Coretta and school...

Coretta received her report card yesterday and she did very well. She is strong in reading, writing, public speaking, music, spanish, science, religion and social studies and has improved considerably in Math. She has exceeded in the expectations for second grade in many areas. We are very proud of her.

In second grade this semester, they have been very busy. In social studies, they have been learning about immigration. They also spent time researching their own relatives to tell their story about coming to America. They have read a story called Coming to America by Betsy Maestro. They had to answer questions such as what would be the best/worst things about going to a new land. They also have spent time mapping continents, oceans, and rivers and spent time studying Sweden.

In Language Arts, they have been busy reading the Roxaboxen series by Alice McLerran, reading folktales, and writing their own tall tales. In addition to this, they had to choose a book that they were to memorize and will share with an audience next Wednesday at Storytelling Night. Coretta chose the book Today I Feel Silly. They have spent considerable time mapping out their story, practicing their lines, and paying attention to gestures. tone, pitch, rate, and eye contact. I can't wait to see the final presentation!

In math, they continue to have timed tests in subtraction and addition and are now working on division and multiplication. They have also been working on counting money and telling time.

In religion, they have been learning about reconciliation as well as the sacraments. More specifically holy communion which will take place in April.

In science, they have been continually studying their frogs and making observations. What a great experience to observe a frog from the tadpole stage on.

In art, they have what is called Art Adventures where volunteers come in to teach students about art using specific paintings from the Minneapolis Institute of Art. I have volunteered to teach this program in Coretta's class which is very exciting. The theme for this eight week exploration is friends, family, and foes. For every painting they study, they learn art history as well as create their own art project. So far, they have been able to create a sculpture, a painting of a garden using the impressionism brush strokes, and will create a mask next week.

Coretta started piano lessons yesterday at Saint Joseph's School of Music and is very happy to be back playing the piano. She is registering for track this spring and is looking forward to that as well.

She is also busy starting her band which they have named The Guitar Heroes. Coretta spends a considerable amount of time writing songs for the band as well. The picture above is of Coretta and her song book!