Monday, Sept. 23.

Hi all,
Today we celebrated Ani's birthday. Happy Birthday, Ani! We had computer class. Ani fixed a computer!  Way to go, Ani!  We played Beat the Calculator during math.  Students began their rough drafts of their Fall- non-fiction writing.  We also watched a video on how chocolate is made.
It was a full day in Room 28!

Test/ Box

Today we took our reading and spelling tests electronically.  Students were able to get their results and upload them into their folder on Box.  Please log into Box and review your child's test progress. If you have any difficulties please email me and I'll try to help you with that.
In addition we also learned more about Milton Hershey and graphed (and ate) our favorite Hershey's minature. 
We played math games and had a fun afternoon. 
Next week, we'll finish up our PA unit and begin our unit on weather.  Specials for next week are;
M- Day 1- computer, T-Day2- library, W-day 3- gym, Th-day 4- music, F-day 5- art.
Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!  Happy Fall!

This and that

We've started learning how to write expository non-fiction.  Yesterday, we brainstormed ideas about Fall and things we do in the fall.  We will continue this process slowly and step by step in order to form cohesive writing pieces. 
In addition we celebrated Meyani's birthday yesterday.  Happy Birthday, Meyani!! Today we celebrate Ryan's birthday.  Happy Birthday, Ryan!!!
Students seem to be getting the hang of Class Dojo.  As they continue, if they earn a 95% or more for positive behavior they are able to put a sticker on their marshmallow/COCOA mugs.  As they earn 20 stickers their names will go into a drawing each month as our COCOA kids!  We're all so proud of the wonderful behavior these students display, especially them.
Yesterday permission slips went home for our first field trip to the Lancaster Science Factory.  Also a note asking for headphones went home as well.  If you didn't recieve these notes please email me and I'll make sure to send them home today.

My Reference Book

I apologize for the confusion with the math- MRB.  I explained to students that they could find it on the website but I think they were confused.  I walked through it again today with them more slowly so they know where to find it on the everyday math website.
We seem to be in the routine now.  Students are doing very well with Class Dojo.  If they earn 95% or above they put a sticker on their cocoa mug / marshmallow.  Once they earn 20 stickers they'll get another COCOA award.  They are doing awesome!!!
Below are a few pictures of the students doing a "brain break" to the Continental Drift.

Guest Speaker

I apologize for not blogging over the last few days. Things have been very busy.  Yesterday we had a guest speaker teach us about Steel and how it is made.  It was, Mrs. Taylor, reading intervention specialist for K-1 and also my sister.  The kids really enjoyed learning about her experiences working in a steel mill.

Today and Next Week

We had another good day.  We had our first reading and spelling test.  We'll be having these each Friday unless I let you know differently.  We also had a chance to practice math skills playing math games.  We had lots of fun!
Next week- we will continue with our routines. Specials are;  Mon- Day 3- gym, T-day4-music,
W-day 5- art, Th- day 6- gym, Fri.- Day1-Computer

Another Great Day!!!

Another great day in room 28!!!  We started exploring different communities on the Ipads.  We're learning about different places that we'd like to go to and what types of things we can see and do there.  We explored our MRB (my reference book) during math to see how it could be used as a tool to help us.  Mrs. Brittain took pictures of us working.  Hopefully she'll post them soon.

Homework

Room 28 will begin homework next week.  The policy in 2nd grade is to give math homelinkone as homework assignments as well as practicing spelling words.  It will be rare for students to have more than one sheet of homework each evening.  The math home link should not take them more than 20 min, to complete.  In addition students should practice their math facts and read each night for at least 15 minutes.  If you are finding that your child is taking longer to complete his/ her math homework, please notify me.  Thank you.

We started our Pennsylvania unit today and learned what states border Pa.We went to gym and played a game where you knock down the hula-hoop castles. We learned how to count money using 1,10,100.00. We played the Money Exchange Game.  We did several brain breaks.  Our favorite one for today was the Cha Cha Slide.  We also got to use the Ipads to play reading or spelling apps.

Tuesday, Sept. 3rd

We began reading our first story; The Twin Club. We learned how some people communicate with eachother from far away.  We also learned how to be good partners and played Addition Top it during math. We had Art class today and made our names out of paper.

Communication in Room 28 this year!

Parents and Families, I'm going to try something a little new this year.  I'm no longer going to be sending home weekly newsletters. Instead I'll be posting on this blog site with up to date information on what's going on in room 28.  If you need to know the specials schedule for the week, please check out my website on the district page. All other information will be posted here.

Great first week!

We had a great first week of school.  The students are learning the procedures and routines nicely.  I'm really enjoying getting to know everyone and I'm looking forward to a great year.  Please remember to email me with any questions or concerns you have and I'll answer them as quickly as I can. My email is lbrittain@hershey.k12.pa.us