Second & Third Grade: October 21 - 25, 2024
Hello, Second and Third Grade Families,
Last week, we concluded our cookie story and continued to practice addition and subtraction with place value. The children enjoyed playing a game called “Bank,” where they used place value blocks to turn in groups of ones for tens, tens for hundreds, and hundreds for thousands. Watching them each have their eureka moments as they became more confident regrouping was a joy. All of the children are feeling confident in their abilities to add and subtract larger digits without regrouping. They are slowly strengthening their understanding of numbers so they will become more fluent in regrouping problems.
On Tuesday afternoon, the children were delighted to see a group of river otters swimming in the pond. They again saw the otters on Wednesday morning as they returned from the morning circle. Of course, the children wanted to learn all about river otters, so we focused our nature books on their habitat and diet on Thursday afternoon.
The children discovered their beautiful pumpkin houses had become food for groups of ants and chipmunks. Each child took a turn smashing their own house. The Second Graders then brought the pumpkins to the farm for compost.
This week, we will shift our focus away from place value and onto multiplication and division facts. We will work our way through some of the “trickier” tables, such as the 7s, 8s, and 12s, as well as review the tables the children already feel confident in. This will be the final week of this Math Block before we move into our next reading block.
Announcements and reminders:
With the return of warmer weather comes the unfortunate return of mosquitos. Please check that your child has bug spray every morning.
Please send your child dressed in layers.
Lantern Walk will be held on November 6th at 6:00 p.m. We look forward to seeing you all there!
Warm regards,
Meredith
Second and Third Grade: October 14 - 18, 2024
Hello, Second and Third Grade Families,
Last week, the students said it felt “spooky” in the forest as our platform filled with pumpkins and the air turned cool. Friday, the children enjoyed making pumpkin houses as a class, and they all turned out beautifully. Of course, the highlight of the week was Kingdom of Halloween. It was such a magical night, and it was so fun to see all of you dressed in your costumes! Thank you also to those of you who were able to attend the community meeting last night.
Last week in Math, we continued to practice place value as the children began to work on regrouping. Regrouping is a skill that takes time and practice to master, so they will continue to work on this new skill for the remainder of this year and into their upcoming school year. On Thursday, the children created place value manipulatives in order to allow them to really see how larger numbers are formed. The children enjoyed working with their manipulatives and looking at numbers up to the ten thousands place.
This week, we will conclude our story about Margaret and Fred’s cookie shop, which has accompanied our Math Block. The children will add without regrouping to the millions place, and we will have a small sweet treat to celebrate the end of the story on Friday.
Announcements and reminders:
Mornings are cold in the forest, and dismissal is hot at the picnic tables. Please dress your child in layers!
11/01: No School (Teacher In-service Day)
11/06: Lantern Walk for Kindergarten through Third Grade at 6:00 p.m.
Warm regards,
Second and Third Grade: October 7 - 11, 2024
Hello, Second and Third Grade Families,
Thank you to everyone who was able to attend parent-teacher conferences last week. It was wonderful to share all of the hard work and progress the students have already made this year.
Last week, we continued to make progress in our Place Values Block. The children are excited to see what large equations they are able to solve independently. One student jumped for joy when she worked through a problem she found particularly challenging. Hearing her shout, “I did it!” brought happiness to the entire class. It is lovely watching the children learn with such enthusiasm.
This week, we will continue practicing place value with a focus on subtraction. In our cookie story, a large storm at sea will knock several shipments of cookies into the ocean, and the children will need to figure out how many cookies remain. We will also work in addition with regrouping. Sums such as 15 +16 will introduce regrouping the ones into a new group of ten. Regrouping will be a skill that we practice gradually and for the entirety of the year and into next year.
Of course, excitement is in the air for pumpkin carving this Friday and Kingdom of Halloween this Saturday. The children have been collecting twigs, leaves, and other foliage from the forest to decorate their pumpkin houses. Thank you to everyone who has volunteered to help in this activity. It should be a fun afternoon!
Announcements and Reminders:
Kingdom of Halloween is Saturday! Please, if you have not yet signed up for a slot or if you would like to volunteer for an extra time, sign up here:
(I’ll throw in a homemade pumpkin pie for anyone who signs up at our 7:00 timeslot)
Mornings are cold in the forest, and dismissal is hot at the picnic tables. Please dress your child in layers! It will be in the 40s this week, so send your child with their mittens and coat!
