Shhhh… It’s a surprise!  This Thursday, the children will get “homework” that they will take home to read.  This “homework” will invite the children to a Polar Express party!!!  The children will get an invitation and a ticket.  Please have the children bring their ticket back to school on Friday!  We will have the conductor punch their ticket to enter the show!  The children will also be invited to wear pajamas to the party.  They can also bring a small blanket or towel to sit on.  We will be watching the Polar Express throughout the day, and we have some special treats of popcorn, hot chocolate and peppermint sticks for the children to enjoy!  We are really excited to share this fun day with the children!

This week, the second graders will be visiting all four second grade classrooms.  This will expose children to different teaching styles, practice with a change of routine, and provide them with an opportunity to participate in some really fun activities!  In my classroom, the children will be learning about ice crystals, and how they are formed.  They will then have the opportunity to grow some crystals of their own.  In the other three classrooms, they will be creating a craft, participating in a STEM challenge, and making some potpourri.  The children are excited about this opportunity!  Make sure you ask them about their experiences each day!

It is hard to believe that we are in the week before Winter Break!  The children are getting pretty excited for holiday festivities and vacation!  Our routine is a little bit off this week.  First, we have come to the end of Unit 2 in Wonders, and therefore will be practicing taking the Unit 2 Assessment all week.  This will give children some practice taking a reading assessment, and demonstrating their reading skills in an assessment.  The children have not had a lot of practice with completing reading assessments independently.  That is why we are practicing this pro cress prior to using this kind of data as a valid and reliable measure of their ability.  We have decided that due to the short week, it being an assessment week, and the excitement of the looming holidays, we will not have spelling words this week!  In conjunction with assessing, we will also review some skills from the unit that could use some additional practice.

In math, we have also made our way to the end of the unit.  Therefore, rather than starting the next unit, we will be utilizing this time to revisit some previously taught skills, to hopefully solidify and deepen their knowledge.  Subtraction skills have been a focus in the previous unit.  We will utilize this time to strengthen students flexibility with numbers, and broaden their number sense.  With a greater depth of knowledge, students will more easily apply these skills to multi-digit addition and subtraction algorithms.

It has been so wonderful to meet with so many of you, to chat and share your second grader’s progress – so far this year.  I’m looking forward to meeting with a few more of you, very soon!   Thank you for taking the time to meet with me!  If you have any questions or concerns that you think of, forgot to ask, or need clarification of, after we meet (or at any time throughout the year), please do not hesitate to contact me!  I am grateful for the opportunity to teach your children, and am always happy to share what we are doing in the classroom.  If you have not signed up for a conference, and would like to, you can still use the sign-up genius link, or you can always contact me directly!

We had an exciting start to the week, with our first ground-covering snowfall!  The kids were all abuzz, and excited to dive in!  A few reminders, now that winter weather is upon us.  Please have children wear boots daily.  The children are outside for recess twice a day.  Wearing boots will help keep their feet warm and dry.  Even the pavement gets wet and slushy, so if children don’t have boots on, their feet will most likely end up soggy and cold.  Also, children should have appropriate clothing for the weather.  Remember, the weather can change throughout the day, and the wind can whip around our playground.  It is better to be safe, and prepared for the weather.  I would recommend the children wear a warm coat, hat, and mittens or gloves daily.  If there is snow on the ground, the children will need to wear snow pants to play on those parts of the playground that are covered in snow.

It is also a good idea for the children to keep an extra pair of socks, and even a pair of pants (if room allows) in their backpacks, for those days that the snow finds its way to places it shouldn’t.

It is so much fun to watch the children’s pure joy when playing in the snow!  It makes me want to break out my own snow clothes and have some fun with them!

Wow!!! We are so fortunate to have so many generous families, in our classroom!  Your donations will most definitely help to make some children and their families, incredibly happy!  What an amazing lesson to help teach our children.  I am so grateful to be part of such a caring community!  If possible, please try to send in unwrapped donations, by Thursday.  This will allow me some time to purchase any additional items on the lists, and get the donations to the library for this weekend.  If you do not have time to shop for a donation, but you still want to participate, you can make a donation of a gift card or cash, as well.  Thank you so very much for being a part of this endeavor!  If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me, at ANY time!