Month: October 2016

Colour Theory

On Friday we spent some time reviewing Colour Theory, including:

  • Primary Colours – yellow, blue, and red
  • Secondary Colours – green, orange, and purple
  • How secondary colours are made from primary colours

Students then made a tesselation on their paper; initially drawn in pencil and then traced over with black marker.  The criteria for their artwork was to fill in each section by only using the three primary colours in wax crayon.  They were to create their own secondary colours.  Students were allowed to do some sections in primary colours but the goal was to create mostly secondary colours.  Adjoining sections needed to be different colours.

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These art pieces are placed on the bulletin board at the back of our classroom.  There are some not finished; they will be added to the board when they are completed.  I think the lesson reinforced the colour theory for the students.

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We Are Thankful For …

Last Friday we spent the day doing things all about being thankful.  We read about the history of Thanksgiving in Canada.  Students learned that the first Thanksgiving in North America was in Canada in 1578 (in Newfoundland) with Martin Frobisher and other immigrants from England.  They were celebrating being thankful for surviving the long journey and the bounty of foods grown in the ‘New World’.  After being celebrated on many different dates over the years, the Parliament of Canada declared (in 1957) that the second Monday of October would be the recognized day of thanks in Canada.

We discussed traditions and modern celebrations.  Students enjoyed a sample, or two, of pumpkin pie!

After a class brainstorming of things that we are thankful for, students were paired and set to work writing their own things to be thankful for.  These are posted on the bulletin board in the hallway.

These ‘thankful’ posters are intermingled with the tissue papered turkeys that the students worked on during Art on Friday afternoon.

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The Lorax

We have wrapped up our Seuss unit with reading and having a class discussion on The Lorax.  Some students were aware of the story from the movie version.  After our discussion the students brainstormed things that the Lorax would say to the Once-ler if he were given the chance.

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Students then chose one of these sentences – or created their own – and wrote it on a Truffula tree.  These were then decorated, cut out, and are posted on the bulletin board above their ‘What’s Happening in Whoville’ designs.

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All in all, I think that the students have enjoyed our time with Dr. Seuss.  There are a few more books that I will read (tomorrow or early next week) as a final goodbye.

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If I Ran the Zoo – Seuss

We enjoyed the book, “If I Ran the Zoo”, which is about a young boy who finds the typical animals in the zoo just a little too boring for him.  He uses his imagination and creates a variety of very Seuss-like animals for his zoo – if he was to have one of his own.

Students made flip books which had 6 typical animal pages and 2 pages where they could create their own outlandish animals.  Some students were very innovative with the animals they produced.

These books are pinned to the small bulletin board outside of our hallway door.  Check them out if you get by the school!

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Schedule Update

We have our finalized weekly schedule and there are a few updates for you:

P.E. – Mondays and Fridays.  Please ensure that your child is wearing running shoes these days.  Also, it would be preferable if the girls were not in dresses or skirts for our gym times.

Computer Lab – Thursdays – 11:15 – 12:00.  30 minutes will be dedicated to DreamBox (Math) once we get it set up and then 15 minutes for other activities.

Library – Tuesdays 1:30 – 2:00.  Please help your child remember to bring their books back each week so that they can check out two new ones.

Reading Groups – Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 9:15 – 10:00 a.m.   These groups are starting next week.  Students in our class are divided into leveled groups.  I will be sending a letter home on Friday with your child’s Reading Group teacher’s name.

Music – Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Daily Read Aloud – We have been enjoying Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Ask your child to tell you about what happens each day.  It will help the development of their listening skills and abilities to re-tell events.

Additional reminders:

  • please ensure that your child has indoor shoes so they don’t have wet boots/shoes on our carpet (sitting) area
  • please ensure that your child brings his/her planner to school each day as we write a daily message

We have had a great start to the school year!  I am looking forward to continuing our journey together.

Horton Hears a Who

We will be wrapping up our Seuss unit this week as Reading Groups will begin next week.

Today we read Horton Hears a Who.  We discussed the main idea which is that everyone deserves to be happy and live a safe and happy life.  “A Person’s a Person, No Matter How Small”.  After we discussed the story students filled in cards answering specific questions about things they like or would like.

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Autumn Time

After a very sunny, and warm-ish September, we are definitely now into the Fall weather.  We have a few Autumn visitors, and decorations, in the classroom now.

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Please join me in reminding your children that jackets are a good idea for outdoor times at Recess and Lunchtime.

We will be doing activities to do with the changing season in our classroom, along with our look at Thanksgiving and our upcoming trip to the Pumpkin Patch (please see the notice that went home today).  We will also be enjoying the vibrant colours in the changing of the leaves and be discussing the harvest.

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