Holiday Break

Hi,
I'm hoping everyone is having a great vacation this week. Our family had a very nice Christmas and I'm looking forward to the New Year. Santa and others brought some really nice presents. Thanks to everyone for the gifts of working hard in our classroom, following the rules, and getting along with all. See you on Thursday. We will have to try hard to remember to write 2008 instead of 2007. Happy New Year! Mrs. Riggs

Our Christmas Party

We will have our Christmas party tomorrow. It will be from 10:45 - 11:45. First we will sit in 2 circles. Then we will draw a number to see which gift we will open. We will open one gift at a time. After that, we will make a craft that our mothers will help us do. If we have time, we will play a game or play with our new present. We will open presents before lunch. We don't know which parents will be our helpers. We can't wait till the party. There are already a lot of presents under the tree. I hope our Christmas party will be fun. Some people will be getting cool presents. One craft will be very fun. Some of us still need to bring our presents. Everybody at school will have their party tomorrow. We hope that nobody forgets their present. Have a holly jolly Christmas. Have a very Merry Christmas.

A Christmas Surprise

We have been working hard on something for our family. You will open it on Christmas or sometime soon. We can't wait for parents to open them. One is green and it starts with a silent w. Someone has to hurry to get hers done. One is folded. Two people are almost done with everything. We are decorating some things. We are working so hard to make your presents. One of the things is white and it starts with an s. One is red and green. We have different kinds of presents. Most of us are doing our very best coloring. It is a . . . . I hope you have a fun Christmas and a Happy Holiday.

One Week from Today

People are bringing presents for our gift exchange. Some Moms and Dads are coming to help at the party. It says to a boy or to a girl and then their name. On Friday morning we will have our party. Some people may stay home for Christmas and some might go out of town. Some of us may go sledding with our family on Christmas. A German tradition is to hide a pickle in the tree. Some trees have angels or stars on the top of their tree. Then who finds it gets an extra present. Some relatives from Texas will be coming to Iowa. Some people may have several Christmas parties at their relatives. On Christmas we will have lots of presents to open. Tomorrow will be a good day. Merry Christmas to all and a Happy New Year! I hope you have an exciting Christmas. See you in January.

Polar Express

The Polar Express was really fun on Friday. The movie was long. We had a fun trip to the North Pole. We wore our pajamas to the imaginary Polar Express. During the movie a little key flew out of the window and it cracked the ice. In the movie the tracks froze over. I wish that we could have that day again. We had hot chocolate while we watched the movie. Too bad we didn't get to have hot chocolate when they did on the movie. When we got hot chocolate, they started from the back. Some of the parts were funny. We got our tickets back. When we got back to the room, we each got a bell. One person was gone and missed the hot chocolate and fun. We all loved the imaginary trip to the North Pole and watching the movie.

Polar Express

Today is the Polar Express activity. It will be really fun. We took our chairs out into the hallway. The chairs will be our train. We need a ticket to go on the train. Mrs. Riggs will give us the ticket. She will give the tickets first to good listeners. We will watch the Polar Express movie. We'll tell you more on Monday.

Polar Express

Don't forget to bring your robe, pajamas, or slippers to school tomorrow. Some people have already done that. Don't forget you must be able to put your pajamas over your clothes. Robes will also go over your clothes. I'm excited about the imaginary Polar Express train trip.

Polar Express

We will have a Polar Express activity on 12-14-07. The whole second grade will participate. We will be going on an imaginary trip. We get to watch the Polar Express movie. If you can please bring a robe, pajamas, or slippers to put over our clothes. Everybody may think this will be cool. It will be really, really fun. It will be an interesting show. If you want to make sure, bring your robe on Thursday so you will have it for sure on Friday. We might decorate our room. There will be an engineer that day. Have a fun day! We are hoping to have a fun day on Friday.

Snow

Yesterday it snowed from 3 to 5 inches. It looks like it was around 5. It also snowed today. The snow today was deeper than yesterday. Some of us made snowmen at recess. Others made snow angels at recess. On Monday we are suppose to get 3 or more inches of snow. Some of us scooped sidewalks at home. One person went under the pine tree with his sled. You need snow pants and snow boots to play in the snow. Some of us had fun in the snow. When it snows, it is really fun to jump in. Going down the slide was really fast. Yesterday we didn't go down the slide because it was too fast. Some people will go sledding when they get home. Have a snowy day.

Science in Mrs. Dreyer's Room

In Mrs. Dreyer's science class we are learning about health. We have learned a lot of things about our body. Mrs. Dreyer said that adults have 206 bones. Today in science Mrs. Mudd is coming and she is going to show germs. We will wash our hands to check for germs. Kids have more bones than grown-ups. The four parts of our bodies are bones, organs, muscles, and outer wrappings. There are 5 groups of food. We are going to learn about the grain group. Today in Mrs. Dreyer's class we will be done with learning the food groups. There are names that help us learn the food groups. I hope science is really fun today. It is fun in Mrs. Dreyer's science class. We are going to do something very fun today. We learned a lot from the five food groups.

