Tuesday Three: Bats, Mystery Reader, Ojo de Dios

We've been rather busy here in second grade.  There simply aren't enough days between Halloween and Thanksgiving.  We pushed through our Pilgrims unit at a clipping pace.  We created wetus and wooden houses (more on that in a later post), imagined what the Pilgrims might have packed on their voyage, and made symbolic "shells" (really bits of pasta) to give to our friends as tokens of affection.



Our inaugural Mystery Reader was a smashing hit!  The kids had 5 clues about this mystery person.  They mulled over them all day long.  We knew this person had two brothers and a sister.  She taught dance to kids.  She was born in a different country.  All day, these young lawyers attempted to bargain and coax the information to be revealed.  Their skills in rhetoric are impressive, but I would not give.  It was very exciting when Frannie, Mia's aunt, walked through our door!  She read us Jamie O'Rourke and the Giant Potato.  We were full of questions to ask!

Thank you, Frannie!  And we'll be on the lookout for more Mystery Readers soon.

On to nocturnal animals.  Our first spotlighted creature was the bat.  Did you know that there are about 1,000 types of bats?  The smallest is the bumblebee bat.  The largest is the Samoan flying fox.  Vampire bats exist, but their little fangs are only after cows.  Bats have thumbs.  There are grouped into two types:  Microbat and Megabat.

We've been doing a lot of bat-related reading.  This reading will culminate as a small version of an encyclopedia.  We aim to be bat masters.  I think we're succeeding.

Brooke highlights and writes a section of her encyclopedia.

Kevin scores the dashed lines of the bat.  This figure will become a "pop up" in the center of each encyclopedia.

Finally, we created Ojo de Dios with popsicle sticks and yarn.  Believe me, there's a lesson in this!

Nice work, Natalie!

Ojo de Dios (God's Eye) is a traditional religious craft made by the Huichol Indians of Mexico.  They are believed to watch over the recipient.  Before our craft, we discussed the various ways in which God is always looking out for us.  There is so much to learn from the faith of kids.  They are open and honest about everything.  It's really inspiring.  Becoming a second grade teacher really affirmed my faith in God.  Sharing ideas and experiences is really powerful for these students.  They enjoyed the symbolism and the significance of this craft.  It was tricky - very tricky - to master the weaving technique, but we were old pros once we figured out the code.



Second grade is busy, busy, busy - but I wouldn't want it any other way.