WEDNESDAY SEPT. 26, 2007

2 SCIENCE - finished the unit on friction and gravity. tried balancing on one leg, on one leg with arms out, and on one leg while waving our arms in order to learn about the center of gravity. David did very well with his balance and we talked about how dancers and gymnasts practice finding their center of gravity in order to balance so well. took the assessment and they passed with 100%. they had fun with the bingo game and asked to do it a few times - great review.

2 HISTORY - finished the unit on Julius Caesar. they were very upset still about his death and were reluctant to warm up to Octavian (Augustus) Caesar :) they did very well on the assessment. we talk about how there was a period of civil war right after Caesar's death and they remembered everything about that from Suzy's lesson. we began the new unit on the Pax Romana (Roman Peace) and how Rome was no longer a republic and had entered the age of emperors. we learned about all that Augustus did - built new roads, rebuilt buildings and temples, created a postal service, built the Pantheon, commissioned Virgil to write the Aenied. I forgot to give them the assessment - I'll give it to them next Wed. to see if they remember it.

see you tomorrow - Ella is very excited about everyone "dressing up" for the symphony. Rachelle

K Wed Science and History

Good day!
We went to Russia, listened to the Nutcracker, learned about how Faberge eggs came about, read Rechenka's Eggs about the beautiful eggs, decorated eggs on paper, colored the flag, looked at Ella's nesting dolls.

For science we checked the ongoing bean experiment and talked about how everyone elses is coming. We looked at our now rubbery chicken bone from 2 weeks ago.
They understand that living things need food, water and air and we talked about how animals also need shelter. They made a picture of their own homes- they really spent a lot of time on it.

They all really seem to be looking forward to the symphony! :) See ya tomorrow.
Cindy

Tues. Classes

We had a great day today! It was an all "5's" day for everyone--yeah! Here is what we did in my classes.

KMusic- learned about the percussion family. Identified some of the instruments by sounds. Played the cymbal and tambourine and told a weather story using the percussion instruments. They liked this. We reviewed the quarter rest and quarter note as well as notes C, D, E, F. Listened to how composers paint a picture with music as we listened to a musical storm.

World Music- Finished our final concert prep class. Talked about how to dress for a concert as well as how to act in a concert. We reviewed the brass and percussion sections and marched to a statley march by the brass section and played a listening game with bean bags for the percussion feature. It should be a fun concert. it is a musical scavenger hunt and they will recognize most of the pieces on the concert from class. See everyone at the concert!

KHistory- Fun class today. We went to the Netherlands. Talked about how they are lower than sea level and need dikes and canals to keep their city out of water. They also have lots of windmills to help pump water. They had a bit of trouble identifying all the countries they have learned about so far and what they saw there. This could use a bit of review. Had great fun building a dike and canal out of clay. We added water at the end to see if their dikes held. I included the cute pictures.

2nd grade ensemble- good class. They all passed off 2 songs today and are starting to sound good together. They need to work on the rest of the page for this week. They should be getting it out 2xs a week. At this point, if they don't practice, they will fall behind. They are doing well though, and just need to work on the notes they already know.

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 24

2 SCIENCE - more fun with gravity and friction. did an experiment with different sized parachutes so that they could see that a larger surface area attracts more friction and slows an object down. they all got this and had fun with it. we also made a square boat and a canoe shaped boat out of tin foil to see that the thinner one moves faster in the water because it has less surface area and less friction. we'll do the unit assessment on Wed. and they should do really well with this.

K SCIENCE - learned that plants need sunlight, water and air to make food. reviewed the 4 questions to ask to find out if something is living or not. they all seemed a little off their game today but they still had fun with the lesson. began an experiment with seeds to see which will grow best, or at all. don't forget to have them observe these throughout the week - when we're at my house next week I'll have them look at Ella's. we looked outside at different plants to see how they grow toward the sun. we had to cut it short because there were a couple wasps and Quinn was really upset :) but I think they saw enough to understand the concept - leaves catch the sunlight.

see you tomorrow.....r

Monday Art

k-Art unit 2: lesson7 Today they played with water colors. They made outlines of fish with crayon (resist) on water color paper and then painted with water colors. They all spent a long time on their project. Water color is not my favorite thing to control but they didn't have any problem jumping in and experimenting. I think they really like the bright colors. This was not the project in K-12 but they all know the primary and secondary colors. Fun day!

