Oct. 3

The class did an awesome job at the fun run.  We put 2 fish in our fish tank and everyone got a bee ticket 

Today we wrapped up our celebration of Bucky Badger.  His 85th birthday was Oct. 2  Great job to everyone who took the challenge and looked up Bucky's full name: Buckingham U Badger.  We ended the day with a word contest.  The students worked in small groups to see how many words they could make using the letters in Buckingham U Badger's full name.  The winning team will be announced on Monday.  They did a great job. I am excited to see what they came up with.  

Enjoy the warm weather this weekend, it is supposed to get much cooler next week.  Please make sure your child has something to wear outside.  If it is breezy, it feels quite cold on the playground, especially the morning recess.  My classroom rule is  -  If the temperature is below 60, "If you brought it you wear it"  

If you are going to the game tonight, have a great time.   Go Makers! 

Oct. 2

Tomorrow is the fun run.  I will give the students their t-shirts to wear tomorrow before we go out.  They will all bring their shirts home tomorrow.  It is going to be warm, so please send a water bottle for them to bring outside with them.

Students are challenged to find Bucky Badger's Full Name.  They can write it in their agenda if they choose to accept the challenge.  

Oct. 1

Thank you for sending back the permission slips so quickly.  I really appreciate it.  If you would prefer that your child not participate in the picture / video please send the slip back indicating that or send an email letting me know.  I don't want to miss anyone.  

Today in writing we talked about the "work" that can come with learning and growing.  We shared the example of swimming.  If you sit on the side of the pool and watch someone swim, you will never get better at swimming.  If you jump in the water and work at it, you will get better each time you jump in.  The learning and success that comes with learning is an awesome feeling and helps us become successful.

We have learned a few games in math that can help us with adding and subtracting.  Ask your child to teach you how to play Addition Top It and Name That Number.  Addition Top It is played with another person and Name That Number can be played with others or alone.  

We have been doing a great job with telling time.  i am so proud of the class and how they are working. Keep practicing at home!   

Sept. 30

The morning class is bringing home Oct. book orders.  They are due Oct. 10.  The online ordering code is DLLG7.

Tomorrow is Red and White day for Kimberly's Homecoming Parade.   We will take some pictures tomorrow of our Papermaker Pride!

Sept. 29

Today we did some Bucky Badger math and fun pages.  Thursday is Bucky's birthday.  We are going to be doing some fun activities all week around Bucky and Madison, and Wisconsin.  Today in social studies we looked at pictures of UW Madison and discovered it is in an urban setting and there were a lot of things we can learn there.  Tomorrow the morning class will be bringing home a permission slip for a special letter we are writing to Bucky Badger for his birthday.  Please look for it.  I am also including a link to the slip that you will find in their take home folders tomorrow.  

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SgD0OjVUcZeONGLpbvO8cIo2TpE72Wqx81FkiDJleKM/edit?tab=t.0

Sept. 25

Reminder that tomorrow is a half day.  I will be out in the morning so if you have a change in routine, please call the office or write a note in the agenda.  Ms. Chestalowski will be checking agendas right away in the morning. 

Sept. 24

A few families have reached out stating they were having trouble getting into the typing practice online.  If you have tried and can't get in, please give this a try

KASD website

Click the students and parents tab

Scroll down and click on students

Look toward the middle of the page and click on classlink

This should get you to the backpack.  They will find their typing program in the backpack.

Please let me know if you have any trouble.

Sept. 23

Today we had a discussion about choosing careers and how that can affect the type of community that you may live in.  One example to shared was working as a veterinarian.  If someone chose to be a large animal vet and work with farm animals you may line in a rural setting but if you are a vet that takes care of pets like dogs and cat, you may live in a suburban or urban setting.  We will be taking an interest inventory to help us understand how things we enjoy or are good at may help lead us to a career.  When the students asked why we are doing this now when "I am only 7", I explained that knowing there are so many opportunities and options for them will hopefully help them be open to exploring many different career choices as they get older.  I shared with them the 11 different jobs I had and how I became a Licensed Athletic Trainer almost by accident.  It might be fun to share how you chose your job with your child.  

