Christmas Fun!

Our wonderful volunteer, Mrs. Bittle, dropped by to deliver some treats to the kiddos! She is just so kind and thoughtful! The boys and girls love their new books. Mrs. Bittle always stresses the importance of reading to the kids... It makes me so happy how she always expresses her love for learning. We are lucky to have her as part of our class family. 

Look Who Showed Up!!!

This little guy surprised us on Monday!  We worked hard all day brainstorming the perfect name for him. After many suggestions and a final vote... Drum role please... We chose Michael Jordan Snowflake! Lol! We are calling him M.J. for short. On Tuesday, he brought us some stickers and told us everyone needed to earn one by the end of the day so that he could go tell the big guy up north how good we have been! 

We did a great job and are continuing on our good behavior today. Stay tuned to see what M.J. Snowflake will be up to in our classroom! 

Reading by the Fire!

First day back and we are enjoying our "fireplace" and some good books! Ahhh, the best time of year is upon us! 

Field Trip Fun!

This picture melts my heart!!  Just adorable!

We had the BEST time at the Fort Worth Science Museum!! These kids love to explore, create, and learn. It was so much fun to see them have such a great time. It was definitely a successful and fun field trip! 

Amazing Writers!

Working collaboratively on our 5 page books. The kids are working so hard... I can't wait to read their books! 

National Bully Awareness Week!

"Put a Cap on Bullying!"

Today the children and staff are wearing either a cap or a hat to show our support for having a safe and bully-free zone!  Tomorrow is "Be a Buddy, Not a Bully" Day.  The kids will get the opportunity to take BFF (Be Friendship Focused) pictures to celebrate friendship!  The pictures are $1.00 each (limit 2 please) and will be taken tomorrow afternoon.  Thank you for supporting Bully Awareness Week! 

Our class showing off our hats!

So Many Questions!

Working on our questioning skills! These kids are working so hard.  They have many "I wonder" statements.  Now let's read and research to get answers to all our great questions! 

Candy Corn!!

Yesterday we celebrated National Candy Corn Day!! Ha! Nom nom nom!

Book Parade Success!!

Our annual Book Parade was an absolute success!! Curious George and my little monkeys were a huge hit!  It was a lot of fun seeing all the story book characters and the creativeness from all the students and staff. Can't wait for next year!

The Amazing Mrs. Bittle!

Mrs. Bittle reading to the class.

In the above picture is our amazing volunteer Mrs. Bittle. I highly recommend getting yourself a Mrs. Bittle!! She comes to the classroom to read to the children, have conversations, and share her wisdom. When she walks in the room all the kids jump up to give her a big hug. It's always the highlight of our day. She genuinely cares for us as we do for her. I just want to recognize her for all she does for my class. I can truly say she makes me so happy every time I see her! So here is to you Mrs. Bittle. Thankful to have you as a part of our class family. Hugs!! 

Roar!! These PAWS stay off drugs!

I knew the cuteness would be through the roof today!  Check out these kiddos and their furry friends.  What a fun week it has been so far.  We are working hard showing others how important it is to stay off drugs and keep our bodies healthy. 

Ms. Helgen's Class and our furry little friends!

Walking Away from Drugs!

My students "Walking Away from Drugs"!

Today is Red Day and “Walk Away From Drugs” Day!  The kiddos and teachers are wearing crazy socks and shoes as well as LOTS of red!  We went outside this morning and took a nice stroll around the walking trail and spoke about making healthy choices.  We are on the right track for sure :)  Tomorrow is “These PAWS Stay Off Drugs” Day.  The children and staff may wear animal print and/or bring a stuffed animal for reading time.  Can't wait to see all the cuteness tomorrow!  

All of our crazy socks and shoes!

We LOVE to say NO to drugs!

Red Ribbon Week: We MUSTACHE you NOT to do drugs!

Red Ribbon Week is Oct. 26 – Oct. 30!

        The purpose of “Red Ribbon Week” is to motivate and encourage children to stay off drugs and keep their bodies healthy!  Today the students did a great job wearing their mustaches and showing everyone that we say NO to drugs!  

Tomorrow the children and staff may wear red and wear crazy socks/shoes. Our students may walk around our walking trail to demonstrate the healthy choice of fitness and “walking away from drugs”.

The kids and I showing off our AWESOME mustaches! 

Kids and the Bill of Rights!

Oh, this is just fantastic!! Look at these amazing papers the kids did last week. I partnered them up and they had to choose an amendment to write about. Proud teacher right here!

"You can say and write what you think in your head."

"The assembly is important because it brings us together."

"Freedom of speech is important because we all need to speak up for ourselves."

Verbs!

Want to practice verbs??!!  I know you do!  Check out this video that Mrs. McDonald and I created on the ShowMe App. The 2nd grade teachers are working hard to create some lessons that you will get to view from our webpage. Technology is awesome!  I hope you enjoy what we have created. :)

We've Got Skills!

We are working so hard on our typing skills in computer lab. I am very proud of my kiddos! 

Who's Excited for the Book Parade?!

On October 30th we are having our annual Book Parade!  It will begin at 9 A.M. out in front of Castleberry Elementary.  This is always such a fun and exciting event.  You get to see what books the classes have chosen and what characters have come to life!  It truly is something you DO NOT want to miss!!  The tradition in my classroom has been to use the Curious George books and the kiddos will be George.  In the classroom we will make our masks which we will wear the day of the parade. All I need from you parents--just try to have your child wear brown that day.  Either a brown shirt, pants, or both!  We hope to see you there, it is a perfect way to celebrate our love of reading!  Below is a read aloud of one of our Curious George books.  Enjoy!

Smarties and Cuteness Overload!

Here are two of my kiddos teaching you the steps you should follow when reading time on an analogue clock.  They are such smarties!  We had so much fun making the recordings....if only I could post all the outtakes!  Ha!  We definitely had some silly moments :) Enjoy learning about telling time!

Oh How They Make Me Laugh!

Today during Math time I taught the kids about telling time. One of my boys raised his hand and said,"Ms. Helgen, it's like we are messing with time".  I responded with "Yes, yes it is!"  Another student raised her hand and said,"Ms. Helgen, I think I should throw my clock out the window!"  I looked at her a bit confused and asked "Why would you do that?" She then responded with "If I throw it out the window then we will see the time fly!"  Oh my goodness, I was beside myself with laughter. Now how funny is that?!! These kids I tell ya! They make me smile and keep me on my toes everyday! 

We LOVE to Create!

Today our amazing, wonderful, brilliant librarian helped us create our very own story!  Mrs. Clark knew we had been studying characters, plot and setting so we used this great app called Toontastic to make our very own story.  We were able to pick the setting, the characters, write the plot, and even select the music!  It was so much fun!  The kids enjoyed it too! Ha! No seriously...it was an absolute blast.  We hope you enjoy our creation!

Let's Read!

Here is a fun story you can watch with your child.  Lately we have been talking about characters, setting and plot.  While listening to the story ask your child many questions.  It is a great way to work on their comprehension skills.  Focus on the 5 W's- Who, What, Where, When and Why.  Enjoy!

Here we go!

Welcome to my blog!  It has been a great 1st six weeks here in second grade.  I am so impressed with the progress and hard work my kiddos have made so far.  My plan with this blog is to connect you to what we are accomplishing in the classroom.  I want you to see all the fun, hard work and success the children are making.  They truly impress me everyday!  I hope that you enjoy following us through this journey through 2nd grade. :)