Dear Best Buddies,
Wow! I can't believe October is in full swing. It was great seeing a lot of you at Movie on the Mount! Best Buddies are really supporting Mountain View's School Spirit by being so involved. We also won for the most walkers in our Walk to School Day on Thursday!
I would like to apologize again about our field trip to the Funk Heritage Museum. It was very disappointing that we did not get to go inside. I look at this as a great opportunity to discuss flexibility as a life skill with our students. There are going to be numerous things to occur in their lives that may not work out the way they thought they would or should. Our attitude, will reinforce that when life gives you lemons...you make lemonade. The students were well behaved and handled the disappointment very well.
We had a fantastic time learning about matter. The students rotated through foru different classes to observe how matter changes. We will continue to discuss matter and move on to energy for the next nine weeks.
Not only did we learn about the regions of Georgia, we also learned about the first natives that lived here. We compared the Creeks and Cherokees and determined that they used ther ressourses they had to surrive. There was very little waste in their time. We will continue to discuss the Native Americans during our next sine weeks and the prominent firgures who had a huge influence on the society.
The students did an exceptional job of presenting their healthy snacks. Thanks for reinforcing healthy eating at school. I have been know to pass out treats! I have had to qualify that action for some of the students so that they know it is acceptable to have an occasional chocolate, etc.
Be looking for the October Book Report instructions to come home. Second grade students are assessed on oral presentations by how they use appropriate second grade language,speak clearly and loudly, look at their audience, and the neatness of their work. We have also included an outline for your student to brainstorm his/ her/ ideas before making the story map. We want this to be a learning experrience for your child. We do not expect perfection.
Ask your Best Best Buddy about our Multiple Intelligence Centers. We have discussed how everyoneis unique with strenghts in different areas. During this time, students are able to choose activities that interest them to convey to me that they understand a certain concept. This time we were dealing with parts of a sentence. The students composed and put on plays, puppet shows, created questions for games, designed journals, composed songs and raps, played games on the computer, and wrote analogies all abouut nouns, verbs, adjectives, capitals, and punction. Not only was I able to see that they knew the concept, I was also able to see the type of learninng activiies the students prefered. There are a lot of "Hams" in our class! It's going to be a great year!
Bear of the Day has been a huge success this year. The estimation bag was a new idea for me and i have been pleasantly surprised by the uniqueness of the objects that have come to school. The students look forward to this daily, and remind me. Estimation is a very difficult math concept to understand. I still have difficulty. I was close one day, but that was a first. We do this every day, so ask your students at dinner what was in the estimation bag.
We have been counting money in math. I have a game that I palyed with my children that I learned from a parent about twelve years ago. It worked at my house, I know it will be a hit at yours as well. It's called,"If you can count it, you cann have it!" Empty your pockets, purses, or have a set amount you want to work with. Throw that down on the table and have your child count it.Remember that they need to start with the coin of the highest value first. 25, 35, 40, 41, 42, would be a quarter, dime, nickel, and two pennies. That was pretty simple. I would encourage you to continue to increase the amount. We will soon begin making change by counting up to the orginal amount. Let your child start making purchases on his/her own. This is not only a life skill with money but one of independence by being able to approach a counter and ask for assistance. Don't forget the Savings Club that Mountain View PTA provides through Wachovia Bank. I think the students can make deposits monthly or maybe bi-weekly. Regrouping in addition has been an easy transition. Ask your students what "Don't forget the babies!" means.Thank you for going on arcademicskillbuilders.com In addition to math, there are great language games as well.
Students are learning how to use strategies to help them comprehend what they are reading. Sometimes the reading is assigned or students have self- selected reading. We have been focusing on visualizing what the author is trying to show us and interpreting the theme of the selectionl. We are using what we observe about an authors' writing to try and transfer that into our own writing skills. We have come to realize that there are purposes for athors to write. Our last writing was about an exciting experience or one that we wished we could have. Some were informative, while others were written to entertain. Give your child a purpose for writing. Have them leave notes for the other parent, or an older sibling. Send an e-mail to a grandparent, or out-of-town friend.Grocery lists are needed, but you may have to take your child in order to decipher what exactly you asked him/her to write.
Contionue to go to spellingcity.com to practice spelling words and find new games.The students really enjoyed Mad Libs on funbrain.com that lets you make up funny stories after plugging in nouns, verbs, and adjectives.
Please continue to write in the agenda, e-mail, and call. I feel communication is a vital part of our partnership.
Kind Regards,
Deanna Beaver
