Happy Halloween!

We had a great Halloween in 2nd grade!  We enjoyed showing off our costumes during the costume parade and having a classroom party.  I hope everyone had a fun night with friends and family!

A Special Visitor

Last week we had a very special visitor to our classroom.  A grandmother to one of our students has made it a tradition to visit her grandchildren's classrooms every year to read stories and share a treat.  Thanks so much to Carol for visiting 2nd grade.  We loved telling you jokes, listening to the Halloween stories, and the yummy treat!  We look forward to seeing you again!

Spunky Punky

The big day finally came, and the students couldn't have been more excited to share all their hard work in the play Spunky Punky with their friends and family.  Thank you to all who attended!  It was a great day!

Red Ribbon Week

The kids had a fun week of dressing up to celebrate Red Ribbon Week.  Each Monday the students meet with Mrs. Heidi Johnson for their social skills class.  On this past Monday, the class focused on making healthy choices for our bodies.

Reminders for Upcoming Week...

This week is Red Ribbon Week!  The focus in k-2 will be on ways to keep our bodies healthy and safe.  I've listed the dress up days below as a reminder:

Monday: "Red Out Day"  Wear red to show support for Red Ribbon Week

Tuesday: From Head to Toe, I am Drug Free!  Wear silly hats and socks.

Wednesday: Team up against drugs, alcohol, and tobacco use.  Wear favorite team apparel.

Thursday: Voting for my future to be drug free.  Wear red, white, and blue.

Friday:  Your choices are the key to your dreams.  Wear pajamas.

 This Friday (10/26)  is our Spunky Punky play!

Thursday: dress rehearsal (all costumes and props should be sent by this day)

Friday: Spunky Punky family performance in the library at 2:35

I'm looking forward to a fantastic week in 2nd grade!

What Turns You into a Crankenstein?

This week we read the book "Crankenstein" by Samantha Berger.  This funny book follows a boy as he shares what makes him terribly cranky!  We all have a few things that can make us terribly cranky.  The students shared all their different ideas.  Our next step was to make our own Crankenstein.  Next week we will complete this project with writing about what turns each of us into a Crankenstein.  They did a fantastic job creating their Crankensteins!  I love how unique each one is!

First Bee Punch Ticket Completed!

The students are getting closer and closer to getting all 8 punches on their tickets.  They get a punch each Friday by returning their reading log with 60 or more minutes of reading.  The students may also earn a punch throughout the week if they are recognized for following our 5 Bee Promise by either myself or our afternoon meeting student leader.  When individual students are recognized, they come to the front of the room to hear what awesome choices were noticed.  Some of the behaviors and skills that have been noted are good sportsmanship in gym, applying our writing lessons in our own writing, using kind words with a classmate, walking quietly in the hallway, focusing during our work time... so many different and great examples!

 It's always exciting to complete that Bee Punch ticket and take a look in the Best "Bee"havior Catalog to choose something extra fun to do!  This super 2nd grader received his final bee punch and chose show and tell to share a favorite toy with the class.  Way to go!

Weather Lab

The Weather Lab visited Lanesboro today!  Unfortunately I had to be away with my daughter, but I was able to get a few pictures from Mr. Rogers.  I can't wait to hear all about it on Monday from the class!

Banana Bingo

Banana Bingo is a classroom management system that I created several years ago, and we use it throughout our whole day for transitions.  For example if the class is gathered on the rug, we do "banana to our seats."  This means back to our seats with zero voices.  If this is done successfully, we earn a banana point.  Once five points are collected, we get to add a banana to our banana bingo board.  Transitions are always tricky in an elementary classroom because naturally kids will seek each other out and want to chat with friends.  This is great at the right time!  So "banana" helps us move more quickly and efficiently in our classroom and be ready for the next direction or subject area.

The students earned their first Banana Bingo last week!  As a class we brainstorm a list of suggested ways to celebrate, and then the class votes to determine their top choice.  For each celebration we pick out a new idea so nothing is every repeated.  On Friday the class was excited for Electronic Day.  The students were able to use an electronic during 2nd recess time.

Math Stations

In the beginning weeks of school the class was slowly introduced to our math stations.  During our math block the students move through 3 stations: teacher lesson, math assignment, and math choice which includes a partner game, i-pad math skill practice, and and an additional partner station to review a skill. I love this approach because it allows me to see small groups for the lesson and differentiate instruction based on the the needs of the group.  We started the year with this cute "Math About Me" project.