The End

This day is always bittersweet.  I am definitely ready for summer, but giving your kiddos a final hug good-bye is hard.  They come in as adorable strangers and leave as one of "my kids".  (This year I watched the first group of "my kids" graduate high school!)  I repeatedly tell my class, "If it doesn't challenge you, it doesn't change you."  Keep them challenged this summer and keep them safe.  Don't forget to venture down my end of the hallway and visit in the fall.  Thank you for all your support this year!  Enjoy your summer!

Stuff

Look out your child's bag is full!  We cleaned out our desks, excluding a few items, and it is all coming home!  Your child should have two language arts workbooks that I pulled pages from throughout the year.  These are great to work in over the summer to review skills we've learned.  A quick words book is also coming home; keep this on hand for when your child practices writing stories.  Have him/her look up words that are tricky.  Add more words to it!  Tomorrow the last few things will come home.

Dvd/Address

Two things to look for today when your child arrives home... a dvd and an address.  The dvd is a gift I give each of my students at the end of the year.  It is a collection of pictures from throughout the year.  We played it today in class.  I love watching the students as they watch themselves!  Please try it out in your dvd player tonight; this will give me time to burn a new copy if it doesn't work.  The second item is my address.  I promised the class that if I received a letter from a student, I would write him/her back.  Getting a real letter in the mail is the best!  This is a great way for your child to practice his/her writing.  Help them edit as they write and review how to address an envelope.

Final Friday

We had a good final Friday.  Check out the PLES Facebook page for pictures!  Enjoy the weekend!

Field Day Tomorrow

Tomorrow is field day.  Be sure to send your child dressed ready to move!  If the rain hold off we will be outside, 12:15-1:45.  If  you are free, come watch your child play!  Parents are welcome to take their children home when we are finished.  In case of rain, students will have an hour of activities indoors.  Cross your fingers for no rain!

Lecompton Readers

We celebrated volunteers from the Lecompton Methodist Church today.  Each week they come to our school and read with the 2nd graders.  The students love them and I'm pretty sure they love your children too!

SLIME!!!

Mrs. Gantz, Mrs. Scrimsher and I decided we would have some science fun this week.  Each of us chose an experiment.  We completed it today with our own class.  Over the next two days will rotate students and teach it to the other 2nd grade students.  My experiment was making "Troll Slime", muck like gak which used to be very cool when I was younger. 
We divided into two groups, girls and boys. Each group was very eager to help.  The girl's group added ingredients without waiting for directions so their slime was a little hard.  They boy's slime turned out okay, but not up to my ideal slime standards. (I think we needed hotter water than we had used.)  We learned an important lesson about reading carefully and not getting into a hurry.
We tried a third batch all together; this time following the recipe carefully, and using HOT water.  The slime turned out perfect!  I forgot my coloring, so it is plain white.  This didn't seem to bother the class.  Each student is bringing a small container of slime home with him/her.  The slime contains Elmer's glue, water, and borax.  We had a long discussion that it should not be eaten or left anywhere where a sibling/pet may try to eat it.

Addition War

During math today, we played a version of the popular card game War.  In our game, each student flipped two cards.   The student who had the highest total got to take the cards.  It is a fun, easy game to play at home.  This could also be done with subtraction or multiplication.
Our other highlight of the day was to have a guest speaker, Ms. Emerald City.  She is running for Ms. Kansas.  She spoke to the students about accepting others who have special needs.

Behavior Check

Today was not our best day.  As a whole, the class was very chatty and not the most respectful when it was time to be attentive.  They were snippy (is that a real word?) with each other and with me too.  I had to repeat directions several times and I know their best effort wasn't given.  I felt like I was nagging all day... I hate that.  So, tomorrow we are starting fresh.  We will be enjoying the 4th grade store and savoring our last few days together.  I'm going to be sure to remind them of this first thing in the morning!

Side note: I will be leaving early to watch Joel at the kindergarten recognition and music program.  I won't have to be gone for much of the day; Mrs. Green will be covering for me.

Body Venture

I asked the class if they liked going through Body Venture today.  One students said, "No.  I didn't like it, because I LOVED it!".  Again, my camera didn't give me any good pictures, but be sure to check out the PLES Facebook page for some shots of our day.  Thank you to all our volunteers!

