Dipper

Caring

We always start and end our assemblies with some
wicked dance moves.

Can you robot?

Brenda McVinua was our special speaker for the caring pillar today.  She spoke about how people have been caring in her life since she lost her leg below the knee 5 years ago.

For more about Brenda look at page 3:
http://www.mayoclinic.org/mcitems/mc6700-mc6799/mc6700-0411.pdf

Oscar was chosen as a Character Counts kid today!  His name appeared on the responsibility green star.  Oscar is a very responsible boy!!

Possum's Harvest Moon

Anne Hunter Studio

Ms. Cedar read the story, Possum's Harvest Moon this morning.  


Before reading, students all pretended to be a possum using it's defense....to play dead when a predator is near.

 

And They're Off!

Putting our measuring skills to work!  All students drew a picture of what this activity would look like.  They drew meter sticks, ramps and cars.  Each table raced a different vehicle & then measured in centimeters.  Students recorded distances in a data table and tomorrow will work on transferring that to a graph.  Great use of standard measuring tools!

Reading testing

The first week of December, I will be retesting all students on their reading.  I will look at their words correct per minute, accuracy & comprehension.  Please continue to encourage your child to read 20 minutes each night.  This can make such a difference in their reading abilities and confidence picking up a new book.  If kids would read that extra 20 mintues daily, it adds up quickly.....140 minutes each week, 700 minutes in a month, 8,400 minutes in a year! 

Turkey Talk

Students have been enjoying both fiction and non-fiction the last 2 weeks related to Thanksgiving.  They have learned fun new facts & heard hilarious turkey stories.  They have even made their own turkey disguises.  Bryan and Alan were reading Squanto's story together.   

Centimeters

Students have been learning about non-standard measuring tools and standard measuring tools.  They have used their hands (non-standard) and have now made their own meter sticks (standard) to measure items and distances in the room.  Next week, we will be racing cars with ramps and checking their distances and learning about the term median. 

A Bunch of Turkeys

Our PIE partners were here on Monday.  They surprised the kids with a fantastic turkey craft.  They are turkey door hangers, but the kids had another use for them....

Oohey Gooey

What does a real brain feel like?  Well, we're not sure, but we know how a Jello brain feels! 

Brainy Kids

We have completed our study of animals & their habitats and moved on to our growing healthy unit.  Students will learn about the following:

• the brain & nervous system
• the ears
• the eyes
• 5 senses
• healthy eating habits

They kicked off their study of the brain by learning that the brain has different parts.  They put together pieces of a brain puzzle.

A Very Important Day!

Parents, have you voted?  Your kids did! 

Obama vs. Romney?  Nope! 

The Duck vs. Ms. Langner was our election today! 

Students read the great book Duck for President and learned about the election.  Many students expressed interest in becoming president some day.  They watched videos of each REAL candidate and learned about their childhood.  Did you know that Mitt Romney's dad ran for president in 1968?  Students each made their own voter registration cards.
Time for Kids
Elections for Kids
Zoom Out the Vote

The kids worked together to brainstorm their thoughts on the qualities of a good president: 

• a great citizen
• take care of crime
• honest
• mjsical
• makes good decisions
• responsible
• they recycle
• makes smart decisions about money  (spend the money on good stuff)
• helper
•  cares about kids and education

The President

Last night, Dol, his mom, and dad all traveled to Des Moines.  Dol had no idea where they were going or who they'd see!  Their purpose was to see the President.  He was in Des Moines for a last minute campaign stop.  Dol says there were a bunch of people.  (20, 000 according to the Washington Post) He reports that President Obama talked about health care and donating money to the Red Cross.  
"I felt so excited," said Dol.  "I couldn't really hear that well because there were a bunch of people cheering.  I feel proud having seen him."  No matter what your party affiliation is, seeing a president is a significant event in your life.  I am SO happy for this smart young man to have experienced this.  He will remember it forever. 

Washington Post Politics

The Mayor Comes to 2nd Grade!

How lucky are we? 

The Mayor of Storm Lake, Jon Kruse, was a guest reader in our room today.  He read the story The Relatives Came.  Our PIE partners, The City of Storm Lake send us a guest reader once each month.  Thank you Mayor Kruse for coming to our school today!

Notice....Tinkerbell is listening too!