Theme

Monthly Walk – Jan. 9, 2026

We went on our monthly walk today and saw signs of spring. When we got back, we wrote in our monthly walk journal as we do each month.

Be a Bridge

This week, we talked about what a bridge is and the purpose of a bridge. We brainstormed what it is and then read the book called Be a Bridge by Irene Latham and Charles Walters. We talked about how kind actions can be a bridge in connecting people.

Winter Solstice

Dec. 21 will be the first day of winter and is known as the winter solstice, which is the shortest day of the year (and the longest night). We compared the number of daylight hours and darkness from the autumn equinox and the winter solstice. 

Monthly Walk – Dec. 5, 2025

We saw hints of the upcoming season. We also saw the construction of our new gym.

Decorating Cookies – Dec. 2, 2025

Term 2 Goals

Big Buddies – Nov. 28, 2025

We met with our big buddies today and after reading If You Find a Leaf by Aimee Sicuro, we created our own picture using the leaf as part of the picture. Her are our creations.

Perspective

After reading the book, Silver Linings by Fiona Woodcock, we talked about how the characters had opposing perspectives. We went on to say that viewing a cup that has half of the content can seen as half full or half empty. Having a half empty mindset is negative and having a half full mindset is positive. Looking for a silver lining implies looking for the positive in situations, especially negative ones.

Nutrition

We began our nutrition unit by observing an apple and what happens to it when heat is applied to it.

During the week of Dec. 1, we talked about the first food group, the fruits and vegetables group. We need to eat the most servings from this food group everyday as the foods from this group helps to keep our hearts healthy.

We have been learning about nutrition the last number of weeks. We learned that there are four food groups (fruits and vegetables; grain products; milk and alternatives; mean and alternatives). Combined foods are foods that have more than one food group such as pizza, sandwiches, or hamburgers. Foods to limit are foods that should be eaten in limited quantities due to the sugar or salt content such as cookies, soda, and chips.

Coke-a-cola Experiment

As noted above, foods to limit are that should be eaten in limited quantities due to the sugar or salt content. We did an experiment where we put eggshells in Coca-cola. We started the experiment on Tues., Jan. 6 and ended it on Fri., Jan. 9.

Community Diorama

After working on our community unit, we finally put our community together on Nov. 19.

We planted our community garden (grass) by the Kindergarten Modular.

Art with Ms. Willis

Ms. Willis taught the students about painting pictures that demonstrate perspective.

Grand Buddies – Nov. 13, 2025

We went to see our Grand Buddies today. We made doves with them as November is the month of Remembrance and doves are a symbol of peace. It was a very wet day, but we some interesting things such as murky water in the ditch by our school and fog, which is low clouds.

Core Competencies

During the week of Nov. 10, we began talking about the core competencies. We will continue to talk about these throughout the year, but we pointed them out to highlight how important they are not only in our class, but in our day to day lives no matter how old we get. For instance, since we began school in September, we have talked about how communication is not only by the words we speak but what signals our body is sending. I have said many times that “our actions speak louder than words” and our words and actions must match.

Thank You Cards

During our community unit, we talked about and brainstormed the many different occupations people have. Then we wrote thank you cards to them.

Doves – Nov. 7, 2025

In preparation for our Grand Buddies visit next week, we made doves. As we approach Remembrance Day, we learned that doves are a symbol of peace.

Monthly Walk – Nov. 7, 2025

During our monthly walk today, we looked for signs of fall/autumn and we saw many wonderful things.

Remembrance Day Poppy and Wreath – Nov. 3, 2025

In preparation for our Remembrance Day assembly, we made poppies after reading the story, A Poppy is to Remember by Heather Patterson.

Indigenous Education – Nov. 3, 2025

On Nov., 3, Ms. Ditta, Brentwood Park’s Indigenous teacher, came to our class. She told us about herself and showed us her drum, which she got when she was 14 years old. Her mother made the drum and her sister painted it. We also sat in a circle and used a talking stick.

Making Monsters – Oct. 31, 2025

We made monsters using snacks after we thought and planned out our monsters.

Grand Buddies

On Halloween, we got an opportunity to go trick-or-treating at Rideau Residence. Our Grand Buddies were excited to see us and they gave us lots of treats. We even sang a song for them.

Community Garden and Planting Grass Seeds

The grass started growing. This is their progress during the week of Nov. 3.

Saying Sorry

Saying sorry is an important part of fixing our mistake, which often happens because we didn’t stop to take breaths so we can think before proceeding with our actions or words. This means that if we make good choices by stopping to take deep breaths and think prior to proceeding with our actions or words, we would not have to say sorry since the mistake would not have been made. However, if we do have to fix our mistake, then we need to say sorry. However, we need to remember that saying sorry requires four steps. If we continue to make the same mistake, it means that we have not followed the four steps.

