Lunch Buddies

Mrs. Vanderhoof snapped a couple pictures of these cuties while eating lunch today!

Firefighters Visit FKE

Today, the firefighters came to visit our 2nd grade classes. We spent a few minutes going over some good things to remember during a fire and then we went outside to see the fire truck. Some of the important things they talked about included:
1. Make sure your smoke detectors have working batteries in them.
2. Have an escape plan for if your house was to catch on fire. (practice this plan!)
3. Have a meeting place outside that everyone knows to go to.
4. Make sure your student knows their phone number and address to let emergency officials know.
Here are some pictures from this afternoon:

Chief Allen, Firefighter Josh, and Firefighter Nate came to talk to us!

Firefighter Nate had a lot of clothes to put on.  There is no skin visible when he is completely dressed.

They put on all their gear and explained to not be afraid if you were to see someone dressed like this during a fire.

They have bright lights on their helmet so they can see.  You should crawl toward them in a fire so they may help you.

After talking about all the tools on a truck the students were able to walk through the truck! 

M&M Math

Today we used M&Ms to practice arrays.  There are so many great math problems that can be done with just a small bag of candy.  On their paper they had to write how many of each color M&M they had.  Then they had to tell me if that number was even or odd.  After that they created arrays using the M&Ms.  It was such a fun way to work on this concept.  You can do this at home using various other types of items.  Ask me if you need suggestions of things to use!

Talk Like a Pirate

This morning during our morning routine, a PIRATE came in and surprised us!  She said that tomorrow is "talk like a pirate day" so she was going around and reading to the students.  She was so much fun.  She told the class that her ship was stuck in the parking lot since there was no water... Any students that talked during her story would have to walk the plank.  We learned some new pirate vocabulary as well.  It was such a fun surprise this morning!

Pajama Day

Well today my class forgot to get dressed!!  We had such a fun time wearing our p.j.s to school.  I hope we can earn another compliment party soon.

Open and Closed Syllables

Syllables are something the students have worked on since kindergarten.  They are pretty good at clapping words into separate chunks.  In second grade we will take it a step farther and teach them open and closed syllables.  We have already seen a few cases of this with our word study/spelling patterns.  An open syllable can decide the spelling pattern.  Even though we will not teach this concept until later in the school year, I thought it may be helpful to go over it with you now.  I have started to talk about it in class so the students also have a heads up.  It can be difficult to understand unless it is practiced. 
So an open syllable is a syllable that ends in a long vowel.  Examples include: no, me, tree, hi.  When a word has more than one syllable the same lesson applies.  For example: "because" The syllables are be*cause.  So the first syllable ends in a long vowel, making it an open syllable.  It will decide the spelling pattern in words like: "meter." When broken apart "meter" becomes me*ter.  Since it is an open syllable the spelling pattern is e by itself.  At first glance, it looks like e consonant e, but the syllable break changes that.  Here is a short video of a teacher teaching the concept. I am a visual learner so it helped me. 
http://www.sacs.k12.in.us/Page/7814
Side note: I had to teach myself this when we adopted this phonics program.  I had no clue what an open or closed syllable was before!  I never remembered spelling being so complicated, perhaps that is why I have always struggled with it.  This program is very focused on teaching the students how  not to 'memorize' spellings of words, but instead understand the spelling pattern and manipulate/create new words using what they know! Once I embraced this new style of teaching/learning I was blown away, by how much better the students have done in their reading and writing. As always, let me know if you have any questions.

Footprints Lesson #4

Today when Ms. Hardy came to visit our room for Footprints, she taught us about drugs and alcohol.  This lesson tends to spark a lot of conversation for the students.  They may come home and want to share the things they learned.  Ms. Hardy talked about what kinds of things are drugs and if/when/how they should be used. 
For example she discussed that when taking prescription drugs from a doctor, they must be YOUR prescription and taken exactly as the doctor told you. She also mentioned caffeine is a drug found in soft drinks, chocolate, and coffee.  It is a drug, but allowed in moderation.  She also covered alcohol in the same way, that it is a drug, but allowed in moderation once you turn 21.  She asked them a trick question, "At what age can you drink and drive?" This one stumped the kiddos.  She told them that it is not ok to drink and then drive, because of what alcohol does to the brain.  Ms. Hardy made sure to mention that it is ok if your parent drinks as long as they do so in moderation.
The last drug covered today was nicotine, found in cigarettes.  She included many of the chemicals that are found in cigarettes and the students were rather grossed out!  Warning: if you or someone in your family smokes, your student may be inclined to inform them of the dangers.  The teacher's recommendation was to use an "I message" when discussing any of these issues with an adult so they may be received well.  She really does a great job of informing them of the dangers, but allowing them to understand that even though drugs and alcohol are not healthy options, they are appropriate to some adults in moderation.  I hope this was helpful in facilitating conversations with your family on this topic.
We recently had Our Place (the company responsible for programs such as Footprints) visit our building to discuss the trends and statistics of drug/alcohol abuse in our area within school age children.  I was alarmed!  Many of the numbers and facts came as a complete shock to me and the teachers I work with.  I guess I keep my head in '2nd grade land,' where this isn't an issue yet.  At this age, the idea is to make them aware of the dangers and the more aggressive preventative programs will come in to play later on in school.  I am hoping we are able to arm you and your families with the best way to communicate with your little ones about the dangers that lie ahead in life and how to best support them to make healthy decisions.  Thank you always for your help and wonderful parenting!  I know it can't be easy, especially at this day and age.     

