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.