Second Grader's New Year's Resolutions

The second graders have come back from break refreshed and ready to start the New Year. The second graders came in very excited to discuss what they did over their break as well as what they are looking forward to. This lead us into the discussion about New Year’s resolutions.  The students discussed that a resolution is a promise / goal that a person makes to themselves to achieve in the New Year.  This idea then sparked a lot of discussions around resolutions people have made in the past, along with ones that they have made for the New Year. This eventually lead us into the idea of working on resolutions for 2020 and reflecting on our 2019 year.

During this project, students filled out a 2020 web listing:

“My New Year’s Resolution”

“Something New I want to try”

“The best part of 2019”

A self-portrait of themselves for 2020

Some of the resolutions that students made were:

“Waking up earlier so they can get to school on time.”

“Making new friends”

“Trying new foods”

“Listening more in class”

We look forward to watching the second graders take on these resolutions and continuing to grow in the New Year!

Kindergarten Explores Symmetry

The winter season brings many opportunities to explore the mathematical and artistic concept of symmetry. Gingerbread cookies, winter block patterns, and snowflakes helped to fuel the investigation into the new vocabulary word and concept. 

 As materials were manipulated, questions arose.               

                              What is symmetry? 

Is this a pattern?

Or is it symmetry?

What is the difference? 

How can we check to be sure? 

What is symmetrical? 

What is not symmetrical?

Where can we find symmetry?

The children practiced creating symmetrical drawings by completing and decorating ginger bread drawings that were blank on one side. With careful observation and/or folding of the paper in half, the children began to understand that the sides had to match! They were also introduced to the idea of the line of symmetry.

                    

                    

Hands-on pattern block snowflake creations also helped in the growing understanding of symmetry. Students first worked individually and then in pairs, taking turns adding a shape, copying or "mirroring" the partners movement and shape.

Then using water colored popsicle sticks, glue, glitter, and diamond-like sequins, the math and art students created beautiful symmetrical snowflakes. Remembering that the sides had to match and look the same, they worked carefully, excited to use new materials.

 

The final symmetrical snowflakes were used for many purposes. The snowflakes decorated the Winter Fest. They were also photographed for our kindergarten hallway bulletin board and merged to create a collaborative and collective winter greeting card for families and teachers.  Finally, the beautiful snowflakes were taken home as children began to dream of a future snow day!

Fantasy Writing

In addition to reading books of different genres, our fourth graders have been writing different genres of stories.  This week our students began the brainstorming process for their future fantasy writing pieces.  We are very proud of the vivid imaginations of our students and are excited to see them explore their creative side.  Students have focused on setting and character development and are full of ideas!  They are starting to incorporate elements of magic or mystical worlds, which is what sets this genre apart.  Students have been shown short film clips and read sample fantasy stories for inspiration. We encourage you to ask our fourth graders about their stories as they go through the writing process of prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing.  ✍

Moldy Fun-gi!

It's almost sharing time for 4th grade. On February 6th fourth graders will be traveling to Greene Street Friends School to share their moldy findings in this school year's Mold Symposium.

The students have be working diligently over the course of about five weeks, making sure to record careful observations of the food items they chose to place in petri dishes to find out if they would mold. There were some very colorful yet smelly finding and some disappointing results that required research to find out why the food was so stable. Wish all of the fourth grade students luck as they finish up their preparation and present!

 

Familia en Segundo (2º) grado / Family in second (2nd) grade

In connection to their unit on letter writing to a family member or friend, the second graders have been learning and reviewing the Spanish vocabulary that describes some members of a familia. To help kick of the learning, we begin each class time by reading a story that introduces us to some members of a family.

“Antonio’s Card / La tarjeta de Antonio” by Rigoberto González was the first book we read. This is a beautiful story about a little boy and his passion for words. With Mother’s Day approaching, Antonio searches for the right words to communicate his amor (love) for both of his moms, Mamá y Leslie.

Another story we read was that of Duncan Tonatiuh’s titled, “Dear Primo: A Letter to My Cousin.” In this tale, two primos write to each other about how their daily lives are different yet alike as Charlie lives in America while Carlos lives in México. This is a wonderful story that introduces both language and the culture of México.

“Yo Soy Muslim: A Father’s Letter to His Daughter” was another story we read. Written by Muslim and Latino author, Mark Gonzales, this narrative is about a Papá who encourages his hija (daughter) to find joy and pride in all aspects of their multicultural identity.

vocabulary words:

familia – family

padres - parents

Mamá y Papá – Mom and Dad

Madre y Padre – Mother and Father

bebé - baby

hija y hijo – Daughter and Son

hermana y hermano – Sister and Brother

 abuela y abuelo – Grandmother and Grandfather

nieta y nieto – granddaughter and grandson

tío y tía – Uncle and Aunt

prima y primo – (girl and boy) cousins

 perro de la familia – family dog

gato de la familia – family cat

And, as always, what better way to reinforce the new vocabulary than to solve crossword puzzles and play juegos (games). The second grade students have been having much fun playing with the matamoscas (fly swatters), Bingo, and their all time favorite pulgar arriba (thumbs-up)!

Upon our return from winter break, we will culminate the study by sculpting a family member out of Model Magic. Stay tuned...

This Week in PE

This week in PE we have been exploring movement skills through the use of scooters in kindergarten through second grade. In third and fourth grades, we have continued building up our basketball skills and have started to compete in basketball games.

In kindergarten, first, and second grades we have also worked on movement skills while using an object, this object being scooters. We have worked on moving using the scooters with different parts of our bodies. We also talked about the different safety protocols that are needed when using a scooter. Once we mastered some of the basic movement skills we moved into scooter soccer, which put our movement skills to work.















































































In Physical Education for third and fourth grade. We continued building up our basketball skills by reviewing dribbling, passing, layups, shooting, and defense. We merged all of these skills together and morphed them into small sided half court games and when able to built all the way up to full court games.





























It was a fun week back from break and we look forward to continue building on our skills from 2019!

"The No Tape Challenge" in 2nd Grade Art

The second graders began the new year in the art room with the unveiling of a new sculpture station that is available to them during independent choice time. At this station, students are invited to create three-dimensional artworks using recyclable materials such as cardboard pieces, card stock, plastic pieces, spools and other odds-and-ends. The second graders were introduced to a variety of tools with which to create their sculptures including staplers, cardboard cutters, awls, hand-drills and hole-punchers. The second graders were then presented with a new design challenge: to make a three-dimensional sculpture using the tools and materials provided but with no tape!

The second graders were given some ideas about how to securely attach materials, like creating a slot, using a brad or pipe cleaner through holes to create a wheel or hinge, or creating a flange. The students quickly set to work dreaming up new creations and bringing them to life. Some artists had a clear idea in their head before they started and set about systematically gathering supplies, while others generated ideas as they experimented with the materials. As they practiced using the new tools, they improved their techniques and were soon sharing ideas and advice with each other. Some students chose to take their sculptures to other stations to add paint, marker or colored paper to add details to their pieces.

 

The second grade artists generated a remarkable range of sculptures including a model playground with a merry-go-round, a box with a closing lid, a camping scene, a finger puppet, a puppet with moving arms and legs, a sarcophagus, a clock and a tent.

Design challenges like the "No Tape Challenge," help students explore ideas, engage with materials in a new way, problem solve and be inventive in developing new techniques. When students are invited to find their own way of doing something, they take more ownership in their work and have authentic learning experiences.