Now Showing: Our chocolate day movie for your viewing pleasure! Here’s to a great day filled with chocolate goodness and wonderful memories!
Seussville Presents Chocolate Day! from Stefanie Pitzer on Vimeo.
(Make sure to select the full screen version to watch the whole thing)
Wow! It is hard to believe that tomorrow it will be 2015. Here’s a look back on the Seussiness we enjoyed in 2014. What will 2015 bring us? What are your goals for 2015? Did you make any resolutions? If so what are they? I can’t wait to see everyone on January 5th and I hope you had a well deserved holiday filled with relaxation, family, friends and fun!
(make sure to click the full screen option to see the whole movie!)
Oh The Places We Went In 2014! from Stefanie Pitzer on Vimeo.
Second Graders you all deserve a bow,
We thus declare a holiday-
It starts exactly now,
Because you’ve done so splendidly
In ever sort of way,
This day forever shall be known,
As Diffendoofer Day!
Diffendoofer Day! from Stefanie Pitzer on Vimeo.
(make sure to click the full screen optionto the right of HD)
What a wonderful day in second grade land today. Mrs. Pitzer and Mrs. Zarko were inspired by the book Hooray for Diffendoofer Day by: Dr. Seuss, Jack Prelutsky and Lane Smith, so much that they recreated the day. The book is all about a school (Diffendoofer School) that is different-er then the rest. They study things such as smelling, laughing and yelling. One day they have to take a special test and they are worried they won’t pass because they are different. If they don’t pass they will have to go to dreary Flobbertown. You do not want to go to Flobbertown because everyone there does everything the same. However, once the test is passed out they see that they were taught how to think and they pass with flying colors. They have a celebration with pizza, milk and cake. They then decide to have a special holiday to celebrate their success!
Our Diffendoofer Day began at morning meeting where Mrs. Ellis, er Mrs. Lowe, introduced the school to some crazy second grade teachers. Then it was off to study the same subjects they study at Diffendoofer School:
1.) Yelling: Mrs. Pitzer’s mom came in and students learned about sound. They learned how to make noise that was loud and quiet. They got to use instruments and their voices to be noise making machines.
2.) Laughing: Students read and laughed at so many Laffy Taffy jokes. Then they picked their favorite one to illustrate and write about.
3.) Listening: Students had to listen carefully to Halloween noises and try to write down as many sounds as they heard as well as draw a picture of the images they created in their minds.
4.) Tying Knots: In this subject, there were bins filled with; twine, string, shoelaces, fabric, craft loops, yarn and curling ribbon. The goal was to try to see what tied the best and the worst while making creation out of knots. We could even wear our creation all day!
5.) Noodle Poodles: Spaghetti noodles, spirals, shells, fettuccine, elbow macaroni and more were available for us to make a poodle out of noodles. We then got to name our poodle and write something fun about it that we wanted other people to know.
6.) Smelling: *sniff* *sniff* we tested our smelling skills by sniffing 8 different smells. We had to try to figure out what the smell was and describe the smell using juicy adjectives. We then picked the best and worst smells. Some of the smells included: grape Kool-Aid, onion, vinegar, pumpkin, popcorn, chocolate and cinnamon.
Next it was time for science class by making robotic rats out of soup cans and spray painted foam balls. We got to decorate our rat however we wanted adding pipe cleaners, washers, bolts, buttons, googley eyes and sticky foam pieces. It was so fun to create our robotic masterpiece.
After science, we created our very own No Flobbertown Test. Each group had to come up with questions where we could find the answers in the room. Once the tests were created, we switched papers and tried to answer as many questions correctly as possible. WE ALL PASSED! No Flobbertown for us.
Time for lunch! Thanks to Double A’s Restaurant, the entire second grade got to eat pizza! YUMMY!
Finally our day ended with some mathematics fun. We traveled through the following math centers:
1.) Math Bingo: We played bingo for prizes but we had to find a problem that matched the number given. We had to really think and practice important skills such as fact families and fact fluency.
2.) Math Games: There were so many games to choose from: Rush Hour, Noodlers, Logic Links, Tanagrams, and tricky puzzles. It was neat to see that math can be in board games too!
3.) EGGO Math: In order to practice our regrouping skills, students raced to 1,000 by using an egg carton to shake items in hopes they land on numbers. These numbers were then added together
4.) Candy Corn Math: First our estimation skills were put to the test by trying to figure out how many candy corns fit in the jar. (571 pieces!) Then we used candy corns to measure objects and we also tried to see how many color combinations we could come up with for a candy corn.
To top it off Mr. Morrow hoisted elephants in the air just like the PE teacher did in the book! It is so great to be a ROYAL and have the staff join in on the fun of Diffendoofer Day. We also could not have had a day like this without Mrs. Zarko & Mrs. Pitzer’s moms, parent volunteers and donations of all kinds. Thank you to all who contributed to making this a day to remember!
Here’s to a wonderful day filled with so many activities that allowed us to think AND have fun! Please feel free to share your favorite part of the day in the comment section.
