Wonderland in 1st Grade

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Happy Holidays 2012!

Happy Holidays 2012! on PhotoPeach Happy Holidays! Make ever moment count! See you on January 2, 2013! Love, Miss Harkins and Mrs. Lankford

Saturday, November 24, 2012

MOSH Field Trip!

Mosh Field Trip Part 1! on PhotoPeach MOSH Field Trip on PhotoPeach We had a wonderful time on our field trip to MOSH. A big thank you to Mr. Andrade, Mr. Shields, Mrs. Aurelio, Ms. Barnes, Mrs. Eccher, Mrs. Nehrke and Mrs. Valdovinos for chaperoning. You all Rock! We hope you and your family are enjoying this long Thanksgiving Holiday break. We are Thankful for all of you!

Monday, November 12, 2012

Serving up Success in Room 204!

Serving up Success in Room 204! on PhotoPeach Serving up Success in Room 204!
In Social Studies we are studying Places Near and Far. This past week’s focus was on our street address. You should have received a letter from your student this week. We will continue discussing the conventions of writing a letter.
We switched mixing bowls and focused on the Election. We discussed our candidates and how they work for the citizens. We also talked about our Local Government, State Government and National Government. Then each student was given a ballot to cast their vote for the candidate of their choice. It was a wonderful learning experience that represents what is currently happening in our country right now.
In Science we finished the week with our conclusion of The Life Cycle of Beans. Our discussion was on how important it is for beans to have light, soil and water to grow and live. Ask your scientist about the things being served in Room 204!
Enjoy the slideshow!

Sunday, November 4, 2012

Procedural Writing in 2nd Grade!

Procedural Writing on Halloween 2012! For Our Readers and Writers Workshop we had a great time working on procedural writing. Our topic was How to Carve a Pumpkin. After working through all the steps, we had an opportunity to see and feel the inside of the pumpkin. Miss Harkins read us a funny book titled Scaredy- Cat Splat! Enjoy the slideshow! Procedural Writing on Halloween 2012! on PhotoPeach

Sunday, October 28, 2012

The Life Cycle of Plants

Gardening in 2nd Grade on PhotoPeach We are learning about the Life Cycle of Plants in Science. To kick off our study we planted seeds in our school garden. Prepared with our kohl rabi seeds and a popsicle stick we headed to the garden to find our space. It was an awesome experience for all. After planting our seeds we were able to take a little tour of what has already been planted. You should go check out our garden. It’s located behind the school next to the large playground. Keep an eye out for more to come with The Life Cycle of Plants. We have beans growing in our classroom also. Enjoy the slideshow!

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Literary Pumpkins 2012!

Literary Pumpkins 2012! on PhotoPeach

Literary Pumpkins 2012!

Literary Pumpkins 2012! on PhotoPeach

Saturday, October 13, 2012

Making Pizza in 2nd Grade!

Making Pizza in 2nd Grade! on PhotoPeach Our field trip to Cici’s Pizza was delicious! The students were instructed on how to make pizzas. We all washed our hands before the preparation; after everyone was given a ball of dough we were taught how to “stretch” the dough to the edge of the pizza pan, then we were given a tool to “dock” the dough. The most important part of the docking process is keeping your elbows up! We stretched, docked and now it was time to add the sauce. Did you know that the sauce is the “engine” for the pizza? Yes, the sauce gives taste to the pizza. Delicious! After putting the sauce in the center and gently spreading it around we could add the cheese and pepperoni. Our masterpieces were ready for the oven. Yeah! While the pizzas were baking the staff served us all fruit punch or lemonade. Yummy! Before long it was time to enjoy our pizza! Hot Pizza has never been this great! Our Culinary Artist did an awesome job!

Friday, October 5, 2012

What's Roasting in Reader's Workshop?

Roasting in Reader's Workshop! on PhotoPeach What’s Roasting in Reader's Workshop?
Readers Workshop is a strategy to develop strong reading skills through the use of a mini-lesson, shared reading, read aloud, conferring, paired reading, responding to literature and independent reading. Students are taught at their instructional reading level using leveled reading material. Enjoy the slideshow of our Independent Reading Time.

