Practicing ABC order and word chunks with a fun bat game :)

Shelby practicing addition and subtraction facts with spooky cupcakes 

Anthony at Fast math!

Field Trip Pics!

At the pond catching bugs!

Walking the woods exploring nature

What's down there??

Eleanor and her bug collection--wow!

Looking up our finds in the bug reference books

At the pond :)

Thursday, Oct. 27th

Don't forget that the Insect Project is due tomorrow!! Makes sure to also send the sheet with the name and characteristics of your insect along with the actual project.  I can't wait to see them--the kids have been talking about them all week!!

Tomorrow is a PBS reward day for kids who have been on GREEN this month (with 2-3 yellows being 'forgiven').  We will be playing a game in the classroom to celebrate :)

Ask your child tonight to tell you a few things they have learned about bats this week.  We have been reading non-fiction and fiction books about bats and doing writing activities to help further our comprehension of the texts.

The haunted Garage has been rescheduled to this SUNDAY the 30th from 3-5pm (due to rain tonight)

Wednesday, October 27th

First of all, I have to say THANK YOU to all the volunteers who came and braved the weather at the field trip o Tuesday!! The kids loooooved it! Ask your child what they caught in the their net at the pond and what they saw on the nature path in the woods :) Unfortunately my camera is currently not working very well but many of the awesome parents who came with us offered to send me pictures from the trip--I will upload them onto the blog as soon as I get them :)

Today at school we had our first town hall meeting.  We talking about being kind to others and listened to the big kids read their writing--wow--what a great job they all did!!

In class today we practiced "frame and arrows" in math (which is like input/output charts or patterns) and we also worked with graphs.  I am noticing that many of the students don't have a lot of experience with reading graphs so I have decided to do a little mini-unit of graphing this November in addition to our usual math lessons--hopefully we will all be graphing experts after that :) Details to come!

**We are in need of gallon size or larger resealable baggies--I use these to store and organize educational games for the kids to work on during centers. If you can, please donate some to the classroom. Thanks!!

Lastly, here are some pictures I took on Monday of the kids doing their regular things in the classroom. Enjoy :)

Monday, Oct. 24th

OUR FIELD TRIP IS TOMORROW!!!

**All students MUST:
Pack a lunch to bring in a disposable lunch bag
Bring a booster seat if they are 7 or younger
Wear warm clothes and shoes that can get dirty

Parents who are driving should arrive to school at 8:45 so we can leave at 9. I am sending home a map tonight so you can look it over and do some extra google-mapping if need be!

Friday, Oct. 21

Happy Friday!

Homework went home today--spelling, reading log, and math pages.  Remember that the insect project will also be due next Friday :)  I found 2 blank insect project sheets today in the classroom and do not know who they belong to! if you don't have one tell me ASAP so I can get it back to you!

Remember that we will have our field trip next week on Tuesday! I have plenty of parent drivers now and am looking forward to seeing the kids exploring and investigating the insects at the center.

Have a great weekend :)

Thursday, Oct. 20th

Today we did not get the chance to read with the therapy dogs-- all the kids in the entire school will be given a chance and today was apparently not our day. The kids were a little disappointed but I told them that the dogs will be here the entire year and that one Thursday will be our day. On that note, I had a handfull (about 5!) of kids who got their card flipped today because they heard the dogs were down the hall (froma student who ad just come back from the bathroom) and so they jumped from their seats and ran into the hallway! yikes! We had to have a talk about how the therapy dogs are used to be in quiet places and shouting and running at them would scare them. We also had to review the very very very important rule about never leaving the classroom without permission. If your child was on yellow, this why!

Other than that little hiccup, our day was very good! We wrote silly stories about monster--ask your child their monster's name was and ask them to describe their monster! We are working on describing people and things in our writing.

In math we worked on telling tell and I was VERY impressed!! The majority of the class did SUCH a good job with the clocks and thought it was "so easy." Thank you to all of you who I know are practicing this skill at home :)

Our field trip is on Tuesday. We will go no matter the weather so please start looking ahead to make sure you have all the appropriate outdoor clothing for your child as it starts to get cold outside.

**and sorry for the late post-- I have a TON of things going on in my life outside of school right now and it is making it hard for me to find the time and remember to blog when I get home! :)

Wednesday, Oct. 19th

Today in class we finished a fun spider project :) I wish I brought my camera because they turned out so cute! I will have to remember to bring it tomorrow.

