Wonderland in 1st Grade

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Happy Holidays!


Holiday Fun Itinerary
Wednesday we wore our warmest pajamas, scarves, and hats for a memorable journey aboard the Polar Express.
On Thursday we traveled Around the World. We made lots of crafts to help us remember all the ways people celebrate the holidays in December.
On Friday we had a day to relax and kick back. We watched movies, made crafts, and had pizza for lunch.

We will miss you over our Holiday Break
Come back on January 3rd for new memories to make!

Happy Holidays!
Love, Mrs. Lankford & Mrs. Morgan

Friday, December 3, 2010


Today we had a special visitor from The North Pole. Auntie Claus came to Chets Creek for story time. The story Auntie Claus, Home for the Holidays was about a young Sophie Kringle's dream coming true when Auntie Claus, Santa's older sister, changes her plans and brings the entire cast of the "The Nutcracker Ballet," right to her door in the North Pole!
After the story we enjoyed delicious chocolate milk and cookies. Yummy! Another great day at Chets Creek!

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Happy Holidays


On Tuesday, December 7th, our class will be
performing our Holiday Musical! We have
been working so hard and can’t wait
to share it with you. We will have a full
dress rehearsal on Tuesday afternoon at
2:15pm followed by our night time performance at 7:30pm.

Our expectations for both the dress rehearsal and performance are…
1.Wear a PLAIN, WHITE shirt long or short sleeve and nice blue jeans.
2.Have your lines, songs, and motions memorized.
3.For the night performance please be in our classroom at 7:15pm!
4.Smile and have fun!!!

We are looking forward to a special performance!

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Happy Thanksgiving!

We have so much to be thankful for. Enjoy the moments!

Monday, November 15, 2010

2nd Grade Holiday Play

Our Holiday Play “Once on the Housetop” rehearsal is in full swing!
We are working very hard at school learning all the songs for our play. Please have your child practice their speaking part at home daily. Our dress rehearsal will be on Tuesday December 7, 2010, at 2:15pm. Our evening performance will be at 7:30 pm. The children should wear a plain white shirt with nice jeans. We will be providing each child a scarf to wear. We are looking forward to a fun filled evening!

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Busy Times in 2nd Grade


So much to do so little time!
In Math we played the game Beat the Calculator.

In PE we learned all about Bike Safety with Coach Bailey, Coach Robinson, Coach Hall and Coach Leclair. Ask your child what they learned about Bike Safety last week.

Bean Biologists at Work Part Two


We have finished our study of beans. After seeing that one part of the embryo becomes the root and the rest becomes the upper stem and leaves, the students were very pleased at the way their beans grew. They noticed that the stored food got smaller, which helped the plant grow. They loved seeing the roots beneath the dirt. The beans that were planted and placed in the closet also grew. That plant was not as green as the one we planted near the window. We concluded that with sunlight, plants grow stronger and greener. We took our plants outside and planted them in our school garden with hopes of bean pods coming next.
In Science, we have moved on to studying and testing the properties of Matter. We made slime and tested the properties. Ask your child if slime is a solid or a liquid?? Look for more to come on Matter.

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Sykes and Cooper Farms


Our field trip was awesome! Thank you to our chaperones, Mrs.Kaiser, Mrs. Boyd, Mrs. McKinney, Mrs. Taylor, Mrs. Mann, and Mr. Krueger. It was a fun filled day!

Sunday, October 31, 2010

Our Literary Pumpkin




Our Literary Pumpkin is finished! A huge “Thank You” to Mrs. McKinney, Mrs. Boyd, and Mrs. Mann, who willingly came in to work on our beautiful pumpkin. They did the research, came up with an idea, and executed it amazingly with the students. Our pumpkin is based on the book “Happy Birthday, Bad Kitty” by Nick Bruel. Hopefully you had a chance to see all the wonderful creations on display in the front lobby.

Field Trip Reminders

We will be visiting the Sykes and Cooper Farm on Monday, November 1st.
We will depart the school at 9:10 and return at 2:00. All children must bring a bag lunch to school unless you signed up for a bag lunch from the dining room. Please wear your Chets Creek green t-shirt and comfortable shoes. Chaperones can ride the bus with us. Please be on time, we are looking forward to an exciting day!

