HOW 12-1-16

Hello again!

We've had a wonderful week together despite the many changes to our schedule throughout the week to accommodate our puppet practices and performance. I'm not at school tomorrow (Friday) so I'm posting this a day early for you. This afternoon was our puppet show. I hoped you like our creative rhymes and puppets in our song, "Oh-A Hunting We Will Go!"

This week I read individually with many students--checking on reading comprehension as well as new sight word acquisition. Next week we'll mix up our reading groups a little bit. These new reading groups may not have children all reading at the same level but they are working on the same set of skills (i.e. vowel teams, decoding strategies, sight words, comprehension strategies, response to literature).

In second grade math we've begun studying a new set of fact families: Doubles (5+5, 6+6), Near Doubles (5+6, 6+7), and "2 Apart, Double the Middle" (6+8, 5+7) facts. We continue noticing patterns of odd and even numbers. 

We did 2 new science experiments this week related to sound. We made our own stringed instruments. We discovered many ways to produce sound and change the sounds we made. Then on another day students watched a video of "Kitchen Drawer Drums." Then they experimented with making varied beats and rhythms using pencils and classroom items. We also had an extra science time this week to look at daylight patterns during the last weeks of the fall season.

On Wednesday I sent home some information about our Winter Solstice celebration and Secret Snowflake gift exchange which will take place on our last school day before the holiday break. Thanks to many of you who already sent back confirmation about the gift exchange. Please let me know if you will be able to supply a $5 gift or if you need help in getting a gift so your child can participate.

Lastly, we are in need of some 5x7 envelopes for an upcoming project. We'll need about 40 of them. If you have any extras at your house you could donate please let me know!

Have a wonderful Friday and weekend!

Dates to Remember
Thurs. December 8 - 4 Winds 1:30-2:30 
Wed. December 14 - All School Meeting 9:15-10:00
Fri. December 23 - Winter Solstice Celebration (a couple of days after the real Winter Solstice) & Gift Exchange 1:45-3:15
Mon.-Fri. December 26-30 - Holiday Break --No School
Mon. January 2 - 1st day back in the new year