Week of September 6th. 2016

Ask your child: What did you write about this week?

We Love Exploring Materials in Our Room!

Hooray, we opened white boards and magnetic letter boards this week!

This is one creative bunch of second graders!

Our Onster Promise

Yes, "Onster!" This week, we read the Monster Who Lost His Mean. The "M" stands for "Mean" so the other monsters start calling him "Onster!" They tease him as he starts being nice to children and other monsters. Onster starts to feel left out and sad.

After we read about Onster, we shared times when someone said or did something that hurt our feelings. We passed around a paper heart and crumpled it a bit with each personal connection. When we had passed it around to everyone, we tried to flatten the heart to it's original form, but we couldn't do it!

We learned that it's important to THINK before you do or say something because it is really hard to erase the feelings you leave behind on someone. We all signed our names on bandaids (monster bandaids, of course) to show our promise to think before we say or do something!

What's Your Super Power?

 Last week, we read Even Superheroes Have Bad Days. We found out about the strategies super heroes use when they're having a rough time.

"When superheroes don't get their way,

When they're sad, when they're mad, when they have a bad day...

...They COULD super-tantrum, they could, but they don't,

because REAL superheroes just WOULDN'T - they WON'T!"

So being the SUPER second graders that we are, we brainstormed our strategies to get calm when we're sad or mad or having a bad day. We shared our ideas and then created a display to remind us of our powers. Throughout our project we practiced using the materials in our class, different seat options, and began building our work habits. 

Ask your super second grader: What's your super power when you're sad or mad?

Scholastic Book Orders

September Book Orders Are In!!!

Class Code: HZ3MF
DUE DATE: 9/13/16

You can order books online at scholastic.com/readingclub where you'll find a huge selection of amazing books that are just right for your child's reading level and interests. You can also return your paper order form to me with a check to "Scholastic Reading Club."

The books are delivered to school with our class orders, but when you order online, you can pay with a debit or credit card. Not only that, but every time you order, you help our class earn FREE books!

You can order them at any time and search for numerous titles, series, levels, authors, and topics! Ordering books is fun and exciting for children and can be a great motivator!

Thank you for supporting your child’s reading both at home and in the classroom! 

♥︎ Mrs. Burns

     First Time Ordering Online?

- Go to scholastic.com/readingclub

- Enter our one-time Class Activation Code: HZ3MF

- Shop and submit your child's book order.

Week One is Done!

Enjoy some pictures from our first week!

Remember to ask your second grader for details about the photos! 

 

 

Week of August 29, 2016

Wahoo! Our first week (and a full week, no less) has been fun and full of new learning!

Ask your child: What was your favorite material this week?

• We "opened" so many new materials this week! When we open a material, we discuss what we notice, how we could use it and how to take care of it. Then we explore and practice! This week we opened: pencils, electric sharpener, clipboards, scrap paper bin, crayons, colored pencils, hand held sharpeners, pencil boxes, scissors, glue sticks, book boxes, some of our book nook, geoblocks, pattern blocks, base 10 blocks, blue blocks, and connecting cubes. (We've been pretty busy).
• We also began learning about our new room set up! We are using flexible seating this year, which means we do not have assigned desks. We find a place where we can do our best learning throughout the day. That might mean that sometimes we are standing at a desk, but then later lay down on a pillow. We created rules and shared ways to use the seats. Students have practiced using each seating choice and deciding if a spot is helping them do their best. More details to come, but so far we love it!
• We learned about time away and practiced using our calming caddy.
• We sang lots of songs from last year and learned new songs: Funga Alafia and Oh My.
• We read Even Superheroes Have Bad Days. Then we brainstormed what our super power is when we are feeling mad or sad. We felt inspired and created our own super heroes to display next to our super power (pictures will be posted soon!)
• We did lots of superhero themed activities including designing a cape, reading superhero books, reading superhero poems, decorating superhero books, and more! It was a great theme to help us learn and practice using materials in our room and build strong work habits!
• We shared about the qualities of a good partner.

Literature

• How To Deal with Bullies Superhero Style By: Wiley Blevins
• Timothy and the Super Strong Pajamas By: Viviane Schwarz
• Even Superheroes Have Bad Days By: Shelly Becker
• Kate and Pippin By: Martin Springett
• Schools Around the World By: Margriet Ruurs
• Too Much Glue By: Jason Lefebvre

Reminders

• A HUGE thank you to all of the families in our class! We really appreciate all of the donations of wipes, colored pencils, tennis balls, and dry erase markers this week. We have already begun using and sharing them and are so lucky to have such generous families!
• Remember you have to go "slow" to go "fast." We will be slowly and purposefully adding in academics again this year. We spend time building our classroom community, learning routines, building strong work habits, and taking ownership of our learning time and classroom materials. When we take time to lay this foundation, we will really be able to soar this year!
• We have Library every Tuesday, so please make sure your child packs his/her books!
• Students need to wear sneakers on our PE days (Tuesdays and Fridays)