Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Our Holiday Play




We performed our second grade holiday play for the school and our parents. Once on a Rooftop proved to be educational and fun at the same time. Two of our favorite songs were Lotsa Latkes and Break the Pinata. After weeks of practicing our lines, learning the songs, and developing our acting skills the night went on perfectly! It will be a memory we treasure forever!











Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Our Principal has been SLIMED!






In honor of all of our Readers To Leaders Mrs. Phillips has been slimed! She congratulated all of the children that met their reading goal and then turned over her microphone as the teachers dribbled buckets of slime over her head. She challenged the children to continue to read. Some of the other "rewards" good readers have to look forward to include Bingo, watching Mrs. Phillips KISS a PIG, and listening to her read a book while duct taped to the dining room wall! Wow! Does she know how to motivate her students or what???? Where's my book - I'm ready to read right now!

Monday, November 8, 2010

Veteran's Day 2010








Today after our awards ceremony we presented the book America's White Table written by Margot Theis Raven and illustrated by Mike Benny. This book tells the story of how our patriotic and military families remember our American Heros by setting a small white table on Veteran's Day. As we read and re-read this book in class our students came to understand the sacrifice that our service men and women (and their families) made for our freedom. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!


Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Through The Corn Maze We Go!








Yesterday we enjoyed a field trip to Sykes and Cooper farm. It was a beautiful day to travel throught a corn maze, visit the animals, take a hay ride, and have some fun! It's a day we'll remember for a L O N G time!


Friday, October 29, 2010

Fall Fun



Today we had the opportunity to relax and have some fun! We snacked on orange food and made a candy corn craft. We also played Bingo and did the freeze dance! We finished our class chapter book read aloud, Charlotte's Web and then watched the movie. Tonight is our school's fall festival where we wear our literary costumes, trick or treat through the halls, and then enjoy ourselves outside playing carnival games and eating delicious food!

Friday, October 22, 2010

Mrs. Metzger's Very Favorite Book for Students

This previous book of the month is really three stories in one. The main character named Sage is home from school because she is sick. Her story is told using clever vocabulary puns and humor. This book may be a bit of a stretch for my second graders but the pictures alone are worth a look because the illustrator seems to have drawn them on notebook paper.


Mrs. Metzger's Very Favorite Book for Women

Years ago my friend Oprah had the author of this book on her show. They talked about how it can change your life. I remember hearing Dr. Stahlman, my principal at the time, telling the faculty how much she enjoyed it too, so I went out and bought it. I've always liked reading "self-help" type books that give me pointers on how to be a better person but this one tops them all. It's a daily journey that requires self reflection and goal setting. I've read this book three times (not in a row). The last time I used a highlighter to help me focus on what's important. I've also purchased and given away many, many copies of this book. One thing I get out of it is perspective on what's really important in my life and how many blessings I have. If you're looking for a way to appreciate your life more fully in 2011, take my suggestion and grab a copy this holiday season. You won't be sorry!

Our Lives as Mathematicians



In math workshop we're striving to teach our students "number sense." Why? So they can use math in their everyday lives with confidence. When they're not in school how do our kids use their math skills? If they're saving money for a new video game, book, or toy it is important to know how to add and subtract money. Telling time and understanding a calendar are life skills too. Knowing about odd and even can be helpful when dividing up candy treats or choosing teams. These are just a few of the skills we practice everyday in math. How do you use your math skills in your daily life?

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Week 2 of the Blogging Challenge...

This week we asked our class to vote on three seperate things. We tallied our responses and here's what we like:

Ice Cream Flavors

14 students voted for Chocolate, 9 students like Vanilla best, and 5 think that Strawberry rocks!

Dogs vs. Cats

24 like dogs and 4 like cats

Text Talk Book Favorites

Wolf! received 2 votes, Stripes received 4 votes, and Porkenstein was the overwhelming winner with 22 votes

Now it's your turn. We've added some polls to our blog. Take a minute to vote so our class can discuss the results in school next week.

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Lima Beans!










In Science Workshop we are learning about seeds and plants. We germinated lima bean seeds and planted them in clear cups so the roots and stems would show. The stem of the plant is like a person's backbone and holds it up. We like how the plants lean toward the window and curve to the sunlight!




