11/3/14 Update

It's so much nicer to be driving to school in the daylight - hope you remembered to set your clocks back.  

The first quarter ended on Friday, which means I've been busy working on progress reports.  Those should come home with the children - I'll try to remember to send an email when they are put in backpacks so you can look for those.  Please be sure to call the office and schedule your parent/teacher conferences for next Wednesday, November 12.  There is no school for the children that day, so be sure to plan ahead for childcare.

The "wildlife in residence" AKA the crickets were a big hit.  Some children thought their chirping was too loud, but many appreciated how soothing it was.  It was a nice way for the children to take a look up close.  Did you know that crickets can eat dog food?  They enjoyed that and brussel sprouts and some apples.

Please be sure to visit the Book Fair while you are in school next week.  The children will have their preview day on Thursday and their wish lists will come home in the Friday folders.  There is also an online option for shopping.

Last week we had a situation with a school bus not showing up until 5:00.  While trying to sort it out, we found many children struggled with knowing home phone and cell phone numbers by heart.  Please, please, please practice with your child - I know it's harder with multiple phone numbers, but this is an important safety rule that should not be overlooked.  Knowing parents' full names, home and cell numbers and full address is well worth the time and effort.

This week's Spelling words are...end, camp, thank, sing, drink, hunt, stand, long, thump, hand, think, bring, jump, went, young, friend and WOW is coming.  

Finally, we go outside for recess as often as possible, even when it's cold!  Please be sure your child is dressed for the weather.  Please email me atmlbuster@torahacademy.org with any questions or concerns.

2nd Grade Update 10/24/14

A whole week of school?  We aren't used to this!  For the most part, the children have done well as we work to reestablish our routines and procedures.  A few reminders about those that you can help with...homework is sent home in the Friday folder each week.  It is due the following Thursday.  Over the weekend, please empty the Friday folders and return them promptly on Monday mornings.  This makes the redistribution much easier if I have the folders returned ahead of Friday.

With regards to planners, the children should have those here at school every day.  We write our behavior from the clip chart in them each day, which allows you to do a quick check and discuss the day.  We also will write other messages here and there in the planners.  Please, please, please not only check the planners each evening, but also help get those back here every day.  Thanks for your help with this.

Did the children tell you about our special guests in our class?  We are observing a family of crickets - looking to see them up close and personal, watching how they meet their basic needs.  The chirping has been rather soothing, to be honest!

Next week's Spelling words are as follows: dish, what, than, chest, such, thin, push, shine, chase, while, catch, sure, which, then, whisper, thumb and WOW is they.  There is also another dress down day next Friday - 25 cents to wear jeans, sweats, sportswear or something very glittery! Totally worth it in my opinion!

These newsletters, along with other information, updates and photos are posted on my blog...check it out at buster2ndgrade.blogspot.com

As always, please email me with any questions or concerns atmlbuster@torahacademy.org

Guest "Speaker"

Thursday, we had the privilege of meeting Matt's dog Jill.  We have been studying working dogs and finding out about the ways dogs help people and Matt's dog has had some special protection training.  Also, Matt worked directly with dogs while serving in Afghanistan.  It was fun (for most!) to see a dog up close and to hear about Matt's experiences.  Thanks for coming!

10/2/14 Update

Happy Fall everyone!  A few things to keep in mind with our schedule for the next few weeks...I'm not sending a homework packet this week and there will NOT be a Spelling test for the next two weeks.  The next homework packet will come home 10/15 and isn't due until 10/23.  Please encourage your children to keep reading over the days off from school!

Thanks for your continued support and please let me know if you have any questions.

9/22/14 Update

Just a few quick notes to start our short week...there is no homework packet or Spelling test this week.  I will send home only Spelling homework on Tuesday, for next week, and our next Spelling test will be on Thursday, October 2.  Thanks to everyone for doing well on returning homework..remember, packets are due Thursdays.

We begin visits to the Library today - both classes go on Mondays, but the schedule is somewhat sporadic.  If your child finishes a library book ahead of time, feel free to send it back and we will get it returned to the library, so they can check out another book for their next visit.

That's about it - I wish everyone a blessed and happy New Year and enjoy the upcoming days off...the weather looks like it will be fantastic!

2nd Grade Weekly Update 9-15-14

Apologies for the delay in the weekly update - I try my best to send updates on Fridays.  The good news is my blog is up and running.  Updates, Spelling lists, photos of cool stuff from 2nd grade, etc. can be found by accessing the blog.  Stop by at least once a week for the weekly update, plus other times here and there for a look into what we are doing in our classroom.  You can find the blog at www.buster2ndgrade.blogspot.com

This week's Spelling words are...tap, tape, fin, fine, tub, tube, rob, robe, cap, cape, slid, slide, hop, hope, scrap, scrape.

I've had a few comments that the Spelling words are "too easy" for second graders.  A few things to explain my process and technique...first of all, in order to build confidence in our procedures for Spelling, we started with just 12 words that are phonetically based.  Phonics, even for children with higher levels of comprehension, is always a good thing to practice.  Being able to decode harder and harder words is based on a strong phonics background.  Also, being able to spell the words on the weekly test is an important first step, but the goal in second grade is to use those correctly spelled words in the children's every day writing.  I will closely monitor the children's writing skills to look for this.  As we move further into the year, we will increase the number of Spelling words for some children and later, will provide alternate lists to those children who are BOTH consistently spelling words correctly on tests and in their writing.  I hope that gives you a little more information on our Spelling program for this year.  Please let me know if you have further questions.

We have our Chapter 1 Math test Tuesday.  It will cover place value, which we've been working on since school started.

Also, we will begin going to the school library next Monday.  The schedule is sporadic, so I will try to include Library week information in the updates, so the children know when to return library books.

That's the short story from here.  Please email me with any questions or concerns, and please be sure to check the blog going forward for weekly updates and other 2nd grade news.  

Welcome to 2nd Grade 2014-2015

Welcome to all our second grade families.  This is Mrs. Buster's 2nd Grade Blog!  Here you will find newsletters, miscellaneous updates, Spelling lists and other awesome updates from our classroom.  Check back at least once a week for the newsletter, which hopefully will be posted on Fridays, and then other random times when I post photos of our children doing terrific things here in class.  We are off to a great start in 2nd grade and the blog is a great way for you to follow along with our learning and our fun!