First Grade Visit

The first grade classes came to visit us today.  They toured to building and had a chance to ask questions about their soon to be new school.  It was fun to hear my class reminisce about when they first visited LES.  One of them even commented, "It doesn't seem that long ago."  I agree!  The year flies by!  Our class did a nice job demonstrating good 2nd grade behavior.

New Camera/ Staff Changes

I'm sorry I haven't posted any pictures lately.  I've been taking several, but my camera has been difficult.  I use my classroom camera, which was purchased by our pto several years ago.  It is quickly giving out on me.  Most of the pictures I take are blurry either entirely or at least on one side.  I'm hoping I can sweet talk the pto into purchasing me a new one before next year!

You may have been hearing news that there will be some staff changes next year, which is correct.  We will only have two sections of 2nd grade (there is currently only 2 first grades).  Mrs. (Nancy) Gantz has decided to retire; Mrs. Scrimsher and myself will continue teaching 2nd grade.  Mrs. Gantz has not shared this news with any students yet; I ask that you wait to tell your child until she has had a chance to share with her class.

Have a great weekend

Your child is bringing home a Mother's Day gift.  I enjoyed reading what they had to see about their mothers!  I hope you mothers (and fathers) enjoy it too!

Have a great weekend!

Field Trip

We had a beautiful day for our field trip to Prairie Park Nature Center.  I think everyone enjoyed their time there.  We voted on our favorite part; there was a tie between seeing the animals and playing at Broken Arrow Park.  The Nature Center is open year round and free to the public to visit.  Stop back in during the summer to see if any thing has changed!

Kidz Bop vs. Country

We often listen to music in my room.  I have several Pandora stations that we choose from.  Most often the kids choose Kidz Bop, but lately my country fans have been quite vocal.  We've been alternating back and forth.  Today a para, who is not often in my room, walked in.  She laughed at the sight of my class writing, singing, and bopping in their chairs.  I think she was impressed with our skills!  This is a class that needs movement throughout the day; they know that as long as they are continuing to work I'll reward them with the music.  We also use the site Go Noodle for movement activities.  This is a free site www.gonoodle.com.  If your kiddo needs ways to move over the summer, look it up!

Our field trip is tomorrow.  Don't forget sack lunches and comfortable clothes!

Assessments

We took our final "big" assessment today, the Aimsweb computation test.  The class did great.  I was very happy with our results.  I'm a bit of a data nerd; I love seeing their results and analyzing the growth between test.  And if you are a parent like me, you can't wait to see your child's results either.  Don't worry it will be coming home, although I think you have to wait until grade cards are out.  Your child should know his/her scores though.  Talk to your child about how he/she thinks the tests went.

Our final field trip is coming up, Thursday.  Just a reminder... everyone will need a sack lunch for the day.

Chilly Day on the Farm

Even though we were pretty chilly, we had a good trip to the farm today.  Students learned about various grains, machinery, and animals.  They're favorite parts were petting the animals and playing in a corn pit.  Each student is bringing home a bag of goodies from our day.  Have a great weekend!  P.S. We have our fluency tests on Monday at 8:30, so have you child pick up a book this weekend and practice reading out loud!

Field Trips/ MAP

We have two field trips left this year.  One on Friday which we will be going to Meriden to "The Day at the Farm".  Our final trip will be on May 5th to Prairie Park Nature Center; the permission form for this trip was sent home today.  The PTO has kindly paid our registration fee and a dollar of the bus fee.


Your child has probably mentioned that we have started taking the MAP tests.  After I printed the newsletters last week; our schedule got changed.  We took the reading MAP yesterday, math MAP today, and will take the language MAP tomorrow afternoon.  The class has done a nice job, but I have to admit I don't think all students have given 100%.  I'm not sure if it is the storms this week or just spring fever, but our behavior has been a bit off task.  Not the best week for crazy kiddos!  Monday morning we will take our Aimsweb assessment (reading fluency).


I will be gone tomorrow morning.  My daughter is getting tubes in her ears.  Ms. Henderson will be my sub.

Books for Sale

The new best way to spend any free time in 2nd grade is to write a book and try to sell it to your classmates (or teacher!).  At least, that has been the new fave in my classroom.  I'm not complaining, at least they are writing.  I just have to keep reminding them that the books can't just have pictures, words need to be included too.  The books have ranged from 3 cents to 700 dollars.  So far the total number of books sold is zero.  Who knows, one of these kiddos could end up the next Dr. Seuss!  I will be lucky enough to say, "I knew them when...."  Hmm, maybe I should be buying some of these early works!!

