Update, Homework, and Dates

So, we made it through our first full week of school. One of the things that impressed me about the kids, and I shared this with them Friday after Gathering, is how quickly we have made the transition from summer/1st grade to what we are expected to do as 2nd graders. They are growing in their understanding of how they fit into a smaller classroom with more responsibilities and expectations. Now that we have that in our heads, we are able to take our experiences to another level!

Last week, we spent a lot of time going over procedures such as how to use a chart to log our independent reading choices and then we reflected on the chart to set goals for ourselves. Some noticed that they read only nonfiction, some noticed that they chose a different book each day, some noticed that they read more as the week went on.

We also spent some time observing different types of maps and pictures of the world. We started by looking at the world map, noticing how continents were landmasses consisting of several countries. We also checked out this guy here:

https://twitter.com/StationCDRKelly

This is Scott Kelly, an astronaut who posts pictures of the Earth on his Twitter feed. We were able to see pictures of "Hurricane" Danny and the northern islands of Canada.

After we looked at countries, we shifted our focus to the states. We looked at atlases in groups and recorded our observations. This also provided us with valuable practice for working with our peers.

In Math, we have been working at understanding the number 10, how we can create number bonds to help us make 10, which makes adding and subtracting significantly more efficient. It also builds our number sense.

Finally, we have begun Explorations and the excitement is so evident in the students. I was impressed at the choices they were making. GarageBand seems to be a class-favorite, as well as building with the K'nex and Contraptions. Here are some pictures:

Here are pictures from the Gathering where Marley, Wyatt, and Paula Kay were introduced by their fellow students.

Sidenote: Let's say your awesome kid does something awesome at home and wants to share that awesome thing with their awesome friends. Send it to me in an email!!! I'll put it on the blog so that it can make the Internet more awesome! Will's family sent this to me last week.

I'll be posting tons of pictures this year, so if you don't see your kid in these, you'll see them in other posts.

Homework
Due Wednesday: Your child will ask you a few questions about taxes, they will write down your answers and bring them back to class Wednesday. This will help us as we understand how citizens fit into their communities.

Due next Tuesday: Math packet and reading log.

Dates
Tuesday, Sept. 8: MAP Reading
Tuesday, Sept. 15: MAP Math
Thursday, Sept. 17: Opening Picnic
Thursday, Sept. 24: Early Dismissal/Parent-Teacher Conference Day (Let me know if you would like to meet)
Thursday, Oct. 8: Curriculum Night #1
Friday, Oct. 16: Zoo Trip and our 1st Gathering...eeesh, your kids will be exhausted for that weekend.

Adoption Update
We fly out early Saturday to see the kids for Labor Day weekend. We also got our official dates for them to move out here! Weekend of Sept. 19th. I'll probably take a couple of days off that following week as we help our family adjust to the changes. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers. Thanks!

Homework, Dates, and the Week Ahead (Week 2)

Good morning families,

I trust that all of you had a pleasant and life-giving weekend. We had family in town this weekend and my house had, at one point, 16 kids in it for Conner's birthday party. Good practice I guess.

Homework
Your child is to read 20 minutes each day, including Saturdays and Sundays. Each day after they read, they will log their choice into a reading log. They will have to write the title, type of book (fiction or nonfiction), and the number of pages read. They should write the number of pages in a subtraction math fact. For example, if I ended reading on page 23 but started on page 16, I could write 23-16=7. Any practice with math is good practice!

Also, your child will have a very short math packet where he/she will practice the math concepts we explored last week. Please look over this with them and help them correct miscues. Doing so will provide you insight into how they are working through the concept and help reinforce some of the learning.

Both of these assignments are to be completed and turned in before Explorations on Monday, August 31st.

Dates
Monday, 9/7: Labor Day, no school
Thursday, 9/17: Opening Picnic, hold on times
Thursday, 9/24: Early Dismissal, conference day

If you would like to schedule a conference with me for that Thursday, send me an email.

The Week Ahead
This week, we are going to look at the reading strategies that our parents are using when they read. We'll categorize them and come up with strategies that we can fall back on when we are trying to figure out how to say a word or figure out what a word means. If you have some that didn't make it in the packet, feel free to post some in the comments!

We are still setting up our Writer's Workshop time. Today, we compiled lists to help us have a point of reference for thinking of ideas to write about. As we "get the cobwebs" out, we will be working on ending punctuation in our writing.

In Math, we are working on fluently adding and subtracting within 20, including decomposing numbers to help us begin to understand what regrouping actually does.

In Unit of Study, we are going to look at maps this week, including how populations are distributed based on resources available.

Adoption update: Tori and I are flying out the beginning of Labor Day weekend to visit the 4 kids and we'll get to hang with them for 3 days. The paperwork has been completed by both Texas and SC and so it should be happening soon! Keep us in your thoughts and prayers. Thx.

