Dec. 16th

This week we took a math test on Graphs and one on Money. There are a few children still working on passing the money test.

We invited David’s mom to come in and tell us about Germany and Norway because she had lived in both places for a few years. We were excited to learn about the castles and the fjords. We also liked the yummy German cookies and to hear the Norwegian language. We found out that we could call our Christmas Store a Flea Market. We also had a feast from different foods from Europe. The favorite was spaghetti and the least favorite was sauerkraut. We also wrote a letter to Santa letting him know of our wants and needs and why we deserve them. You may read them in the hall along with our research on different European traditions.

For part of our class Christmas Party we are going to decorate edible Christmas Trees. I will supply the sugar cones and frosting but would appreciate help with small candy like M&M’s, Skittles, Nerds, Gum Drops Etc.  If you wish to donate please have them at our class by the 21^st so I know what I need to purchase. Our class would really appreciate any donation for this activity.

For our school Christmas sing we would like the entire second grade to dress up in their best clothes and if they want they can wear a Santa hat.

Dec. 9th

The highlight of our week was Genius Hour. The students are working in groups to create a new game. We hope to have them finished before Christmas vacation so we can play them for part of our Christmas party. We would like to thank Mrs. Colburn for coming in and sharing with our class some of the traditions from Belgium. It was exciting to see her dress, wooden shoes, and eat spice Speculoos cookies.

Every student has finished his or her adobe voice and I sent them to each parent via email. I hope you enjoyed this project.

Our class store will be Monday Dec. 19^tth.

For part of our class Christmas Party we are going to decorate edible Christmas Trees. I will supply the sugar cones and frosting but would appreciate help with small candy like M&M’s, Skittles, Nerds, Gum Drops Etc.  If you wish to donate please have them at our class by the 21^st so I know what I need to purchase. Our class would really appreciate any donation for this activity.

Dec. 2

We have had a busy week doing STEAM projects. Since it is a testing week for Language Arts we do not do our normal routine for reading.  The students take what they have learned in the previous weeks reading lessons and researched about animals, while Mrs. Kitchens test. The students got to choose 1 of 5 ways to present their information. They made a display of their project by folding paper different ways to make a flip chart.

In Social Studies we are studying about cultural, traditions and the Continent Europe. The student each chooses a country in Europe and wrote about the countries Christmas traditions.

We just finished our place value unit and started money.

You can check skyward for all the new reading test scores and the math Place Value test. The student’s words per minutes for reading made drastic improvement. Please ask your students questions about what they are reading. This will help their comprehension.

We are front loading our economics unit by earning money for our Christmas store. There have been some very busy 2^nd grade producers bringing in very clever items to sale. Our class store will be in 2 weeks. The students got their first paycheck for hard work at school. The also had to subtract what they got charged on their visa card for not being on task. The students are working hard on earning enough class money to buy Christmas gifts at our class store.

Nov. 22

There are no spelling or vocabulary words because every 6^th week in language arts we take unit test and do unit projects.  So, just enjoys reading with your child this week.

We have had a fun few weeks. We ended our study of the continent “Africa” by eating rice, beans and a mixture of flour and salt, which we fried. We started our traditions and cultural unit off by having Nataanii’s mom come and speak to us about her Navaho culture. We also had pumpkin pudding and read stories about the first Thanksgiving. This month we wrote poems on gratitude. We took a unit test in reading and are almost ready for our math test on place value.

In about one week we are starting our “Consumers and Producers” unit in Social Studies. I give the children class money for the work they do in class. They use this money to buy items at our Christmas store. We get the items to sale and buy for our store from things no longer needed at home. The students can start to bring items that you would throw away or give to the D.I. to use at our Christmas Store. Students can also be a produce and make pictures or simple items to sale at our store. The rules are:

1. No baked items

2. They cannot spend real money on items to bring items to our store.

3. The items need to be in somewhat good condition.

4. The items have to be something no longer needed at home.

Some examples are:

I cleaned out my closets and found stuffed animals, old scarfs and some jewelry that I no longer want so I am brought them to sale. Once I had a boy make rock paperweights and he painted and glued eyes on them or necklaces from plastic beads.

Nov. 11th

Extra Credit Work:

I will not be sending home extra credit work unless you request it because no one has been turning any in. If you would like this at anytime I will be happy to email some to you.

Notes from Mrs. Kitchen:

We finished up our “Me on the Map” activity in Social Studies.  Everyone finally finished their moon projects. So, we celebrated by eating Moon Phase cookies. In genius hour the students are working on creating an adobe voice presentation on anything about Space. This usually takes a month for me to get to every student. When they finish their project I will email it to you so you can watch the video with your child. We have been working on place value in math and picture graphs. In reading and writing we have been doing Expository Text about animals.

         As always--- I have the BEST STUDENTS ever!!!!

OCt. 28th

We have been reading Fables all week and just finished unit 2 in math. It was on skip counting (2’s, 5’s, and 10’s), repeated addition, arrays, and odd We have lots of crazy hair, socks, outfits and fun for our Red Ribbon- Just say no to drugs week. Remember our Field Trip to the Bean Museum and Planetarium is Tuesday Nov. 1^st. TOMORROW!

Oct. 19th

Last week we finished filling out our passport on the continent of North America. We got the i-pad cart and did an interactive nearpod lesson on the phases of the moon and we wrote animal reports. This week is Red Ribbon Week: Tuesday is Twin Day, Wednesday is Red Day, Thursday is Crazy Hair and Sock Day, Thursday is Team Jersey or Superhero Day and Friday is Pajama Day. We should have a fun week! For part of our Halloween Day fun in math we will be sorting pumpkin seeds.  In order to do this I need about 5 large bags of pumpkin seeds. If you can will you please save, wash and dry the seeds from your pumpkins when you carve them. I can start collecting them this week in order for activity to work.

Oct.7th

We have been working hard on our Monster Stories for Halloween. We started our next unit in math on skip counting and have been working on fluency & finding details in reading.  We had our feast to finish off our study of United States as we learn how we fit on to the map of the world. Next we will move on to our first continent- North America. The students have enjoyed bringing back their pictures of the moon each night. We are watching to see if the moon is waxing larger.  Remember to sign up for Parent Teacher Conferences. I would love to meet with each of you.

Sept 30th

Notes from Mrs. Kitchen:

                  We have finished our first unit in Math and are preparing for our final test. In Language Arts we have been working hard on filling out graphic organizers to write Halloween Stories and we are taking our unit 1 test.  There are no spelling or vocabulary words this week because of the end of unit review. In Social Studies we are trying to finish up our study of United States, so we can have our feast of ‘Hot Dogs, Apple Pie and Lemonade.” We are also starting our first Science unit- “Observable Things in the Night Sky”. Each child will get a chance to bring the Moon Bag home and when they bring the Moon Bag home they need to look at the night sky and draw what they see. We hope they see the moon! It is important that you send the Moon Bag back to school the next day so every child gets a chance to take it home. I am looking forward to visiting with each of you at Parents Day. Please sign up for a time on the school web page.  We have had another great week.

Mrs. Kitchen

Sept. 23

The students are doing a fantastic job!  Remember to read on Raz-Kids. I have been tracking their minutes read and quizzes. I also can tell what questions they are having a hard time understanding. Homework is due on MONDAY signed by a parent. Remember if you want a reading button from Mrs. Chaves you will need to fill out the blue slip of paper and turn it in before the end of the month. Our class has integrity because each student has a desire to learn and do their best. It is so fun being their teacher!

Sept 16th

The spelling test were so impressive. The students came up with their own short vowel sounds with consonant clusters.  We finished talking about our community by drawing a map of American Fork and reading about different communities in the world.

Sept. 9th

Wow! I have never had a class pass off Fry Phrases and math drills so quickly.  Amazing respectful students. I am so proud of them.

Sept 2

The students are doing super. So impressed with how they are passing their math drills and Fry Phrases. Have a great Labor Day weekend.