Compliment Party!

We are only 30 days into school and we have already earned a compliment party!  I'm blown away by the excellent behavior we have had!  The class voted and the results are in... We are having a Pajama Day!  We will do this next Friday, August 18th since this Friday is Patriot Day.  The students may wear their P.J.s to school and bring a stuffed animal with them.  I ask that they wear normal shoes (slippers are not safe on our slick school floors) and the stuffed animal they bring should be able to fit in their backpack.  I will be sure to take lots of pictures to post on here.  Make sure to give your little one a high five tonight for being such great students! 

Magic Tree House

The Magic Tree House book series has been quite the staple in the classroom so far this year.  I started reading them when we began school in July and the students have asked that we keep reading them any free minute we get during the day! We have read each book in the series so far up to #7, which we are currently reading.  
It tickles me to death to have a class begging to skip recess to read the latest adventures of Jack and Annie in the Magic Tree House books.  Over the last few weeks we have been reading #7 Sunset of the Sabertooth and I am hoping to start the research guide about the Sabertooths and the Ice Age next.  This will lead us perfectly into our nonfiction unit of study. 
I have always been a huge fan of this series because of all the education it provides.  Each book has a fact tracker companion that explores the science or social studies content included in the book.  I have also introduced the website to the class.  It is through scholastic and is free!  The students can set up their own tree house and go on adventures/missions like Jack and Annie.  There are so many things to do on the website.  They can take “passport quizzes” where they answer questions about each of the books and earn stickers for their passports.  There are also missions/games where they are to answer science/social studies questions from what they learned in the books and collect clues.  The website is: scholastic.com/magictreehouse. Please let me know if you have any questions about this fantastic series! 

 Love,

Mrs. Kimmel

Adventures in Art

This week in art class the students traveled to Italy with the fabulous Mrs. Hertle!  They learned about Michelangelo and his painting of the Sistine Chapel.  Then the students had the opportunity to practice being Michelangelo.  Mrs. Hertle had papers taped under the table and the students used art sticks to draw on the paper.  They were able to see just how difficult it was to create art from this vantage point.  Thankfully they did not stay under their tables working for 4 years as Michelangelo did.  They were back in America at FKE when I came to pick the kids up.  Each of them was smiling ear to ear!  They had such a good time and learned so much.  Mrs. Hertle shared some pictures with me that I will post below.  I continue to be impressed with all the things they do in class with her.  What a fun and engaging lesson!

Cross Country

I want to wish a big GOOD LUCK to all my Cross Country runners in the first meet of the year this afternoon!  I know you will do great! Keep your heads up and do your best! I won't be able to make it today, but I hope to be at one soon.

Love,
Mrs. Kimmel

Monster of a Book Fair

The book fair is coming soon!  Our class will go during our Library time, 12:35-1:15, on Monday September 14th.   I am sending home flyers this week with special instructions about a coin drive we will do next week.  There is a slight change with the schedule though.  Since we are doing the coin drive during a short week (no school on Monday for Labor Day) the coins collected on each day are different.
Tuesday- Pennies
Wednesday- Nickels
Thursday- Dimes
Friday- Quarters
Monday- Any denomination
The top 3 classes will win a pizza party! 
In the past this money has gone to help build libraries for other students/schools in need.  It is an easy way to help out with that spare change laying around the house.  Thank you for all of your help and support!
I will post later to reflect our classroom totals and celebrations.

Footprints for Life

Footprints for Life is a program we do in all 2nd grade classes at FKE. However, due to the timing of the program, all classes won't participate at the same time. It is a six-week classroom-based prevention program.  The program is research-based, evidence-based and designed to build developmental assets.  They focus on the social competencies, and teach skills through the use of puppets and stories that feature "real life" situations.  The goal is to help young children build a strong foundation of life skills rooted in key social competencies. Ms. Hardy comes to our classroom once a week to talk about planning and decision-making, interpersonal skills, peaceful conflict resolution, cultural competence, and dealing with peer pressure specifically around substance use/abuse.
After the puppet show the students work through current situations in a classroom journal and a letter is sent home with details of that days' lesson. I encourage you to continue the conversation at home. 
Last week we worked on I Messages.  These are so helpful during our day when conflicts come up. I tell them to use an 'I message' when someone upsets them instead of coming to tattle.  This week we covered the solution stoplight. We learned what a lose-lose, win-lose, and win-win solution is. There are several strategies they were given to help them calm down before addressing the problem and the person that has upset them.

Today's puppet show

Our puppets take a bow!