Last Day Fun!

It's hard to believe that this school year has already come and gone.  What a great group of kids, and I will miss you all so much!  Have a wonderful summer!  Here are some pictures from our volcanoes and cleaning our desks with shaving cream.  Even though it was a teary goodbye, it was a fun filled morning!  Happy summer everyone!

Final Balloon- #7!

Our final balloon was popped on our last day, and we were able to squeeze in some buddy reading with the kindergarten class.  A few of our students have siblings in kindergarten so it was especially fun for them to team up with their brother or sister.

On Thursday we ventured across the street to celebrate the closing of our year with some shaved ice.

Balloon 6!

Balloon 6 is was bumper seats.  The students were able to pick their own seats and groupings for the whole day!  

Balloon 5!

Balloon 5 was lunch in the classroom.  It is always fun to eat lunch in a different location, but what the students enjoy the most is the dance party that always takes place.  I love watching the students enjoy their time together to some of their favorite songs!

Mystery Reader 13

"My favorite sport is football.  I have 3 children.  My favorite characters are The Pigeon and Knuffle Bunny."  When we were making our guesses this morning, her daughter so politely raised her hand and said, "I think that might be my mom."  When we went through the clues they all matched her mom, and she felt pretty confident.

Our Mystery Reader shared an old favorite of hers, "The Monster at the End of this Book."  The kids loved it, and it brought back childhood memories for me as well!  Her sweet daughter could not stop smiling at her mom.  It was such a nice moment!  Thanks so much for helping us end in our day filled with laughter over this classic book.

Balloon #4!

Today we popped our fourth balloon: marker/pen day.  The students were thrilled that writing with a pencil was banned for the day and instead they could use any pen or marker that they wanted on all their work.  Today was such a busy day that I didn't even get the chance to snap a picture of them using their pens and markers, but my favorite moment that came out of marker/pen day was when one student opened up her pencil box and said, "Anyone that wants to use one of my fancy pens come on over and get one!"  So kind and generous!  I did get a picture of today's balloon popper!

Mystery Reader #12!

It's hard to believe that this big brother is also a former student of mine!  He has now graduated from college, accepted a job, and is well on his way to a successful future  I couldn't be more proud to hear this!  His clues included: "I wear size 14 shoes.  I love to write.  I have 2 cats."  Little brother thought it might be someone in his family, but this was certainly a surprise since big brother lives out of town!  Good luck to you Jacob on all the upcoming events and new experiences in your future!

Balloon #3!

Today we popped the balloon: Daily 5 Outside!  We grabbed our book boxes and writing binders and headed outside to sit by the pond to do our reading and writing.  It's so relaxing to listen to the fountain in the pond, the birds singing, and  the sounds of nature as we enjoyed our books and wrote stories.  The only obstacle we had was trying to avoid the rain!

Ag Day

We had the opportunity to visit Ag Day on Tuesday afternoon.  The students enjoyed petting all the different animals and seeing the big farm equipment.  Nice job to all the students who shared and presented today!

Balloon #2!

On Tuesday we popped our 2nd balloon, and the message in the balloon was a treasure hunt.  We followed clues all over the school to end up in the library.  There we discovered our treasure wrapped up!  We quickly brought our treasure back to our room, unwrapped it, and cheered about the new addition to our classroom library: "Happy Birthday Cupcake!"  There is no better treasure than a loved book!

Balloon Countdown!

In our last few weeks of school we begin our balloon countdown!  Each day we pop a balloon and do the fun activity in that balloon.  On Monday we popped balloon number 1, and the activity was to write a letter to a senior.  Each student was assigned to a soon to be graduate, and we got busy writing.  The students asked questions and sent them well wishes!  We then delivered the letters in person to each senior!  Congratulations seniors!

Mystery Reader 11!

"I'm in the upper elementary.  I have blue eyes.  I'm tall."  I thought this would be a unanimous guess for this big brother because he's pretty well known for being tall, but a few students thought it might be their big brothers too.  

