January Updates

Here are just a few quick January updates:

You should have received both the grade level newsletter AND the Summative Project guidelines yesterday. Just in case, pictures are attached. Today, please look for the venn diagram to either use in the project or to use as an example for Google. Also, there is a letter about the login process for Google if your student has decided to use Google.

Today, we started a differentiated novel study. Please look for your student's novel and study guide to come home along the way. Some portions will be completed in class, some will need to be finished at home. We will study reading concepts such as: figurative language, inferences, connections, and many other critical thinking skills.

In math, we are working on using place value to solve larger equations, possibly into the thousands.

In writing, we started our nonfiction unit. We brainstormed topics about which we know a lot and could teach other people. Ask your student about their brainstorming sheet and help them choose an appropriate topic.

This week, we are working to reassess word study so that groups are appropriate as move forward in the second semester. Your student may or may not move, but I SO excited by the growth I have seen so far.

Have a great end of the week!

It's a New Year!

Welcome back! I hope that everyone had a wonderful break, full of of family, friends, and rest!

I love the start of a new year! I feel like it's a chance to see things differently and to challenge yourself to grow. I don't really like resolutions, but I DO like real, attainable goals. I know I have taken time to set some for myself, both personally and professionally.

Before I give you an inside look at January, I want to rewind and make sure that I share the AMAZING kindness bag project. Your students, because of you families, packed 48 bags that were delivered to the homeless community right here in Tuscaloosa. My friend John Frye came to speak to our classes and delivered the bags himself. He was kind enough to share photos of that kindness in action:

I hope you think these pictures are as beautiful as I do.
I'll be back tomorrow with a January overview, including information about our Celebrations project.

The Internet is BACK!

We survived!

Our internet was restored last Thursday, and we are so glad! It's amazing how much we rely on the internet just for everyday routines like attendance, receipting, and of course communication! I am glad we are done with that. 

This week...
     
     - We will have IB Action Hero Day on Thursday. Dress like an action hero! 
     - Picture Day is Friday. 
     - Our first unit in Math will come to a close. 
     - Garden class will meet on Friday. 
     - We will study symbols to include: flags, seals, and landmarks. Think about how your               student could contribute to this conversation based on their experiences. Have they                 visited an important landmark? Is your family from another country or state? 
     - Ask your student about their narrative writing. This week, we are working to revise by            adding details. 

* If you still have your video permission slip from Miss Smith, please return it as soon as you are           able.

* Next Monday is our first field trip. We will leave for  the Bama as SOON as the buses arrive. Don't    be late!

Have a great week! 

Happy Monday!

Happy (3rd) Monday! 

I hope that everyone had a great weekend! I know that I am on the countdown to football season, so I spent this weekend making sure all of game gear is ready to go! :) 

Thank you so much for your patience with the Scholastic book orders. I am not sure why the site was down, but it appears to be back. I'll place the order tomorrow to give everyone a chance to log in. 

This week, we will use a picture book to introduce small group reading. Everyone will read A Bad Case of Stripes as we learn literature circle routines. 

Our first week of word study groups were a SUCCESS! Please continue to work with your student at home throughout the week, and always feel free to find ways to learn the vocabulary with them as well.

Friday is the first school-wide run of the year. If you can, come run! I think I will. :) It should be at 1:00 for us, but I will send a time when it is confirmed. 

Lastly, don't forget...NO SCHOOL next Monday! I am heading to Indianapolis to spend the weekend with my sister; I hope your family is able to have some fun, too! 

Have a great week! 

Four weeks to go...

Bits from the Birdhouse... D

4/20/15

Friends! We are down to the end! The last month of school is PACKED with activity, so be sure to watch all school communication closely. 

Please remember to sign your student up for the 5k in May. Students run for free!

There is NO SCHOOL for students on Friday. I forgot, and made book orders due on the 24th. Oops! Have them turned in by Monday the 27th instead. 

Be sure to ask your student about this week’s happenings! We will...

• Wrap up Natural Resources and our impact on the Earth.