In literacy we are exploring different styles of writing and how authors use a plan.  A plan can help us get started and help us get inspired in our writing.  It is fun to see the interesting things that students are writing about.  We are going to begin exploring some conventions such as complete sentences, capital letters, end marks, and using resources for spelling. 

Bucky Badger's official birthday is Oct. 2. We will be some fun reading, writing, and math story problems around Bucky Badger and all things Wisconsin!

In math we are working on telling time.  We are experts and all the O'Clocks and are pretty good at the :30's.  Today we even did a challenge problem and the class did AMAZING.  I was so proud of them.  

Sept 20

Quick note about homework:

Math homework will be assigned 1-3 times a week.  When I collect the homework, I will look for notes from families and to see how the students are doing.  If your child is struggling with their homework, please write a quick note so I can work with them in class.  If the homework takes more than 15-20 minutes, it is okay to stop and let me know that your child was struggling with understanding the work.  I also collect it to help students practice responsibility - writing the assignments, remembering to share their agenda with  families, completing the work, and getting it turned in.  

Reading homework will increase to 20M+ starting Monday.  It will stay at 20 minutes for the rest of the year.  Children are encouraged to read daily in one of three ways: read on their own, read out loud to a family member, or have a family member read out loud to them.  

Finally, we will often include "play outside" or "uplug" as homework.  If we assign unplug, students are asked to do something at home that does not include batteries or electricity.  Board games, puzzles, math games, card games, or art projects.  

If you have any questions, please let me know

September 18

You can use this link to sign up for the Fun Run as a volunteer. 

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A0F4EAAAB2BA1F49-57934377-sunrise

We have been looking at different types of communities and we are going to be moving in to careers and how there are different types of careers in different communities.  We will be talking about our interests and things we like to do that might help us start to explore different careers.  

Today we wrapped out our discussion about different types of communities by filling out a chart with positives and negatives within each community.  Part of their homework is to talk to mom or dad about why they chose the Darboy community as a place to live.

Today's math homework is a game.  There is nothing they need to bring back to school tomorrow.  I would encourage families to hang on to the games and use them throughout the year.  This is a game that we played in school.  If you do not have a clear spinner at home, you can use a pencil and paper clip to act as the spinner or use a penny and flip  Heads  for Greater than and Tails for Less than.  

September 17

Today I am clipping the students login and password so they can access the type to learn program at home.  We talked as a class about keeping our login and password private.  They are clipped in so the students can take them out and leave them at home where they are safer.  

September 16

If you are planning on helping with the Fun Run, either as a volunteer or making a donation, please consider signing up.  The Fun Run is Friday, October 3.  You can find information on the school website. 

Today the first math assignment is coming home.  Students wrote 1-2 in the agenda.  They should do this first page at home and bring the paper back to school tomorrow.  If your child has trouble complete the homework at any time, please write a note on the homework page and I will work with them the next day in school.  Let me know if you have questions.  

in our morning class we have been working on ABC order so we can use resources around us like dictionaries, glossaries, and indexes.  Ask your child what they know about ABC order.  See if you can put your family in ABC order tonight.  

In our afternoon class we have been talking about different types of communities: urban, suburban, and rural.  Talk with your child about different types of communities you have visited.  Write an example of a community that you have visited as a family.  For example: I might write Chicago.   I have been to this urban community many times.  

September 15

The Fun Run is coming up soon.  If you want to make a donation you can do that online.  

Thank you for the questions about log in information to do the typing practice at home.  I am sorry I forgot that step.  I will type then out and attach them under the clip over the next few days.  That way they can take them out and keep the information at home.  I will remind them that they should never give out their password information to anyone.  

September 12

Yesterday I asked the students what weighs more, a pound of feathers or a pound of rocks.  Everyone immediately said rocks.  When I said that was the wrong answer they immediately said feathers.  When I said that was wrong they continued to make guesses.  When we stopped to really listen to the question, one student got the correct answer.  We talked about how really paying attention and really listening to a question or statement is important.  

Our reading homework has been growing,  the first week we had 10m+ for our reading goal, and this week we had 15m+.  We will continue with this goal next week and then increase it to 20m+ a night.  That will be our goal for the rest of they year.  This reading time can include students reading to themselves, reading out loud to a family member,  having someone read out loud to them, or a combination of the three. 