Tuesday K-Art will be Unit 2: lesson 8 We will be reading about art and artists: Stock, King, and Johnson. You can find the art on pages 14, 16 and 18 of Come Look With Me book. The objective of the assessment is too do a compare and contrast of the art. Next week we will start unit 3 Portrait and Self-Portrait.


2ND grade Art Unit 2: lesson 7 The boys also painted fish with water colors and they too were very involved in their work today. Best art day yet! I will give them to you on Tuesday. We reviewed the art work of Matisse, Lichtenstein, Calder and Klee and read their biographies in the back of the book. Isaac and Holden completed the unit assessment. Both of them are remembered things about Matisse (a favorite) and needed prompting on Joan Miro. Isaac remembered Joan Miro was born in Spain. The color review was good for all the boys. They are finished with Unit 2. Unit 3 is about Patterns.

Does anyone want to car pool Thursday I will chip in for gas?


See you all in the morning. Suzy

Thursday Art Sept. 20

K-Art Unit 2: lessons 5 and 6 - On Tuesday we read the Color book and filled in a color wheel with primary and secondary colors. On Thursday we read the Color book and looked for the primary and secondary colors in art prints. Then they filled in a color chart with primary colors and added secondary colors which they mixed. Then they made a painting with the left over paint. We also reviewed warm and cool colors and looked for them in art prints. This unit has been review for the K-group but they always love too paint. I have been using a lot more prints than last year which I think they enjoy too or have grown to expect from me. Any way awesome week.

TUESDAY PLEASE SEND BOOK - COME LOOK WITH ME: ENJOYING ART WITH CHILDREN - They will be doing the end of unit assessment.

2nd grade - Art Unit 2: lesson 7 and reveiwed lessons 5 and 6 - We read the Color book. Looked for primary an secondary colors in art prints. Then we looked for colors of tints and shades. They did a tints and shade exercise (not K-12) and made gray with the left over paint. We looked at all the grays that they made and had a descussion about the different colors of grays. Blue gray, red gray, yellow gray ect. Isaac and David made a painting with the left over paint. For lesson 7 we did the part about the artists, Matisse, Lichenstein, Calder. On Monday we will reveiw the artists and read their biographies. I will have them paint a picture of fish using the art competion rules. I will also be doing the end of unit assessment during that time. So on Monday we should be finished with unit 2.

ON MONDAY PLEASE SEND BOOK- HOW ARTISTS SEE ANIMALS

Have a wonderful week end! Suzy

THURSDAY, SEPT. 20, 2007

2 SCIENCE - more on friction and gravity. read about Isaac Newton and how was always reading and became an inventor. He discovered gravity by watching an apple fall out of a tree. I asked the boys what they would invent if they could. Isaac would invent an air tank that never runs out of air. David would invent a way to carry water up to Mars. Holden would invent a real Indian village. we talked about how these could all be used together on Mars because it doesn't have oxygen or water - once the inventions are made Holden could build his village there. they are fascinated by what life would be like without friction or gravity. we did an experiment dropping a piece of paper and marker - the paper takes longer to hit the ground because it has more surface and therefore more friction with the air. we rolled the paper up and it dropped at the same time as the marker. did an experiment shaking a can of sand and finding that the friction of the sand rubbing on itself created heat. i told them we would do an experiment making fire with friction next week at my house. they were very good listeners.

K SCIENCE - learned about the difference between living and nonliving things. they had great reasons for why things are alive - God made us, we have eyes and mouths and ears. 4 questions to ask to find out if something is alive or not - does it eat? drink water? need air? grow and move on its own? they didn't remember these at all for the assessment (except for Nadia) - and it was so cute. they all said they know something is living if it has eyes, ears, etc. even though we talked alot about plants being living things. they really liked the book we read - Ranae you might want to get it out for Quinn "what's alive?" it was a good day.
Cindy - Nadia didn't have her point folder - all 5's.

Rachelle

Wed Sept 19 K Science and History

Science - topic was teeth (roots, crown, and neck) and once again how important milk and fruits and veggies are, baby teeth and adult teeth and the job of biting and chewing of the front and back teeth.