• Continue working on problem solving strategies. 

• Finish The Magic Finger. 

• Work on biography poems as part of our celebration of National Poetry Month. 

• Finish our mini-reports about endangered animals.

• There will NOT be word study lists this week. 

• If The Most Important Thing book comes home with your student this week, please be sure to read and write a quick response. Thanks! 

We’re ready for a 

great week!

April has Arrived!

I don't know about you, but I am always floored at how quickly the school year flies by. I can't believe it's already April! Honestly, April can get a little tough. Expectations are high because we are almost third graders, and the struggle is real because everyone is starting to get antsy for summer. Please remind your student of the importance of completing work, both in class and at home and to remember classroom behavior expectations as the end of the year approaches.

Bits from the Birdhouse... D

4/6/15

Good morning! I hope everyone had a fantastic Easter weekend with family. 

Be sure to ask your student about this week’s happenings! We will...

• Continue to learn about Natural Resources and our impact on the Earth. 

• Begin our math unit about partners and teams, which is a foundation for multiplication. 

• Have new word study lists. Please be sure to study at home!

• Start a new novel, The Magic Finger. It is a wonderfully weird little story! :) 

• Work on opinion writing. 

• Take Classworks Math on Wednesday.

• If The Most Important Thing book comes home with your student this week, please be sure to read and write a quick response. Thanks! 

We’re ready for a 

great week!

Back to real life...

Bits from the Birdhouse... D

3/23/15

Welcome back from Spring Break! 

I hope that you were able to enjoy a great week with your family. I was able to visit Pensacola (which is where we lived before we came here), and it was so nice to see old friends. The more I go back to visit though, the more I have come to love Tuscaloosa. I really never thought that would happen, and I am so glad that it has! 

I can't believe that we are on the countdown to the end of second grade. It just doesn't seem possible! 

Please remember that Women's History projects are due on Friday. If your student misplaced theirs over break, PLEASE email me and I will happily send a second copy home. Also, Scholastic book orders are due on Friday. I sent an email with the class code for everyone just in case. 

Be sure to ask your student about this week’s happenings! We will...

• Introduce our new unit about Natural Resources.

• Begin our math unit all about fractions. 

• Have new word study lists. Please be sure to study at home!

• Start a new novel, Snow Day Dare. 

• Work on opinion writing.

• Have popcorn on Wednesday! 

• Teacher lunch is Thursday. If you can come sit with our class at 12:30, I would be so thankful! 

• Send report cards home on Friday. 

We’re ready for a 

great week!

It's an even shorter week...

Good morning! It's been a few weeks since I made it to the blog to post. This week was cut even shorter by the delay this morning, but we are settling in for a great week!

This week, we will wrap up the third investigation for this math unit. We are working a LOT with collecting and spending a dollar. A great way to work with this at home is to gather up lots of coins and work with your student on adding up to a dollar and  then subtracting back to 0. Have your student create a "grocery list" of sorts and show how their items add up to a dollar. This is a great way to work with numbers within 100, as I remind them all the time that $1.00 is no different than 100 cents, which is just like 100. It's so important for them to make these connections. If your student is ROCKING with $1.00, challenge them to go to $2.00.

We are going to start a whole group book study this week! It's a fun second grade reader about winter and changes in matter. We are going to use it to learn about the structure and process of whole group "novel studies," since that will be a HUGE focus of reading in third grade. I love this little book, and hope the students do, too.

Our President posters should be up by the end of the week. Please feel free to stop by next week to wander the Hall of Presidents to see the students' hard work. It's been so much fun, and I can't wait to see all of the posters displayed together!

It's Monday again!

Good morning! I hope that you all had a great weekend! We were able to get away to the beach for the weekend...it was cold, but a much needed family weekend. This week we will...

1. Continue to work on our President's projects. I can't believe how many flags came back this morning! I love it! Everyone seems to really be enjoying the project. I can't wait to see how it all comes together.

