March 9 - Antarctica
March 10 - Australia
March 11&12 - Europe
March 22&23 - Asia
March 24 - South America
March 25 - Africa
March 26 - Mexico and Canada
March 29 - Back to the United States!
As you can see, we have a busy few days ahead of us! Students have enjoyed learning about climate, landforms, languages, exports, and especially food in the continents we have studied! Please remember that if you have any souvenirs, books, etc. from another continent, we would love to see them! Just let me know if you would like to send something in for your child to share.
In math this week, we have continued our studies of fractions. Students have practiced dividing objects into fractions, comparing fractions, and playing many fraction games. The week after spring break, we will begin unit 15 which is a study of the properties of different geometric shapes.
No new spelling words were given today, so there won't be a spelling test the Wednesday after spring break. During our normal spelling time, students will be sorting, illustrating, and defining a list of geography words. They were given the names of the seven continents, landforms such as plateau, tundra, and valley, and mapping words like compass. Please continue to discuss geography related vocabulary with your child at home as we continue our unit of study!
Several exciting opportunities will be coming up in the month of April! Our school was chosen by the Lied Center to be one of the recipients of a grant for a field trip to extend our viewing of "Stellaluna" this Friday. 2nd graders at Langston Hughes will be visited by the puppeteer Priscilla Howe two times in April. She will be teaching puppet-related lessons on various life cycles. As a culmination to this study, our 2nd graders will be taking a trip out to the Baker Wetlands! I do not have information yet on a specific date, as the trip is being planned by the great people at the Lied Center. It will be in mid-late April. When that time comes, we will need 5 parent volunteers from our class to go to the Wetlands with us. Please let me know if you are interested in going on this half day trip with us! I know it's difficult to commit without a specific date, but let me know if you think you MIGHT be interested and I will contact you when I have more information.
In addition to our trip to the Baker Wetlands, our 2nd grade field trip to the Kansas City Zoo is scheduled for Friday, April 30. This is a full day trip that also requires five parent volunteers to ride the bus and tour the zoo with a small group of students (4-5 students in each group). I would like to start lining up volunteers for this trip as soon as possible, so please contact me if you would like to go on this fun trip with us! It's always a favorite of the kids. The cost for adult entry to the zoo is $6. Permission slips for students, as well as information regarding cost, times, etc. will be coming home on Monday, March 22, so please keep an eye out for these items.
If you have interest in attending one, or even both, of our field trips, please contact me by e-mail or phone. My extension at the school is 2247. I look forward to hearing from you, and will give more information on both of these trips soon!
We are in need of about a dozen plastic break-apart Easter eggs for a math scavenger hunt activity in April. If you have any of these that you would like to donate, I'd love to have them!
Have a wonderful spring break! Let's all cross our fingers for beautiful weather!