~*The Pitzer Post*~August 25-29, 2014
In this weekly post, you will find information about the academic content and special events happening in the upcoming week.
I hope you find this to be valuable information as you communicate with your child about their week of learning!
Literacy (Reading & Writing)
Click the link to view our upcoming theme skills!
Theme 1 (Week One)
Phonics Words: chart, graph, phone, thick, trash, hop, I, checkup, chef
Sight Words: our, hill, watch, sister, fun
Vocab Words: cabin, visit, memory
Math
We will begin Chapter 1: Numbers to 1,000. In this chapter we will be using place-value charts to read, compare and order numbers, count by 10’s and 100’s to 1,000, and identify number patterns. This chapter will be the core of our math learning this year and will give us vital skills we that will come up again in future chapters.
This year, my focus is to help students relate math in the classroom to math in the real world. One of the ways we are doing that is using math to make connections:
1.) Math to Self Connections: connecting math to our own life
2.) Math to Text connections: connecting math to texts we are reading
3.) Math to World Connections: connecting math to the world around us
Please view the home letter to see our chapter objectives, as well as activities you can do to support your child at home!
MIFChapter1
Second Step
This week we learned what it meant to be respectful. We practice this every day because we are being ROYAL (Respect Others, Yourself, and Learning)!
Next week, we will learn how to focus our attention and listen, even when there are distractions. We are also working on the goal of being caught using our second step skills. We want to earn 4 second step stickers a week! How will your child try to earn one of those stickers?
Science & Social Studies
This week got our brains thinking like scientists and read Science Verse by: Jon Scieszka. A boy starts speaking in rhyme all about important science concepts. Next, we drew what we thought a scientist looked like and brainstorm possible science words we will learn this year.
Cafeteria Update
Starting next week there will have chef salads available for students and teachers to order for lunch. The salad will come with a fruit and a milk and is $2.10. There will be no meat on the salad so that our students that are vegetarians can have them. They will contain lettuce, cheese, cucumbers, carrots, tomatoes, beans, and crackers or tortilla chips.
Upcoming Events
Monday, August 25, 2014
Tuesday, August 26, 2014
Wednesday, August 27, 2014
Thursday, August 28, 2014
Friday, August 29, 2014
Celebrating Our Greatness!
Since we had such a Seussey filled week, I created a movie of all our adventures this week. Check it out below:
Do You Have What It Takes To Be Seussey? from Stefanie Pitzer on Vimeo.
(Make sure to select the full screen version to watch the whole thing)
Second Grade in Pictures
Building reading stamina while enjoying the comforts of the 2P couch!
Exploring Math Manipulatives
Mr. Combs (Our P.E. teacher last year) popped in for a visit!
H.E.R.O Time! Hey Everyone Read On!
The first pass purchased at the Pitzer Sale!
Dear Students;
It is hard to believe the second grade is quickly coming to an end. We have learned so much and have had an absolute blast in the process. I am so very proud of each and every single one of you for all your hard work, dedication, creativity, progress and suessey-ness. As you take your next step in your elementary school journey, know that I am always right down the hall and I look forward to watching all the wonderful things that will happen to you! Also know that no matter where your journey takes you, I will always be excited to hear from you. You have brains in your head and feet in your shoes and you can steer yourself any direction you choose! Show your third grade teachers all the amazing things I was able to see this year, be a good friend and an excellent listener. This summer make sure to play, relax and keep on reading! I just know that you will. I will never forget you and just know that YOU ARE going places. Today is your day! You’re off and away!
Dear Parents;
I give you back your child, the same child you confidently entrusted to my care last fall. I give them back, inches taller, months wiser, more responsible, and more mature than they were then. Although they would have attained this growth in spite of me, it has been my pleasure and privilege to watch their personality unfold day by day. I give them back reluctantly, for having spent nine months together in the narrow confines of a classroom, we have grown and we shall always retain a little bit of each other.
Ten years from now if we met on the street, your child and I, a light will shine to our eyes, a smile to our face, and we shall feel the bond of understanding once more, this bond we feel today. We have lived, loved, laughed, played, studied, learned, and enriched our lives together this year. I wish it could go on indefinitely, but give them back I must. Remember that I shall always be interested in your child and their destiny, wherever they go, whatever they do, whoever they become. Their joys and sorrows I’ll always be happy to share.
Thanks for your support and all that you have done to make our year complete!
Check out our year as a Seussville citizen in our video below. Here’s to a successful year of learning and for the many more successful years to come. Remember Dr. Seuss says, “Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened!”
Second Grade was So-So Seussey! from Stefanie Pitzer on Vimeo.
What was your favorite part of second grade? What did you enjoy learning the most? I would love to hear your thoughts in the comment section below!
It has been a great first part of the year in Seussville! I thought it would be fun to look back on all the fun and learning that took place in 2013. Check out our latest video: (make sure to select the full screen option so you can see the whole thing). What was your favorite part so far this year and why? What are you looking forward to in 2014 and why? Tell us in the comment section!