Little sister was surprised and thrilled to see her family member walk in the door.  He read the book "There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Rose" because he said he could remember liking this series of books when he was in 2nd grade.  Thanks so much for stopping in.  You made your sister's day!

Poetry Books

During the month of March the students learned how to write a variety of poems.  For each poem that was introduced the students wrote three, and then they picked their favorite to publish.  The goal during our writing was to be as specific to the topic as possible.  For each poem, the students always picked their own topics.  We published by typing our poems and then adding artwork.  We recently met up with the 1st grade class to share our booklets.

Warm and Cool Dragonfly Art Project

Since spring has arrived I have been so excited to do this warm and cool watercolor project with the students.  They had to envision zooming in on a dragonfly sitting on a flower.  The goal was to use warm and cool colors to contrast the dragonfly from the flower.  At the beginning, the students looked at the entire project with a little bit of overwhelm.  I showed them how to break down each part, and they went to sketching out their dragonfly and flower with no problem!  These paintings turned out so beautiful!

Mystery Reader 10!

"I love to swim in the river.  I like to play volleyball.  I have a sibling in the elementary school."  This was a toss up between 2 older sisters.  Younger brother was so excited to see his sister walk in.  She was a fabulous guest reader!  She picked out a nonfiction book about dinosaurs and highlighted her favorite parts.  She kept the students very involved by asking them a lot of questions throughout the way.  Thanks so much Cassidy!  You did a great job!

Field Trip Day!

On Tuesday the 2nd graders made a trip to Winona to visit the Historical Society Museum, lunch at Lake Park, and an afternoon of Paddle for Life.  We had a wonderful day!

The museum was so interesting for the students to learn about Native American history, some history about the town of Winona, and how inventions have changed and modernized our world over the years.  It was fascinating to see some of those inventions from 100 year ago!

The class had a blast playing at a new park!  I loved how they organized their own class picture.  They thought up the idea and picked out the location and called everyone over.

Paddle for Life is such a neat experience because it highlights the importance of teamwork.  The students come to realize that the only way we can accomplish the challenges the guide was giving us was by communicating and working together.  We were so lucky to have beautiful weather for this day!  Thank you to Mrs. Stocker and the parent volunteers who joined us!

Mystery Reader 9!

This reader provided quite the mystery for us!  Her niece came close by guessing another member of her family, and she was surprised when her aunt came walking in!

"My two favorite things are reading books and eating tacos.  Lots of horses live at my house, but I don't ride them.  I have a friendly dog and a mean rooster."

Our Mystery Reader shared the book "Dragons Love Tacos" by Adam Rubin.  This is a favorite because it is so funny, and a perfect choice for our reader who also loves tacos!  Thanks so much for making the trip to Lanesboro to read us a story Cassie!

Mystery Reader 8!

"I'm left handed.  I like volleyball.  I play the saxophone."  Many students guessed their parents.  They were thinking back to when their parents were in high school and the activities they enjoyed.  Our Mystery Reader ended up being a current student and a big sister!

This sweet big sister took time out of her busy school day to read us a story by one of our favorite authors- Mo Willems.  She shared with us "Amanda and her Alligator."  After the story, the students asked her how she chose the book, and she said that she could have chosen any book because she loves to read so much.  This is such a great message to share with our students.  Thank you so much for being a Mystery Reader Olivia!

Mystery Reader 7!

"I love to read!  I love Goosebump books!  I love to read to kids!"

This was a toss up between the 6th grade teacher who also loves Goosebump books and Ms. Drew the librarian who reads this series of books to the students at library time.  The students were excited to see Ms. Drew come walking in!  Her smile always lights up the whole room!

She brought the current chapter book that she's been reading to the students during library time.  They even stuck to their tradition of turning off the lights for a little added effect.  Thanks so much for stopping by and spreading your enthusiasm about reading with us Ms. Drew!

Mystery Reader 6!

"I live on a farm.  I work in Lanesboro.  My favorite authors growing up were Laura Ingalls Wilder and Beverly Cleary."