2. Start unit 6 in Math. It's called "How many tens? How many ones?" and places a HUGE emphasis back on problem solving.

3. Pick portfolio pieces. We simply did not get to it last week.

4. Introduce our new IB unit of inquiry. It's a study on Matter, and will incorporate lots of hands on experiments. I love it!

Be sure to ask  your student about meeting a real secret service agent this morning. If you didn't already know, Mrs. Barnes' husband has been an agent for a long time and he gave us his morning and taught our students a little about the Secret Service. It was so fascinating, and the students learned so much!

Have a great week!

Monday Musings

Well, I just realized that my cute header and fonts with the adorable bird don't translate from my Mac to a PC. Go figure. So, I guess it's alright that I can't get my mac to connect to the internet today anyway. Haha!

I hope everyone had a good weekend! I FINALLY took down my Christmas tree and watched my beloved Colts beat the Broncos (even though I am still a Peyton fan), so it was a pretty good weekend!

Here are a few highlights for the upcoming week:

- We will look at President's Day, Chinese New Year, and MLK as we wrap up celebrations.

- We will continue unit 5 in math, which is all about repeated addition, number patterns, and a (very      basic) foundation for multiplication.

- We will start our President's research project.

- Kiddos are moved into new reading groups for the Spring!

- Report cards are in folders TODAY. Thanks for your patience.

It's a NEW YEAR!

Bits from the Birdhouse... D

1/5/15

It’s 2015! A friend said over break, “Y’all remember Y2K? That was FIFTEEN YEARS AGO.” Wow. 

I love taking the new year to focus on all the wonderful things around me. I don't really make resolutions...I don't have the dedication to keep them. I did, however, spend two hours working on my family's calendar for the start of this year...yikes. I'm not sure it was such a good idea. Haha! I hope your family can start the new year refreshed and ready for new challenges! 

Be sure to ask your student about this week’s happenings! We will...

• Continue our Celebrations study. New Year is this week’s focus. 

• Wrap up unit 4. Begin unit 5. 

• Have new word study lists. Please be sure to study at home!

• Work on poetry and opinion writing. 

We’re ready for a 

great week!

It's a (relatively) calm week...

Good morning! I hope that you all had a great weekend and are ready for a new week at school. We really don't have a lot going on this week, beyond our normal stuff. It's kinda nice! Be sure that you are working on your celebrations project to turn in next Tuesday, the 17th. 

We are having lots of fun with our data project. Be sure to ask your student about their survey question and how they are sorting their data. 

We have started an in-class project about celebrations around the world. Ask your student what country they are studying with their partner. Explore at home, and if they come across something really interesting, share it through a picture, short writing, or just an internet link. Have fun! 

Bits from the Birdhouse... D

12/8/14

10 SCHOOL DAYS TO BREAK! 

Be sure to ask your student about this week’s happenings! We will...

• Continue our Celebrations study. This week we will trade classes to study Hanukkah with Mrs. Swinney. Any connections? We would love to hear about them.

• Continue Unit 4 of Investigations. This week we are working on gathering and representing data. 

• Have new word study lists. Please be sure to study at home! 

We’re ready for a 

great week!

Tuesday Tidbits

Bits from the Birdhouse... D

11/18/14

Sorry I am late this week!

Be sure to ask your student about this week’s happenings! We will...

• Start our Celebrations study. We LOVE this unit! This week, we will explore the history of Thanksgiving and start thinking about our celebrations project. Stay tuned!  

• Complete our Unit 2 reading test as required by the district. 

• Enjoy treats from Cypress Inn with the Druid City Garden Project. 

• Finish and assess Unit 3 of Investigations.   

• Work on our summative presentation in the lab. 

• Have new word study lists. Please be sure to study at home! 

We’re ready for a 

great week!

It's a short week.

