February 8-12

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND REMINDERS:

This week, we are doing a project that is very near and dear to my heart.  We'll be creating 100 valentines for the residents at Birchwoods Assisted Living facility in Portland.  I would LOVE to have some of you help me deliver them!  If you would like to bring your child (and maybe even a friend in the class), please let me know.  That way, I'll know how many people to wait for.  My plan is to deliver the valentines this Friday after school.  If you have any questions, please let me know!

This Wednesday is an early release day!  Please plan accordingly.

Spirit Week Schedule:  
Monday:  mismatched clothes
Tuesday:  favorite team attire
Wednesday:  pink and/or red
Thursday:  pjs or comfy clothes

This Friday is our Fairy Tale Ball!  Please help your child come dressed as their favorite fairy tale character.  These costumes could be as simple as a hat or even wearing what your child thinks is their character's favorite color.  If you need any help or have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Next week is vacation, so today your child received a "switcheroo" homework packet.  Please follow the directions on the cover.  These packets will be due the Monday we return to school so your child has two weeks to work on it.

We will be taking our spelling test on Unit 12 words this THURSDAY!  The words for unit 12 are:  little, long, very, after, and words.

This Thursday, the second grade team will be celebrating winter and encouraging active play with a winter carnival!  Students are invited to bring sleds and other winter gear for a day of fun outside.  I'll be sending home a flyer tomorrow with more information.  Please send along an extra set of dry clothes for your child to change into once all the fun is done.  

THIS WEEK IN...

ELA:  We will continue our journey through fairy tales!  We are constantly reading tales.  For some, we have a short activity to help extend our learning and others we simply think critically about before, during, and after we read the book.  This week, your child's goal will be to complete a poster of their favorite character.  Their posters are required to have the name of the character, whether they are a protagonist or an antagonist, the problem, the solution, what magic was used in the story, a picture of their character, and the moral of the story.  Team Howard will share these posters with other second grade students this Friday at the ball.

MATH:  This week, we continue our focus on place value.  Our lessons will focus on five ways to write a number.  We'll practice writing numbers in standard form, word form, expanded form, picture form, and identify what digits are in the hundreds, tens, and ones place.  We'll play games that will require students to have a deep understand of the hundreds, tens, and ones place as well as the ability to compare numbers using <, >, and =.  

Valentine's Day Fun:  We'll be creating "Love Monster" bags to collect all of our valentines.  We'll also enjoy the delicious friendship snack mix we've all had a hand in creating.  Finally, we'll play some fun minute to win it themed games to encourage cooperation, good sportmanship, and to bond as a class.  

I'm so excited to share such a fun week with Team Howard!