Brain Science

We have been talking about making good choices since September. We have also talked about how stopping, taking deep breaths, and thinking helps us to make good choices and that we are in control of the choices we make. During the week of Oct. 20, we revisited specifically about what it means to make good choices. After reading the book, It’s My Brain by Elise Gravel, we learned that our brains do amazing things. However, the most important thing about making good choices is to make the right choices and to remember how our choices affect other people. When we make a choice that was good, we can change how we do things the next time. 

We also talked about how our prefrontal cortex helps us to make good choices, provided that we are calm. This goes back to stopping and taking deep breaths so that we can focus on what we are about to do. We also talked about how the amygdala keeps us safe and the hippocampus helps us remember things. 

We also talked about the importance of listening to our bodies by taking note of how we are feeling and asking ourselves questions like, “Am I tired or hungry?” “Am I hot or cold?” To help us understand this, we read the story, Listening to My Body by Gabi Garcia.

The Importance of Integrity and The Invisible Trust Floor

We talked about how integrity is doing the right thing even when others are not watching. This is something that we value and guide us in deciding whether we want to spend time with people or not. This goes hand in hand with trust. We are all on an invisible trust floor where we generally have trust for others. However, if we do something to break that trust, we fall down the trust floor. By apologizing and doing what we say we will do, we usually land back to the baseline. If we continue to break that trust, we fall deeper and deeper into the pit. It is use to ourselves to ensure that we are making good choices so we stay level on the trust floor with others. 

How to Fill a Bucket – Oct. 14, 2025

After reading the book, Have You Filled a Bucket Today by Carol McCloud, we talked about how we could fill a bucket.

How to Hold the Pencil Properly

It is important that holding a pencil properly helps our hand from becoming tired. We began by making a telescope with our writing hand and then lifted up our index finger (pointer finger) to grip the pencil.

Grand Buddies – Oct. 9, 2025

Today, we had our first Grand Buddies visit. We introduced ourselves and chatted about ourselves. We also coloured fall leaves. We also noticed all the fall colours on our walk to and from seeing our Grand Buddies.

Growth Mindset 

It is important to have a growth mindset if we want to continue to develop and grow. Starting something new is scary because we don’t want to fail. However, we cannot expect to be good at something when we first begin. We are on the staircase of learning (the never-ending staircase) for everything we do. If we do not try new things, we will remain stagnant and never grow. Further, if we have a growth mindset, it is like we are standing on the staircase of learning that continues onwards. Each stair is a bit higher indicating that it takes effort and work to get to the next level. If we need to go back, we can go back a stair or two. We have many staircases for all the different things we do where we are at a different level depending on our skills and abilities. It is important to avoid using words like “easy” as it implies that there is no room for growth. Additionally, it is important to remember that something being easy is the perspective of that person, but to someone else it may not be easy making that other person feel bad. 

Tennis Lessons

Autumn Leaves – Sept. 22, 2025

Community – Oct. 3, 2025

We began our unit on community. After reading The Invisible Web by Patrice Karst, the students made representations of themselves.

Monthly Walk – Oct. 3, 2025

We went on our first monthly walk today. This activity encourages students to strengthen their observation skills to appreciate the beauty in nature that surrounds us. By becoming more observant, we will not take for granted the beautiful scenery that many people around the world may not have.

What’s My Superpower

After reading the book, What’s My Superpower by Aviaq Johnson, we talked about what each of our superpower is. 

Autumn Equinox

This year, autumn began on September 22 at 11:19 am. The first day of autumn is known as the Autumn Equinox, because the number of daylight hours is almost equal to the number of hours of darkness (sunrise 6:55 a.m., sunset 7:15 p.m.).

  

Orange Shirt Day/Truth and Reconciliation Day

After reading the story, Shi Shi Etko by Nicola Campbell, we brainstormed ideas of what we would miss if we had to go somewhere else to attend school. 

What We Aspire to Be

With respect to the heading “Mutual Respect” on the “Tribes Agreements,” we brainstormed words about what kind of person we aspire to be.

Building Patience

We talked about the number of other people we live with at home in comparison to the number of people we share a classroom with. At home, we live with fewer people and getting someone’s attention may be quicker. However, at school, there are many more people and therefore building patience is important.

Goal Setting 

A way to begin continue our growth is though goal setting and having a growth mindset. When we have a closed mindset, there is only one direction we can go. However, if we have a growth mindset, it is like we are standing on the staircase of learning that continues onwards. Each stair is a bit higher indicating that it takes effort and work to get to the next level. If we need to go back, we can go back a stair or two. We have many staircases for all the different things we do where we are at a different level depending on our skills and abilities. 

Making Good Choices 

An important part of making good choices is to remember that what we do is a choice. After reading the book, I Call My Hand Gentle by Amanda Haan, we brainstormed different things we can do with our hand. This is what we chose to do with our hand. 

We also did an activity where we crumpled a red heart thinking about the mean things that have happened to us including behaviours and words that have been said to us. We also talked about how saying unkind words and doing unkind things creates creases in a heart and saying, “I’m sorry” does not remove the creases. Therefore, stopping and taking deep breaths allows us to think and make better choices.