Theme Days!

Where Learning and Fun go Hand in Hand!

Berry Day
In order to celebrate Robert McCloskey's September birthday, we will make blueberry muffins. We will read his books Make Way for Ducklings, One Day in Maine, and of course Blueberries for Sal. We will complete a math activity by graphing our favorite kind of berry. All in all, it will be a "berry" nice day!

Apple Day
The theme of apples is studied throughout the month of September. We will read such books as The Seasons of Arnold's Apple Tree, Johnny Appleseed, and The Apple Thief. Our favorite activity of the day is making school-made applesauce.

Popcorn Day
Pop, Pop, Pop! Popcorn Day is celebrating our favorite corn snack. We will read such books as The Popcorn Dragon, The Popcorn Popper, Corn is Maize, and The Popcorn Shop. Our favorite activity is our popcorn taste test to graph our favorite type, cheese, plain, buttered, or caramel.  The students will be introduced to the concept of estimation by counting unpopped and popped kernels.  Of course, the day will end with popcorn and a movie!

Pumpkin Day
Pumpkin Galore is a day of stations. The students will be divided in cooperative learning groups to rotate through learning stations. Activities at the learning stations involve art, listening, math reading, spelling, writing, science. We will write about pumpkins, read about pumpkins, sequence how pumpkins grow, measure pumpkins, and even get our hands inside a pumpkin. We will read Pumpkin, Pumpkin and Mousekin's Golden House.

Spider Day
Because of Halloween and our themes of night, witches and scary things, we will study spiders. We will graph our feelings about spiders and practice making spiders to display in our room.  We will read Spinning Spiders, How Spider's Make their Webs and Anansi the Spider. No matter what we thought of spiders before, Spider Day gives us a new appreciation for them!

Reading Day
A relaxing and cozy winter day will be dedicated to just to reading. Children will  snuggle up with their favorite books, blankets, and stuffed animals as they enter the world of reading. The children will be  taken to far away places as they bury their noses in books! The students will be involved in reading activities such as shared reading, paired reading, book talks, and listening to guest readers. The entire focus will be on reading and enjoying books.

Mickey Mouse Day
What better way to celebrate everyone's favorite mouse but to throw a birthday party in his honor! Mickey Mouse's Birthday is November 18th. The children will celebrate by completing many activities throughout the day that honor this famous mouse.  We will send our birthday wishes off to Disney World and wait for the reply! We hope he will send us autographed pictures!

Gingerbread Day
You can't catch us we're learning! Gingerbread Day is another day of learning stations including math, science, art, reading, and spelling. We will read The Gingerbread Man and Hansel and Gretel and rewrite our own creative endings. What Gingerbread Day would be complete without cookies? While munching on gingerbread men, we will create a class graph to show the most popular part of the cookies to be eaten first.

Winter Celebration
Even if the weather doesn't cooperate we will celebrate winter, hibernation and migration. We will read stories by Jan Brett such as The Mitten, The Hay, Annie and the Wild Animals, Comet's Nine Lives, Armadillo Rodeo, and Trouble with Trolls. We will study how animals get ready for winter and make pine cone bird feeders to help out our feathered friends.

Penguin Day
Waddling to the polar regions in order to study penguins is just plain  fun! We will read such true penguin stories as Penguins and Playing with Penguins and some funny fictional stories such as Tacky the Penguin, Cuddly Dudley, Cinderella Penguin, and Little Penguin's Tale. We will eat mini gold fish snack crackers and dress in black and white.

Winnie-the-Pooh Day
What second grade class could resist honoring the birthday A.A. Milne, author of Winnie-the-Pooh. It's "No Bother"! For this celebration, the children will wear any Pooh or friends (Piglet, Tigger, Rabbit, etc.) clothes they may have, and bring in any Pooh items (stuffed animals, books, etc.) they have for show-and-tell. The day will  involve reading, writing, and math activities related to Winnie-the-Pooh and his companions.

Tooth Day
February is Dental Health month so we will spend the day learning about good foods and healthy habits. We will read such stories as Franklin and the Tooth Fairy, The Seven Silly Eaters, Andrew's Loose Tooth, Norman Fools The Tooth Fairy, How Many Teeth? and Gregory the Terrible Eater. Dr. Panko will talk to the class about good dental health habits.

Teddy Bear Day
On Teddy Bear Day everyone will bring their favorite fluffy pal to school for show and tell. We will graph all the different kinds of bears. The children will complete Venn Diagrams describing their bear and a friends bear. We will read all kinds of bear stories and poetry. The little visitors love to sit and listen to stories. They will love to cuddle up during B.E.A.R. time and read stories with their life long friends.