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Bean Biologists at Work in 2nd Grade




For the past week we have been studying the life cycle of a bean plant. Our first day started with observing several different types of seeds. We discussed what was the same and different about the seeds. Where do we think seeds come from?
We also observed and planted lima beans. Did you know that the lima bean has a seed coat to protect them?

We are discovering that beans do not need soil to grow, but are usually grown in soil. We put two beans in a bag and planted some in soil. Through the bag we are able to see the seed germinate (grow) and sprout to become a seedling. We are learning that plants grow both above the soil and below. Our Bean Biologists are still observing. Ask your child about our beans on the window and in the closet.

Saturday, October 9, 2010

What’s happening in Science and Math in 2nd Grade

Over the past few weeks in Science we have been observing and recording our thoughts about rocks, soil and earthworms. The students have learned that our Earth is made up of rocks and soil is made of pieces of rock and dead plants and animal parts. Earthworms help change the soil.

In Math the students have been investigating the value of coins and finding solutions to addition and subtraction situations with hands on activities.Turn over Ten, Tens Go Fish and Collect 25 cents. Oh yeah! Learning through play is so much fun!


Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Sensory Safari Part 1


More pictures on the way! A Huge Thank You to our chaperones: Mrs. McKinney, Mrs. Mann, Mr. Boyd, and also thank you to all the parents that sent in water. It was an Awesome morning!

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Congrats to K!!!

Friday our class and all the classes at CCE participated in a fun day started by our PE Team.  It was part of a city wide program called "Fuel Up to Play" and every student took two laps around or track to participate.  All student names were then entered into a drawing for 2010 Jaguar Play books and footballs.  Our very own K was drawn as a winner of an autographed football by Rashean Mathis.  Congratulations K on your big win!!!

What's Poppin' in Science?



Friday we had a blast in Science!  We used our five senses to experience popcorn.  We used our ears to listen to it pop, our eyes to watch the Jiffy Pop pan expand and to use a hand lens to look closely at each piece.  We then used our hands to feel the popped corn and the kernel before it was popped.  We used our noses to smell the yummy smell as it popped on our portable burner and it made our mouths water.  We finally were able to taste it.  And all along the way we made observations and recorded those on our lab sheets.  We even learned about how to make an hypothesis and write a conclusion.  It was so much fun to use popcorn to learn!

Friday, September 10, 2010

News You Can Use


Communication is key! So....we wanted to send out a reminder about how we communicate with you. These things are essential for the success of your student. Please read about these three things so that we can better communicate with you and your student. Thanks!!!


On Mondays The Chets Creek Connection and our class newsletter will be sent home.

Our Orange Homework Folder will come home on Friday with homework for the week. Homework may include Writing, Language, Math and Reading.
Monday and Tuesday's homework will be due in on Wednesday. This will allow for us to review on a midweek basis.
All homework is due in on Friday.
Students should bring their Homework Folder to school EVERYDAY.

Our Student Planner is a great way for us to communicate with you everyday. Students should bring their Planner to school EVERYDAY.Please look it over and sign it every night.

Our Green Take Home Folder will come home every Thursday. In the Take Home folder will be graded tests and any other important information that must be seen and signed by parents.

You can reach us via email @ lankfordw@duvalschools.org for Mrs. Lankford and
morganl2@duvalschools.org for Mrs. Morgan

We appreciate all your help and support!

Monday, September 6, 2010

Perfecting Rituals and Routines

We are off to a wonderful start in 2nd grade. The students are perfecting our Rituals and Routines each day.
During our Skills Block the students made corrections on their Daily Oral Language worksheet. Each day the D.O.L. will need to be corrected with punctuation, spelling, naming nouns and capitalization.
We also enjoyed some quite reading time during our Readers Workshop and decorated our Science Journal.



On Friday at the end of the day we had a great time dancing and making silly faces with each other. It was another great week of school!


