Geography

Our maps are coming along beautifully! There is more detail to add, but for now we've been focusing on the seven continents and five oceans. We will continue to discuss different landforms, bodies of water, and practice the cardinal directions.

Elf Store!

This past Friday we had our Holiday Elf Store, and what a time we had! The students really showed off their creativity and crafted some fantastic Elf attire. We couldn't have done it without the help of our room moms and parent volunteers, so a big thank you to them.

December Updates and Reminders

Hello Families,

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving break! With parties, events, and conferences this month, we have a busy December ahead of us. Here are some dates to remember:

This week we have storyteller Len Cabral coming in on Thursday (12/4) to share his stories, folktales, and legends with our students.

On Friday (12/5), the second grade will have our Elf Store, where we will buy fabric and decorations to dress our elves. If you have not done so already, please send in 60 cents in a plastic baggie with your child's name on it.

We are starting our geography unit this month focusing on geographical features and maps. Please send in a blue poster board by next week so that we can start building our very own world maps!

Next Thursday (12/11) and Friday (12/12) are parent conferences. Please contact me if you have any conference schedule questions and conflicts. Thursday is a delayed opening and Friday is an early release for students.

Our Holiday Party will be on Monday, December 22nd. More information on that to come :)

We're looking forward to an exciting month!

Author Share

Today we had a wonderful opportunity to meet author/illustrator Matt Tavares! Matt shared with us his love for drawing and writing (and baseball), and how he became a published author. He also shared his writing process, which looks a lot like our writing process :)

After, he showed us how he draws his sketches by using one of our second graders as a model!

What a great presentation!

Halloween!

       

       

Thank you to all of the parents who helped make our party great! 

Our Government

Hello parents!

As you know, we have started a new social studies unit on our government. We will be learning much during this unit, including how government works in our town, our state, and our country, how the government makes laws and enforces them, and how the government helps its citizens. We began with a discussion of what we already know (boy was I impressed!) and what we hope to learn. I'd say we're off to a great start!

Goodbye, Butterflies!

With all of our butterflies grown up and ready to fly, we decided it was time to set them free. Fortunately the weather was on our side this week and we had a perfect opportunity to release them into the wild.

Fair Week

What a week it was! Our students have been hard at work with their insect reports. From grasshoppers to stink bugs to gnats and everything in between, we have been learning all about insect habitats, diets, and adaptations.

Meanwhile, our classroom caterpillars were snug in their chrysalises all week long until yesterday when…TA-DA! Out popped our first butterfly! By this afternoon most had emerged, and we even caught one in the act! We left them with plenty of food for the weekend and will release them next week.

For non-insect excitement, we had a visit from Johnny the K on Thursday. A former teacher himself, Johnny performed songs about many of the positive social skill we promote at Steward (all while wearing some of the silliest hats I have ever seen).

Bugs at the Audubon

We had such a great time on our Audubon field trip this week! Our students had a chance to discover some interesting insect information and share how much they have already learned. We found so many cool bugs from crickets and grasshoppers to spiders and dragonflies, even a frog and a salamander! Thank you to Mrs. Licata, Mrs. Gustafson, and Mrs. Bhuju for chaperoning and sharing in the fun.

Audubon Field Trip

Good Morning!

Just a reminder that our Audubon field trip is scheduled for tomorrow (Thursday), September 25th. We recommend having your child wear pants, closed-toed shoes, and long sleeves to help prevent contact with ticks. Further information about tick safety will be sent home this afternoon.

The rain date for this trip is Friday, September 26th, however we will still be going if it is overcast or slightly drizzly, so please be prepared with rain gear if necessary.

Sincerely,

Mr. Kilham

Thank You, Parents!

Thanks to everyone who could make it last night to parent seminar! As you saw, your students worked very hard to get everything ready and are very proud of their work. Thanks also to parents who volunteered for the many different jobs that help make our classroom a fun, engaging place to learn.

Here are some of the pictures from our slideshow, showing our students hard at work in their element!

Thanks Again!

Sincerely,

Mr. Kilham

Welcome to Second Grade!

Hello Second Graders!

What a great first day! It was so nice to see everyone again and to share our new classroom with you. I loved hearing about all the reasons you are excited for second grade, I know it's going to be a great year! Mr. Kilham's theme for the classroom this year is dinosaurs, check out our dino door!

Remember to find things to share with your secret paper bag, and that your parents have homework too. One day down, and much more fun and learning to look forward to!

Sincerely,

Mr. Kilham