Happy Thanksgiving!

We have been getting ready for the holiday in Room 205! 

First the second graders and their seventh grade buddies prepared and presented the Thanksgiving prayer service to the whole school on Monday. Each class was responsible for writing on one fruit or vegetable why they were thankful for the word written on it. After everyone presented their foods, they were added to a large cornucopia on the wall.

The students celebrated an all-school Mass together this morning. Prior to the beginning of the Mass, the second grade class presented all of the canned goods that were donated for the St. Sylvester food pantry. A large section of the altar was filled with all of the wonderful foods and treats families brought in over the last month. Thank you to all of the families who participated by sending in the much appreciated food donations.

Everyone should see the turkeys that the second graders worked hard on this afternoon, as they were sent home today. The students used their footprints and handprints to put together a colorful turkey decoration. They also thought hard about all of the things they are thankful for in their lives to write on the feathers. I hope that this decoration helps brighten up your home this season!

Lastly, I would like to wish each and every one of you a happy and healthy Thanksgiving!

Making Change

To finish up our unit on money, the second grade class has been making change. In order to make this task easier, we used a chart with the columns labelled Price, Amount Paid, Counting Up, and Change. The second graders have learned that putting information in a chart can make it more organized and understandable. Click on the link below to watch a few second graders fill in this chart to make change!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8GwDUEcuIQ

Butterfly Life Cycle

As I am sure you have heard, we have some classroom pets in Room 205! A few weeks ago, we received ten caterpillars in jars. We watched them grow dramatically in size and eventually pupate into chrysalis. These chrysalides were then transferred into a larger netted cylinder where they eventually emerged as Painted Lady butterflies. Every child has had a chance to sit with the caterpillars, chrysalides and finally butterflies to observe closely these amazing creatures. Every family should receive back their child's caterpillar diary this week. In it the students recorded some of their observations. We will keep the butterflies in our classroom through their life cycles as it is too cold to let them go outside. I really believe this project helped the students understand life cycles better and is ultimately an unforgettable experience. I have posted pictures here of the caterpillars getting ready to go into the pupal stage, an adult butterfly eating from an orange, and a couple of students showing off their caterpillar diary work.