Friday, August 27, 2010

Our First Week of Second Grade


Wow! What an awesome first week we have had!
On the first day our principal Mrs. Phillips “wowed” us with real live farmers. We got to roll in a watermelon patch, watch bees make honey and even taste some. Yummy! Mrs. Phillips even brought 25 live animals for us to pet and love on. The seeds we planted are already sprouting!
The rest of the week was spent getting to know each other. We had to take a diagnostics test in Math, Science, and Spelling. We were so happy to get the testing done! We received our Science and Social Studies textbooks, explored our Math manipulatives, and learned about Readers and Writers Workshop. We also have been learning our rituals and routines.
Check us out walking in a straight line ha! ha!
We are so excited for all this year holds!

A Few Reminders:
• Monday and Tuesday’s Math homework is due on Wednesday.
• All ELA Homework is due on Friday along with Wednesday and Thursday’s Math homework.
• Please make sure all important forms are signed and turned in.

Thank you so much for entrusting us with children.
Love, Mrs. Lankford and Mrs. Morgan

Friday, August 20, 2010

Orientation 2010



Dear Parents/Guardians,

It was such a pleasure to meet so many of you at Orientation today! The folder you received today is VERY IMPORTANT. Please complete all forms and return them to school ASAP! We are looking forward to getting to know your child very well in the coming months. We will be communicating often in these first few days and weeks, as there is so much new business to take care of.

Email is the best way to contact us.
Mrs. Lankford lankfordw@duvalschools.org
Mrs. Morgan morganl2@duvalschools.org

Lunch is $1.50. You may pay in advance by check or cash at the beginning of each week or via www.mylunchmoney.com. Prepayments will not be accepted until Monday August 30th. Any questions regarding lunch should be directed to Mrs. Collins at 992-6397. Our lunch time is 11:35-12:05

Please help our class reach 100% participation by joining PTA. The cost is $5.

Looking forward to Cultivating a Community of Excellence!
Mrs. Lankford & Mrs. Morgan

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Moving to Second Grade

Mrs. Lankford is moving to Second Grade! Woo Hoo!
We will be Cultivating a Community of Excellence!
I will be co-teaching with Mrs. Morgan.
We look forward to the 2010-2011 school year.
See you at orientation, August 20th.
The first day of school is August 23, 2010 :)

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Duval County School News

Learning shouldn't stop just because it's summer break. The summer provides students with great opportunities for engaging learning experiences that can be both fun and academically rewarding.

Duval County Public Schools, as well as many community organizations, such as the library, zoo and museums, provide activities to keep your child busy and engaged over the summer.

DCPS' Community Education Summer Camp Program
As an extension of the Extended Day Enrichment Program, summer camps are offered at a number of select elementary, middle and high school sites throughout the school district. Summer camps are designed to assist working parents by providing participants a wide variety of enrichment activities at an affordable fee. Enrichment activities may include recreational sports, arts and crafts, special events, field trips and computer literacy.

Summer camps range in length from six to eight weeks and most provide extended hours in the morning and afternoon. For a complete list of camps, please visit our Web site or call the Community Education office at 904-858-6080.

Jacksonville Public Library
The library is always a great place for students to visit over the summer, offering summer reading programs and age-appropriate story times, as well as some other learning opportunities like photography exhibits, art clubs and events, computer classes, teen book and movie clubs, and more. Visit http://jpl.coj.net for a calendar of events and locations.

Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens Day Camps
Students can spend an entire week at the zoo this summer exploring the animal kingdom, conservation, zoo careers and the great outdoors. All programs include instruction, behind the scene tours, animal encounters, a train ride, hands-on activities, crafts, visits to Play Park and the new penguin exhibit. For more information about the session schedule, activities and cost, visit www.jacksonvillezoo.org.

Museum Visits
The Cummer Museum of Arts & Gardens Art Connections exhibit provides students with the opportunity to walk through a painting, create patterns through dance, make a collage, listen to a sculpture, or paint with a virtual paintbrush. Visit www.cummer.org for the museum’s hours of operation.

