This week, to kick off our Under The Sea Theme for May, we made multiple uses of a mackerel in the name of both art and science. First we used our fishy friend to create Japanese "Gyotaku" prints. During the 1800's before there were cameras, Japanese fishermen created these prints to record the sizes of their daily catches.
The kids had a great time rolling ink onto the fish and pressing newsprint on its body. When we peeled the paper off, we were left with an amazing fishy stamp!
After everyone got a chance to print from our fish, we then talked about fish anatomy. How are fish's bodies different from people? What is the same, if anything?  To answer these questions the students carefully gathered round while Ms. Nicky dissected our scaly friend. (If you have a weak stomach, you may want to SKIP our photos this week! The kids took it like champs, though!)
After we dissected the mackerel, we then prepared it for the Egyptian process of mummification. Ancient Egyptians would pay tribute to their dead by removing the body's organs and filling the remains with "natron". We created our own natron in the classroom by mixing 2 parts baking soda with 1 part salt. We then packed our fish's body with the substance, covered the body with even more of it,  and then sealed it in a bag. In about a month, we should have a fish mummy of our own!
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This month has been Storytelling Month here in 2nd Grade and this week the kids tried their hand at writing fables. We learned that a fable is a short story that usually ends in a moral, or lesson that can be learned. Check out some of the wise, silly, and smart fables some of the kids wrote!
 
The Race
by Caleb
    Two guys had a motorcycle race to half of the Grand Canyon. The race starts. Dasher and Flame started driving, but Dasher went too fast and went down the canyon and exploded.
Moral: Slow and steady wins the race.

The Football Player
by Rohan
    One day a football player said he was the best and that he couldn't get tackled or get a fumble. The next day he had a football game. The quarterback handed the player the ball and he got tackled!
Moral: Don't get ahead of yourself.