Aug 26th

We had a fabulous week. We made cookies and each student is designing a place mat that represents themselves. We wrote poems on how to have a great year. Some of the words we talked about and promise to do are- RESPECTFUL, SAFE, RESPONSIBLE and COURAGE.

April 1

        We are getting ready for our DRA Test and Writing Evaluations.      We will be starting a weather unit in Science and studying our last continent “South America” in Social Studies. We are studying 3-digit addition and dabbling in geometry in Math. 

         We would like to invite parents to stop by our classroom on Tuesday April 11^th from 12:20-1:00 PM (During our lunch time) to see our habitats and to ask us questions about them. We will be eating lunch in our classroom and have invited our parents and other 2^nd graders to come in and ask us questions. The students will be taking their habitats home this day. If your child walks home from school you may want to make arrangements to pick your child up this day because their habitats will not fit in their backpacks and most of them have hair gel and are very fragile.

March 25

Today the Early Birds got their pizza for having reading stamina of 60 minutes for 3 different days. We had our Australian Feast of barbecue chicken and potatoes, read a Easter story and played Colored Eggs. Our genius hour we created an object which out of pompoms, pipe cleaners and plastic eyes. We are going to write about them next week.

Now we are starting on Regrouping 3 digit addition in math. We are still finishing up our habitats and animal units.  There have been a few more Take Home Reading books coming in, but not everyone is returning them.  Please make sure they are returned at least once a week. There is a $10  fee on all books that are not returned.  We will be going on our Field Trip to the Museum of Curiosity on Wednesday.   Thanks,

 Mrs. Kitchen

March 18th

I think we finally got regrouping with double-digit subtraction. Thanks, for helping your child.  In about a month we will start 3-digit subtraction.  We are almost finished making our habitats and learning about the continent Australia.  We will be starting to write our twisted Fairy Tales this week and getting prepared to write our animal reports.   The Leprechauns came and visited us on St. Patrick’s Day. He left us some Starburst in a big black pot. We are looking forward to our field trip to the Museums of Curiosity next week.  Please remember to read your Take Home Reading Books each night.

Thanks,

 Mrs. Kitchen

March 11

We are still having a hard time with regrouping double-digit subtraction. We have started making our habitats. Every student needs a shoebox and gallon size bag of play dough. Mix equal parts of flour and salt, add enough water to make it pliable. Our Field Trip will be the 30^th of March. Make sure you have turned in your permission slip. We are going to the Museum of Curiosity.  We are hoping the Leprechaun will come visit our class on March 17^th.  There have been students taking the challenge to research something they are interested in. We have had some really good information shared in class.  We are also building newspaper towers in class. Every week we learn how to make them stronger.

Please return your Take Home Reading Books. There are some that have not been returned since October. There is a charge of $10.00 for every book not returned.

We have been working hard on regrouping double-digit subtraction. The students are still struggling. They get confused when they have to figure out when to regroup and when they do not have to regroup.  Please check with your student and see if they can do this with ease.  We have started our unit on fractured Fairytales and will be finishing our habitat unit this week. Please have your student bring a small shoebox and any left over craft material (plants, greenery, moss etc.) that they could use. Every student will need a gallon size bag of flour dough. It needs to be very firm in order to shape mountains.   Please send any empty plastic containers that cookies and fruit come in. They cannot have holes. If you could purchase clear or blue hair gel for our water we would really appreciate it. Please bring these materials as soon as possible.  They can start making their habitat as soon as they bring supplies.  

We will be going on a Field Trip to the Museum Of Curiosity on March 30th. Please send the permission slip so we can order lunches.

Flour Dough Clay

• With a fork, mix together 2 parts flour and 1 part salt. Break up or remove any lumps.
• Stir the water into the clay gradually, mixing it in with a fork as you pour. Finish mixing the clay with your hands until it is dough.
• Store clay in an airtight container or wrap unfinished works with plastic wrap and refrigerate. When you want the clay to harden, let it air-dry for up to 24 hours.

