What a winter whirlwind it's been! Hope your family has been staying warm and dry!
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| Warming up by our "fire" :) |
Highlights from our week:
*Dyson Ideas Box: I can now proudly present he 2016 2H Design Engineers! They did it!! They've completed the James Dyson Foundation Idea's Box Challenge! Their innovative designs, resourcefulness, and their ability to persevere, work together, and see an idea through to the end was truly remarkable. They spent this week planning and executing their own invention with the goal of improving or fixing a current device or problem.
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| Ava worked with Nina to build an Elf house! |
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| An unsinkable Elf boat! |
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| Paint your room with the push of a button! |
Wow!! That's a lot of creativity! These design engineers were able to experience all the steps a professional engineer goes through----a lot of work, but a ton of fun!! A huge thank you to the James Dyson Foundation for getting us engaged in this work. We were sad to say goodbye to our Ideas Box, but are left with the reassurance that we can create and do anything we put our minds to!
*Reading Buddies: We had a BLAST with our reading buddies this week (so much fun we needed to see them twice!). We worked together creating a holiday craft that will make a great memory for us all! On Monday we'll put the final touches on our and work and then they'll be ready to decorate our room for our holiday celebrations to come!
*Reader's Workshop: This week, previewing some of the reading work we'll be starting after vacation, we looked very closely at the characters in our stories. We learned that by studying the entire page, we can find evidence of a character's traits in their actions, thoughts, words, and expressions. We had a lot of fun practicing this skill with a holiday favorite: How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
Many students have been reading books with strong characters. After the holiday break, we will officially launch our character unit and every student will be wrapped up in great series. It's a true milestone for second grade readers! They're doing great work!
*Math Workshop: This week during math workshop, we began measuring. We discussed different tools used for measuring as well as different units. We listened to the tale of the King's foot and learned how standard units of measurement came to be. Working with a partner, we measured objects (and people!) around the classroom using a "King's foot".
*Holiday Reminders:
*At 1:15, on Thursday, 12/22, we will enjoy the second grade tradition of decorating gingerbread houses. If you’re available, we’d love to have you join us! It’ll be fun decorating (and snacking!) to celebrate with our families and friends. Our wonderful room parent, Shayna LoPriore, has sent out the list of materials needed for this event. If you have any questions, please let me know!
*Finally, to enjoy the season of giving within our classroom community, on Friday, 12/23, 2H will be participating in a mug exchange! Please send your child to school with one, wrapped “coffee” mug (available in all sorts of varieties, inexpensively at Walmart, the Dollar Store, and Target). It would be great if your child could write their name and the date on the bottom of the mug as well (ex: From, Ashley, 2015). We will enjoy a swap as we read a classic holiday tale. By the end of the story, each student will end up with a new mug! What will go perfectly in their new mug? Hot chocolate, of course! We’ll enjoy sipping on hot cocoa on our Polar Express Journey.
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Wishing your family a very, happy holiday and a safe, healthy, wonderful new year! I hope to see you on Thursday at our holiday celebration, but if I don't see you to wish you in person, then enjoy the holiday break and we'll see you in 2017!!