Monday

Today it was really cold today and some of us got really muddy. Some of us raced others today. Those people also did relay races. Others may have played tag with each other. Football was also played at recess. Some of us went down the slide. Today was a very fun day. Some of us swung on the swings. Don't forget to read for our December Book It. Today we had to do lots of work in reading. We read a lot in reading. We did workbook pages in reading. We had music today. Bring your December Book It at the end of the month or before. Tomorrow we will paint clay in Art. Have a terrific Tuesday!!

Today Was Buy-Sell Day

Today was Buy-Sell Day. We got to go to room to room to buy things. Everybody was so excited that it was Buy-Sell Day. We sold lots of stuff today. We also got lots of stuff today. Some of us sold out and some didn't. People were selling really cool things like cars, stuffed animals, bookmarks, balloons, bracelets, cookies, and stickers. Some people made little crayon boxes to sell. We were excited to go out and buy things. People wanted Buy-Sell Day to get here quicker. It's great that people thought of Buy-Sell Day. Our class was last the first round to buy things and first the second time to buy things. We had to rearrange our desks. Have a happy first day of December!!

Getting Ready for the Big Day

Tomorrow is Buy-Sell Day. There will be lots of cool stuff to buy. Some people are selling cars all kinds of toys. Some of us may sell bookmarks, balloons, cookies, locker freshners, and stuffed animals. Buy Sell Day we will buy and we will sell items. We've already decorated our posters. We'll move our posters from our lockers to our desks. We'll have to clean up our garbage after selling. We'll put our sales items on our desk. Tomorrow we need to make sure we have our things to sell in our bookbag. Some of us will be busy tonight making our items that we are selling. We have to be good sales people. We need to be clean so that people want to buy things. On Buy-Sell Day all the second graders will be buying and selling. We might run out of our tickets. We are looking forward to Buy-Sell Day. Buy-Sell Day is going to be FUN!

Earning Tickets

It's really great that we started earning tickets for Buy-Sell Day. Buy-Sell Day is on Friday, November 30, 2007. We have a tan wallet that we put our tickets in to keep safe. The tickets are orange or blue. Before Buy-Sell Day we can look on the lockers to see what everyone is selling. Earning tickets means you need to listen and follow directions the first time. You need to participate in class discussions. Some of us have a lot of tickets, but some of us don't. Some are earning tickets and some are losing tickets. In some of our reading classes we have posters that tell us how to earn tickets. Earning tickets can be fun, but losing them is not. Some of us have more than 50 tickets. Lots of us are trying to be on our best behavior to get more tickets in reading class. Some of us need to work harder to earn more tickets. Remember to be good on Buy-Sell Day or else you might lose tickets.

Tickets

The tickets we are earning are called Wash tickets. We're going to have Buy-Sell Day on Friday. You can buy stuff and prices are going to be 5 tickets or more. All kinds of different things are being sold. On Friday, reading will be different because our rooms will be full of things to sell. You can buy really cool stuff on Buy-Sell Day. Most of us are earning lots of tickets really fast. We went "locker shopping" to see what everyone is going to be selling. Lots of people are selling pencils, paper, and books. Other things are video games, cards, snacks, bookmarks, and other goodies. Stickers are also being sold. We don't know who is going first or last. The teachers will draw out a classroom to see the order. Have a great afternoon.

Thanksgiving

Today is four days after Thanksgiving. Some people had one or two Thanksgivings at their relatives. Others went to their friend's homes. One person had her cousins and go up to her brother and scare him. Thanksgiving food included: turkey, stuffing, pumpkin pie, corn, beans, peas, jello with oranges, cranberries, bread, snicker salad, hot dogs, mashed potatoes, chocolate pie, rice, cheesecake, vanilla ice cream, apple pie, and lots more. Some people celebrated birthdays and pet's birthdays on Thanksgiving weekend. Some dads went hunting for turkey. Hope you didn't eat too much turkey!

Wednesday

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Buy Sell Day

We need to use good printing to earn Wash tickets. If you are not being good, you may lose a ticket. Some of us need to work harder to earn more tickets. If you are a good listener and worker you earn 5 tickets. If your paper is done well, you earn tickets. You need to bring back a gold paper which has what you are going to sell by TOMORROW! It's your responsibility to take care of your tickets. If you lose them, they may be gone. Some of us have lots of tickets. You will be able to sell your things on Nov. 30th to earn more tickets. People earned different amounts of tickets so far. One way to lose a ticket is to not listen. We call them Wash tickets because that's the first part of the name of our school. Some people call them W tickets or Washington tickets. Buy - Sell Day is one week from this Friday. Have a good day. Tomorrow we'll let you know our Thanksgiving plans.

