News & Notes {playful pollination}

Hello!

Can I just say that science this week was awesome?!  I wish I had known it was going to cause this much excitement and generate so many questions.  In fact, there were so many questions, I had to go home and do some more research just to answer them all!  No complaining here, though!  I love learning together.  :)

Thanks for sending all of those Race for Education labels in!  We worked so hard this week to get them all written out and ready to send in the mail.  Don't forget that Race for Education is at the high school next week on October 2nd!  Please have your child wear orange if you can.  We have some class shirts, but don't have enough for everyone.  It will be much easier to get a quick idea of where everyone is on the track if we are all wearing orange.

If you are looking for some family fun for this weekend, you might consider going to the MSO/Elementary girls field hockey game at 7pm.  It's free for LMS elementary students and their immediate families!

Please note that Scholastic book orders are due on October 3rd if you wish to order.

You should have received a mid-quarter progress report for your child via email today.  If you did not or would like to follow up on the report with questions or concerns, please contact me.  I feel so blessed to spend so much time each day with your children.  We learn together, play together, laugh together, and grow together.  Being a part of this process is such an honor.

A Peek At Our Week:

- Math --- Our main focus will be on fact families.  This early introduction to fact families will help students begin to make the connection between addition and subtraction.

- Language Arts --- We will continue to work on identifying the main idea with nonfiction texts.  We will be able to link our science texts with this skill.  (Double the practice!)  We will also use sentences from our texts to practice identifying the subject and predicate of a sentence.  For Writer's Workshop, we will be choosing a piece from our folders to fix up and fancy up before publishing!

- Bible ---  Our Exodus story takes us to Moses' life in the desert and his experience with the burning bush.  We will learn more about deserts to make this Bible account come to life for the students.

- Science ---  After the activities and discussion about pollination, we are now moving into a unit on plants.  We will be planting brassica plants next week (a fast growing plant) and beginning our observations of the plant life cycle.

 This week we learned a few different ways to practice our spelling words in school for "Word Work".  While several activities were introduced, the wikki stix were definitely the biggest hit. 

 Students learned to play "Beat the Calculator" in groups of three to build their fact power.

 As a fun, Friday activity, we participated in a pollination activity.  Each student received a juice box and cheese curls.  They created a flower to put onto their juice box.  Students pretended to be butterflies and sip "nectar" while eating the cheese curls to get "pollen" on their feet (hands) just like butterflies do.

"Pollen"

 They were instructed not to lick or wipe their fingers.  They were then to flit throughout the room, touching other students' flowers and pretending to sip nectar from those flowers (of course, we couldn't actually drink from others' juice boxes, so pretending had to do).

When they returned to their seats, they could see the pollen from others' sticking to their flower, ready to make seeds!  

 And we couldn't resist a fun picture or two of our "pollen-y" fingers!

News & Notes {and Read to Someone}

Hi all!

Happy weekend!  It was a beautiful week this past week!  I am so enjoying the fall weather (even if it comes with fall allergies), and I know the students enjoy these moderate temperatures even more than I do.  :)

Just a few items of note:

- Scholastic book orders went home today.  They are due on October 3.  I will place the order (including the online orders) that evening.  If you complete the paper order, please make checks payable to Scholastic.  Do not send cash.

- Race for Education is coming up on October 2.  This year, we will be running at the high school.  Come on out and cheer us on if you are able!

- I will be sending home your child's Unit 1 math test next week.  Please look over the attached explanation of the grading system and email or call me with any questions or concerns.

And now A Peek At Our Week:

- Math --- Next week will be all about addition strategies.  We will really work at building our fact fluency.  Any additional (pun not intended) help you can provide at home will be greatly appreciated. Students could play Penny Plate or Addition Top-It.  They could also utilize the First in Math website with their login and password.

- Language Arts --- Students will continue to work on identifying the main idea and supporting details next week.  We also take a closer look at non-fiction text structures such as the table of contents.  Our phonics focus will be on converting short vowels to long vowels using the silent "e".

- Bible --- Students will discuss how to deal with anger after reading how Moses dealt with his anger at the injustice of slavery.  We will also compare and contrast life in the palace and life in the desert.

- Science --- We didn't quite get to pollination this week, so we will visit that topic next week.

 Students enjoyed an "I Spy" game to practice counting coins.  It got them up and moving around the room!

 This week, we learned how to buddy read.  We call it "Read to Someone".  Students really enjoy this time, and it helps them to develop their fluency and expressive reading.  Bonus!

 Students practicing choosing the correct punctuation for sentences I call out.  :)

 Hieroglyphic names from our Egypt study

We had one monarch straggler pop out of it's chrysalis this week.  Stay tuned for news on the remaining chrysalises next week!

News & Notes {and monarchs galore!}

Hello everyone!