Nobody guessed that our Mystery Reader was Mrs. Stocker.  Mrs. Stocker is so incredibly kind to come to volunteer in our classroom once a week.  Our class adores her enthusiasm and sense of humor.  She brought in her childhood set of "Little House on the Prairie" books and a few of her favorites from Beverly Cleary.  Mrs. Stocker is a lover of books, and this is such a great message to the students to treasure books!

Thanks so much Mrs. Stocker!  We love having you in our classroom!

Banana Bingo Celebration

For our most recent Banana Bingo celebration the class voted for lunch in the classroom.  Coming up to the classroom to have lunch with your friends is always an extra treat.  Lunch also turned into a small dance party!  These 2nd graders love to dance!  I think they may have done more dancing than eating!

Mystery Reader 5!

Today's Mystery Reader stumped the class!  Scooby Doo was her favorite show growing up, her favorite children's book was The Boxcar Children, and her favorite pastime is reading because it takes you anywhere you want to go.

A few students guessed their parents because they remembered them liking Scooby Doo, but nobody guessed this particular mom!  She shared a very special book among her family: "The Story of Ferdinand."  She also shared a Dr. Suess tongue twister of a book that she reads with her son.  To end her time with us, she surprised her son with an early birthday treat to share with the class since he has a late summer birthday.

Thanks so much for spending some time in second grade with us!  What a great way to end our week!

Mystery Reader #4!

Our 4th Mystery Reader is an artist, who has a child who dresses creatively, and she loves boots. One student was so excited to hear these clues and felt there was a really good possibility it would be her mom walking through our door to share a story with us.  She was right!  Her mom shared "Frederick" by Leo Lionni.  This book was a great choice as it is a favorite for this mom and daughter.  Thanks so much for stopping by to share this beautiful story.  You made your daughter's day, and we enjoyed listening to you read! We also loved your boots!

Mystery Reader 3: A Former Student and Big Brother

This Mystery Reader revealed that he was in Mrs. Howard's class for 2 years, his favorite sport is baseball, and he loves reading.  I was thrilled when Peyton came to me and said he wanted to be a Mystery Reader.  Peyton was such an awesome student to have as both a 1st grader and 2nd grader.  He was a hard worker who loved all things non-fiction.  He's been an avid reader ever since 1st grade!  It was great to have you back in our room to share a story all about dogs with our class!

I love little brother's face here!  Look how happy he is to have his big brother surprise us!

Mystery Reader 2!

This Mystery Reader is a teacher who loves sports and also coaches.  He also happened to be on spring break this last week so coming into 2nd grade to share a story was perfect timing.  Although there were a few other guesses of Mr. Semmen or Mr. Clarke, it was actually Mr. Howard.

He read "Randy Riley's Really Big Hit" by Chris Van Dusen.  Mr. Howard chose this book because it was about sports but also physics.  Since he is a physics teacher, it was a perfect choice!

Thanks for stopping by Mr. Howard!

Properties of Matter

This week we learned about the properties of matter.  We've already learned that everything is made of matter and distinguished the difference between the molecules in a solid, liquid, and gas.  The students had a lot of fun acting out the tightly packed slow moving molecules in a solid, the more spread out molecules of a liquid, and the highly energetic molecules in a gas.

The properties of matter is what makes everything different from each other.  From taste, to sound, to texture, and size, and much more.  We explored the properties of a trail mix to document the different properties we observed in a pretzel, marshmallow, M&M, and a goldfish cracker.

On Friday we took it a step further and focused on density.  This can be a tough topic to completely understand as a young student.  We defined it as how much matter is packed into an item.  An example was given of an empty car.  The car was then filled with a whole bunch of kids.  That car is now more dense.

We learned that more dense items will be heavier than less dense items.  Using this concept, we made a rainbow in a jar.  We had to layer the liquids based on most to least dense.  The last layer is the trickiest because it's very easy for the olive oil and the rubbing alcohol to mix.  The students loved putting our rainbow together and watching the layers form!

