Dear Parents,

It doesn’t seem possible that a whole month has gone by already. Your second graders have been busy working hard this past month to learn the new routines and responsibilities of second grade. We have all continued to work on building a classroom community and to use the class rules we created together.
I enjoyed meeting new parents and seeing familiar faces on Parents’ Night. I look forward to seeing you all at Open House.

MATH

We have been working on counting in different ways, by 1s, 5s, and 10s, and double-checking our work. Time telling skills and counting change have also been activities that we do regularly. Right now we are working on reading written o’clock times, such as 6:00, and setting our clocks. It is challenging to remember which hand tells the hour! We often watch for the clock to tick over to the hour.  Since we live in a digital world, the children have limited opportunity to practice using an analog clock with a face and hands, so any chance they can get to practice at home is helpful. We are just beginning to learn ways to combine coins by using all our counting skills. We play a game called Collect 25 Cents to help us identify the coins and make trades for equivalent amounts.

SPELLING

The children have had a very successful first week with their spelling tests. These lists were simple words that reviewed short vowel sounds and also allowed them to focus on learning the practice routines at school and home. They did a great job completing their homework and returning it to school.

SEEDS

Fall is a great time to observe the abundance and variety of seeds in our own yards. Bringing seeds in to share provided us with a focus for our sharing time and builds an awareness and appreciation of our local natural environment. Thanks for your help. As the children shared, they practiced not only their speaking skills but also how to present information in a clear and concise way that is understandable by their audience. We categorized the seeds by the way they are dispersed -- by wind, animals/ people, water, and expulsion.

PATRIOTIC SONGS

We begin each day by reciting the pledge and singing a patriotic song. So, our first social studies unit took a look at the reasons behind why we sing patriotic songs. We began with our oldest, Yankee Doodle, and talked about the early history of our country and our relationship with England. As we discussed each song, we placed it on our timeline, which we will use throughout the year. We have now moved on to science, geography, and maps, the study of oceans.

SNACKS

We look forward to our snack break right after recess as our bellies are starting to groan! If they forget their snack, they are very disappointed. Please help them build a routine of packing their snacks at home. Thank you, parents, for doing a great job of sending in nut/peanut free snacks. If a birthday snack is sent in please refer to the list sent home at the beginning of the year. Unfortunately, homemade goods are not on the list. Your cooperation in this has made our school a safer place for all the children. Thank you.

Thank you to all the thoughtful parents who sent in boxes of tissues for our class already. Cold season will soon be upon us and it is amazing how quickly the tissues will disappear. If you could donate tissues or Clorox wipes, it would be much  appreciated. We will try our best to keep those germs at bay and keep your children healthy.

DATES TO REMEMBER

Oct. 20 - Open House & Book Fair
Oct. 28 - Half Day & Vocabulary Parade
Oct. 31 -  Halloween Party