Field Trip to Fredrick Meijer Gardens

It is that time of year once again when we pack up our sack lunches and get ready to head to Fredrick Meijer Gardens to view their Christmas Tree Exhibit! I love this field trip every year, as do our students. Fredrick Meijer Gardens puts on a wonderful multicultural Christmas Tree exhibit which includes over 40 Christmas Trees from around the world.
The field trip is on Friday, March 25. We will spend the first hour of the day at school then leave school at 9:30 and stay at the gardens until 1:30. We will eat lunch at the gardens so you will need to pack a sack lunch with your student that day. I am looking to bring along a few chaperones to lead groups of 4-5 students through the gardens. If you are available please get in contact with me via email or phone. We would love to have you join us.

Below is a link to the Gardens and the Exhibit.
Christmas Tree Exhibit Info

States and Capitals

As some of you may know the past few weeks we focused on cardinal directions and making classroom maps. We are continuing to work with maps, although we are taken a step outside of the classroom and looking at our entire country! As a class we are challenging ourselves to learn the states and capitals. Students will be working in groups to focus on smaller regions of the United States. As an introduction to this unit I showed the class the following video and they really enjoyed it! It is quite catchy and I hear students singing parts of it all throughout the day. I figured some of your students might have mentioned the 'states video' to you so I shared it below so you can sing along at home as well! Enjoy!

Student of the Week!

As a class family we recognize the importance of knowing who our fellow learners are, which is why each student has the opportunity to be "Under the Spotlight!" Being "Under the Spotlight" gives each student the chance to share with the class interesting things about his or her life that we might not have known before, and provides the class a chance to ask great questions that convey we care about our classmates.
The Friday before being "Under the Spotlight" your student will bring home a small packet with directions to guide you and your student through some creative ideas that will help us get to know your student better. Be on the lookout for this packet to come home with your student!

Get those Wiggles Out!

Have you ever noticed your student get antsy or fidgety during the day? I can say that I have with most of our class! As much as we try to stay active during the day, there are distinct moments when we are simply too distracted by our wiggles. When this happens we have to stop to address the issue and get those wiggles out! I commonly use a website called GoNoodle when the students need a movement break. This website has tons of assorted videos that get the kids up and moving for various amounts of time.

If you ever have a moment at home with your student and you can tell they need a movement break head to this link and check out some of the fun videos this website provides!

https://www.gonoodle.com

Upcoming Spirit Week!!

As some of you have probably already heard from your students this coming week is Spirit Week! Each day we will celebrate our school pride by dressing in fun and unique ways. Listed below are the themes for each day!
Additionally, all week long students are encouraged to bring in canned food items for the local food pantry. The grade level that collects the most canned goods by the end of the week will be able to take a half day field trip to the local food pantry to help distribute the items. Any item is appreciated!

Spirit Week Schedule
Monday: Dress like your Favorite Teacher Day
Tuesday: College day (Wear a t-shirt supporting your favorite college)
Wednesday: Wacky Wednesday (Be creative and bold and put together a crazy outfit!)
Thursday: Orange and Blue Day (Wear as much orange and blue as you can find!)
Friday: Comfy Day (Students can wear comfy clothing of their choice, ex. sweatpants, t-shirts *no pajamas please)

Let's Go Chargers!

Spelling for Week of March 4

Spelling this coming week concentrates on the long i sound at the end of a word. We will be working with word families –ie and –y. Students have their own personal spelling lists based on their writing and reading abilities. These will come home on Monday. Please practice going over this list with your student once daily if possible.

Social Studies for Week of March 4

North, south, East, West your students are the best! This past week in social studies we went over maps and cardinal directions. Our goal this week was to work with partners to accurately create and label a classroom map with a compass rose and map key. Look forward to those coming home with your student sometime next week!

Reading for Week of March 4

Our focus this past week during our reading time has included picking ‘good fit’ books and building up our reading stamina. Students’ reading improves most drastically when they consistently read books that are appropriate for their vocabulary level so we have discussed how to find those books. Feel free to talk to your students about this at home and challenge them to read silently, today as a class we made it to 12 minutes!

Math for Week of March 4

In math the past few weeks we have been working with number lines in order to develop our number sense. Students have tried their hands at a few ‘magic’ tricks that allow them to transform hundreds charts into number lines! You can practice with your students at home by counting in patterns (5s, 10s, etc.) or asking them to explain the ‘magic’ behind some of the tricks we have done in class.

Family Literacy Night March 16

Parents and Guardians,

I want to inform you of a great opportunity coming up next week. Wednesday, March 16 at 6:00pm all the second and third grade teachers are hosting a Family Literacy Night. Our team would like to give you all an idea of what happens during our reading block each day. We will go over how to pick appropriate books for your reader as well as provide strategies for growing readers. I believe creating a partnership with parents and other family members is vital to our students’ success in order to give them as much support as possible. If you have any questions please email me at kdehaan@cwoods.edu or call me at school at (616)-123-4567. We look forward to seeing you there!