Hearts and Sundaes

My mom, a longtime teacher, confessed that she was a little jealous of me this week for getting to be part of the fun of an elementary school Valentine's Day celebration. "It was always one of my favorite days of the year," she told me. Mine too! It surprises me year after year to see how happy children are just to exchange their valentines. Sure, they love getting the treats, too, but it feels like more than that. By this point in the school year, children have formed close ties. They know each other very well. They appreciate each others' talents and accept the rest. Valentine's Day is their chance to celebrate the special community they've become.

Award-winning books took their place alongside the paper hearts that filled our classroom this week. As the boys and girls continued to write "award nominations" as a way of sharing opinions about their favorite books, we took a look at some books that already had been deemed exceptional. Dozens of winners of the Caldecott and Newberry medals, as well as other honors, quickly went from being on display on shelves into children's hands.
I read aloud the 2016 Newberry and Caldecott winners. Both are beautiful books with heartfelt messages. "Last Stop on Market Street" tells of a boy's

weekly trip with his nana to the poor side of town. Initially reluctant to make the trip again, the boy finds beauty and kindness in unexpected places and wisdom in his nana's words. "Finding Winnie" is the true story of the bear who inspired Winnie-the-Pooh. The story follows an orphaned cub and the soldier who rescued her across Canada, aboard a convoy to England, and finally to the London Zoo. Wonderful inspiration for young writers!

In Social Studies, we've been taking a virtual trip around the world. Thanks to Stomonth teacher Jennifer Ahles, second graders are visiting sights in all seven continents via Google Classroom. Mrs. Ahles has linked images and videos from interesting destinations around the globe to pins on Google maps. So far, our class has been to the Rockies, Niagara Falls, the Grand Canyon, and Banff National Park in North America and the Great Barrier Reef and the Outback in Australia. The boys and girls collect information about the physical geography, climate, and resources of each continent as we go.

Most of our math time this week has been spent turning word problems into equations. Deciphering these stories, deciding whether addition or subtraction will yield the solution, and then carrying out the work requires a lot of careful thinking. Thanks for your help on the homework that supports what we do in the classroom.

Mark Your Calendars:

Mon., Feb. 20 - No school for students

Tues., Feb. 21 - Last day to turn in box tops for the PTO fund drive

Wed., Feb. 22 - Early Release Day for students

Fri., Feb. 24 - Jump Rope for Heart Assembly

Mon., Mar. 6 - Report cards are sent home.

Wed., Mar. 8 - First day for parent-teacher conferences (3:00-6:30 PM)

Thurs., Mar. 16 - Parent-teacher conferences (4:30-8:00 PM)

Wed., Mar. 22 - Early Release Day for students; parent-teacher conferences (3:00-6:30 PM)

Sat., Mar. 25 - First day of Spring Break