Here are some questions you can ask your child about their reading; choose a few each night to engage in conversation with your child about their nightly independent reading.
Before reading: Looking at the title, cover and illustrations/pictures, what do you think will happen in this book?
What characters do you think might be in the book? Do you think there will be problem in the story? Why? What do you already know about the topic of this book? Does the topic or story relate to you or your family? How? Do you think it will be like any other book you’ve read? If so, which one, and how do you think it will be similar?
During reading: What has happened so far in the story? Can you tell me using sequence words? (first, then, next, after, finally, etc.) What do you predict will happen next? How do you think the story will end? Why do you think the character did ____________? What would you have done if you were the character? How would you have felt if you were the character? When you read, what pictures did you see in your head? How did you imagine it looked like? What questions do you have? Think about the predictions you made before reading; do you still think the story will go that way? Why or why not? How do you think it will go now?
After reading: Why is the title a good title for the book/story? If you had to give it a different title, what would be another good title for it? Were your predictions correct? If there was a problem, did it get solved? How did the character try to solve the problem? What happened because of the problem? Did any of the characters change through the story? Who changed, and how did they change? Why do you think the author wrote this? What is the most important point that the author is trying to make in his/her writing? What was your favorite part? Why? If you could change one part, what would you change? If you could ask the author a question, what would you ask? Can you retell the story in sequence order (use your fingers and sequence words: first, second, then, next, etc.) Is there a character in the story that reminds you of someone you know? If so, who are they like, and why do you think that? Does this book remind you of another book you know? Does it remind you of something you’ve experienced in real life?
For fun: Have them act out a scene from the book, draw you a picture of their favorite part to decorate the refrigerator, or write a follow-up story. They can pretend they are a book reviewer reviewing the book on TV, or they can write a letter or postcard to the author. There are many creative ways to engage students in reading and have them share their reading with you!
Happy Reading!

Saturday, September 29, 2012

Second Grade Rocks!!

Second Grade Rocks!! on PhotoPeach Second Grade Rock! We have been learning about Rocks and Soil in Science. Did you know that the Earth is made up of rocks! Rocks come in many sizes and shapes. We have been using our tools (hand lens) to investigate and observe the many shapes and sizes of rocks! It was a fun learning experience for all! Thank you so much for attending our Open House. It was a huge Success! Enjoy the slideshow!

Monday, September 17, 2012

Spirit Day in 2nd Grade!

Spirit Day in 2nd Grade! on PhotoPeach Lots of fun was had on Friday! It was show your SPIRIT day and several students represented their favorite sport. After lunch we "Fueled up for Play". Enjoy the slideshow.

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Cooking Up Workshops in Room 204!

Cooking Up Workshops in Room 204! on PhotoPeach We are settling into our classroom rituals and routines in room 204! We are very proud of our Culinary Artists! Just a few reminders: Please sign your child’s planner and reading log every night. Please read our weekly newsletter. Their binder with their planner and homework folder must come to school every day. The front page of Math home work is due on Wednesdays and all homework is due on Fridays. Enjoy the slideshow of our Culinary Artist hard at work! Thank you for your support!

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Happy Tuesday!

We hope everyone had a fantastic long Labor Day weekend! :)

Here is the spellingcity.com link for our spelling words this week. Look for our words in the right column of our blog.

Love,
Miss Harkins and Mrs. Lankford

Monday, August 27, 2012

What a great 1st week :)

Its time to get back into action with our spelling words. This week we are looking at short-a and long-a words. The students have copied them into their planners but we will also post them here on our blog.

black, camp, flash, place, blame, space, rain, main, train, said

A helpful site that students can go to at home to help them study and practice is spellingcity.com. Every week, I will post a link to the site that already has our words ready to go.

Here is this weeks list: http://www.spellingcity.com/view-spelling-list.html?listId=9463756&x=ae456

Have fun practicing! Remember our test is on FRIDAY!

Love,
Miss Harkins & Mrs. Lankford

Saturday, August 18, 2012

Calling all Culinary Artists!

The 2012-2013 school year is near!
Gather up your favorite apron and cooking gear,
"A Recipe for Success" 
is what's on the menu for this school year!

Join us your Learning Chefs
Miss Harkins & Mrs. Lankford
for a Main Course on
Monday, August 20th at 9:00 AM!
Chets Creek Elementary has the Recipe for Success!

