Mystery Reader #9: A Horse Riding Mom

 1. I love horses.

2. I have 4 kiddos.

3. I work across the hall.

These clues lead us in only one direction- across the hall!  There are 2 teachers across the hall, and one of them rides horses and the other does not!  That made our guess pretty clear!  Her daughter was so excited to share the center stage with her mom today.  Miss Shanalee read "If You Ever Want to Bring an Alligator to School, Don't!"  This was a fun story for the 2nd graders since they hadn't heard it before.  The class also enjoyed asking Miss Shanalee all about horses and school when she grew up.  The kids love learning more about the adults that come in to to read to us.  Thanks so much Shanalee!  We loved it!

Mystery Reader #8: A Volleyball Loving Older Sister

1. I have a cat.

2. I love volleyball.

3. I have 1 sibling.

The class predicted this older sister would be walking in as our Mystery Reader on Tuesday.  They could think of a few possibilities of people who like cats, but this individual fit all of the clues with actually having a cat.  Her sister couldn't have been happier to see her, and have her read a story to us.  She read "If You Give a Dog a Donut" by Laura Numeroff.  Another excellent choice to go along with our circle story writing.  Thanks so much big sister for reading to us!

Mystery Reader #7: A Basketball Playing Aunt!

 1. I am an aunt.

2. I love being outside and especially going for walks or runs.

3. In my spare time I like to play a game of "Pig" in basketball with my nephews and beat them.

This wonderful aunt is also a high school teacher at our school!  Many of the students, along with her nephew, know her and love her!  She was previously a kindergarten teacher in her career, so I knew she would be a fantastic reader for us!  She picked out a book from her favorite series, "Berenstain Bears and the Double Dare." The students loved the voices she read for each character, and the book had a great lesson for us about being kind and honest.  Thanks Ms. Overland for being our Mystery Reader!

 

Mystery Reader #6: A Lanesboro Graduate

 1. I'm a mom of 2 boys.

2. I graduated from Lanesboro High School in 1999.

3. I love coffee and playing golf.

This student was so excited for his mom to be the Mystery Reader!  He told me every few days that he was certain his mom would be the Mystery Reader soon.  We enjoyed listening to "I Really Like Slop!" by Mo Willems.   The class asked many questions about this mom's experience at Lanesboro High School, and it was so fun to hear her answers!  She was very sweet in answering all of their questions about her favorite class in school, what she did in the band, and even about her favorite math problems!  Thanks so much for surprising us today!

Science Unit: Playing with Matter!

 

Our most recent science unit focused on matter.  We learned about the 3 states of matter: solid, liquid, and gas.  We attempted an oobleck experiment to see if it was a solid or a liquid.  This was definitely a messy one, but the properties of oobleck allow it to be a solid and a liquid!

Our last 3 experiments focused on a property of matter: density.  This can be a hard concept to understand because it would seem that heavy things automatically sink and light things float, but we learned that is not the case because of density.  We defined density as the amount of atoms that are packed into a given volume. The more atoms packed in, the more dense.  We experimented with sink and float, rainbow in a jar which was a layering of liquids from most dense to least dense, and using salt to affect the density of the liquids.  We had a lot of fun with these experiments!

Mystery Reader Number 5: A Brother to One, but a Cousin to Many!

 1. I am in 5th grade.

2. I am related to 6 students in 2nd grade.

3. I like to hunt and fish.

This big brother surprised his younger sister by being a Mystery Reader on Friday.  She was pretty certain the clues described him, but wasn't sure about all 6 family members he was related to.  He is a cousin to many 2nd graders!  We were excited to hear the book "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" by Laura Numeroff.  This was a perfect choice because we will be writing our own circle stories soon.  Thanks so much for reading to us!

Mystery Reader Number 4: Animal and Cookie Loving Boy!

1. I like kitties.

2. I like chicks.

3. I like cookies.

I was thrilled when this former student said he wanted to come to 2nd grade and be a Mystery Reader.  I often get to catch up with him on the playground to hear about his newest kittens and chicks.  He sure loves them.  He also loves cookies, so the book he chose was perfect!  He read "The Duckling Gets a Cookie?!" by Mo Willems.  Thank you so much for being a Mystery Reader!  We enjoyed seeing you in 2nd grade today!

Mystery Reader #3: A Big Sister and Former Student

 1. I have 2 siblings.

2. I like to play volleyball.

3. I like to dance.

I was so happy to hear that this former student who is also a big sister to one of our students wanted to come in as a Mystery Reader.  Her brother really knows his sister and guessed her right away!  She read "Love You Forever" by Robert Munsch.  This book pulls on the heartstrings of any mom!  Our Mystery Reader said she chose it because their mom always read it to them.  Later our student said that someday when he's a grown man he can't wait to have coffee with his mom.  So sweet.  Thanks for coming in and being our Mystery Reader big sister!

Mystery Reader #2: A Sweet Mom

 1. I grew up in Lanesboro.

2. I have three children.

3. I have a total of 13 nieces and nephews that either go to Lanesboro Child Care Center or Lanesboro Preschool/Elementary.

The son to this Mystery Reader called that it was his mom immediately!  This student loves farming, and she picked out the perfect book to share with the class: Charlie and the New Baby by Ree Drummond.  The new baby happens to be a calf that takes over Charlie's dog bed.  The class enjoyed asking this student and his mom all about their farm.  Thanks so much for reading to us today Sasha!

Mystery Reader #1: A Tradition Continues

 1. I wear glasses.

2. I've worked on a farm.

3. I have a dog.

Ever since Mason has been in 3rd grade he has been our first Mystery Reader.  I told him he'd have to come up with some good clues to throw off the class because I heard a few of the students predicting that Mason or Ellie would be our first Mystery Reader.  The class was definitely thrown off!  About 5 students guessed it was their grandpa.  They were sure surprised when Mason walked in!  Thanks for keeping up the tradition Mason!