MOCA Jacksonville offers artcamp@MOCA, nine, week-long sessions of creative art making for ages 4-5, 6-11 and 12-15. Museum educators and certified local art educators provide quality instruction in a wide variety of subjects and media. Summer artcamp@MOCA includes a variety of art-making activities, exploration of art history, tours of the museum’s collection, literacy and creative movement. www.mocajacksonville.org

JaxParks Summer Activities
Sensational summers start at JaxParks with several different types of summer camps, including art/creative, aquatics, junior lifeguard, nature/history and more. Visit www.jaxparks.com for more information.

Summer Learning at Home
If summer camp or programs are not possible this year, set up learning activities at home that your child can participate in, such as science experiments; backyard explorations; a summer-long book club; history projects; and/or supervised cooking responsibilities, which provide students with excellent practice in mathematical measurements and following directions.

Summer Food Service Program
Duval County Public Schools participates in the 2010 Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) during the months of June, July and August.
The SFSP was created to ensure that children in lower-income areas could continue to receive nutritious meals during long school vacations, when they do not have access to school lunch or breakfast.
The SFSP provides free nutritionally balanced meals to all children 18 and younger regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability. There is no discrimination in the course of the meal service.
For more information, visit the Duval County School Web site.

First Day of School is August 23rd.

Monday, June 14, 2010

Summer Reading

THE IMPORTANCE OF SUMMER READING
By having your child continue reading throughout the summer, you will help develop life-long reading habits and also help maintain literacy skills that have been taught during the school year. There are many ways you can help your child continue the reading habit during the summer months.

• Let your child choose the books to read. Encourage a variety of genres (fiction, biographies, science, history, etc.)
• Visit the public library-it’s free and has many summer programs available for children.

Many of the books may be housed in the Y Reader Collection in the Public Library.

• Read to your child. Sit next to them so they can see the pictures in the book too.
• While talking with your child, introduce higher level words to help build your child’s vocabulary.

Have a great Summer! Happy Reading!

Sunday, June 6, 2010

First Grade Here We Come!

Last Week of School!
We want our last week of Kindergarten to be memorable! So, each day, we will have something fun going on.
Check it out…

Monday, June 7th: Field Day and Awards
We will participate in a Field Day in the morning. We will wear our red Field Trip t-shirts. Please make sure you child wear sneakers for this fun event. At 2:00, we will have our final awards ceremony for the year. This is a day you don’t want to miss!

Tuesday, June 8th: Movie Day
Bring your favorite G Rated movie to school to share. We will watch some of the movies throughout the day.

Wednesday, June 9th: Game Day
Bring your favorite card or board game to school. Please make sure it is a game you know how to play so that you can teach it to your friends. Make sure the game is labeled with your name and place any loose pieces in a bag.

Thursday, June 10th: Favorite Music Day
Today we will be cleaning our classroom and preparing for next year. You may also bring in your favorite CD and we will listen to some of your favorite songs as we clean up.

Friday, June 11th: Last Day!
Please make sure that your child brings their folder and backpacks on this day. They may have a few things to bring home.
Report cards will not be handed to students; they must be placed in their folders. Also if you owe pictures or money to the school, and or your child will be absent you will have to go to the front office to pick up your child’s report card.

Thank you for a great year!
Mrs. Lankford & Mrs. Meissner

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Plants



We have been discussing Plants and Animals in Science. Our discussions have been about:
• How real animals and plants are different from animals and plants in storybooks, cartoons, or some movies.
• How and what is needed for plants and animals to grow.
• Living and non-living things.
We planted grass and drew pictures to explain what our grass needed to survive.
To finish our study of plants we made a fun dessert called “Dirt Cup” our ingredients were Oreo cookies (dirt), cookies and cream pudding (soil with fertilizer), jelly beans (seed). We crumbled up Oreo cookies to make a layer of “dirt”, next we added the jelly beans as the “seed”, and then we added some “soil with fertilizer” the pudding, and last we added a top layer of Oreo cookie the “dirt” and a gummie worm. YUMMY in our TUMMY!