Nature Day!

Last Friday, all the second grades participated in Nature Day! We broke into 3 groups, mixed classes. One group visited our lovely nature trail with Miss Spiniello and parents to search for living and non-living things. The second group tidied up the butterfly garden with Mrs. Poelaert and parents. Thanks Mr. Matusko for bringing planting materials! The last group worked with me in the classroom to create some very cool leaf art. Sorry that I wasn't able to get a picture of everyone's before they were collected, but hopefully it inspired you to use leaves to create more art! For more inspiration, check out Look What I Did with a Leaf! by Morteza E. Sohi.

Literary Lights for Children

Books are like candy for me-I just can't get enough!  Like most avid readers, I have favorite authors and illustrators, and I love to share my excitement about them with others.  I've become close friends with the staff at The Blue Bunny Bookstore in Dedham and have been lucky enough to attend many of their wonderful author/illustrator events.  On the day Emily got her first American Girl doll (and cast and crutches...for the doll), we met Jane O'Connor, the author of the Fancy Nancy series there.  She was kind enough to sign Emily's (the doll's) cast!  This is just one amazing encounter of many that we have had there. (And you all probably already know that we love our friend, Peter H. Reynolds!)

Well, I was lucky enough this weekend, to have another sort of amazing author encounter.  My friend Joy, knowing that I am a HUGE fan of Rick Riordan and his Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Heroes of Olympus, Kane Chronicles, and 39 Clues series, invited me as a guest to The Literary Lights for Children at the Boston Public Library. 

 

Boy, was I in for a treat!  Not only did I get to meet and listen to one of my idols, Rick Riordan, but I also was able to meet the other wonderful authors and illustrators listed above.  You may know Jeanne Birdsall for her Penderwick's series or picture books (http://www.jeannebirdsall.com/index.html), recognize Kadir Nelson's illustrations from a multitude of renown picture books (http://www.kadirnelson.com/Books.html), or know of Helen Frost from her poetic literature (http://www.helenfrost.net/). Regardless, Literary Lights for Children was an amazing event, and I look forward to attending again in the future.  

Remember that authors and illustrators are often idols for your children, and often more reachable than athletes, musicians, and movie stars.  Be sure to reach out and give your children the opportunity to meet these incredible talents who create new worlds and adventures for us all!

Rick Riordan accepting his award. 

 Meeting Mr. Riordan! 

   

Open House

 

Thank you all so much for coming to Open House last week!  It was a lot of fun and I had a great time meeting all of you!  I'll be adding these photos to our Shutterfly Share site as well.

 

The Dot in Space

It's always so much fun to get to know a new class.  Over the first couple of weeks, personalities begin to come through and I become privy to interests of many of the students.  It seems, this year, that we have quite a few fans of learning about space and the solar system!  There's been talk of White Dwarfs and...wormholes!(?)  This reminded me to share about a pretty exciting experience I had this summer and another DOT connection.  
Here's where the story begins: Stellar Cafe.  Be sure to read it so you'll understand the rest of this post!!  :)
In the blog post, you saw The Dot in space.  Here is that copy back here on Earth.

Anyway, back to MY experience.  As you discovered by reading Peter's blog post (you did read it...didn't you....), Col. Chris Hadfield wanted to collaborate on a children's book with Peter.  As a part of the process, he and his wife visited Boston for a short time this summer while he worked with Peter.  During that time, Peter decided to have a fun meet and greet with Col. Hadfield with some of the Blue Bunnies' friends and family.  Emily and I were fortunate enough to make the list! I knew it was cool when I was invited, but I can't even describe what a cool and interesting guy Chris Hadfield is.  He was smart and personable and really described his journey into space in such a way to inspire anyone to chase their dreams.  He became very well known while Commander on the International Space Station through his YouTube videos, showing what everyday experiences here on earth are like in space.  Here's the link to one video: Sleeping in Space.  This will lead to others.  Any space fans will enjoy these!  

Here are a few more pics from our evening. It was such a privilege to meet Colonel Hadfield and I can NOT wait for his book with Peter to come out.  In the meantime, I'll be reading his adult book An Astronauts Guide to Life on Earth.  

 Peter showing Emily the Space Dot! 

 Col. Hadfield, Emily, and me! 

