Animal Habitats and Exciting Learning Trips!

Grade 2 Math News
We are finishing our first Investigations unit this week. Your children have enjoyed learning math games and algebraic strategies for solving addition and subtraction problems. They are all making good progress and enjoying learning with this program. I suspect you are seeing the same enthusiasm at home that I'm seeing at school.  To tell you the truth, it is really fun for me, too! Your children and I appreciate all the patient interaction and support at home. Keep playing those games, practicing those fact cards, and having fun learning math with your child!  Don't hesitate to contact me if you have questions or concerns.

Inquiry
We have a giant saguaro cactus growing in our classroom! Some very interesting desert animals are about to inhabit it. How exciting to watch our room transform into habitats for animals. The five transformation groups have chosen to create murals, bulletin boards, and hanging stuffed animals to bring visitors into the desert, rain forest, temperate forest, ocean, and Hawaiian habitats. I must tell you that your children are doing some great group work--contributing ideas, encouraging others, compromising, and helping each other.  When we made our "What Makes a Good Group Member" mind map, the most important thing they came up with was to "treat others the way you want to be treated."  I think we all should reflect on that!

Learning Trips
Mahalo to all the parents who will join us on our learning trips to the aquarium and zoo. I will be sending information home tomorrow about the aquarium excursion along with some special guidelines for all the chaperones. We have enough room on the bus for everyone, or you can meet us there if you choose.  Ms. Field will have zoo information for everyone when we get closer to the excursion date.

I was hoping to see a lot of creatures on the reef on Tuesday when we go to the aquarium because, according to the tide calendar, it will be "low tide" at 9:00a.m. Turns out that it will not be very low (.46), so we will probably just walk in the sand along the shore and see what we can see, then have some play time on the grass and a snack before heading for the aquarium. I think it will be fun for all. Visualize no rain!

Museum in a Box and the Dolphin Institute
We also have some very exciting programs coming to us at school. On October 26, the Academy of Arts "Museum In a Box" program will send artists with a box of objects that demonstrate how animals are used in art.  We will tour the Academy to learn more about animals in art on November 2, and then the artists will return to do an art project with the children in our classroom on November 7.  We will be needing chaperones for the Academy visit, too.

Ms. Field has arranged for the Dolphin Institute to come in and do a presentation on sea mammals on October 16. We are really looking forward to that and, also, a special presentation by Mr. McCormick on the animals of South Africa. 

Mahalo
A special mahalo to Mr. and Mrs. Meyer for coming in to teach the children about the endangered Hawaiian bat, the ope'ape'a, and engaging them in a fun art activity.  See the website photo gallery for some great photos of their visit and our other classroom activities.

Posted on October 4, 2007 2:47 PM | Permalink