History- visit to Germany, they were able to locate it by going first to Spain then France and then Germany. Castles and borders and the Black Forest were topics, and they learned "ja" (yah) and "nein"(niyn) for yes and no. We learned about the Brothers Grimm and the Fairy Tales. We read Sleeping Beauty.

In all a pretty normal day, nothing exciting.

Cindy

SCHEDULE FOR NEXT WEEK

Suzy and I would like to teach our Thursday classes on Monday, the 24th because we have the symphony on Thursday, the 27th. we'll start at 12:30 and be done by 2:30 because we won't do French that day - I'll talk to Gen about it tomorrow. Ranae, you can drop off the boys at 11:30, I'll pick up Nadia and after school Suzy will drop Nadia off on her way to get Harrison. I'll bring Quinn and Isaac home with me and get them ready for karate. Let me know tomorrow morning if that works for everyone.

If this works, Cindy, you'll be teaching K Science Unit 3 Lesson 3 on Wed. because I'll teach Lesson 2 on Monday.

Adios, r.g.

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 19, 2007

HISTORY 2 - continued the story of Caesar and Pompey. Caesar followed Pompey to Egypt in order to arrest him but the pharaoh had killed him by the time Caesar arrived. Caesar was not happy and joined with Cleopatra (whom he fell in love with) to defeat the pharaoh (her brother). Cleopatra became queen of Egypt and she and Caesar established a close bond. On Caesar's return trip to Rome, he defeated some rebels in Asia Minor and coined the phrase "I came, I saw, I conquered." In Latin it's Veni, Vidi, Vici. When he arrived in Rome he gave land and jobs to soldiers and the poor and had them spread out among his newly acquired territories to establish Roman ways there. The Roman consuls named him "Dictator for Life," causing some in the senate to think he was too powerful and begin plotting his demise. The boys really got into this story, they were very eager for me to tell them what happens but I kept them in suspense. Suzy gets to finish Caesar off on Tuesday - I hope they'll pay attention because they seemed to understand the situation and all the politics involved.

SCIENCE 2 - explored gravity and how objects dropped from the same height land at the same time even if there's a difference in weight. we'll learn about how friction (wind, surface area of objects) affects this tomorrow. they did well with the experiments and seem to grasp the concept. they really like talking about what would happen if there wasn't gravity. did a good experiment hanging pencils to see if they could make it hang diagonally. once they settled down, it was a good day.

see you tomorrow.....rachelle

Tues. Classes

Don't forget---the symphony is next Thurs. 12 noon show. We will meet in front of the theatre at 11:30pm. Cindy--I was able to add you guys back on.

K Music- We reviewed the rest and what it looks like. We identified notes C, D, E, & F. We went on a bear hunt to review the "ta,ta,ta,sh" pattern. We playyed "Farmer, Farmer" to work on the singing voice vs. the speaking voice. Introduced new game "Dr. Foster" and added instruments to our "Tideo" song. Fun class. They always so a great job with this.

World Music- for the next 2 weeks we will be focusing on the symphony concert coming up and getting them ready for this. Today we talked about the sections of the orchestra and specifically the strings and woodwinds. We galloped to the "William Tell Overature", danced with scarves to "Pierre Gent" and played our bells to "Swan Lake Overature". All of these songs will be featured on the concert, so hopefully they will be a bit familiar to them and not the first time they are hearing them. They loved the "Lone Ranger" song!

K History- Visited Ireland. We reviewed all the continents by having them find the continent I would name on the map. They did great with this. We played the riddle game for the countries we had visited. They completley forgot everything about countries, but after reviewing, I think it was a little fresher in their minds. We talked a lot about the legends of Ireland and specifically the Giants and Leprechauns the people liked to tell stories about. They all decided that they wanted to find the gold at the end of the rainbow and were very excited about this.

2nd Grade Ensemble- Great class! They can all play the 3 notes we have learned without squeaking and with the proper hand--yeah! They all passed off the first page of songs in their book. Their homework it to work on the songs on the 2nd page. We should be able to move quicker now that they all are getting the hang of it. I am excited for them to start some of the duets soon.

