Christopher's Blog Post

This is our number corner calendar. We have been telling time and magic squares. We have also been doing patterns on the smart board about leaves and leave color. We have been discovering that we don't have a pattern on one of the columns but we have been practicing ODD and EVEN.

Madeleine L.'s and Adam's Blog Post!

This is Madeline's, Ella's,Madeleine lozier's, Ruey's and Megan's zoo they made in inside recess!It took them a while to come up with this creative design. Madeleine and Adam we're glad that it was not CHAOS! Doesn't it look stunning? It amused them well.I guess they love inside recess.

Halloween Party

Our class will be having a Halloween party on Monday, October 31st. We already have plenty of scary sweet treats coming in for the students to enjoy. Students are welcome to wear Halloween colors, but save the costumes for for trick or treating :)

Thank you!

Edward the Emu

Today our class learned about metacognition, which means thinking about your thinking.
We used metacognition as a reading strategy and practiced using it as we were read Edward the Emu by Sheena Knowles. The students practiced digging deeper with their thinking by having conversations with their classmates about what they were wondering. We then shared out as a class and recorded our thoughts. Ask your child what metacognition means!

Math Beans

 Last week during math, the students worked on estimating and comparing numbers by taking scoops of beans. The goal was to scoop as close to 125 beans as possible. After the students took their scoop, they sorted their beans into containers of ten, this helped them calculate their total amount of beans. After they had their total number, they wrote a sentence where they compared their number to 125. For example, 90 beans is < 125 beans. The students also figured out how far away their number of beans was from the target number 125.

Integrated Pest Management

Today, in the STEM lab, our class learned about integrated pest management. The students watched a puppet show that taught the students about different types of problems we have with different crops and how to find a solution without using pesticides. We also learned a bit about the "colony collapse" of bees and how that will effect humans. Ask your child one thing the learned in the STEM lab today!

Red Clover Book

Today during library, Mrs. Rider read the class our first Red Clover nomination.
The book was titled: Out of the Woods, by Rebecca Bond.
Ask your child what the book was about!

NEW Hallway Display

Check out our new display in the hallway! We made place value monsters out of hundreds, tens and ones with matching equations. They turned out great!

GEMS celebration!

Yesterday, our second grade class filled their GEM box for the 2nd time this year! The class voted to have iPad exploration time as a class. They did an excellent job being respectful and responsible with the iPads. The Google Earth app was a big hit! Nice job second graders!

Fire safety

This week was Fire Safety week at GEMS! Students across the elementary school were reminded of safe habits for home and what to do in case of a fire emergency. If your family doesn't already have a meeting spot in case of a fire outside your home, talk with your child about where they think a good place would be!

The students saw how heavy the fire gear was and that it can be difficult to hear the fire fighter's voice!

The students learned about all the different components of their fire gear, including the air gauge to their air supply.

The students were able to see a fire truck up close and the various tools on board.

Thank You Georgia Fire Department!

Read to someone

Last week, students practiced partner reading during reading workshop. They learned about sitting EEKK (elbow, elbow, knee, knee), finding a good spot to read and staying there, reading in a soft voice, and checking in for understanding with one another. They had a great time sharing their book selections with one another! Ask your child how to sit EEKK!

Library

Last week in the library, our students had the chance to get their hands on a variety of different books. In small groups, they worked to sort their books into different categories depending on what they noticed. This helped Mrs. Rider introduce the different parts of the library. Ask your child how they sorted their stack of books!

Ella and Sophie's Blog Post - The Tower!

This is Jack. And he built a tower out of base ten blocks. It was taller than him. It was worth thousands. It had hundreds ,thousands,tens and ones. It was as tall as Mrs. Christie. We helped Jack make it but he made most of it. When it fell it was loud!

Mill River - 4 Winds Field Trip

Today the 2nd grade adventured on a field trip to Mill River (at the end of Mill River Road) right in Georgia, Vermont! The students learned about the 4 agents of erosion: wind, water, gravity and ice. We kicked off our year with 4 winds with a parent play. We then rotated through stations with more hands-on and visual activities simulating water and wind erosion. We finished off our morning with a hike to the waterfall where the students explored what they noticed about the landforms around them. Ask your child what their favorite part of the trip was!