Earth Day!

We had a busy Earth Day.  We watched the prairie grass burn from the Nature Study Site, we picked up and sorted litter, and we ended the day with a Sizzling Recycler Assembly.

Our next trip

Permission slips went home for our next field trip.  We will be attending Jeff West's "Day at the Farm".  Parents are welcome to attend; however, we are only taking one bus so they will have to either follow the bus or meet us there.  The only charge for this trip is the $3.00 bus fee.  Directions are listed on the permission form. 
The class doesn't know, but tomorrow is going to be a very exciting one!  We are going to burn the prairie grass in the Nature Site.  This is done every other year.  It is quite a show!

Bowling

We had a great time bowling today!  I'm headed to a meeting at PES at 3:30 so I don't have time to post pictures, I'll try to get some up soon! 

Weekend Blues

My family had a hard weekend.  Our dog, Darla, was taken by what we believe was a coyote.  It was terrible; I won't share the story with you.  Sharing other Darla stories with the class is pretty common for me, so I also told the class this morning that she was gone; they got an abbreviated version.  The class was very sweet in their response to the news.  They offered words of comfort and even tried to hook me up with several new dogs.  I let the class know that I appreciated their offers, but my family was not quite ready for a new pet at this time. 

April Art

We did an art project today.  We made umbrellas/flowers; our theme was April showers bring May flowers.  I took pictures of the class working, but realize now I didn't take any pictures of the final products!  Some students are bringing their art home tonight, while others chose to have their pictures hung on the bulletin board for a week or two. 

Telling Time/ Out of Time

Tomorrow will be our last day focusing on telling time.  Next week we'll be working on data and graphs with time as extra practice.  We've also been working on double digits as extra practice and will continue to do so.  I would love to see 100% of the class meet our math goal and I think it is very obtainable if they keep working.
I did have a heart-to-heart talk with the class this morning.  Several students have been slacking off during the last few weeks.  I reminded them we only have a few weeks until the end-of-year tests.  We are out of time for slacking.  Now is the time to work harder than ever before.  They seemed really motivated, until independent work time came around (the work avoiders continued to avoid). 
I wish there was an easy way to teach  7/8 year olds that the only way to learn to their potential is to work and use their best effort.  We often say in the classroom "If it doesn't challenge you, it doesn't change you". The other day I had a student groan because of the assignment I gave him.  I smiled, hugged him and told him how excited I was that he was feeling frustrated.  He looked at me as if I had three eyes.  I reminded him, that if he was feeling challenged he was soon to be changed!  He still looked at me as if I were crazy, but he did get to work (and he won't admit it, but I think he smiled too).  So, prepare you kiddos, they are still going to be challenged these last few weeks of school (Shh, it's going to happen even after our end-of-year tests are through!).  Spring fever or not, we won't quite learning!

Tomorrow

I am going to be gone tomorrow; my daughter has had several ear infections the past year so we get to visit with a ENT doctor.  Tori Henderson will once again be my sub.  It is going to also be a mixed up day for our schedule.  We are going to p.e. early so that we can watch the 3rd graders practice for their program during our regular specials time.  I've warned the class of the changes and reminded them to be on their best behavior.  I hope they come home tomorrow with stories of a fun, productive day while carrying a spelling pre-test with a score of 100%!

Full Folders

Your child is coming home with a folder full of papers today!  There is information about Earth Week, School Kidz (supply kits for next year), and spring pictures.  Please be sure to return unwanted pictures or pay for them.  (Keeping pictures without paying for them is a personal pet peeve of mine!)  Also in the folder is our final homework packet.  I still expect students to study spelling words and read orally, but will not be sending home packets of work.  There were many happy students in the room today when I made the announcement!

Paper Mileage

The last week of March, our class finished their "Unlucky Charm" stories.  I apologize.  I have not graded them yet.  Grading writing is fairly time consuming, and I admit not my favorite thing to do.  Even with this said though, I value getting pages returned in a timely fashion, therefore, I am sorry I have not got these papers graded. 
I arrive to work at 7:30 and leave try to leave by 4:30.  I usually stop in over the weekend once or twice a month.  I try to limit how much I work at home during the week.  My own children need my attention which they are sure to let me know.  Don't ask my husband either about time I spend working on or worrying about students!  I may just need to work on my time management! I'm not having a pity party for myself.  All jobs consume time.  What I am doing is taking the stack home with me to grade this weekend once more.  (You would be surprised if you knew how many times these papers have been back and forth to my home.  They have a lot of mileage!)  This time will be different though, because this time they really are going to be graded!

