I hope everyone has enjoyed their first day of winter break. I certainly have! We slept late and had a pajama day today. 

In case you are stuck inside and have nothing to do, here are some games to play. Send a comment as to what you like best or any online games that you love and want to recommend to your friends.

Funbrain - Second Grade Games
ABCya - Second Grade Games
Knowledge Adventure

Have you read any good books? 

This video is brought to you by Jacob. Enjoy!

This one is sideways also! So sorry.

I can't figure out how to rotate this video either. I hope you don't get a crick in your neck from too much sideways watching!

For some reason, I can't figure out how to rotate this video. Until I figure out how to rotate it, please enjoy it sideways!

Common Craft is a company that creates "explainer videos". Members of Common Craft use premade cut-outs to create visual presentations. The videos are usually short, to-the-point and fun. They also teach you something.

How does Common Craft tie into our curriculum? We have been learning about Native American tribes in our class. We used an online database (www.facts4me.com) to research a selected tribe. Then we analyzed and compared the specific cultures of each tribe to our lives today. We learned about Common Craft videos and how these videos are intended to teach. Once we understood how to create them, we began the process of making our own to teach others about how our lives differ from those of the Native American cultures we studied.

We used this video to learn about how to create a Common Craft style video.
 

Then we created our storyboards, made and cut out our pictures for the video, practiced, practiced, and practiced, and finally, we filmed. We think you will love the end result!

We learned about storyboards through this Prezi presentation. 

Our very own Jacob was featured in this video short in honor of the second night of Chanukah. Go, Jacob! 

Today's post is brought to you by Spotlight Blogger: Asher.

Asher has written about one of his favorite out-of-school activities - playing soccer. What is your favorite out-of-school activity? Do you like sports? Art? Music?

Please post a comment and let us know!

I play on an Under 8 recreational soccer league. I play outside at the local middle school. Our coaches are my dad and Jack's dad and we have 11 kids on our team. We are called the Gold Finders.   

Our season just ended, but I want to tell you about our last game. The fields were so muddy that it was hard to run. The weather was in the 40s and windy. In the game, I scored two goals! A boy on the team accidentally dribbled the ball tot he wrong goal and the other team scored. My team won in the end 3-1. We got trophies at the end of the game. This season, I led my team in goals. I scored nine goals!  

I like soccer because it is so much fun. 

How much can you do in an hour? Can you open a world of possibilities? A world that will foster creative thinking and problem solving? A world that is engaging and full of learning? Well, we are about to embark on a journey that will open this world. And we'll do it in an hour.

December 8-14 is Computer Science Education Week. To celebrate, we are going to participate in a global movement called Hour of Code. This week, all students will spend one hour learning some coding basics in math classes. There are many benefits to learning and understanding computer code. Read this article for more information: Seven Lifetime Benefits to Teaching Kids to Code

Ask your child this week when he/she spent an hour learning to code. If he/she is interested, here is a list of other sites to practice his/her newfound skills and foster a greater interest in this important skill.

tynker.com
Daisy the Dinosaur (iPad/Android app)
Hopscotch (iPad/Android app)
Scratchjr (iPad app/Android app coming soon)
For older students - codecademy.com (requires free registration) 

Click here to find our school and the many, many others participating in this global project.

I hope your children enjoy this experience! Happy coding!

This blog post is brought to you by Spotlight Blogger: Daniel. As you can guess, Daniel loves to learn. 
What's your favorite thing to learn about? What are your favorite activities?

Please post a comment to share with everyone! 

One of the things we've been working on in class 2-B is grammar. Grammar includes: nouns, adjectives, verbs, and adverbs. 
   A noun is a person, place, or thing. 
   An adjective is a describing word. 
   A verb is an action word.
   An adverb is also a describing word, but don't mix it up with an adjective. 
Here's a trick to help you remember the difference between and adjective and an adverb. An adjective works with a noun and an adverb works with a verb. 


Another three things we learned about are: simile, onomatopoeia,and alliteration.  
   Similes are comparing words. Here’s an example: The slamming door is as loud as thunder. 
   Onomatopoeia are sounds we think\hear animals say. Here’s an example:The duck said QUACK! 
   Alliterations are sentences that start with the same letter or sound. Here’s an example: Merry Marisa Makes Mad Mice.

This is what we've been learning in class 2-B so far. I don't know my friends' opinions, but I think it's fun. I hope to learn A LOT more grammar. 

It's officially cold. Really cold. Not just put-on-a-sweater cold, but pull-out-your-boots,-gloves-and-hats cold. While we are lamenting the bygone days of flip flops and sunscreen, no one can deny the excitement of the winter holidays and the spirit we all feel as we try to chase away the cold. Of course, the holiday season begins with my favorite holiday of all; Thanksgiving. 

I love everything about Thanksgiving - that we spend the weekend with our family, that's it's only one day, that's it's only one meal... Another thing I love about Thanksgiving, which, I love about all of our holidays, is how we cement and create family memories. We bring out favorite recipes and various relatives' china. As we sit down to our meal, we reminisce about Grandma's turkey recipe, or Bubbie's china. We feel our relatives are with us in the room as we enjoy our Thanksgiving.

In school, we have been learning about basic needs (food/water, shelter, and clothing). We have also been studying culture, which we defined as the things a group of people do/make after they've satisfied their basic needs. We are studying Native American tribes and understanding how adding beads to a deerskin dress or painting a pot with beautiful designs can define the culture of a specific tribe. So too, the customs and traditions of our holidays define the culture of our individual families.

What are your favorite family customs? What holiday traditions do you look forward to? 


Add your comment below. I would love to use these blog comments as the basis for a class discussion.