2H Class Blog!: Dec. 10th News

As the snow has started to fall, you'll sure feel the December excitement buzzing around SMS! Just ten school days left before our holiday break!

2H and 2D were ready for snowy activities even before the snow arrived!

What we've been up to:

*Science: We had a BLAST launching our new science unit this week. After listening to the story, Bartholomew and the Oobleck (by Dr. Seuss!), we set out to determine whether the mysterious substance of Oobleck was a solid or a liquid.

After LOTS of experimentation, our scientists determined that Oobleck has properties of both! To make your own Oobleck mixture at home, mix 1 part water with 2 parts cornstarch (the food coloring is optional!).

The next day, in a science talk, we explored the science term property. After deciding upon a working definition, we played a fun game called "What's my property?" Working with a collection of items, one person thinks of a property (blue, magnetic, circle, etc.) and pulls out all objects that have that property. Other players have the task of trying to figure out what the mystery property is! Try playing at home---you'll be super impressed with all of the different properties they can come up with!

After playing several rounds of our game, we ended our science talk with a challenge: to sort our shoes by property!

Laces vs. No Laces (vs. "In-Between Laces"!)

Further breaking down the Laces group (first by lace color, then by brand!)

As if we hadn't had enough fun in science this week, the Owls were put to a final test using all that they had learned about properties. After testing the properties of various materials (paper towel, paper bag, paper plate, and aluminum foil), students had to then design a hat that would keep sun off their head. We had a TON of fun testing, designing, and creating!

*Scholastic Book Orders: On Friday, December flyers from Scholastic were sent home. While the SMS Book Fair is just in our rear view, the book flyers are there if you need a last minute gift! If you'd like to place an order, please do so by tomorrow, Monday, Dec. 11th, in order to guarantee delivery before our holiday break. If your order does contain a gift, just let me know!

*Writer's Workshop: Students have been doing an amazing job demonstrating their ability to write just like our mentor author, Kevin Henkes! Each student has finishing drafting their own interesting, realistic problem and solution! Bravo, writers! Many tried using some of his signature writing "moves", such as using a repeating line, or adding "silver-dollar" words to their own writing. With the writing part complete, we will study illustrations for the upcoming week and put the final touches on these great stories!

Painting the covers for our latest books!

*Holiday Reminders: *At 2:00, on Thursday, 12/21, 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. Thank you to all who have already signed up to send in materials for our day. We're still looking for a few more items to be sent in (you can view our signup here if you are able to help out.)Thank you in advance for all of your help! If you have any questions, please let me know!

*Finally, to enjoy the season of giving within our classroom community, on Friday, 12/22, 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, 2017). 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.