National Pig Day
National Pig Day is celebrated throughout the United States and is in honor of cute, little pigs of all kinds. The children will complete reading, math, spelling, and art activities throughout the day. The children will make pigs in blankets! They will learn about the different kinds of pigs and read true stories as well as make believe pig stories. Of course we will read The Little Pigs and The True Story of The Three Little Pigs. The children will debate which story to believe...the pigs' or the wolf's. The wolf's story sounds genuine and pretty convincing to me!

Whatever The Weather
With spring time upon us, the children will learn about the different kinds of weather. The day will be dedicated to learning weather vocabulary and types of climates. We will read several stories about the many kinds of weather and how weather affects people--they way the dress and their jobs. We will discuss and perform simple science experiments about clouds, wind, and condensation.

Green Eggs and Ham Day
On St. Patrick's Day the children in other classes will be "green with envy" as the second graders read the Dr. Seuss classic Green Eggs and Ham and then we will make some to eat!  Did you ever try green eggs and ham?  The children will also enjoy completing activities related to the color green as well as projects about leprechauns.

Bunches of Bunnies
Hopping into spring time, we will celebrate a day dedicated to furry, little, cotton-tailed bunnies. We will read such adventures as The Tale of Peter Rabbit, the Marcus Pfister collection of Hopper books and also some true books about bunnies. The children learn to do the "Bunny Hop". The children will rotate to different learning stations to complete activities with cooperative groups.

Career Day
And what do you want to be when you get older? As part of our Social Studies Curriculum, the children will explore different jobs. On career day, the children will have a guessing "show and tell". They will dress up and/or use props about what they want to be. Each child will read clues about what they want to be when they get older while the other children guess what the job is. We will read stories about careers and complete related activities. Each child will make their own computer business card which they trade with their friends! They will even create job resumes. We will have a dedicated class on their way to becoming professionals!

Earth Day
Earth Day celebrated around the United States symbolizes our love for our planet and our dedication toward making it a better place to live. The children will learn about "Mother Earth" and the future that lies ahead of them if they don't work together to save her. Endangered animals are also an area we focus on during this celebration, as well as the rain forests of the world. Earth Day should be everyday. This celebration will serve to remind the children and their families of the importance of taking care of our home throughout the year and not just one day out of the year.

Bug Day
Bugs don't bug us! Bug Day will not be a day to pester your friends but to learn more about the world of insects. The children will read, write poetry, complete riddles, math activities and attempt a nature hunt for insects. We will do an author study of Eric Carle. We read some of his "VERY" stories including The Very Busy Spider, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, The Very Lonely Firefly, and The Very Quiet Cricket.

Pet Day
In celebration of "Be Kind to Animals" week, the second week of May marks our "Pet Day". The children will share their own pet tails, I mean tales, and learn many important facts about pet care. We will read stories which include: Pets I Wouldn't Pick, Curious George Walks the Pets, Moonbear's Pet, Franklin's Pet, and Arthur's Pet Business.

Reading Day and Outdoor Picnic
May is the perfect time to arrange for The Second Grade Reading Day and Outdoor Picnic. This day is in the hands of "Mother Nature". It must be a bright beautiful and sunny day because we plan to do most of our reading outdoors. With several books for both quiet and partner reading, a blanket or beach towel to sit on, and extra munchies for snacking and sharing the day will be quite enjoyable. Guest Readers will be welcomed and parents will be encouraged to come with their own book to just "hang out" with us and read.

Beach Day
In conjunction with our YMCA trip we will  celebrate Beach Day. We will explore and study ocean life. We will read many non-fiction and fiction stories. A few favorites are IBIS, A True Whale Story, Whales, Going on a Whale Watch, Dear Mr. Blueberry and The Whale's Song. To bring the true size of whales to life, the student's will apply their measuring, addition/subtraction and problem solving skills. We will discuss several different types of whales and compare their sizes by measuring and marking the lengths on the lower playground or in the hallway. The children will be amazed by the size of the Blue Whale--100 feet long!

Ice Cream Day
With the warm weather and summer ahead of us, who could resist a day dedicated to ice cream! The children will read some great stories like Ice Cream Soup, The Ice Cream Bear, and How Ice Cream is Made. The most exciting part of the day, of course, will be making our own "super-duper" sundaes.

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