Monday, June 4, 2012


2nd Grade Field Day
Our 2nd grade Field Day will be on Tuesday. Please make sure that your child is wearing sneakers and sun block. J
 Here is the schedule for our day….
·         9:15 – 10:15 Fourth Nine Weeks Awards
Ceremony, we invite all parents to join us in our classroom.
·         10:15 – 11:25 Classroom Time
·         11:30 – 12:15 Lunch in our classroom
·         12:15 – 12:25 Bathroom Break
12:30 – 2:30 Field Day (Outdoor activities for 2nd Grade students) we need volunteers for Field Day. We would appreciate your help for this celebration. Please remember to make arrangements for any younger siblings. Thank you for all your support! J
  Looking forward to a fun-filled day!


Thank You for an Awesome Year!
Please continue to read 20 minutes every day and practice your Math facts.
Check out these websites and our blog for additional activities. Have a great summer!
Love, Miss Harkins, Mrs. Lankford & Miss Correia 

Friday, May 18, 2012

Skills/Spelling 5/21-5/25

Here are our LAST skills/spelling words for the year :)

American, handsome, powerful, clumsy, clever, sparkling, quiet, massive, juicy, numerous, half, gold, heavy, trouble and weight.

Here is our Spellingcity.com link

Lets finish the year off strong and study these adjectives :)

Love,
Miss Harkins

Sunday, May 13, 2012

This week’s Skills/Spelling Words for Miss Harkins and Mrs. Lankford's classroom consists of:

Earthquake, fireworks, sunrise, superman, bookworm, lifeguard, campfire, ballroom, newspaper, baseball

Our 5 high frequency words: behind, woman, important, letter, middle

Good luck studying!

Sunday, April 15, 2012

FCAT Spirit Week at Chets Creek 2012!

FCAT SPIRIT WEEK AT CHETS CREEK! on PhotoPeach
Wow what an exciting week!
Our students dressed up and showed their spirit! Throughout the week, the students were creative with outfits that represented the following days: Career Day, Fashion Disaster Day, Sports Team Day, and Rock star/Pop star Day! We had a special visit from Former Jaguar Player Donovin Darius. Our week ended with a fun-filled parade. Enjoy the slideshow!

Monday, April 9, 2012

Career Day at Chets Creek 2012!

Career Day at Chets Creek 2012! on PhotoPeach
It was a great day for future careers. We had a swimmer, football player, soccer player, doctors, models, farmer, chefs, military officer, author, parent, lego builder, artist and a country singer! Incredible!

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Boosterthon Fun Run Pledges



Thank you so much for all your support with Boosterthon. The pledges are due on Wednesday, April 11th! The Fun Run was Awesome! We appreciate all your support!
Miss. Harkins, Mrs. Lankford & Miss. Correia

Monday, March 26, 2012

Boosterthon Fun Run Epic Adventure!


Today your student will come home with an Epic Adventure Pledge Sheet for Boosterthon Fun Run. The Boosterthon Fun Run is a healthy way to help our school! Funds raised support your child’s education! Students can earn Booster Fitness Rewards as they get pledges per lap and for flat donations. You must enter your pledges at funrun.com. Your student’s access code is on the front of their package.
Please take a moment to read about how to participate and help Chets Creek Elementary. Thank you in advance for your support!
Miss Harkins, Mrs. Lankford & Miss. Correia

Skills/Spelling Words

Welcome back :)

I hope you all had a wonderful Spring Break and got lots of rest and relaxation! But now we are back and getting right into our work.

For Miss Harkins and Mrs. Lankfords homeroom,
Here is this weeks spelling city link!

Our words are: couldn't, wouldn't, who'll, they'll, might've, should've, here's, who's, aren't, hasn't. We are working with contractions, example: could not = couldn't and might have = might've.

Miss Correia's Class: Remember to visit Spellingcity.com and practice your words.

I hope everyone practices, it really will show on Friday's test!

Happy Monday - Miss Harkins

Monday, March 19, 2012

Good-bye Butterflies!

Over the past few weeks we have been studying the life cycle of The Painted Lady Butterfly. It has been an incredible experience watching the caterpillars grow, shed its skin several times, transform into a chrysalis, and emerge as a black and orange butterfly!
We released our butterflies to Mrs. Shannon’s butterfly garden right here on our Chets Creek campus. Unbelievable! Enjoy the slideshow!
Good-bye Butterflies on PhotoPeach

Monday, March 12, 2012

Skills/Spelling Words

Miss Harkins and Mrs. Lankford's Homeroom

We have one more week till SPRING BREAK!! Lets finish it strong and get an A on our test before the break :)

Our words this week are homograph words: break, shape, string, right, board, swing, pitcher, light, tied, letter.

