May 22, 2018

May 1, 2018

The second graders had a wonderful month of April!  This month in the second grade group we did a variety of projects from arts & crafts, science-related activities, a new gym game and we did another fun and creative project with our mentors! 

In the room:

One project that the second graders thoroughly enjoyed were making DIY lava lamps.  This activity can easily be replicated at home and most of the supplies can already be found in our homes: an empty water bottle, vegetable oil, water, a funnel, food coloring and Alka-Seltzer tablets.  The first step is to fill the bottle a little over halfway with the vegetable oil and fill the rest with water leaving about an inch from the top.  Then you add the food coloring, about 10 drops total should be enough.  Some students were creative and decided to mix some of the food coloring to make different colors.  Next, comes the adding of the Alka-Seltzer tablets.  You need to begin by breaking the tablet into quarters and adding one quarter at a time.  Make sure the bubbles settle before adding another tablet so that the water doesn’t start to get cloudy.  With each bottle you can continue adding quarter tablets for multiple uses.  Not only did the second graders enjoy watching their lava lamps in action, but this activity also provided us an opportunity to discuss chemical reactions and density all in one fun project. 

Once again, we teamed up with the third grade group during the early release days and did a variety of fun and exciting projects together. One of these projects is called “Where We’re From.”  For this project, the second and third graders each designed a handprint with the flag of where they or their family is from.  Some students even opted to design a second handprint if they wanted to represent more than one nationality.  Each of the handprints were then placed around a large world map that was hung on the wall in the big LEDP room.  All of the handprints were then linked to the country that they correspond to with a piece of yarn.  Once all of the handprints were displayed it was awesome to see all of the different countries that make up the LEDP community and to see what all of the flags look like as well. 

Other art activities we did this month:

●     Origami boats

●     Skittles science experiment

●     Recorded in our sunflower journals

●     3D handprint

●     Read aloud

●     Bookmarks

●     Decorated racing bibs for Walk-A-Thon

Play Time:

Now that the weather is starting to get nicer the second grade group has been spending less time in the gym as we are trying to take full advantage of the warm weather outside.  One new gym game we played this month was called Cat & Mouse tag.  In this game one student is chosen to be the mouse and another is chosen to be the cat.  The cat is supposed to chase and try to catch the mouse.  If the mouse does in fact get caught by the cat, then the mouse becomes the cat and he/she is the one that does the chasing.  While the cat is chasing the mouse, the rest of the students must pair up, link arms and spread out throughout the gym.  In order for the mouse to avoid getting tagged by the cat, the mouse can link up with one of the partnered groups.  Once this happens, the partner on the opposite side of the group of three then becomes the mouse. 

Other gym activities:

●     Memory dodge

●     Doctor dodge

●     Ultimate tag

Mentors:

This month the second graders met with their mentors and did a project called Pipe Cleaner Pals.   For this project, the students needed pipe cleaners, plastic straws, pony beads, a wooden bead and some markers.  The first step was to begin constructing the body using three pipe cleaners by twisting them together and bending them at their centers.  Then, each student threaded three pony beads onto both legs to represent the core of the body.  Next, the students cut eight 1-inch long pieces of straw and threaded two of them onto each arm.  The excess pipe cleaner was bent to form a hand.  After shaping the hands, two pieces of straw were threaded onto each leg, with a pony bead in between.  The excess pipe cleaner was bent to form a foot.  Thread a wooden bead onto the last two pieces of pipe cleaners and use the excess pipe cleaner to make the hair.  Lastly, using the markers make a face on the wooden bead. 

Important Dates:

●     LEDP, along with the school, will be closed on Monday, May 28, 2018, in observance of Memorial Day. 

April 28, 2018

April 3, 2018

In the room:

This month we’ve started reading about and doing activities centered around Greek mythology.  The first part of this unit we talked about the story of Clytie.  While reading the story Clytie: The Sunflower Maiden out loud to the students, they were asked to take notes about the story and to draw the images that were coming to their minds regarding the story of Clytie.  The next part of this activity was for each of the students to plant a sunflower seed.  The last step was for each of the students to create a sunflower journal.  These journals would be used to document the growth of their sunflowers, as well as for them to write notes, poems or draw the pictures from the story. 