Buy - Sell Day

Buy Sell Day will be Monday, November 30, 2007. Buy - Sell Day is when all second graders will sell things they have brought from home. We earn tickets by being an active listener. You can earn 5 tickets for that. When you read quietly, you earn tickets. If you get your spelling test correct, you get 5 tickets. We have to sign a sheet for Buy - Sell Day. Some students may be selling stuffed animals, old toys that they do not play with any more, bracelets that they made, paper airplanes, necklaces that they made, football cards, candy, homemade stuff, cookies, juice, pencils, toy cars, brownies, apple cider, and posters. We'll tell you more tomorrow.

Weekend Plans

There are lots of football games on tv and lots of us like to watch them. Some may go see the Hawkeyes play. It's hunting season and some may go hunting for pheasants. Maybe some will go squirrel hunting. Swimming will be fun on Saturday at the YMCA. Some of us will have an early Thanksgiving this weekend with our cousins or grandparents or stepparents. Some of us might watch movies or read books. Others may play outside. Friends may be coming over to our houses and maybe stay over night. Some people will make breakfast for others and help their mom. Others may go dirt biking. A student's family is going to a hockey game, play hockey in Kansas, and then play another hockey game. Some people might be thinking about what they are going to sell at Buy-Sell Day. Others may be going to Council Bluffs. There are six students that will be going to basketball practice on Saturday. Have a "gobbling" good early Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving

Pilgrims couldn't go to the church they wanted to attend. The Pilgrims sailed in the Mayflower. They didn't have much food on their voyage. Some of them got sick and some died. In the beginning the Pilgrims didn't have much to eat. The Native Americans and the Pilgrims had a feast that lasted three days. Native Americans showed the Pilgrims how to plant food and how to hunt. They also taught them to put dead fish as a fertilizer for their plants. They also had to make new homes. They had to use an ax to cut down their trees. After the feast they played games. They had a cornucopia on their table. The Native Americans and Pilgrims became friends. The kinds of food they ate were corn, beans, and squash. We found out that Thanksgiving comes in the month of November and is the fourth Thursday in that month. Have a good day.

Almost a Normal Day

Hopefully today will be leftover day. If we run out of time, we will have it on Friday. Today is an early out because the teachers have a meeting. We are dismissed at 1:00 pm. That's a two hour early dismissal. It's going to be really fun today because we get out early. After school some people may have friends over or go to their house. Today we had Art. One of us might try making an invention. Some of us might go to our babysitter's. One of us has a doctor's appointment. We are first to lunch today. Little smokies will be our lunch today. We will talk to you tomorrow.

Last Day of Basic Skills

We finished Basic Skills today!!! Tomorrow we will have leftover snacks. There are all kinds of snacks left for us. Ethan and Nicole brought snacks. We had cookies and apple juice. Some people worked their hardest on Basic Skills. Some of us thought it was fun. We can't believe we finished them that quick. We worked on Science in our Basic Skills. Some people's favorite one was the question about the plant. Some were easy. Some were hard. We won't have Basic Skills this afternoon because we finished them. The last page was about gardens. One of the last pages had a dictionary on it. It was kind of hard. We are so happy that we are DONE with Basic Skills. We did ten pages today. Basic Skills are fun and some of us are glad that we're done. We will talk to you later.

Day 4 of Basic Skills

People thought the Basic Skills were medium or harder. Today we did the Social Studies part. It asked about what type of buildings people live in big cities. We did nine or ten pages. We did some math today. Tomorrow is our last day for Basic Skills. Cody and Heather brought snacks for today. We had cheese puffs and juice. We think Basic Skills are fun and cool. We had to listen a lot today for Basic Skills. There were some that were hard. One of the hard ones asked about continents. Lots of people thought the pages were harder. We stretch every day after Basic Skills. When we stretch, we stretch for about 2 minutes and then we go back to work.

Day 3 of Basic Skills

We did math in Basic Skills today. We had to listen a lot again on our Basic Skills. Basic Skills were awesome and fun. We won't have Basic Skills in the afternoon again today. We did a lot of telling kinds of money in Basic Skills. We think we completed 10 pages today in Basic Skills. In Basic Skills we also had to do a lot of thinking. There was one that was hard. It was about snow dogs. Another one was hard and it was about math. Some of us thought that Basic Skills were easy, medium, and hard. We need to keep working hard on this next week. Basic Skills also had some graph problems in it today. Basic Skills are cool and really fun. We had cupcakes and juice from Cale and Miranda.

Second Day of Basic Skills

Basic Skills were harder today. Basic Skills are fun. Some people thought they were easier today. Others thought they were medium. Today we were tested on listening and language. Some words were not spelled right. You needed to listen a bunch. We fixed sentences that were missing capitals and punctuation marks. We did nine or ten pages today. Yesterday we think we did 20 pages. We had snacks this morning. Emily and Corey brought snacks. We hope we are really good at them. One was really hard. It was about camping. We aren't having Basic Skills in the afternoon. We'll take some more tomorrow.