Warm regards,
Meredith
Second and Third Grade: October 1 - 4, 2024
Hello, Second and Third Grade Families,
Last week, the children returned from the break full of renewed energy and excitement. The forest was filled with wildlife, and our class was visited by a mouse and her baby, whom the children lovingly named Zippy and Squeaky. On Friday, the children spent some time reading and writing about wild mice, and they learned why we cannot keep Zippy as our class pet.
We began our new Math Block, which covers place value. The children were excited to begin adding and subtracting larger sums, and spent time working with base ten, hundreds, and thousands blocks in order to solve more advanced equations. Each lesson is accompanied by a story of neighbors who open a cookie shop and use place value to sort their products.
To accompany the cookie theme this week, the children will be working with place value to determine how many cookies we should bake this Thursday to take home as a treat for their families. Yesterday, they determined how many cookies they would need to make in order for all of their family members to have three cookies. They will also determine the best way to sort their cookies after they are baked so that they will easily be able to transport them home. On Wednesday, the children will use place value to practice regrouping skills.
Announcements and Reminders:
Parents are invited to join our class on October 18 from 1:30 p.m. to dismissal for pumpkin carving.
Conferences are this Thursday and Friday. If you have not already, please sign up for conferences here.
Please dress for cooler weather in the mornings and warmer weather in the afternoons.
Sign up to volunteer at our Kingdom of Halloween booth here.
Warm regards,
Meredith
Second and Third Grade: September 9 - 13, 2024
Hello, Second and Third-Grade Families,
Last week, the children practiced the /oi/, /oy/, /ou/, /ow/, and /ir/, /er/, and /ur/ spelling patterns. The children created a list of words containing those sounds and sorted them into the correct spelling patterns in their practice books. In extra Main Lesson time, the children are creating a book of spelling patterns that they will use for reference as they become more independent in their reading and writing. The children also heard the story of Ruby Bridges and wrote sentences about her in their Main Lesson books.
Thursday and Friday brought rainy weather, so the children enjoyed working on projects that have been saved for indoor time. The children wove flowers out of yarn and cardboard that they will use to decorate the platform, created shadow puppets for Day of Courage, and decorated a blanket that we will use for picnics.
Next week, we will practice the /ar/ and /or/ spelling patterns and have a mixed review of all of the patterns we have covered in this block. We will also review consonant blends such as dr, pl, and st as well as digraphs such as th, ph, and wh. As the children become more confident in their reading and writing skills, it has been interesting to observe many of their games reflecting this. Several children now spend their free time writing in notebooks and creating stories of their own.
Announcements and Reminders for First Grade:
Please remember to send rain gear each day.
On Friday, we will celebrate Day of Courage. The children will continue to practice their recitation during the morning circle and extra Main Lesson. Please also practice with your child at home in order to build their confidence.
On Friday, please remind your child to wear red.
Early release on Friday at 12:15 p.m. Please send a filling snack!
Fall Break begins on September 23. We look forward to welcoming children back on Tuesday, October 1st.
Fall Conferences are on October 10th and 11th and will be held at school. Please sign up here.
Warm regards,
Ki Meredith
Second and Third Grade: September 2 - September 6, 2024
Hello, Second and Third Grade Families,
Thank you to everyone who was able to attend Curriculum Night. It was lovely to gather and discuss the year as well as the daily lives and experiences of the students.
Last week, we began our second block, which covers reading and writing relating to the stories of the noble and saintly people. We heard the stories of Saint Kevin and the Cow and Macarius and the Hyena. The children are working their way through the different spelling patterns of vowel sounds. Each morning the children have enjoyed spending time both in freewriting and guided writing activities.
We also began building our puppet theater and rehearsing our verse and movement activity for Day of Courage. The children are excited to share their efforts with the other grades, some of them for the first time. Please continue to practice with your child at home each night in order to build confidence.
This week, we will continue practicing our reading and writing skills. We will cover the spelling patterns for words in the “ow” sound, such as blouse, doubt, cow, and towel, and spelling patterns for the “ah” sound, such as awe, caw, doll, and wash. We will also hear the stories of Etheldra and St. Francis.