Today we had a KHS football player come to our classroom and share a story with us.  We were able to ask him questions about high school, football, and setting goals and working hard to achieve them.

We did some keyboarding today.  i would strongly encourage students  to try and use the home row for typing as much as possible.  They can get to the typing program that we use in school by using the link posted on September 10.  

September 10

We will be starting keyboarding this week.  This is a link that your child can access from home to continue to practice.  (Fingers Crossed) You should be able to use this link to get to the parent letter and the typing program.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1L39kakGH7H0NOAU1Li17szbVRRWJf1Ha_bKFvfgWvxo/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.wzkcaz7hybbf

September 9

This week we will be talking about internet safety.  We will be watching a short video and having a discussion about being safe online.  We will be emphasizing:  Being careful about websites you visit, never giving out any personal information online, and reporting to an adult if we see something that does not look safe or if someone is asking us for personal information.  Please let me know if you have any questions.

Monday we sent home a green note from PTO about the Fun Run.  After school there were a few notes that were left in the hallway.  If you did not receive one, please let me know and I will send another copy home for you. 

This week in literacy, we have been working on ABC order.  So many resources that we use are in ABC order such as a dictionary, glossary, index and phone numbers.  There are a lot of ways to practice at home.  See if you can put all of your family members in ABC order (don't forget the pets) favorite foods, favorite pizza toppings or even favorite books.  There a lot  of way to have fun with this.  

We will be starting keyboarding this week.  This is a link that your child can access from home to continue to practice.  (Fingers Crossed) You should be able to use this link to get to the parent letter and the typing program.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1L39kakGH7H0NOAU1Li17szbVRRWJf1Ha_bKFvfgWvxo/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.wzkcaz7hybbf

September 8

Book orders are due on Friday.  I will submit all orders I receive on Friday, September 12.  That way we can accumulate more bonus points and get more free books for our classroom. 

September 5

What an amazing week!  The class had the best first week ever.  Today we explored what success criteria means for us as a writer.  This means, what do we need to think about as we write.  They can up with some great ideas.    We also filled our books from our classroom library.  Students are welcome to bring home books from the classroom anytime they would like and bring them back when they are done.  Some students are also interested in books they are not quite ready to read on their own.  They are able to bring these books home with a bookmark that asks families to read it out loud with them at home.  This afternoon we explored computers.  We did a lot of problem solving.  We discovered we are very capable of trying things on our own without having to ask for someone else to do things for us.  Before they ask me they have to try at least one thing on their own.  

September 3

 We have been working on our Pledge of Respect. Today we talked about what it means and how we can use it to help us in all that we do: at school, home, parks, stores...   Each child is bringing home a copy of the Pledge of Respect to hang up somewhere at home so they can practice it and talk about it at home.

This morning we filled our book buckets with some books that we found were interesting to us.  Each day we will read silently because that is a a skill we need to continue to work on.  We also had "choice" reading.  During this time, we can choose to continue to read quietly or we can explore some of the Nat Geo Kids Magazines or read with a partner.  Talk to your child about what they like about each kind of reading or what is challenging about it. 

This afternoon we made beetles that follow a pattern.  The beetles are glyphs that share information about ourselves.  Tomorrow we will sort the beetles and make bar graphs with them.  

September 2

What an AWESOME first day!  The class did a great job.  We spent some time talking about differences between home and school.  We compared being in school to going to a movie theater.  At home we can sit on the floor, play with the dog, talk with others, eat pizza while watching movies -  but in a theater, we sit quietly in chairs, we don't talk or use electronics, we don't play games.  Different places have different rules and expectations.    

We practiced our Pledge of Respect.  They all have a copy of the Pledge that they are bringing home this week.  Students will be practicing this every day in class and we will use it to help us remember that we are all special and that as long as we are respectful to ourselves and others, we will be making good choices.

Today we played Friendship Bingo in our afternoon class.  It gave us a chance to get to know new friends.  

Please make sure you check out the agenda today.  I will look at them every morning to look for notes.  We had 3 assignments today.

1.  Remind parents to look in the folder for notes

2. read for 10m+ (This means we are trying to read for 10 minutes to the + sign means we can always read more)

3. Play outside.  

Please help your child start some good habits, sharing their agenda with family members.

