Optional Homework Activities

READING
Read a book in an unusual place. Take a picture or draw a picture of you in that place. Write a letter to the class about where you were and the book you read.
Find a nonfiction book to read this week. Write down the title.
Learn more about Martin Luther King Jr. by reading this article from Time for Kids.
Read about the Balloon Popper and answer the questions that go along with it.
LANGUAGE ARTS
Walk around your house or room and make a list of 15 nouns you see.
Practice dictionary guide word skills
MATH
Find six different things you use for measurement in your house. What are they used to measure?
Practice addition skills Lizard Point Math
Practice addition skills Number Invaders 
SCIENCE
Watch the short video about the tablecloth trick. Try to see if you can do it at home with non-breakable items. Write about what happened.
Go to PBS Kids to see how the mass and force affects the distance of the hockey pucks.
Learn all about Newton and his laws. Take the online quiz.
Watch Open Dream Ensemble and learn about Newton's 3 laws.
SOCIAL STUDIES
Learn about Chinese New Year 
Play some online Chinese New Year Games
Practice cardinal directions 
Learn about Martin Luther King Jr. 
Follow current events at time for kids 
WRITING
Imagine you had a superpower. What would it be? What would you do. Write about what your day would be like.
Write down all the winter activities you can think of then see if you can do any of them.
Think of something in the world that you want to see changed. Write about this to persuade people to make this change.

P.E.

Move two different large objects. Tell me which object needed more force to move and why.Take a walk around your house and count all the steps you take. You can also count your footprints in the snow to help you.

ART

Create a piece of art that shows what the weather and outside are like today.

Draw a picture of you doing your favorite winter activity.

COMMUNITY

Describe a problem you once had with a friend. Did you find a way to solve the problem? What advice would you give to others?

HEALTH
Make a list of the foods you eat in a day and mark the ones you think are healthy.

This week's news

Reading and Writing
January is a wonderful month for learning and an exciting time as a teacher to observe the progress of students!  We have been learning about how to understand non-fiction, informational books by looking at the "text features."  Text features are reading tools in the book such as the table of contents, glossary, index, captions, photographs, and maps.  Learning how to use and understand text features increases reading comprehension.  We have been keeping track of our learning in our non-fiction notebooks by drawing an example of what a glossary, caption, or table of contents might look like.  Ask your child to share more!  Yesterday each child choose a topic for their own non-fiction book in writing workshop as well!  Students are writing books to teach about cats, soccer, the ocean, and many more.

Science
This week in science we continued to learn about force and motion.  We learned about Newton's laws and conducted experiments using force.  Ask your second grader about our scooter lab and push/pull experiment.

Math
Our focus in math is on solving word problems using addition and subtraction.  I work with children in a math group each day so each child receives individualized instruction based on their needs.  We are also practicing telling time!

Social Studies

In our Scholastic News article we learned about Martin Luther King, Jr. this week.  Click on the link for more home activities on Dr. King (access code is team27).

Have a great day!

Time for Telling Time

We had a productive and fun week back from vacation this week!  In math, our class is learning about telling time.  The second grade goal is to be able to tell time to the 5-minute marks (1:35, 5:20, 4:05, etc.).  We began by reviewing telling time to the hour and half hour.  Many students are already confident with telling time in 5 minutes intervals!  If you're looking for more home practice for your child, you might want to have them practice on the IXL math site for telling time or this telling time app free in iTunes!

In other news, today Simonds students met with their base groups for the first time at snack.  We also had P.E., health, and continued to student force and motion in science!

FYI: If your child has a summer birthday, we can celebrate their half birthday here at school!  Our class makes each birthday child a birthday book and everyone is looking forward to having one!

Have a nice (and warm) weekend!

Happy 2014!

I hope your family had a wonderful vacation and happy holidays!  Our class was well-rested and enthusiastic about being back at school!  Highlights in the beginning of our week include creating a January calendar, reviewing our classroom and school rules, writing stories about vacation, double-digit subtraction, and indoor recess!  A busy start but it's great to be back to our routines, being with classmates, and learning together!  You may want to check out this week's Scholastic News article we read about Penguin Spy Cams with your child.  (Our access code is team27.) 

At Tuesday's morning meeting, each student shared one thing they would like to learn about or get better at in 2014! Here they are!

Luke- reading and division

Finn- reading a lot

Joy- taking care of her cats

Mason- division

Devlyn- writing in cursive

Aiden- learn multiplication

Aidyn-learn about cats

Gabe- feeding his dog

Josh- multiplication and division

Caroline- writing in cursive

Terra- third grade math

Lizzie- writing in cursive and math

FYI: Homework packets went home on Tuesday and can be returned by Monday because of the snow day and vacation.   If you're looking for additional home practice for your child, please visit the online link on our blog.  It is filled with educational games and ideas!