Feb. 25th

Notes from Mrs. Kitchen

  We have started our Habitat unit in Science and for our ending project the students make their own habitat out of a shoebox. In order to do this I need the students to bring a small shoe box and clear plastic cartons that cookies or fruit come in (They cannot have holes) from home and any plastic or material craft supplies that could be used for moss, plants, flowers, trees etc.  They can bring small rocks and twigs. Since most habitats have water we take clear or blue hair gel and color it to make water. Please be collecting any of these items and let your children bring them to school. Other than the hair gel, the students can bring just left over items that you no longer need.  When it gets closer I will need each student to make a batch of salt dough. I will provide you with recipes later.  Thanks so much for sharing any of these items.  This is one of their favorite projects.

  We will be having our SPELLING TEST on Thursday this week. If the students return their Homework on THURSDAY they will receive a treat. The students wrote some fabulous essays on the similarities and differences of Abraham Lincoln and George Washington. I was so proud of them. Many of the students are skipping the fluency passage and answering the questions on the back. Please do your best to get this part of the homework finish.

Feb. 12

We are moving on to subtraction. The students are doing excellent in regrouping. We had Mrs. Marshall come with her puppets for Valentines Day and we played a game with a parachute and flying hearts. You should come and see our papers we wrote on the similarities and differences of Abraham Lincoln and George Washington. They are impressive! We had a great week.

Feb. 5, 2016

It was great to visit with parents for Parent Teacher Conferences.  I love teaching your children. We have had fun playing math games to review the 4 ways to solve double digit addition with regrouping. We finished up our unit on Matter in Science and Asia in Social Studies. We are now moving on to Antarctica and studying about George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. We will be having a Valentines Party on Friday we will make a Valentine Sack at school to put all their Valentines in. The students can just put names  (Who they are from) on their Valentine or they can address it to each student.

Jan. 29th

Many of the students are finishing their FRY PHRASES for the last time. I will mark an x on their homework if they are finished.

Some of the students are not passing off their drills each week. If your child is on the same drill for 2 weeks they need to practice at more at home.  Not knowing math facts really slows down the learning and causes many errors in math. Please help your child with this at home.  You asked them their math facts while driving in the car or making dinner. Every little bit helps.

I am looking forward to visiting with each parent. If you cannot make it to the assign time please email me and we schedule a time that will work. I love teaching your children.

Mrs. Kitchen

Jan 22

This week we started regrouping in math, wrote "I Dream...." papers and went over characteristics, predictions, authors message and connections in reading groups. In Social Studies we watch slides from my trip to Thailand and China. In Science we are keeping track of our how long it takes our melted ice cube to evaporate into a gas. We also made a bar of chocolate turn into a liquid and then harden again using the physical change of "heat".  That was a yummy experiment since we poured the chocolate on Honey Combs and ate it.

The students are forgetting their library books on Thursday. Please help them remember.  I f they want to participate it the end of year school wired reading party they need to be turning in their forms.  The next form is due Feb. 5^th.

The topics they should have done are: Mystery, Biography, Free Choice, and Fantasy. They are getting pins that they put on a lanyard at school.  I am sure this will e a really fun activity. I hope most of my students will be able to attend.

Jan. 15th

We have been doing some fun winter art and poems. We will be finishing the DRA testing in reading and working on stamina. In math we are starting to work on double-digit addition. We are studying Matter in Science and Human Rights in Social Studies.  

Many of the students are forgetting their Library Books on Thursday. Please help them to try to remember them.

Thanks.
Mrs. Kitchen 

Jan 7

It is great to be back to school. The students have been fantastic! We took our money test on Thursday and we are going to start the DRA Reading test this week. We are also studying about Matter and are going to be doing some experiments. In Social Studies we are studying the continent “Asia”.  Most of the students started over on FRY PHRASES. Each student has a different amount of time to finish each list 100%. I am timing at 30 seconds, 45 seconds and 60 seconds. My goal is for every child to pass off each list at 30 seconds by the end of the year.

       I am very pleased with the attitudes of the students. We have had a GREAT start for the New Year.

PS -The students are having a hard time remembering their LIBRARY BOOKS on THURSDAYS.