ELLA'S DANCE RECITAL

Ella's first dance recital is Sat. Dec. 8 at 2:30. The show will last an hour. Tickets are $3.00 each. I have to turn in my ticket order by Oct. 26, so let me know if you are interested in attending. The recital is at Apollo High School in Glendale (47th and Northern).

I also wanted to see if there's any interest in doing a service project during the holidays - caroling at a nursing home or something. We should probably start thinking about dates for that as well, so we can arrange it if need be. We should also talk about dates for the school party. I'll host it, so we should look at what dates we know won't work. There are 4 Saturdays before Christmas this year - the 8th is out for me now. Crazy, but the holidays will be here before we know it.


Cindy, let me know if anyone at MOPS mentions a drop-off place for the Samaritan's Purse Christmas boxes. That usually comes up sooner than I expect it to :)

HO HO HO Ms. G.

Art competition

Hey Guys,

Just wanted to let you know It has been a little frustrating trying to find an art project the kids have finished in the dimensions they have asked for. The boys like working on bigger paper. Although Ella may have some really nice portraits. The boys may have some water colors of flowers from the end of last year. Maybe I can set up a still-life next week and see what they produce. Anyway good luck!

Suzette

Sept. 13 Art classes

2ND grade Art- Unit 2 lessons 4/5 Reviewed Primary and Secondary colors- tints and shades. We looked at Two cats by Franz Marc - you have this print. In lesson 4 on the computer there is an activity that highlights the shapes found in this print. We looked at Andy Warhol's brightly colored zebra and Mark Rothko's No. 10 an abstract painting using bright colors. Lesson 5 has a great art gallery to review and a shade and tint mixing activity. We mixed colors with paint only using red, yellow, blue, white-tints, and black-shades. Next week we will be using these colors to make a painting with warm colors, one with cool colors and one using both to get a contrast painting. These paintings will be going in a color portfolio that will be an on going project for the boys. This is not k12 but I would like to see how they do.

For next week please send How Artists See Animals by Colleen Carroll

K-Art Unit 2 lessons 3/4-Tuesday we read the Color book with Loopi Line. We read about the artist Joan Miro-He was born in Spain. He used lines and shapes to make paintings look make-believe. We looked at his painting of Dragon Fly with Red Wings. This an abstract painting and the kids had a hard time seeing this so we had a great descussion about what each of them saw in the painting. We had extra time so we went on the computer to view the past galleries and hands on activities. This went well so we will do this again. Thursday we reviewed primary and secondary colors, tints and shades. They painted with red, blue, yellow, white-tints and black-shades. I need to come up with a color project for them because the next two units are more color rewiew. They all work hard and have a great time producing art. I really enjoy teaching art and watching the progress of children whom I know really well. This goes for the 2nd graders too.

Have a great weekend!

Suzy

K12 Art competition

It's time for the K12 art competition. There is a few new guidelines. Size (81/2 x 11) or (9 x 12). It needs to be horizontal. That's new (?). It needs to be flat. Subjects include animals, portrait, still-life, landscape. The art work is due by 5pm Friday Oct. 12. I would like the children to help choose their work and submit A.S.A.P. They might have something already finished or I can help them if they have an idea to work on. You can view last years winners on your e-mail or the website.

Suzy

K12 Art c

THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 13 2007

SCIENCE 2 - Despite the silliness and insanely short attention spans today, the boys really got the concept of friction as a force. The shoe experiment didn't work out at planned - their prediction that the carpet would require more force to move across than the wood floor or smooth table didn't hold all that true. Isaac's shoe was too light I think and he was disappointed that his hypothesis was false. The other 2 had numbers that were really close so it was not that great an experiment. Pushing the cars through air and than water really worked, though. The cool thing is that they are remembering the steps in the scientific process. They are really understanding this unit and using good examples so far.

