The students were so excited today! We saw cracks on the eggs this morning, and by this afternoon, one little guy had pecked his way out! More to follow…
Hatched!
Hatching soon
We have been reading lots of stories about chickens and other oviparous animals. We have been visiting Ms. Gourlay’s classroom every few days to observe the eggs in the incubator. Sometimes Ms. Gourlay reads a story to both of our classes. Today, she read a funny one titled, “Chicks and Salsa” – the chickens get tired of the same old chicken feed and decide to try some new foods! Soon, all the animals decide to plan for a fiesta with chips and salsa! After the story, we ALL got to try some chips and salsa! Some kids were trying chips and salsa for the very first time.
“It was the best!” H.S.
“It was salty, but I still like it.” A.L.
“It was a little bit spicy, but I liked it!” K.S.
“I loved it!” E.Y.
“It was a tiny bit good…” A.O.
Here is a link to the story on video –> Chicks and Salsa video
We look through a special scope that allows us to see inside the egg! Then we draw and write about our observations in our booklets. The eggs are due to hatch any day now…
What’s Hatching?
Division 7 and 8 are studying a new theme this month. We are little scientists and we are learning about oviparous animals. Last week, three eggs arrived at our school. We will get to see how these eggs hatch! The eggs are slightly larger than the ones we usually eat at home. They will take approximately three weeks to hatch. The eggs are safely stored in an incubator in Ms. Gourlay’s classroom. We will visit them every 2-3 days to make an observation about the eggs and write down some notes in our observation booklets, as scientists do.
Ms. Gourlay and I are keeping it a secret. What animal do you think is inside? “Hopefully not a dinosaur,” said a kindergarten student.
Spring flowers!
We painted the backgrounds and experimented with changing paint colours. We added white or black to make a colour lighter or darker, and mixed some colours together to make new colours. Then we made flowers and added them to our paintings.
Let’s hope these flowers bring on some warmer weather ahead! These are now on our bulletin board in the hallway.
Gung xi fa cai!
For those who celebrate this festival, I wish you a happy, healthy and prosperous lunar new year! Gung xi fa cai! The kids enjoyed a variety of activities, including making lanterns and writing the Chinese numeral characters.
Buddy Reading
Happy New Year! I hope you all had a restful winter break. There is something about January. The kids seem to bounce right back into the school routine with renewed energy for the new year.
Every so often, we have older buddies come into our class to read with our kids. Today during our kindergarten literacy time, we had grade 2 and 3 buddies come to read with us.
Reading is a necessity in any classroom, and getting some extra time to share a story with someone is a gift. We have all heard about reading being the secret to success. Students gain access to rich vocabulary and even simple stories contain complex aspects of relationships and events. While being read to, students are able to just relax and concentrate on what the story is about. They gain by listening to critical language and enunciation skills. There is no pressure to sound out words or memorize any information. For the older kids, the more they read to their little buddies, the more confidence they gain in their own reading skills. The benefits are just too many to list. Plus, it’s fun and the kids love having buddies!
Most of these buddies were in my class for kindergarten and/or grade 1. It’s always so nice when they come back to visit their old classroom!
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A Community Christmas
Our Christmas event was a hit! There was singing in the gym, hot chocolate and apple cider, and gingerbread men decorating contests in our classrooms. Families got to take photos with two elves. Many of my students brought their younger siblings, so there were quite a few toddlers joining in the fun too.
A big thanks to our music teacher, Ms. V. for doing so much organizing, and to our wonderful parent volunteers! Volunteers baked over 250 gingerbread men! What a fun night!
