MS. CINDY
We honored Ms. Cindy on Friday for her last day with us. She has been an integral part of the classroom and our teaching team since October. She graduated from UIC on Thursday evening and we are so proud of her accomplishments! Ms. Cindy received a lovely card from all the children including photos of each of them. We also gave her a few other gifts, including the book, The Dot, by Peter Reynolds. Ms. Cindy is ready to "make her mark" and begin her teaching career. We wish her well and will miss her. She will come back and visit us again before the end of the year. Thanks to Ms. Cindy for the yummy cupcakes and the beautiful hand-drawn cars she made for each child.
INSECTS
For our final science unit this spring, we are learning all about insects and metamorphosis. In our classroom, we are observing harvester ants, painted lady caterpillars, ladybugs and mystery insects. Our mystery insects all belong to the same family and the children have become detectives trying to figure out the exact kind. As entomologists, the children will observe, research and hypothesize about our insects. We will begin to reveal clues about the mystery insects and while the children already have many guesses, we encourage them to find evidence and facts for why they think it's a specific insect. As a part of the study, we are also learning the difference between moths and butterflies.
All of our painted lady caterpillars and ladybug larvae have become chrysalids. Now we wait patiently for them to emerge as adults. The harvester ants have been busy digging tunnels in their bright blue gel habitat. This gel was created by NASA so they could observe ant behavior in space without the dirt tunnels collapsing due to the lack of gravity. The gel contains all the food and water the ants need to survive. Since our study began we have learned that all the worker and soldier ants are females. These include any ants you might find outside or in your home. The girls in our class were pretty excited about the "girl power" of this insect colony. The males' purpose in the colony is to mate with the queen and then they die shortly after. We also learned that ants communicate to one another by touching their antennae together. They also use scent and sound. Be sure to ask your second grader what other amazing insect facts he/she has learned!
CHICKS
For most of the last month, chicken eggs have been incubating across the hall from our classroom in the Learning Lab. This was an all-school project organized by Ms. Kennedy, First Grade Assistant Teacher and the Science Coordinator for ESH. Last week, the chicks hatched. We were able to observe them breaking out of their shells and even heard chicks peeping from inside! The highlight of the week was being able to hold a black or yellow chick. In the midst of all the excitement, Ms. Harrison tried to take a photo of each child. We apologize for any photos that were a little blurry or if your child closed his/her eyes. The chicks had been held by many classes throughout the day and were quite exhausted so we were moving quickly. Some even fell asleep while we were holding them! Please see the photo gallery for all the photos. This was such an memorable event to be a part of!
OREGON TRAIL
This coming week, we will begin our study of the Oregon Trail. We have already started reading about the history and why pioneers wanted to settle west. Soon, each second grader will choose a fictional pioneer name and begin recording their journey as we pretend to travel along the Oregon Trail, stopping at landmarks along the way. To help children understand this journey, we will be reading historical fiction journals told from the perspective of two children, a boy named Joshua and a girl named Rachel. The entire second grade is participating in this study. Children can look forward to experiencing a one-room school house, play games that pioneer children played, learn about the importance of quilts, play inside a life-sized covered wagon, and dress like pioneers! We will also learn about the Native Americans and the African American pioneers. We have several costumes and accessories to share but not enough for everyone. We'd like each child to be able to dress like a pioneer and could use your help in bringing items from home or helping you child assemble a pioneer costume. We have plenty of bonnets for girls to use. Here are some other ideas for pioneer 1800’s clothing (think Little House on the Prairie): aprons, simple long-sleeved dresses, suspenders, straw hats, vests, bandanas, stockings, and a lunch tied to a stick with a bandana or in a metal pail.
To get the Knicker look for boys, any pair of dress pants can be rolled up and cuffed just below the knee. Uniform or knee socks will cover the legs. Wear dark shoes or boots. Shirts can be button-downed and long-sleeved, dark solid colors, white, striped, plaid, or even flannel. Knicker and shirts are worn with suspenders. Golf caps or driving caps are a good substitute for newsboy caps and sweater vests are appropriate and acceptable.
Hopefully, you can find what you need to wear already at home. Be creative! Please have your child bring his/her costume items to keep at school until we are done with this study at the end of the month. Costumes can be sent in any time - the sooner the better! Thanks for your support!
PICNIC FRIDAYS!
Starting this Friday and every Friday for the rest of the year (weather permitting), we will have Picnic Day during our lunch time12:00-1:00 across the street in Jackson Park. On these days, please do not send heat ups. Children can still bring lunch boxes and will be able to pick up their milk. If your child does not receive milk from school, please send a beverage. Children are welcome to bring beach towels or picnic blankets (that they can manage themselves) to sit on. Children can store them in their cubbies until the end of the year. We invite you to join us as well!
