A Fraction Kind of Day

In math class this week, students practiced how to shade one half of an object and fold common geometric shapes in half.  They created art projects with this concept.

Jackson folds his rectangle in half during math class.

Camryn, Dustin, Rita, and Rylan work on their fraction art projects.

Check out coolmath.com for fun math skill prctice.

Mrs. Deile's cool new bunch of second graders!

Line up for a slice!

Rita, Kenady, Jackson, and Emily

17 new second graders enjoy watermelon at the end of a hot August day.

Awesome Autumn

Foliage Tour

We took a beautiful fall walk around the school grounds this week to learn some of the names of the trees in the area.  We discussed their leaf shape and color, their bark color, and general tree shape.  We collected leaves of various shapes for use in an art project.  It was fun to create leaf rubbings by putting a leaf under a sheet of paper and rubbing a crayon over the top. 

A New Country

We read several stories this week about people leaving one country to move to another.  We discussed these questions.

What would be the best thing about moving to a new country?

• new friends
• different house
• new foods
• get to see a new area
• explore a new culture

What would be the hardest part of moving to a new country?

• packing, moving
• don't know the language
• new foods
• miss your friends
• fitting in

Favorite books of the week:

• The Brand New Kid by Katie Couric
• Room on the Broom by Julia Donalson

Picture Orders

Return picture orders Thursday!

Scholastic Book Orders

I will be sending in book orders at the end of the week; so remember to get those book orders turned in.  Make checks payable to Scholastic Books.

Chilly September Mornings...

Our morning recesses in September have us snuggling down into our cozy jackets to stay comfortable while the beautiful afternoons have us shedding layers in the warm sunshine.  Everyone should bring a jacket for those chilly mornings; plus, sometimes the weather simply changes on us in a heartbeat. 

This week we read Meet Rosina which told about a girl just about our age who attends a school for the deaf.  It was interesting to use some of the signs from American Sign Language.  We learned that each language may have their own sign language as well. 

Trying to remember subjects and predicates is a tough job.  We had fun acting out predicates (the "action" part of a sentence) this week in language class.

A fun way to practice spelling words at home is to access the website Spellingcity.com .  On that website, search deile for the teacher name then find the list that goes with the current story.  The story for Sept. 17-21 is My Name is Yoon.

The Bugabees

Food Allergies

Camryn's mom, Brenda, was a guest reader in our classroom last week.  She read a book entitled The Bugabees, Friends with Food Allergies, which told about some friends with various food allergies.  It is so important that we revisit this issue often to remind all of us how to maintain a safe environment for our friends.  Wishek Public School has a strict "No Nuts/Tree Nuts" policy in place that we must always respect for the safety of our students.  Second graders can also help by stopping in the bathroom as they enter the building each morning to wash their hands thoroughly with warm soapy water.  This will ensure that any nut oil residue is removed from our hands before entering the classroom. 

Brenda brought along a new product for the kids to taste.  She brought sandwiches made with Wow Butter.  I believe it is a soy-based product that smells and tastes similar to peanut butter without the nut allergy side effects.  It is safe to bring Wow Butter in a school lunch.  It even comes with stickers that a child could put on his lunch box to show that he is using Wow Butter and not peanut butter.  Wow Butter can be found at our local grocery store.