2nd Grade Teacher Meet and Greet - Miss Woch

Out of all the second grade teachers, we know Miss Woch the most because her students have been our Book Buddies all year!

The first graders asked her all about second grade homework, morning meetings, birthday parties and classroom rules. 

She even had her second graders give words of advice to the first graders!

A little about Miss Woch...

Favorite Color: Purple

Favorite Food: Macaroni & Cheese

Favorite Animal: Penguin

See you see next year, Miss Woch!

Baldwin Public Library

Today the first graders watched a special presentation by the librarians from the Baldwin Public Library!  They heard about all of the amazing programs and activities that are being offered this summer!

The link to the Baldwin Public Library is below. 

http://www.baldwinlib.org

2nd Grade Teacher Meet and Greet - Mrs.Gorski

Today we welcomed in one of our 2nd grade teacher friends, Mrs. Gorski!  The children were able to ask any questions they had about second grade and what to expect.  The 1st graders were very interested in learning about the desks they will have next year with a top that flips open!  They liked the idea of putting all their things inside their desks and taking on more personal responsibility for their supplies.

We also learned that a really exciting part of 2nd grade is being able to learn about and take care of the second grade garden!  The children will be able to plant different types of plants, including edible ones as part of their science curriculum!  In addition to the garden, the children were excited to hear about the annual field trip to Gleaners Food Bank as a service learning project.

Finally, the biggest celebration was hearing that they will have 5 special classes, instead of 4!  They are all very excited to begin Spanish with Senora Prime next year!

A little about Mrs. Gorski...

Favorite Color:  Purple
Favorite Food:  Lobster
Favorite Animal:  Panda Bear

Thank you, Mrs. Gorski!  We will see you next year!

BioVest Reminder

The BioVest presentations have been wonderful!  The children are really gaining a great understanding about how their lives are different from those from a different generation. 

If your child has not brought their BioVest to school to present their generational interview, please do so by Wednesday, as this is the last day that we will be presenting. 

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Friendship Lesson

We have been having some fantastic lessons on friendship this year!  Today we did one of my favorites  - the Wrinkled Heart.  We started by passing out a small paper heart with a poem on it.

We then read the book Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes.  In this book, a small mouse loves her unique name until she goes to school and the other children make fun of her.  She continues to have her feelings hurt because of the unkind words of her classmates.  When she goes home, her parents remind her that she has a special and beautiful name. 

 

As we read the book, we crumpled up our paper hearts a little bit every time someone hurt her feelings, and spread it back out when someone did something kind for her.  

In the end, her teacher helps the other children appreciate Chrysanthemum's unique name.  They even ask to be called by their own flower nicknames, which makes Chrysanthemum very happy!

The class noticed that even though Chrysanthemum felt better at the end of the story, our hearts were still wrinkled.  No matter how hard we tried to flatten them, they never went back exactly how they were.  We then discussed how our actions and words can have a lasting effect on our friends, so we should always try our best to use kindness and respect with those around us. 

I think that the children really understood the message of this lesson and went on to discuss how we could show our Harlan Habits at Field Day.  Great job, 1st Graders!

Math Games to Play at Home This Summer

Below is a list of board games that use mathematical skills that can be used as resources for to practice math skills over the summer.  Recommended ages are listed next to the game titles.  These would excellent (and fun!) ways to reinforce skills taught this year.  Please let me know if you have any questions.

Adding and Subtracting
Chutes and Ladders (3+)
Sorry! (6+)
Trouble (5+)

Attributes, Patterns and Geometry
Crazy Eights (4+)
Guess Who? (6+)
Tangrams (5+)
Puzzels

Strategy and Special Perception
Battleship (7+)
Checkers (3+)
Clue Jr. (5+)
Connect Four (7+)
Jenga  (6+)
Mancala (6+)
Memory (3+)
Mille Bornes (8+)
Othello (8+)

Book Buddy Plant Sale

A message from our second grade book buddies...

Field Day Water Bottles

Today all of the first graders will be bringing home their official Field Day water bottles! This year our grade level bottles are red! All of the bottles will be coming home this afternoon with their names written on each one. We are asking that the bottles be washed and returned to school so that they can be used during Field Day. Thank you so much for your help!

Field Day will be tomorrow, Wednesday, June 8.

BioVests

This is a gentle reminder that the BioVest project is due on Monday, June 6.  This project is a part of our social studies curriculum regarding school and life long ago.  For this project, the children were asked to interview a person from a different generation.

The form was sent home 2 weeks ago and looked like this:

If you have any questions, or need an additional copy of the project directions, please let me know.  We will begin with our BioVest presentations next Monday.

I am really looking forward to hearing what the children have learned!

Detroit Tigers Day!

This is a gentle reminder that tomorrow is Detroit Tigers Day!  All of Harlan will be wearing Detroit Tigers colors and/or jerseys!  We will also be collecting donations to support The Miracle League.  The Miracle League is a wonderful organization that provides opportunities for children with disabilities to play baseball.

Go Tigers!

2 Fish Looking for a Forever Home

I am currently looking for a family with a fresh water fish tank at home that is interested in adopting our last two fish.  They are both tetras and have been with our class since September.  They are the last remaining members of The Tank Gang this year and are truly survivors!  While they don't have official names, I have been calling them Lenny and Squiggy for the last few months.

If you are interested in adopting Lenny and Squiggy, please let me know.  I am looking to have them move into their new home sometime next week.

Thank you!

Spelling Challenge

Hello!

I am sorry that our newsletter did not make it home this week.  With the long weekend and the excitement of the chicks hatching (more information and pictures/videos coming soon!), it got lost in the shuffle!

I did want to pass on this week's spelling challenge words for the challenge this Friday.

1.  must
2.  they
3.  with
4.  said
5.  give

-ook family
book
look
cook
took
shook
hook
crook

Please let me know if you have any questions.  Thank you!