Ocean Reports

I have been very pleased with the work students are doing on their ocean reports.  I can't say 100% of the class is enjoying it, but the majority of students have been.  Some students have found and wrote many more facts than required.  A few even asked if we could do a second animal when we are finished with these.  I hope they keep the same enthusiasm throughout the project until the final copy is complete.  Ask your child how his/her report is going.  I hope they can give you many details.

Lady/Man Hands

I should explain.... I showed the class a YouTube video by Teacher Tipster over telling time.  The man in the video explains how they should think of the hour hand as the "lady hand" because it is smaller and the minute hand, which is bigger, as the man hand.  When they read the time, they should remember the rule... ladies first.  After we calmed down from the boys exclaiming it wasn't fair, the class did begin to remind themselves, ladies first.  I didn't think much of this, until we were making clocks yesterday and male student frantically began searching and yelling, "I can't find my lady hand!" I most often refer to the hands as hour and minute, but have said, "Remember, ladies first".  I hope this helps explain things if your child has mentioned lady and man hands when practicing time at home!

Mrs. Berendsen

We had a special presentation from Mrs. Lynda Berendsen today.  She visited with the 2nd graders about the Netherlands.  Lynda's husband is from there and they often go back and visit.  She did a great job and the kids listened nicely.  I learned a lot from her!  Tomorrow, Lynda is dropping by again to share some Dutch cookies with the class!
Be warned, another bug has hit our room!  We had two kiddos go home sick today.  One poor guy got sick in the room; the other had a high temperature.

Caution: Hard Work Ahead

This is going to be a hard working week for 2nd grade.  Our spelling words cover the prefix 're'.  This doesn't sound too challenging, but the base words do not follow a vowel pattern and many of them are 'cheater' words.  I reminded the class several times that they need to be sure to practice during our Daily 5 (aka LA small group rotations) time. 
During writing, we drew sea animals to research and began the researching process.  Some kiddos flew through their notes page and are nearly done, while other struggled to understand how to find information.  I've sent a copy of our research page home.  You are welcome to help your child find facts.  We won't begin our rough drafts until Thursday. 
Our third challenge for the week is during math.  We began working on telling time.  Again, some students have it down, while others  are working to understand the difference between hour and minute hands.  To help better meet the needs of students, I'll divide the class into small groups.  The groups will rotate to different activities, adjusted to fit their current knowledge.

Coat or No Coat

This time of year it is hard to know how to dress.  I spend way to much time in my closet trying to decide what to wear.  This week several students were a bit chilly during recess time.  Please take a quick peak at the weather each morning before your child dresses for the day.  Our school rule is that if the temperature is below 50 degrees, students need to have a jacket.

Have a great weekend!

Nearing The End

I started typing the weekly newsletter today and as I was entering important dates I listed the last day of school!  I can't believe we are already at this point in the year.  We also started our last social studies unit for the year, People At Work. (The class cheered.  Social studies is their least favorite compared with health and science.)  This is a fun unit though.  We get to talk about wants/needs, goods/services, consumers/produces.  I think the class will enjoy the unit once we get into it.  We will talk about jobs.  Our discussion today showed students are interested in everything from firefighters to veterinarians to Wal-Mart workers to a Samaria.  Career choices may change by the time we're finished with the unit!

Fact Practice/Picture Reminder

We did a practice math computation assessment today.  I am so impressed with how well most students know their facts and how to solve problems with regrouping.  They are rocking the practice assessments!  Our goal is 40 points.  Ask your child how he/she did today.


Don't forget we will be taking spring pictures tomorrow.

Measurement Fun

I'll try not to over post on measurement, but it's hard not to write about when we're having so much fun!  Today we went outside to find objects that are about 1 inch, 1 foot, and 1 yard.  We also reviewed the "these are tools, not weapons" lecture. 

Contractions

The class did a nice job with our pretest over contractions.  I was very happy with the way they remembered to use apostrophes.  We will have our final test tomorrow due to our short week.  Next week's spelling words also are contraction words. 

