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! : )