Christmas Around the World

We have been busy traveling around the world here in second grade.  So busy in fact we haven't even had a chance to post lately!  .  We have traveled to Mexico, Brazil, Liberia, Antarctica, Australia, Japan and Germany.  Today we are celebrating all that we learned about how different cultures celebrate the Christmas holiday.  Before kicking off the festivities today we reviewed all that we learned and chatted about our learning with each other using TodaysMeet.  You can take a peak at what we learned by clicking here. Here are some pictures from our travels as well.  Mrs. Williams will post party pictures later today!

This is a cool video we will watch today as we learn to count to twenty in Japanese!


We wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Bedtime Math

This is a wonderful website you can use at home to help reinforce your child's math problem solving skills.  The authors of this website post a new story problem each day.  The idea is that you read these stories aloud to your child at bedtime and they work through them in their heads.  Of course, you could certainly work through these at anytime of day and provide paper and pencil for your child if needed.  Each Bedtime Math Problem offers three different levels of challenge too (I LOVE this!).  So tonight, as part of your bedtime routine, try some bedtime math.  I would love to hear what you think about the website if you choose to explore it with your child.

Exploring Bridges in Mathematics Apps

In our district our K-2 team uses the Bridges in Mathematics curriculum.  A few nights ago I was browsing their website to see what was new. The Math Learning Center has been busy creating and sharing supplements to meet the new Common Core State Standards and I often find great resources on their website.  I got really excited when I discovered that they had two new Apps...FOR FREE!  I made sure to put their Geoboard and Number Rack Apps on our iPads first thing the next morning and encouraged my second graders to explore the Apps as they came in the door.

I LOVE what these second graders do with free exploration!  Each time we do this I am amazed at how much, and how quickly, they discover and learn while "playing" with the Apps.  After each exploration session we sit down together and share what we have learned about the App through our exploration.  During this time students are teaching each other (and me!) what they discovered.  This is also a great way to build their vocabulary.  My students spent approximately 15 minutes exploring the Geoboard App.  Here is a glimpse at what they created:

This week we will use the Number Rack App, which is also called a Rekenrek or calculating frame, to deepen our number sense and our understanding of addition and subtraction strategies.  Bridges has a wonderful K-2 supplemental unit that you can use this App with as well.  You can find it by clicking here.

I hope you have an iPad or two handy so you can try these out.  They are fantastic tools!