Our First Day

We've had a great time so far; right now they're at Library with Mrs. Hucks and I was able to see they are ALREADY checking out books which means they followed all of her expectations. Sweet!

We're spending the day learning what life is like as a 2nd grader, there are a lot of changes. Lots of labeling, lots of expectations, lots of fun as well.

Homework: (Yes, I know...)
Your child is bringing home a folder that is either blue or yellow. It has their name and "HW" on the top. This is their homework folder and needs to make the trip back and forth each day. Most often, the homework will be given out the first day of the week, but there might be something particular for your child or something just came up that we wanted to take advantage of.

Inside you'll find forms, forms, and more forms.

However, inside you'll also see a reading interview that is your child's first homework assignment. They may need some help reading and processing through some of the questions, so if you wouldn't mind assisting, that would be great. Also, they are supposed to ask you questions as well.

This is due Monday, August 24th.

Here's some pics from lunch.

T Minus 16 Hours

Aaaaaaaaaaaand we're ready!

This is our class blog, as you've probably already guessed. This is where the good stuff gets posted, as well as homework and notes for the weeks ahead. We try to have fun here.

Here's a great "get ready for school" video for you kids.

Good luck with the traffic tomorrow; it gets pretty cray.

Oh, and I just got a ukulele for my birthday. I tried to get the instrument that would make me look the tallest.

See you all tomorrow!!!

-B

Final Expert Project Info

Guess what? This is probably going to be the most relaxing expert project season you've ever gone through as a parent!

I am a big believer in the "Apprenticeship Model" of teaching, which is a gradual release of responsibility.

With each expert project, the expectations for the students have grown and developed. This expert project will be done completely in school, completely by the kids, with some recommendations by me. By following this model, your child has built up understanding of how to use technology, how to search for appropriate and helpful resources, develop skills and strategies for accessing more challenging texts, practiced networking with other students, and developed more organizational skills. It is now time to have the culmination of this work.

Your child is researching a famous event in history. Most of the students have chosen events related to American history, though they had the freedom to choose one that dealt with world history. Their expert projects will center around what led to that event, details about the event itself, and how the result of that event changed history. It's a lot of work and information. They are recording their notes on notecards first and then choosing the most relevant information to include in their slideshows.

You will still be able to view their slideshows when they are created, however I ask that we make this project completely kid-made. I encourage you to ask reflective questions about their work in an effort to make it better; but the work should be done by the student. It should sound like them. This will also provide their new teacher, Ms. Whitecotton, with an excellent work sample as she prepares to teach the kids.

I highly encourage you to come in to listen to your child's project. Their projects will take on the form of a mini-lesson on their event. It would be really awesome to see how your (at one time) 2nd grader has transformed into a confident teacher of their peers! We will do presentations Tuesday May 26th-Friday May 29th. I will provide you with a schedule Tuesday of next week so you can make arrangements if you need.

So, take a breather. Expert project season doesn't have to be a stressful one!  :)

Homework and Dates

Dates:

Thursday, April 23rd: Curriculum Night

Friday, April 24th: 11:30 dismissal

Tuesday, April 28th-Thursday, April 30th: ACT Aspire testing

Wednesday, April 29th: Field study permission slips and money due

Tuesday, May 5th: Field study to the SC State Museum

Homework:

In preparation for the ACT Aspire tests next week, I have created student accounts on two websites that students will access at home or in Aftercare.

www.readtheory.org

www.ixl.com

Your child is bringing home a letter with their log-in information.

This will provide exposure to various types of questions and also will provide data for how they are doing with those questions. Their homework is a practice log. It is on the back of the IXL letter you will receive. It looks like this:

Day	Read Theory	IXL	Parent Signature
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday

Students will work on Read Theory for at least 20 minutes and IXL for at least 20 minutes daily. On IXL, you can choose concepts you want them to work on as well, but they can choose different ones to work on. They must get their log signed and brought back each day. Each student is allotted one "pass" day in case there are circumstances where the work could not be done the previous night. As I told the kids, in every job there is "crunch time" where you have to buckle down and challenge yourself more; this week is crunch time. I do not want the students to practice Sunday so they can have a breather before next week starts.

MAP and Pictures from Filter of Hope

Our class will be participating in the MAP Reading and Math tests this week. Tuesday morning, we will take the Reading portion. Thursday morning, we will take the Math portion. I encourage all students to get enough sleep and eat a healthy breakfast to prepare for the test. We worked diligently this morning on the types of questions the test would ask and how to approach answering those questions. We will be spending the next three days reviewing material that we have covered at the beginning of the year in math, just to jog our memory.

There will not be homework until next week, except a reading log without responses. This is due Monday.


Here are some pictures of the water filters our class purchased being distributed in a small African country called Burkina Faso. Our contact at Filter of Hope told me that in this village, 35% of all children die before they turn 5 because of the parasites and bacteria that is in their water. The picture of the small pond is this village's only water source. Please pass these pictures along to those that donated, so they know their donations saved lives of children in these pictures.