It's a short week! I am actually not a fan of short weeks. It seems like they get all discombobulated, and I almost always forget something important. Although, this short week is pretty special to us. Some of you probably know, but my husband Josh is an Army veteran. He served 8 years, more than 3 of them with the 6th Ranger Training Battalion at Eglin Air Force base in Florida. It's a REALLY long story, but the Army is actually what brought us to Tuscaloosa. For that, I am so grateful! We have so much love and respect for veterans of all branches, and I look forward to Veteran's Day every year because I am so thankful to have my veteran with me to celebrate.

Please don't forget to SELL THOSE ORANGES. :) Orders are due on Wednesday. Thank you so much to families who have already returned them to school. 

I can't believe that we only have 9 school days until Thanksgiving Break. Wow! Time flies. 

Bits from the Birdhouse... D

11/10/14

Be sure to ask your student about this week’s happenings! We will...

• Not have school on Tuesday. Enjoy the day! 

• FINISH our Old Lady book! 

• Continue Unit 3 of Investigations. We will work with money and learn a new game, Collect $0.50. 

• Swap classrooms to study Ancient Egypt with Mrs. Barnes.  

• Work on our summative presentation in the lab. 

• Have new word study lists. Please be sure to study at home! 

We’re ready for a 

great week!

It's already November!

Can you believe it is November? I am overwhelmed by the fact that it is already November. It's such an incredible time of year for learning! I love this time of year for a million other reasons...hot cocoa, bonfires, falling leaves, pies...I could really go on for days. I hope that you and your families will be able to enjoy your favorite things together this month, too. 

We only have three weeks of school in November, and it will be over before we blink. We will finish our google presentations this month, and start my FAVORITE unit of inquiry late this month. Next up are Celebrations! I love it. Please start thinking about a celebration that is either unique to your family or just a celebration that your student finds interesting. As a teenager, I fell in love with Red Nose Day in Australia. It's a celebration of life for prematurely born babies. I happened to be there on Red Nose Day when I was 15, and thought it was so important to celebrate those special babies. That's what I would study. Think about something unique, and be creative! Information for this project will come home soon. 

Bits from the Birdhouse... D

11/3/14

Be sure to ask your student about this week’s happenings! We will...

• Continue to work on our Old Lady book.

• Continue Unit 3 of Investigations. We are turning our focus to problem solving and various strategies to build understanding of place value. Refer to the handbook if you have questions, and you can always ask me! 

• Swap classrooms to study Ancient China with Mrs. Swinney.  

• Work on our summative presentation in the lab. 

• Have new word study lists. Please be sure to study at home! 

• Have PJ day for United Way on Friday. 

We’re ready for a 

great week!

The LAST Monday in October!

Today is a BIG day in my house! Our oldest turns seven!! It is so hard for me to believe that seven years ago today, I became a MOM! I wouldn't trade it for anything, and it has shaped so many things I believe as a teacher. I am so thankful for her influence on my classroom, and so many other things she has taught me along the way. AND SHE IS ONLY SEVEN! That girl is going to change the world...and your little ones will, too. Anyway, I digress...

I can't believe October is already coming to a close. We have grown so much as second graders just this month! I hope you are starting to notice how different your student's newsbook writing looks from the start of the school year. Maybe not so much in the HANDwriting, but definitely in the content. 

They are blazing little readers. My favorite time of second grade is upon us...moving from learning to read to reading to learn. It's an amazing process! 

The math they are able to do now compared to August! The thinking! The explaining! The understanding! It's all incredible. 

Friday, we celebrate! It's a day full of fun! Crafting, snacks, stories, pumpkin digging...I can't wait!  

Bits from the Birdhouse... D

10/27/14

Be sure to ask your student about this week’s happenings! We will...

• Continue to work on our Old Lady book.

• Continue Unit 3 of Investigations. We are turning our focus to problem solving and various strategies to build understanding of place value. Refer to the handbook if you have questions, and you can always ask me! 

• Continue to learn about Ancient Rome. Any research your student would like to do at home will be presented in class. Already this year, a student gathered AWESOME photos from Ancient Roman times. 

• Research daily life in Rome. 

• Work on our summative presentation in the lab. 

• Have new word study lists. Please be sure to study at home!  

