Mystery Reader # 6: Our Former Librarian with a Flare for Scare!

1) I miss reading to kids.
2) I miss being in the lunchroom.
3) I live close to the school.

There was no doubt that this Mystery Reader was Ms. Drew!  This year Ms. Drew moved into a new position at our school which took her away from the library where she loved to read scary books to the students!  Ms. Drew is so fun to listen to because she uses all sorts of voices and adds to the drama of the scary stories with her suspenseful reading!  We were hooked on the first two chapters of this scary chapter book, and I'm sure the students want to know how this one ends!  We love you Ms. Drew!

Mystery Reader #5: Older Brother and Former Student

This former student wanted to surprise his younger sister as a Mystery Reader.  With these clues, his sister was pretty confident her older brother would be our visitor today:
1) I have 4 sisters.
2) I like to play video games.
3) I'm going to start trap shooting.

He read the new book "The Good Egg" which the class was so excited to hear since they already know "The Bad Seed" by the same author.  Thanks for reading to us today RJ!

Mystery Reader #4: A Former Student on her Birthday

This former student comes back to be a Mystery Reader every year!

1) I like to wear dresses.
2) I know a few of you.
3) I did this last year.

The class could only come up with one person, Ms. Drew.  They were surprised when this 5th grade birthday girl arrived to share a birthday story with us!  Thanks for being a Mystery Reader yet again!

Mystery Reader #3: Mom of the Birthday Girl!

This mom remained a true mystery until she walked through the door.  Her clues were very specific, but nobody could figure out who it might be!

1. I grew up in Lanesboro and graduated from Lanesboro High School.
2. My first name, middle name, and last name all of five letters.
3. I have three children and a total of 11 nieces and nephews.  (They all attend either daycare or elementary school at Lanesboro Public Schools.)

The class was trying to place a teacher with these clues but couldn't find a teacher with 5 letters in their name.  Her daughter, the birthday girl, was thrilled to see her mom arrive with a fun book to share with us today! The class loved the book: "Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast," and the conversation about all the relatives in Lanesboro! Thank you so much!

Mystery Reader #2: A Gardening Mom

This Mystery Reader didn't fool us...
1) I love working in the garden.
2) Fall is my favorite time of year.
3) I wear glasses.

The class was pretty certain who this Mystery Reader was, and they were right!  This mom shared her daughter's favorite book with the class.  Thank you so much for reading to us!

Mystery Reader #1: A Running Dog Owner

This Mystery Reader threw off the whole class with his clues:
1. I have a dog.
2. I like to run.
3. I sometimes wear glasses.

The class was certain they knew who it was!  Little did they know that it has been a tradition for Mason to be the first Mystery Reader every year.  After leaving 2nd grade, Mason has requested to always be the first reader because he enjoys surprising the kids so much. 

He requested to read a Piggie and Elephant book because that was one of his favorite series from when he was younger.  Thanks so much Mason for stopping into 2nd grade once again!

Matter Experiments

Our most recent science unit focused on matter.  We learned about the 3 states of matter: solid, liquid, and gas.  We started our unit with a mini-snowman and watched it go through the 3 states of matter.  We weren't surprised how quickly it turned from a solid to a liquid, but were surprised how quickly it went from a liquid to a gas!

 Our last 3 experiments focused on a property of matter: density.  This can be a hard concept to understand because it would seem that heavy things automatically sink and light things float, but we learned that is not the case because of density.  We defined density as the amount of atoms that are packed into a given volume. The more atoms packed in, the more dense.  We experimented with sink and float,  rainbow in a jar which was a layering of liquids from most dense to least dense, and using salt to affect the density of the liquids.  We had a lot of fun with these experiments!