Mrs. Prive's Second Grade | “Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the things you can think up if only you try!” Dr. Seuss (2024)

This week in Wonders we have been focusing on long /a/ spelling patterns. It can be tricky to focus on all of these patterns at once, especially the first week back from vacation. This week we have also continued to practice identifying and using verbs. This has also given us the opportunity to practice and review nouns, as well. This week we have introduced, and will be practicing contractions. We will continue to learn more, next week, as well.

The day before winter break, the children were invited to a Polar Express Party! After receiving an invitation for “homework”, the children all came to school in their pajamas, and with some snuggly blankets, as well as a buzz of excitement! After wrapping up some crafts, and tying up some loose ends, we headed across the hall to Mrs. Gallegos’ room to join another second grade for our party! The children were welcomed to the room by Conductor Stokes, got their tickets punched, and found a cozy spot to watch the movie. We took a brief break for recess to stretch our legs, and returned to the room for some popcorn and some “hot, hot, hot, hot chocolate”, as the movie suggests! Ms. Underwood even delivered a special box from the North Pole. It was a great day, and a great way to kick off the Winter Break!

Before winter break, we were lucky enough to have Jackie Perrin deliver a great presentation to the children. She gave a wonderful presentation on energy conservation, energy efficiency and some tips that children can use at home. She also provided some background on renewable and nonrenewable resources, as well as origins of where and how energy is created. The children were engaged and excited to participate in this presentation. They were also intrigued by the different kinds of light bulbs that Jackie brought with her to share.

Shhhh… It’s a surprise! This Thursday, the children will get “homework” that they will take home to read. This “homework” will invite the children to a Polar Express party!!! The children will get an invitation and a ticket. Please have the children bring their ticket back to school on Friday! We will have the conductor punch their ticket to enter the show! The children will also be invited to wear pajamas to the party. They can also bring a small blanket or towel to sit on. We will be watching the Polar Express throughout the day, and we have some special treats of popcorn, hot chocolate and peppermint sticks for the children to enjoy! We are really excited to share this fun day with the children!

It is hard to believe that we are in the week before Winter Break! The children are getting pretty excited for holiday festivities and vacation! Our routine is a little bit off this week. First, we have come to the end of Unit 2 in Wonders, and therefore will be practicing taking the Unit 2 Assessment all week. This will give children some practice taking a reading assessment, and demonstrating their reading skills in an assessment. The children have not had a lot of practice with completing reading assessments independently. That is why we are practicing this pro cress prior to using this kind of data as a valid and reliable measure of their ability. We have decided that due to the short week, it being an assessment week, and the excitement of the looming holidays, we will not have spelling words this week! In conjunction with assessing, we will also review some skills from the unit that could use some additional practice.

In math, we have also made our way to the end of the unit. Therefore, rather than starting the next unit, we will be utilizing this time to revisit some previously taught skills, to hopefully solidify and deepen their knowledge. Subtraction skills have been a focus in the previous unit. We will utilize this time to strengthen students flexibility with numbers, and broaden their number sense. With a greater depth of knowledge, students will more easily apply these skills to multi-digit addition and subtraction algorithms.

We had an exciting start to the week, with our first ground-covering snowfall! The kids were all abuzz, and excited to dive in! A few reminders, now that winter weather is upon us. Please have children wear boots daily. The children are outside for recess twice a day. Wearing boots will help keep their feet warm and dry. Even the pavement gets wet and slushy, so if children don’t have boots on, their feet will most likely end up soggy and cold. Also, children should have appropriate clothing for the weather. Remember, the weather can change throughout the day, and the wind can whip around our playground. It is better to be safe, and prepared for the weather. I would recommend the children wear a warm coat, hat, and mittens or gloves daily. If there is snow on the ground, the children will need to wear snow pants to play on those parts of the playground that are covered in snow.

It is also a good idea for the children to keep an extra pair of socks, and even a pair of pants (if room allows) in their backpacks, for those days that the snow finds its way to places it shouldn’t.

It is so much fun to watch the children’s pure joy when playing in the snow! It makes me want to break out my own snow clothes and have some fun with them!