I hope you are enjoying the cooler and very fall-like weather.  :)

Here are a few brief items of note:

If you know any families that may be interested, please pass this information on to them--- On Monday, October 6, parents of prospective students are invited to drop in at the Lancaster Campus of Lancaster Mennonite School for light refreshments in Alumni Dining Hall and the opportunity to chat with school administrators, including elementary principals. Student-led tours are available from 8:30 to 9:45 a.m., and parents are welcome to observe high school chapel from 9:54 -10:30 a.m. The Lancaster Campus is located at 2176 Lincoln Highway East, Lancaster. 

Also, Fridays at LMS are spirit days!  So, if you need some black and gold apparel, this one's for you! --- We are kicking off the new school year with an LMS apparel sale! Orders can be made by going to: http://www.ourmerchshop.com/lms   Orders may be placed today until Friday September 19th.

And now... A Peek at our Week:

- Math --- This week we will have our first official math test.  I will provide students with a few days to review and solidify the main concepts.  The test will be read to them so that it truly tests the math concepts and not their reading abilities.  After I grade the tests, you will receive the results, the test, and an explanation of their grades.  We will just dip into Unit 2 before the week ends.  You will receive a family letter with additional information regarding this unit. 

- Language Arts --- We will be doing our first author study this week on Cynthia Rylant (author of the Henry and Mudge series)!  Students will analyze plot, sequence and begin working on identifying the main idea through Rylant's stories.  During our Writer's Workshops, we will work on lengthening our stories by adding details to make our writing more interesting.

- Bible --- We will continue to learn about Egypt's geography and continue with the Moses story.  Students will also be able to sign up to recite their Bible memory verse if they are ready to do so.  If students need additional practice, they have opportunities to recite until the end of September.  A new memory passage will be assigned at the beginning of October.

- Science --- We have five more chrysalises to observe!  I expect there will be more releases this week.  :)  Students will continue learning about the monarch life cycle, and we will introduce the concept of pollination.

Before students left for the weekend, I asked what I should do if monarchs emerged from the chrysalises on the weekend.  They (with some disappointment and sadness) told me that I should release them so they could begin their journey south.  To cheer them up, I informed them that I would post a picture of any that I had to release without them.  Here is a picture of the one I released, as promised.  Could you show it to them?

And here are a lot of other pictures of releases throughout the week... can you tell it was the highlight? We released ten monarchs this week!

Here is a craft that we've been working on of the life cycle of a butterfly.  Aren't they doing a great job?  I just love how you can see all of their little personalities come out in their work!

You'd think that all we did this past week was learn about butterflies!  What can I say?  It was a highlight for all of us, even the camera holder.  ;)

Spelling Practice at Home

Okay, so you have one week of helping your second grader practice their spelling words under your belt!  Yay!  However, you might be thinking something like "This sorting thing might get old pretty quickly," or "I think my son/daughter just memorized how the sort looks, but isn't internalizing the features."  (At least, these are some things I would be thinking!)

Here are my answers to these concerns.  The spelling sort may be repetitive, but the sort does help students to compare/contrast familiar features with new ones they are encountering.  (Example:  Student is familiar with the short a sound in words and is now learning how to spell the long a sound. They can contrast the known short a in "can" with the new long a in "cane".)  Persevere in the sorting for homework.  Repetition for young children is important.  And after all, the sorting should take less than five minutes each night.

To switch things up a bit, sorts can be completed as a written sort.  Students can write their words in the appropriate categories as you read off their words.  This helps students to hear the various features and practice writing their words at the same time.  Bonus!

If your child needs additional activities to practice their spelling words or more variety in their nightly homework, here are a few ideas:

- Rainbow words:  students write each letter of their spelling word in a different color pencil or crayon
- Wrong-hand writing:  students write each of their spelling words with their non-dominant hand
- Hidden words:  students draw and color a picture and then hide their spelling words within the picture for you to find
- Spelling pyramids:  students create a pyramid with each word---thematic fun for our Egypt study
Example:    p
                  py
                 pyr
                pyra
               pyram
              pyrami
             pyramid

- Spelling City:  each week I will post words on spellingcity.com.  All your student needs to do is follow the spelling city link posted on the sidebar of this blog.  They should search for their list with "Grosh".  Once they find Grosh, they will see color lists.  They should click on the color corresponding to the color of the paper their spelling sorts are printed on.  They may practice their spelling words using the free games on this site.

Make it fun!

News & Notes {and one hot week!}

Hello all!

It sure was a warm week last week (at least compared to the relatively cool summer we had been having)!  I must say, the students were troopers and worked so hard to stick out those humid afternoons.  Thanks to the Girdharry family for sending in an extra portable fan to keep the air moving in our room!

A few things to note before I give you a peek at our week:

1)  I hope you enjoyed the first Friday Journal entry that your child brought home with them on Friday.  I loved seeing what they had to say about their week!  Please keep in mind that this is your child's writing.  (Though we do brainstorm a list of things we learned or that happened during the week to give them a starting point.)  It is not edited for mistakes in spelling, grammar, etc.  This provides you with a little look into how their writing skills are progressing.  Your homework is to respond to them in letter format and return the Friday Journal each Monday.

