Last Day of School !

Today was the last day of Second Grade.  We were very busy and made some great memories.

First, Mrs. Anderson read us Exclamation Mark by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Litchenheld.  We have read many books by Amy this year.  (You can get to her website here.)  We celebrated C's birthday and watched a slideshow of some of pictures from throughout the year.  It was fun to see all the things we did and remember all of the things we learned this year.  We had time to sign memory books.  We had another birthday celebration.  It was S's birthday today!  While we ate our treat we watched the Brimhall Read-a-thon video.  Next, we wrote in Special Times in Second Grade about the last day of school.  At this point, it was really beginning to feel like the end.  Mrs. Anderson handed out some summer fun activities and our report cards.   We cleaned our desktops and chairs and gathered at the carpet for one last story.  Mrs. Anderson read Of Thee I Sing by Barack Obama.  It was a very good book.

At the very end of the morning, we had a dance party to celebrate being done with Second Grade!  It was awesome!  Finally, it was time to say goodbye.  We lined up one final time and headed out to the buses.  

The incoming Second graders have a tough act to follow.  Have a Wonderful summer and Best of Luck in Third grade!

Mrs. Anderson

Series for Second grade

Earlier this year Ms. Zbacnik shared a few series books she thought we would like.  I also talked with a few parents who were interested in helping their child find a good book or series that they could really get into and enjoy.  This gave me an idea.

Over the past few weeks I have been reading the first book, or the first few chapters in a book that is the first one in a series that is good for readers at the end of second grade or starting third grade.

For example, I read The World According to Humphrey and here are 7 more books in that series.  Many students are very interested in reading the rest of the books, in fact they are almost always checked out of the library.

I asked Ms. Zbacnik for a list of suggested titles and I did some research and came up with a list.  Mrs. Bachhuber also shared some suggestions for series during our library visit this week.  I will send the combined lists home through email.  By no means is this list comprehensive, and yet it give a good amount of books that you could check out.  Please know I have not read all of these books, so please use your own judgement when selecting books.

I encourage kids to read 20-30 minutes each day during the summer.  It is also good for kids to listen to good readers, so reading to your child is a wonderful way to share a good book.

I hope this give kids a great start to summer reading and will help them keep their skills sharp during our break.

Happy Reading!

Mill City Museum ~ What a Trip!

WOW!

We had an amazing time at Mill City Museum.  We spent the day learning about the history of Minneapolis, how water can be used as power, the history of the flour mill that was once at the site and many other interesting facts.  Thank you to the parents who were able to go with us.

Here are a few pages from Special Times in 2nd Grade that capture some important ideas.