Merry Christmas!

Jacob, Ashton, Olivia, Grace and Sophie shared their insights into the book, "Stone Fox" with our class just prior to the winter break. They did an outstanding job! I hope everyone has a great holiday and enjoys some good books too. :) Mrs. G.

Welcome to Baby Ashtyn! (And new spelling words..)

Thanks to Donor's Choose for funding some new reading games for our class!
We had an exciting day yesterday. The class waited with me all day for the news that our new baby granddaughter was born in Texas. My son David and his wife Jana welcomed their first child into our family! (Cousin Lauren got to see her too..) When your children become parents it is the most wonderful experience ever!

New Spelling Words:

then, again, beautiful, science, now, chow, clown, crown, snuggle, slug, ugly, nugget

BONUS: Santa Claus, sunflower, cowabunga, luggage

Who will win?

It looks like our class is preparing for the in-state rivalry that is coming up. Actually, it was Halloween.
We did an awesome "ABC's of Thanksgiving" Reader's Theater for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Grades.

Week 2 Spelling

Wow! What a great first week of spelling tests...I am so proud of your children! Here are the words for the test on 11/18/2010.

1.hippie 9.little

2.whip 10. with

3.chip 11. our

4.slip 12. school

5. tag BONUS

6.brag 13. lipstick

7.flag 14. hippopotamus

8.dragon 15. maggot

16. Thanksgiving

New Spelling List

Today we began our new spelling component(chunks) and 4 weekly sight words. They are written in your child's planner. The test will be next Thursday. Some students REALLY want some challenging words to study, and they came up with some good ones! The 4 Bonus words are optional, but if your child gets them all spelled correctly he/she will receive an additional sticker for extra work. A 100% spelling score will also earn a sticker for your student.

*FYI-The class generated the words they would like to learn. We voted for our favorites. It really helps the children feel ownership for the words.

Spelling List

1. ham 9. when

2. clam 10. they

3. slam 11. where

4. camera 12. people

5. jump Bonus:

6. pumpkin *Rumplestiltskin

7. crumple *rambunctious

8. bumper *Heffalump (from Winnie the Pooh)

*stammer

More Math Fun!

Hi Parents!

We have been very busy with math and spelling this week, as well as some fun learning centers during reading time. I am enjoying teaching your children.

I really appreciate those of you who give your time to help us out during centers and with Baggy Books. Baggy Books do not need to be returned daily if the book is long! Take the time you need to read it with your child. If the book report/paper is not filled out or signed by a parent it will be returned to you. If your student does not put it in the bag before the books are changed (we do several reminders) it will wait until the following day. We are all working on learning responsibility, and it will come!

I hope the individual spelling lists help you with at-home practice. We have done some writing together and your student has been held accountable for those words. (They must go back and correct them before the work can be turned in.) The writing we do at the writing center is creative thinking and we should see improvement in spelling there too.

This month's math packet is longer than before and is worth 6 stickers. Just a little bit of practice a day is great! Your help with the assigned math pages has been fabulous.

Another great online math resource can be found at:http://www.donorschoose.org/we-teach/119585.-795560955 This practice will help your child visualize bigger numbers. Click on the icon on the top of each column and that number of block appears. (clicking on the one's cube three times will give you 3 ones...)

A GREAT Math game link!

We are always looking for ways to increase the amount of "mathmatical thinking" we do in class. At my Math Endorsement class they gave us a fabulous website with games that help students add and subtract with a ten frame. (You do this automatically-but this lays the foundation for children to do it) I wanted to share it with you! Try it at home.

10 frame: http://illuminations.nctm.org/ActivityDetail.aspx?ID=75

Work Those Numbers!

We have been working on addition facts these last few lessons in math. By now it should be easy for your student to add 0,1, or 2 to any number. One strategy is to count up or use a number line. We have moved on to doubles (any number plus itself.) If you have a few minutes, quiz your wonderful child on his or her doubles facts. It is fun!

Be Like Leo!

We have begun drawing and writing ideas in our own drawing journal after looking at samples of Leonardo DaVinci's journals. We plan to accumulate lots of great ideas that can be used in drawing and painting projects throughout the year.

This week we took our first "Spelling Review." This is a story that has blanks in it for words that should already be in our memory bank (and that we have been practicing in class) I read the story aloud and then go back and say the missing words so that the students can fill in the blanks. Look for it in your child's Friday Folder next Friday. I will also send home a list of "Priority Words" that should be mastered by the end of Second Grade. You child will make a list in his/her planner of any missed words from the first review that will become their personal practice list.

Thanks for your support with math and spelling homework. It is a great support for what we are working on in class.

Go UTES!

Okay, I just had to start off that way! We are both U of U alumni.... and it was a good game.

This was a busy and productive week. Our class is getting back into the swing of school and I am proud of all of the students who have been returning the single-page math homework. I will return the math homework on Mondays when I award a sticker to the students who did it for the previous week. It usually only has four problems and reinforces what we are doing in class. There will be more coming home this week.

Remember to record reading minutes on the calendar page in the back of the planner. Our goal is 20 minutes (or more) a night. I will check reading minutes on Friday.

Thanks for all you do to support our efforts in the classroom. I know this year will be great!

Delicious Cookies-Delightful Children!

Mmmmmmm! Just look at those wonderful cookies! We had a fun week working on them and deciding what some of our goal words would be. I was pleased to see that so many students chose "kindness" which is a wonderful attribute, as well as "humble" (I'm not going around bragging that my cookies are the best!)

I hope your students had a good first week of school. I really enjoyed meeting and getting to know them better. We will be doing quite a bit of review so that I can see where everyone is and move up from there. It is good to get back into the swing of things! I will be checking planners this Friday for reading minutes.

* New Math Update

Your students have been learning that "part + part =whole. You will be seeing many papers with a box on it (like a horizontal domino.) We join or combine the number of objects in each "part" of the box to get the whole, which is written on top. Then we can write number sentences from this picture. For example: If I add 2 dots +3 dots I will have 5 dots. With that information I can cover one of the boxes and say "5 subtract 2 leaves ...(look at the box) 3! You can make 4 number sentences (2 adding and 2 subtracting) for each box picture. These are commonly called "Fact Families" It helps create a visual picture of the math concept and can easily be practiced at home, waiting for the dentist, etc.

Thanks for all of the class donations and the kleenex, it is always welcome!!!

Yahoo! It's Time for a New School Year!

This week we will be talking about our goals for the new year in our class. We will read, "One Smart Cookie." I LOVE this book! It uses examples of great vocabulary words like; prompt, organized, compromise, integrity etc. Your child will be creating his/her own clay "cookie" and writing his personal inspiration words on that cookie.

*Please write your student's name on their planner and encourage him/her to bring it to school every day. The reading minutes should be logged on the calendar in the back.

* Your child will earn a sticker for returning the Student Summary Sheet and another for doing all of his/her homework for the week. I will start checking reading minutes next week- (8/3/10) A sticker will be earned for every week with 100 or more reading minutes too.

*Please review the lunch number that is coming home on Monday with your child if he/she plans on having school lunch. It should be the same as previous years.

I am so excited for the first day tomorrow! I hope you and your new Second Grader are too!

There are so many wonderful things to see and learn in second grade!

Welcome to Second Grade!

I hope everyone is enjoying a wonderful summer break! It is a great time to get out and play as well as spend time with your friends and family. Don't forget to relax with a good book every day. Have a fabulous vacation and I will see you in the fall.

Love,

Mrs. Garrett