2)  Scholastic Book Orders are due on Monday.  Please do not send cash with book orders.  Checks should be made payable to Scholastic.  If you choose to order online, you have until 6pm on Monday night to submit your order.  If you do order online, don't forget to do a quick google check for any promo codes that may provide you with a deal!

3)  Last week I sent home First in Math logins and passwords.  This is not homework for students, but I highly encourage students to utilize this program at home to help with fact fluency.  Students received a little tutorial on how to use First in Math on Friday, and we will continue to use this program in class on Fridays to familiarize students with the options available.

4)  Students will begin weekly spelling tests this week.  I will provide them with spelling words on Mondays.  They should study these words at home each night to prepare for their test on Friday.  I will post some ideas for spelling study activities this week.  Keep in mind that the words they begin with may be easier for them just to get them comfortable with the spelling routine at first.

Now, on to a Peek At Our Week:

- Math --- Our focus this week is on place value and using the number grid to find patterns.

- Language Arts --- For reading, we are analyzing plot using Beginning/Middle/End (BME) flap books.  Our writing focus is on using the word wall and other spelling tools to help with spelling during writing time.  For grammar, we are continuing to study questions and statements but are adding commands and exclamations as well.

- Bible --- Students will study the geography and customs of Egypt to provide them with a look into how Moses might have grown up.

- Science --- We will learn about the life cycle of the monarch butterfly and learn about their migration.  (Hopefully there will also be butterflies emerging from chrysalises this week!)

 Building our Read to Self stamina... we may have been a bit tired.

 Orientation to First in Math

Playing Penny Plate (see previous post for directions on how to play at home)

Math Fact Game Ideas

Hi all!

I thought I'd drop in mid-week to give you a few game ideas to help your children practice their math facts at home in a fun way!  (After all, flash cards work for some, but they're not all that exciting after awhile.)  Good news! You can play both of these games with items you probably already have at home!

Penny Plate:

This is a great game to help students make connections between addition and subtraction without even knowing what they're working towards.
Materials: 10 pennies, 1 paper or plastic plate
How to Play:
Player 1 closes his/her eyes while Player 2 hides some of the pennies under the plate.  The rest of the pennies are places on top of the plate.  When Player 2 has placed all of the pennies either on top of or under the plate, Player 1 may open his/her eyes.  Player 1 then has to use their knowledge of the 10 facts to decide how many pennies are hidden under the plate.  Player 1 tells Player 2 how many pennies he/she thinks are under the plate.  Player 2 removes the plate to reveal the actual amount of pennies under the plate.  Both players then state the related addition fact.  (Example: If 6 pennies were on top of the plate and 4 pennies were under the plate, the related fact would be 6+4=10.)

Addition Top-It:

Materials:  1 deck of playing cards with face cards removed.  Make sure your child knows that the ace equals one.
How to Play:
Shuffle and place the deck face down between two players.  Player 1 draws two cards and adds them together, stating the complete number sentence as he/she does so.  (Example: If the cards are a 5 and a 7, student should state "5+7=12".  This helps with fact memorization.)  Player 2 draws two cards and repeats this process.  The player with the higher sum wins both players' cards for this turn.  In the even of a tie, both players should draw two additional cards and repeat the addition process.  The player with the higher sum takes all eight cards for that turn.  Play continues until the deck is exhausted.

Give them a try!

News & Notes {and first pictures}

Hello all!

I hope everyone is enjoying the last little bit of their extended weekend!
Thank you to all who came to the Parent Orientation last week.  I hope it was informative for you and answered many of the questions you may have had regarding the second grade year.  If you had other questions that I did not address, or if the evening prompted further questions, I would be happy to answer them.  If you were not able to make it, you should have received a packet of information when your child came home on Thursday.  Please review all of the documents thoroughly and contact me with questions.
I have posted several pictures of our first two weeks' activities below the "Peek at our Week" section. Enjoy!

A Peek at our Week:

- Math Focus:  We will practice using the 100s grid, identify place value, and begin reviewing our "10 facts" through games.  Check back for game ideas to help your child reinforce "10 facts" later this week!
- Language Arts Focus:  We will continue building our independent reading stamina and introduce the Work on Writing component of our Language Arts time.  Our reading focus will be identifying character and setting, while our grammar focus will be distinguishing between questions and statements.
- Bible Focus:  We will begin learning about Moses' life and the injustice of slavery.
- Science Focus:  We will begin our unit on Insects, starting with the Monarch butterfly life cycle!
- Social Studies Focus:  Students will learn about habit #3, "Put First Things First: Work Before Play".

Our first day of 2nd Grade!

Look at those characters!

All About Me "Bagpacks"

 We completed a mini-unit for math called "tools or toys".  This helps students to get the "play" out so when it comes time to use math tools, they are ready to use them properly.

"Look!  Blazer colors!"

 We also played Addition Top-It to practice those addition facts.

 Check out this little math craft.  We discussed and wrote about how we are ALL mathematicians!

And here's a little peek at the diligent readers working hard during Read to Self stamina time.