Other art activities we did this month:

●     Paint night

●     Keychains with gimp

●     God’s eye yarn craft

●     Wind chimes

●     Origami boats

Play Time: 

Due to the weather this month, the second grade group has spent quite a lot of time in the gym.  This month we introduced a new game called I Don’t Know What Team I’m On dodgeball.  This game is similar to regular dodgeball except players are constantly switching back-and forth from team to team in the same game.  Any time a player is hit with a ball by someone on the opposing team or if a player catches the ball that was thrown at them by an opponent, the player must switch to the other team.  The game eventually ends when every player is on the same side. This game is great because unlike other dodgeball types of games this requires that the group works together towards a common goal.  The students really seemed to enjoy this game because not only do they.

Other gym activities:

●     Doctor dodge

●     Double dodge

●     Memory dodge

Mentors:

This month the second graders met with their mentors and made paper Koi fish.  They made their Koi fish using ang pao (Chinese New Year envelopes).  Each student used two of the envelopes to create their fish.  Using a template, the second graders were able to trace the different parts of the fish, cut them out and then glue everything together. 

Reminders:

●     Early release days start up again in April.  The dates are: April 4th, April 10th, April 25th and May 1st.  The  students will be coming to LEDP after dismissal on those days at 12:40pm. 

●     Due to the recent time change and the fact that the weather will (hopefully) start to improve, we will be going back to our original daily schedule.  We’ve slowly started to begin having snack before we go outside on the days that the weather is nice.  Please continue to check the whiteboard outside of our LEDP room for our location. 

Important Dates:

●     There is no school the week of Monday, April 16th - Friday, April 20th; however there will be vacation care during that week from Tuesday, April 17th - Friday, April 20th.  The forms to sign-up have already been sent out via email and are also available right outside the LEDP office in an envelope on the wall.  Please sign the permission slip attached and return to LEDP and remember to keep one copy for your own information.

●     LEDP will be closed Monday, April 16th, in observance of Patriots’ Day.

●     LEDP will reopen after April break on Monday, April 23, 2018. 

April 3, 2018

March 19, 2018

March 6, 2018

Though it was short, the second graders had a busy yet fun month of February! 

In the room:

In February, one of our projects was making DIY crystals.  To make the crystals we needed pipe cleaners, borax, hot water, plastic containers, and pencils.  Each of the students picked the colors of the pipe cleaners that they wanted and were then instructed to shape the pipe cleaner(s) however they wanted.  Once the pipe cleaner was complete the second graders wrapped part of the pipe cleaner around a pencil.  The second part of the project was completed by a teacher.  Hot water was placed into the plastic container making sure there was enough water to completely cover the pipe cleaners once they were added.  The borax was then added to the hot water and mixed in until it dissolved.  Using the pencil to hold it up, the pipe cleaner was put into the borax/hot water mixture making sure that the pipe cleaner didn’t touch the sides of the container.  After about 24 hours the crystallized pipe cleaners were formed.  It was awesome to see all of the students’ finalized crystals!

We finished the month off with a super fun and exciting activity.  Tatianna led the group with a Paint Night type of activity.  Each student was given a small canvas, the necessary colors of acrylic paint, and paintbrushes.  A sample of the finished product was put on display so that the students would know what it is that they’re attempting to recreate.  By leading the group, Tatianna broke down the process step-by-step to make it as easy as possible for the students to follow.  It was exciting to see how everyone’s finished product came out!  Please be on the lookout for those to be on display in the near future. 

Other art activities we did this month:

●     Make your own valentines

●     Finished Harry Potter

●     Stress balls

●     Ice cream party

Play Time:

This month we played a new gym with our mentors called Protect the Castle.  Seven cones are set up in the middle of the gym and five second graders are chosen to act as guards.  The object of the game is for the guards to surround the cones and try to protect them from falling down.  The job of the rest of the second graders is to try and knock the cones down using dodgeballs.  There are multiple rounds so that each of the second graders gets a chance to have a turn as one of the guards.  If at least one of the cones is still standing at the end of a round then the guards win, if all of the cones are knocked down then the other group wins. 

Other gym activities:

●     Bouncy basketball

●     Doctor dodge

●     Double dodge

●     Memory dodge

Important Dates:

●     There is no school on Friday, March 30, 2018 because of Good Friday.  There will, however, be vacation care that day.  The forms to sign-up will be sent out via email so please be on the lookout for those. 

March 6, 2018