Month: December 2019

This morning we went to 8 Rinks for our Winter Holiday skate. It was a busy, tiring and magical morning. The kiddos skated to nearly the point of exhaustion. There were so many remarks at lunch time that they were exhausted, hungry, sweaty, boiling hot and having legs that were so tired they couldn’t walk. But following these remarks came the question “WHEN ARE WE GOING BACK?! SKATING IS AMAZING!” All in all this morning was a 10/10 and many of us can not wait to do it again!

I am so proud of the many risk takers in Division 7 who either tried skating today for the very first time, for those who went outside their comfort zone and tried something that they felt they were emerging at, and those who fell and got up and tried again, and again. My heart was overcome with happiness and gratitude when I watched so many compassionate and loving kiddos extend a helpful hand for those that fell, or those that were nervous.

Wishing the children of Division 7 and their families a beautiful, restful, relaxing and magical Winter Break.

See you all next year in 2020!!

~ Mrs. Ralph

This morning our young authors listened to the storybook called My Garden by Kevin Henkes. Students focused on the power of visualization, painting a picture in their mind with the author’s words. I would periodically and strategically stop the story and allow students time to record their visualizations. https://watch.vooks.com/videos/my-garden

Ask your young author about the importance of visualizing as we read or listen to a story. How and why does visualizing support our understanding of the text?

We worked on creating 4 beautiful illustrations to match the author’s words in the text. See if your author can recall the illustrations that they created.

Lastly, because this book offered such beautiful opportunities for us to visualize, many students began generating I wonder statements, seeking to learn more information about the text. We then discussed the importance of questioning and the difference between Quick Questions (are questions that if we keep reading we will learn the answer) + Deep Thinking Questions (these questions will quite often not be answered as we continue reading the text. These questions can also provoke more thought that leads to even more questions. They can start with ‘I wonder…’). There are approximately 27 question words, as a class we currently have come up with 13. With your thinking cap on can you think of more question words?

The next time you are reading a book together, encourage your child to ask a quick question as well as a deep thinking question to extending their thinking.

Our hallways were buzzing with excitement (and sugar) this morning as we walked down to the gym for our annual pancake breakfast with our big buddies!

We all have full bellies and even fuller hearts! It was a great start to our Thursday morning! A great big thank you to the fire fighters that volunteered their time to make us breakfast and to our lovely parents that organized and hosted a fantastic breakfast. We are full of gratitude towards all of you.

Over the last ten days Division 7 as had the lovely opportunity to have ten days of holiday fun!

Ask your holiday elf what activities they have been participating in the past 7 days in our classroom. Some activities include, cozy story time by the fireplace, candy cane experience, homemade ginger snap cookie, holiday craft and … COOKIE DECORATING!

What is a holiday activity that you enjoy to do with your friends or family?

What are you most looking forward to over the winter break?

Today we had the wonderful opportunity to have a guest speaker, Amanda Coutts, come to Parkcrest and introduce us to Coding. Many scientists in Division 7 were already familiar with coding, but she introduced us to body movement coding which was a great activity for us to wake up our minds and bodies after lunch time.

Inquire with your scientists what they liked most about these coding activities this afternoon.

Can you create a code for your family members to follow (i.e., if I clap my hands that means stand up – if I wave my hands that means you sit down)? Once you establish your coding message, can you communicate to someone without talking? Was it hard or easy to communicate in code?