SCIENCE K - learned about muscles and how they move the bones and other parts of the body (eyelids, blood). they remembered that the skull protects the brain and the ribcage protects the heart from Cindy's class yesterday. They felt their own muscles, Ella wanted them to feel her "big leg muscles." Made a model of a bone and arm muscles with paper towel tubes and balloons. We talked about the heart being a muscle, it's the size of your fist and we listened to Nadia's heart with a real stethiscope (hers was the only one that we could hear.) We did jumping jacks and ran in place to get our hearts pumping fast. They know that if your heart stops, you're dead. Talked about the brain and how it controls our bodies and contains our thoughts and doesn't stop when we're sleeping (dream discussion followed....). FYI - there are 666 muscles in the human body. Cindy, I'll put Suzy's anatomy book in Ella's backpack for Wed., they really like it.

It was a good day. Ditto Ranae on the blogging - great to read. R. Gavlinski

Ella's Pics

Thanks everyone for the great BLOG entries! I just love reading about what my kids are doing since they really remember very little about their day!

Here are 2 of Ella's upclose shots that turned out cute. I haven't gotten a classic "Ella" smile yet, maybe next time!

Wed K science & history

Fun day yesterday, although the kids seemed a little antsy, maybe just with slight change of schedule?

In science we talked about skeletons and bones and joints. I think they really understand the bending of joints all over their body. We also learned how important calcium is for keeping your bones strong, and how our bones protect our insides.

Ella mentioned that she had broken her shoulder?, when she was younger.

We did an experiment with a chicken bone and the vinegar to show how when the vinegar eats away the calcium the bone becomes rubbery. It will take 2 weeks until we can check it.

History- we went on to France. Ranae, they remembered a lot about England, Big Ben, London Bridge, double decker buses. We saw the sights of Eiffel Tower (built by Gustave Eiffel for a contest, the Louvre museum, Notre Dame, and Sacre-Coeur. We went online and saw the Eiffel all lit up at night and saw what it would look like to see Paris from the top of the tower from different views.
(teaching this brought back my desire to visit France someday :) )

They suggested to watch the old movie "The Red Balloon"- I'll look around for it and maybe we can watch it sometime at the end of class.

We talked about the Mona Lisa, I was going to look it up online and forgot. I figure Suzy has shown them this though.

Cindy

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 12, 2007

2ND GRADE SCIENCE - Continued learning about force, the push and pull that moves objects. Had a long discussion about mass and weight, how objects have the same mass on earth and on the moon but different weights. This seems to be the best way for them to understand the difference. Talked about how the weight of an object changes how much force is needed to move it. Lots of examples of this were used - moving little sibs vs. dads was a popular one. Did experiments pulling objects with the spring scale - they all love this tool. Holden's is already broken....

2ND GRADE HISTORY - Learned the story of Hannibal the Carthagian who brought an army (including soldiers from Spain and elephants) over both the Pyrennes and the Alps into Italy. Alas, Rome defeated him after he descended the Alps. The boys were thrilled that Rome won the war but felt sorry for the elephants. Had fun coloring the picture. Took the Unit Assessment - they did well. Introduced the new Unit on Ceasar. They think he was really cool because he was young when he went to battle. We learned how to create and decode a coded message. It's in their folders if they want to try it at home. I wrote their names in code at the top. Let me know if you need help with this.

Good day over-all. I'll have to have them over for a play day soon if someone can take Ella. Ranae, thanks for the great photos - Holden looks so serene.

See you tomorrow, R.G.

Tues. Classes

We had a good day yesterday. Here is what we did:

K Music- Reviewed fast and slow. It was interesting because when I had them play fast and slow on a drum, a lot of them where wanting to play fast and soft and fast instead of slow. We will keep working on this. We did the magic clock dance again ( a fast and slow dance). They LOVE this one and wanted to do it again, but we ran out of time. We introduced what a rest looks like and practiced saying rhythms I wrote on the board. We took a pretend bair hunt using the rest in our song. Learned a new singing game called "Farmer" .

World Music- reviewed Australia and listened and learned about a song from Canada called "Home by Barna". It is a Celtic song that tells about all the imaginary creatures that lurk in the shadows. Please complete the cut-outs again and glue them in your book. A few kids got zeros for silliness and not giving their best effort, especially during the dancing.

K History- good class today. We learned about England by looking at pictures, taking a pretend bus tour, and looking at post cards from Mr. Traveler. We also learned the song game "London Bridges". I was surprised that none of them had played it before. I guess I am failing as their music teacher :-).

