Weekly Update

We had two great days in 2nd Grade!  This is such a great group of kids! I'm so excited to spend the year with them. These past two days we did a lot of getting to know you activities and routine practicing. We will continue that next week too, but will also get started on curriculum!

Writing:

The second graders wrote stories today about something they did over summer vacation, and I noticed we may need some practice with writing sentences.  So next week we will practice sentence structure and talk about punctuation. 

Phonics:

Next week we will take a spelling "test". There is nothing to study for because I want to see how they spell and what strategies they use. This will help me determine who needs help with certain phonics skills and we can put these students into different groups for W.I.N. Time (What I Need).  

Math:

Next week we will start our first math unit! It will be all game-based activities designed to get us back into mathematical thinking and into the routine of math learning. I am so excited to help these kiddos LOVE math! 

Reading:

Our focus next week we will be building reading stamina. We will also work on routines and review how to select good fit books. This is the year students make the switch from Learning to Read to Reading to Learn so developing independent reading skills will be an important focus this year. 

Homework:

Homework will be in your child's yellow folder on Fridays, and usually it's a math worksheet. In second grade we use homework to keep parents informed about what we are doing in class, but also to give the students an opportunity to apply their math knowledge outside of the classroom and show off their learning to their parents. I know from experience how busy families are, so you will have the entire week to work on homework. Your child can turn in his or her homework any day before the following week. I will check the homework and go over anything that your child didn't understand. So feel free to write me a note and ask me to go over something specific. I don't keep track of who turns their homework in or when. This gives you as parents a chance to lay the foundation for homework habits at home now, before they are attached to a grade. 

Your child got his or her first homework assignment on Thursday. It is a pennant to fill out, decorate, cut out and return to school next week. We will use these to as community-building springboards when we share them with the class. A strong positive community and a team mentality are foundational to second grade at Park. It's going to be a great year!

  

Extra Information:

The specials calendar for August and September is in the back pocket of your child's yellow folder. That folder should travel back and forth with your second grader every day.

August 22- No School

August 29- No School

September 1- No School

September 24- Picture Day

October 3- Color the Park

We will take a snack break every day in the morning, but many kids also need a snack in the afternoon. We work hard at school! Please discuss with your child what will work for him or her and help them pack what they need to keep them energized for all the learning we do all day long.