They want to try it again on Monday!  I will send home directions with the kids in case anyone wants to give it a try at home.

Mystery Reader 1!

Our first mystery reader has a dog, has only been in 3 states, and loves the movie "The Game Stands Tall."

A few students guessed their dads or their grandpas.  Some thought it was maybe Mrs. Swier until she said that she's been in many states.

Our first mystery reader was Mason!  As soon as he saw that it was time for our mystery readers to begin he knew he wanted to be the first one.  He read "Dog vs. Cat" by Chris Gall, and he did such a great job!  Mason was so interactive with the class as he asked them to draw on their own experiences with pets.  I loved having you visit 2nd grade for a short while Mason!

Engineering an Egg Drop

In our engineering unit, we've learned that engineers need to use creative ideas to build or take things apart.  They also need to be great problem solvers who are willing to try things in a new way if they don't work the first time.

In order to put these skills to use, the students built an egg drop box with a few limited supplies.  Each group was given a shoe box filled with 1 toilet paper tube, 5 cotton balls, 1 styrofoam cup, 2 paper towels, 2 popsicle sticks, 2 straws, 2 pipe cleaners, and a roll of masking tape.

On day 1 the students made their box without the egg.  They had to make some assumptions on how the egg would fit into their design. On day 2, the students were given the egg and many groups had to problem solve a new design based on whether or not the egg fit into their original design.

This project also gave the students another chance to collaborate within a partnership or group, which at times can be challenging.

The goal was to keep the egg safe for 3 different heights of dropping.  The students then reflected on why they think their eggs survived the fall or didn't.  We focused on the fact that if our eggs didn't survive, it's not a failure, but rather it's just one idea that didn't work.  This was a fun project!

Glue Outlined Oil Pastel Project

This last week we completed an art project that involved some new materials and techniques for us.  With spring being in the air, our focus was on creating flowers in our project.  The technique was different than any other project we had done this year.  On a piece of black construction paper, the students drew their floral designs in pencil.  Then we went over the pencil with a thick white glue border.  The glue dried overnight, and over the next few days the students used oil pastels to fill in their flowers.  They loved using the oil pastels because they blend so nicely to make new colors.  This was a very fun project!

Little Scientists

Since 3rd quarter started we have been diving into our science units.  Our first unit was all about understanding the scientific method.  We discussed the steps of asking a question, forming a hypothesis (or making a prediction), carrying out an experiment, collecting data, and reporting the results.  We did 2 experiments in this unit to practice the scientific method.

In our first experiment we asked the question: "How can we keep bananas fresher longer?"  We set up 3 bananas: 1 in the fridge, 1 in a paper bag, and 1 with plastic wrap around the stem.  The students made their hypothesis. We observed and collected data over the course of a week.  The results between the banana in the bag and the plastic wrap were not that different.  Although once peeled, the banana in the plastic wrap looked the freshest.  The banana in the fridge became brown and mushy very quickly.

In our second experiment we set out to see if we can make gummy bears grow.  We weighed and measured each bear before putting them in water, sugar water, lemon water, and vinegar water.  We were amazed to find the next day just how much the bear in the vinegar water had grown.

Our next science unit is about engineering.  We are learning that engineers use creative ideas to solve problems.  We've also learned that engineers may create new things or take things apart to see how they work.  Our first task was to make a spaghetti tower using only 30 noodles and 25 marshmallows. The students were placed in groups of 3, and had 2 science class periods to work.

During and after building we had a great discussion about what went well and what was frustrating.  The students noted that when they used encouraging words to each other, they were able to be more creative and more productive.  When they were frustrated with each other or the project, they were not as creative or able to move forward.  We stressed how many ideas didn't work, but you just try something new.  This is such a great lesson that failure happens, but you can also continue to try a new idea.  At one point I heard a student say to her group, "Of course we can do this!  Engineering is all about problem solving!"

