Laptop Lab

If a Friday afternoon isn't exciting enough, add laptops into the mix!  Last Friday, we practiced our math skills by playing the games on the online Everyday Math games that can be found on their website.  Students were able to play online versions of our favorite classroom games, such as Top It, Beat the Computer, and the Number Grid Game.  Check out how much fun learning can be!

 

Kobi and Landon play Basketball Addition

 

Corren and Flynn are engrossed in their games

 

Molly, Caroline, Skyler, and Peyton on their laptops

 

Emily, Brady, Dominic, and Keira are deeply engaged in their games

 

Katie played the Number Grid Game.

 

Lilly played Top It against the computer.

 

Grandparents' Day

Over the weekend, Sunday to be exact, was Grandparents' Day.  This holiday isn't as widely known as Mother's Day and Father's Day, but in second grade, we like to celebrate the special relationships we have with our grandparents.  My fondest childhood memories are of spending the night at my grandparents' house with my sister and cousins.  We played Super Mario Brothers on Nintendo, made up games, and always walked to Caseys with grandpa to get donuts for breakfast!

Last Friday, we invited the second grade students' grandparents to join us for a small celebration.  The students wrote special stories for their grandparents, gave them a tour of the classroom, and then read Henry and Mudge and the Great Grandpas while we had a delicious snack prepared by our food service director, Jay Ayers (I'm telling you, try hot lunch this year!).  Here are a few pictures from the event.

 

Kaitlyn's grandma left with a few more granddaughters than she had when she came!

 

Tim and his grandmother read Dr. Seuss together.

 

Lilly showed her grandma how our clip chart works.

 

Caroline and Kobi read Henry and Mudge to Caroline's grandparents and little brother.

I would like to thank all of the grandparents who took the time out of their day to visit us; Jay Ayers, who worked overtime to make us delicious chicken salad sandwiches and apple cinnamon cookies from scratch; and the other second grade teachers, Mrs. Mann, Mrs. Brown, and Mrs. Crews, who put in a lot of hard work to make this event happen!  The students and grandparents had a wonderful time!

A Great First Week!

 

Second grade is going to be great this year!  We have spent the first four days of school learning about our classroom procedures and expectations.  We are working hard on showing respect, following directions, and doing our best second grade work!



Classroom Sneak Peek!

Welcome to Backstage Pass, the blog that will give you an insider's look into our classroom!  Feel free to share this link with anyone who is interested in what your child will be doing and learning this year! 

Creating a fun and engaging learning environment is one of my (many!) favorite things about the start of a new school year.  If you're curious about your new classroom, you've come to the right place!  Take a look!

We're in the Red hallway, right next to Mrs. Mann!

Here's what you'll see as you peek in the door...

The mailboxes are waiting for the important papers that need to go home.

The class pledge is blank because we'll write that together!

Here's the whole whiteboard wall.

Close-up of the behavior board.  We're using the clipchart management system that you may be familiar with from first grade.  Our rules will be referred to as the HIGH FIVE:  five behaviors and character traits that will lead to lots of learning!

Our daily schedule and learning objectives will be posted here.

This is the calendar math board.  We will practice math skills everyday by completing calendar activities.

This is where we will keep our textbooks, notebooks, and other learning materials.

Here's where all the magic happens!  This is our main stage; where all of the learning takes place.

This is the table where we will have small groups.  Behind it is my desk area.

This is our focus wall.  It's pretty empty right now, but we'll build it together!

Here's the coolest section of the room:  the library!  This is the fiction section.

Here are the chapter book and nonfiction sections of the library.

Last year, my name was chosen from a raffle for tables instead of desks.  I love the tables because we do a lot of cooperative learning in my class.  The bags will hold our stuff (since we don't have desks to put it in).

This concludes our tour!  See you next Wednesday, August 22, for a real-life tour!

As the school year progresses, I will post about the things we are learning, ways you can help your child, and pictures and videos of the students in action.  Please subscribe to the blog on your RSS feed or bookmark the site so you don't miss out!  Please leave me a comment if you have any questions!

-Miss Jackson

Have a great summer!

It has been an awesome year! Thank you for all of your support, guidance, and work this year! I truly enjoyed teaching the 18 vibrant second graders in my class! I will miss each and every student. I hope you have a great and safe summer vacation! If there is anything I can do for you, your student, or your family, please send me an email! See you in August as third graders!

2012 Egg Drop

The 2012 Egg Drop challengers...

The aftermath...

Do you think any of the eggs survived?! 

The 2012 Egg Drop champions! 

No cracks, marks, or even smudges on these eggs! 

Career Day

Last Friday was NBE's annual Career Day.  We invite people from a variety of careers to come talk to the students.  Students have the chance to learn about a job they may have never head about before and also think about their future career paths (it's never too early!).  A big thanks goes out to the 2nd and 3rd grade presenters!  We had a great day.

Mr. Dean taught us about being a horse trainer!  Kylie and Macie were very interested in this one!

Mr. Malloy taught us about being a police officer.  Grace helped :)

Ms. Kopid led us in Zumba and taught us about being a fitness instructor.

Mrs. Williams (using Brooklyn as her patient) taught us what nurse anesthetists do.