Unfortunately, Mother Nature had different plans for us tomorrow, and all forecasts point to a rainy morning.  Therefore, we have decided to reschedule the walking field trip, until November 5th.  If you are able to join us, as a chaperone, on the new date, we would LOVE to have you!  Please let us know, ASAP!  If you had planned to attend, as a chaperone, and can no longer attend, please also let us know.  We will not be issuing new permission slips, as the rain date was posted, on the previous one.  Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.

Last week, we had another great week, in and out of the classroom!  We started the week with our Fire Safety lesson, thanks to the New Boston Fire Department!  We are so lucky to have such devoted members of our community, that are willing to share such important information with our children!  Then children started the day in the fire trailer.  The children talked about fire safety, and prevention.  Then, the children had a mock fire, where they practiced calling 911, and crawling out of the “smoke” filled trailer.  We then learned all about the tools the Fire Department uses, and had a tour of both a fire engine and an ambulance.  The children had a wonderful experience!  What a fun way to start the week!

In Wonders, we have had some great conversations about animal adaptations, and started to have conversations about how climate and landforms are different, in different parts of the world.  We are finally into a full schedule with reading groups and literacy.  The children have been working VERY hard!  They have been working on being detectives, searching for text evidence.  This is hard work, because it means that we need to slow down, and look back at the text.  We have also been working on writing responses to our reading.  We’ve been using graphic organizers to help us organize our thinking.

 

In math, we have continued to work on sums to ten and doubler facts.  We will continue to work on these throughout the year, in hopes of developing full automaticity with these facts!  Some of you may have seen some post-its come home, with sums to ten on them. This is a strategy that I have been using in my own home, and the children got excited about it.  I told the kids that we put post its with sight words, and math facts around our house.  For example, on the backs of the stairs, so they say a fact for each step.  They could put them on their bedroom or bathroom door, and they have to touch each fact and say them before entering the room.  I’ve had kids say that they use nerf guns to “shoot” each word, or tossing a ball at each word.  It’s a fun way of practicing their facts or words, without feeling like “homework”.  Some of you may also have seen two-sided counters come home.  This is a quick way to practice sums to ten, as well.  They shake up the counters, either with their hands or in a cup and dump them.  The hopes is that they will start to be able to recognize groups, without having to count each individual chip.  For example, they would be able to look at the pile and see three yellow chips, and then know that there are seven red chips, without having to count them. The children can eventually send the chips back to school, but feel free to keep them home and practice a few times each day.  The more exposure the children can have, the quicker they with gain automaticity.  Thanks for your help with this!

 

We also learned of some pretty exciting news this week, too!  Mrs Wright’s daughter, Brittney (a NBCS alumni), will be traveling to Nepal, to hike to the base camp of Mount Everest!  She is leading a team of 16 individuals, raising money for Multiple Myeloma research.  The children were pretty excited to learn about this!  We will be following her journey, as she hikes 62 miles, and nearly 18,000 feet of elevation, while experiencing different cultures, climate, landforms and terrain.  This will integrate perfectly with our second grade learning, and, it is super exciting, to follow her journey!  Stay tuned, for some updates!

 

Our walking field trip is this upcoming Monday!  We are super excited for a fun day!  Unfortunately, the weather looks less than ideal, right now!  Our fingers, (and toes) are crossed that we find a little break in the rain on Monday.  I will be sure to post here, if we decide to postpone the field trip.

 

This week, we will be having all sorts of Halloween fun!  We’ll be exploring pumpkins, and getting messy on Halloween morning!  We’ll be playing halloween math games, and reading all sorts of Halloween stories!  I’m excited for a fun week!  We will be participating in the Halloween parade on Wednesday, at 1pm.  We will start to get into costume, around 12:30.  We should be back to the classroom around 1:25-1:30.  We will have a quick party, before packing up to head home!  Thank you for such quick sign-ups for our party!  The children will be excited!  You are welcome to join us to help your second grader get prepared, or find a great spot along the route.  You are also welcome to join us in the classroom, after the parade!

 

My apologies for the delay with pictures.  I am switching over to a new camera, so there has been a little learning curve, for me.  I hope to have some more pictures up later this weekend!  I hope you all stay dry, (and we keep power), this weekend!

