St. Patricks Day

Second grade is a fun place to be! We love to find hands on activities that correlate with our NC curriculum. We began our St. Patrick's Day math by creating a math "glyph". Using specific directions, we artistically created our individual shamrocks and then used our math skills to sort these creations by various attributes. Team work really works as we try to come up with ways we can group our creations! We invite you to stop by our classroom to view our finished products!

Free digital ecard made with Smilebox

Skype in Room 309

We are learning about our seven continents in Social Studies. A mother of one of our teachers is a missionary in India. Mrs. Hurst joined our class to help us "Skype" her mom so that we could learn more about the country, the people, and how she is helping young people learn about the English language.

Doctor Visits

 More Than Meets The Eye
Mrs. Lyerly's daughter, an optometry student, visited the classroom to talk about eyes. The children enjoyed the activities and asked lots of questions. It was amazing to see how much they already knew about how eyes work. Perhaps there will be some budding optometrists in our group!

More Than Meets The Eye - free slideshow

Our Digestive System

 Gaby's mom, a doctor at the Winston-Salem VA Outpatient Clinic, visited our classroom to talk with us about our digestive systems. The children certainly enjoyed her colorful analogies, which helped us have a better understanding!
Our Digestive System on PhotoPeach

Living Rhythms

Our second grade classes had the wonderful opportunity to participate in a special African drum and dance workshops called Living Rhythms. Mr. Bill (drum specialist) and Miss Jerry (dance specialist) worked with students in daily sessions last week. On Friday the children presented a terrific program showcasing what they had learned in the workshops. Enjoy these videos!

Living Rhythms on PhotoPeach

Polar Bear, Polar Bear

A few weeks ago we completed our Arctic Animal Unit, so of course we just had to have a culminating food project!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Happy Birthday Ms. Cranfill!

Thanks to our very creative grade parents, our classroom magically transformed into the "Pancake Cafe" so that we could help Ms. Cranfill celebrate her birthday. We enjoyed a morning of "mixing, fixing, and savoring the delicious taste of pancakes and bacon. Of course we also reviewed some of our math concepts as we worked. There were fractions, addition, subtraction, fair shares, and more to practice in this hands on lesson. We enjoyed "conjuring up" some adjectives and verbs to describe this delicious event after some munching. A special day for a very special teacher...We love you Ms. Cranfill!!!
Happy Birthday Ms. Cranfill on PhotoPeach

Science Lessons

We've been learning about "Matter" in our Science Investigations. The children have been engaged in some hands on activities and have used some interactive websites. Take a look at the video to see some of our activities!
Teachers' Domain: Density and Buoyancy: Pouring Air into Water

Snow, Snow, Snow

It's hard to believe that we breezed so quickly through our January days. Perhaps it was the surprising number of snow days, which was a little unusual for North Carolina. Nevertheless, our classroom has continued to be a busy place as we worked around days out of school and two hour delays. The children worked diligently on an Arctic Animal Project. They have read about, gathered information, and created books about a special animal. Make sure to look at our Wiki. You will be able to see and hear their beautiful creations! Our math has focused on "Fractions". Our little STARS have learned how to determine the numerator and denominator, to explain how fractions can be equivalent, and to solve problems. Of course, we love to incorporate "food" in our math lessons, so along with our Smartboard lessons we just had to have some edible hands on activities! The children also created Fractions of Me poetry.
January School Days on PhotoPeach

Season's Greetings

Holiday Happenings

Our Winter Celebration was so much fun! We certainly appreciate all that Mrs. Darden, Mrs. Olsen, and Mrs. Dembosky did to make our holiday celebration so special. Take a quick peek at our celebration!

Happy Holidays!

 

May each of you have a truly blessed holiday season. Enjoy your special family moments. 

 Ms. Cranfill and I want to wish each of you a very blessed and happy holiday season with your families. Each of the children are dear to us and we hold them close in our hearts. Thank you for sharing your child with us as we make this second grade journey. 

From my family to yours, Merry Christmas!

December Events!

All classrooms are busy places, especially during the month of December! This year our little ones have been engaged in a Reindeer Unit, a Gingerbread theme, a special "Geometry Project", another global technology project, and have traveled "around the world" with the other second grade classes to learn more about people and their traditions. Enjoy a snapshot of our world in these photos!
December Snapshots on PhotoPeach

Our Old Salem Field Trip

Our second grade classes traveled to Old Salem to learn more about the traditions and customs of the Moravians. We began our tour inside with ladies who talked with us about candle making, an Advent Wreath, preparing food in the old kitchen, and a little bit about what life was like long ago in this special Moravian village.
Our Old Salem Trip ... Part 1 on PhotoPeach



Our Trip to Old Salem Part 2 ... on PhotoPeach

A Family Moment

Life is very busy, both inside and outside Room 309! My classroom children are always asking when my "real children" are coming to visit them. Like all of my little ones, these real children are busy with school work. I thought you may enjoy this snapshot of the twins...two of our four children. Over the weekend my husband and I enjoyed being with our boys at their college ring ceremony. It's hard to believe they've grown so fast, as it seems that just yesterday they were second graders like each of you!

More Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Reader's Theatre on PhotoPeach

Our Thanksgiving Feast

After spending some time reading and discovering more about life in the early settlement of Plymouth, we slipped into the roles of Pilgrims and Native Americans as we prepared our lunch and celebrated the holiday with our own class Thanksgiving Feast.

This free slideshow personalized with Smilebox

Pumpkin Day 2010

Our class joined other students from around the globe to determine the number of seeds in pumpkins. We worked in teams to make estimates and then used our counting/addition strategies to determine our seed count. Our five pound pumpkin had 475 seeds! We also engaged in some other math and literacy pumpkin activities throughout the morning. Special thanks to parents who helped us with this fun learning activity! The pumpkin treats were delicious!

Pumpkin Day on PhotoPeach

Butterflies All Around....Our Painted Ladies

The children have so enjoyed our Life Cycles Science Unit. We have many future scientists in our class! Each day the children excitedly entered the classroom to observe the butterfly cage. They could hardly contain their excitement when the day finally arrived to release these special creatures. Notice the beautiful smiles on the children's faces. You can actually feel their excitement as you watch the pictures. Enjoy!

Butterflies All Around ... Our Painted Ladies on PhotoPeach

How Do Butterflies View the World?

The children have been learning about the life cycle of a butterfly this quarter. Did you know that butterflies have compound eyes? That means they can see in every direction simultaneously.

How Do Butterflies View The World? on PhotoPeach

A Day in Our Classroom

We've been polishing our measurement skills in math. Look at our pictures to see us use both nonstandard and standard measurement tools. Our literacy groups have been reading about Forest Animals. We chose an animal and visited one of our Computer Labs to gather information about our animal. Using an online resource, we read and used a graphic organizer to record our findings. Later on we will use this information to write a report. We certainly enjoy using the computers. In the last pictures you will see us reading a book at TumbleBooks.

A Day in Our 2nd Grade Classroom on PhotoPeach