It was a great first day and I am excited about the upcoming year.

August 28

It was so nice to meet all of you yesterday.  Please feel free to reach out with any questions as the school year gets started.  In the beginning of the year they may be a few extra notes coming home as families get use to using the website.  

I am looking forward to a fun and exciting year of learning.

Any magazines or food adds from newspapers would be greatly appreciated.  We are going to use them to create healthy meals as we get closer to Christmas.

Please communicate with your child what you would like them to do as far as getting ready for home.  I usually have everyone put on snow pants, boots, coats, etc. if the temperature or wind chill are below zero.  If they are above zero, I ask them to do what their parents want them to do.  Please let your child know what your winter dress expectations are for going home at the end of the day. 

November 28

A note will be coming home soon about Martin Luther King Jr.  The second graders will be using the quote, The time is always right to do what is right to lead our discussions around his birthday.  We will be collecting items needed for Pillars Family Shelter as part of this work.  The shelter has requested - shampoo and conditioner, socks (child through adult) and canned fruit.  If you are able to help we will start collecting in January. 

November 27

Wow, it has been a bit since I updated.  I feel bad about being out so much, a true Series of Unfortunate Events.

Quick reminder about winter clothing.  Students must have snowpants and boots to go on the grass area.  Without them they will need tos stay on the blacktop. 

We are starting a new focus word during out SEL time - Cooperation - Tuesday morning we are going to try and complete  task that will depend on cooperation and being able to rely on each other with respect. 

Thank you again for the magazines.  We are asking for a few more if you have some.  We will be working on making healthy meals during our study of the human body.  We will be looking at how to create a meal with all of the food groups. 

If anyone wants to order anything from Scholastic, you can go online to look at the books and place an order.  If you put it in, I will submit them all together.  The bigger the order I place, the more free books our class earns.  

November 17

The students did a great job at the field trip today.  The guide gave them a strong compliment when he told us that he was very impressed with our students and that they did a fantastic job on the tour. I was very proud of our students and how they represented themselves and their school.  

If you have any magazines that would help us with our gratitude collages, please send them in by Tuesday.  We will be making our collages Tuesday morning. 

November 15

Dear Families,

Our class has been working hard on making good choices and treating ourselves and others with respect.  Yesterday we were able to put out 25th fish in the fish tank.  The class came up with a list of celebrations and they voted and chose electronics day.  We will do an electronics day on Wednesday, November 22nd.  

We are currently working toward the next 25 for our fish tank. As soon as we get there we will vote again but electronics day will not be an option.  

Students who choose to bring electronics on the 22nd will keep them in the classroom on the counter and when we are not in the room, it will be locked so no one can come in.

November 14

Families, we are going to be making Gratitude Collages next week Tuesday.  If you have any magazines that you could send it for students to cut out pictures to make our collages we would greatly appreciate it.

Today our morning class wrote things we are grateful for on our hot air balloons.  We shared something that we are very grateful for and then on the outside wrote some things that make us feel worried, stressed, or angry.  We then thought about all the things that we are grateful for to help us with the negative feelings.  One ideas was getting a flu shot.  We might feel scared or nervous but we can think about our attitude of gratitude and remember how that 3 second shot can help us stay healthy this winter.  That gratitude thought can make the shot seem a little less scary.

November 13

This Friday is a busy day.  We will be going to the Weis Science Museum right away in the morning and as soon as we come back we will join our 5K buddy class for an all school board game day.  This is also a noon release. Students can bring in a board game to play with their friends in class.  It should be a game they are comfortable sharing with others, and that they know well enough to teach others. 

We also got 25 fish in our fish tank.  To celebrate, the class gets to vote on something fun to do.  We will vote tomorrow.  

November 10

Today is a happy / sad day, it is our student teacher's last day with us.  We are very happy and excited for her to move on to her next adventure in kindergarten in Wrightstown and very sad that she is leaving us.  Ms. Hall did an amazing job and we are very grateful we got the chance to welcome her into our classroom.  We had donuts this afternoon to say goodbye.  The students all drew her a picture and wrote her a letter and as a class we gave her a bracelet with a bee charm on it to remember us. 

