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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

Happy Holidays from 2nd Grade!

I hope everyone is enjoying this holiday season with family and friends.  We had a great time at our classroom party. The students were beyond excited to share their gifts with a classmate.  It is so sweet to see their giving spirit.  Happy New Year!

We Are Thankful

Before our Thanksgiving break we took time to reflect on everything we are thankful for.  The students came up with a very long list.  A few examples included our families, friends, school, our homes, food to eat, books to read, soldiers who protect our country, and so much more!  I'm thankful for such a kind and considerate group of students.  They make every day in 2nd grade a great place to be!  The students wrote about what they are thankful for, and we used watercolors to make some very colorful turkeys.  Our final day before break was closed with the annual tradition of Turkey Bingo. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Below are Turkey Bingo pictures.  Turkey Bingo is played K-12 with numbers announced over the loudspeaker.  Students who get a bingo have to gobble their way down to the office.  Our classroom had 1 winner!

Thank You Veterans!

On Veteran's Day the 2nd graders had a very thoughtful conversation full of gratefulness for the men and women who have served and currently serve our country.  The students were full of stories about family members or friends who have served in the military.  We wrote notes to send to soldiers to say thank you for their service and sacrifice to defend our freedom.  Thank you Veterans!

A Crankenstein Halloween!

In anticipation of Halloween coming up we read Crankenstein by Samantha Berger.  This very funny book details the events that make this Crankenstein very cranky.  In the end, you find out the main character is just a boy.  We had a great and humorous discussion about how we can all get cranky from time to time.  The class brainstormed different ideas for what turns them into Crankensteins.  The students made their own Crankensteins and wrote about what makes them most cranky! 

 

 

Happy Halloween from the 2nd Grade!

Comfy Cozy Day

Last week we earned that final banana to make a banana bingo!  This is always so exciting, and the class couldn't wait to brainstorm a list of possible ways to celebrate this.  The class ultimately voted on comfy cozy day.  The students were able to wear comfy clothes or pajamas.  They also brought in additional items like blankets, pillows, and stuffed animals.  We were able to do all of our learning in a very comfy classroom on Wednesday!

Fire Prevention Week

This year the theme for Fire Prevention Week is "Hear the Beep Where You Sleep."  We discussed the importance of fire alarms in our homes.  We also talked about making a fire exit plan with your family in case of a fire.  On Friday we walked down to the fire station to learn about the equipment the firefighters use.  Thank you to the Lanesboro Fire Department for the tour!

Homecoming Fun

On Friday we had a fun day being "Buggy for the Burros" as we celebrated Homecoming!  Here are some pictures from cupcake decorating, the classroom, and the parade.

Open House

It was great to see many of our 2nd graders and their families at Open House.  I'm looking forward to our first day together!  We will have a fantastic year!