 

Wow!  October has flown by!  We will be participating in the Halloween parade on October 31st, at 1 pm.  We will be starting to get into costume around 12:30, shortly after recess.  If your child needs help getting into costume, you are welcome to join us to help your child out.  Or, you are welcome to find a great spot along the route, and enjoy the parade!  We will have a short party after the parade where we will enjoy a few treats, and a drink!  The kiddos are always super thirsty after the long trek! ;). You are welcome to join us from 1:30-2 in the classroom, if you would like.  I have already purchased paper goods, and small water bottles for the children, and was planning on bringing a quick treat, but I’ve had a few parents already ask to bring something, so I figured I would send out a sign-up.  Thanks for all of the offers!  You are welcome to sign-up for something below, but by no means, feel obligated.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E094EAEA92AA6FB6-halloween1

 

We will be having fun throughout the day, playing Halloween math games, and exploring pumpkins!  Yes, they will be getting their hands dirty, (and possibly their clothes), so please don’t send them in anything that you are worried about getting pumpkin on.  It should be a super, fun filled week for us!  I can’t wait to have some fun, and see all of their great costumes!

 

As always, thank you for your continued support, and don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns!

Rain, Rain, Go AWAY!!!

 

The Second Grade field trip is scheduled for this upcoming Monday, October 29^th. Unfortunately, the weather is looking a little less than ideal.  If the weather is acceptable for us to be outside, we will be participating in the field trip.  If it is looking like we will get too soggy and cold, we will reschedule for November 5^th, which is our rain date.

 

We will do our best to make a decision on whether to postpone by Sunday night.  Please check your 2^ndgrader’s class website for updates.

 

The majority of the field trip is outside, so please make sure that your 2^ndgrader is prepared to be outside!  Here are some suggestions of things they should have:

 

• A warm, water resistant coat. (if it is a light mist, we will be walking
• Hats and Mittens – we will be outside for a LONG time!
• Long pants
• Comfortable walking shoes or boots. We will be walking a fair distance, and on a dirt trail
• A snack that is easy to carry

 

Thank you for all of your continued support!  We are looking forward to a wonderful field trip!

 

• The Second Grade Team

Phew!  What a week!  Last week was an assessment week in Wonders, for us, so the children worked on parts of the assessment throughout the week.  I was very proud of this group for working so hard, and persevering when things were challenging.

 

Since there were no spelling words, the children worked on writing their name, address, phone number and birthday.  They did a very nice job with this, however, this information is so important for our second graders to know, that we will revisit this information, again.

 

Last week, we also participated in the cardboard challenge.  Wow!  so much fun bottled into two days!  The children spent Tuesday afternoon building with their book buddies, adding onto a school-wide build.   On Wednesday, the children had an opportunity to create on their own cardboard creation.  I was so impressed with the amount of thought and creativity that the children put into their creations this week.

 

On Friday, we worked on our third Growth Mindset lesson.  We watched a short dojo video, and focused on the word “yet”.  Instead of saying they can’t do something, they will be saying, “they can’t do it YET!”  It was fun to listen to the children talk about things that they couldn’t do yet, with determination and motivation, rather than frustration.

 

In math, we will be continuing on with unit 2.  We will also continue to focus on basic facts, like sums to ten and double facts.  The children will practice these throughout the year.  Even if you believe your second grader is fluent with these facts, additional exposure with increase their automaticity with them!  We will continue to do some quick practice for morning work, as well as play games and activities with them during a math rotation.

 

This week, the children will have the wonderful opportunity to participate in a visit from the NBFD.  We are so fortunate that the children get to participate in this experience.

 

 

 

Don’t forget that the Michaelmas Fair is tomorrow from 8:15 – 11:00 am in the Gym. There will be crafts, food and raffle tickets for prizes that the 3rd grade students are selling! Come support the 3rd Grade as they learn how to market and sell their products! Proceeds are used to pay for field trips and community donations.  Our class will be visiting the fair, right after morning recess!  Children do not have to bring money, but they certainly can, if they want to get some fantastic crafts or enter for the chance to win a raffle.  It’s always fun to visit the Michaemas Fair!

Since this week is an assessment week in Wonders, there are no new spelling words.  We will be practicing how to take a Unit Assessment.  I would like to take this opportunity to practice some pretty important skills.  By the end of the week, I would like the children to all know, and be able to write their full name, address, phone number and birthday.

 

I had the children take a pretest today to determine what parts of the above they will need to practice this week.  I have corrected their pretests with the information that I had, and have sent them home.  If any of that information is incorrect, please send it back to school, corrected.  I have asked the children to talk with someone at home to determine what phone number is the most important for them to know.  This is the number that they should practice throughout the week.

 

I have included four practice pages, for the children to practice this information throughout the week.  If you have an alternative method of practice, you are more than welcome to have them practice a different way.  These pages can stay at home.  They do not have to be returned, but please monitor to make sure the children are practicing the correct information.  I will reassess the children at the end of the week to see if we will need to take some additional time to practice this information.

