Many Seconds in Second

On Friday your child went home with his/her second report card of second grade.  Please take time this weekend to sit down and share in all your child’s accomplishments.  We have certainly worked hard this past quarter!  It is a joy to walk along side your child each and every day.  

This past week we have begun many new units of learning.  

Reading:

We cleaned out our book boxes of fiction stories and have replaced those books with non-fiction books.  We are excited to start learning about God’s world through these non-fiction books.  This week we began learning how to get our minds ready to read these types of books:  Look at the texts features, think about all the things we do know about the topic, and think of questions we have and hope to discover while reading.  

Writing:

We also began writing non-fiction books. Our first non-fiction books will be ‘teaching’ books; in the form of a ‘How-to’ work.  Your child has been busy writing a step-by-step procedural book.  We look forward to putting these books on our ipads and sharing them with the class soon.  

Last Friday we completed our creative writing-poetry unit.  We had a small celebration.  We called it Popcorn and Poetry. During this unit of study your child wrote poems, played with words, and uses their senses to write using a poet’s eye.

Math:

Shapes, shapes, shapes!  We have been measuring and learning how to describe them!  Your child should be familiar with these shapes:  quadrilateral, square, rectangle, triangle, pentagon, and hexagon.

Coming Up This Week:

We will be going to Zeeland East High School to hear the symphony play on Tuesday! Your child will be bused to and from this field trip.  We will be leaving school at 8:50am and should arrive back to school by 10:40am.  We are looking forward to the “Little Red Riding Hood” performance.  

Our class is able to take 2 parents.  If you are interested in this opportunity please email me.

Lunch Helpers Sign-Up

Are you able to have lunch with our second grade class?  Sign-up here:

www.SignUpGenius.com/go/10C084BACAE23A1FD0-lunch1 

Next Week:

Hi Parents,

We will be having our spelling test on this past weeks words on Monday.  Please help your child study these words.

Also, to keep on track with Bible memory Psalm 24:1-2 will also be due on Monday.

We will be completing the Flat Stanley letters on Monday. Please be sure your child has an address of a relative or friend ready to go on Monday.

We will be having Book Character day on Thursday, Jan. 15. Maybe you could work on these questions with your child during todays snow day or over the weekend.  I will hand out this paper on Monday.

Book Character Day

After studying characters for a month during reading time, I am excited to announce that our class will be having Book Character Day Thursday, Jan. 15.  On that day, each student should come to school dressed up as a character from a book they have recently read (not just from a movie or cartoon they have watched).  Your child should be prepared to describe both the character and the book.

Please work with your child to plan a simple homemade costume and then have your child fill out the form below. Please do not buy a book character costume! Just do your best to gather an assortment of hats, clothing or other props to create a homemade costume.   I need to know the name of the character, the book in which they found the character, and a description of the character. This will be helpful for me in planning the activities for the day. Your child should bring a copy of the book to class that day too.   

Please return this completed form by Wed. Jan. 14  We look forward to an exciting day!  Thanks for your support with this.

Student Name________________________________

Character Name_______________________________

Book Title______________________________________

Briefly describe the character.  Include a description of how the character looks, acts, and feels.  What character traits can be used to describe the character?

_________________________________________

_________________________________________

_________________________________________

_________________________________________

Welcome 2015!

I hope you have all had a joyful and restful Christmas break!  I sure did.   I spent lots of time catching up with friends, sipping coffee at J.P.’s.  I also spend some time in upstate New York with my fiancé, Luke,  visiting his family and now my family!  

I have had time to reflect on all the blessing I have-great family, supportive friends, and a fiancé!  I am also blessed by each child who walks in our classroom.  We work hard learning and discovery God’s kingdom and our place in it!  What a joy it is to be able to teach these TRUTHS to your child daily!  

Below is an outline of what your child will be learning in the weeks to come.

Bible:

For the next several weeks we will learn about the many miracles of Jesus.  These miracles brought people to the Lord, and news of the miracles spread throughout the land.  When Jesus performed a miracle, it involved more than the healing of an illness or a physical limitation-it also touched the recipient’s heart.  Throughout this unit your child will learn that Jesus’ miracles showed his authority from God, His power over nature, and it showed Jesus’ love for His people.

See the side bar for our new Bible Memory!

Social Studies:

We have been busy learning about local communities.  This week we will be looking at our local community:  Ways that Holland is unique and special.  A pink piece of paper is going home on Monday. This is your child’s homework.  Please have him/her interview two adults.  The question your child will ask an adult is: “What is special about our community of Holland?”  This is due Wednesday, Jan. 7.

Math:

We will begin our unit in geometry and measurement.  In this unit, your child will use centimeter rulers to measure line segments and draw shapes.  You can help your child link geometry concepts learned in school with the real world.  Encourage your child to find examples of different shapes (triangles, quadrilaterals including rectangles and squares, pentagons, and hexagons) in your home or neighborhood.  

Math homework is due on Friday.

Reading:

We are excited to begin the annual second grade reading incentive: Idita-READ.  We’ll be learning about the Iditarod dog sled race as we read during the next three months.   Your child will bring their first recording sheet home on Monday.  Students may return record sheets as soon as they are completed to move their ‘dog’ along our Iditarod map.  Those who complete the Idita-Read race will be honored at a small second grade celebration in months to come.  It is important to be handing in each recording sheet!  Your child has completed the dog sled race once 11 sheets have been turned in.  If your child returns one recording sheet each Monday, they will complete the race on time!

In class, during Reading Workshop time, our mini lessons will focus on character development. Your child will learn and record how the characters in the books they read can change from beginning, middle, and end.  We will record these changes with post-it notes.  Your child will continue to have ‘book talks’ with their reading partners daily!  This is a special time when your child can respond to the book he/she has read.

Writing:

We will continue learning and writing poetry.  This week your child will learn how to write poems that have comparisons in them.  Later in the week, we will look at the structure of poems and work at putting more structure in the poems we write.

In closing, as we begin this new year, continue to pray with and for your child in the work he/she does.  

Blessings,

Stacia Vogelzang