Second Grade at Shaker Lane - Room 202

   Getting so excited to share the secret Snowpals cards!        

Sign up for your spring conference with Sign Up Genius here: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c084daaa92ea3f49-spring Let me know if you have any difficulties with the website! Thanks so much.

Wow! Thank you so much for all of the wonderful donations! We ended up with 19 toys to donate- more than the number of students in class. Your generosity is appreciated! Check out the donations!                                      

What a great time of year to think about what we are thankful for. A few weeks ago we worked on making Thankful Turkeys. Each feather had something we were thankful for written on it. Check out our work in progress and see the finished products! They should be coming home this week for you to get a closer look at.                                     

About 3 weeks ago we planted potatoes as part of our science unit. I had saved some potatoes that had nodes starting to grow. We made predictions about what would grow out of  the nodes (roots, stems, leaves were all guesses) and if roots would grow downward from the potato. After about 1 1/2 weeks we started to see some growth. Check out what was going on! Ask your child what they have noticed about their potato plants.

It's almost that time of year! I wanted to share with you my thinking about holiday giving. Some families would like to give their child's teacher a holiday gift which is extremely kind and thoughtful. This year, I would love for your family to consider giving a gift to a child in need by donating to Toys for Tots . I will have a box in the classroom and if your family is interested, please consider bringing in a toy to donate instead of giving me a gift this year. I will be collecting toys and will need to take them to drop off on Wed. Dec 10th so please send them in before that date. This may be a good opportunity to talk to your family about giving back. Students love giving to others and when they come to school with a donation they have a smile on their face. If you would like to give a gift to the classroom, feel free to look at our wishlist here: http://teacherweb.com/MA/ShakerLaneSchool/PTA/apt3.aspx  and give us something we can use in school. Thank you

Wondering about Xtra Math? If your child attended our school last year, they did Xtra math in school. This year we will be using Xtra math 2-3 times a month in school but I would ask you have your child try to do it twice a week at home. Occasionally I will assign homework on Xtra Math and your child will need to log in and do it that night to get homework credit.  You will notice that working on math facts is just a small portion of our math program and we spend most time working on math concepts and skills and math vocabulary. A big focus is also working on the Common Core State Standards Standards of Mathematical Practice, such as explaining your mathematical thinking (ie. How do you know the number 73 is larger than the number 48?) We strive for balance so that students leave second grade with a good base in all areas of mathematics. Wondering "What is Xtra Math?" Here is what the website says: XtraMath helps students transition from counting or calculating the basic

Please sign up for Volunteering! I would encourage you to sign up for the same slot (ie Language arts general help) once a week for half the year (Nov, Dec., Jan., Feb.) and let someone else sign up for the 2nd half of the year (for example Language Arts,  March, April, May, June). Here are the options, though you'd have to manually sign up for each weekly slot. Language Arts, Tues. 11-12:30 (Nov.-Feb.) Language Arts, Tues. 11-12:30 (March-June) Math card help Thursday 1:45-2:40, 2nd and 4th Thursday of Month (Nov-Feb) Math card help Thursday 1:45-2:40, 2nd and 4th Thursday of Month (March-June) Math activity/game help Thursday 1:45-2:40, 1st and 3rd Thursday of Monday (Nov-Feb) Math activity/game help Thursday 1:45-2:40, 1st and 3rd Thursday of Monday  (March-June) Here is the link to use to sign up with Sign up Genius: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c084daaa92ea3f49-volunteering Also, don't forget to sign up for conferences via sign up Genius too. That link is

Hi everyone! Let me share some insight into my homework philosophy.  Homework serves a few purposes- the three R's: Review Reinforcement Responsibility At 2nd grade, homework is a review and reinforcement of what we have already worked on in school. It is not something new and should not be a challenge and is not individualized. It should  be fairly quick and easy. If your child has trouble with homework, please let me know. It could be they need more practice on something we're working on in class. A huge part of second grade homework is learning how to take responsibility for taking something home, completing it, and returning it to school on time. Each day homework is put in the students' mailbox and at dismissal they need to take it out and put it in their bag. If there is no homework in there, they need to tell me. We go over this every day right before they check their mail, so students should know that they are responsible for letting me know if not

Hi everyone! This is a review week for spelling so you will notice your child has some words with spelling patterns we have already worked on. I did a preview of the most commonly missed words on the spelling quizzes and based this week's spelling words on that. You will notice some repeats and some new words following the same spelling rules. Please let me know if you have any questions by shooting me an email or sending a note. Thank you! PS: Spelling City hint If your child is having a problem on the Spelling City app, try double checking to see if they have logged in. If your child doesn't log in, Spelling City gives them default lists to choose from (and there are a lot) but none of them are my lists. He must log in for Spelling City to know who his teacher is and therefore which lists he should be shown. Thanks!