We also started new centers this week. We have fun monster themed cupcake addition, trick or trick odd and even candy count, pumpkin compound words, computers, a new play, and some candy corn subtraction :)

There is a permission slip coming home today for your child to read with therapy dogs. These dogs are trained to work with patients so they are very very calm and obedient. The kids will be practicing their reading aloud skills by reading to the dog! Please sign the form and return. Thanks!

Tuesday, Oct. 18th

Yesterday we let free our butterflies! We learned about the migration they will ne doing toward the south and said good luck to them as they flew away. The kids really wanted to keep them for longer but were okay with it once I told them that they needed to start on their journey to the south.

Today willl be our last day with the mealworms. We did our final observation with them this morning. I will be sending home the observation journals on Friday so you can see what your child has written the past several weeks.

In math yesterday we had a math test. Today we will be starting Unit 3 which starts out with place value and base-10 blocks.

In science today we read an article about the differences between insects and spiders. I remeinded them that they are NOT to make a spider for their homeowrk project because it is not an insect. We learned about eh characteristics of spiders and got osme good practice reading non-fiction articles.

**The field trip is next Tuesday. We now have exactly enough drivers for all the students-hooray! I still need permission slip from C.H. and M.W. Please send them asap! There is no cost to this trip :)

Friday, Oct. 14th

Our Christopher Columbus project-- I also added the short Christopher Columbus You Tube video we watched to the You Tube tab above.

5 of our butterflies :)

Thursday, Oct. 13th

Tomorrow night is the Fall Festival at Poupard! It starts at 6pm and cost only 50 cents to enter! They will have some games, races, snacks, and a chili cook off :) Come if you can!

Wednesday, Oct. 12th

Today we made a classbook about a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. Each student made their own page. Ask your child what they wrote about!

In math we had math boxes-- which were reveiwing subtraction story problems, fact triangles and counting by 7's.

In science we are just wrapping up our Insect ABC books and our observation books. We will be letting our butterflies free outside on in the next couple days :)

You will be getting a form home on Friday about the pumpkin decorating contest.

Have a good night!

Tues. Oct 11th

Today in class we learned more about columbus (I will upload a pic tonight with a fun project we did to learn the names of his ships) Ask you child if they remember what important piece of land he traveled to and the names of his ships :)

In math we did input and output charts. We had to add and subtrct using mental math.

The Pumpkin Decorating contest is about to begin! pumpkins will be due on Oct. 24th in the library. They will be judged and the winner announced on the 31st :)

Please return the permission slip for the field trip!! Drivers needed!

Monday, Oct. 10th

Our butterflies have metamorphosed!! We now have 6 butterflies in our room :)  We fed them sugar water this morning and are hoping that 2 little ones are able to open their wings a bit better by tomorrow.

We also did a short short short lesson on Christopher Columbus today and read some poems about his contribution to American history.  Will continue learning more about him tomorrow as we ran out of time today to finish our discussions and activities :)

**On Friday 2 items came home in the orange folder that need to be returned to school. First, a field trip permission slip. Please fill it out and return it.  I am also in need of drivers for this trip.  All children age 7 or younger MUST have a booster seat for this trip.  Secondly, a halloween party flier came home.  Robyn's mom is coordinating all the snacks for our party and has made a list of items we will be needing.  Please return the note if you are able to donate something.  Shelby's mom is going to be organizing a game for us to play at the party :)  

Thursday, Oct. 6th

Today we observed our mealworms (and our butterflies who are STILL in their cocoons...this is quite a surprise to me and I am hoping that we get some butterflies soon or I might be having to go catch some outside one evening to stick in there if you know what I mean...)

We also read the book Alexanders Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day and did some text-to-self connections.  We will be making a class book next week based on this book :)

We did some new centers today and I had a few (one in particular) excited students who loved working with the new centers materials (counting by a certain number, adding 10, base ten blocks, ect.)

Cassady said "can I have my picture? I've been working soooooo hard on this!"
Of course you can!

and now everyone wanted to be in the picture once they saw the camera come out! :)

And in math we worked with spring scales and balances to determine how many pounds or ounces something weighed.  We used the balances to compare items.

