Tactile Tubs are still a huge hit for second graders each morning. Now that we are deep into our learning, schedule and routines, we have implemented familiar reading tubs into our morning fun. Before a tactile tub can be chosen students have to read from their familiar reading tub for 5 minutes. They have learned to quickly tell time to with the minute hand and are reading 2/3 books before we start our day.

We have experienced the beautiful fall weather during recess this week. St. James Day School playgrounds offer many different play experiences.

Recently we have studied early Asian civilizations and read a folktale about a magic paintbrush. We used our artistic abilities to paint what we would want to come to life if we had a magic paintbrush.

Investigations in science included how heat and light energy can change the way things appear. We left butter in the sun for 20 minutes and recorded the changes we saw from heat energy. We also tried to guess the color of construction paper with the absence of light energy.

Do you know how many ten dollar bills are in $1,000? We do! Second graders used words, drawings, and numbers to solve this problem.

Second graders were invited to Middle School to view their Renaissance Era Presentations. We learned all about the caravel, a small ship from the 15th-17th centuries, the Sistine Chapel’s ceiling, and Da Vinci’s inventions. Did you know your arm span is almost the same number of inches as your body’s height?

Second graders put their sense of taste to the test when trying three different kinds of juice without using their sense of sight or smell. Let’s just say, grape juice sounds better than it tastes and we won’t be tasting juice any time soon.

Small group learning is a huge part of our classroom environment in second grade. You’ll hear second graders talk about math and reading groups on a daily basis. This time during the day is used to hone in on specific learning topics, application of what we know, and intervention of skills that are tough. Small groups are my favorite time of the day because we get to have all the fun with manipulatives and different learning styles tailored to each students needs. Saint James is the place to be!

Wow! What a wonderful two weeks we had in second grade. The students are eager to learn and play each day. Here in second grade we start our mornings with creativity and movement. Something about having the students enter the room, unpack and begin social play sets the tone for a productive yet fun day. Check out these photos of second graders using Tactile Tubs to socialize, create, and play with one another.

Every year, to learn about cooperation and perseverance, students work in groups to Save Fred. Fred is an unlucky worm that is stranded on his overturned boat. His life jacket is under the boat and the students must save Fred from drowning. There are two rules: 1. You may not touch Fred with your hands. 2. You may not injure Fred. The groups worked together to devise plans to save Fred, and through many trials and errors, most groups were able to succeed!

One unexpected thrill for the class this year is their love for learning cursive handwriting. We learn a couple of letters each week and the students get to choose their place to practice in their handwriting books.

The act of giving is the heart of happiness and community.
“Pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself in stained from the world”. James 1:27

Over the last few weeks second grade collected jeans and and board games to donate to a local non-profit in our community. For the Sake of One’s mission statement reads: To share God’s love with local children and families by providing emotional, physical and spiritual support while serving as a hub to connect, equip, and empower all stakeholders in the child welfare community.
For the Sake of One started as a small group of people in a living room wanting to help solve the foster care problem in this area, and has grown into a stand alone non-profit helping the foster care community in Southwest Arkansas and Northeast Texas. When the opportunity arose to fulfill a need, second grade jump into action and collected 25 board games to be used in the FSO supervised visitation rooms. More than 50 pairs of children’s jeans were collected for the Blessing Boutique, a store where families can shop for their children’s clothing for free.

As part of the community service project second grade gave the FSO flower beds an upgrade. Students worked diligently for over three hours picking weeds, digging holes, planting flowers, spreading topsoil, and layering mulch. The final result was a total transformation!

Angela Coston, founder and executive director of FSO gave a tour of the building and explained how donations will be used. Second grade was able to see their collective efforts in a very concrete way.

Thank you Angela for allowing SJDS to partner with you and bring happiness to our community. This project will not be soon forgotten.

Little birds fly over

And oh, how sweet they sing!

To tell the happy children

That once again ‘it’s spring.
—Celia Thaxter

Spring has shown its glorious face on campus at SJDS and second grade is soaking up the warmer temperatures. Outside recess is back! We took a trip to middle school to help unload over 300, gallon milk jugs to donate to the Lunar Habitat project the 7th and 8th graders plan to build. We are anticipating a tour of the habitat when it is complete.

Mrs. Burkes’ 3rd graders presented their biographies in the lower school commons and we were able to attend. Our class was presented golf tees from Tiger Woods, a sparkling juice toast with the Queen of England, and we were even serenaded by the one and only Elvis Presley. Our class is very excited to do this next year in 3rd grade!

In science, we learned that laminin is the glue that holds our cells together. Laminin can be seen using an electron microscope and is shaped like a cross. We learned that God reminds us that we are His creation and is a picture of how Jesus holds our bodies, our souls and everything together. We created our own laminin models using beads, pipe cleaner and sticks we found on the playground.

Second grade recently had a special visit from a very talented storyteller. The class was amazed and tickled to death at the silly stories we heard. A special thank you goes to Drew’s Nonnie for spending her afternoon telling us some amazing stories.

February is a month full of love and in 2nd grade we made sure to show our grandparents lots of love with personalized photo holders. Students used wire, beads and rocks to design and create photograph holders and then took pictures to share a special message of love to people we love most. Happy Grandparent’s Day to all the grands that make these kids so happy.

Students just competed their animal research projects and presented habitat dioramas to their classmates and the students of lower school. Each presentation was so good and the kids were so proud of one another. We all learned a lot about animals, habitats, predators, and many other things.