2-2 Update!

Time feels like it is moving at lightning speed these days! It is hard to fathom that next week we will be flipping ahead to our November calendars! 

Read below to see all the children are accomplishing and experiencing in 2nd grade.

 In math, the children have been exploring the concept of weight! They used a pan balance to compare the weights of different objects. We then used a spring scale to figure out the accurate measure of various objects. The children reviewed that there are 16 ounces in a pound. They went on to find a combination of their own items in their desk that weigh a pound. We figured out that our crayons, calculator, and pink eraser are the equivalent of a pound! It was helpful for all of the kids to see what a pound feels like and then apply this understanding in our learning.

 The children have been eagerly observing their growing caterpillars. They have practically tripled in size- both length and width and they are very active! A few caterpillars have moved into the chrysalis stage- those pictures will appear in our next post!

 Mrs. Franzen came in to our class from the LMC to talk to the children about digital citizenship. We learned/reviewed strategies to stay safe and be responsible when using the computer or iPads!

 The children really enjoyed building their number sense by playing the game "Name that Number." The goal of this game was to use as many cards (numbers) as possible to hit the "Target" number. The children were challenged to add, subtract, or even multiply if they felt comfortable doing so in order to collect as many cards as possible. It was great to see them take a minute, look carefully at the numbers, and try out a few possible solutions before choosing the best one!

 More science photos! The children watched a few clips of the caterpillar up close. We noticed that the caterpillar uses JAWS to munch their food up and down and left to right. It was amazing to see how orderly they are while they eat!  We then watched a close up clip of how the caterpillar WALKS. We noticed that the caterpillar has 6 TRUE legs and 10 PROLEGS which aren't real legs, only stumps that help the caterpillar inch his way forward.

 In the library, we have been celebrating Global Read Aloud week! After sharing the book "The Reader," the children used the app "Padlet" to share their favorite place to read.

 In order to celebrate the fall and decorate the hallway a bit, the children were thrilled to create their own pumpkins! We first learned about the life cycle of the pumpkin beginning with seeds, a sprout, a flower blossom with vines, a small green pumpkin, and then eventually a large orange pumpkin that was full of seeds. We noticed that the seeds allow the life cycle to begin all over again!

I loved seeing all of the unique expressions on these little pumpkins ...
Their projects turned out great, too! :)
Thanks for reading!