There was no homework last night and there will be no homework on Monday because of parent teacher conferences.  Our reading goal is still 20+minutes a day.  Students are encouraged to read everyday in a variety of ways.  You can read to them, they can read to you, and you can take turns reading.

November 7

Today we had a challenge question - What was the first state?  We are practicing looking things up online.  If your child is able, support them in looking it up. They can write it down in their agenda and quietly show it to me tomorrow morning.

November 6

Our morning class read Thundercake by Patricia Polacco.  In the book, Patrica's grandmother  helps her get over her fear of thunder, as well as other things on the farm, by making Thundercake.  Of course we had to try it so I made some for the students to try.  Most of the kids were very reluctant to try it because the secret ingredient is tomatoes.  Once they realized I had some in class, they were much more willing to try.  Many of them asked me to share the recipe so here it is.

Thunder Cake

Cream together - one at a time

1 cup shortening 

1 3/4 c sugar

1 t vanilla

3 eggs (blend in yolks, beat whites until stiff peaks form and fold in)

1 cup cold water

1/3 cup pureed tomatoes

Sift together and add to cream mixutre

2 1/2 c cake flour

1/2 c dry cocoa

1 1/2 t baking soda

1 t salf

Mix and put into greased  8 inch cake pans.  Bake at 350 f0r 30-40 minutes

**When I make it for school I often make cupcakes (adjust baking time) or  I use a 9x13 pan (adjust baking time)

November 3

What a fun week with Halloween and all of our fun spirit days.  I hope you have a great weekend and enjoy the extra hour as we fall back.  

We are continuing to work on telling time and many of the students are becoming secure with time to the hour and half hour.  Once they are secure our next goal is telling time on the 15 - 12:00, 12:15, 12:30, and 12:45.  

In reading and writing we are noticing adjectives.  Today we read Sweet Dream Pie.  In the book the author describes an enormous mixing bowl, great rolling pin, gigantic pie pan and a small brass bell.  We looked at how the adjectives help us have a deeper understanding of the story because we can create a clear picture in our heads.

If you are going to the game tonight, stay warm and have fun.

GO PAPERMAKERS!

November 1

A new book order is coming home today.  It is due on Friday, November 10th.  Please  add it to our classroom and I will submit them all together on the 10th.  This way we have a bigger order and are able to get more free books for our classroom.  If you are ordering anything as a Christmas gift with this order or the December order, just let me know and I will contact you when it comes in.  I can set it aside in the office for you to pick up or I can do a front porch drop-off.  

The snow was a bit of a surprise yesterday.  Please help your child remember to bring in snowpants and boots.  Students without snowpants and boots must stay on the blacktop during recess. We go outside for recess unless the temperature and/or wind chill are below zero.  

We are continuing to work on adjectives during our morning class. You can model the use of adjectives by practicing describing things you see around you.  Playing I Spy can be fun and a way to use more adjectives.  Let your child find something and then you can guess by asking questions using lots of adjectives - big, small, wet, old, yellow...  

October 31

Happy Halloween!

Today we did a experiment with objects in a tank of water.  We made predictions and then followed the scientific method to test and see if various objects would sink and float.  Something we discovered is that cans of Coke sink but Diet Coke floats.  Cans of Mountain Dew sink but Diet Mountain Dew floats.  

If you are choosing to go Trick or Treating I hope you have fun, stay safe, and stay warm.

October 30

Tomorrow is wear something on your head day.  Students are asked not to wear masks or anything that covers their face.  

Our class won a pizza party from the Fun Run.  We will be eating pizza on Thursday.  Students were able to choose what kind of pizza and how many slices they want.  I will provide and ice cream sandwich and students will bring in their own drink.  There is a note coming home today.  If a student does not want pizza, they can bring in their own lunch or get hot lunch from the lunch room.

Today we started looking at maps and making maps. I went to 2 different gas stations, looking for highway maps,  and was told that they don't sell them anymore and haven't for awhile now.  (I feel old)  If you have one at home, take a look at it together.  Look at the key and how it helps to find things on the map.  

We are continuing to work on our goal of being able to tie our own shoes by Halloween - tomorrow.  Please check in with your child.  Boot weather is coming and we hope that everyone can tie their own shoes before the first snowfall.  

