Academic Miscellany

What is it about a few dozen snowflakes that gets us Maryland residents so giddy?  I couldn't even sleep in during our two hour delay.  I wanted to be out in the wintery fray.  So here I am, excitedly waiting for the kids to tromp in.  (We've got penguins to work on!  Writing!  Typing!  Crafts!)

January might be the heart of the winter doldrums yet you wouldn't experience it here.

Let's start the hodgepodge update.  Not a solitary subject but a bunch of academic miscellany.  It's fun that way.  It is symbolic of how we operate our second grade classroom.

Did you know that there are 17 different species of penguins?  What blessed fate:  there are 17 of us.  16 students, 1 teacher who doesn't want to miss out on research fun.  We each selected a different penguin to study.  I took the leftover:  the mighty, noble Royal penguin.  We've been writing and typing extensive reports.  Above is a little side project we're working on:  studying the various adaptations of all penguins.  My favorite adaptation is the small "heat window" around penguin eyes.  These patches are feather-free and allow heat to escape and the bird to cool off!  Nature is awesome.

Sick of hearing about how much we adore reading groups?  Too bad.  We've been focused on protagonist/antagonist study as of late, along with dictionary and vocabulary skills.  It's so fun to watch the kids rush around as they collaborate on a huge project that is time sensitive.  The adrenaline is palpable.

Tessellations are math?  Yes.  Tessellations are math.  We've been studying the types of tessellations that occur in nature (snake skin, anyone?) as well as creating some of our own using various polygons.  Tessellations are beautiful patterns that have no gaps or overlaps.  It is so fun to experiment and see which shapes can become tessellations together.  M.C. Escher would be proud.

Brain Quest sent our class a ton of amazing products because they recognize how awesome my students are.  I would never, ever be able to come in early on a snow delay day or even work with a smile on my face without these children.  They are sincerely an inspiration, a push to work harder, a push to work smarter, a reminder to collaborate.  They are phenomenal children and they deserve this recognition.  We have had a lot of fun sharing these books and game decks with others.


That's it!  Happy half snow day.  We'll update with more adventures soon.