Happy (late) Holidays

I know this is a tad late...but better late than never :)

Before we left on our holiday break we filled our schedule at school with not only continued learning but also seasonal fun! Due to the busy hussle I was unfortunately not able to snap as many pictures as I would have liked...but I was able to capture a few good ones.

Here is what your little workers were involved with before heading off on break...

Cards for the Pavilions

All students in second grade created their own holiday card for the elderly at the Pavilions. We recognize that not everyone has family or close ones to spend the season with and we wanted to help put a little cheer into their day. From the picture painting to the words they chose to express, it turned out to be a very heartfelt activity that was extremely kind and generous of all students. It was another community project of ours to spread the kindness!

All cards were delivered to the Pavilions on Christmas Eve to pass around to all patients of the Pavilions. They were thrilled!

 

 

 Santa's Stuck!

We read a story about how Santa got stuck on Christmas!! Based on the story and the details they heard, students were to draw a conclusion on how they were going to get Santa unstuck from that particular situation! The ideas were very different and quite priceless!

Stuck in a Snowglobe

Incorporating a little art into some fun writing turned out to be a humurous activity for the students! They had to imagine they somehow got stuck in a snowglobe!!

After creating their own snowglobe, they had to then answer three questions:

How did you get in the snowglobe?

How did you feel when you were in the snowglobe?

How are you going to get out of the snowglobe?

These came home for all students to enjoy with their families. As you have already seen, the immiginations were out there!

 

 

 

Candy Cane Experiment

We also threw in some science to our day by experimenting with candy canes! We went through the scientific method of predicting and developing a hypothesis. The predictions were fun because no one had ever thought to put candy canes in vinegar OR oil! Then the experiment began and they watched as some predictions were correct and others were quite surprised.

The scientists brought their research (papers were recorded on) home the Thursday of break.

 

 

 

 

Our afternoon of board games, goodies and hot chocolate turned out to also be a blast with so many smiles and laughs! Then we rounded out our day at the Westwoods holiday sing along!

It was a great end to a great year of 2017. I look forward to heading into 2018! We have a lot more learning and many more new and engaging activities to dive into!

I hope everyone had a safe and relaxing break! See you Wednesday!

Snowflakes

This week we talk about snowflakes! We looked at magnified images of snowflakes and learned new details about the magnificent art of the small flakes. See if your child can bring home something new to teach you about snowflakes.

In turn, they built their own! We did both 2D and 3D projects with snowflakes. This will also lead into our new discussion on symmetry!

When you are able to visit our building, cruise down our hallway to check out the very impressive 3D snowflakes that ALL students worked super hard to create! VERY COOL!

The Polar Express

We had so much fun on our holiday adventure to The Polar Express at the Traverse City State Theater! We were able to celebrate the holidays with popcorn, friends and a great flick!

Before leaving on our celebration, all students were to take a ticket to the train! This they could decorate and then come back to hole punch just like the conductor on The Polar Express.

We also had a couple other fun activities we did in connection to this field trip that you will see coming home on Monday. 

The students did an awesome job to and from and even during the movie! Be proud of your little one, I was!

The next day we made the State Theater community ornaments to thank them for their generous hosting of the Polar Express. All tickets were free with the addition of complimentary popcorn and water! It was a blast all around!

Our Week

Homework packets have been put to a pause just until after break. Instead the students have a couple other jobs at home to do as homework this week and next.

NWEA

This week we have our two NWEA tests for reading and math. 

Due to that I have given students the homework of resting and eating well to prepare. 

12 Days of Christmas Kindness

In the classroom the students made a Santa with a long beard full of kind deeds for school and home. Throughout this week and next week, they have the job of completing at least one kind deed a day at home or school. Then they can come back to school to color in the kind deed they expressed. They are only coloring in one a day, but we talked about exceeding expectations :)

This activity helps teach the kids how to be kind, how to spread kindness, and also how to show others how to be kind. We started this yesterday and look forward to completing all our kind deeds before the end of next week. All kindness Santa's will come home next Thursday!