October 25

I hope you all have a wonderful 4 day weekend.  Our reading homework tonight is 100+.  If they read 20 minutes a day that would add up to 100 minutes.  Please remember that reading 20 minutes is a goal.  

Next week is Sunrise Spirit Week.  Monday is wear orange day, Tuesday is costume headwear, Wednesday is sports day, Thursday is PJ day, and Friday is Papermaker Pride day.  

In math we are continuing to practice telling time on an analog clock.  If you have an analog clock our first goal is to tell time to the hour and then half hour.  

In writing we are going to start talking about adjectives in our reading and writing.  We will review what we know about nouns and how an adjective describes the noun and helps us create a picture in our heads of what the author is telling us.  

October 24

Please remember to fill out your yellow question page for conferences.  This will help us make the best use of our time.  

October 18

If you are ordering books from Scholastic please get them in by Friday.  I will place the order Friday afternoon before I leave for the day.  

Please send in the conference question page as soon as you are able.  The conference appointment is 15 minutes long and I want to make sure we can address all of your questions during that time.  If there is something specific you want to know more about or have questions about, please let me know.

Something that we are working on is participating in our learning.  So often I ask a student a question and they immediately start to erase or change their answer.  Instead of having an "I am wrong" reaction we are working on identifying our thinking and if there is an oopsie, how can we learn from it and continue to grow.  Sometimes there is nothing wrong with an answer or their work and we are just trying to engage in a conversation about their work - trying to have them engage in a converstation about their thinking. 

October 16

Book swap is on Thursday morning.  Students can bring in books they are finished with and turn it in for a 'new to me book'.  Please do not send in board books or baby books.  Please send in a book that other second graders may be interested in. 

October 13

Winter is coming - that means boots are coming.  Please take some time to help our class reach their goal of everyone being able to tie their own shoes by Halloween.  

Please fill out the yellow conference sheet with any questions you may have.  It will help me make the most of our 15 minute conference.  If you ever have any questions, please reach out.  If you have not signed up for a conference time, please do so.  

October 12

Today, in our morning class, we read a Scholastic News article about the Firefighter Challenge.  We focused on asking questions while we read and paying attention to the answers after we have read.  If you want to watch the competition you can use this link  https://youtu.be/muWg0y7CL3M  to view a 2 minute video showing someone in the competition.  

The math tests will be coming home tomorrow with your child for you to look at.  You do not need to send them back to school.

October 10

In reading we have been working on author's message.  We read a book this week about responsibility.  In the book the author uses different examples of a child blaming others for his mistakes.  The message of the book was that we are each responsible for what we do and what we say.  Many students got a little stuck on some of the examples rather than the overall message.  When you are reading together at night, if there is a strong message in some of your stories, talk to your child about them.  See if they can share something about the message of the book.  We have done some practice with Mr. Peabody's Apples, and Rainbow Fish. 

In math we took our first unit math test.  The students will have an opportunity in class to make corrections and learn from their mistakes.  Please let your child share with you a mistake they may have made and how they were able to learn from it.  In social studies we have been learning about urban, suburban and rural areas.  As we finish up we will be talking about different careers someone might have in different areas.  Share with your child what job you do and what kind of neighborhood you might work in.  For example a doctor or nurse could work in any of the three areas but if they work in a large hospital they will probably be working in an urban or possibly suburban type are neighborhood.  If they work in a small clinic they might work in a suburban or rural area.

October 6

Wow, the kids did and AWESOME job at the fun run.  Thank you to everyone who signed up and helped to make this such a success.  

This weekend we will again write read 45+ in our agenda.  This represents 15 minutes a day for the three days.  Next week we are going to increase our reading goal to 20+.  This just means that we have a goal to read 20 minutes each night.  This can be reading on their own, reading out loud to someone, or having a parent read to them.

If you are going to the game tonight, have a great time.  GO MAKERS!

October 5

Tomorrow is our FUN RUN!  We are so close to winning some prizes for our class. Please register, if you have not already done so.  We can win a popcorn or pizza party.  We can also win prizes just for signing up online.    It is going to be much cooler tomorrow so please make sure your child dresses in layers.  

