Many Seconds in Second

Reading:

In reading, we continue to study the characters in our books.  We are looking at the actions of the characters and determining character traits and feelings. We also are finding sometimes the character act out in surprising ways.  We can mark our books with post-it notes when our characters act out of character.  You will soon be sent an email from your child with an i-pad project we did on character traits.

 **READING MINTUES ARE DUE EVERY MONDAY.

Math:

We will spend the next two weeks reviewing adding two-digit numbers and being able to verbally explain what we are doing in our written work.  We also will continue to count and add money. 

**Math homework is due each Friday.

Anika and Norrah practicing two-digit addition.

Science:

We will be wrapping up our Science unit on “Earth’s Land and Bodies of Water”.  We can identify the major landforms and bodies of water.  We learned how precious water is to us, and how we are blessed to have clean, fresh running water. On Friday we learned how water can get polluted by many things like litter, pesticides, gasoline, oil, fertilizer, and house hold cleaning supplies.  We made a model of our community then put these pollutants in the water.  We learned that it’s important to conserve and protect the water supply.

On Tuesday, Dec. 9 we will be going to the Water Treatment Plant for our second field trip.  Please email me if you would like to go with us.  We will be leaving school at 9:15 a.m on the bus.  We should be back around 10:45 a.m.

We also had the school nurse visit our classroom and show us how to wash our hands correctly.  She had us do an experiment.  We rubbed special lotion on our hands.  This lotion was to simulate germs.  After we had this lotion rubbed into our hands, the nurse had us thoroughly wash our hands.  We discovered that we didn’t do such a great job of removing this lotion/germs. After washing, we put our hands under a light to see how well we got the ‘germs’ or lotion off our hands.  We learned we need to spend more time washing than we usually do!

Social Studies:

We are learning about local communities.  This week we will compare and contrast rural, suburban, and big cities.  How familiar is your child with these terms? 

Writing:

In our Poetry Unit we have been learning how to make our poems ‘sound like music to the ear’.  We have been busy putting line breaks in our poems, using repetition of words and lines.  We are looking forward to sharing some of our final poems soon.

Bible:

Last week we learned about Prayer.  We learned the meaning of different parts of the Lord’s Prayer. We are beginning to memorize this prayer.  I will be sending your child’s final project of the Lord’s Prayer home soon. Your child spent time drawing pictures and recording this prayer on their ipad in an app called My Story.

Click on the link to see this project.  http://goo.gl/MFYQX5

Things to remember:

-Library is on Tuesday

-Field Trip to the Water Treatment Plant on Tuesday morning from 9:15-10:45. If you would like to join us please send me an email by Monday night.

-Family Christmas Tree Project is due this Monday

- Kids' Food Basket-we will be making breakfast bundles for children over the holiday break. See previous blog post for more information. 

Love Does: Second Grade Service Project

As we prepare for the Christmas season with our family and friends, we also think of those in need. We want to be the hands and feet of Jesus and live out our theme of "Love Does!"   

Our Christmas service project provides an opportunity to help local children, living in Grand Rapids, Michigan, who have little food at their homes. We'll be partnering with Kids' Food Basket to purchase and assemble "Breakfast Bundles" which will provide meals on the weekends for these children. Bundles include a single serving cereal box, small fruit juice box, pop tart/toaster pastry, and raisins or fruit snacks.

It's difficult to imagine children living nearby who don't have enough food to eat. As we discuss in class how much we have and how we can show love to others, I'm thankful for opportunities like this to provide a tangible way for our students to see that they can make a difference in the lives of others. Please encourage your child to donate some of his/her own money for this cause. 

We're first seeking monetary donations to purchase the food items in bulk. All money collected by Dec. 12 will go towards these supplies, which Ms. Scott and I will purchase. The second graders will work together to assembly the Breakfast Bundles packages on Dec. 17. What a wonderful opportunity for children to help children!

Luke 2: 1-20

In order to keep track of your child's progress in reciting from memory Luke 2:1-20 he/she will be coloring in different parts of this picture located below.  So, your child can recite Luke 2 in parts, not as a whole.  An email will be sent to you if your child is falling behind in his/her memory work. Otherwise assume your child is on track! Thank you for helping your child memory this beautiful story!

Family Christmas Tree Project

Today your child is taking home a Christmas tree pattern to decorate as a family project.  After you cut it out, you are free to be as creative as you want!  Any material may be used to decorate the tree:  paint, fabric, Christmas cards, ribbons, glitter, cereal, wrapping paper, buttons, garland, stickers, bows, etc.  The goal is to have fun as a family, working together on a project; decorations should not be expensive or overly time-consuming.  The tree will be displayed in the hall and should be returned by Monday, December 8.  If your child is not able to decorate his/her tree at home, let me know and I will make arrangements to give them time at school.

You're Invited

Your child has been busy learning about earth’s land and water in Science.  For the past few weeks we have seen how important water is and what a blessing it is to have clean water to drink, bath, and to cook with.  We have made charts in class of how we  use of water at home and school.  We even are keeping a tally count of when we use water at school!  We are determining how much water does the classroom use over a period of time.  As part of the science unit we planning on going to the Water Treatment Plant on December 9 from 9:15 a.m.-10:45 a.m. We are able to take as many parents as we wish.  If you are interested in going with us please e-mail by Dec. 8. If we are planning on coming please be sure arrive at school a little before 9:15 so that you can ride the bus with us. We are scheduled for a tour at 9:30.  This tour is between 45-60 minutes.  We are looking forward to learning more about the water we use everyday!