• Have our Fall Celebration on Friday. Don’t forget to send your item! Thanks in advance!  

We’re ready for a 

great week!

It's a New Week!

Happy Monday! Please watch your student's folder this week for a letter about our Fall celebration on the 31st. Have a great week! 

Bits from the Birdhouse... D

10/20/14

Be sure to ask your student about this week’s happenings! We will...

• Continue to work on our Old Lady book.

• Continue Unit 3 of Investigations. We will learn Close to 20, a new addition game and continue to build strategies for number strings, which will lead us to more difficult problem solving situations. 

• Continue to learn about Ancient Rome. Any research your student would like to do at home will be presented in class. One year, a student made a powerpoint about ancient gods and goddesses. It was awesome! 

• Read to discover the legend of how Rome began.

• Study the daily life of Romans in ancient times.

• Have new word study lists. Please be sure to study at home!   

We’re ready for a 

great week!

Short Weeks are Really Weird...

Happy Wednesday! 

We are getting in the groove for the week after a long weekend! I hope you were able to enjoy the extra day with your kiddos. Don't forget that report cards will come home at the end of this week.  

During our new Unit of Inquiry, there will be lots of Social Studies integrated into our small group reading time. There will likely not be as many traditional books come home. For example, in small group next week, we are going to study the legend of how Rome came to be. There will certainly be evidence of their learning, but it will not always look the same. I can't wait to get started! 

Bits from the Birdhouse... D

10/15/14

Be sure to ask your student about this week’s happenings! We will...

• Use mentor authors as inspiration to write a class story. We will eventually PUBLISH this book as a hardback. Watch for information in the coming weeks. 

• Dive into problem solving in Unit 3 of Investigations. We will pre-assess to determine enrichment needs as well. 

• Introduce our new Unit of Inquiry about Ancient Civilizations. Look for the newsletter by Friday. 

• Have new word study lists. Please be sure to study at home!   

We’re ready for a 

great week!

Wednesday Updates

Good morning! Thank you so much for your patience as our Birdhouse Bits are running a little late this week. We are busy this week, but it's really a lot of wrap-up and getting ready to move forward. The grading period ends on Friday, and report cards will come home next Friday, 10/17. 

Conferences will wrap up next week with a few make-ups. Thank you so much for making time to come meet with me. I have loved sharing and learning about what makes each student unique! 

Don't forget that school is CLOSED on Monday, October 13.

Bits from the Birdhouse... D

10/8/14

Be sure to ask your student about this week’s happenings! We will...

• Have our last Child Find lesson on Wednesday. 

• Have Vision Screenings on Thursday.

• Wrap up our math enrichments for Unit 2. We will begin Unit 3 on Monday. 

• Choose pieces for our IB portfolios. 

• Set goals for our writing and revise with intent. 

• Use last week’s word study lists again this week. 

We’re ready for a 

great week!

We are a National Blue Ribbon School!

WOW! What an amazing day at TMSE. This afternoon, it was announced that we have achieved recognition as a National Blue Ribbon School!! Last spring, we were one of 5 Alabama schools nominated by state superintendent Tommy Bice. We worked on the application last spring, hoping to do justice to all of the incredible things that make TMSE a unique place to learn and grow. Today, Mrs. B announced to the school that we were recognized! This year, just over 300 hundred schools in 47 states were recognized. 

It is so difficult to put into words how TMSE has challenged and changed me over the last six years. I am so honored and so proud to be part of this school. I have learned that I am truly a mermaid, and TMSE is the place for me. I'm so glad it's the place for your family, too. 

Congratulations will certainly be heard for the school, but I want to say congratulations to YOU. Six years ago, lots of families took a chance on a brand new idea in Tuscaloosa. Six years later you are here, and are absolutely essential to why this beautiful school family works. I am so grateful for the opportunity to teach your child in this place. 

We will all celebrate soon, so be on the lookout for more news in the coming weeks. Tell your friends, tell your family...WE ARE A BLUE RIBBON SCHOOL! I really just want to shout it from the rooftops.