What to Expect

Second Graders...

https://www.verywell.com/what-you-can-expect-in-2nd-grade-620859

August...deep breath...

August is always so busy for me. Family beach vacation, my sons birthday (and themed-of course-birthday party) and of course the thoughts of back to school, back to work. This year as my son begins  preschool at a "real school" I remember that this is something I tell myself leading into each school day...

And I promise to keep that in mind this upcoming year! Happy August 

Happy Summer!!

What an amazing school year! I thanked the kids for being my very first class of second graders and the last day was bittersweet! We had a great time together and I have to admit though I was nervous I LOVED second grade! I am so happy to be there again next year! And already have some great things planned. It's also exciting because I have the potential of some familiar faces on my list since this is a group I also taught as kindergartners. 

Here are a few pictures of our last few days together and a couple I found that I had never posted...

Each student was greeted with a small gift the last day. 

Loved this project, each child wrote an adjective for every friend. 

Field Day view from our class window!

Drawing upsidown like Michelangelo

 

Sharing some writing

Sorting money

Have a wonderful summer!!

Click the link below for the song I played on the last day of school

https://youtu.be/TZ0pXUb5jVU

Brag Tags

By FAR one of my student favorite things this year has been "brag tags." After seeing several interpretations of reward tag type activities I decided to create one that worked for me and my classroom. I wanted to share it here in hopes that others may be looking for something new. 

Over the summer I bought Velcro, name tag badges designed for kids (they were in the school aisle but also sold online)  

Then in the place where the name would go I wrote and decorated different phrases like: "I was a great helper today" or "Math Superstar"  "I have big news" 

 Great listener, great partner, great friend also made the list. 

When a student did something great they would be given a tag to wear. They wore it proudly all over the school and could also be the line leader that day too so that everyone could see their tag. 

At the end of the day they retuned the tag but would get a post-it note with their name on it. The name went into the  wall and was proudly hung there for the entire school year. 

On every end of the year survey and writing piece about second grade, I have seen over and over students talk about how they loved having a brag tag. This simple and inexpensive motivator was a huge hit and one I'm excited to continue for years to come! 

Earth Spirit!

We had an amazing visit from Earth spirit! We learned about the nature and animals in our own backyard! It was a hands on learning experience the entire day! We had an amazing time!

Taco 'bout a great day!

Tacos, salsa and celebrating! Today we studied the history of Cinco de Mayo and  did some map studies to find Mexico and learned about other traditions of the country. We joined Mrs. Domsters AM preK class to read one of our favorite stories: Dragon's Love Tacos by Adam Rubin. We made a taco craft together then came back to work with the afternoon class and made salsa, we really enjoyed eating it with chips! We did some dancing in our classroom and had a great day together! 

Check out our fancy footwork doing the Mexican hat dance here at this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVj0R1j_plA

Fun at the Farm!

One of my very favorite field trips is the Erie County Farm 2 Table program! Today we experienced learning while at the farm! Our topic was "Baby Animals" and it was a huge hit! The kids enjoyed it and learned so much. We are so lucky to have this program available to us!

We began by learning all about baby chicks...

Did you know that chickens are descendent from the T-Rex dinosaur?!

We got to make handprint chicks 

Then got to watch the chicks

hatch and even got to pet a chick that was just days old.

Next we moved to the Goat theater. Where we learned about all of the things that are made with Goat's milk. 

Did you know that when farm goats are babies (kids) their horns have to be burned off to prevent injury and infections.

 

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We made goat puppets and got to pet the goats too!

Our last group we learned about dairy cows. Did you know that a female cow is called a Heffer until its first calf is born. Then it can be called a cow and it begins to produce milk. 

We made a cow craft and then got to pet a calf. 

We finished our day with a perfect picnic lunch.

 

We had an amazing trip and as always the Farm 2 Table volunteers and staff were outstanding. 

We finished the trip, back at school writing opinion essays that we shared with first grade friends. We wrote about our favorite part and shared why we think that they will enjoy it too. (They are going tomorrow.) 

Thank you again Erie County Farm 2 Table!