Week of December 17, 2012

What a fun and busy week!  On Wednesday and Thursday we used technology, books,and hands-on building to explore solids and liquids!  Friday was our Read-a-thon and our Winter party.  We decorated cookies, made snowflakes, and watched a winter movie. It was a great way to begin winter break!  

Week of December 10, 2012

This week we have been working on writing endings to stories and sharing them, decorating our tie-dyed t-shirts, exploring properties of solids, and creating blades for our windmills in engineering.

Week of December 3, 2012

This week we began to design our windmill blades. We also tie dyed t-shirts blue and gold and made t-shirt designs in order to decorate them next week. Students did an engineering experiment to test which seed design drop the quickest. Lastly, we had a community gathering on Thursday.

Week of November 26, 2012

This week our engineers were applying the Engineering Design Process of Ask, Imagine, Plan, Create  and Improve in their sail designs.   They used their creativity to design a sail that would "catch the wind" from a fan and make it travel along a track.

In social studies, students compared schools from long ago and today to see how they are the same and different.

Week of November 12, 2012

We had our Harvest Party on Friday to celebrate our friendships in 2nd grade.  Activities included making a turkey craft, playing HARVEST bingo, decorating cookies and playing some active (and challenging!) games.
We had a chance to view the chrysalises of some future butterflies.

Week of November 5, 2012

Another week has gone by in the 2nd grade Learning Studio and we have been busy. We have been exploring the properties of objects that would make a good sail and have started building sails using these materials. We have started adding items to our student e-portfolios. Ask your child if they have their picture and biography up yet! We also wrapped up Unit 2 in math and will be starting Unit 3 next week. Students may be meeting with a new math teacher, so check in next week to see what they are up to!

Week of October 29th

This week in 2nd grade we had our November popcorn party to celebrate all the friends who have November birthdays. We also continued exploring air by examining the properties of materials and starting to think about which ones would to the best to use when making a sail for a sailboat. We finished drawing pictures for the four seasons and some of us have started using watercolors to add some color to our artwork. In Literacy Through the Arts, we are getting a chance to listen to a song and perform a routine with scarves to help represent the wind. As always, we have been busy but we are learning a lot!

Week of October 8, 2012

This week we began our new math groups and had our October birthday's popcorn party!

Week of October 1

We have been working hard during Read Well, Writer's Workshop, and Math!

Week of September 24, 2012

This week 2nd graders started working in Read Well groups and math groups.  For Read Well, students worked independently, read with partners, read on the computers, and worked in small groups.  For math, students worked in the same groups this week and worked on place value.  Students got a chance to showcase their own skills, worked with partners, and played several games to practice place value.  We are already becoming expert mathematicians!

Week of September 17, 2012

This week we learned about ourselves as readers:  where we like to read, who we like to read with, what we like to read, and more.  We explored our classroom library and "shopped" for books to put in our browsing bags for independent reading.  We also practiced partner reading.  We are ready to start reading next week!

Week of September 4, 2012

What a terrific first week of school!  We were busy bees learning the routines and rules of our Learning Studio and our school.  Our furniture arrived this week, and we came up with rules of how to take care of each type.  We start everyday with a morning meeting that includes a greeting, sharing, and a game or activity.  We are exploring technology using iPads, cameras, and iPod Touches.