January 30 - February 3

Dates to Remember...
Tues. Jan. 31 - Reading Incentive Pajama Day 
Wed. Feb. 1 - January Reading Log due
Thurs. Feb. 2 - Early Dismissal
Fri. Feb. 3 - Jump Rope for Heart Assembly
Fri. Feb. 10 - Classroom Valentine Party - Please have your child bring 22 Valentines for their classmates.  No need to address them.  Simply have your child write their own name on their valentines.   
Tues. Feb. 14 - Valentine exchange in the classroom
Fri. Feb. 17 - No School
Mon. Feb. 20 - No School  Presidents' Day

Reading - We will continue to work on our research projects this week.  This is a shared research project about a foreign country and how children in remote areas access books. We've been gathering our research from text as well as digital sources.  This week we will transfer our research into a digital slide show on Chromebooks.  When we're finished, we'll be presenting it to the class.  

Math - We'll work with money again this week. We'll begin by showing one dollar in a variety of ways.  Then we'll work on showing amounts greater than $1, solve word problems, and learn to make change from one dollar.  We'll take a quiz on money at the end of the week.  

Positive Paw Winner - Nana

Jan 23 - 27

Dates to Remember...
Tues. Jan. 31 - Reading Incentive Pajama Day
Wed. Feb. 1 - January Reading logs due
Thurs. Feb. 2 - Early Dismissal  11:35
                         Jr. Achievement for a Day
Fri. Feb. 3 - Jump Rope for Heart Kickoff Assembly
Fri. Feb. 10 - Valentine classroom party  1:30
Tues. Feb. 14 - Valentine exchange in classroom

Reading - The students will begin working on a shared research project featuring a country in My Librarian is a Camel.  Students will be researching facts about a foreign country and read to find out how people access books in their community.  The following week, we will use Chromebooks to develop a digital slide show with the facts.

Pajama Collection -  Alongside this month's reading reward of Pajama Day, the staff and students will be collecting gently used and new children's pajamas.  These will be donated to the Constance Morris House.  

Math - This week we will begin a new unit, Money and Time.  We'll start by identifying dimes, nickels, pennies, and quarters.  We'll be ordering the coins to find the total value of a group of coins.  We'll end the week by showing an amount of money in several different ways.

Coins - A few students have not brought in a container of "math money".  A reminder note went home last week for those kids.  Please gather the necessary coins and send it to school on Monday if you haven't already done so.  Thank you!

Identifying and counting coins is a new skill for some 2nd graders.  Please use every opportunity to help your child count collections of coins at home (or in the car).

Valentine boxes - Each child will need to bring in a shoe box covered in either red or white paper.  We will be decorating them for our Valentine mailboxes.

We need a few donations for supplies to decorate our mailboxes.  Supplies like foam stickers, ribbon, and sparkly gems would be much appreciated.  Thank you!

Winter Conferences
Parent Teacher Conferences for this trimester are scheduled for Feb 15 & 16.  These conferences are done on an "as needed" basis.  If you receive an invitation email on Friday, Jan. 20, please follow the link to sign up at your convenience.

If you are not sent an invitation, that just means that I don't have any specific concerns right now.  As always, if you have concerns, feel free to contact me.

January Birthdays - Olivia  Jan. 23
                                Nana  Jan. 25        Happy birthday girls!!

New Student of the Week - Mustafa
Positive Paw Winner - Brady
Estimation Jar Winner - Amey

January 16 - 20

Dates to Remember...
Fri. Jan. 13 - Gym Night at Ide
Mon. Jan. 16 - MLK Holiday
Fri. Jan. 20 - Progress Notes sent on an as needed basis
Tues. Feb. 2 - Early Dismissal
Fri. Jan. 3 - Jump Rope for Heart Assembly

Valentine Mailboxes - We will be decorating shoeboxes for our valentines.  Each student will need to bring in a shoebox covered in white or red paper.  I heard that Hobby Lobby (and maybe other stores) sell boxes that are white/red.  The box just needs to be ready to decorate.  Any questions, let me know.

Reading - We will be reading 2 texts this week, Biblioburro, and My Librarian is a Camel.
They are both nonfictions stories about traveling libraries that bring books to children in faraway villages in many different ways.  Some children receive books by mail, boat, bus, camels, donkeys, and even elephants!

We will be discussing the comprehension strategies of understanding key details in a text as well as using text features to locate facts.

Math - We will work on subtracting when there are zeros in the top number.  We'll review and take a chapter test at the end of the week.  The students are doing a great job with adding and subtracting 3 digit numbers.  Please continue to check their homework to be sure they are not making errors.  

Math Money - Our next chapter in math will focus on money and telling time.  Most students have brought in a container of coins to be used for math.  If your child brought home a reminder note, please collect the specified coins and have your child bring it to school as soon as possible.  We'll be using it next week.  

Estimation Jar Winner - Marnie
Positive Paw Winner - Mustafa

January 9 - 13

Dates to Remember...
Week of Jan. 9 - 13 - MAPs testing for 2nd graders
Fri. Jan. 13 - Gym Night  Tickets required
Mon. Jan. 16 - No School  MLK Holiday
Fri. Jan. 20 - Progress Notes sent home on an "as needed" basis
Tues. Jan. 24 - Vision and Hearing Screening
Tues. Jan. 31 - Reading Incentive Pajama Day
Thurs. Feb. 2 - Early Dismissal  11:35

MAP Testing - Next week we will be taking the MAP testing (math and reading) on our iPads.  Please be sure your child brings their iPad to school each day fully charged.  If they'd like to use a stylus, they may bring one.

