Second Week of Second Grade!

 Community Building

We opened our first full week of school by beginning the social emotional curriculum. The first lesson we learned is about how to have a sharing circle. A sharing circle is when a question is posed and second graders pass a speaker power object to the person who gets to speak. We practiced being completely silent when we are not holding the speaker power object, and even made rules so that our sharing circles can be successful. The rules the class came up with are: Sit in a listening position, eyes on speaker, pass the speaker power object politely, and share the talking power time equally.

Decide on a speaker power object at home and try your own Shabbat sharing circle!

Science

This week we have been learning about the three different sub-categories of matter: liquids, solids, and gasses. We worked closely with each category through scientific observations and inquiries. With bags of mystery substances, each table group worked hard and supported each other creatively while learning the properties of each substance. Using their five senses the class was able to determine and explore various matters. Next week we will develop more of an understanding of what a chemical and physical change consists of. 

Ask your super scientist about matter and give an example of what matter consists of.

Math

In math these week we began delving into place value and reviewing concepts we learned in first grade. As second graders we practiced putting numbers in their correct place value of hundreds, tens, and ones. There were some tricky numbers that even went into the one thousands! As we explore with numbers we also began exploring our new workbooks and learning how to correct our own mistakes. We were supportive mathematicians as students got to come to the board and practice explaining their thinking. We are so excited to learn more math this year!

At home, give your child numbers and practice separating them into hundreds, tens, and ones categories.

T’fillah (prayers)

We started to use our siddurim (prayer books) this week. We are learning how to treat them with respect and having fun looking back on all our pictures from first grade.

Kids were so excited to say the Amidah that they learned in first grade. But which way should we face when we pray? We discussed different options, and then learned that Jews all over the world face Israel when praying. For us in the U.S. this means facing East, but which direction do they face in Russia, or China, or Ethiopia? And where do Jews in Israel face?

 

Doing Classroom Jobs

This is our first week with classroom jobs.

Ezra and Shlomo are calendar helpers

Abby reads the daily schedule in Hebrew

Exploring Hebrew Puzzles and Games

Playing a Hebrew spelling game “Et l’ayet”

Aleph Bet Bingo with vowels, for decoding practice

Bracha (blessing) Puzzles

First Birthday Party!

We celebrated Sascha’s birthday party this week! More info on birthday celebrations will be communicated via email and at Back to School Night.

Recess Fun!

Second graders have recess with third and fourth grades this year. Students enjoy free play as well as more organized games like gaga and football.

Art with Iviva:

For our first art class, Iviva reintroduced the art room, and we made rubbings, rolling crayons on top of paper with leaves and plastic forks and spoons underneath. We also did some printmaking using recycled materials, and more leaves! We used part of an egg crate as a stamp, pressing it into block printing ink and stamping the impression onto paper. We taped leaves onto plexiglass, rolled ink over the glass, and pressed paper on top to make prints. We will explore collage from our prints in the next few weeks while we also prepare for fall holidays.