2nd Grade Spelling Units #37-42

Here it is, the final 6 (not 12) spelling units of second grade! Come third grade we will be doing something different, so this could very well be my final spelling post ever!

Unit #37 - Short u Words Part 2 & Long u Words Part 2
bust
crust
dust
gust
just
must
rust
trust
truth
youth

Unit #38 - Short u Words Part 3 & Long u Words Part 3
but
cut
gut
hut
nut
rut
fuse
muse
ruse
use

Unit #39 - Short u Words Part 4
bug
chug
dug
hug
jug
lug
mug
pug
rug
tug

Unit #40 - Short u Words Part 5
bump
clump
dump
hump
jump
lump
pump
rump
stump
trump

Unit #41 - Opposites
cold
bottom
happy
hard
hot
quick
sad
slow
soft
top

Unit #42 - Learning Words & Time Words
finish
listen
start
watch
write
afternoon
evening
morning
today
tomorrow

On the opposite weeks we are going to work on handwriting and introducing cursive to Optimus Prime & Bumblebee, so this quarter it will be more of a spelling/handwriting unit.

Month in Review: April 2015

This month Scooby-Doo took a step back developmentally. I'm not worried about it since that is a normal pattern for him. He takes a step or two ahead, then he takes a step or two back. It's like a security blanket for him. So, for this past month, he refused to do any schoolwork on his own and some days he even refused to do any schoolwork. We did it anyway, even though he didn't want to, to keep with our schedule. Sometimes, with kids with autism, schedules and rituals are very important. So, we did (and, more accurately, some days I did) letters, numbers, dot-to-dots, mazes, shapes, etc as well as some fun magazines. Next quarter I was planning on continuing on with pre-k, however, I've been thinking maybe he's a bit bored with pre-k work. So, starting next quarter he'll begin kindergarten even though it is a year (plus a quarter) early. He also went to his therapy twice a week.

Optimus Prime & Bumblebee were pretty busy. Between Reading, English (largely phonics and making up silly stories), Math (money, addition, and subtraction), Spelling (long e words, verbs, short i words, long i words, location words, and beginning both short u and long u words)), Art (painting), Geography (well, actually, History this time around - we started and finished a new book that covered the presidents), Religion & Mythology (we covered Kuan Yin & her festival, Sif & the full seed moon, Gaia & Earth Day, and Danu & Beltane), Science (with units each on ants, butterflies, bats, and salmon using Magic School Bus books and lapbooks), and Logic (more coloring and activity books).

Lastly, we planted a garden.

I know, that's the short short version, but I'm busy trying to write up a new schedule so it'll have to do...

2nd Grade Reading List Part 4

This last quarter was a HUGE quarter for reading! We have read 34 books! We probably would have read even more but we had company...

Anyway, onto our goals and plans:

• Optimus Prime is NOT going to start reading chapter books. I don't know what happened, but he's seemed to backslide a little. I have no idea why or how, but we are going to keep working on level 2 books to help strengthen his skills. I don't understand what happened, he was doing so good! But, this past month he's been tripping up left and right in his reading. Hopefully another quarter of level 2 books will help him out. If it's just a little glitch and he's back on track soon then we'll see about giving it a go with chapter books. I hope this is just a temporary hiccup and he didn't backslide or something.
• Bumblebee went to the eye doctor's. We finally got an appointment! Turns out he has two problems. One is that he needs glasses. The second is that he might have dyslexia. The eye doctor noticed that he was having a hard time reading the letters in order. He could read them correctly, but he read them out of order. Meanwhile, I have written up a VERY easy schedule for him. He is basically going to focus on level pre-1 for most of the quarter with shifting into level 1 towards the end of it. Hopefully this will help him to build the skills he needs to read. I'm starting to get worried here.

Now, for our reading list. I've decided to up it to 19 books for this quarter:

• Magic Tree House: Seasons of the Sandstorm
• Magic Tree House: Night of the New Magicians
• Magic Tree House: Blizzard of the Blue Moon
• Magic Tree House: Dragon of the Red Dawn
• Magic Tree House: Monday with a Mad Genius
• Clue Jr.: The Case of the Clubhouse Thief
• Magic School Bus: Polar Bear Patrol
• Superman: Bizarro is Born
• Superman: Cosmic Bounty Hunter
• Superman: Deep Space Hijack
• Superman: Little Green Men
• Superman: Super-Villain Show Down
• Superman: The Kid Who Saved Superman
• Superman: Parasite's Power Drain
• Superman: Prankster of Prime Time
• Superman: Live Wire!
• Magic Tree House Fact Tracker: Pandas and Other Endangered Species
• Magic Tree House Fact Tracker: Ancient Rome and Pompeii
• Magic Tree House Fact Tracker: Snakes and Other Reptiles

That's pretty much it for our reading goals.