Week 2: SLIME!!

Hello parents!

We are now two weeks into the school year, and it has already been a blast! Again, I hope you have been hearing stories from your child about all we have done, but hopefully this post can help fill you in. We have begun our learning curriculum this week, so that means your child has jumped right back into math lessons, writing activities, and much more. For this post, I will specifically be focusing on what has been happening during our science period. This week, we are learning about the three states of matter: solid, liquid, and gas. However, we all had the opportunity to create something that's in between a solid and a liquid: slime! 

Slime is in between a solid and a liquid. It's also very fun to make!

Image from: https://images.app.goo.gl/VuHHxJirvSAcrTPq6

That's right! Your child got to make slime! The looks on their faces as they watched it form and played with it were absolutely amazing. The ingredients we used to make the slime were simple. We used water, liquid starch, and Elmer's school glue. Students also had the option to add food coloring. When these ingredients were all mixed together, it created the great, gooey substance we were looking for. In doing this experiment, it taught the students about the properties of the various states of matter, and how there are some things that are in between (like toothpaste). Also, it allowed the students to demonstrate their ability to use measuring cups and follow directions. You didn't want too much of one ingredient! Finally, slime is a fantastic way to stimulate the students' senses. Giving young children hands-on experiences is so good for their development and stimulates their curiosity. More than the tactile experience, slime provides students with visual and auditory sensations that are fun, as well. For more about this, here is link to an article that explains the importance of sensory play for children: 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jenniferpalumbo/2023/10/10/the-power-of-sensory-play-in-childhood-development/?sh=53304e724faa

This week's question is: What are some activities your child does at home that provides sensory stimulation, and is there a way we could incorporate those activities into our classroom?

Once again, thank you for everything you do. If you are up for it, you can easily make slime with your child at home! If you do, please let me know how your at-home experiment goes. I would love to hear about it!

Week 1: All About Me Worksheets!

Hello parents!

It was such an amazing first week of class with your children! Hopefully you have already heard from them about all the fun things we have done so far. In our classroom this week, we spent a lot of time learning more about each other. For me, I loved getting to know each one of your children, and I look forward to spending the rest of the school year with them!

All About Me Worksheet

Image found at: https://images.app.goo.gl/kyAyd33NA6gzoVm19

   

But, here's where you get to step in and help. This weekend, I sent each student home with a worksheet titled "All About Me!" (shown above). On the worksheet, your child gets to tell me about him or herself. If assistance is needed, please help your child fill out the sheet, but I would love if they worked on it themselves. It is all about them, isn't it?? I can't wait to find out more about your child! 

However, a huge way that you can and should help is finding and printing an image of your child. You can have your child glue the printed image on the box labeled "THIS IS ME!" Having an image of your child on the worksheet is important because we will be displaying the worksheets in the classroom. Personally, I would love to have a picture of each students' smiling face on my wall, and I'm sure your child would be overjoyed to see his or her face on the wall, as well. In fact, research suggests that displaying children's work in the classroom greatly benefits them, making them feel valued. And I want every child in my classroom to feel valued. Provided below is a link to an article that describes the benefits of displaying students' work:

https://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr274.shtml

Next, in each weekly post, I will end by asking a question that you can answer in the comment section below. The purpose of these questions is to incite conversations amongst one another, and so that I can hear from you. As your child's teacher, I want to make sure I am always on the same page with you. Like I said in my introduction post, this is OUR classroom, so please don't be afraid to speak up!

This week's question is: In what environment does your child like to learn, and how can we work to create that kind of environment in our classroom?

As we begin the second week of school, I would like to extend a huge THANK YOU to all of you. Thank you for bringing your child in, and giving me the opportunity to partner with you to care for, motivate, and encourage your child. 

Welcome to Mr. Bryce's Blog!

Mr. Bryce is excited to be your child's teacher!

Welcome to my blog! My name is Bryce McClure, and I will be your child's 2nd grade teacher this school year! I am committed to bringing the best, and most energetic, education to our classroom each and every day. I love to have fun, and I love to see children learn. 

A little bit about myself:

• I have an identical twin brother. He looks just like me! 
• I grew up in Hudson, Ohio, and I graduated from Hudson High School in 2019.
• I graduated from Kent State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in 2024.
• I love to play basketball. I am a huge Cleveland Cavaliers fan!
• My favorite food is chicken noodle soup.

This blog is intended to give you more information about myself and about what goes on in our classroom. I will have weekly posts that show what we are learning in the classroom, and how you can engage your child's learning at home. This blog also gives you, the parents, the opportunity to provide input! Like I said, it is OUR classroom. You can use the features supplied in the blog to ask questions, provide comments, or just simply get involved! I would love to hear from you.