Tomorrow I will not be at school :(  Please call the office if you need anything as I will not have email access and don't want to let any important messages get lost.
Thank you!!
Have a super weekend :)

Wednesday, Oct. 5th

Today in class we talked about leaving people out and read a book about a girl who learns a lesson about including others. We practiced making self-to-text connections and used sticky notes to write out our thughts and stick them on to the page that we were reading when we made the connection.
In writing we continued to work on our Insect ABC books. We are stuck on O right now. Anyone know an insect or insect word that starts with o??
In math we worked on fact families and the relation between + and - problems. We also did subtraction story problems and wrote our own story problems to share and solve with the class.

we saved Game Day until the end of the day and the kids LOVED it! They did a great job sharing their games. Thank you to those who sent in a game :)

Tuesday, Oct. 4th

**I added a new tab on the blog!! Look above to see that tab titled "Calendar" This has the current calendar with the ABCD Days and the school-wide events on it. Hopefully this helps you keep everything in order :)

Today in reading groups (your child might not be in my reading group! Ask them to see who their reading teacher is!) we talked about how vowels are the "glue" that hold all letters together. All words have vowels. We need to make sure all our word in writing always include vowels. We also worked on the EN v. AN sounds.

In writing we all worked on retelling a story. This is the first step in learning how to summarize a story. We also worked more on capital letters. The kids seem to know where capital letters belong (and where they dont belong) but are not using this information when doing their daily writing. It is imporant that they always reread their work to make sure it is correct. We are working on this!

**Walk to school Day is TOMORROW!
**Game day is TOMORROW!

Monday, Oct. 3rd

*******Please email me or write me a note if your child is NOT allowed to come to the halloween party and/or do halloween songs at music, go to the haunted gym on gym day, read halloween stories at library, or make crafts for halloween at art. Thanks!!

Walk to school day is this Wednesday. We are meeting at the Harper Woods City hall and walking all together :)

The first PBS reward day is also Wednesday. We will be playing board games in the classroom. I do not have a lot of board games so I am asking students to bring a favorite game to the classroom that day. We will be playing from 2:40-3:10. All children who have been on green this past month will be able to play!!

Today in class we had our first day of reading group :) Ask your chld how it went for them.
In math we did more mental math and then did math centers. We also worked on writing math story problems. Ask your child what they decided to write into their story problem (some of them were so creative!)

To those of you who placed book orders online- they should be arriving in about a week (sometimes they come faster).  I will give them to your child when they arrive.
Thanks for so much for ordering!

Friday, Sept. 30

Happy Friday!
New homework was sent home today along with an orange take-home folder FILLED with a ton of stuff- please look through it!

Also, I noticed a handful of students had not completed all THREE spelling activities in their homework that was turned in.  On the spelling "menu" the directions ask that your child chooses 3 activities so please be sure that all 3 are completed and that you have included them in the binder before they are turned in on Friday.  Students are going to start having to flip their cards on Friday is their homework is not complete! yikes!

In class today we started writing an ABC book with words and pictures about insects. We added many words and will be working on these for the next two weeks during writing and science time.  When we are finished we will be choosing some of the books to be added to the class library :)
In math we continued to work on mental math strategies.  We worked on the 9's facts and talked about how adding nine is just like adding 10-- all we have to do is think one less.  We will continue to work on mental math strategies and do more FAST MATH to help us get better at these facts.  Have your child do some fast math at home this cold and rainy weekend on the computer (it's on my site under "links for kids")

Reading Groups will be starting on Monday!!
Walk to School Day is Wednesday next week

**THANK YOU to the 3 fabulous parents who were able to come in and help this week! I appreciate your hard work. You make doing FUN activities for learning in the classroom possible :)

Thursday, Sept. 29th

Today in class we used the word "convince" during our Vocabulary (magic word) time.  We tried to convince our neighbor, our teacher, and even the principal to do something we wanted them to do through writing.  In writing we practiced more with capital letters and searched our writing to be sure there weren't any capital letters where they DIDNT below-- and that there were capital letters where they DID belong.
In math we practice our mental math strategies and worked on a LOT of facts.
All 2nd graders should know all addition facts by heart up to 9 (ie- 9+7, 9+8, 9+9) -- by this time.  They should be able to solve these problems in a few seconds time.  You may want to consider quizzing your child and buying (or making) a set of flash card if you see that they need more practice.

Remember: HW is due tomorrow, Book Orders are due tomorrow! Tigers day is also tomorrow.

Also, send in your spiritwear order forms if you want to buy a Poupard T-shirt or sweatshirt

Can you see the first cocoon??

Can you see 2 cocoons now? There are also a lot of caterpillars on the top getting ready to make their cocoons too!

Carson and Ato are observing the mealworms on the desk and recording their findings :)

Eleanor and Keegan hard at work!

Happy girls :)

Nylah and Anthony writing about the 'change' that is about to happen to our caterpillars!

A project that all the kids did to show the 4 stages of a butterfly lifecycle: Egg, Larva (caterpillar), Pupa (cocoon), Adult. They are hanging outside in the hallway :)