We are off to a great start!!

I am super excited about how well this year has started.  The class is amazing and we are working so hard.....If your child comes home exhausted, it is well earned! :-)  Prior to school starting, anytime someone heard I was having a 2/3 combination, I would be given a look of sympathy and usually some discaouraging comment.   I wish I could go back to each person and tell them just what fun we are having learning!

Let's see.....   Our butterfly, Jasmine Delacourt made her chrysalis and we were able to witness the whole process.  The kids (and myself) were soooo excited!  She also hatched and we were able to release her.  The only bad thing is "she" was actually a "he".  We made Monarchs to make a symbolic migration journey to Mexico via Journey North.  I will be mailing them off this week.  We will receive new butterflies back in the Spring.  It's an awesome program.  For more information check out...  www.journeynorth.org.

In Science 2nd is working on life cycles.  Ask them about Monarchs, Horseshoe crabs, or the poster project they did in pairs. 3rd grade is learning about different ecosystems.  They are currently working in pairs on note taking about their ecosystem and will begin creating their own poster this week.  

We have mastered Daily 5 "Read to Self" and will begin our other components this week.  I really hope this doesn't disrupt our lovely noise level we learned in Read to Self.  Last week, I started "book clubs" during our Daily 5 time.....These "book clubs"are really guided reading groups, but I think Book Club sounds more fun!  The kids are really enjoying this! They all get excited when their group is called.

In Math, 2nd have been working on number sense, skip counting, & counting to 1,000.  It's been a challenge, but they are doing so well!!  3rd grade continues to work on multiplication and has also begun doing multiplication word problems!!

In Social Studies, we have been learning about types of maps, and how to use a map.  We have a weekly reader newspaper and honestly....I am surprised at how much the kids like it!

If you took the time to read this, Thank you!!  I love your child!  This year is busy and challenging for me and I am loving every minute of it.