Monday October 20: Tonight's homework will be to log onto Spellingcity.com and play a game or do an activity to practice for Tuesday's spelling review. Thanks! Please e-mail me or send a note if your child has any trouble logging on. Thank you!

Hi everyone! Volunteer signs up will be coming soon and will be posted right here! Be sure to check back often!

Just a reminder since we have no school Monday the reading log is due on the next day of school, Tuesday. Please help your child remember. Thank you!

HOMEWORK: Tonight’s homework is to log onto www.spellingcity.com and play a game or do an activity to practice your spelling words for at least 10 minutes. If you have any problems, have your parent send me a note or e-mail. -Miss Mawn

Sign up for your fall conference! Just click the link here: Sign Up Or click the image below to sign up with Sign Up Genius!

I saw this on Pinterest and love it! It may give you some good ideas if you want to help your child with math.

 Due to the Jewish holiday this week, there will be no nightly homework sent home on Wednesday and Thursday and no new spelling words for this week. I will send home a reading log tomorrow as usual BUT If you celebrate the holiday your child does not need to read until the holiday ends. If you have any questions let me know!

Just a reminder that we will be starting a show and tell - I call it sharing - schedule in about a week. Each Monday several children will have the chance to bring something in if they like. We will take turns until every has one turn then everyone can get a 2nd turn and so on. The list will be posted in the classroom so students will know in advance when it is their turn. Show and tell should be saved for those days, unless students have something that relates to what we are working on in school such as rocks when we do our pebbles, sand and silt unit. If you have any questions let me know ! 

Hi everyone! I hope you can join us on Wednesday for Curriculum Night. We will be in the classroom for a quick meet and greet and short presentation from 7:00-7:20 pm and then head down to the cafeteria for a curriculum presentation from the second grade team and some information from Mr. Faherty until about 8:00 pm. If you cannot make it never fear! All the information you would hear from me is on this very blog and the second grade team will be able to share their presentation with you online as well!

Please consider entering some responses  in this form. I would love to get your feedback and insights into your child at the beginning of the year. It is extremely valuable to me and I would appreciate it- I think it should only take 5 minutes. Be assured that your responses are completely private and confidential and for my eyes only. Fill out the form HERE. Thank you!

What are Friday Folders, you ask? Once a week, on Fridays, your child will bring home a special "Friday Folder". This folder contains work that has been corrected or looked at by me and returned. Your child will bring this folder home so you can look over his work. I think it is a great way for you to stay up on what your child is working on at school and it also gives you a jumping off point for discussions at home. For example, when you ask, "How was school? What did you do today?" and your child says, "Fine. Nothing." you can use their Friday Folder work to prompt them to give some details such as, "I saw your paper about fact families. What is a fact family anyway?" Please return the Friday Folder to school on Monday so we can use it the next week. Thank you so much !

SPELLING ROUTINE AND SPELLING CITY Here are some details to help explain our spelling program and how it works. ● We work on a spelling pattern(s) for one week, starting on Wednesday and ending on Tuesday. ● Each Tuesday I give a preview of the next week’s words. The preview is usually the words from the regular spelling list. How they do on the preview helps determine which list they work on for the week (there are multiple spelling lists for differentiation). If your child knows all the words or only got one wrong, he will do List B for the week. If he got more than half of the preview words wrong, he will practice List A. Otherwise, your child will do List O, the regular spelling list. ● Challenge words are optional right now – later in the year I will require everyone to try one or more. Getting them wrong is no problem! I don’t want kids to worry if they try them and don’t know them they will be marked down. ● On the spelling quiz itself, there will be 2-5  bonus

