Hello my sweet friends! I hope you are enjoying every moment of summer vacation. I sure am! Because of my move at the end of the school year, I couldn't squeeze in time in the day to share about our last weeks in room 8. They were full of fun, learning, and a couple of shenanigans! Here is our end of year wrap up.
We finished reading another treasured book, Because of Winn-Dixie. This is the sweetest story of finding friendship and joy in the most unexpected ways. One of the activities we did to accompany this novel was a beautiful art project. The children created these amazing sunshines and then got to pick their own special word to go with it. In the book we learned that everyone's most important thing is different, so this got us thinking about what is most important to each of us. Thank you Jennifer Clothier for cutting out these precious words on your Cricket.
Our oh so very cool ocean dioramas were presented in class and displayed for Open House.
Speaking of Open House, it was a sweet success. I loved celebrating the kiddos' accomplishments with all of you. What a spectacular year of growth!
We learned all about American Tall Tales because everyone needs good campfire stories. We also put our reading detective skills to work and learned how to be members of a literature circle. (Be still my heart! They are so independent!) Each student had an important responsibility to closely read for, character analysis, setting, plot, and hyperboles. Then they reported back their findings to the group.
We filled our classmates' "beach buckets" up with kind sentiments. xoxo
Now, let's chat just a little bit about all the fun we had during the last week of second grade. This is where the shenanigans come into play because I'm all for making things extra special and memorable! :) Each day our student of the day popped a balloon to revel a clue about what was in store for us that day. They were mostly plays on words, but some were literal.
#5 Second Grade Is BERRY Sweet
On Monday of the last week of school, we celebrated all that was BERRY sweet about second grade. For me, it was all about those 21 little angels that filled each day with joy. We celebrated a year of great growth as students ate strawberries, drank punch, and received a special class award. As I was describing each award, it was so precious because the students would call out the classmate's name of the person I was describing. They have become quite a close family and have come to know each other oh so well. What an honor to be their teacher.
#4 If I could PICKLE any class, I'd PICKLE you!
On Tuesday of the last week of second grade, we had all kinds of silly fun with PICKLES! HA! We taste tested, described, graphed, and created Pickle People. Oh what fun! And those faces -priceless!
#3 Beach Trip
On Wednesday of the last week of second grade, we went to the BEACH! What a great way to celebrate all that we learned in our study of the ocean. A retired teacher that happened to overhear our super smart second graders interact with our docent, was completely impressed by their depth of knowledge. She asked we which oceanography curriculum we used??? Way to go second grade stars!
#2 Cupcake War Challenge
On Thursday of the last week of second grade, we had our very own Cupcake Wars Challenge. Each student dressed the part of baker with an adorable hat and apron. Then they got busy designing and creating a cupcake that signified summer. The creativity and effort was astonishing! Thank you to all the amazing moms who helped make this magic happen on such short notice. You're the best! xo
#1 You BLEW Me Away This Year
On Friday of the last week of second grade, well let's see...I got just a tad emotional (blushing even now). We enjoyed each other's company, read Last Day Blues (the sequel to First Day Jitters that we read on day 1), finished watching Winn-Dixie, and ate an ice cream sundae out of a trough with all of our friends!
We danced our hearts out one last time with our friends from Go Noodle.
With much love,
