Sled Dogs - Today, Thursday, February 5, 2009, we went down the hill as soon as school started and began petting the six sled dogs. We waited for some more classes to pet them, and then we walked half way up the hill and watched two of them pull the sled along the trails that the older kids had marked out earlier this week.

Our Little Scientists -
February 12, 2009 - This week the students role played as scientists, measuring volume and capacity with water and rice, and with making slime!  They were so excited about their slime, that they have taken it home to show you!  They are discovering what properties are and how to make observations using their senses.  In talking about what scientists do, they are learning how important it is to be respectful of each other and the material at hand, and to be careful and precise scientists. They will be making more slime next week using different materials, which they are anticipating.

Honored Guest -
February 19, 2009 - This week Ray VanderLaan is going to come to speak to the second graders on Wednesday, February 25. We are excited to have him come!

Special Events -
February 25, 2009 - Ray Vander Laan came this afternoon and expanded on the stories that the students have been learning about Bible in school. He also taught us about different unique animals that can be found in Israel, like Ibex, Marmots, Hyenas, and fish.  He explained how the Biax have special feet to walk the high and narrow treacherous paths, and we are equipped to have those feet to get us through those hard times when our paths in life may be dangerous and rocky. He showed many pictures from the trip, including ones from the Sea of Galilee, the Jordan River, the animal photos, among others of which I experienced when I was there on his Israel and Turkey Trip in 2006.

Following RVL's presentation we had Laura Velasquez come as our guest to introduce our March reading month. She read to the students Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. The elementary grades enjoyed asking her questions about the weather and the book afterward.

Google Earth -
March 6, 2009 - We enjoyed role playing as astronauts, pretending that we were flying into space and to earth as we looked at Google Earth online using the projector and our computer. We flew to different cities around Zeeland and to other countries around the world.

Math and Crackers -
March 12, 2009 - Today we used Wheat Thin crackers, peanut butter, and raisins to introduce some new concepts for math on area and perimeter as well as multiplication. This also reviewed fractions because some crackers had peanut butter and some were without. Students enjoyed learning this way and enjoyed a healthy, tasty snack! Yesterday in Social Studies we also learned about the process of grapes turning to raisins. Ask your child what they learned with the cracker activity!

Goldilocks and the Three Bears -
March 19, 2009 - This week we read two versions of Goldilocks and the Three Bears and wrote about them for our Writing project. We used Venn Diagrams to compare and contrast the stories. Then we edited them for a final draft on our Teddy-Bear Story Booklets. We colored a bear picture that is holding our honey pots, containing our three references to the books. They turned out to be very creative and cute. The books will soon be decorating the walls in the hall.

Growing Plants -
March 26, 2009 - This week we have started our mini-gardens and our baggie-gardens. The mini-gardens are in cups with either sunflower seeds or bean seeds, like I further explained in the newsletter. the baggie-gardens are hanging in the windows with the seeds suspended so that we can watch the plant grow and see the roots. We have also corrected our misconception that plants need soil in order to grow. The students are really excited to have their own garden!

Guest Speakers, Field Trips, Birthdays, Oh My! -
April 16, 2009 - This week we have had a crazy, fun, and unusual week in second grade.  We had Firefighter Mark DeVries, Representative Bill Huizenga, and sports writer Jane Bos speak to our class and the second grade. We had our six Phillippino friends arrive today. We had a welcoming chapel for them. Three will be here for 2 1/2 weeks, and the other three teachers will be here for 6 weeks and even doing some teaching.  We also celebrated Jarod and Ally's birthday this week. Lastly, we had our field trip to Zeeland City Hall. It was a great connection for our local government with our Social Studies unit, and good for the students to learn a little bit about how our government is run and what types of issues they deal with.

Filipino Guests -
April 23, 2009 - Tomorrow we are having our Philippine guests talk to our class. They have been invited from class to class to talk with the students about the Philippines and thank students for supporting them. Some of the teachers, including Mary and myself, ate dinner with them tonight. That was a lot of fun and nice getting to know them! They are so kind and genuine! Some will be here for another week and a half, and the rest will be here until May 30.

Our Goodbyes
May 1, 2009 - We had a crazy last day in our class saying good bye to our Filipino friends in an all school chapel. We also had a party for Miss Seifert thanking her for everything she has taught us. We had a cake, flowers, a signed poster from the kids and gifts. She was able to finish out the Science, Social Studies, Bible and Math units with the tests by the time she left. She was very glad to see the units completed that she had taught from beginning to end. We congratulate Miss Seifert on her graduation for Hope College on May 3, 2009.