Monday, October 4, 2010

Life as a Reader


Recently the teachers at Chets Creek were challenged to create a weekly blog post about a common subject. The first post is to describe our lives as readers. As you know, Mrs. Morris and I are sisters and we grew up together. You may find it interesting that she ALWAYS had a book in her hand and I rarely read for pleasure. She can give you the summary for every Paula Danzinger, Beverly Cleary, and Judy Blume book ever written. She read on long car trips while I listened to my Walkman. Ironically, I turned into a reading teacher and she developed a love for math and science. While in college I discovered the amazing world of children's picture books. As a new teacher I attended the International Reading Association Conference in Orlando and had the opportunity to meet many authors and illustrators. Since then I've read countless picture and chapter books and spent a small fortune stocking the shelves of our classroom library.




As adults, Mrs. Morris and I share fiction books. A common favorite author of ours is Jodi Picoult. Mrs. Morris enjoys books by Nora Roberts and Danielle Steele. I've read everything Mary Higgins Clark has ever written. We also read a lot of non-fiction books - particularly for school and we both still have subscriptions to the Florida Times Union.




Earlier this year we asked our students if they had parents that were readers. It's so important to model this behavior for your children. We asked if they had any magazine subscriptions delivered to their homes and if their parents read on-line. We'd love to hear from you. Please comment if you have a favorite author or genre. Everyone should live their life as a reader!

Friday, October 1, 2010

We're going on a safari...











We went on a long walk to see some very cool animals. The animals were not alive. They were actual animals that had died and were preserved. The animals were grouped together with special teachers that talked about when the animals were alive. There was a room just for African animals, one for Florida animals, a bird room, a cat room, and others. The best part of the whole day was touching the animals!
Written by the students in our classroom.



Wonderful, wiggly, wriggly worms!











We learned that worms help the earth by loosening the soil. They also leave castings behind so plants can grow better. We touched the worms and they felt squishy and slimy. Mrs. Morris wasn't crazy about touching them so the boys and girls helped out.
Written by Kellan, Emma, Taylor, Seth, and Jonathan.



Friday, August 27, 2010

Socks and Slipper Club


As a special reward, students can wear their socks and slippers in our classroom on Fridays - if they turn in all of their homework assignments on time. Today we had loads of cute, fuzzy, comfortable slippers walking around our room! Even the teachers had their shoes off!

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

First Day Farm Fun




On our very first day of second grade we moved through centers to learn about life on the farm. We listened to a bee keeper tell us about pollination and tasted fresh honey. We got to plant a green vegetable, see tractors, eat watermellon, and enjoy the petting zoo. Back in the classroom we read books about the first day of school and watched a video about one of our favorite books, Click, Clack, Moo - Cows That Type!


Thursday, August 19, 2010

Harvesting a new crop...




Well Howdy Folks! We're your new second grade teachers, Mrs. Morris and Mrs. Metzger! We're so excited to start another school year and cultivate some new relationships. We hope to meet our new students and their parents at orientation tomorrow morning bright and early!

Monday, June 14, 2010

End of the year


This is the final blog post for this school year. It's been a GREAT year with some of the best kids ever! We've had a lot of fun and we've also learned so much. Your teachers will miss you. Have a safe and enjoyable summer and keep reading those chapter books! We love you all!

Field Day












We had our field day activities on Tuesday, June 8th. It was a blast! We had a relay race, jumped the hurdles, threw nerf javelins, played tug of war, and much more. The coaches passed out orange CCE field day bracelets and we got to dance! Not your normal day in second grade at all.



Thursday, June 3, 2010

The Butterfly Release




Over the long Memorial Day weekend all of our caterpillars turned into beautiful butterflies! After observing them for a few days we let them go in our butterfly garden. The circle of life continues...


Wednesday, May 19, 2010

The Life Cycle of a Butterfly




We're observing our caterpillars and labelling their body parts on a diagram. We've seen a play about the lifecycle of a monarch butterfly. We're creating caterpillar and butterfly crafts daily. We have lots and lots of books about caterpillars and butterflies. I guess you could say we're becoming experts!