October Fun!

Well, my computer is back up and running after having a virus! : ) I am feeling much better, except I still don't have much of a voice! Thank goodness the kids have been understanding! Last night was the Family Halloween Party at Queen's and it was wonderful to see everyone in their costumes. What a great night! Pictures will be posted on the photo website soon! We have been working hard learning the water cycle and next week we will be completing a video all about what we have learned so far! Once this is complete, each child will be bringing home a dvd with our movie so you can see what we have learned at home!

Our class Halloween party will be on Friday, October 29 at 2 p.m. The grade 1-2 teachers have decided not to allow dressing up at the party. It was decided at a staff meeting that full costumes would not be allowed at school, but students would be able to wear one accessory item from their costume if grades could agree. We have decided to go simple and not have anything!

However, I would like to do a fun activity to get everyone in our class involved by having a Crazy Vocabulary Hat contest. We will be reading a cool book called: Miss Alaineus, A Vocabulary Disaster where the kids had to create costumes or hats that told the meaning of a vocabulary word. I will hand out directions and the hats on Monday! I will give some time in class to decorate and plan. Basically, students will pick a vocabulary word and show what it means on their hat. Go to this website for some examples: http://www.debrafrasier.com/pages/gallery.html This will be part of the spelling contract grade this week! The spelling contract will be shorter as well! : ) This should be a really fun learning project! I am excited to see all the hats!

When everyone didn't have school on Friday, Mrs. Engemann was at a conference learning how to be a better teacher. It was a GREAT conference and have realized that I already use most of the techniques, but now know how to use them better. I am excited to use the new techniques too! The conference was on differentiation which means making sure that I teach in a way that reaches every student! Every child learns at different speeds and comes to each subject manner knowing different things, I learned ways to find out what your child already knows and how to make sure they are achieving at their own potential! Needless to say, I am so excited to start using my new knowledge! This is why I love being a teacher! Let's have a great week!

Pumpkin Patch Field Trip and More!

Well, we completed our first field trip! Everyone got to pick out their very own pumpkin! Some of the pumpkins they picked up were HUGE! I am surprised that they all were strong enough to lift them into the bus and home. We had a great time learning about the farm, having a snack (my apologies to my students who thought we were getting apple cider and doughnuts), and a hayride. Overall, it was a fun-filled afternoon and the weather could not be better. Check our photo page for more photos from the day. Remember our password is explore.

Just a few notes for changes in our classroom!

I implemented a quick snack time in during our morning to break up the long morning before lunch. This has helped them focus on learning and not worrying about what time lunch is. A light, healthy snack can be supplied for your child! I have snacks for those kids who forget a day. If anyone would like to contribute snacks that I can store that would be helpful! Fruit snacks, animal crackers, and pretzels are what I currently have and any help would be wonderful! Thank you in advance!

To help with our math and handwriting, we will be making Snazzy Snacks. These are easy recipes that we will write down in our best handwriting and then we will make the snack by carefully measuring out the ingredients and following the recipe directions! I have a fun recipe for fall that we will do at the end of October!

Spelling Contract Activities~ Thank you to Patty Hart who volunteered to help me upload the spellingcity.com spelling lists! I have included on the spelling contract, a new activity option of using spellingcity.com activities! Just write me a note or print out the activities that your child completes. There are some fun games and learning tools to help prepare for the spelling test! I hope this helps out!

Wii Interactive Whiteboard~ A BIG thank you goes out to my husband, Scott Engemann! He has helped me implement this fun technology into my classroom! Your kids have all had a chance to come to the board! Some have had the chance to write on the board too! I can't wait to use it in full force along with our mice! Your children are learning so much and are having fun while learning. Sometimes they don't even realize that they are indeed learning! Ha! We tricked them! : )

Activity Schedules~ I know we are all very, very busy! I would like some activities schedules from the students so I can attend one activity to show my support. This could be a sports game, a play, or whatever! Just let me know! Thanks!

That is all for now! Hopefully, the website will be uploading properly now! I plan on making a few changes throughout the week. Have a great weekend everyone! Go Green! : ) and Go Blue!

Mrs. Engemann : )

Week 3!

Here we are at week 3, going strong. We are working on following directions, listening, and being respectful. So far this week, we have done a pretty great job! Still room for improvements though. : )

Religion: We are learning about the Holy Trinity: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We learned that they are a three in one representation of GOD! We practiced the sign of the cross to help remember our belief as Catholics in the Holy Trinity. We have also practiced what to do at mass and how to be active and participate as full as possible.

Math: We are working on addition strategies, we are practicing adding numbers to 20! Keep working on your math facts. Time tests will begin on Monday! Be ready!

