I Have a Dreamcatcher...

One of my sweet friends did this activity a few years ago, and I just had to replicate it for my students this year!  I've got pictures to share, but first I'm going to tell you how it went down.  I started the lesson by showing the kiddos a dreamcatcher (that I found at dollar tree) and asking them to talk to a friend about it (have they seen one before, do they know what it's called, what it's for, etc.).  I then read them "The Legend of the Dreamcatcher" which I found online and typed up.  I then showed them the "Bad Dreams/Good Dreams" t-chart and asked them to listen for words for each while I read "A Picture Book of Martin Luther King, Jr." by David A. Adler.  Afterwards, we recorded the bad things from MLK, Jr's life (segregation, violence, hate, bombings of houses) and the good things (equality, peace, Nobel Peace Prize, love) on our chart.  I gave each student a paper plate that I had cut the middle out of and had them punch 9 holes around the middle, and 3 holes on the bottom (they did this in the morning, before announcements).  I let each student pick their yarn color, beads, and feathers.  I showed them how to get started, and then they watched me make a dreamcatcher.  Some of them got frustrated, they had a hard time "staying in the middle," they wanted to take the yarn around the outside of their plate.  Once their dreamcatchers were finished, they wrote two "bad dreams" and two "good dreams" on the part of the paper plate that I had cut out (but you could use regular copy paper).  They cut out the dreams and then glued them to the dreamcatcher.  The "bad dreams" are caught in the web, waiting to be burned by Grandfather Sun's morning rays, and the "good dreams" are turned into dew and are sliding down the feathers to return to the Earth.  This took a reeeeealllly long time to complete, but it was worth it, the kiddos have a deeper understanding of the "I Have a Dream" speech, as well as MLK, Jr's life.  Now, pictures!!

goodness, it's been a while!

sorry for the delay in posting... school has been cah-ray-zee!  I've been thinking about this little blog, and am terribly sorry for not posting more often.  Without further ado, here's a photo dump of what we've been up to since September...

I made Columbus Day snacks (so cute and so easy!)

we did a science lesson with Mexican Jumping  Beans

I found Mexican Jumping Beans at the Dollar Tree, bought enough for each kiddo to have one, and we started out by observing our "mystery objects."  I put them in petri dishes from our science closet, and the kiddos worked on filling out the O(observe) and W(wonder) portions of our OWL chart.  They're so hard at work, I love it!

 After we observed and wondered, we read the book, but I wrapped the cover with paper so that the mystery wasn't given away.  We then added our new learning to the OWL chart.  I used the projector to enlarge the page, and used expos to record what the kiddos learned.  

We wrote letters to the troops as a part of Q100's Bert's Big Thank You.  The Big Thank You puts a handwritten letter in the hands of each soldier station or deployed outside the US.  The letters were SO sweet!

That silly Candy Corn Bandit took our candy corn marshmallow treats, and had us hunting all around the school making predictions as to where he took them.  The silliest thing happened when we got back to the room: one of my kiddos (who is not the most observant) points to the copyright on the poster that Abby made and says "Oh ma goodness, the bandit wrote their name!  ABBY IS THE BANDIT!"  I about died...

We went to Fernbank Museum of Natural History on a field trip, and the kiddos were so amazed.  Here we all are in our class shirts (the whole grade level has the same shirt, but each class has a different color)

 This was the last day for one of my kiddos.  I was so happy that he was able to come on the field trip, and what a great last day with our class!

We saw HUBBLE in IMAX and oh ma goodness their faces were priceless.  I told them that we were going to see a movie like they had never seen a movie before, and they were all "yeah, but I've been to the movies."  Check out these sweet faces!! 

We went to the museum, it was fun.  We saw dinosaurs, but there was old bones.

 Here are our Cara Carroll inspired skeletons and hiccup writing!

  this is our pinterest inspired data wall

and this is our pumpkin seed data display, courtesy of the fabulous Abby!

we put these exciting words in our Language Arts Journal after reading "One is a Feast for Mouse"

I don't have any pictures of our Christmas around the world unit, or our Grinch Glyphs (our display fell down the morning of the day that I actually brought my camera to school).  But as you can see, we've been super busy in second grade.  I hope you all have a fabulous holiday break and I've resolved to be a better blogger in the new year!

:) Lauren

payday isn't just a candy bar!

It's pay day here in Georgia, and that means..... Dollar Spot time!  Becky and I hit up the Super Target after receipt day at Chick-fil-A, and then good ol' Dollar Tree!  Check out my haul! (and let me apologize for the pictures taken on the bed... it has the best lighting in the apt.  and can I say that I can't wait to move!!) 
PS: This is my first linky party and I'm linking up with Kristen over at Ladybug's Teacher Files.  Go and see what everyone else has picked up!


First up, Dollar Tree... where I found three trays for sorting, two clear ones for place value, a giant eraser (just 'cause), some patriotic kiddos, speech bubble accents, and tiny rectangular tubbies for teeny craft supplies.

Super Target was the winner for the day!  I found all of this!

 We're talking about Dr. Seuss pencils, markers, and socks! Pirate baggies (I'm thinking about Abby's pirate Mark with these), popcorn and peanut and candy containers, an orange and white tub (Halloween and Thanksgiving book display), two sets of dice, Lady Liberty crowns, Time and Math Bingo games, a carnival themed can toss (maybe I should have gotten more... subtraction games anyone?), adhesive cupcakes, and adhesive mustaches.  I've got a HUGE idea for the mustaches... but you'll have to wait ;)