2nd Grade Ensemble- good class. A lot fewer sqeaks this week. They are still trying to use the wrong hand on the top. It is the left hand on the top, if we don't correct it now, they are going to have a lot of problems when the other hand is introduced. At least they are catching themselves when they make the mistake :-) They did well with "Hot Cross Buns" . There homework is to practice Hot Cross Buns with the CD and to work on the next song in the book. On Friday, those that can play "Hot Cross Buns" will have a chance to pass it off with a sticker.

Here is the entire group picture. You should have seen how many pictures it took to get this one :-). Holden's turned out cute. I will post Ella's later. We may want to try her again on Friday. It is hard to get her to smile! I will order proofs on all of our pictures and them you can order what you want on line.

See everyone later!

2ND grade history

2ND grade History-We discussed the Punic war between Carthage and Rome the boys were amazed to hear that it went on for about 100 years. They thought the Romans were clever when a Carthaginian ship that was ship wrecked on the coast of Italy, was taken apart and studied. In a few weeks, they figured out how to copy it and build their own ships. Up until that time Romans did not have ships and were great fighters on land. They fought by crashing the ships into each other because guns and cannons were not invented yet. They also thought Regulus was great for being an honest man, but we had a great descussion about why he would go back to prison on his own after he had been released. The boys did a great job on their maps today. They are all getting into the book I have been reading at the end of class.

2ND grade art-Ranae and Ms. Gavlinski if you have time could you please send the boys art stuff on color from last year. (Color wheel, gray scale, tints and shade.) We are going over it again for review in the next two units.

Thank You, Suzy

FOR WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY:

SCIENCE 2 - I need the spring scales again.

HISTORY 2- Make sure that the next unit handouts are in their folders.


THURSDAY SCHEDULE:

My kids have a dentist appointment Thurs. at 2:50 so I'm going to teach Science K right after French at Suzy's (they can eat their snack while I introduce the experiment). I'll have to leave with them about 2:30, so I can drop Nadia off on my way to the dentist. Suzy, will it be okay if Quinn stays for your Art until Ranae comes to pick him up? Sorry about this, I made the appointment months ago and it's hard to get them together so I didn't change it.

see you tomorrow, again, Rachelle

REGARDING THE OUTING, SYMPHONY AND PLAYDATE:

I signed Holden up for the science outing, too. It's on Monday, October 8 and the link is in the recent weekly updates, Ranae. The symphony sounds great and we can do the Friday playdate/music class. Thanks for the reminder about the pictures - I will try to get my kids to dress this time and be less silly :) See how it goes.

Don't forget to send in your work samples this week everyone!

See you tomorrow, Rochell (aka Rachelle)

2ND grade academic outing

Hi again,

I just read that there is going to be a academic outing for science Unit 6: Human Body. It's on Monday October 6. I R.S.V.P for David It does look like outings are filling up fast. They all enjoyed themselves last year.

symphany tickets/boys on friday

Ranae,
I hope you had a great week-end too. Thanks for making arrangements for the symphony sound like alot of fun. Friday sounds great for David. It might be best to meet at Rochell's house for pick-up. I will be picking Harrrison at 3:00 and then David needs to be to dance by 4:30. So the 3:30 time will work for us.

Just a Few Things

I hope everyone had a great weekend! Just a few things:

I heard back from the symphony on Friday. They only have the 12pm showings available on all their concerts until December. I guess it is very popular this year, so we will be going to the 12 noon show on Sep. 27th. Everyone owes me 3$ a ticket. Cindy---I had them take you and your kids off since you aren't sure if you will be here. We can always add you later, but I didn't want to pay if you guys can't come. Let me know as soon as you can whether you can come.

Retakes on Tues. ---I am sending in the school pictures Tues. afternoon, so for those of you that wanted to try again I will take pictures on Tues. one last time. Hopefully we will get some good ones :-)

I would like to take the 2nd graders for an "enrichment play day" on Friday if you guys are free. I was thinking you could drop them off around 12:15, we could do a 30 minute recorder lesson and then I will just let them play and swim. I can bring them home on my way to my Mother-In-Laws about 3:30. Let me know if this is ok with you guys. Isaac is really bugging me to have his buddies over. I will do the Kindergarteners on another day.

THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 6 2007

2ND GRADE SCIENCE - Introduced physics with an easy lesson about force, how we use push or pull forces to move objects. they had fun with the experiment - pushing a pencil across the table (blowing, rolling, flicking) or trying to pull it (by sucking in their breathe!) we also moved a piece of styrofoam across a pan of water - for this they could move the water which would move the styrofoam, as well as blowing, pushing, etc. we looked around the room at objects and how you would use force to move them. it was a good lesson.


K SCIENCE - introduced the new unit on the body. we took their weight and height measurements and compared how people's bodies are the same and different. talked about people's hair color and texture, eye color, skin color, body shape and how many appendages we have. they told me 3 things that were special about themselves, so be sure to look at the handout for today. we made a life-size outline of their bodies and they colored them in. Nadia needs to finish hers if she wants to. Quinn was very relieved that we didn't have to try any new foods, it was the first question he asked on the way to my house. Nadia was disappointed that we weren't going to eat any pickles. they had fun, it was a good lesson.

Great pics!

These are great!
Everybody came out well!
I'm fine with the one's of Nadia (she's actually smiling-not ever and easy task, even as a baby :) ). I like the class one too. Quinn does look proud.
Cindy

Art september 6

K Art - Unit 2 lessons 1 and 2 We looked at the art work of Joan Miro,Victor Vasarely and Paul Klee. They all use shapes in an abstract way in their work. There is fun activity in the lessons where they can highlight the shapes in one of Paul Klee's paintings. We made a geometric shape project modeled after Victor Vasarely's Atom in the lessons. I also had them add lines to their paintings they did last week as a line review. It did give the paintings more depth. They turned out neat. We also made a self-portrait. Ranae if you want to use Quinn's for the work samples it turned out cute. It's a picture of him measuring himself. With a measuring stick and numbers.

2ND grade Art- Unit 2 lessons 1, 2 and 3 complete The boys took the end of unit one assessment, it's in their art folder. They all did awsem but I could not get one of them to use the word forward for describing the movement of the wave, interesting. I found a way for Holden to stay in one place. Let him pump iron while answering questions. We learned about the artist Joan Miro. He was born in Spain; he went to art school in Paris, France is where he made painting that looked real; he used his imagination to make pictures that don't look real. He made painting playful and fun. They have one of his prints, Dragonfly with Red Wings. Lessons 2 and 3 were about the artist Henri Matisse which we have studied a lot; fun review. Assessments are in there folders. We did an extra shape project which they enjoyed, so we will be starting with lesson 4 next week. They have requested to paint so wear panting clothes, we might use acrylic on canvas. Have a great week-end!

Wed K science & history

Science- the kids had fun feeling objects and guessing. They also came up with different objects based on how it feels. We also talked about how you can't tell what color something is using our other senses. They put 3 things in their senses book. We reviewed all the senses and finished out the unit.

History- we went to Spain. I think they all understand that Spain is a country in the continent of Europe and can probably even located it. We read a story that explained the king in the castle, crops of grain, cattle, cork trees, the city, and the wall of protection. We talked about matadors a little (their attention was done at that point).
We made their cover for the Europe suitcase. I didn't realize that each country gets its own suitcase, so I didn't have the envelopes. I will get them and send on Tues., if you don't get it done then we can finish next Wed. Ranae.
Good day for all!
Cindy

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 5, 2007

2ND GRADE HISTORY - learned about Roman roads made from cement. They also used cement to build apartments, aquaducts, sewers and public baths. Learned about how the Romans built aquaducts to bring clean water to the city and sewers to take out the dirty water. The boys were fascinated by this - if anyone has a book that shows these it would be great to show them. We talked about how people used to just throw waste water out the window - led to a long discussion of hygiene. Also, we learned about Roman numerals (how we still use them) and the Roman social structure; patricians - rich, plebeians- workers/merchants, and slaves (allowed to buy their freedom sometimes.) Great discussion about this. Made coins, built aquaduct, shops, sewer pipes and road signposts.

2ND GRADE SCIENCE - used a spring scale to measure objects in newtons. they had fun with this. Exciting discussion about the difference between weight and mass - weight is measurement of earth's gravity pulling on an objects' mass - mass is measurment of the "stuff" an object is made of. Used a trip to the moon to explain. Very fun and excited discussion about weightlessness followed. The cards they cut out would be good to keep for periodic review.