Basic Skills

Today in the morning we had Basic Skills tests. Right before recess, we had a snack. We had sugar cookies and white grape juice. Basic Skills are kind of fun. After lunch and recess we will have some more. Because of Basic Skills, reading and math were shorter. We had regular PE and recess. Almost all of the grades are doing them. These are some of the grades that are taking the tests: 2nd grade through 8th grade. We think some of Basic Skills are easy, medium, and hard. We're trying our very best. Talk to you later.

A Great Day

Our class had a great day today. First of all we all followed directions RIGHT away. We ALL brought our homework and did the happy dance after library checkout. We listened and danced to the YMCA song. We were first to lunch. Some people are writing about spiders and insects. Some of us checked out big books. In math today we talked about Venn diagrams. In reading we talked about capital letter and abbreviations. We ran out of time. More to come tomorrow.

Monday

We are back to school after our long weekend. There was basketball practice for some of us. After the practice, we played a basketball game. A lot of reading was done over the weekend. Some worked by using hammers and nails. Others had to do chores like cleaning the house. Shopping was done by some of us. There was a hockey game this weekend. One of the games was won by the girls. Arts and crafts were done by some people. Some of us were practicing for the Iowa Basic Skills Tests. We also visited relatives. Swimming at a hotel was done by some of us. Dance lessons were held at the Y. We all had a good weekend!!

Weekend Plans

Some people will have friends over to their house and may have a sleepover. Others may be going to Grandma's house and spend time with their family. Some of us may go to church on Sunday. It's hunting season and some students may be going along. Another person is having a hockey game in Omaha. Some people will be babysitting because of conferences. Some students will go to a farm and help out. Combine and tractor rides would be fun. Others may be outside riding horses. A few may be going shopping. Going swimming at the YMCA may happen for some students. Some students have swimming or basketball practice. A soccer game would be fun. Have a good weekend and see you on Monday!

Conferences

Today and tomorrow will be conferences. I'm anxious to talk to all of the parents. We will be discussing following rules and directions, being nice to each other, and always trying. Some of us need to follow those directions right away, remember to try even when it might be hard, and to make those good decisions. It's really a good thing that each day we can start over to have a good year. I'm hoping that those students that need to try harder will begin tomorrow. Also a big thank you to those students that are excellent workers. Have a good day.

Halloween Party

The second grade classrooms are going to dress up in our costumes. There will be a hockey player, a scientist, football players, a cowboy, a grim reaper, a scary monster, a corpse bride, a cheetah, a vampire, an angel, a Dr. Zombie, a bunny, Hannah Montana, and some are keeping it a surprise. Today I think we will have a great Halloween party. Other students will get to see what we are going to wear. We will parade around in the other second grade rooms. There might be some scary and funny costumes. The room mothers are giving out really cool things. Have a super Halloween!!!!

Halloween Safety

On Friday we went to an assembly on Halloween safety. Two officers were there. The sherif'f's name was Officer Sage. They talked about how we should NEVER get into an automobile even if they offer you candy. If you are in trouble, scream, run, and go to a safe house. Don't go to someone's house if you don't know them. Don't go to people's houses if their light is not on. If the light is not on, they may be gone, busy, or not celebrate Halloween. Halloween should be fun, but always be careful. You need a flashlight when going Trick or Treating. Do not run when crossing the street. Look both ways for cars when crossing the street. Always have an adult with you when you go trick or treating. Have an adult check your candy to see if it is safe. Have a SPOOKYYYYY Halloween!!!!

More Red Ribbon Week

Red Ribbon Week reminds us to stay drug free all the time. Today we are wearing our Red Ribbons. Our ribbons say, "Join me. Be drug free. We're decorating our door. We decorated our door with monkeys. Our door also says, "Make positive choices. Don't monkey around with drugs. We have 9 monkeys on the door now. Yesterday we received our stickers and some are wearing them. On Friday some people are going to talk to us about staying from drugs. Try to wear red on Friday. Tomorrow a police officer and a dog will be coming. I hope we have a good Red Ribbon Week!!!! See you later. We need to get back to writing.

Red Ribbon Week

We talked about drugs and alcohol for Red Ribbon Week. We talked about how drugs were bad for us. If somebody tells you to take drugs, don't do it. On Friday we should wear red. If you don't have red, that will ok. All of us are trying to be good sports to others and ourselves. We have red ribbons and stickers to wear. If you play fair, you will be a winner. On Friday, Cody the canine, will come to school. Cody looks and tracks down drugs. Red Ribbon Week is when Mrs. Stickler discussed saying no to drugs and alcohol. Never take drugs!!!! Stay drug free!!!! Just say no to drugs !!!!! If you take drugs stop it!!!

Writing

In writing we start with an idea and then we make a five finger planner. We have a title, main idea, 4 details and how you feel about the topic. Then we make a rough draft. After that we should self edit. Some times Mrs. Riggs will edit it also. We also some times write it on good paper. We will also share our stories. Talk to you next time.

