Division 16

Recently, we have been sharing what makes our families unique and special and recognizing underlying qualities that make our families similar to others despite  culture,  size or living situation. We hope you enjoy the family books we have been working on.

Here are some of our ideas about what all families are like:

HS: Family is you will be with your Mommy and Daddy. When I’m sad, my Mommy hugs me.
LB: Family is holding hands with Mommy.
DF: Family can be like your extended family, like my Aunty Leah, Uncle Will, Grandpa Frank.
JT: Family will take you to the mall and my Mom feels happy when it’s tidy, super duper tidy in the toy room.
KR: My mommy and my daddy are so nice.
MC: Your family is supposed to be together with you and some people have different skin in their family. it makes me happy when my family hug me.
RB: My Mom helps me.
AS: I help my Mom.
DT: My grandma, Mom and Dad.
KR: My daddy is a good listener.
LD: When I hurt, Daddy, Mommy help me.

What is your favourite family memory?

This term, we have been looking at 2D and 3D shapes. We have found them all over our classroom and in our neighbourhood, shapes are everywhere!

Students noted:

DF: Shapes can be made up of all sorts of different shapes and sizes. 2D shapes are flat like paper and 3D shapes are like the container holding all our art supplies.
JT: Some shapes have four sides and some have no corners, like a circle!

Today, we explored shapes and food, students said:

HS: I eat cylinders, a whole apple is like a cylinder.
AK: I didn’t know I eat shapes all the time.
MC: I eat cylinders at home, I eat taquitos.

What shapes are on your plate today?

 

 

 

 

This term, we have focused on recognizing, extending and creating patterns with a variety of materials in the classroom and outside in the school yard.

Students noted that:

LG: Patterns, they’re very colourful.

AK: Sometimes patterns go in forever or for just three times.

YC: Pattern is like colour to do the same time again, like yellow, purple, yellow, purple. I have a game you try to make a pattern with the ball, sometimes it go: yellow, yellow, purple.

JT: I can pattern size by size and shape by shape. Triangle, circle, square, triangle, circle, square. It’s like blue, red, blue, red, blue, red. It repeats, you can make it 3 times in a row or, if you want, you can make it longer. You can go again and again and again.

AY: Yellow, red, red, that’s ABB pattern.

ZY: Circle, triangle, triangle, circle, triangle triangle, that’s ABB.

LB: Circke, triangle, circle, triangle, it’s AB pattern.

DF: It’s something that repeats itself or it could go on forever and ever! Like the seasons!

What patterns do you see in the world?

This week, we read The OK Book and discussed tasks and activities we are capable of and others that we find challenging.

Students recognized that they are OK at:

In our classroom, we are developing a growth mindset. When we foster growth mindset, we believe that we can improve our skills with work, practice and perseverance. We recognize that it is okay to not know how to do something, yet. When tasks are new or difficult, we encourage children to take a break or ask for support before trying again.  It is important to model that everyone, adults and children, have the potential and necessity to learn new things and how we can view these situations as opportunities for growth.

Students noted that:

JT: It’s too difficult, you can try again and you try your best and use your brain to try again.

RB: It’s hard to do it because you never try practice it.

LB: You have to practice, I practice pumpkins at home. Nobody get mad when I try.

MC: If we’re frustrated, we can take a breath.

AC: You can ask one of the friend to help.

AK: If we don’t know how to do it, ask the teacher or ask your friends.

DF: I know a song that can help, “Try everything!”

SK: Nobody knows how to do everything!

What are you OK at? What strategies do you use when you don’t know how to do something yet?

In science, we have been learning about the tools on our body that allow our 5 senses. Last week, we explored our sense of touch with a pumpkin.

We used our skin to feel and students noted that the pumpkin felt:

We planted some seeds inside our pumpkin and placed it in the school garden. Come take a look! Do you think we can grow a pumpkin inside a pumpkin? 

Recently we have been working on the math concept of sorting, making groups of things that are alike. We have engaged with a variety of materials and the class has been encouraged to recognize the features (size, shape, colour, texture, opacity, etc) of objects before creating their own sorting rules.

Students noted that:

HS: I sort the spoon and fork and chopsticks.

MC: You match the same things.

LG: In Minecraft, there’s a sorting machine and it sorts things for me.

DT: Sorting, clean up.

DF: I need to sort my room, it’s a big mess.

What can you sort at home?