How Do Friends Depend on Each Other

This week in reading our questions was:  How do friends depend on each other?  We listened to a story about a New Kid and how she met a friend who made her feel better about starting at a new school.  We also read a story called Help.  This story was about a snake helped a mouse out of a tough situation.  Our stories this week were all fantasies.  We know this because many of the characters were animals and they talked to each other.  We practiced making pictures in our heads while reading.  We also reviewed our first vocabulary words and spelling words.

In math, we continued reviewing skills from last year.  We talked about how to work in groups and play games with a partner.  We played a few math games that can be easily played at home.  One of the games was played with 10 pennies and a small plate.  Take some pennies and place under plate and the rest on top of the plate.  Then the child must figure out how many pennies are under the plate.  This game helps the students to learn their 10 facts.

We finished up our first unit is social studies about communities. The students should now be familiar with what kinds of homes are in a community, where you can work in a community and places to play in a community.

In science, we continued to learn about balance.  We actually balanced a pencil tip onto a craft stick. Ask your child about it!! It was a lot of fun.  We had a few students who were able to figure it our with out any help from me.  Good job!

Several of the students participated in the summer reading activity.  These students got to play a fun game at the end of the day today!!  Soar to new heights and...READ!!

So nice to you see you...

It was so nice to see many of you at Back to School night on Thursday.  We have a great community with such great parent support.  I encourage you to continue to participate in your child's education.  I hope you received valuable information at Back to School night.  Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions that may arise.

We had a great week.  So far all of the monkeys have remained in the green this week.

This week we started slowly introducing our Daily 5.  The students jumped right in since they were familiar with the routines from last year.  We also started our new reading program.  Our theme of the week was "What makes us special?"  We read the story of "The Lion and the Mouse".  We learned how even a small little mouse can help a big, fierce lion.  We also read a story about two second graders with extra talents. Lai May is a talented pianist and Marcos Estrella an actor who has won awards.

We also practiced using short and long vowels sounds. We blended words using the vowels and spelled words as well.

In math, we reviewed some of the skills that were learned last year. The students were reminded of the math routine.  We start every day with a Math Message.  We reviewed the tools used during math.

In science, we began to talk to about balance.  Can you believe we balanced a crayfish on our fingertip?  During Social Studies, we began to talk about communities.  In honor of September 11, we talked about how we love our country and made hearts to show this.

Of course, we had to do some fun activities as well.  We read "How Full is Your Bucket?" and created our own personal bucket filler.

We also read a book called "How I Spent My Summer Vacation."  We then shared (on a suitcase) one thing we did on our summer vacation.

I am looking forward to the cooler fall temperatures.  I hope you enjoy your weekend!

Mrs. Wells

Our First Week of School.......

We had an exciting couple of days.  The students and I are getting to know each other. On the first day, the students entered and were shown around the room.  All of the classroom jobs were explained and demonstrated if necessary. 

We, as a class, came up with the rules for the classroom.  The rules are as follows:

1.  Respect

2.  Be Kind to Others

3. Follow Directions

4.  Raise Your Hand

5.  Always Try Your Best

We read one of my favorite books, First Day Jitters.  We then had some "jitter juice" to help us to get the jitters out.  14 out of the 17 students liked the "jitter juice."  

The students wrote a reason they think second grade is going to be super. They drew pictures, too.  Some of the reasons are:  You get to have lunch with the teacher, We do lots of arts and crafts, We get to read books, We like gym class, etc.

On Friday, we talked about ways to be a great student. Some of the students demonstrated the right way and the wrong way!!

We also read the book "How Full is Your Bucket"

We talked about what bucket filling looks like and what bucket dipping looks like...ask your child about it.  It is really a great concept and the students understand the meaning.  We began working on a self-portrait of a bucket filler which will be available for you to see at Back to School Night on September 12.  

