January 20-February 3

Hello Families! 2nd Quarter has officially ended. The start of the new semester begins Tuesday. Look for report cards next week. We did complete MAP testing this week. The kids worked really hard to do their best. I was very proud of their effort! Look at the right sidebar to see an overview of what we are learning in each subject. Here is what we have been doing this week:

Art For Youth: Beth's mom taught us about Franz Marc and Paublo Picasso's modern art cubism and collage technique- lots of straight lines. We created our own versions with vibrant, colorful settings and clippings of animal photographs. Ask your child about their masterpiece. (See some examples below)

TGIF Journals: We will continue to write letters to parents every Friday into March. Some kids seem to be forgetting to check in with me and not finishing their letter. If your child's letter is not finished, please have him/her finish at home before you write back.

HELP!: We are almost out of pencils for the year! If you are willing to donate a pack to the classroom, we would greatly appreciate it.

Classroom Calendar: I have posted our classroom calendar at the bottom of this blog. Just scroll all the way down to see Surprise Readers, classroom activities/field trips, open volunteer opportunities. If you are interested in volunteering, you just need to click on the event-more details- click the title (i.e 2:45 Math Games) Erase Math games and put your name (ie 2:45 Nicki) Click Save- Make changes to this event only. The your name should appear on the calendar.

Ask Your Child:

*What does your brassica plant need to grow?

*What is the purpose of reading nonfiction?

*What is a good and how does it get transported?

*What is a noun?

*What book club are you a part of and what is the most interesting fact you have learned so far?

*What is the difference between tattling and reporting?

Reminders:

*Nature Center Field Trip Fri. Jan 27 9-11am- please help your child to dress in boots, gloves, hats and heavy coats for the weather.

*The All School Field Trip slip to see Willy Wonka is due on 2/3. There is a $2.50 fee (it is hard to catch on the permission slip)

*If you are attending a conference this winter, please return the orange slip sent home on Friday, confirming the date/time of the conference that was chosen for you.

January 6-January 20

Hello Families! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and a Happy New Year. Now that 2012 has begun, 2nd quarter is coming to a close very quickly- we are almost at the halfway point of second grade! Report cards will be sent home at the end of the month. We have learned so much already. I am so excited for all the wonderful learning experiences we will share the second half of the year! Here is what is happening in the classroom:

Typing: We just finished the explicit typing instruction- your child knows which fingers should be tapping which keys. Now we are working on increasing our speed, while maintaining accuracy. We will practice in the computer lab once a week. Please encourage your child to use the correct keys at home to help eliminate any old habits.

Reading Pilot: I am on a district committee piloting new reading materials (very exciting!) I am using the materials with my reading groups. Since the materials are borrowed, I can not label the books I send home with the kids, so it is very hard for me to keep track of the books. Please help your child return their reading book every day. I am currently missing 5 titles. Please double check for these books at home:

The Maple Thanksgiving
Shooting Star
Good Morning, Grandma
Soccer Sue

TGIF Journals: You will find a letter writing journal in your child's blue folder today. We will write letters to our parents in this journal every Friday for the next couple of months. We are asking that parents write back over the weekend in the exact friendly letter format. Please print so that the kids can read your letter independently at school. Enjoy reading your child's letter!

Flat Stanley: A yellow information sheet was sent home on Thurs. in home folders. The kids will be creating a flat version of themselves to send to a relative. We are asking that parents help their child chose a recipient and print the address, very neatly so that kids can copy it onto an envelope at school. We will provide the envelopes, but are asking parents to send a stamp. Thank you for your help! We can't wait to hear about the adventures our Flat selves take!

Penny Drive: We are collecting money for the Milwaukee Rescue Mission to feed men, women and children. Our grade level goal is $200. We are off to a great start!

Labeling Winter Gear: Now that winter has officially arrived, there are hats, boots, snowpants galore. We are finding lots of loose items that kids are not claiming or getting mixed up with others (especially black snowpants!). Please label your child's winter gear with their initials. Thank you!