Announcements and Reminders for Second and Third-Grade:
As the weather is becoming unpredictable, please pack appropriately. We will begin our mornings outside as long as we can, and although it feels hot at dismissal, the forest is cool enough for jackets and long pants in the morning.
Please send two full water bottles each day. While the weather is beautiful, we will be outside for the majority of the day.
Please check your bug spray bottles to make sure they do not need to be replaced.
Warm regards,
Ki Meredith
Second and Third Grade: August 26 - 30, 2024
Hello, Second and Third Grade Families,
Last week, in Main Lesson, we concluded our first block rotation with a focus on the four processes. On Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, we focused on division, and on Thursday and Friday, we practiced completing problems from all of the processes. The students are using their counting gems less and less and are beginning to move into an abstract understanding of numbers.
For Environmental Education, the class explored our pond by looking down into the water. Using a box of tools they were given, they created a viewing window they could dip into the pond to see what creatures were swimming below. The students saw minnows, viewed the plant life, and observed the algae growing on the top of the water. After taking turns viewing the pond from under the water, the children documented their observations in their nature journals.
This week, we began our Second Block, which will focus on Language Arts as we hear stories of noble people. In this block, each child will read and write daily, as well as practice memorizing recitations. As we prepare for the Day of Courage festival, we will practice recitations, sing songs, and create a short offering, which we will present to the other Grades classes during the celebration.
Announcements and Reminders for Second and Third-Grade:
As the weather is becoming unpredictable, please pack appropriately. We will begin our mornings outside as long as we can, and although it feels hot at dismissal, the forest is cool enough for jackets and long pants in the morning.
Please send two full water bottles each day. While the weather is beautiful, we will be outside for the majority of the day.
Please check your bug spray bottles to make sure they do not need to be replaced.
Please join us for Curriculum Night tomorrow from 6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Warm regards,
Meredith
Second and Third Grade: August 19 - 23, 2024
Hello, Second and Third Grade families,
In Main Lesson, we continued our math block with a focus on multiplication and division. After hearing the story, The Golden Goose, the students visualized the math processes as they imagined going out each day and finding a field full of golden eggs. In this way, the class learned, reviewed, and expanded their knowledge of the basic multiplication and division facts. Next week, we will conclude our first Math Block with our math tables using all four processes: addition, division, multiplication, and subtraction. We will begin our Language Block on September 2nd.
Last week, we were fortunate to have several beautiful cool days, and the children began to move their supplies to our outdoor classroom. Our time spent in the forest was filled with discovery as we explored our classroom forest area and learned new games. The Third Graders were happy to return to the ‘deep forest,’ as the children call the area behind our platform, and the Second Graders were proud to be allowed to join them for the first time.
On Wednesday, the children began writing in their nature journals. Every week, we will engage in a nature walk. During this time, the students have the opportunity to search for either an animal, plant, or object to observe. This week, we found kudzu blooms growing near the creek. The children learned that the bright purple flowers bloom in the summertime and discovered they smell like grape jelly! After each child spent time observing the flowers, we sketched a picture of them as a class.
Announcements and Reminders for Second and Third-Grade:
Please send a sweater or sweatshirt with your child for the cooler forest mornings and for time spent in our indoor classroom.
Warm regards,
Meredith
Second and Third Grade: August 12 - 16, 2024
Hello, Second and Third Grade Families,
What a wonderful first full week we had. The children are all excited to continue with their Math Block, and they have enjoyed hearing some new stories such as The Fly and the Bull, The Goose and the Golden Egg, The Dog and the Bone, and The Ant and the Grasshopper.
Last week, we had the treat of a joint day at the farm with Second Graders accompanying their Third Grade peers to assist with chores. The Third Graders showed their classmates how to feed the animals, check for eggs, weed and water the flowers, and even scoop the manure. The Second Graders were excited for the opportunity to help and together we kept the farm running for the day.
This week we will spend more time in our outdoor classroom in the mornings while the weather is cooler. Be sure to pack two water bottles and to dress your child appropriately for the weather. We may also spend some extra time at the creek, so please send water shoes and a change of clothes every day as well.
Announcements and Reminders for Second and Third Grade:
Pack two full water bottles daily.
Continue to send your child prepared for the creek. While the weather is hot, we will play in the creek more often as our schedule allows. Check backpacks daily for wet clothes.
Warm Regards,
Meredith