Science

In Science we are studying maps and globes. We have science now in Mrs. Dreher's room. In her room we went on treasure hunt in our map book. We learned that maps and globes are different. In our map book, we made our own city called "New City." We put streets, houses, stores, schools, and a park. We talked about north, south, east, and west. In our map book, we have maps and have to trace our way. We learned that maps give you a closer look. We are on page 22 in the book. The characters in the book are called Jamie and Jordan. In Mrs. Dreher's room we have a map that we pretend to drive a school bus to pick up and drop off kids. We have to take special streets to get to the houses. She uses an eraser for the school bus. We did some fun things in our book. Talk to you later.

Weekend Plans

In Math we talk about the week days and weekend days. Please ask your student to tell you which are weekend days and which are week days. Thank you. We have lots of plans for the weekend. Family visits may be done this weekend. Cooper has a hockey scrimmage. There's a football game on Friday at the Trojan Bowl in Atlantic, Iowa. At the half time show the cheerleaders from the YMCA will cheer. Some are going with their moms or dads to get a haircut. The pumpkin patch and the haunted house would be fun places to go. A birthday party is going to be on Saturday. The last day of the weekend, some may go to church. Have a super weekend!

Library Checkout

We went to the library and some of us checked out AR books. AR books can be easy, medium, or hard. First you read the book. Try to remember the details. Then go to the computer to take a test. After that you can check your score. We earn points by getting the answers right. The harder the book, the more points we can earn. We try to get more and more points. You go to the AR store four times a year. You can spend your points on prizes such as toys, stickers, erasers, books, squishy animals, mini NFL football helmets, T-shirts, stamps, noisemakers, and stuffed animals. Mrs. Riggs wants us ALL to read AR books.

Library Checkout

Safety Practice

Corey, Heather, Micalee, Shelbi, and Grace practiced their address. Ethan, Grace, Shelbi, Trey, Heather, and Micalee practiced phone numbers. Cell phone and other emergency numbers were practiced by Austin, Micalee, Heather, Jessica, Ethan, Grace, Shelbi, and Trey. Some students, Ethan, Austin, Grace, Shelbi, Luke, Heather, Corey, Cody, and Micalee practiced how to spell parents' names. Zip codes were practiced by Heather, Shelbi, Grace, Ethan, Trey, and Micalee. Hopefully by the end of the week we will all know these safety things. Mrs. Riggs may test us on them on Friday or Monday. Please help us practice!!!! Have a good rest of the day, Wednesday!

Guidance

Today in Guidance we practiced our names, parents' names, addresses, and phone numbers. Mrs. Stickler wants us to practice names, addresses, and phone numbers. Some of us have a hard time spelling our parents' names. Also some of us don't know all of our addresses or phone numbers. We talked about how our phone numbers begin with 712. We are to bring home a paper with our names, parents' names, address, and phone number on it. Mrs. Riggs did not check this over. Please help by checking this over and helping us practice it correctly. We should know how to give this information if we need help.

Rain and more Rain

Yesterday it rain all day and all night. Last night it thundered and there was lightning. It's raining right now. It is 2:08 pm now. There is a flood warning for Cass County. Some students had ponds in their backyard. The baseball field was covered with water. The ponds are getting more and more water. Animals got very wet the last couple of days. We don't know whether it will rain all day. The Nbotna. River was out of its banks. Some students like to listen to the storms. Rain, Rain, go away !!!!!!

New Software Program

We went to the library to explore the NEW Kid Pix program. You can have sports backgrounds. There all kinds of different sport backgrounds. You can also choose cave, fantasy, and clubhouses. There's a stage too. You can put stickers on it and also draw on it. Outside backgrounds and ocean backgrounds can also be found. The class is all excited about sounds. There is a song called "Rock the Party." It is really funky. Another song is called "70's." You can also listen to R & B. That's rhythm and blues we think. Got to go to science now. We'll tell more tomorow.

Wednesday

This is going to be a very short blog since Mrs. Riggs' computer is not working correctly. We had library check-out today. Our book order came in yesterday. We were first to lunch today. We didn't have much time to work on our projects today in art. We checkout little books, chapter books, and some AR books. Talk to you later.

Long Weekend

Today is Corey's birthday. He brought treats and we are going to have them after we blog. Most of us went to the Atlantic versus Clarinda Homecoming football game. The Atlantic team won with the score of 20 to 13. One person went to a Discovery toy party. One person is on a hockey team. He has a hockey game this week. Brothers were babysitters for some students this past weekend. Lots of us spent time with our family. Flag football and soccer were on Saturday. Some students visited the park on Monday. Three fish were caught by one student on Monday. Lots played outside and some played football. Keep cheering for the Trojans and Trojanns!!!

Fire Safety

If you catch fire, you need to stop, drop, and roll. You also need to cover your face. If we were quiet and listened to the movie, we then put on a vest with pretend fire on it. The fire was attached with velcro. When we rolled on the floor the fire came off. It is NOT good to play with matches or any type of fire! You should try to keep younger children away from fire and other dangerous things. If you see someone playing with fire, go get an adult right away!!! Try to keep matches up high. When Mom is cooking stay away from the stove and oven. Have a fire alarm upstairs and downstairs. Always know your escape plan out of your home. Get out of your house first and then call for help. We're excited about homecoming. We'll tell you about it on Tuesday.