Oh The Places We Went In 2013! from Stefanie Pitzer on Vimeo.
Second Graders you all deserve a bow,
We thus declare a holiday-
It starts exactly now,
Because you’ve done so splendidly
In ever sort of way,
This day forever shall be known,
As Diffendoofer Day!
Diffendoofer Day from Stefanie Pitzer on Vimeo.
Don’t forget to make the video full screen!
What a wonderful day in second grade land today. Mrs. Pitzer and Mrs. Zarko were inspired by the book Hooray for Diffendoofer Day by: Dr. Seuss, Jack Prelutsky and Lane Smith, so much that they recreated the day. The book is all about a school (Diffendoofer School) that is different-er then the rest. They study things such as smelling, laughing and yelling. One day they have to take a special test and they are worried they won’t pass because they are different. If they don’t pass they will have to go to dreary Flobbertown. You do not want to go to Flobbertown because everyone there does everything the same. However, once the test is passed out they see that they were taught how to think and they pass with flying colors. They have a celebration with pizza, milk and cake. They then decide to have a special holiday to celebrate their success!
Our Diffendoofer Day began at morning meeting where Mrs. Ellis, er Mrs. Lowe, introduced the school to some crazy second grade teachers. Then it was off to study the same subjects they study at Diffendoofer School:
1.) Yelling: Mrs. Pitzer’s mom came in and students learned about sound. They learned how to make noise that was loud and quiet. They got to use instruments and their voices to be noise making machines.
2.) Laughing: Students read and laughed at so many Laffy Taffy jokes. Then they picked their favorite one to illustrate and write about.
3.) Listening: Students had to listen carefully to Halloween noises and try to write down as many sounds as they heard as well as draw a picture of the images they created in their minds.
4.) Tying Knots: In this subject, Mrs. Pitzer had bins filled with; twine, string, shoelaces, fabric, craft loops, yarn and curling ribbon. The goal was to try to see what tied the best and the worst while making creation out of knots. We could even wear our creation all day!
5.) Noodle Poodles: Lasagna noodles, spirals, shells, fettuccine, elbow macaroni and more were available for us to make a poodle out of noodles. We then got to name our poodle and write something fun about our poodle that we wanted other people to know.
6.) Smelling: *sniff* *sniff* we tested our smelling skills by sniffing 8 different smells. We had to try to figure out what the smell was and describe the smell using juicy adjectives. We then picked the best and worst smells. Some of the smells included: cherry Kool-Aid, onion, vinegar, pumpkin, popcorn, chocolate and garlic.
Next it was time for science class by making robotic rats out of soup cans and spray painted foam balls. We got to decorate our rat however we wanted adding pipe cleaners, washers, bolts, buttons, googley eyes and sticky foam pieces. It was so fun to create our robotic masterpiece.
After science, we created our very own No Flobbertown Test. Each group had to come up with questions where we could find the answers in the room. Once the tests were created, we switched papers and tried to answer as many questions correctly as possible. WE ALL PASSED! No Flobbertown for us.
Time for lunch! Thanks to Double A’s Restaurant, the entire second grade got to eat pizza and zebra cakes! YUMMY!
Finally our day ended with some mathematics fun. We traveled through the following math centers:
1.) Math Bingo: We played bingo for prizes but we had to find a problem that matched the number given. Man did we really have to think and practice important skills such as fact families and fact fluency.
2.) Math Games: There were so many games to choose from: Rush Hour, Noodlers, Logic Links, Tanagrams, and tricky puzzles. It was neat to see that math can be in board games too!
3.) Math Puzzles: This was more of a relaxing center. We could choose to do an optical art, subtraction secrets or word Sudoku.
4.) Candy Corn Math: First our estimation skills were put to the test by trying to figure out how many candy corns fit in the jar. (570 pieces!) Then we used candy corns to measure objects and we also tried to see how many color combinations we could come up with for a candy corn.
To top it off Mr. Comb’s juggled an elephant just like the PE teacher does in the book! It is so great to be a ROYAL and have the staff join in on the fun of Diffendoofer Day. We also could not have had a day like this without parent volunteers, 5th grade helpers and donations of all kinds. Thank you to all who contributed to making this a day to remember!
What was your favorite part and why?
Here’s to a wonderful day filled with so many activities that allowed us to think AND have fun! :
It is hard to believe that our caterpillars have gone through all of the stages of their life cycle. Today we released our butterflies in the school’s butterfly garden. We each got to hold our butterfly and say goodbye. It tickeled a lot and made us giggle. Check out our video to see what we learned:
Our Life Cycle Adventures from Stefanie Pitzer on Vimeo.
Make sure to click the full screen option on the bottom right. By viewing it full screen you won’t get anything cut off. 🙂
We’re ROYALLY obSEUSSed! from Stefanie Pitzer on Vimeo.
Make sure to click the full screen option on the bottom right. By viewing it full screen you won’t get anything cut off. 🙂