India Orphanage Project

October-November 2012

In class we are doing a unit on Who We Are and the choices we make. As part of this unit we are learning about being good citizens. As a class we have decided to do a project to make a difference in the world. We have a rare opportunity to have a mother of a student in our class that is from India. Last year she started an Orphanage in India. It has seven children, ranging in age from 0-14 years. Right now it is Diwali celebration time in India. Diwali is the biggest festival of India that is celebrated the same way as we do Christmas here.

The students decided that they wanted to give "Christmas" to the children in the orphanage. They made cards and collected toys, books, shoes, coats, and clothes from home. They brought all their donations in and helped clean, and organize everything.  The students were so excited and willing to give their things. They all worked hard to make cards that will bring happiness to the children in India. 

Our classroom rug was full of donations from each of the students. I was overwhelmed with how positively the students responded and how much they brought.We got a sponsor and all of the boxes have been picked up and will be shipped in the next couple weeks.This project was amazing, and filled the children with excitement. This project helped them see how wonderful making a difference is. Thank you for your help! 

Halloween!

October 31, 2012

Halloween was a lot of fun! We paraded down to the Junior High and got to show off our costumes. Then at the end of the day we had a fantastic party! There were 5 centers. 
1. Minute to Win it! The kids had to get a Swedish fish from their forehead into their mouths. Next they had to use an uncooked spaghetti noodle to pick up a piece of uncooked penne pasta, with NO hands. 
2. Treats: At the treat center students got a drink that changed colors as it was poured into their glass, which they got to drink through a red vine. They made little witch hats out of a cookie and kiss, and a spider out of pipe cleaners and suckers. 
3. Roll a pumpkin. Each group picked a pumpkin and then took turns rolling the dice to add silly eyes, mouth, etc. to their pumpkin. The groups were able to keep their pumpkins on their desks for the next week.
4. Craft: Students made different halloween characters out of toilet paper rolls
5. Pop a Balloon. There was a big pumpkin made out of balloons. Groups had a to pop a balloon and then do what the piece of paper said. 

Every had a blast! Thank you to everyone that helped!

There are lots of pictures! 

Contraction Surgery

October 25, 2012

Today we learned about contractions. I put on gloves and safety goggles and had an assistant hand me the proper tools. We performed surgery on the words cannot, did not and had not. We learned that the first work always stays the same and then you change the second word to make the whole thing shorter. We used paperclips as stitches, and learned that after you take the stitches out you are left with a scar which is the apostrophe. The kids had a fun time watching the surgery and then practicing writing contractions on their own.

Where's My Mummy?

October 24, 2012

With Halloween approaching we read the book "Where's My Mummy?" We talked about times the students have been lost or could not find their mom, or when they really missed their mom. The students were able to connect with the story on many different levels. After our discussion we made Mummies out of paper plates. The students were excitedly tearing paper to cover up all the white space.

80's Day

Red Ribbon Week

Second grade team on 80's day!

Spreading Germs

October 22, 2012

We are currently learning about how our choices effect other people. The theme for this unit is "One Choice and Beyond." Our central idea that we are working on emphasizing is "Individuals and communities are effected by the choices people make." As a class we have been learning about different choices and how they effect more than just yourself. One of our lessons taught about germs and how easily they are spread. We roll played what would happen if a student came to school sick and shared their germs "green paint" with the rest of the class. By the end of the lesson everyone had been given some of the germs. The students were able to see how someones choice to come to school sick could impact the whole class. 

Class Song

As a class we brainstormed ideas for lyrics to put into a class song. The students thought of so many different ideas and characteristics of the class. Then, I went home and my husband and I took all their ideas worked it into a familiar tune. The kids had suggested a few of their favorite songs. We put the lyrics to the tune of "Tonight Tonight." Mr. Wadsworth came in with his guitar and we learned the class song all together. Everyone was engaged and excited about the new song. 

Here are the lyrics:

It’s been a really really awesome week,
had a small adventure and I finished all my centers
At home I played hide and go seek,
at school we sing songs together

la, la, la, oh yeah la la la its pretty awesome

la la la pizza la la la

We love to go to
PE, and math
read books, recess and playing with friends.
We sing, we dance,
and love Seuss books like Cat in the Hat.

We’ve caught the learning fever,
Mrs. Wadsworth is our teacher.
We love our class! Our Class!
We love, our class.

We’re good learners and good thinkers too,
we like to self discover and learning from each other.
We go wild like thing one and thing two,
sometimes I call my teacher “mother.”

Singing

la, la, la, whatever la la la it doesn’t matter

la la la oh well la la la

We love to go to
PE, and math
read books, recess and playing with friends.
We sing, we dance,
and love Seuss books like Cat in the Hat.

We’ve caught the learning fever,
Mrs. Wadsworth is our teacher.
We love our class! Our Class!
We love, our class.