What an Eventful Day!

To start the day off today, at center time our class went over to Mrs. Hendrickson's class to learn about family traditions. We learned about Hannukah today and our helpful aid taught us all about it.
We learned all about the prayer wall and how they light the candles for each of the 8 days of Hannukah. Some of the children were also able to try on the head pieces/scarfs that cover the heads of women and men. It was neat learning about another culture and their tradition.
After the excitement of cultures, we were able to enjoy the fun afternoon of watching Mr. Wilstead get his head shaved while wearing his pajamas because of the money we earned for Coins for Kids to provide holiday gifts for children in need. How exciting. Here we have some BEFORE, DURING, and AFTER photos of Mr. Wilstead losing his hair! Enjoy!

Clockwork!

The class enjoyed playing a matching game today using analog and digital clocks. They took home their own matching game and hopefully they will practice matching the times at home. The children need a little extra help figuring how much time passes from one time to the next time and counting change (figuring out change from a dollar). If you have time at home to practice with your child, please do.

Remember, school gets out for winter break at 1:15 on Friday, December 19th and will resume on January 5, 2009. Please have a safe break!

Busy As A Bee!

The children have been very busy. We created the most cool stained glass decorations for our classroom window. They don't look like much from outside, but on the inside looking out! I feel like I am in a cathedral!The students did very well with the math assessment last week. Most students passed on grade level with only a few that are approaching. Good job. It's hard to believe that Christmas is just around the corner. Are you ready? The schools Christmas tree at the Senior Center was beautiful. Some of the students came back with stories about trying to find "their" ornament on the tree. How fun! This week in school we are going to be practicing some of our forgotten procedures so that class can run more smoothly for the remainder of the 2008 year and hopefully for the rest of the school year. We will also be concentrating on finishing up our rock unit. I have borrowed a rock collection from the District Office that comes from the Museum of Natural History. This BIG collection will go along great with my itty bitty small collection and the kids LOVE looking at all of the cool rocks!

December is Here!

Already the last month of the year 2008 has arrived. We still have much to learn in 2nd grade and we are only about half way through the school year. December is a busy month for us in school. We will be doing a lot of reviewing previous skills and strategies as well as creating art and fun projects. The students all seemed to have a wonderful Thanksgiving break. Eveybody came back with a smile on their face.

I have created a poll and posted it to the right of the blog. Please answer the questions so that I can have a better idea of how this blog affects my students and their families.

Your child should be bringing home the Second Grade Scoop (our new monthly newsletter). Please refer to it often as it has each weeks word wall words listed on it. Check back soon for updated photos and fun!