The Rich People
by Danielle
    Once upon a time, there were two rich people named Sara and Eddie. All the other people were poor, but they had a million dollars. They were kids and their parents were away.
    Sara and Eddie saw a new toy on a commercial. It was one million dollars. They decided to buy the new toy, then they were poor.
Moral: Don't trust kids with money.
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Ms. Stephanie also read us the story of Johnny Appleseed on Wednesday! We took our story to the kitchen where we chopped up some apples and made sweet Fried Apples. It was delicious!
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Another science filled week had been had here in 2nd grade. This week our theme was geology, which is the study of rocks and minerals! Ms. Lauren showed us how to make quicksand using cornstarch and water. It was slippery, slimy fun! We also started "digging" up our fossils from a few weeks ago. It was a lot harder than we thought! With Ms. Nicky we tried making Borax crystals, but we're still waiting for the results on that one. We also made a yummy pasta salad with Ms. Stephanie! 
On Friday, we did another EGG-citing EGG-speriment! This time we took one of the eggs left over from our Invisible Egg Experiment and left it in a jar of blue water for a week. The egg turned completely blue! We discussed whether or not we thought the yolk inside would be blue, too... What do you think? 
To see our results, check out the slideshow below:
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Things are about to get MOLDY!
The past few weeks in 2nd Grade have been a number of things--sticky, slimy, dirty, and now we're about to add moldy to the list (let's not forget "educational", however).
This week, while learning about biology, our kids discussed MOLD and talked about the good, the bad, and the ugly of it. And there are both bad and GOOD things about mold, believe it or not! According to Wikipedia: "Some molds cause disease or food spoilage; others play an important role in biodegradation or in the production of various foods, beverages, antibiotics and enzymes." So this week, students are experimenting with creating mold.
Ms. Brittnay, our Science Specialist and 1st Grade Teacher, got the lovely folks at Panera Bread to donate some of their old loaves in the name of science. Each student got a piece of bread and were asked to choose up to three ingredients from the refrigerator that they thought might help speed up the mold growing process. We then sealed the bread slices in individual baggies, with our names and ingredient choices written on the bags. The baggies were hung on the bulletin board for the purposes of "observation" but we think that as the week--and the mold--goes on, we might rethink our location.
Also, please check out the slideshow below to see the results of our Eggs In Vinegar Experiment! Can you believe that the egg shells disintegrated and the eggs were able to bounce?! Check it out!
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What kid doesn't love DINOSAURS? I mean, really, c'mon! What's not to love? They're huge! They're ancient! They're... extinct! This week was all about dinosaurs and the ways that paleontologists study them from the clues left behind in ancients fossils, bones, and other discoveries.
On Monday we entered our classroom, where we discovered two huge dinosaurs that had taken up residence on our classroom bulletin board. There was the mighty Tyrannosaurus Rex and his leaf-eating buddy, the huge Brachiosaurus (OK, maybe these two might not have exactly been buddies, as we started to find out more about them). As a class we talked about which one was a carnivore and which was an herbivore and what those terms meant.  
On Tuesday we started our own fossils, which we made from plaster. First we prepared the plaster (a very messy endeavor or trial and error, as we "forgot" to measure) and then we pressed objects into the mix. Later this week, we're going to pick our objects out of the plaster paleontologist-style and check out the fossils that are left behind.
Also, this week we guessed how big some of our favorite dinos actually were. Then we looked up the actual results and measured the distances out in the hallway. These guys were BIG!
Other Important News:
  • Check out the "Flower Power Bulb Fundraiser" order forms we've given your children. The deadline for orders is April 13th, and all orders will ship directly to customers' homes by April 27th.
  • Our classroom is starting our own terrarium and we are in need of some supplies. Please check out our Sign Out Clipboard to see what we need!
  • April Vacation sign-ups are posted on our door! Please let us know if your child will or will not be coming to BASE during that week.
  • There is also a sign-up for Friday April 6th, as Braintree Public Schools will be closed that day.
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This month the second graders are exploring the possibilities of careers in science! Right now, we are in the middle of Meteorology Week and are learning about the ways that meteorologists use science to predict the weather.
On Monday, we started making volcanos with Ms. Lauren. We can't wait to set them off on Thursday or Friday. It's going to be a blast! On Tuesday, Ms. Nicky led a series of exciting experiments! In the first we tried to create rain using a jar of hot water and a plate of ice. Can you guess what happened? In the second experiment, Ms. Nicky took a balloon and created static by rubbing it over the kids' heads. Then, with the lights off, she touched the balloon to a fluorescent light bulb... The results were illuminating! And even though the cold weather is almost out of sight, we still couldn't help making some good old fashioned Chicken Noodle Soup with Ms. Stephanie!
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We've been having so much fun with the visual arts this month! We've made shiny paintings with Ms. Lauren, practiced blind contour drawings with Ms. Nicky, and even made colorful pizzas with Ms. Stephanie!
Check out all of the fun we've been having in the photos below:
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Last week got off to a great start with an exciting visit from Dr. Seuss' friend, The Lorax! All of the kids at BASE got together in the gym to meet the Lorax and to answer trivia questions about the famous story. Congrats to 2nd grader Brennen L. for winning a cool Lorax T-shirt during the trivia game!
This week was also our final week of covering the 5 Senses. We finished off with Sight, and made lots of cool optical illusion posters and even a visual toy called a "thaumatrope", ask your child what it is (hopefully they remember!).
Check out the photos below to see how much fun we've had!
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In case you were wondering: lemons are SOUR, according the Mary and Carlie!
We've been exploring our sense of taste here in second grade and the results have been delicious... and sometimes kind of yucky! This week we tried a whole lot of different foods to see what kinds of tastes we could discover. Did you know that along with the tastes we all know and love--sweet, sour, salty, and bitter--scientists have also discovered a FIFTH taste known as "umami"? Umami is a savory taste and can be found in foods like meat, mushrooms, cheeses, and soy sauce! Can you think of tastes we missed?
In the slideshow below, you'll see all of the fun we had this week like our Taste Test, our Tasty Meal Collages, and the Banana Crunch Muffins we made with Ms. Stephanie!
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Welcome back, everyone!
First, the Second Grade Teachers would like to give a great, big THANK YOU to all of the wonderful families in our class for the wonderful Christmas gifts we received this year! Your kindness and thoughtfulness is so appreciated.
In the news, this month's theme is Our 5 Senses and it's a big favorite! This week our students explored their sense of touch by making texture collages, going on texture scavenger hunts, and by using our hands in sensory inclusive games.
Our favorite sensory game was "What's In The Box?!" where students had 60 seconds to reach into a box of over twenty matching objects to find as many pairs as possible. Our current record holder is Lara with 7 pairs in 60 seconds, and believe me when I say it's harder than you think!
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