Here is our spellingcity.com link!!

Lets have a wonderful week! -Miss Harkins

Monday, March 5, 2012

Skills/Spelling Words

Hey Miss Harkins and Mrs. Lankford's Homeroom class :)

Here is the link for this weeks words on spelling city!

Our words are: mailed, yelled, handed, missed, loaded, needed, waited, bumped, cleaned and asked.

Remember if the link does not work, you can still go to spellingcity.com and find our list using these directions.
1. Go to spellingcity.com
2. Click Find a List
3. Type in "R Harkins" in the search for Teachers Name
4. Find my name with Chets Creek Elementary and click on it.
5. Click on this weeks list :)

Have fun practicing your words! - Miss Harkins

Monday, February 27, 2012

Spelling/Skill Words

Hey Miss Harkins and Mrs. Lankford's Homeroom Class!!

Practice your spelling/skill words on spelling city. I have added the words for this week, so all you have to do is: click here!

Our test is Friday, I hope you practice :) - Miss Harkins

Miss Correia's Homeroom Class, here is the link for spellingcity.com Type in your spelling/skills words and practice! :)

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Learning from Mrs. Szerba's 5th Graders

Learning from Mrs. Szerba's 5th Graders on PhotoPeach
Our class was invited to visit Mrs. Szebra’s 5th grade class and learn about the study of Embryos and their development. It was an incredible experience for all. Mrs. Szebra’s 5th graders put our class into 4 groups of 10 students and we rotated counter clockwise in and out of her cottage. Our discussion and tour started for some students with a view of the chicken coop, for other students a discussion about the incubator and how it operates. The incubator is a box that provides and maintains a favorable environment for hatching fertile eggs.
We also learned about parts of the egg. Did you know that the shell of the egg is composed primarily of calcium? Immediately beneath the shell are two membranes like a thin skin called the inner and outer shell membrane.
Once the fertile egg is placed in the incubator, cell division occurs very fast. At one of the rotations we were allowed to hold and touch a baby chick. The students loved it!
A huge thank to Mrs. Szerba and her 5th grade class. We appreciate you opening your classroom to help us learn about the study of embryos and their development. Yeah! 5th graders Rock! Enjoy the slideshow.

Friday, February 24, 2012

2nd Grade Goes To The Zoo Part 3!

More smiles from our Zoo Field Trip!
2nd Grade Goes to The Zoo Part 3! on PhotoPeach

Monday, February 20, 2012

Saturday, February 18, 2012

2nd Grade Goes To The Zoo!

2nd Grade Goes to the Zoo on PhotoPeach
Our field trip to the Zoo was an incredible experience for our students and the many chaperones. At the Zoo we learned about Habitats. A habitat provides food, water and oxygen for plants and animals. It also provides shelter, nest and protection for animals. Plants can add beauty while trees and shrubs help in reducing heating and cooling by providing shade. During our educational program we were able to see and touch several animals up close. Thank you to all our chaperones, because of you our field trip was a great learning experience. Enjoy some snapshots from our day.

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Happy 100th Day of School!

Happy 100th Day of School! on PhotoPeach

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Readers to Leaders Superhero Bingo!

Super Hero Bingo! on PhotoPeach
Mrs. Phillips and Mrs. KK hosted a Super Hero Bingo celebration in the dining room last week to honor our students that meet their Readers to Leaders goal for the second nine weeks. All the students that attended left with a prize. Woo Hoo! It was a SUPER time had by all! Please continue to encourage your child to read every day!
Enjoy the incredible smiles in the slideshow!

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Happy New Year 2012

Happy New Year 2012 on PhotoPeach

Welcome Back Incredibles!
In Math we are studying Measurements. We spent the work period in Math comparing lengths and using direct and indirect comparison to identify equal lengths.
In Science we were figuring out which container holds the most water? We are finishing our study of Matter.
We took time out to take a picture with Miss Harkins. We are so excited to have her spent the next 92 days with us. Yes, did you know that today is the 88th day of school? February 3rd will be the 100th Day of School! Wow! Time flies when you are having fun! Ryan, Mrs. Lankford’s son who attends The University of Illinois came by for a quick visit. It was great! The students had super questions for him and he actually autographed balls and notes for all the students! Thank you Ryan! Go Illini! Enjoy the slideshow!