WORD STUDY
Last week, we discussed singular and plural nouns. Here are the rules we practiced for making a noun plural:
We honored Ms. Cindy on Friday for her last day with us. She has been an integral part of the classroom and our teaching team since October. She graduated from UIC on Thursday evening and we are so proud of her accomplishments! Ms. Cindy received a lovely card from all the children including photos of each of them. We also gave her a few other gifts, including the book, The Dot, by Peter Reynolds. Ms. Cindy is ready to "make her mark" and begin her teaching career. We wish her well and will miss her. She will come back and visit us again before the end of the year. Thanks to Ms. Cindy for the yummy cupcakes and the beautiful hand-drawn cars she made for each child.
INSECTS
For our final science unit this spring, we are learning all about insects and metamorphosis. In our classroom, we are observing harvester ants, painted lady caterpillars, ladybugs and mystery insects. Our mystery insects all belong to the same family and the children have become detectives trying to figure out the exact kind. As entomologists, the children will observe, research and hypothesize about our insects. We will begin to reveal clues about the mystery insects and while the children already have many guesses, we encourage them to find evidence and facts for why they think it's a specific insect. As a part of the study, we are also learning the difference between moths and butterflies.
All of our painted lady caterpillars and ladybug larvae have become chrysalids. Now we wait patiently for them to emerge as adults. The harvester ants have been busy digging tunnels in their bright blue gel habitat. This gel was created by NASA so they could observe ant behavior in space without the dirt tunnels collapsing due to the lack of gravity. The gel contains all the food and water the ants need to survive. Since our study began we have learned that all the worker and soldier ants are females. These include any ants you might find outside or in your home. The girls in our class were pretty excited about the "girl power" of this insect colony. The males' purpose in the colony is to mate with the queen and then they die shortly after. We also learned that ants communicate to one another by touching their antennae together. They also use scent and sound. Be sure to ask your second grader what other amazing insect facts he/she has learned!
CHICKS
For most of the last month, chicken eggs have been incubating across the hall from our classroom in the Learning Lab. This was an all-school project organized by Ms. Kennedy, First Grade Assistant Teacher and the Science Coordinator for ESH. Last week, the chicks hatched. We were able to observe them breaking out of their shells and even heard chicks peeping from inside! The highlight of the week was being able to hold a black or yellow chick. In the midst of all the excitement, Ms. Harrison tried to take a photo of each child. We apologize for any photos that were a little blurry or if your child closed his/her eyes. The chicks had been held by many classes throughout the day and were quite exhausted so we were moving quickly. Some even fell asleep while we were holding them! Please see the photo gallery for all the photos. This was such an memorable event to be a part of!
OREGON TRAIL
This coming week, we will begin our study of the Oregon Trail. We have already started reading about the history and why pioneers wanted to settle west. Soon, each second grader will choose a fictional pioneer name and begin recording their journey as we pretend to travel along the Oregon Trail, stopping at landmarks along the way. To help children understand this journey, we will be reading historical fiction journals told from the perspective of two children, a boy named Joshua and a girl named Rachel. The entire second grade is participating in this study. Children can look forward to experiencing a one-room school house, play games that pioneer children played, learn about the importance of quilts, play inside a life-sized covered wagon, and dress like pioneers! We will also learn about the Native Americans and the African American pioneers. We have several costumes and accessories to share but not enough for everyone. We'd like each child to be able to dress like a pioneer and could use your help in bringing items from home or helping you child assemble a pioneer costume. We have plenty of bonnets for girls to use. Here are some other ideas for pioneer 1800’s clothing (think Little House on the Prairie): aprons, simple long-sleeved dresses, suspenders, straw hats, vests, bandanas, stockings, and a lunch tied to a stick with a bandana or in a metal pail.
To get the Knicker look for boys, any pair of dress pants can be rolled up and cuffed just below the knee. Uniform or knee socks will cover the legs. Wear dark shoes or boots. Shirts can be button-downed and long-sleeved, dark solid colors, white, striped, plaid, or even flannel. Knicker and shirts are worn with suspenders. Golf caps or driving caps are a good substitute for newsboy caps and sweater vests are appropriate and acceptable.
Hopefully, you can find what you need to wear already at home. Be creative! Please have your child bring his/her costume items to keep at school until we are done with this study at the end of the month. Costumes can be sent in any time - the sooner the better! Thanks for your support!
PICNIC FRIDAYS!
Starting this Friday and every Friday for the rest of the year (weather permitting), we will have Picnic Day during our lunch time12:00-1:00 across the street in Jackson Park. On these days, please do not send heat ups. Children can still bring lunch boxes and will be able to pick up their milk. If your child does not receive milk from school, please send a beverage. Children are welcome to bring beach towels or picnic blankets (that they can manage themselves) to sit on. Children can store them in their cubbies until the end of the year. We invite you to join us as well!
WORD STUDY
Last week, we discussed singular and plural nouns. Here are the rules we practiced for making a noun plural:
We'd like to wish our classroom moms a very Happy Mother's Day. We hope your child's Mother's Day card made it home safely in his/her backpack on Friday.
Have a great week.
Have a great week.