The morning class is bringing home a flip folder page.  The flip folders are a practice tool we use here in class.  When they bring the words home they may be words I chose for them or words that they chose for themselves because they recognize that they still need some practice with them. They can share these words and practice them a few minutes with someone at home.

In math we are working on story problems.  We are focusing on some of the math language such as: How many all together?  How many more/fewer? How many in all?  How many are left?  How many do I have now?         

October 4

Today in the morning class we talked about a poem and worked through the meaning of it.  The students are bringing it home today to share with their families.  We looked through the words and phrases and broke it down.  

Pay attention to this lesson, if you don't get something the first time, try it again.

If you are brave and never give up you will be able to reach your goals.

You will make mistakes and things won't always work out the way you want but mistakes can help us - they are an opportunity to learn.

There is nothing wrong with making a mistake as long as we take the time to learn from it, just keep trying and strive to improve.

We may need some patience - We can do "it", just not yet.  We need to keep going and keep trying.  We can do it!

We added the words heed, strive, and prevail to our Wondrous Word Wall.  Talk about those words and share something that you strive to achieve and how you prevail when it doesn't work out the way you want it to.

October 3

Today your child is writing Check Website as homework in their agenda.  Please take some time during the week to check the website for information about what is happening in our class.  

In writing we are working on subject / predicate to help us write complete sentences.  We are also working on editing in our writing.  Just because we wrote something does not mean we are done.  We will edit and revise to make sure we are doing our very best. 

In math we are continuing to work on addition strategies.  So far we have worked on - adding zero, adding 10, adding 9, and counting on (adding 1, 2, or 3 to any other number).  We are going to be adding doubles and doubles plus or minus one today.  

We are working on telling time today.  Our first goal is to understand time to the hour - 1:00, 2:00, etc.  Then we will focus on what all the little dots on the clock mean (representing minutes) and how the hour hand and minute hand work together. 

October 2

Welcome October!  It sure feels like summer but by the end of the week we are supposed to have much cooler temps.  Please make sure your child has a few layers.  It can be cool outside for recess and still quite warm in the classroom.  It takes a few days of cool weather for the room to cool off. 

If you haven't already done so, please sign up for the fun run.  We can win prizes as a class just for student registration.  All you need to do is register and that is all.  Thanks for helping our class work toward some fun  prizes.  

Friday morning is the fun run.  It is expected to be much cooler so please send some layers for your child to wear.

 In reading we are talking about author message.  When you read together at night, take a minute to talk about what you think the author might be trying to tell us.  For instance, in Rainbow Fish we discussed the lesson that the Rainbow Fish learned and how sharing with others made everyone, including Rainbow Fish, much happier.  

September 27

Packer Day!  You can wear your green and gold tomorrow.  

On Friday you can wear your red and white to celebrate Kimberly Homecoming!

September 26

If your child has me in the morning you may have noticed some words written down in the spelling section.  These are words we are working on in the classroom.  These words are words that they are responsible for learning. 

September 25

Welcome to Fall!  

In science we are working on different kinds of land forms and water.  We are talking about oceans, rivers, streams, ponds, lakes, glaciers, mountains, valleys, and islands.  Today we looked at different pictures and identified what it was.

In reading we are looking at author's message.  Today we read Tops and Bottoms by Janet Stevens.  Ask your child what they thought the author's message was.  In writing we are looking at nouns and proper nouns and the difference between them. - for example, store and Target.

Tonight instead of play outside (it is a little wet) we challenged the students to spend some time tonight doing something fun that does not need electricity or batteries.   Let me know how they do.

September 21

Today the students are bringing home a math paper that they did together in class.  Ask them to show you how they used the double decker  bus to solve some math problems.

Book orders are due tomorrow.  You can order online using our class code DLLG7

September 19

Book orders are due on Friday, September 22.  You can order online using our class code DLLG7

In math class we have learned how to play Addition Top It and Name That Number.  Tonight your child's homework is to teach one (or both) games to someone at home.  Addition Top It gives students a chance to practice their addition skills and can be played with 2-4 players.  Name That Number can be played alone, like Solitaire, or with a partner as you work together or against each other.  Name That Number gives students a chance to use addition, subtraction, and when they are ready - multiplication and division.   These games are a great way to continue to practice basic math skills.

