Kids Say Thursday

Today is Grandparents' Day at our school, so it always brings about great conversations. There is so much to learn from the generations that come before us. What is something that you have learned either from a grandparent or other special family member?

2nd Grader: "They used to talk fancy in the old days. They left the easy words for us."

Working Wednesday

One great way for students to show what they know is to allow them to be the teachers. Today, the students who understood subtraction with regrouping got to teach the students who didn't. It helped build their confidence, and they knew how to explain it on their peer's level. Great day in math!

Fun Day Monday

After learning all about food groups, we had a food group party. This was a fun and delicious way to put this learning into practice. The students colored the plates that show each food group by portion. You can find many resources and coloring pages here. I laminated them, so they could be used as placemats for the party. I sent home this letter to parents and assigned each student a food group. I made posters, and the students put their food in its group. The students enjoyed it, and they really grasped the idea of a well balanced meal.

Freebie Friday

My class is gearing up for standardized testing week. Today's freebie is an informative letter to send home. Just click here to grab it from my store. Feel free to check out the other testing related products I have, including testing motivators and a testing tips coloring page/handout for your students. What are some ways you take the stress out of the tests? You can also share your ideas here.

Kids Say Thursday

The book “Lots and Lots of Coins” by Margarette S. Reid inspired this idea. My students were fascinated by the section that described state quarters. I printed off this map and now we keep track of which state quarters we find. The students show the quarter and color its corresponding state.  One really excited student ran up to tell me, "I brought in a state quarter from New Hamster!" It also ties in geography(which my class still obviously needs...haha), so the integration is a bonus!

Working Wednesday

During February, we read various biographies celebrating American heroes. I assigned each child a biography. We use the ones by Scholastic. They read the biography and drew portraits to represent their person. This is a great alternative to a traditional book report. We call it the “2nd Grade Hall of Fame.” The students love visiting our “museum” and seeing the different Americans that contributed so much to our country.

Tip Tuesday

Teaching time always proves to be a tricky topic. I made this clock and added it to our math wall. It was only $1 at AC Moore, and I added the hands with leftover scrapbook paper from my craft drawer. It's an easy way to remind students about the basics of telling time.