Finally, our last activity of the day was our "Soar to new heights...READ" assembly.  At the assembly, Mrs. Lizza explained our new school wide theme...reading.  We got to see a slide show of my of the staff members reading in all different places.  We also got to meet our book buddies. Our book buddy class is 6-Gloeckner.  We will be meeting with them often to do some fun planned activities.

I hope you all have a great weekend.  See you next week!!

Welcome Back to School

Welcome to Second Grade and to 2-Wells.  I am so excited to start another school year.  The classroom is ready to be filled with a new batch of eager students.  I can't wait to meet all of the students.  Here are some pictures of the classroom for you to see.....See you soon!!

Goodbye...

It is that sad time of the year when we must say goodbye...  It has been a fun and exciting year, but the students must move on. 

This week started off with our Fun/Field Day.  The children got to make fun projects, play with a parachute, hula hoops and inflatables that were provided by our Home and School Association.  Thank you to the parent volunteers that helped with that part of our day.  We also had our annual field events.  Our favorite is the milking the cow station...you may not believe this but I actually got my hair wet when participating with this event.  Thanks to Mrs. Cuzzupe as always for putting together these events.  We always have a great time and it is so nice to watch the students having fun.

We also had a special assembly this week.  At the assembly, I was honored as the "Teacher of the Year" with some special gifts.  Mrs. Moran, our incredible art teacher, and my students presented me with an AMAZING table that was painted by Mrs. Moran with some help of the students.  Thank you all so much....I will treasure it forever!!

Also, at our assembly we said goodbye to our secretary of 33 years, Mrs. Fiebig.  She has been so supportive and helpful over the years to so many of us.  We will miss her dearly.

As a final word, I would like to wish all of the families of my students the very best of summers.  I wish much success to my students.  I know they are all going to go on and be successful third graders and beyond.  Please come back to see me, and remember.......no monkeying around!!!!

Getting down to the end...

We are winding down to the end of second grade.  Today our fun/field day was canceled and rescheduled for Monday.  Let's hope the weather holds out.  In the case of rain, there are still some fun activities planned for the students.  Shirts have been provided by the H&S and will be sent home with the students today to be worn on Monday.

This week we did a lot of math practice.  Please keep in mind that over the summer we do not want the students to "forget" these important skills.  Practicing math facts (addition, subtraction, and yes, multiplication) can be done for just a few minutes a few days a week.  Also, have your child help you count your change or tell the time (if you have an analog clock...).  Math can be practiced in many different ways!!

We have been practicing our Readers' Theater plays that we will be performing next week for Mrs. Taylor's class.  We have two "funny, folktale" plays:  Spiderella and The Three Little Elephants.  The students have been enjoying making the background scenery and the props, too.

We are still reading Charlotte's Web.  Wilbur has just arrived at the fair and is awaiting the judges decision... We will be finishing the book next week and then as a reward for our hard work this year will be watching the movie.

One more week to go...

Cursive Writing...in Second Grade????

I am sure you have heard..we started cursive writing this week. We started out the week by writing our letters in...shaving cream. This was fun for the students while teaching them the correct way to make cursive letters.  We will continue to practice cursive next week.

This week in reading we talked about heroes and what makes someone a hero. We read several stories about heroes.  We heard a story about Diana Golden who lost her leg at a young age from cancer and went on to become a ski champion.  We read Bessie Coleman who became the first African American female pilot.  We read about Rudy Tolson-Garcia who lost both of his legs due to a birth defect and became a champion swimmer. 

Next week in reading we will begin Readers Theater.  We will practice reading and performing some funny folktale plays.

In math this week, we continued to review many of the math skills we have learned. The students also took what I refer to as the "Big Mama" test.  This test is given to assess the skills taught throughout the year.  These assessments will not be sent home for you to sign.

In social studies, we talked about what makes a good citizen.  We discussed ways to be a good citizen like helping others, getting along and making our community a better place.

We continue to read Charlotte's Web.  We have been introduced to Charlotte this week.  We are wondering what Charlotte will do to try to save Wilbur from getting eaten for Christmas dinner.  Stay tuned...