Pumpkins

Yesterday our whole class received pumpkins from Mrs. Wickman. Some of us chose big ones and some chose small ones. Most people chose the large ones. We probably will carve pumpkins at home. Others will just look at them or put them on the step for decoration. Zeke had the tallest one. Maybe some will take the gooey, yucky stuff out and make pumpkin bars. You can pick the seeds out, dry them, salt them, and roast them. Then you EAT them. One person for sure is going to paint his pumpkin. Jack o lanterns would be fun to make. You could use them as part of a scarecrow. Bye for now. We are going to learn about fire safety.

Pumpkins and More Pumpkins

Today Mrs. Wickman came and asked me if I wanted some pumpkins. I said why sure I would like some pumpkins. Our class happened to be the last class to go out and check the pumpkins. She said there might be enough for everyone to have a pumpkin. We're going to go check right now if we can go very quietly and return before lunch. We'll let you know if there is enough for each one of us to have a pumpkin. We're on our way.

Rye and Alfalfa

We had to observe the rye and alfalfa. The rye looks like grass and alfalfa had leaves. We mowed both using our scissors. We had to predict which one would regrow. Six people predicted that both would regrow. Nine predicted that the rye would regrow. Three predicted that the alfalfa would regrow. Some thought the mowing was like giving a haircut to our container. Later we are going to observe the Brassica plant. We'll look for stems, leaves, roots, and flowers. We'll let you know which regrows.

It's Friday

We are changing our seating arrangement today. Some people are going to their relatives. Tomorrow is a "weekend" day. We talk about week days and weekend days in our math classes. Some second graders are going to the football game tonight. Their brothers are playing or their fathers are coaching. Lots of baking may be going on at our houses. Chocolate chip cookies sound very good. We might invite friends over. Cooper has hockey practice tonight. Several second graders play soccer or flag football. The first away soccer game is tomorrow. Lots of people are traveling this weekend. Some are going to South Dakota and others are going to a concert. The zoo trip is also one of the activities. Have a good weekend.

Active Listening

Mrs. Riggs wants us to be active listeners. We should look at the person that is talking. We should follow directions the first time. Mrs. Stickler tells us how to be a 4 Star Student. We should pay attention. All of us should use our ears, eyes, heart, and undivided attention. Always tell the truth the first time. Don't play with your supplies or other things. Be quiet when other people are talking. Don't be a 1 star student that doesn't listen or follow directions. Wait until you are called on to answer and wait your turn. Work to be a 4 Star Student -- not a 2 Star Student. Always try to sit with all 4 chair legs on the floor. Listen to the teachers. Try to whisper during quiet work time. Talk to you tomorrow.

Early Dismissal

Some people have AWANA. Some students have chores to do when they get home. A few of us are going to relax inside the house by the TV and make a healthy snack. Others may get to go with their grandparents. Friends may be coming over to our houses. Others may be enjoying family time. Maybe some of us will have a busy afternoon. Mrs. Riggs has meetings this afternoon and she hopes that lots of students will get outside and play!!!! Talk to you later.

Science and Writing

Yesterday we planted rye and alfalfa. We put soil in the container. Mrs. Riggs makes us call it "soil" not dirt. Soil has lots of good things in it to help plants grow. We predict that we will have more rye. The rye will look like grass. In writing we did editing our stories. First we had to finger frame each sentence. Then we had to look for capitals and punctuation marks. They had to have spaghetti and meatball spaces. We had to tap out the words. Last we circled words we didn't know how to spell. It's time for lunch now!

More and More Science

Riley brought brussel sprouts today. They are a vegetable. Cody brought an apple and a raspberry. The apple was maybe a Granny Smith or a Yellow Delicious. He squished the raspberry to see the juice. Emily brought a goose-neck gourd that definately looks like a goose bending down to eat. Emily has named her gourd, Larry. We are going to plant rye and alfalfa. Science will be really fun today. Talk to you later.

Weekend Plans

Some people are going to the Trojan football game. It is an away game in Glenwood. We all hope to have fun at the football game. Some people are going to church. Tomorrow some people have flag football and soccer. Some of us are going to cool off by going through a sprinkler. Others may cool off by going to the YMCA or finding a pool. Some building will be going on this weekend since a toolkit will be bought. The Farmer's Market will be in town this weekend. The Coke company is having a celebration this weekend. We may also visit friends. Have a good weekend!!!!!

Science

Zeke brought a red bell pepper. He told us that Columbus discovered them a long time ago. He thinks it was in 1492. Bell pepper come in red, yellow, green, purple, and brown. The seeds are the hottest part of the pepper. Cody brought us a cheery tomato and a long green bean. The seeds are in the middle. We eat the green bean seeds. There are seeds in the cherry tomato also that we eat. We eat sunflower seeds, cucumber seeds, corn, and peas.