Social Studies: We talked about ways to be part of a community and how to help our community out when it is in need. Later, we will be learning about the important places in Jackson (our community) as well as building a community! Any small boxes like crackers or cereal would be appreciated! Thank you!

Science: We just started talking about plants. We will have a field trip for this unit on October 8. We are going to a pumpkin patch and each child will be able to bring home a pumpkin!

Writing: We are making a class book, which will be sent home to each of your homes in an envelope. Just sign the envelope and return to school the next day. We want to make sure every family gets a chance to see the book. It is based on the book, If Dogs Were Dinosaurs where the author made big things in the world really small and small things become enormous. For example, If the earth were as small as a basketball, Martians could slam dunk in the universe! Each student came up with their own version and illustrated their page. Some will make you laugh!

Reading: The logs will be due on Friday. I expect 10-15 minutes each day Or MORE!!! I will not stop you from reading! The strategy we have been working on this week is visualizing, using our senses to help us make a mind movie of what is going on in the story. We are also reading Henry and Mudge and answering comprehension questions.

Great job selling those magazines! Our class earned Popsicles, which we will enjoy tomorrow! : )

Don't forget to send in your party money of $4 by September 30!

Book Orders are due on Friday! You can order books online by visiting: www.scholastic.com/bookclubs our code is GQFFT. This is a one time code and you will create your own username and password. Every book order you can sign in using your own name and password!

We plan on finishing the end of the week strong! I also plan on attending the PTO meeting in regards to some funding for the wireless mice to increase student involvement and engagement. So exciting!

Week 1 Done!

We are at the start of our second week of school! We have already learned so much! In science, we are learning all about the scientific method. So far, we have completed an experiment using diet coke, Mentos, and M&Ms. We predicted what we thought would happen and then we went outside to experiment! It was a lot of fun! The diet coke and Mentos went the highest!

In Social Studies, we are learning all about communities. Including rural, urban, and suburban areas!

In Math, we are working on addition! Please work on flash cards each night!

In Reading Workshop, we have learned new strategies to pick out a book that is just at our level. We want to do the five finger thumbs up test! We pick any book and turn to a random page! We start reading and for each word we don't know, we put a finger up. If we have 1 to 2 fingers up, it is too easy! If we have three up, it's a just right book. If we have 4 to 5 fingers up, the book is too hard! Then we ask ourselves, Do we understand what's going on? If yes, (you could retell someone) put a thumb up! If no, thumb down, the book is not the right fit for you! We will be starting reading logs next week!

In Writer's Workshop, we have been working on gathering ideas! We are using other authors to help guide us as we become authors ourselves! Today we read, It's OK to Be Different! by Todd Parr and had a discussion about how unique we all were! I have sent home a Writer's Notebook (Composition Book)with each child that needs to be decorated. Please bring this to school on Friday! This is where our writing will begin!

In Religion, we are discussing St. John Vianney this week who is the patron saint of Priests. We are also talking about creation, trusting God, and about our church family. I will send home prayers to work on. Please check out the family connections for fun, faith-filled activities to do at home together!

As you can see we have been busy and will continue to be busy throughout second grade. Keep up the great work Explorers! : )

Back to School!

Hello Everyone!

Summer has flown by, less then a week to the big day! I met most of you at the open house and this has gotten me even more excited to begin school. I'm glad that you enjoyed the room or sorry.... "Safari"! : ) This week I am in meetings and professional development to help me get to know Queen's School better as well as learn new things to become a better teacher! I have planned many cool activities for the first week of school and I can't wait to see all of the "all about me" bags! The website should be updated with a lot of new information and insights about what your child will be learning and how I teach soon. I will be going over all this info at Parent's night as well! I hope you all enjoy the last week of summer and can rest up for the fun, but busy week ahead! I can't wait to see you Explorers so we can jump into our year and start exploring!

The Start of School is Coming! : )

Hello Explorers!

Please join us for the open house on August 22, 2010 at Queen's to meet me, your teacher! You'll have the chance to check out the room, have a hot dog or two, and meet up with your classmates! I can't wait to meet all of you. I am excited to get this school year started. I have a lot of fun lessons planned already! You are going to be learning so much! I can't wait for you to see our room. I will post a few pictures later! I have been hard at work preparing to get it ready for the Explorers. Hope you enjoy the last little bit of summer we have left. Be prepared to begin to work hard. Welcome to the "Second Grade Safari". See you soon Explorers!

Mrs. Engemann

Hello from Your New Teacher!

My name is Mrs. Engemann and I just found out that I am going to be your second grade teacher! This will be my second year teaching. I am so excited to be working at Queen's and I cannot to wait to meet you! I am currently planning our year and our classroom. You will become part of the Engemann Explorers! In August, be ready for a learning safari! See you soon!