Reading - This week we'll be reading That Book Woman.  It is about a boy, Cal, and his family who live in the Appalachian hills with little access to books.  A "book woman" arrives on her pack hourse to distribute books to the families.  Over time, Cal changes his mind about reading.

We'll focus on illustrations in a text and how they help us make meaning of the story.

Kane County Cougars Reading Club - Students who return their home reading log in January and February, will receive a free game ticket.  Please encourage your child to read 20 minutes each night and return their completed log at the end of each month.

This week we celebrated our December reading with a special lunch in the room and movie.  The students voted to have an extra recess as their reward for January!

Grammar focus will be on adverbs.

Math - We will continue to work with 3 digit addition, with and without regrouping.  We'll also work on problem solving.  We'll then switch to 3 digit subtraction.

Positive Paw Winner - Allision
New Student of the Week - Amey
Estimation Jar Winners - Nate, Aidan, Vanessa, and Allison

January 2 - 6

Happy Holidays

Happy Holidays to each of you!  Have a wonderful, relaxing time with your family over the holiday break.  

Thank you to all the parents who sent in cookies, appetizers, and refreshments for our teacher cookie exchange!  The treats were delicious and I took home a wonderful assortment of yummy cookies!  Thank you very much!

Dates to Remember...
Dec.19 - Jan. 2 - No School  Holiday Break
Tues. Jan.3 - School Resumes
Mon. Jan. 16 - No School  MLK holiday  Happy

Reading - When we return from holiday break, we will be discussing an article titled, Little Free Libraries.  Our essential question is, Can small acts bring a community together?  We'll be doing a close read of the article, looking for text evidence to support our answers, and working with new vocabulary:  stunning, encourage, contain, public, and variety.

Reading logs should be returned on Tuesday, Jan. 3.

Math - We'll begin a new chapter in math when school resumes in January.  We will focus on 3 digit addition and subtraction.  We'll be looking at two different strategies ~ breaking apart addends, and using the standard algorithm with regrouping of ones and tens.

New Student of the Week - Brady
Estimation Jar Winner - Allison
Positive Paw Winner - Stephen

December 12 - 16

Dates to Remember...
Fri. Dec. 16 - Silly Sweater Day
                      Classroom Holiday Party 1:30
Dec. 19 - Jan 2 - No School Holiday Break
Tues. Jan. 3- School Resumes

 Holiday Traditions Project
The students will be sharing their holiday traditions next week!  Please help your child create a visual to go along with their written page.  If you have any questions, let me know.

Reading logs - The class voted to have lunch in the room as a reward for completing their December reading log.  They should be returned on Tuesday, Jan. 3.

Reading - During our Reading block this week, all 2nd graders will take part in a Holidays Around the World Unit.  Students will be learning how people in different parts of the world celebrate holidays.  They will have a passport and travel to the different 2nd grade classrooms as they learn about holidays in Sweden, Mexico, France, Israel, and Italy.  Look for your child's "Holidays" suitcase to come home on Thursday!

No spelling list or test this week.  We'll continue our Word Studies in January.

Math - We will finish our chapter on two digit subtraction this week.  We'll have a review and chapter test, then finish the week with some fun holiday math.

December birthday - Aubrey Dec. 20

Positive Paw Winner - Vanessa
Estimation Jar Winner - Ryan
New Student of the Week - Olivia

December 5 - 9

Mrs. Sulima came to our room today and helped us get started on Seesaw!  The students took a photo of themselves, drew pictures of things they like, and made a recording!  

Dates to Remember...

Wed. Dec. 7 - Early Dismissal  11:35
Thurs. Dec. 8 - Holiday Shopping 11:35
Fri. Dec. 16 - Classroom Holiday party 1:30
Dec. 19 - Jan. 2 - No School  Holiday Break
Tues. Jan. 3 - Return to school
                       Return December reading logs

Scholastic Book Order - If you are interested in ordering books for your child, please place your order by Monday.  Here is the link if you'd like to order online:

Scholastic Reading Club

Our class code is GVD6H.  You may also send in a check made out to Scholastic, along with the order form.  In addition, it's possible to order different levels of books for siblings.  You may order from any "book club" using the online link.

Reading - We will be working on a reading writing workshop this week.  We'll be discussing character traits and writing an opinion piece.  Students will write their opinion about a topic, state their reasons and give details about each reason to support their opinion.

Grammar focus will be on suffixes this week.

Holiday Tradition Project  
Students are bringing home information today about a holiday project.  The paper explains the project as well as a page for the students to fill out and return.  This project is due on Monday, December 12.  If you have any questions, please let me know.  

Math - We will continue to work with 2 digit subtraction this week.  We'll also solve problems using a bar models and we'll write equations to represent subtraction in word problems.  

Thank you to the families who donated books to our recent book drive.  I love to see families model the spirit of caring and compassion with their kids.  Little eyes are watching and learning from you!

Our school is again participating in the collection of hats and gloves for our Mitten Tree.  All donations will be given to a local agency for distribution to families in need.  Donations will be accepted until Dec. 16.  

Positive Paw Winner - Amey
Estimation Jar Winner - Aubrey
New Student of the Week - Haley