Wednesday's Science

Luke brought a tomato. We talked about how some people think that it is a fruit and some call it a vegetable. In the old days, people thought tomatoes were poison and were called sweet apples. They were only used for decoration. Grace brought some hickory nuts. We might cut open some vegetables today to see what's inside. Yesterday we observed our Brassica plants. Some Brassica plants were a little different in color. Some have sprouted and some have stems and leaves. Most of them are growing Some of the leaves still had a seed shell on it. When we were observing our plants, we also compared them to others. Tomorrow we probably won't talk about science.

Lots and Lots of Science

Nicole brought a little pumpkin from her aunt's garden. We got to pick the pumpkin by her garden. Miranda brought a pumpkin that weighed 15 pounds and was 33 inches around. It was huge. She also brought two sweet potatoes. One was beginning to sprout. Luke brought some peppers today. They were called banana peppers, habanero, and a jalapeno pepper. In our regular science we are not going on our plant hunt because it is wet. We are going to observe and record our plants. I think Science will be fun today. People have brought a lot of plants so far. Some people brought squash. No one has brought tomatoes yet. We think Science is really cool.

Science Continues

Luke brought some buckeyes and gourds. We opened the green buckeye with a big shell on it. Corey brought a cucumber. We talked about how cucumbers can change to pickles. Jessica brought a big zucchini. We planted Brassica plants on Friday. Some are sprouting. Science is really fun this year. The plants that students have brought in have been really cool. We learn a lot in science. Three people brought in zucchinis. Some people have eaten zucchini at home. You can make zucchini into bread, casseroles, and cake. Talk to you later. We have to get back to science.

More Science

Emily brought a big goose neck gourd. It wasn't quite ready to pick. She also brought a bumpy orange one. One gourd was squishy, so it is probably a little spoiled. She also brought a sunflower from her neighbor's garden. We saw a vine and what the gourd looks like in the beginning. Ethan brought Indian corn. Indian corn is all different colors. Now people use Indian corn for fall decorations. He also brought a hedgehog gourd. Austin brought a big zucchini and also helped us spell it correctly. You can eat the flower and zucchini is usually cooked. It is a low calorie vegetable. This zucchini weighs 2 and a half pounds and is 13 inches long.

Science Time

Yesterday and today we are talking about plants. Nicole brought a marigold today for science. Yesterday Luke brought an ear of corn and part of a soybean plant. Some plants have moss growing around them. A lot of plants are cool. Some plants are big and some plants a little. Cale discovered some trees have sap on them. Our homework was to look at a plant for two minutes and see the parts. Heather brought a squash and another vegetable that Mrs. Riggs isn't sure about the spelling. It wasn't in our dictionary. So far we have been talking about plants in science. Some plants have fungus. Today we are going on a plant hunt. We'll let you know what we find tomorrow. We like science.

The Best Day Ever

Today is an early dismissal. We read in reading today. Some of us started a book club with Mrs. Dickerson. Our pictures came in today. We are having pancakes for lunch. Today Mrs. Riggs did her happy dance because everyone brought their homework. Everyone joined in the dance. Most people like pancakes for lunch. Some people don't. We didn't have a special today since we have an early out. See you tomorrow.

Gym Day

We played soccer in gym. We like to play soccer. We ran for 3 minutes in gym. The non red team made 4 goals. We did sit-ups, push-ups, v stretches, toe touches, and jumping jacks. Both teams won a game. We played our games inside. There were some injuries. We are going to play more soccer during the school year. We like gym.

Movie Monday

We had two movies at our recesses today. Today was the first time we had to stay inside because of rain during recess. The movie was really interesting. It was continued from the first recess. The movie was about underground creatures. The movies were funny and cool. The movie was about a lizard and rabbit. We learned about underground animals. My favorite animal was the anteater. Some of the animals can dig really fast. We had fun watching the movie. I like the little mole in the movie. They had to make choices. Talk to you on Tuesday.

Super September

In math we did a pattern on the white board. We had to drag the correct shape to the right spot. We also did the pattern in colors and letters. It went square, triangle, and circle. September has been great so far. We are making a scrapbook with our writing. School has been awesome. We have had a really nice day. Some people passed partner math today. We did computers in math. We played soccer in gym today. It was nice and cool today. I hope it stays this way all the time in our class. Some of us had their spelling test today. We have math meetings every day. Some of us go downstairs for math. Have a good weekend.

A Good Day

We are going to work on our Super September writing/scrapbook today. We are going to the computer lab today to work on our writing project. Our word bank words talked to us. We are having a great day at school today. Yesterday Mrs. Riggs did a happy dance. We pretended to wash a car with music. Some will have a spelling test on Friday. Some had a spelling test today. Spelling was really fun today. Some of us were reading at spelling time. We like to write. Some of us have fun at reading. We had gym today. Mrs. Riggs is planning to do a happy dance when we all have our reading supplies.