Right now our reading homework has been simply, read.  I encourage students to read every night at home.  This can be on their own, reading out loud to someone, or having someone read to them, or a combination of all three.  Soon we will start adding a number to our reading assignment.  We might write read 10+ meaning try to read for at least 10 minutes or even a little more.  After awhile we will increase that to 15+ and then 20+.  This is a way to set a goal to increase our reading endurance.  Students are always encouraged to read more.  On the weekend you will see 30+, then 45+, or 60+ to stand for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.   Please let me know if you have any questions.

Please remember to sign up for the Fun Run!  Our class can win prizes just for signing up.  

September 17

Your child has brought home 2 Scholastic News articles so far.  They are asked to share them with a family member when they bring them home.  Last week we looked at home playgrounds have changed.  This week we are going to take a peek at what a biography is by learning about Jane Addams.  She built the first playground for children in Chicago.  

September 15

The first book order went home yesterday and is due on Friday, September 22.  Book orders from my classroom will go home with the morning group and Mrs. Appleton will send book orders home with the students who are in her morning class.  The online ordering code is DLLG7.  Please let me know if you have any questions.

Yesterday we learned a card game called Addition Top It.  

We had a great week. The first homework assignment was due this week.  We will usually assign 2-3 assignments a week.  If your child struggles with the assignment, please write a note on the homework page.  Homework should usually take 15-20 minutes.  If it takes a long time or your child is getting too frustrated I can work with them the next day.

September 13

The math books and letter were put in the backpacks this morning.  Everyone should have one so their homework for tonight is pages 1-2.  They can complete at home, rip the page out and bring it back to school tomorrow.  Please help them to remember to put their name on their paper.   

September 12

Well, I just came back to the classroom after dismissing my class and realized I still had all the homework books on the counter.  I ran out of time to pass them out.  I am really sorry about that and will make sure they go home tomorrow.   The math assignment for pages 1-2 will be tomorrow night's homework.    

September 11

Today the students wrote "read" in their agendas.  Right now, we are encouraging students to read at home each night.  This can be reading on their own, reading out loud to someone, or having a parent read to them.  We are encouraging students to read 20 minutes (or more) each night.  This might be something that students need to work up to.  

We also have bookmarks for students to take home with their books.  There are some  books that they are really interested in but they are not quite ready to read them on their own.  They can choose to bring it home with a bookmark asking mom or dad to read it out loud to them.  This can be a part of their reading time.

Tomorrow they will bring home their math books with their first homework assignment.  The students will keep the book at home and tear out the page that is due and bring it back to school the next day.  Homework should not take more than 20 minutes.  If your child is struggling to understand or get it completed, please send it back to school with a note in the agenda.  I will work with them here at school.

September 8

Wow, what a fantastic first week of school.  The students did a great job learning classroom routines and expectations.  

If you have any questions, please write them in the agenda.  I look at agendas every morning to check for notes.  

Next week Monday we will be bringing home our math homework books and write our first assignment in the agenda.

Most of the students brought home their class pictures tonight.  A few missed theirs and will bring them home one Monday.  

September 6

It has been pretty hot but tomorrow is supposed to be much cooler and less humid.  

Today we named our class fish.  Ask your child to share with you what the new name is.

September 5

What a great first day.  We spent a lot of time getting to know each other.  We did a mingle to music and share some cool facts about ourselves.

Today your child is bringing home their agenda.  We ask parents to take a quick look each night and sign their initials in the bottom corner next to PI (parent initials).   Your child will bring this home each night and should return it to school the next day.  Students will be responsible for writing notes, homework, and reminders in the agenda.  Please feel free to use it to send notes to school.  I will check the agenda every morning.

In second grade we go to recess first then right to the lunchroom to eat.  Your child may want to bring a second water bottle to have in the lunch bucket for lunch.  Otherwise they will have to wait until after lunch is over to come up and get their water.  

September 1

Welcome to Second Grade!  I am very excited to be your child's teacher this year.  We are fortunate to have Miss Hall, from St. Norbert College join us as a student teacher for the first quarter.  

This page will be updated every 2-3 days with information about the classroom, what we are working on, upcoming activites, and anything else that can help families. 

Please feel free to write notes in the agenda.  I check all agendas every morning.