Mrs. Bice's Second Grade

Community Building

We had a wonderful first week in room 248. The kids seemed so happy to be here and loved interacting with their peers. We spent a lot of time this week talking about norms, building relationships with each other and getting back into the routine and schedule of school! Please work with your child to establish routines and norms at home (consistent bedtime routine, morning routine, hybrid routine, etc.). This was the first week and it can only get easier from here :) Over the next few weeks I will really be working with the kids on their independent functioning. Being home for so long with families, kids are getting back into the routine of taking care of their supplies, tying their own shoes, stretching out words etc.

We read tons of books and started to get into the routine of thinking while we read, listening to each other, and thinking about the others message! We finished the week reading “The Invisible Boy” and did a teacher directed self portrait! We went step by step to draw the details of our face! We drew ourselves invisible (in pencil) and then we painted ourselves with watercolors! Ask your son or daughter about the Invisible Boy and what the author wanted us to take away from the book!

We also came up with a class promise! We brainstormed together what we believe is important for us to live by every day in our classroom for us to learn together! The students did a wonderful job of coming up with rules they felt were vital for us to collaborate and work together efficiently with all year long!

This Year

Thank you for being open, flexible and trusting of my process as a teacher. This is uncharted water for me as an educator and will do my best to be creative, engaging, thoughtful and understanding of each child’s hybrid day at home! I know it can be tricky for all families whether you are managing your other kiddos, trying to work from home, or just getting your 2nd grader to learn on a computer. I get it! Please always let me know if you OR your child is struggling with anything at home. I want us to tag team their academics as well as their emotional well being at home! This isn’t how we imagined their 2nd grade year so it will take a village this year!

Germbusters

“Who you gonna call??? GERMBUSTERS!” The students also learned how to be “Germbusters” this week! We read a book titled Soap vs. Germs and the students learned the important of washing our hands in the right way! We made a chart to think about how we can be “Germbusters” with our mask, washing our hands, cleaning our space, and by being social distant. This will be a constant conversation with the kids throughout these first few weeks.

In room 248 students will be washing their hands anytime they enter the classroom (morning, after recess, after specials, etc.). My preference for the students is to ALWAYS wash our hands unless they are crunched for time then hand sanitizer is a quick fix. Please let me know if you would rather your child use hand sanitizer, if not, I will ask that the students always wash their hands. We have created a system in our classroom which helps for the flow of the line and everyone getting their hands washed. One kid in line gets soap and a dash of water, then they move to the end of the line while they scrubbed their hands. The line continues to move and then as that child gets back through the line they can rinse and towel off! It has gone really well and the kiddos are getting quicker at the process!

Logistics For Next Week

Now that we have things up and rolling, our Hybrid Zoom Class Meeting will now be at 9:05. I would have your child get on the computer and log in to Clever-Google Classroom-Zoom at 8:55 or 9:00 so they can prepare for the day! I will be sure to post the materials they will need for the day on the first slide. Most days they will need: pencils, paper, colors, and their folder from school. I gave students stickers for their folder so they know which papers can stay home vs which papers they will need to finish or use at home and then return! Next week will be very similar to this past week. Once we move into week 3 things will be more structured and I will provide more of a format for their day at home!

Our lunch is scheduled at 11:35 so the kids will have a morning snack time but will not have one in the afternoon! I found that the kids were really hungry during the morning and needed that “mask break” to have a snack! I am trying to spread our food breaks and outside time throughout the day so they have adequate breaks with their masks! Overall they have done a great job with the masks. Some of the kids have adult size masks which are too big for some of their faces. Please try to invest in some kid size masks so they are more comfortable wearing them each day! It is important for them to also have a clean mask each day! If kiddos need a mask break at some point when we aren’t eating or outside, I have been encouraging them to take a bathroom break or grab a drink of water to take a quick breather!

EPIC

Epic is a great tool for kids to read books at home on a device! Students are able to access all of the books from 6 am - 3 pm. If they would like to read books after 3 pm- the free account allows them to read up to 2 hours each week. Next weeks work will ask them to listen/read a book through Epic. Please set up your child’s account next week so they can access the books! Follow the steps below:

1. Go to getepic.com/students
2. Type in class code: ZTZ2098
3. Select your name!

Seems that there is not a link on Clever for EPIC. I will look into seeing if the district can add it onto Clever so your kiddos have a “one stop shop” for their websites and logins!

Seesaw

In years past, I have always used Seesaw to send parents photos and videos of their child, helpful charts, their child’s writing, reminders etc. I have been going back and forth on if this is something I should do again this year. I love to give parents a sneak peak into their childs’ life during the day. With the masks on… I wasn’t sure if this would bring parents as much joy as it has in the past. The students would not use Seesaw for any assignments it would be strictly used to send you photos/videos! If you have an opinion on it, please send me a quick email! Would love to her parent perspective. If your thoughts are “I live and breathe for the photos and videos, please do it!” or “I could go either way- I am so busy at work and don’t have time to sift through emails to see these!” Let me know either way, it is a year different than any other and I appreciate parent feedback!

Overheard in 2nd Grade

Overheard in 2nd grade is one of my favorite parts of the newsletter! Throughout the week I keep track of funny, cute, silly, sweet phrases or conversations I hear throughout the week! Then I post them at the bottom of the newsletter! They are anonymous so you can try to guess if your kiddo said any of the comments each week :)

Google Classroom

You childs’ Hybrid lessons will be posted each morning at 7 am on their Hybrid day. There will not be any printing or anything your child will need ahead of time, other than what I give them the day/week prior!