Only 9 Days Left of 2nd Grade!?!?

I cannot believe that  our final countdown for the end of our 2nd Grade year has officially began!  This year has flown by, and I am so proud of how much your child has grown this year.  I was looking through student files and found your child's first piece of writing that s/he wrote in 2nd grade and they have change SO much as a writer.  You should be SO proud of your child!! :)

End of the School Year Countdown
We started our End of the School Year Countdown today - today we only had 10 days of school left this year.  For our countdown, each day we will have a small celebration.  Today the kiddos received a Blow Pop as a special treat.

On day 4 (Monday, May 22), we will be going on a hike to Rock Bridge State Park from 8:30-10:30.  This will be a surprise to the students (we will pop this balloon next Friday).  If you are available to come and hike with us, or meet us at Rock Bridge State Park with either water bottles of popsicles, we would love to have you.  Please do not mention this to your kiddo, but email me if you are available to come or willing to donate a cooling off option either at the park or when we return to school.

On day 3 (Tuesday, May 23), we will be watching the movie "Matilda."  Today we finished reading the book Matilda and the kiddos have so enjoyed the book!  We thought the kiddos would enjoy watching the movie.  The movie is PG.  Again, please do not share this with your child, we are wanting this to be a surprise also.

School Year Lasts
Today, we had our final Maker Space of the school year.  The kiddos were able to choose from magnetic tiles, Zoob Builderz, K'nex, and Legos.  Lots of fun was had building today!! :)

This week was our last week of Word Study and homework.

Today was also our last "official" day of reading intervention.  Each group had been working on a different project and all the students had a chance to share their projects in small groups.  These projects are coming home with your child today.

Nutrition Class
We had our third Nutrition Class with Ms. Zappata.  This week, she focused on fruits and vegetables.  The kiddos learned about the importance of eating a variety of colors of fruits and vegetables, and then we had a tasting party!  Ms. Zappata brought in red peppers, dried cherries, raisins, mandarins, sugar snap peas, jicama, and kumquat.  I had never heard of jicama before and it was really good.  The students also tried kumquat, which can be sour - make sure to check out the video!

Gentry Middle School Choir Assembly
On Tuesday, Mrs. Lenz (RBE's music teacher for the past few years) brought her middle school choir over from Gentry Middle School.  They sang a variety of songs, including songs from Wizard of Ox, Wicked and Trolls.

Trolls song with fun hair!!

Tuesday was also Adam's birthday so Dr. Link had 2nd grade sing to him!! :)

Writing
The kiddos enjoyed being able to write a variety of different types of writing this week.  On Wednesday, we had a special, small, green visitor in our classroom.  We found a turtle trying to get into the school on the way to lunch, so we brought him into the room.  The students wrote about the turtle on Wednesday, and their stories were AMAZING!!!  You can check out pictures of our adventures with the turtle here.

Yesterday, each student started writing a book that they had been wanting to write but hadn't had a chance yet to start.  Some students wrote a personal narrative, others let their creative juices flow and wrote a fictional story, and one student even tried out a historical fictional story.  You know that they are hooked as writers when over half the class came in and wanted to continue to work on their stories during morning work time today!

Next week, we will continue to work on writing that we started this week and also including some different prompts that the students will be writing to.

Reading
This week, we worked on comparing informational resources.  The students researched an animal using two different resources (PebbleGo and an article).  We will be using an H Chart next week to show what they learned from PebbleGo, the article, and information that was learned in both.

We reviewed compound words again this week for grammar and the kiddos made compound word flowers.

Next week, the kiddos will be making a reading project on a book that they really loved reading this year.  Their project will be an advertisement to encourage other students to read the book!

Math
This week, we finished up our graphing unit.  The students made a new survey question and collected data.  This time when we collected data we kept Ms. Mottaz and Mrs. Ross's class data. We introduced a double bar graph, and the kiddos made a double bar from their data.  Then they used the totals of both classes to make a pictograph.  We also made a double line graph of the temperature highs and lows of last week.  We have been working extremely hard on making noticings and analyzing the graphs that we make.

Next week, we will be reviewing addition, subtraction, and telling time.

Lunch Bunch
As a reminder, we have scheduled an end of the year lunch bunch for Wednesday, May 24 at 11:00.  If you have not had a chance to return your child's RSVP please do so by Wednesday.  I need to let the cafeteria know how many lunches to plan for.

A Few Presentations
Addi brough in a geo for the students to look at and everyone got a rock.

Also, Wes presented on climate change today.

To All the Moms -
Your child is coming home with a special Mother's Day present for you.  Each child was so excited to be able to make something for you - so it is full of LOTS of love.  I wish you a happy Mother's Day!

I hope that everyone has a wonderful weekend!