For some spring fun, we made "duck bunnies" today.  If your child did not show you, be sure to ask.  They were having a great time thinking of ways to trick their parents with them.

Welcome Back!

We had a great first day back from spring break.  My favorite part of the day was math time.  We started our unit on measurement.  Today we worked with a nonstandard unit of measurement (aka paperclips).  I will be gone tomorrow.  Ms. Henderson will again be my sub.  I'm very excited to have her.  She enjoys the students and the students enjoy her.  The class will complete another activity with nonstandard units.  Wednesday we will begin working with inches.

We made it!

We have completed another quarter of school!  It's hard to believe we are entering our final stretch.  Although we were very excited to finish today and head in to spring break, it was also a little bittersweet.  Today was Ari's last day at Perry-Lecompton.  His family is moving to Lawrence.  We are going to miss him. 
Have a wonderful and safe spring break!  Ask your child about my reading challenge to them (and if they can't remember, check their folder!). 

Show Time!

Our music program is tonight at 6:30.  Doors open at 6:15.  The students have worked hard; it should be a great show!


I will be attending a workshop on MAP assessments tomorrow.  Tori Henderson will be my sub.  The class knows and should be on their best behavior.  They all like Ms. Henderson very much.

No Homework!

I love times when I can deliver news like "no homework this week".  I suddenly am the best teacher EVER!  How easily they forget I am the same teacher that gives them homework every other week.  It doesn't bother me though, I'll take their praise for a few minutes!  I decided since it was a short week, we have a music program, and it's the week before spring break to not assign homework.  We do still have spelling words and, of course, I would appreciate you having your child read each night.

Whew!

This was a busy, slightly crazy, fun week.  I love to celebrate Read Across America.  We had a lot of fun reading, and getting tounge-tied, over Dr. Seuss books.  Our week seemed to fly by.  This is most likely going to be the feeling I have every week until the end of the year!  Enjoy your weekend.  Get outside; the weather is suppose to be great!

Hats Off!

Hats off to Dr. Seuss!

Happy Green Day!

Oops!/Assembly/PTO

I completely forgot to take a picture of your adorable children in their pj's today!  I'll try to do better tomorrow.  We ended our day with an all school assembly.  Mrs. Thornton reminded the students of behavior expectations.  Spring fever is starting to hit.  Tonight at 6:30 is our PLES PTO meeting.  I have been attending, as a parent, each month.  The attendance is pretty sad.  Last month, excluding myself, only one parent was in attendance that was not an officer.  So if you are free at 6:30, head to PES and support the PTO!  They are a small small group that does a lot for our schools.

Happy Friday

Here is a group of our wacky students!  Next week is looking a little wacky as well.  It is Read Across America Week; Dr. Seuss's birthday is March 2nd.  Each day will have a theme to go along with a Seuss book.  Monday: PJ Day  Tuesday: Wear Green  Wednesday: Wear Stripes  Thursday: Wear your favorite Hat  Friday: Wear Silly Socks

Wacky Friday

Tomorrow is "Wacky Day".  Our themed days throughout the year are chosen by the 4th grade social action committee.  Our classroom schedule and lesson plans will be the same so I'm crossing my fingers the "wacky" just stays in their appearance and doesn't creep into their behavior!

Writing Paragraphs

Our current writing project is to write a paper with three paragraphs.  The reaction of the class when I told them was mostly gasps and moans!  They were not nearly as excited about this project as I was.  We've made a pre-writing outline and today wrote our first paragraph.  We'll work on writing the following two paragraphs and editing over the next several days.  Each student's story is about meeting a leprechaun who gives him/her a lucky charm.  We took some time to brainstorm out loud before writing.  Ask your child to share with you his/her story ideas.

Inner Coach

The 2nd graders finished making a picture of their "inner coach" during counselor lesson today.  Their inner coach tells them positive things to help solve problems.  It is the opposite of their inner critic.  Ms. Broadbent reminded them when things get hard to listen to their inner coach and ignore the inner critic.  Can you spot your child?

Thank you!

Thank you for taking the time to attend your child's parent-teacher conference.  I had 100% attendance!  I know our time is short, but it is important.  I hope that you also feel comfortable contacting me at any time throughout the year when you have questions or concerns about your child.  I promise I will do my best to answer, find out the answer, or work with you to make an answer!  Your child is important to me.

