We reached the end of Week 1!

Hello!

We had a short but sweet week in 2nd grade! The children and I have begun learning some of the routines that will make our days at school smooth and simple. We've read several of my very favorite back to school stories, including "First Day Jitters," "Splat the Cat," and an all time favorite, "Nobody's Mother is in Second Grade." We also read a great book to remind us of good behavior called "Manners can be Fun." (Thank you, Mrs. Carroll!) After sharing a few of these stories, the children and I practiced completing the reading log that they will soon have for homework. We payed careful attention to our handwriting, neatness, and making sure to include good details. The class has also begun learning different ways to practice spelling words throughout the week. We reviewed ABC order and visited spellingcity.com. We even practiced moving our desks into a couple of different "set-ups"- small group, partners, and individuals- so the transition will be a breeze when its time to match our desks to the activity at hand! The children heard about our classroom incentives, have practiced moving respectfully through the hallway, and we realized that there are some consequences to silly behavior, too! We are also working our way through a building-wide safety checklist, which allows us to practice/discuss various drills and circumstances that may occur throughout the year before the building drills begin. The children have been really good listeners during these small-scale practices.

Thank you for helping your child choose something to share with us at school about themselves in their little brown bags. They've enjoyed having a chance to shine in the spotlight, and it is such fun learning an interesting fact or two about each person! (Did you know... we have several experienced fishermen in our class? Owen and Alex to name a few! Or that Amaya likes potato sack races? or that Charlie went on a "mancation?" Or that Lily zipped down a really cool waterslide (even though she was too small?!:) It was so much fun hearing what all of the children had to share!

As Will mentioned, the children created their very own iPads on Friday! They thought about their favorite "apps," and illustrated them on their iPad. Its very interesting how a collection of apps can illustrate a person's interests and personality! These will be on display for you next week at Curriculum Night. You might have noticed that Will updated our blog a couple of times this week. It is a brand new (weekly) classroom job. It will be fun to see how the children summarize our school day in a sentence or two! Keep an eye out for more student posts next week!

It seems that any first day jitters we may have felt have quickly disappeared. I hope you are enjoying the beautiful weather this weekend, and I'm looking forward to another great week next week!
Thanks for checking in!