Hello Families of Div. 18 !

This weekend I took many walks and am thankful I got the chance to enjoy nature and get outside in a safe way. Did you know that this Wednesday April 22nd is the 50th Anniversary of International Earth Day? It is a day to remind people all across the whole Earth that we are all connected and that we all share a responsibility to the Earth that we live on. Earth Day is important because it is a chance for us to celebrate the wonderful things that live on Earth with us, as well as for us to show how we can take care of the natural world around us. A few of the activities this week will focus on Earth Day, as well as the beautiful outdoors. As always, please do what works for your family – these activities are guidelines and suggestions.

Week of April 20th:

Core Activities

• Read 20 minutes daily – just as we would have every day in our classroom for Daily 5
• Read the assigned book in your Epic profile, and please try to answer the ‘Quiz’ questions about that book on the Epic website. This will help me check everyone’s understanding of the stories they read – just like we do during Daily 5 in school when you ‘Read with Teacher.’
• Check out this book about Earth Day by Todd Parr (we have read several of his books in our class before) : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpEc5nHqO2c 
• In your journal, can you tell me about some ways that you can help the Earth? Here is my example :

Please remember to use capital letters at the beginning, periods at the ends of your sentences. Please include the date and a picture if you can. As well, just as we do in our classroom – I encourage you to try to finish as much of your writing independently as you can. If you get stuck on spelling a word remember to give it your best shot by finding letter sounds, underline it and then keep on going. 

• Do the assigned activity on your Zorbit account.
• Next time you go for a walk or bike ride outside, collect some natural items (such as leaves, stones, pinecones or shells) and try to make a pattern. Start with an AB pattern and if you feel like challenging yourself, do a harder one like an extending pattern. Please remember to leave all natural items outside when you are done with them, as their home is outside. 

Here is a picture of one that I did on a beach this weekend – The top pattern is repeating can you guess what it is? The bottom pattern is tricky, it is extending or growing each time it repeats. Can you guess what it is?

 

Supplementary Activities: 

• We will do another class Zoom meeting on Wednesday April 22nd at 10:00am – join if you can. The link will be posted on FreshGrade to remain private to only Div. 18
• Do some Cosmic Kids Yoga or GoNoodle on Youtube for a Movement Break 🙂 Here are some quick links: https://www.cosmickids.com/category/watch/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hl5dRW4E9hc  
• Authour Mo Willems who writes the ‘Elephant and Piggy’ books has done some drawing lessons on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmzjCPQv3y8 If you feel like doing some art, try doing a guided drawing lesson!
• Try this Sensory Mapping activity within Nature : 

The next time you go for a walk, try to be the best nature detective that you can. Using your senses, make a list of things that you can hear, see, smell, and touch. You can write down your ideas, draw them, or even take a picture.

You might see some signs of spring like cherry blossoms blooming, or hear some animals like birds singing. What other signs of living things might you see? 

If you want to challenge yourself, try standing really still for 30 seconds, maybe even with your eyes closed if it is safe to do so. Do you hear or smell even more signs of living things when you do this? 

 

Please post one or more of the activities you have completed to FreshGrade if you can. If you need anything at all – feel free to contact me as I am always available during regular school hours. I hope to see you at our class zoom soon 🙂

 

Thanks,
Ms. Vlasic