February

Division 12 had a busy month learning, playing and exploring! Here’s a little glimpse of what we did in February…

Reading in the Dark

 

Over and under the Snow- In Story Workshop, we created our own Over and Under the Snow stories.  Please ask your child to tell you their story.

 

We went on a nature walk to look for homes animals could hibernate in during the winter.

 

We made birdfeeders for animals that adapt to the weather in the winter.

 

We went to our forest to look for animal tracks.

 

Valentine’s Day Fun!

 

“I Am From”- we each wrote a poem about things, places and words that are important to us. Some of us shared our poem to the Parkcrest community at our Celebration of Learning assembly.

Vancouver Aquarium Field Trip

We had an exciting field trip to the Vancouver Aquarium! The weather was sunny and the air was cool and crisp. We saw many amazing sea animals, including sea otters, a 9 metre long Green Anaconda snake, stingrays, sharks, glowing jellyfish, and even Scuba Claus in the water!

Vancouver Aquarium

After the trip, we took a few days to discuss and reflect on our experiences. Students had opportunities to share some of their favorite memories. We drew pictures and wrote in our journals, and created a web of favorite moments. The web became our brainstorm for the upcoming school-wide write.

Here are a few favourite memories that came up during discussions:

“the sea otters playing with us and floating around”
“watching the seals eating”
“the little baby sharks”
“the jellyfish was glowing”
“some stingrays”
“I touch the starfish”
“a monkey in the rainforest”
“tiny poisonous frogs”
“a giant enormous snake”
“the hot chocolate smell from the Polar Express” (this was part of the 4D experience theatre!)
“the ride on the bus”
“Scuba Clause was in the water!”

When asked if the children would visit the aquarium again, they all said, “Yes!”

 

It was wonderful to see the children connect with marine life, and continue to develop a growing appreciation for animals and our environment. Please continue to ask your children questions about what they have discovered.

Finally, a huge shoutout to parents who joined us and helped to supervise the children – thank you!

Apples!

Our class has been learning about apples this term! Here are some highlights from our apple exploration.

 

We used our sense of smell, sight, touch and hearing to explore the apple trees in our park.

“The bug is eating the apple!”

“Ew! The apple smells bad!”

“This one is rotten.”

“The tree is bumpy.”

“I hear something inside!”

“I hear nothing.”

 

We used our sense of taste to find out which apple is our favourite – red, yellow or green.

“The red one is crunchy and hard.”

“The Green one is very sour!”

“The yellow is really good!”

We found out most people like the red apple! It’s a tie for the green apple and the yellow apple.

 

We did an experiment to see if the apple will sink or float.  The predictions were 10 for it will sink and 5 for it will float! We were pretty excited to see it float!

 

 

Making colour patterns with apples

 

 

Making art with yarn

Welcome to Division 12!

We had a wonderful start to the school year!  September was full of school events. In our classroom, we read stories and played games. We are learning how to write our names “the kindergarten way,” starting with an upper case letter followed by lower case letters.  We are learning routines and school procedures, and most importantly, we are having fun!

Light and Sound

Division 11 have been learning about light and sound. We learned what makes light and how sounds are made.  The kids all demonstrated a sense of wonder as we explored with different materials and activities!

What happens when light shines on things?

We learned that transparent objects allow all or most light to pass through them; translucent objects allow some light to pass through them; opaque objects do not allow light to pass through them; and some objects reflect light

 

What makes a shadow?

We learned shadows are made by blocking light.  A shadow is created when an opaque object is placed in front of a light source and stops the light from passing through.

 

How does light make a rainbow?

Rainbows are made when sunlight shines through the water. As a result, light reflects off the water droplets, bends and splits. When sunlight shines through the water droplets, it splits into seven colours.

 

How are sounds made?

Sound is made up of vibrations, or sound waves, that we can hear. These sound waves are formed by objects vibrating or shaking back and forth.

What Animals Do in the Winter?

 

Our class learned animals make behavioural and physical changes to survive in the winter.  Some animals sleep through the winter by finding a cozy place to hibernate; some animals migrate to warm places; and some animals adapt to the climate by growing thicker fur and changing colours.

 

 

We created a class diorama.

 

 

 

Animal Research Project

 Each table group chose their animal (bears, snakes, monarch butterflies, arctic wolves, and beavers) and we looked at books to help us find information about our animal.  We then shared the information to the class.  Please ask your child to share some information about their animal with you.

 

 

 

Arctic Animals Art

 

 

 

We went on a nature walk to look for holes animals could live in.  Here are some of our predictions:

“A hole! I think a spider lives here.  I see spider webs. “

“I think an owl lives in that hole.”

“A squirrel’s home.”

“A bird is in the hole.”

“Maybe this hole goes to that hole. Animals can go out there.”

“A worm! I see a worm!”

The Ocean Wise Sea Dome Experience

On Wednesday, we had some wonderful visitors from Ocean Wise*. The guides brought a Sea Dome, an inflatable six-metre dome that projects a 360-degree cinematic video! We watched a short video on climate change and looked at animals in the ocean. We were able to view tropical reefs, sea ice in the Arctic, and many amazing animals up-close! We saw an octopus, a sea turtle, a whale, a shark, jellyfish and more.

After the sea dome experience, students were guided through two other stations, looking at artifacts and images. Our guide showed us turtles and coral reefs from around the world. Then, we looked at a huge Arctic floor map. Our guide talked about the loss of sea ice and its impact on the animals (e.g. Polar bears, seals) that lived there. We even saw and touched a 9 foot narwhal tooth!

Ocean Wise is a non-profit organization which aims to protect and restore our world’s oceans. Thanks to Ms. Sue for organizing this.

Ask your child, what was their favorite part of the presentation?