 

Thank you all for your support with this!  I know this is a break from routine, but it is my belief that this is important information for the children to know.  We will have some conversations throughout the week, to discuss some foreign concepts to the children, like geographical regions, zip codes and area codes, etc.

Where: We will walk from New Boston Central School to the Historical Society and the Whipple Free Library.

When:  Monday, October 29, 2018 (*rain date11/5/18)

Who:    Second Grade Classes

What:  We will depart from New Boston Central School at approximately 8:15. Combining both science and social studies curriculum, we will take part in a walking tour of our beautiful town.  For the first part, volunteers from the Historical Society will lead a short presentation at the Historical Society, then guide us on a walking tour of several sites; including the Historical Society, Nan’s House, The Northeast Café, Parker Mill, the site of the old Ice House, and the town library.  Students will learn the rich history of these sites, and compare that to life in our town, now.  Another component of our tour will be exploring the woodland habitat along the Mill Pond trail, across the new footbridge, and ending at the Whipple Free Library.  At the library, the children will receive a tour, and hear about its history, and how the library operates.  Along the trail, children will explore and observe the rich plant and animal life, as well as the changes that have occurred due to weather and man.    Children will also enjoy a brief snack, either at the library or in Parker’s field.

We will then return to New Boston Central School, on foot, in time for lunch by 11:20.

 

*Students will need to bring a snack to carry and consume on the field trip.

*Students will need to wear proper footwear to walk downtown, and along the trail.

*Students will have to dress for the weather, as we will be outside for an extended period of time.

 

*Please return permission slips by:  October 19, 2018

 

What a crazy week of weather we had!  One day we were freezing, and the next we were sweating with the fans on…  Fall weather has definitely arrived!  We had another great week!  The children have really fallen into some great routines.  I am proud of the children for their kindness and compassion for one another.  I love how willing they are to help one another.  We have very quickly become like a little family!  Well, we were up to 14 purchased lunches on Friday!  I had my second ever purchased lunch on Friday, with another group of kiddos that was having their “first” or “second” ever lunch at school.  It has been so fun, having lunch with the kiddos!  Speaking of, we are starting a cafeteria challenge.  The children are trying to earn a golden tray, by showing bobcat behavior!  I know that they can do it!

 

Last week was a great week in Wonders!  We talked a lot about families, and how families can work together.  We read several stories, and brainstormed lots of great ideas around this topic.  We started a piece of writing around this topic, as well.  Most children started a reading group, and have been very patient while I found a “just right” place for them.  I could not be more excited about this room of readers!  There should be a big box of books coming our way, soon!  I can’t wait to share them with the children!  I know it is challenging, with crazy soccer, field hockey and so many other wonderful enrichment opportunities for the children, however, if they have a few minutes to read, each night, it will have a huge impact on their reading.

 

In math, we have finished up with Unit 1!  Wahoo!  We have worked on building foundational skills, and will continue to do that, throughout Unit 2.  The children may be talking about working with me, individually, as well.  I have been working on getting some more information on some of the kiddos.  This will just help me to focus small group instruction.

 

Friday brought another STEAM challenge!  Wowza, was this fun!  We worked more on the engineering process for this challenge.  The children watched a short movie, explaining what a catapult was, and then I showed them a short video of a young boy creating a catapult.  I only showed the video to them once, so I was incredibly impressed with how well the children were able to successfully create a catapult, without a step-by-step tutorial.  It was so much fun watching them launch their catapults!  I hope some of them completed some of their challenges over the weekend.

  

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Last year, as a school, and in our classroom, we participated in the National Cardboard Challenge.  This challenge was started by a young boy named Caine, who created an arcade, solely out of cardboard.  Last week, we watched a clip of what has happened since.

Soooo…bring on the cardboard!  Last year, as a class, we participated in the whole school build.  Then, we came back to our classroom, and worked on our own individual builds, in the classroom.  The children had so much fun with this!  This year, we are going to do the same.  We will participate in the whole school build on Tuesday afternoon, during our usual library time.  However, we will be working on creating our own “games” in class, on Wednesday.  What does this mean?!!  SAVE YOUR CARDBOARD! The children are going to work on their designs on Tuesday, and then have a chance to create their game on Wednesday.  I am asking the children to bring in the materials they will need, for their game.  This will include, recycled cardboard. (i.e. cereal boxes, shoe boxes, pasta boxes, amazon boxes, egg cartons, toilet paper or paper towel tubes, and any other paper/cardboard recyclable they can think of.). I will have extras, to share with the children.  We will also have tape, and glue for the children to use, for the challenge.