Baby Weber

Have you heard the exciting news?!  I'm having a baby BOY in January!!  I shared the news with the class today by reading an Eve Bunting book called Our Teacher's Having a Baby.  After reading the book, we had some interesting discussions.  I was dreading the questions like "How did the baby get in your belly?" or "Where do babies come from?", but surprisingly none of those came up!  Instead they wanted to know things like, "Will the baby be born at your house or in a hospital?", "Can the baby eat yogurt when he's born?", "Will the baby have a dad?", and "Where will he get his teeth; from the hospital?"  They were very curious!  They also had some great name suggestions; the favorite being "Webbie Weber".  They couldn't contain their excitment, so I gave them a piece of paper and had them write down their feelings, concerns, questions, name suggestions, etc.  One boy wrote, "I think you're going to have your hands full in January.  Babies are a lot of work!"  One girl was really concerned about me bringing the baby to school; she was afraid the class would be too noisy and the baby would cry!  Of course we couldn't end the discussion without someone telling me I was going to get "REALLY FAT"!!  What a fun day :)

Mystery Readers

Mystery Readers will visit our classroom on C Days at 11:45.  I will send a reminder to you during the week of your chosen date asking you to write five facts about yourself that will be used as clues for the students to help them guess who will be reading to the class.  If you would like to sign up, please comment below or send me an email.  Here's the schedule so far:

October
 4 - Jennifer Koss
12 - Lori Johnson
19 - Deena Blair
26 - Gabriela Fedmasu

November
 2 - Tammy Scheidt
10 - Lynette Purtell
17 -
29 -

December
 6 - Jennifer Koss
13 - Nilsa Ortiz Jones
20 - Jennifer Stratton

January
11 -
20 -
27 - Theresa Saavedra

February
 3 -
10 - Sarah McMillin
17 -
28 -

March
 6 - Lynette Purtell
13 -
20 -
27 - Chuck Blair

April
10 -
17 -
24 -

May
 1 -
 8 -
15 -
22 -

Book Buddies

Today your child brought home his/her first BOOK BUDDY!!!  Each book bag contains SEVEN books; not six like the original post and letter indicated.  Please remember that the books inside each bag reflect different reading levels, so you may need to help your child read some of them.  Once I start sending home the monthly homework calendars (Thursday), you should have your child record the books that he/she reads on the reading log. 

Your child needs to be super-de-duper responsible with the Book Buddy!  We have talked about all the ways to keep our Book Buddy safe and clean while it's in our home:  keep it out of reach of pets and little brothers and sisters; when we're not reading the books, put them back inside the bag; hang the Book Buddy up with our backpacks each evening; wear the Book Buddy on our shoulders instead of dragging it on the ground; don't mix the books up with our own personal books; make sure all seven books get put back into the bag every evening; and make sure to return the Book Buddy on Thursday morning. 

I know with your support we can ensure the Book Buddies Program will be a success!  I'm really looking forward to sharing my love for reading with your child this year!!

P.S. - - If your child didn't bring home a Book Buddy today it's because I did not receive your signed permission slip.  I sent home another copy of the letter with your child today.  Please read over, sign, and return the letter so that your child can participate next week. 

What a week!

We've been really busy here in second grade!  Here are a few of the highlights from the week: 

• The children learned all about cinquain poetry in writing.  Ask your son/daughter to describe the pattern  (1-2-3-4-1) for cinquains.  We will be continuing this format again next week.  The class also learned a really fun song and dance to help remember verbs.  Have you seen the Verb Dance yet?!
• We've been working really hard on addition and subtraction this week.  Please help your child remember to complete the nightly homework sheet.  The homework is always a review of what we did in class that day, so you really shouldn't need to provide much support.  
• We've had a jam-packed literacy block this week!  The kids have been working really hard on building their stamina during independent reading.  Right now we are modeling-modeling-modeling!  It's important to set high expectations and get all the routines in place so that we have a successful reading block for the remainder of the year.  I'm really excited about all the growth I know they're going to make as readers in second grade!
• Our social studies unit is all about communities.  We have been discussing the difference between needs and wants and resources within the community that help people meet their basic needs.  Next week we will explore the different communities in depth so that children have an understanding of cities, suburbs, and rural life.

I would like to thank everyone for coming out to Curriculum Night on Tuesday.  It was so great to meet everyone and talk about the upcoming year.  I know I covered a LOT of information in a very short amount of time, so if you still have questions about anything, please contact me.  I would also like to thank the families of Luke S. and Carter P. for donating supplies to our second grade pantry.  I really appreciate your generosity!

Finally, I'd like to remind you of a few very important tidbits:

• I need all papers from the left side of your Curriculum Night folder signed and returned as soon as possible.  These include:  class directory, behavior policy, Snazzy Snack permission, parent letter, Book Buddies permission, and Blog permission.  As soon as I have all the responses, I will be sending out more information.  
• Please remember to send in one healthy snack with your child each day.  The afternoons tend to be very long for a child with an empty tummy.  You may also send in a bottle of water, but no juices please.  
• Did your child have a green day today?  Did they have an entire green week?  I'm very proud of the awesome classroom behavior!  Remember that if your child has any color other than green that you must initial inside the box indicating that you are aware of their day.
• A yellow order form for Highlights Magazine was sent home earlier in the week.  Please check either yes or no and return it back to school by Monday.  
• The first Scholastic book order will be coming home next week; be watching your child's folder for more information.  
• Our Book Buddies program (for the children with signed permission slips), will be starting on Monday.  I explained the system to the class today and they are super excited to get started.  Remember to keep the books in a safe place so that they do not get damaged and return all SEVEN of them inside the bag on Thursday.  With your support, we can make this a very successful program.   

I appreciate all the notes, phone calls, and emails that I've received thus far.  With your continued support we can ensure the best possible experience for your second grader.  I'm really looking forward to this school year; we have such a terrific class!!  If you need to get in touch with me over the weekend, feel free to email at jweber@psd202.org.  Have a nice weekend!

Birthday Policy

I'm really looking forward to celebrating your child's special day this school year.  While birthdays are an exciting time for everyone, we must remember to follow district policies.  If you choose to send in treats, they absolutely cannot be edible.  The treat bags could include things such as pencils, stickers, bubbles, erasers, etc.  If any edible treats are sent to school, they will be sent down to the office and you'll have to come pick them up. 

Are you looking for a much simpler and safer way to celebrate your child's birthday at school?  Why not donate a book to our classroom library or a board game for indoor recess?  You can make this really fun for your child by wrapping it up and sending it to school.  Your child will have the opportunity to unwrap the gift in front of all of his/her classmates and then be the first to read it or play with it.  Kids love opening gifts in front of all their friends! 

Finally, if your child has a summer birthday, you might be wondering how and when we're going to celebrate.  We don't want anyone to feel left out!  (My husband has a June birthday and never got to celebrate his day at school; no fair!)  We will celebrate all June, July, and August kids on their half-birthday.  If your child's birthday falls on a day in which we're not in school, we will celebrate the Friday before. 

I hope I was able to answer and clarify all questions about our birthday celebrations.  If not, please comment below and I'd be happy to explain further.  If you're confused about something, I'm sure others are as well!  :) 

Meet and Greet

Yesterday's thunderstorm kept me cooped up in the house with my back-to-school juices flowin'.  I finished all my lesson plans for the first two weeks of school and made these little cuties:

The kids will be able to take home a bag of popcorn as a little treat for coming to Meet and Greet!