This past week has had some excitement in the air with the thought of Winter Break fast approaching, and I trust this week will be even more electric! I will be sure to exercise in the mornings or at least get some meditative breathing in! ("Sniff the cupcake, blow out the candle...")
Class Party on Thursday, December 20th (Also PJ Day!):
We are having a Winter Holiday/Friendship Party with a movie and activity stations on Thursday, December 20th. I am planning on showing them "Frosty the Snowman." Students would also like hot cocoa and/or cookie decorating to be part of the party. Please let me know if either would be a concern for your child and we can adjust accordingly. I will provide the hot cocoa and sugar cookies and all their accoutrements as a gift to the 2nd graders.(:
Curriculum Highlights:
Thematic Unit/Language Arts:
We have begun our very exciting "Difference Makers" unit which will culminate in our famed 2nd Grade Living Museum! Mark your calendars--this showcase event will take place on Wednesday, February 6th @ 9:00- 9:40 am. Second graders will be enlightening our Westlake community on their chosen Difference Maker! In the next few weeks, we will be exploring various Difference Makers, choosing one, researching him/her, writing/editing/publishing/memorizing a script, and performing for our museum goers in February! As a parent, you can help by guiding your child in his/her choice, providing books/resources for research time at school, and assembling a costume of their difference maker that your child can wear on February 6th. We will be doing the majority of the research, writing, and memorizing work in class.
I am sharing this spreadsheet for us to work on together to help communicate during this project! Let me know if you have any questions or concerns. As you can see, most of your children have selected difference makers already. I do have some resources they can use in class, but if you can help find some during the break so they will be ready to research in class when we return from break, that would be great! Let me know if I can help in any way!
We learned about Ruby Bridges, Roald Dahl, and Snowflake Bentley, difference makers in the Civil Rights Movement , children's literature, and snowflake photography, respectively.
Math:
We continue to practice various strategies for double digit addition and subtraction with and without regrouping. Please continue to practice at home--this is a major mathematical standard in 2nd grade and many 2nd grade mathematicians are getting their strategies confused. We made snowflakes and learned about the concept of symmetry. We are doing a great job counting and exchanging money and sure enjoyed shopping in Friday's class store.
Music Literature:
We love to illustrate and sing! We made a class big book on "Jingle Bells" and "Winter Wonderland" and look forward to sharing them with our Big and Little Buddies!
Holidays Around The World:
We look forward to Wednesday where we collaborate with our Big Buddies to celebrate winter traditions in Chile!
School-wide News:
Talent Show Audition Sign-Ups – Due Thursday 12/20:Click HERE to sign up to audition for our Talent Show. Please note that we will not have group dance performances this year, instead will be showcasing our After School Enrichment programs with short performances.
Important Talent Show Dates
- Audition sign-up Deadline: Thursday, December 20th
- Audition time slot notification: Friday, January 11th
- Talent Show Day: Friday, February 15th @ 6:00 PM
That's all for now!
Have a wonderful week!
Mrs. A