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February was full of fun and lots of learning! Students completed their Westward Expansion projects and shared their finding about the pros and cons of traveling via covered wagon, steamboat or flatboat with the first grade class. Students were challenged to use household items and materials from our classroom to build our own models of transportation used in the early 1800s.

Second graders spread the love on Valentine’s Day by passing out treats to one another and each student received a Candy Gram to celebrate this special day of LOVE.

St. James students also celebrated grandparents and special friends during the month of February. These wonderful people were invited to our chapel service and then to classrooms for sweet gifts and a tour around the campus.

Second grade began the new year with an exciting Christmas Show and Tell. Each student brought something to share from their Christmas break and most brought a gift they received. Students practice their public speaking skills as they shared about their item and were challenged to look their peers in the eyes as they spoke. Everyone did a great job.

Second grade recently learned a new game to practice their spelling words. Two students race to the board to spell a word given by the teacher. Students earn points by spelling the fastest and also for correct spelling. Students then have an opportunity to earn their team an extra point by tossing a paper ball into a basket. This has quickly become their favorite way to spell! This games teacher gross and fine motor control, spelling rules, teamwork and sportsmanship.

Second graders have also been hard at work practicing for the upcoming Spring Musical. This is always the most anticipated event of spring semester. This year’s musical will be Aladdin. Students are learning their singing parts and the dance steps to go along with each act.

We love an opportunity to cook in second grade! Our class read the folktale “The Stranger and the Soup” recently and we could not pass up the opportunity to make our own soup. This folktale teaches the lesson that if each person shares what he or she has, there will be more than enough for everyone. Students were asked to bring the ingredients needed for the soup and we cooked it as a class.

YUM! Our Stone Soup was delicious paired with fresh bread and topped with cheese! Each student was encouraged to try the soup and most of the class ate their entire bowl! Thank you to everyone that was able to help with this fun activity.

Here in second grade we start our mornings reading the Bible. Recently we’ve been reading the book of Luke and we plan to finish before Christmas Break! When we finish, we will have learned about the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus. What a perfect way to end the first half of the school year.

Before Thanksgiving Break, students were challenged to create a miniature parade float that displayed something they were thankful for during this holiday season. They were challenged to reduce, reuse, and recycle items from their home to create the floats. Parents and other campus students were invited and lower school students presented their floats and described how they created them, what materials they used, and explained what they were thankful for.

Lower School students participated in a parade around campus. Their floats were required to roll and we put them to the test with a parade route around the playground. Students and teachers from around campus came to the parade and watched our students strut their stuff. Everyone did an amazing job and really showed their thankfulness.

We are rocking and rolling here in second grade. Students are working hard daily to learn three digit addition and subtraction. We use many different math strategies to problem solve and when students finish this math module they will have a mental math toolbox full of math strategies.

Workshop has consisted of a new game called Knockout. Students roll dice with multiple representations of numbers and try to be the first to “knockout” all their totals to 20. The competition is fun and engaging! Students are also learning to use their Chromebooks for literature responses. Voice dictation is available for students that need it and others are learning to type. The class has also enjoyed spelling by practice called “Spelling 5 Ways”. They get to use crayon, marker, pen, pencil, and colored pencil to spell words. Learning is so fun in second grade!