Reminders:

Nature Center Field Trip- Fri. Jan. 27 9-11am

Ask Your Child:

What are the 5 parts of a Friendly Letter?

How many faces does a pyramid have?

Can you name 5 features of nonfiction texts?

What is a good?

What time is it?

Can you give me a summary of the read aloud Mrs. Dahms just finished- The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane?

What is a noun, verb and an adjective?

December 16-January 6

Hello Families!
I hope everyone is staying warm and enjoying the holiday season. We are doing a good job staying focused at school- even while I was away for Jury Duty (I did not get selected to serve on trial-it was a very interesting experience though!)
Project Care: Project Care was a huge success! Thank you to everyone for donating travel sized items to be packaged and given to our Buddy School- Cross Trainers Academy in Milwaukee. It felt so wonderful to do something kind for others. Thank you families for supporting our project!
Keyboarding: We're working really hard trying to learn the online position (home row) and the correct finger movements for each letter/symbol. We'll be continuing keyboarding daily after the break then we'll work on it about once a week for the rest of the year. Please encourage your child to use the correct key s at home instead of "pecking" with their index finger.
Math Homelinks: In this unit and some upcoming units, the homelinks will ask your child to bring in materials to be used in class or cut out items from a magazine/newspaper. If you don't have the materials needed, just talk with your child about what materials you might use. It is fine if your child cannot complete the task due to materials.
Ask Your Child:
What are parallel lines?
What does it mean to infer while reading?
Why do you have a Packer tent in your classroom?
What book is Mrs. Dahms reading aloud? Who are the characters and what is the problem?
Which hand is the hour hand?
Important Dates:
Holiday Music Program- Tues. Dec. 20 2:45pm
Class Winter Party Thurs. Dec. 22 11:00am

December 2- December 16

Hello Families! I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday! December us here already. We have lots to look forward to...a Winter Music Program on Dec. 20, our class Holiday party, Art For Youth, Winter Holiday rotations, Reader's Theatre... I will be out of the classroom on December 14 and 15 at least, as I have been summoned for Jury Duty. I will let you know if I will be gone longer than 2 days. Have a fabulous weekend! Go Badgers and Packers!

Cog-at Testing: We completed our Cog-at testing today. The kids did a great job listening to directions and filling in the standard test bubbles for the first time!

Reading With Dogs: We were lucky enough to have the opportunity to read with service dogs on Wednesday. The kids brought a book from the classroom to read to their new furry friend. It was a fun and unique experience.

Pebble Jar Reward- Rest Time: We filled our pebble jar again! I tell you, this is a very motivated group of kids! The class chose rest time with pillows and blankets. We did this at the end of the day. It was fun and relaxing!

Dahms Dollar: I added a new incentive to the Mrs. Dahms store this year. I told the class at the beginning of the year that whoever saves enough class money to earn $1.00 would receive the Dahms Dollar and, as a bonus, I would buy them a new book from the scholastic catalogue. The kids can earn pennies for completed homework, helping others, bringing their reading bag back to school, following directions... I also open my store at the end of every month where the kids can use their money to buy items like pencils, stickers and small toys. So I thought this incentive would encourage kids to try and save their money over time to help better understand the value of saving your money.

Holiday Trivia: An information sheet came home on Thursday describing this optional activity that will be sent home everyday in December. It can be a fun way to search for information in books and on the Internet together as a family and learn something new too! Remember this is completely optional!

Math Facts Tests: We are moving on to subtraction facts tests next week. Every child's goal should be to improve their personal score by as many points as possible. In second grade, 53 facts in 3 minutes is the end of the year goal.