Hey everyone! Found a couple  great ideas (on Pinterest of course). The first is to keep our earbuds from getting tangled - untangling is such a bummer and a waste of time! Gear ties are the best solution! Unlike zip ties, they are easily removed, adjusted etc. I found some at Amazon but they can also be found at hardware stores and home depot. They are about 75 cents each and we have about 12 earbuds. If you are willing to donate one or more that would rock! Here is a link for them at Amazon! If I find any more great ideas I will let you know!                                                              The second idea is a microfiber chenille mitt (sometimes marketed as for washing cars and sometimes for house cleaning. With a lot of bodies in one space we build up a lot of dust and one or more of  these would make helping out more appealing for students. They are usually between $3-7 each. They can be found just about anywhere, and here is an Amazon link so you can see

Hi everyone! This week we will start homework procedures. I would like to explain the usual routines. There are two types of homework: the weekly reading log and nightly homework (occasionally there is a long term project). Our Language Arts "Week" starts each Wednesday and ends on Tuesday. Therefore, on Wednesday nights your child will bring home a reading log which also includes their spelling words. Their reading log is to be kept at home until the next Tuesday. Reading logs are due on Tuesdays . I won't take them early because  students may read on Monday night and need to record it. The second grade home reading policy is that students read about every night for 10-15 minutes. The reading log has spaces to record book titles and response but does not list specific days of the week. Students do not need to add days either, just book (or chapter) titles they read. The spelling quiz is on Tuesdays. Nightly homework: On Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, I send

We are off to a great start! We had a fun, if slightly hot day, but it won't be hot for long! Here is our specials schedule. Please help your child to remember to wear sneakers on gym days. FYI The computer lab will not be open until October, so if you haven't sent in earbuds yet for your child to use with ipads and the computers there is time! MONDAY: P.E. TUESDAY: Art WEDNESDAY: Math Lab THURSDAY: Library FRIDAY: Music

Miss Mawn's Contact Info One of the keys to make this year a great year will be for good communication! Here is all my contact information: E-mail: rmawn@littletonps.org Phone: 978-855-4552 Blog: http://secondgradeshakerlane.blogspot.com/ The best way to reach me is e-mail! However, if you have an urgent matter please call the school or if your child has  a dismissal change, please send a note to school with your child or call the office. I cannot guarantee that I will be able to check e-mail during  the school day. That being said, I check e-mail at least once on weekdays. If you e-mail me and expect a response but do not hear back within 48 hours, please e-mail again to make sure I receive it! Please check back here during the school year for regular updates! 

Hi everyone! Have you been having a great summer? I have been really busy and had lots of fun. I love getting time to read books, spend time with family and hang out with my Saint Bernard, Bailey. This is how Bailey spent his summer for the most part! Silly, huh? I am excited to see you next week and I wanted to let you know about a few things.  First, next Tuesday, September 2, you can stop by the classroom and drop off your supplies if you want and say hi. I will be available from 2:15-3:00 pm. Yay! Also I have some reminders and some changes for the supply list. Your personal supplies you need for your desk are still pretty much the same but I have some changes in the classroom supplies. Take a look below and maybe I will see you on Tuesday!     Supplies for your desk: Pencils (several dozen, please pre sharpen a few) and eraser Scissors Ruler Earbuds for the computer lab; please bring them in a ziploc bag labeled with your name (headphones are fine to

Hello everyone! Wondering when and where to get your child's bus pass? Here is the information! After you pick up the bus pass, please affix it securely onto your child's backpack. PLEASE fill out this super helpful bus information form located here! It will save a lot of stress on the first day of school. Bus passes can be picked up at the Superintendent's Office: Aug. 25 and 27 9am-3pm Aug. 26 and Aug. 28 9am-6pm Sep. 2 9am-6pm

We are having so much fun taking brain breaks with GoNoodle! We love moving and grooving. Research has shown that physical activity helps the brain process learning, and it helps us concentrate if we have a little break every so often. GoNoodle is great! It has dancing, stretching, and we can work with Olympic athletes on sports such as the shotput, discus, hurdles and sprints. Here we are working on our 200M sprint! We also enjoy relaxing and calming ourselves by breathing deeply with Airtime, where our breathing moves an air bubble around the country. Each time we stop we land in a different city and learn fun facts. Did you know there is a town in America where it is against the law to put an ice cream cone in your back pocket on Sunday? Yep! So far we traveled from Rhode Island to Florida just by doing one minute of relaxing breathing every so often! Thanks for checking in with us! 

Students have been bringing in fabulous book posters! There has been quite an array of types of books read: adventure fiction, factual, picture books, chapter books, fantasy... wow! Here are just a few photos of the students sharing with us. The students also had a lot of great compliments and questions for their peers and I believe we all have at least a few new books we plan to read!