The Animal Zoo

The last reading and writing unit we worked on was non-fiction.  We learned about what makes a book informational vs. fiction.  We studied the different text features a non-fiction book may have.  In writing, we learned about the process one might take to write an informational book.  We started off by reading many non-fiction books about frogs (our class topic of choice).  We recorded facts we thought were interesting on post-it notes.  Then, we took all of our notes and sorted them into categories we thought would be good for our class book.

Then...we got to choose our very own animal to write a book about and we did the same thing.  We read books about our animals, took notes, and organized the facts.  After, we wrote each section of our book and made sure to edit.  We drew real looking pictures and added captions, diagrams, a table of contents, and even a glossary.  The books came out FANTASTIC!

Today we had our ANIMAL ZOO!  All the 2nd graders dressed up as their animal or a zoo keeper.  They created props and backgrounds.  During the zoo, each student read aloud sections of their book as family and friends came around to listen.  I'm so proud of all the learning that took place these past couple months in the area of non-fiction.  Great presentations, guys!

End of the Year Party

What a fun afternoon we had at our end of the year class party!!!  Thank you so much to ALL of the parent volunteers that came to help out with the festivities and to the parents that planned such a fun party.  We started off with ice cream sundaes!  Don't they look yummy? 

Next, we created a neat summer photo frame and magnet.  We colored it and added glitter and rhinestones.  Some students said they were going to put photos of their friends and family in their frames when they got home.

Last we had a water balloon toss outside.  Some of our balloons popped right away, but Max and Isabel were the last ones standing tossing their balloon back and forth.

As the year comes to an end, it's always bitter sweet.  Yes...I won't deny that I am SOOOOO excited for summer to be here and to not have to hear my alarm every weekday morning to remind me to get out of my comfy bed and come to school.  However, I'm sad to say goodbye to my students this year...many have been with me for TWO school years!  These kids were with me when I was pregnant and Allie was born.  They love (or at least pretend) to hear all the funny and crazy stories I share about her.  Some students even look forward to the updates I post about her on Adventure's of Allie (her scrapbook blog).  This class was a JOY to have and I'm going to miss them tremendously.  They each will hold a special place in my heart.  I love you guys and will look forward to seeing you in the halls of Doherty as you grow up and venture into new experiences. 

Have a great summer and enjoy every minute of it.  Play outside, sleep in late, and eat lots of Popsicles!  You deserve a much needed break after all the hard work you have done for me!  Thank you for being a wonderful class and being great role models for others.  I appreciate each and every one of you.

Cursive License

The past 6 months we have been working SOOOOO hard on our handwriting.  We learned how to write every letter in the alphabet, lower and upper case letters, in cursive.  A couple weeks ago we applied for our cursive license.  We had to take a cursive test and write a couple sentences in cursive which included every letter in the alphabet.  We filled out our license and even attached a photo of ourselves.  I packaged up all our paperwork and addressed an envelope to the state of Michigan in hopes that we would ALL be approved.

Today Mrs. Turner called down to our room to let us know an envelope had arrived for us.  To our surprise...the envelope had a HUGE stamp which read "Cursive License" on it!  We were all so excited. 

Within the envelope was a letter addressed to our class stating that EVERYONE in our class was approved for their license!!!  Whaaaa-hoooo!  Now we can write anything we want in cursive...as long as we do so NEATLY.

Going Back in Time...

Today we were transported back in time over 100 years ago to the year 1892.  We were fully clothed from head to toe in pioneer attire.  The class was so cute carrying their "no-litter" lunch and wearing their handmade hats and bonnets.  The past few weeks we've been studying communities of the past and present in social studies.  We read the "Little House in the Big Wood" books together as a class.  The kids have really enjoyed learning the stories of Laura Ingalls and her life in the 1800s. 

Today we traveled to the Bloomfield Hills Nature Center and lived a day in the life as a pioneer child.  We were split into two families and each family had a "Ma".  We did the work of a pioneer child which consisted of making pegs to use for building houses, sharpening our tools on the grind stone, and sawing wood for the fire. We made candles so our house would have light and we also baked cookies for a sweet little treat...they were delicious!  When all of our chores were completed, we had a little time to use the toys pioneer children played with.

Washing our hands before we made cookies.

Making candles.

Using stilts was HARD work!

Fun on the swing.

Weeee!!!

Checking out the loft where we would have slept.

Making cookies.

Carrying in fire wood for the stove.

Pumping water from the well.

Push!

All that work made us hungry...time for a pioneer lunch.

After a hard days work, it was time for school.  We all went to the one room school house to spend the afternoon learning like a pioneer student.  We wrote on slates (they were really squeaky) and we practiced spelling.  We wrote the definitions for many words pioneers were familiar with.  We did mental math and even had a little bit of time for some indoor recess. 

Today's date!

All ready to learn.

Our class was divided into 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th graders. 

We all learned different spelling words.

If the teacher wasn't teaching our grade, we practiced our handwriting.