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!