Visit from Dr. Malani

Big thanks to Nina's dad, who came in last week to teach the children about his work as an infectious diseases physician.  He brought in glo-germ to show the students the importance of hand washing  www.glogerm.com   He also provided the students with some travel sized hand sanitizer.   

Measurement

In Math we have been working on measurement in both US and metric standards. The students measured objects around the room, their foot length, height, head circumference, arm span, and long jumps.  Ask your child to tell you about the photo with second graders lined up  along the floor and why this form of measurement is not as useful as a yard or meter stick!

Where is our clothing made?

This week in Social Studies we continued our discussion of goods and services by exploring where our own clothes are made.  The students made observations about which parts of the world seem produce more clothing.   Children learned about countries that some had never heard of before, such as Vietnam, Haiti and Indonesia.  Some students noticed that one clothing brand produced clothing in two different countries, very far apart from one another.

Dissecting Seeds

This week in science the students dissected seeds!  They identified three parts in each seed (seed coat, stored food, and embryo).  It was fascinating trying to find the future root and leaf on the embryo.  The students used iPads to photograph their seeds and label each part using an app called "Show Me!"

Arrays

This week in Math we have been working more with arrays. Practice with arrays is a very helpful beginning step in learning multiplication facts. Seeing 2 rows of 6 dots each, and 12 total dots, helps children to make the connection that  2 x 6 = 12.  Students are also making connections that a different array, 3 x 4 = 12, shows that another arrangement (fact family) has the same total (product) of 12.  On Thursday we created arrays using geo-boards. Some students chose to write  repeated addition number models, while others wrote multiplication number models. 

Ex. 5 x 5 = 25 vs. 5 + 5 + 5 +5 +5 = 25

Valentine's Day

Thank you to all the parents who helped to make the Valentine's Party so special.  The children had a wonderful time exchanging sweet notes and enjoying yummy snacks together!

Goods & Services

Here are some of the titles we've read in our social studies exploration of good & services: