Today we . . .

Today we
     - Learned about clouds from Miss Olson and balloon rockets from Mrs. Briden who was the substitute for Ms. Kath.  It was lots of fun and we were very excited!

     - Went to the Library and read Count the Monkeys by Mac Barnett.   It was funny!

     - Used iPads during math time.  We had six and worked in pairs to play some games.  We played Sushi Monster, Slide 1,000 and Banana Math.  If we did not get to use the iPad we did puzzles.  It was a great afternoon.

     - Played Battleship in Phy. Ed.  We love that game!

Taking turns and sharing!

Working together to learn!

Charlotte's Web

Last Thursday we went to see Charlotte's Web at the Children's Theater in Minneapolis.  It was a fabulous play!  We enjoyed seeing how the theater made Charlotte come alive.  We also loved the other farm animals.  Here are a few entires from our Special Times in Second grade:

A week in review

We have been so busy that we have not had time to post.  Here is our week in review:

Monday - We learned about what fair means in our class.  Fair is not always the same as equal and it is not getting what you want, but getting what you need.  We had Art with Mr. Moore for the first time this year.

Tuesday - We went to the Library and checked out books!  We talked about finding a special spot at home to keep books and how to protect them in our backpacks so that they do not get wet or ruined.

Wednesday -  We had our first fire drill.  We will be quick, calm and quiet.  We learned about how to pick good fit books.  When selecting books, we need to think about our interests, purpose for reading and how well we can read and understand the book.  We talked about the Five Finger rule.  We started practicing Read to Self.  We are building stamina for reading.  We started with 5 minutes.

Thursday -  We wrote and illustrated our idea of why we like to read.  Many students like to read as a way to calm down or relax.  We also learned a few more games that we can play during indoor recess.

Friday - We had our first assembly!  It was awesome!  We learned about our constitution, flag as well as Bengal Pride expectations.  BLAZE even made an appearance!  We also wrote our first entry in our Symbol book.

Next week we will start giving Bengal Pride Tickets when we see students demonstrating Bengal Pride.

A perfect example of Read to Self 

Another great example Read to Self

Bengal Pride Assembly

Writing in our Symbol Book about the flag.

The First Few Days of School

   We have had a very busy first few days of school!  Here are three fun or interesting things we have done:

We have had a chance to meet new friends.  We have friends from first grade in our class.  Our class is very special.

We talked about how everyone makes mistakes, even Mrs. Anderson.  We talked about how mistakes are a chance to learn. 

We started reading Stuart Little by E. B. White.    In first grade, some of of us read Charlotte's Web also by E. B. White.  In October, we will be going to see the play Charlotte's Web at the Children's Theater.  We are looking forward to the play.


It has been the BEST three days of school!

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.