A Day of Firsts

It was our first day of Art. In art we were doing self-portraits. We ran out of time. Miss Hatfield was talking about projects we will be doing in art. It was nice to see her again. We were also thinking about different ideas. She was really nice today. In second grade we get to pick out two books. Some of us need to return our books. Some people read magazines. Library was really fun. There are a lot of cool books in the library. The library is awesome. I like the books. There are a lot of chapter books. We like the library.

The Big Bug

My name is Zeke and I brought the big bug! It had horns by its head. Everyone liked the big bug. Some could see its yellow legs, but some could not see the legs. It had huge eyes. Zeke walked around so we could all see the bug. It was starting to get smaller, so Zeke let it go. On Friday we pulled weeds at Washington Elementary School. There were a lot of weeds. It was hot when we were working. We worked with Mrs. Garrett's class. We saw gourds there that were planted by last year's second graders. Some people saw spider webs. We were careful not to pull the flowers. Hope you had a great Labor Day!!

First Day of Guidance

In guidance we talked about 4 Star Students. Four star students listen. They respect others. They do things without being asked. Those students help each other. They take care of themselves. Following directions the very first time should be done. They do the right thing when other people aren't looking. Those students take control of themselves. They practice good character all the time. Four star student are kind and helpful. During our tornado drill, 4 star students listened and followed directions right away. We should look at the teacher when we talk.

A Two Snack Day

We were lucky today and had two snacks. Some people passed in Partner Math. Some are on Level G. We had apples and Teddy Grahams. We played basketball at recess. Some of us went to the computer lab for reading. We had apples for a snack. We have hard homework. We had music today. We had reading. We read books. Some of us raced around the playground at recess. We played baseball, soccer, and football. We like to play a lot of sports. We did a workbook page in reading.

The Best Day of School So Far

We played football at recess. Mrs. Riggs took pictures of us. We had Partner Math. We may get an extra recess today. We went to reading in different rooms again. Math was a little hard today. We talked about telling the truth and did a truth sheet. We had corn dogs for lunch and we have water bottles in our class. We filled in missing numbers on the hundreds chart. Some of us went to the computer lab. We wrote numbers to 100 in math.

Picture Day

We ran 8 laps in P.E. We had our pictures taken this morning. It's another early out today. Some people had math in Mrs. Garrett's room and some stayed here. Some reading classes worked on vowel sounds. One reading class has homework. All of us have math homework. Some of us went into different reading groups. We had a snack. There's an important note coming home today. Bye, bye for now!

Monday

We went to Reading. We went to different teachers today. We read, did spelling, and listened to a book. We made a birthday graph. We all have math homework. We have to do Side B. Moms and Dads can help and check them over. They have to be back tomorrow, so I can get my sticker. If I forget, I have to do my homework during recess. That wouldn't be good. There's an important note to look at in my gold folder. Pictures are tomorrow. See you later.

The Third Day of School

We went out to recess today three times. Today we had one "whole" day of school. The weekend is coming up tomorrow. Some of us went to Mrs. Garrett's for math. Some of us had Mrs. Riggs for math. Today we had Partner Math. We had some people pass their level. We saw a funny Reading Rainbow. Talk to you later.

The Raining Day

At recess it rained a little. In the morning it was pouring very hard. School is still cool. We practiced Partner Math. We had a test in math. It was to show what we learned in first grade. We're making new friends at school. We went into Mrs. Garrett's room to do a project. We all had fun today. We're learning how to follow lifelong guidelines, We talked about the state of Iowa. We had snacks today. Mrs. Riggs' special pen worked on the white board. Hi everyone!!

First Day of School

The first day of school is pretty neat. This school is cool. We like school. It's hot at school. We go outside two times for recess. We learn new things. We're learning games and learning crafts. Everybody likes it here. Some boys played basketball at school and had fun. We've learned problem solving. We have Partner Math at school. We read some books. We had some math tests. Some students thought they were easy, some thought they were medium, and some thought they were hard. Hi to Moms and Dads!!!

Back to School Night

I would like to welcome you to our room. I am hoping to have our class blog
daily to let you know what is happening in our room. Please take a look at our blog now then to catch up on our daily events. We will do this as a class activity. You can find our blog by logging on to the Atlantic web site and clicking on blogs. We would love to have comment so we can read it the next day.

School Starts Soon

I'm busy working in my room getting ready for my class to begin on August 22, 2007. I have the desks arranged and name tags in place. I'm looking forward to seeing you on Back to School Night. See you then.

summer vacation winding down

Hi,
Well summer is winding down and the school supplies are in the stores. So it must be time to get back to my room and move furniture. We'll try some new seating arrangements this year and make sure we have time to blog--hopefully once a day. Enjoy summer.

Learning, learning, learning . . . . .

Each day I'm trying to learn more and more about blogging. I'm excited to share with my students so they can become bloggers also.

Summer Vacation

I'm enjoying my summer vacation, but trying to get a blog set up for this fall. I'm learning as I go so hopefully when school begins, I'll be ready to blog with my second graders.

Summer Vacation