Kiawah Conservancy
We are excited to share that our second graders were invited by the Kiawah Conservancy to visit Kiawah Island as a special conclusion to our Marsh Project! The Kiawah Conservancy’s mission is to measure, manage, improve, and advocate for the ecological health of our communities’ marsh environment. Students enjoyed learning and seeing firsthand how they used oyster shells to manufacture wire reefs to help restore our marsh. Students also enjoyed taking a nature walk to see local plants around the marsh and their benefits to our environment. This was a wonderful opportunity for students to connect their classroom learning with real-world experiences in one of South Carolina’s most beautiful and ecologically important environments.
New Classmate
Over Thanksgiving break, we are sad to share that our class pet, Marshmallow, passed away. We shared the news with students and took time to reflect on the happy memories we shared with our four-legged friend. This week, we invited a new class pet into our classroom. We are excited to introduce Tiny Cowboy Henry, a dwarf hamster, as our newest class pet! Tiny Cowboy Henry will continue to help second graders learn responsibility by giving them simple, supervised tasks that teach them how to care for a living creature. He will also continue to build empathy, teamwork, and a strong classroom community as students work together to keep the hamster safe and comfortable. In addition, having Tiny Cowboy Henry will enrich science learning and inspire writing, creativity, and calm moments throughout the school day. We are excited to spend the rest of the year with our new classmate.
Bringing Magic to Books
We happily began a new reading unit all about bringing magic to a book, and the students truly embraced it! They practiced reading with stronger fluency, used expressive tones of voice, and added emotions to make their stories come alive. As students’ fluency grows, they will feel more confident and be able to enjoy the stories more fully. Exploring different tones will help them understand characters and moods in a fun, playful way, and adding emotions allows them to connect with the text on a deeper level. Altogether, these skills make second-grade readers feel more excited, engaged, and full of joy in our classroom.