Conferences

I am off to sit on the parent side of a parent-teacher conference.  I'm looking forward to visiting with you during your turn tomorrow or Thursday!

Happy President's Day!

President's Day wasn't nearly as exciting as Valentine's Day to the 2nd graders, but we did have some fun!  We made a George Washington/Abe Lincoln craft that they were very excited to trick you with!  We learned some facts about both.  We also discussed what it means to be president and who can take on the job.  During writing time each student had a chance to write what they would do as the leader of our country.  The most popular idea is to put swimming pools and hot tubs in all schools.  I translated it into better funding for education!

Happy Valentine's Day!

 

 

 

 

 

Love, Love, Love

We've been working on letter writing this week.  Each student has written a love letter.  They (the letters and the students) are the cutest!  They also had the chance to answer the question, what is love.  Some of their answers.. when you like someone, kindness and liking, a very passionate feeling, friendship.  Below is a video of the class working on valentine's while singing along to thier favorite Pandora station, Kids Bop.

Gun Safety

Our health unit is on safety.  Today we discussed gun safety; this brought up a lot of questions! Several questions started, "Could I shoot a gun if.....".  I told them that they always needed adult supervision when using a gun and to discuss the rules with their parents.  I also reminded them to never pick up a gun they find.  Always report right away.

Reading

I haven't made a post lately reminding everyone how important reading at home is so you get one today!  Reading together at home with your child makes a huge impact on the progress he/she makes here at school.  If your child doesn't enjoy reading, take turns reading pages.  Don't worry about correcting every mistake.  Although, if your child makes more than five errors on one page, the book is too hard and not a good fit.  If your child has the book memorized, it is too easy and not a good fit.  Too hard and too easy books are still fun to look at and read and students should do so!  However, most of the reading done should be at their learning level.  So grab your kiddo, curl up together and start reading!

Coins

We had our first lesson over money.  During our lesson, I introduced the use of touch points on coins.  Below is a picture of the points.  If a student knows how to count by fives, he/she can add any amount of coins!  I do not require students to use touch points; it is just a strategy I introduce for students who have a difficult time adding the mixed values.  My hope is that the points are not needed after students have more practice counting coins.

Fact or Opinion

During Daily 5 time, I assigned the class a fact and opinion activity.  They did a good job sorting facts from opinions.  The part they struggled with was to tell me how they knew something was an opinion.  "I just know" was a response I heard more than once.  To help with this we highlighted key words such as 'I think', 'you should', 'is the best/worst'.  Ask your child to tell you a fact and opinion for the day.  It will help him/her practice this skill and as a bonus, you'll learn about the day!

4th Grade Wax Museum

We were able to visit the 4th grade wax museum this afternoon.  The 4th graders all chose a famous Kansan.  They then researched the person in order to dress up as him/her and share facts with visitors.  Several second graders returned to the room excited about facts they had learned.  Ask your child who their favorite Kansan was!

Social Studies Test

Usually when we take a social studies test, I let the students use their book to look up answers.  This helps them learn to use their resources.  They must understand key words, captions, and how to use the glossary.  It is always interesting to see the number of students who would rather guess than pull out their book.  I've begun to think of socials studies test as work ethic lessons as well.  Ask your child how their test went today!

Triple Fun

Today was an exciting day.  It was Kansas day, the 100th day, and crazy hair day!  For Kansas day we reviewed the state symbols, talked about our history, and watched Governor Brownback read Little House on the Prairie (via YouTube).  To celebrate the 100th day, we read a few books about 100, made a picture with 100 items, and read 100 minutes.  And this picture shows our crazy hair...

Constitution Hall/Lane University

We are lucky to be in a town with amazing history.  Today the 2nd graders got a brief lesson on some of the past events that took place here in Lecompton.  Did you know Constitution Hall is older than Kansas?  It is 160 years old and is the oldest wooden building in Kansas.  This year we helped celebrate it's age with cake, music, and a little dancing at the Lecompton Community Building.  We were able to see many historical items at Lane University and even play some games that children may have played many years ago.

Fun with Shapes

After our math lesson, the students had a chance to make Kansas symbols with their shape blocks.  They made the Ornate Box Turtle, sunflower, and a jayhawk with patterns and some made other state symbols on their own. We did have to have a big discussion that even if you are a K-State fan, you are still a KANSAS (not KU) jayhawk if you were born in our state.