Have a wonderful holiday break and a happy new year! See you all in 2014!

 

PJ Day & Christmas Breakfast

What a fun day we had today in Room 19! Since it was only a half day, I let the children come to school in their PJ's. They LOVED this! We celebrated the upcoming Christmas break by having a Christmas breakfast. Donut holes, sausage balls, fruit, and many other YUMMY things were graciously brought in by the parents.

 

Thank you to everyone who helped make this day special for your child. Have a great holiday break and a happy new year!

Ornaments 2013

My little elves have been busy creating Christmas ornaments to decorate our tree at school and to soon decorate at the own trees at home. We hope you enjoy these gifts made with love :)

Jan Brett Danish heart ornament

Gingerbread ornament

December Snazzy Snack

Our snazzy snack - Apple Christmas trees, froot loop ornaments, cheese cube star, and tootsie roll trunk! Yum!

 

Thanks to the Stepp family for providing the items!

 

Elf University

On the Thursday before Winter Break, the 2nd grade students were enrolled into "Elf University." Each child took the elf pledge, then participated in 7 courses on how to be an elf.

 

Davis - Edible Christmas trees

Coon - Hot chocolate and Christmas story

O'Hara - Christmas singing

Wiley - Elf Hats and name badges

Hughes - Reindeer games

McGrady - Christmas bingo

Watkins - Snowflake crafts

 

The kids had a fabulous time and they all passed the courses! Their final exam was the unscramble these letters:

 

Y O D I  L H A

 

Can you pass Elf University?

 

Report Card

Woodland Terrariums

The last week of November began our unit on "Organisms." We have been learning about plants and animals and their many needs and habitats. We built terrariums for our woodland animals to have a home. Each table has their own terriarium to keep watch over. Each table got two millipedes and four pill bugs (roly-poly bugs). We are letting them feed on a pine seedling and moss. We've also been adding a small bit of raw potato each week. They love it!

 

Adding the soil

Observing the terrarium

Ready for the next step

Observing the moss

Moss time

Its a millipede!

No fear for holding the millipede! She is braver than me :)

Diagramming the millipede

Look at our terrarium!

Christmas Lunch

On December 12, the Ben Davis second grade hosted our annual Christmas lunch. The cafeteria served delicious food and we were fortunate to host 33 visitors from our class! Thanks to all the parents and grandparents, aunts and cousins, who came to make this day special for your little one.

Stone Soup

The last two weeks in November, our class did a book study on the folktale, "Stone Soup." We read 4 different versions of the story. We followed it up by having a soup feast! Each child brought in 1 ingredient to add to the pot. We cooked it all morning and enjoyed a yummy feast of beef stew, rolls, homemade butter, and cookies. Thanks to all who sent in items to make this a success!

looking at all the ingredients

The pots are ready to go!

stirring the stone soup

Student of the Month - Initiative

The category for the month of November was "initiative."

Bryant is a polite, hard working student who comes in to school each morning ready to go and is always putting forth his best effort. He has a drive for learning that is delightful to see in a 2nd grade student. This year, on his own, he has begun his own classroom newspaper and started his own blog. He assigns tasks and articles to other students and runs the meetings during lunch and recess.

Bryant has an eye for detail and always notices when things need to be done. Without being asked, I'll catch him straightening up our class library or gathering up items another child left behind. When his classwork is complete, he often asks to spend time in the library or in STEM, finding ways to learn more and interact with new resources. He strives to do his best and to work to the best of his abilities, pursuing advanced avenues of learning. It is apparent that this young man will continue to impress and astound his peers and authority figures. As lucky as Bryant is to attend Benjamin Davis, we are just as lucky to have an amazing individual like Bryant as a part of our school community.

 

Bryant and his mom