Can-struction Food Drive

It’s Can-Struction Time!

       What:

• ●  A fun food drive, where classrooms compete to build the best, most 
•     creative structure with the cans you collect. 
• ●  The more cans you bring in to your classroom, the bigger your structure 
•     can be!
• ●  All cans collected will be donated to the East Montpelier Food Shelf.
• 
  
• When:

• ●  Now until April 9th.
• ●  Structures will be judged at 3:00 pm on Wednesday, April 10th.
• ●  The Girl Scouts will deliver cupcakes will be delivered to the winning 
•     classroom on Friday, April 12th.
• 
  

Happy can-structing!

Brought to you by the Girl Scouts 
Questions? Email sara@red-garland.com.

Classroom News

We had another action-packed week in second grade!  On Wednesday, we finally had beautiful weather for our P.E. Lab!  A big thank you to Mike Blanchard for organizing a wonderful hike to Mallory Brook!  I also greatly appreciate our parent volunteers who joined us for this special event.

During math class, we have been learning about fractions by dividing shapes and sets of objects into equal parts.  Each day, we have been talking about places where we have seen or used fractions, such as when baking, building, sharing food, and making teams at recess.  I encouraged students to continue looking for great examples of fractions at home. Feel free to email photos of your examples so we can share them in class.

In writing workshop, we are wrapping up our information writing unit by sharing our work with classmates and giving each other specific feedback.  In preparation for our student-led conferences, students are reflecting on their growth and setting goals for future writing pieces.

During Literacy and Discovery times, we have been putting the finishing touches on our “People Who Made a Difference” Book Creator projects.  I will post a longer blog post about this integrated unit very soon. We are looking forward to sharing these projects at our Celebration of Learning next week.

Have a great weekend!

Upcoming Events

Thursday, April 4th, 5:30 to 7:00 pm:  Celebration of Learning

Families are invited to visit classrooms to see some of the projects that we have been working on, such as our “People Who Made a Difference” Book Creator books.

Friday, April 5th:  Student-Led Conferences  

Conference confirmation sheets are coming home today.  

Please remember that these conferences are student-led, so your child should come with you at your scheduled time.

April 13th to April 21st:  April Vacation

E.C.O.: Becoming White-tailed Deer

On Thursday, we participated in an E.C.O. lesson that focused on white-tailed deer.  Since it was the first full day of spring, we shared signs of spring that we have already noticed or that we are hoping to see or hear soon.  We played a Coyote Deer, a freeze tag game, in which we increased the number of predators each time to see the impact on the deer population. 

After that, we took a moment for a mindfulness activity called 5 Things in which we each pay close attention to 5 things we see, 4 things we hear, 3 things we feel (temperature, wind, etc.), 2 things we smell, and 1 thing we taste.  This is a great activity to try anytime, indoors or outdoors to help students be present in the moment and aware of their surroundings.

Next, we went into the ECO woods for snack and a story.  I read aloud the Sioux tale, How Fawn Got Its Spots. Students helped me act out the story with different hand motions for each animal.

For our main lesson, we played a deer adaptations game.  For each round, we chose a few students to be coyotes and the rest of the class were deer.  Students took turns using a white "tail" (a piece of fuzzy, white fabric) to signal danger to the other deer.  The deer started off by pretending to eat in the woods with their herd. When they spotted the coyotes approaching, the deer with "tails" signaled to others and the deer had to race back to the "home base".

Afterwards, we discussed the many different adaptations that help deer survive in their habitat, such as white tails, camouflage, speed, hooves, and the location of their eyes on the sides of their heads.  We also talked about how being a part of a herd can help deer survive.

Next, students worked together to complete a Signs of Deer scavenger hunt.  They noticed lots of deer scat and several footprints in the snow. They also found some evidence of deer nibbling on branches.

After the main lesson, we enjoyed some Forest Choice time, building forts, using the slackline, and enjoying the outdoor ECO “kitchen”.  The weather was beautiful!

 

During literacy time, we created a new entry in our ECO journals. Students drew detailed illustrations of white-tailed deer and wrote about the adaptations that help deer survive.

 

Important Upcoming Events

Thursday, March 21st:  E.C.O. Lesson:  

Please help your child to come prepared to spend the morning outdoors.  Students should wear their winter jackets, snowpants, hats, waterproof gloves, and boots.  

Wednesday, March 27th:  P.E. Lab- Mallory Brook Trail

Please return permission slips this coming Monday, March 18th.

Thursday, April 4th, 5:30 to 7:00 pm:  Celebration of Learning

Friday, April 5th:  Student-Led Conferences  

Please return your conference sign up as soon as possible.

April 13th to April 21st:  April Vacation

Thursday April 25th:  E.C.O. Lesson

We are taking a short break from sharing so we can participate in some longer morning meeting greetings and activities.