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!