Wow!  What an amazing reception I got, when returning back to the classroom!  This crew sure knows how to make a girl feel loved!  I was so excited to be back with the kiddos, this week!  I was flooded with well-wishes and amazing welcome back cards!  Thank you for raising such compassionate, caring and simply amazing kiddos!  I feel grateful to be a part of this class, every day!  I had so many hugs, beautiful notes, and kids asking if they could help, and even a few that were wiping the melted snow off the floor, so I wouldn’t trip.  So much love!

My first day back was packed full of excitement!  The kids were full of energy, and going in a few different directions.  The rest of the week proved that they could settle back. in, and we were back on a roll, despite the crazy weather!  Speaking of weather… Please make sure that your second grader is prepared to go outside.  We try to make it outside, every day, to give the kiddos a chance to run around and get some fresh air.  If there is snow on the ground, the children need to have boots, a warm jacket, hats and mittens or gloves, in order to play in the snow.  Once the snow hits, even the blacktop is snowy and slushy, so at a minimum, the children need to have boots and a warm jacket.  Please also make sure that they have a pair of shoes to change into.  If they want to leave a pair of shoes at school, they certainly can.  Otherwise, please make sure they have a change of shoes in their backpack.  It’s also a good idea to have a change of clothes in their bags, as well.  The kids play hard, and it is impressive to see where that wet snow can travel, so it’s helpful for the kids to have a change of dry clothes and socks to change into when they come in.  I have invested in some boot trays this weekend, to hopefully contain the “wetness”, in our classroom.

 

Brittney made it to the base camp!  The kids have been so excited to follow her journey!  She sent us a pretty amazing video from the basecamp!  I can’t imagine the experience.  I am sure that she is glad to be back home, with running water, and heat!  A huge thank you, to her for letting us tag along on her journey!  On Friday, we had the opportunity to use the Google Expedition goggles, to experience a virtual reality tour of Mt. Everest.  What an amazing experience!  I was so proud of the children for using what they know, and what they’ve learned about Mt. Everest to make observations.

In literacy this week, we focused on common and proper nouns.  For the children, it was helpful to think about “would I know what you were talking about?”  to help them decipher whether it was a common or proper noun. ( i.e. I went to a store, vs. I went to Target.  I went one day, vs. I went on Friday.  I had friend. vs. My friend is Grace.). We also followed up on some reading about Election Day.  The children made some nice connections.

In math, we finished up with unit 2, and completed both a unit, and cumulative assessment. I was proud of the children for working so hard on this.

 

Next week, we have a very short week, that will FLY by!  I always have such big plans for this week, but there is never enough time.  During the week, we will NOT have spelling words, nor will be completing a week in Wonders, or Everyday Math.  Instead, we will be applying some math skills, to help us solve some problems, and understand differences with mountain elevations.  We will practice adding dollar amounts by completing/purchasing a Thanksgiving menu, as well as playing some games, such as Name that Number.  This week, we will also be doing some non-fiction reading about Mt. Everest and Thanksgiving.  The children will continue to work on practicing double facts, and sorting nouns and verbs.  On Wednesday, the children will be dismissed at 12.  This means that we will have lunch in the classroom, and dismissal shortly, thereafter.

THEME BASKET:  we are collecting items for our theme basket!  This is a wonderful way to support our amazing PTA that does so much for our children!  Our theme this year is LEGOS – Build it!  We will be collecting items through January 17th!  Donations can be sent in, at any time!  Thank you in advance for your help with this!

I hope all of our second grade families have an amazing Thanksgiving!  I am certainly grateful to spend my days with each of your children!  Thank you for sharing them with me!  I can’t wait to hear about all of their Thanksgiving breaks!