 Col. Hadfield, Emily, and Stink!

International Dot Day 2013

As you can see, we had lots of fun celebrating International Dot Day on Friday!  We started by watching The Dot on Fablevision's Big Screen Books, narrated by the one and only Peter H. Reynolds.We also watched an author visit with Peter.  
After that, students painted dots using water colors or drew dots with crayons and markers while they had their snacks. 
Following recess, I showed them a cool video from Steve Spangler science that you can watch here: Sharpie Tie-dye video. Then the kids got to work!  Didn't the Dots come out beautiful?!  (In order to get the color to really stick, set it with heat from an iron.  Just be careful not to iron the iron-on frame.)
Later on, after math and our Welcome Back assembly, students designed dots on the ColAR template made just for Dot Day!  We used iPads to make the dots 3-d!  So cool!  I was able to get screen shots of a couple (posted below our Animoto).  Enjoy!

International Dot Day Activity

The t-shirts and Sharpies have been rolling in-thank you!  I'll be prepping t-shirts the next few nights for a fun science/art activity on Friday in celebration of International Dot Day on Sunday, September 15th.
Have you read The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds yet?  It is so inspiring!  That is why there are now over 1,000,000 people worldwide celebrating with us!
Here is one fun activity that uses a cool app for mobile devices: 
http://fablevisionlearning.com/blog/2013/08/dot-day-fun-watch-your-dot-come-to-life-in-amazing-3d-in-the-colar-app/

To do this, you use this app:

Click on the picture to see a cool video about other coloring fun you can have with the app!

Here's the dot that I colored:

And HERE it is in 3D!

How cool is that?! We'll be making some in class and I can't wait!  Feel free to play at home, too.  There are lots of coloring pages on the site that work with the app that is also free. Have fun making your mark!  

Morning Message

As you can imagine, the start of each day in second grade is a flurry of activity!  Upon entering, students greet each other and prepare for the day by signing up for lunch, handing in notes, sharpening pencils, running to the bathroom and more!  To make our morning run a little more smoothly, I post an overhead like the following each morning. 

At the top, students find the date and the day of school.  In the top left corner is a motivational, inspiring, or thought provoking digital poster.  Next to this is a list of their morning assignments. For the start of the year, the morning routine takes up a BIG part of the message.  This will shrink as the year progresses to make room for the Daily Edit.  

In the bottom left is a message from me.  Usually I say hello and post reminders or upcoming special events.

Last, is a Wordle.  I mentioned these in a previous post.  The kids LOVE solving the Wordle and having the class job of Wordler, the person who guide the class through reading the Wordle (and gets to use our interactive pens to do so-SCORE!)   Hope you enjoyed another sneak peek into second grade!  

S.T.A.R. Binders!

S.T.A.R. Binders

What is S.T.A.R.?

       

        A STAR  is a special binder that your child will carry to and from school every day this year.

        STAR is an acronym for Students Taking Action & Responsibility.

        STAR will help your child stay organized and keep you in touch with our classroom.

S.T.A.R. Rules:

      Take care of your STAR; it will be used all year!

       Clean out the "Classwork" pocket every evening.

       Take your STAR home every day and bring it back each morning.

        Keep your STAR clean - do not eat or drink in front of your STAR!

        Show your STAR to your parents everyday - they will be so proud of your new   

        responsibility!

    

      If you use a tool from the STAR toolbox, be sure to put it back when done.

What's in a S.T.A.R.?

Here is an overview of what is inside our STAR:

S.T.A.R. Binder Overview Students Taking Academic Responsibility
Front Cover: Pencil Case:	Your Ship to Shore cover identifies the Navigator of this second grade journey and owner of the STAR! This is the Navigator’s Toolbox. In here are learning tools that will be helpful on the journey.
First Clear Sleeve: Specials Schedule	In the first clear sleeve you will find a copy of our specials schedule.  Please remember to have students wear sneakers on gym days and return library books on library days.
Red Folder: To and From, Notices	This red folder contains notices from school and finished work.  Please be sure to clean this out each day!  Upon return, students will check this folder each morning for any returned notices or notes from home for the teacher.
Yellow Folder: Homework	Homework is sent home of Mondays (with the exception of Monday holidays, then Tuesday) and is returned on Friday (with the exception of Friday holidays, then Thursday). Homework, even if complete, is kept in this folder throughout the week.  Please clean out this folder on Friday so it is clear for the following week.
Clear Sleeves Resources	Throughout the year, we will be adding useful resources and tools to the binder, such as “no excuse” spelling words, math strategies, etc.  Please refer to this section to help your child review content that we are working on in class throughout the year.
Back Cover: Homework Guide	In the back cover, you will find a homework outline to help guide you and your child through the weekly homework.  The guide is meant to be a helpful planner and is not a rigid schedule.  In order to maximize your child’s learning, however, each item should be completed sometime during the week.

