Bucket Lists

Well, as you probably know, I live by to-do lists, agendas, and planners. They keep my stress level down, and they help me stay organized. Besides that, my life revolves around bucket list that kinda makes me content and helps me plan upcoming trips/events/getaway. On that note, Paris is set for Winter 2014.. how am I feeling?! EXCITED! Anyhow, this week in 2nd grade has been chaotic. Kids are winded up daily. However, we did accomplish one thing: bucket lists.

Students were so creative and inspired to reach these things!

Also, we finished our compliments projects. Few weeks ago, students were given 22 flashcards and were instructed to write compliments to each other. Today, they passed and shared amongst each other.. (each kiddo had 22 sweeet comments!) Then, they created compliments poster board where they glued down all the index cards. This will serve as a memory -- for them to remember their kind and fabulous classmates! Check out our pictures!

Well.. 5 more days of school! I am about to board to Chicago! Till next time friends.. :) 

How many days are left?

Yesterday, we started popping our balloons..countdown has begun! We are ready for 3rd grade.. (well, they are. I have mixed feelings, and I am starting to get emotional.)

In number 9, we found an activity that stated "chew bubble gum" and all of the kida went,"ahh we never get to do that in school." Indeed, it was a special moment for them. For me, I had to run to store during planning because I forgot to buy the gum. Yeap, teacher problems.

What does balloon number 8 hold? We shall find out in an hour!

Happy Tuesday y'all! 

Butterflies are free! :-)

Our butterflies finally fully emerged on Thursday. Therefore, each of us got a lolly pop, and made it sweet and sticky. Then, we put the lollipop in the net.. The butterflies landed on it smoothly thinking it was nectar! It worked very well.. except kiddos wanted to catch them and keep them.

& Mrs. Garland had a buddy butterfly that  would not escape.. 

Well, it is that time of year. We have started a countdown. 9 days  of school left.. We are going to pop one balloon a day and do the activity on that day! Activities include extra recess, popcorn party, chalk writing, and pick your seat for a day. Students have been asking about it for days, and I'm excited to see their reactions tomorrow! :)

LBL

Well, this weekend we went to LBL [3-day and 2 night camping trip] with 2nd graders. First of all, the kiddos behaved so well! They were super polite and friendly to each other. Also, we had no accidents or "home sick" crying. On the other hand, I realized it takes way too long for 8 girls to shower. Then, I had to brush, dry, and style hair for hours. Of course, we had to paint those nails too.. It was a good trip, and kids experienced so many things for first time!

          Nature Study and "Owl" Study

       Pond study.. what did we catch?

        Beaver's Dam (9 feet deep! eek!)

Stream Stroll.. Oh yeah, we found a lot of "crab fish" >> EL problems

        Pillow fight.. and the girls won!

       Bonfire, story time, and s'mores.. 

 

And we are on our way back to the school... happy Sunday! 

Wrapping up the week

Lets summarize today.. one student with broken tooth, another one bleeding, another one announcing to the class "My Mother is in jail...so I can't write a Mother's Day letter", two kiddos out of the school uniform, and the list goes on. Well, the good thing..it was Teacher Appreciation Week, and we got spoiled by SHINE volunteers with the yummy lunch! Thank you guys! (On the side note, I have been blessed by a SHINE volunteer who came weekly to work with a group of my students!)

On other hand, we wrapped up ARRAYS. I actually loved working on this standard more than I thought 

I would. I got a little creative, and we this is what we had for the final project..

Each student had to create a "building" that had an array. The student had to write the repeated addition equation. Of course, I had couple of students who were ready to write the multiplication equation.

 & then I had to add the "communities" to our city..so we worked and worked hard to make our communities  that contain many arrays (cars, trees, plants, butterflies, dogs, houses, swings, etc!)

 

And this is how part of our hallway looked with our city and communities..Could not get the other 2 communities in the pictures! Enjoy! :)

 

Well, here we go! 

Only 15 more days of school left! :-)

Love, Arrays, and Baby Shower :)

Hm. Well, this week, I had a student come up to me and ask, "Why do you LOVE us?" First of all, I was surprised  that my actions were that see-through...I guess so. I was kind of left speechless - I didn't know whether to elaborate or stay silent. So I asked, "Well..I just do. Why do you suppose?" and his reply was.."Um, I don't know.." That's when I realized no matter how much I "teach" these little precious boys and girls, I must remain a role model for them...constantly. No matter how bad my day might seem, I need to show that I care and love them. Indeed, that's my long-term goal for the remaining of the year.

And then, there are arrays. First day of arrays was a total disaster. Then, I decided to use Fruit Loops to demonstrate arrays...well, I can tell you one thing, even my LOWEST kids can write a repeated equation sentence after 4 days..use it in your class!!

Small Group Fruit Loops Arrays 

Well, there was a baby shower too this week. Two of my colleagues are expecting so the 2nd grade team threw a book theme for their baby shower..("If you give..." series) It turned out so cute! :)

 

This was my contribution.. Carriage Fruit Baby! :) 

(Thanks Pinterest for the inspiration! It turned out GOOD for the first attempt!)  

Special Moment

First of all, I can't believe there is only 4 weeks left.. where did the school year go?!? As excited I am, I am also very anxious to fit everything in.

Then, there was a special moment last week. On Friday, I decided to let students have lunch in the classroom with the teacher if they stayed on green all week (green is "ready to learn" on our behavior chart). Well, as you might know, lunch with teacher is very special. Most of them cherish me for weeks following, as I have not found out why yet. All they do is sit in their desks and eat.. Occasionally they will ask me random questions such as "Who do you live with? Do you sleep here?" etc. They barely even talk  with each other during the lunch block!! And of course, I am usually am grading papers on my laptop. 

On the other hand,  there are those who are pretty upset that I only reward the "good kids".. Regardless to say, it just happened that one of my students (who is severely autistic and barely spends any time in the general education classroom), had perfect behavior all week. He usually refuses SO many things that I can not even keep track of all of them. However, this week, he followed ALL directions, and his folder remained with a smiley face which was such an unusual thing. Well, he was allowed to have lunch with the teacher for having a perfect behavior. His face expression was priceless when he said, "I can't believe I CAN EAT WITH A TEACHER. This is the first time ever. This is the best day! " His face lit up with the biggest smile. I barely held myself together as my eyes watered up. Such a small gesture, and the heart of this kid is filled with joy. (On the side note, this is the kid who always tells him he is rejected by the world...) It was a special moment for a teacher.

All this to say, it made me realize that small things go a long way. Therefore, be thoughtful. Give simple things. Cherish little things. Smile. Just be happy....After all, that is what kids do, and they are happiest human beings out there!

And just something to think about as  you enter a new work week..Enjoy! :) 

 

All About Butterflies

Well, watching the caterpillars grow has been interesting. All that yucky gooey stuff in the cup has made my kids sick...Lets face it. It has made me sick. I'm ready for them to form chrysalis so they can already turn into beautiful butterflies...Just saying.

On the other hand, we have been doing many things with our theme. We created a life cycle as a whole group. We also are keeping a calendar to keep us on the track.

And then..our writing piece focused on butterflies. The students had to write, illustrate, and publish their work. It was a long writing process but we managed to complete it during intervention! Check it out!

 

Check our our hallway display! :)

PS. And I'm off to think of a idea to decorate my door for the last few weeks of school...more precisely, 4 weeks of school!