Brrrrrr!!!

I hope that your December has gotten off to a great (although chilly) start! It is hard to believe that there are only two weeks left until Winter Break! 2nd graders at Langston Hughes have been working hard and learning many new things.

In math this week, students worked with equal arm balances to find the mass of several classroom objects. They really enjoyed using gram weights and other tools! Next week we will begin Trailblazers Unit 9, which covers ways of adding large numbers. We will also take a small break for some winter math activities.

I won't be telling you much about our current writing project, because it is a surprise! I will tell you, however, that your children have been working hard and producing some great written pieces!

This week in Health, students wrote booklets teaching kids ways to stay safe in a variety of situations. Next week, we will look at ways of staying well during cold and flu season, and we will wrap up with the current health unit the week of December 14, when we talk about medicine and drugs.

Your child was given a new spelling list on Wednesday. There will be one more spelling sort this month, and then we will resume in January after the break.

The annual 1st and 2nd grade Gingerbread Day will take place on Thursday, December 17, from 9:00-11:00. Students will rotate through 6 classrooms of activities that morning! In our classroom, we will be holding a gingerbread smell test. I would love to have 1 or 2 volunteers to help out with the activity on that day...please let me know if you are interested.

It is hard to believe that this will be our last newsletter of 2009! I hope that you all have a wonderful holiday season with your families and friends. It has been a pleasure working with you in 2009, and I look forward to many more fun 2nd grade memories in 2010!