We noticed that some groups began building with little trouble on day 1, but found day 2 to be more frustrating because of the limit in supplies.  We also noticed that other groups were more productive on day 2 because they needed more time to think through their ideas. We talked about how these observations of working together can be used in so many parts of our day and lives, not just when we are building spaghetti towers.

Teacher Exchange Read Aloud

On Friday we celebrated I Love to Read Month with a teacher exchange.  I went down and read a few of our favorite books to the 5th grade class, and Mrs. Ruen came up to our room to share a book that she had written about her cat when she was younger.  The students really enjoyed Mrs. Ruen's book, and it was fun for me to head downstairs and see some familiar faces.  We also had a read in.

Magic Norm!

Last Friday Magic Norm visited Lanesboro to share with our students all the exciting places that reading can take us.  It was a great show!  The look of amazement in these young faces when watching a magic show is priceless!

Winter Authors' Celebration

Thanks to all the families that were able to make it on Friday to our Authors' Celebration.  The students really enjoy sharing their writing with their family, and I'm so proud of them for all their hard work!

Happy Valentine's Day!

This week we had fun decorating our classroom, decorating Valentine holders, and enjoying our party.  The students loved sledding on Friday.  We wished it would have been warmer so we could have enjoyed it for longer, but it was so fun for the short time we had!  Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

I Love to Read Month

We've been enjoying the kickoff to the Star Wars themed I Love to Read month.  The first Friday of the month, 2nd graders met up with a 5th grade buddy to share some good books.  We want to continue to meet up with the 5th graders once a month through the rest of the year because we enjoyed it so much!

Yesterday we had an all elementary read in.  Everyone stopped what they were doing to dive into a good book!  Students chose a spot that was right for them and got to reading!

Happy Snowmen

The class was so excited to start art with Miss Potter this last Thursday!  I also love doing art in the classroom and early last week we made happy snowmen.  This project fits this class so well... happy snowmen to represent happy students.

Piggie and Elephant Day!

Today we invited in the first grade class to share our Piggie and Elephant books.  Each 2nd grade partnership read the Mo Willems' Piggie and Elephant books they've been practicing with the focus of reading with expression.  We also shared the books we wrote ourselves.  Our goal in writing our own books was to capture the personality of these two lovable characters.  We've so enjoyed this character study and writing unit!  We celebrated our day with some Piggie and Elephant cake as well! I love to see how proud the students are of their work, and how excited they are to share it.

My son, Mason, who is now in 4th grade also stopped by to share the Piggie and Elephant book he wrote in my class as a 1st grader.  Piggie and Elephant Day came to be when he sat down at our kitchen table one day and started writing his own Piggie and Elephant book.  This sparked the idea that the whole class could do this, and then we could celebrate our hard work.  I also think it's a great example for the class to show how progress in our writing and spelling and handwriting takes time and effort. We were able to look at Mason's first grade work and say, "Hey, look at these great ideas! There may be words that are spelled wrong or letters going the wrong way, and that is part of the process for us as we grow into better writers through practice!"  The class had many thoughtful questions for Mason about his writing process.  What a fun afternoon!

Writing our Piggie and Elephant Books

In 2nd grade we are huge fans of Piggie and Elephant books!  We use them in our reading to work on reading with expression and understanding character traits.  It's so fun to really pay attention to the similarities and differences between these 2 great friends: Piggie and Gerald.  We have noticed that Gerald is dramatic and at times grumpy, but still very kind.  We've learned that Piggie is optimistic, lighted hearted, and silly.

The students are currently working on writing their own Piggie and Gerald stories.  I love how the students take ownership of this project.  They are free to work at their desks or spread out on the carpet.  Students will make a different choice each day depending on what they're working on at the moment.  Projects like these give the students freedom to play around with their creativity while implementing the basics of constructing a story line that makes sense, and of course, using correct conventions so their message is clear to the reader.

When we are finished with our stories, we will invite the 1st graders in and enjoy a Piggie and Elephant celebration where we share our stories.