Making Roller Coasters: In science, we completed our Balance and Motion unit with a fun investigation of the rolling motion. In small groups, we created roller coasters with turns and loops. Then we tested our tracks with a marble. Every group built a successful roller coaster! Ask your child "Where did the marble need to start to make it to the end without a push?" (high) What force set the marble in motion? (gravity)

November 18-December 2

Hello Families! We have had a great couple of weeks in school. Be sure to read the sidebar to see what we are doing in every subject. We filled our pebble jar again and had all the leaves fall off of our Kind Words Tree. The kids are working really hard! I hope everyone has a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Book Clubs-For the past two weeks, your child has participated in 2 character book clubs. This week will end our study. It has been so fun for me to watch the students meet in clubs and discuss their characters.

Double Digit Addition- You may have some double digit addition problems in homelinks recently. Please continue to support your child without teaching carrying- adding the tens fist, then the ones. We will learn more strategies in the coming weeks.

Art For Youth- Beth's mom came in this week to teach us about impressionism. We completed a fabulous watercolor project using pencils, crayons and little bit of water. Your child should have brought home their watercolor portrait of them sharing their talent with others.

Ask your child:

*How do we use maps?

*What are different ways objects move? (spin, twirl, rotate, roll)

*What does Never Eat Soggy Waffles mean? (NESW- cardinal directions)

*What is a Thick Question vs. a Thin Question?

*What is happening in the class read aloud- Thanksgiving on Thursday?

Coming Up:

*Cog-ats-This second grade standardized test will be given the week we return from Thanksgiving Wed-Fri at 9:00am. Please make sure your child is well rested, nourished and on time to school. There is a letter in the Friday folder.

*Reading with Dogs-On Wed. Nov 30, we will get a chance to participate in the Read to Dogs program. We will bring our Just Right books to read the dogs in Mrs. Olson's room. It should be super fun!

*Project Help- Second graders along with our 4th grade buddies are teaming up to collect travel toiletries and other small hygiene items to package and send to local shelters. We will also collect plastic shoeboxes (about $1) for packaging. We will send home more information next Tuesday. It should be a great project and opportunity for the kids to show kindness to others.

November 4-18

Hello Families! Happy November. The weather has definitely changed and the trees are almost bare. I have to face it- winter is coming! As quarter 1 of second grade draws to a close, I am amazed how much these kids have learned and grown since the beginning of the year! I am just so excited to see where we will go as learners this year! I must say that I have been delighted to be able to try new lessons and activities this year, all with the confidence in knowing that this class will embrace any new challenge. I am very thankful to have such a wonderful group of second graders!

Reading Homework: Thank you to all parents for helping your child bring their reading book back in their reading bag everyday and completeing the book log with a signature. The kids have been very responsible!

Character Book Clubs: We will be starting charcter book clubs next week. The kids will chose a character from a book series to study for the week. Everyone will read at least 5 books from the series and dicuss character traits, feelings, changes, ask questions and make predictions. It will be a great opportunity to read books, evaluate characters and discuss books in a small group (much like we do as adults when we read books and dicuss it with friends).

New Social Studies Unit: We just started a new unit on How Do We use Maps.

Math Tests: After every math test I will send home the test for you to go trhough with your child. It will not have to be retuned to school anymore. I will let you know via the blog or assignment notebook when to expect the the test to come home.

Facts Tests: We will take a facts test every week. When the test comes home, have your child complete the remaining problems and retuun to school- there is no due date. Your child's goal is 54 facts in 3 minutes.

Changes to the November Calendar:

*Author's Celebration- I pushed the celebration back from Tuesday to Thursday next week. The kids are publishing their favorite Small Moment story. Look for their published piece in the reading bag next Friday. Please return the story to school so we can put them in our classroom library.

*Scholastic Book Order- I am moving the Nov/Dec scholastic book order due date to Fri. Nov. 18. Books make great gifts for the holidays. If you are interested in ordering any books for your kids, I can keep them secretly at school when they arrive and you can pick them up in the office. Just send me an email to let me know.

Thank you to all parent volunteers who chaperoned and donated items for the Fall Party. It was a great success. The kids enjoyed it very much! Thank you!

"I am Thankful" Turkeys

Spinning Tops

Making Zoomers