Day 1!

First day back to school!  I hope everyone enjoyed their day!  It is always so fun to meet  a new class and begin to get to know them.  This seems like a great group!  Each day as a part of our morning overhead, students will try to solve a Wordle like this one:

 

A wordle is a word cloud.  You can make wordles about anything, but our class uses them to practice inferencing, using what you know to figure out what you don't know.  The above wordle is super easy, but really fun!  Hope you enjoy learning about one more little piece of second grade! 

 

 

Happy First Day of School!

 

Welcome back to school, Second Graders and families!  It is hard to believe it is already September, but I hope everyone had some fun and got to relax this summer.  We have a busy year of learning ahead of us. 
Second grade was MY favorite grade when I was in elementary school at Holy Name School in West Roxbury.  My teacher was Mr. Bernazanni.  I really only have a couple of really clear memories of him: praising a poem/prayer that I wrote in the style of James Herriot, an author my mom and aunt were very into at the time, and the time he had fifth graders make special Easter basket treats for us.  Although those might not seem like the most exciting events to many, the warmth and happiness that they created has resonated with me for quite a long time.  It is one of my goals to make sure that while your children are working hard and learning, striving for goals and persevering, that they are also making fond memories that will last.  I might not be able to make every student love school, but I do hope to at least make them love it a little more than they thought they did.  
Many of you have probably heard that I like technology.  I do!  (I'm crazy for books, too!) Let me assure you, though, that there is more to me and my teaching beliefs than "the teacher who uses computers".  Technology use is only one tool that students need in order to succeed.  They need to learn how to relate and work with others, even if it is sometimes frustrating.  They need to learn to be responsible for their belongings and their actions, even if it sometimes results in consequences.  (Consequences, I believe, are meant to teach a lesson, not be punitive.  For example, a consequence might be to come up with a solution for a problem that they have created or encountered.) They need to learn to not give up, not take the easy way out, and to presevere through a task or problem.  They need to learn to be creative and compassionate.  Creative does not necessarilly mean artistic.  It can mean they have a penchant for the arts, but it can also mean that they are problem solvers, thinkers, contributors. Here's a great resource that anyone involved in education (parents, teachers, administration) should read Rigor Redefined.  Enjoy!  (Don't worry-all my posts don't include reading assignments!) 

This is Where the Voting will Take Place!

We will be voting right here on this blog, here at school after we read and explore the books!

Children's Choice Book Awards

One exciting tradition we have in second grade is voting in the Children's Choice Book Awards! This is the fourth year my class has participated.  It's a great chance to vote for some favorite books, as well as discover some new ones!  I have checked the books out of the Walpole Public Library and we will be reading them here at school so that we are ready to vote before Children's Book Week, May 13-19th.  Check out the link here to see the new nominees for 2013: http://www.bookweekonline.com/.

Here are the winners from 2012:

K-2 Book of the Year

3-4 Book of the Year

Author of the Year

Illustrator of the Year

Biblionasium

Today I introduced the class to a website called Biblionasium. It is like a goodreads for kids!  Students chose avatars and backgrounds today.  They also learned to navigate the page, but this will probably take some more practice.  On Biblionasium, students can explore books, add books to shelves as read or want to read.  They can log reading minutes, write reviews, and suggest books to friends.  In order for students to get "friends" they need a parents assistance as they need your email address.  Their "friend" choices are limited to me and the students in the class.  
I am trying to decide on book to assign as a class challenge, along the lines of a "One Class, One Book" sort of thing.  It will be like we are all reading a book together!  More info to come soon!