Good day! Rachelle

2ND grade History- We read the myth about Proserpina - the goddess of seasons, we were introduce to her mother Ceres the goddess of harvest. Also, Pluto th god of the underworld.

FOR WEDNESDAY 9-5

2ND GRADE SCIENCE - I need their spring scales and I need Isaac to cut out his cards for the matching exercise in Lesson 7. I just want them cut out, they will put them together for me in class tomorrow (I know David's already are, but he can just review to himself). We'll be taking the unit assessment.

We'll be discussing how a spring scale works, so the next time they are with you in the grocery store, point one out in the produce section and maybe let them weigh something. See if they remember how to use it.

FOR THURSDAY 9-6

2ND GRADE SCIENCE - Be sure the next Unit handouts are in their folders. Suzy, I need a 9x13 pan (I have 2 I'll be bringing).

K SCIENCE - does anyone have a working scale? We'll be starting the body unit and I need to weigh them. If no ones has one, I'll borrow my mom's. I also need a full length mirror, if anyone has one, otherwise I'll have them stand on a chair in front of my bathroom mirror. And be sure to put the next unit's handouts in their folders.
Thanks!

Ranae, the pictures turned out so cute! I think I'd like to try to get another good shot of Ella and maybe them together. I'll get them to wear similar colors, too, I wasn't thinking they'd be taking pictures together or I would have insisted today! I wasn't thinking.....

See you tomorrow, Rachelle

School Pictures

Here are the best ones that I like. Let me know if you would like to do re-takes, or keep them. After I know what everyone wants to do, I will order proof sheets and then if they come out well, you guys can log on and order what you want from Shutterfly. I would still like to do one of David and Harrison. Ella and Holden had some great shots, but usually one of them was looking the other way. Ella was in a goofy mood :-) so we may want to try the 2 of them again. I love the toe point Harrison is doing--too cute! I couldn't get Holden to open his eyes--he was just laughing too hard :-) I love the group shots. Quinn looks like he is really proud of his women. Keep in mind that I haven't cropped or edited the pictures yet.

Tues. Classes

We had a fairly good day today. The big boys were a bit loud, but we dealt with it. I just can't wait until the weather cools off so we can take them outside! I will post portraits later tonight. They came out fairly well. I will do retakes next week if you want another try. It was hard to get the big boys to sit still before lunch so I could take their pictures!



K Music-- reviewed beat and no beat. Introduced the quarter note as "ta" and what it looks like. Reviewed note names again of C & D. I think they know those well so next week they get E & F. Told the story of the magic clocks and they danced fast and slow as I told the story. They still got a kick out of "Johnny One Hammer".

World Music- Visited Australia as we listened to " Waltzing Matilda" and learned to do a waltz. I sent home the passport stuff again. Just no time to get to it. Thanks for making sure they do it during the week! We talked about boomerangs. Rachelle--Holden said you had one. If you do, could you send it next week. They were very fascinated with this.

K History- The great barrier reef. We watched a presentation on this on-line at the K12 website. We played a matching game and go fish with the animal cards about the reef. We painted a salt water picture of the reef. I will give it to you tomorrow after it dries. They also worked on coloring their reef, we just ran out of time.

2nd grade ensemble- They are coming along on their breath support and fingerings. don't forget--left hand on the top. We spent a lot of time on their first song " Hot Cross Buns" their home work is to learn the song so they can play with the CD next week. We worked on articulation a lot too. they are too cute.

See Everyone Tomorrow!

2nd Science and K-art

Hi everyone,

2ND science When David was working on the crossword puzzle from lesson 5, we also did lesson 7, the part where you make the flash cards. He needed review of the definitions and practice reading the scientific words. It might be nice for Rachelle on Wed. if that part of the lesson was done and it is a great review.

K-Art for most of the assessments on unit 2 I will not be doing them or the flash cards on shapes. It is stuff they all know really well. I will be doing some more difficult fun stuff on shape and color. I will send home the assessment on lesson 8 about the artists.

See you Tuesday, Suzy