Pancake Breakfast, Santa, and Bingo

On December 18th we had a fun-filled day. We began by joining Division 1 in the gym for a very yummy second breakfast of pancakes made by the parent group. Santa, and his elf helper, showed up and gave out goodie bags to all students. A huge “THANK YOU” to the PAC for all their hard work and generosity!

Between Recess and Lunchtime we participated in the school-wide Bingo. We had previously made our own personalized Bingo cards. We were joined by three Grade 7 students who came down to help out. Thank you to Jenae, Hasib, and Tina!!! In between Bingo games the winning names of the raffle baskets were drawn. We were lucky to have winners for both baskets and Bingo.

During the afternoon our class got together with the K class for some joint Centre time. The Grade 1’s had fun re-visiting their old classroom and getting to know the K students for the first part of the afternoon. The K’s then came to our classroom where our students introduced the K’s to our Centre activities. The Grade 1’s seem to really enjoy being the ‘big buddies’ for the afternoon.

At the end of the day I read, “The Night Before Christmas” to my class and then we were surprised by a delivery of some very COLD LETTERS from the North Pole. Santa answered the letters that the students had written to him.

I hope you all had a very nice break. We are rested and ready to take on the second term!!!

Gingerbread Houses

I find that every year the students really enjoy creating their own ‘houses’. The classroom becomes a candy shop with the large variety of sweets that are brought in.

Here are the finished results:

Clay Snowpeople

We spent several days in December working on the students’ presents to their families. For many of the students this was their first experience working with clay.

Students began by building the clay into three rings around a wooden doweling form. They learned how to join the clay sections and make it smooth with small bits of water. They pulled out ‘carrot’ noses and then created hats for their people. Holes were put into the sides of the snow people and the students’ initials were carved onto the bottom of the forms.

These clay forms needed to spend a week drying in the class before they were put into the school’s kiln where they underwent their first ‘firing’. When they came out of the kiln the students glazed them, and their hats, and then they went back into the kiln for their second (and last) firing.

Students collected twigs from the playground which were used for the snow-people’s arms. Students made felt scarves by gluing small bits of felt onto a longer piece. They chose three pom poms for the buttons and used a black Sharpie pen to draw on the mouths. When the pieces were all put together the snow people all looked very festive indeed!

I hope you all enjoy having these as part of your holiday celebrations for years to come!

Christmas Tree Ornaments

I hope that you enjoyed the personalized ornaments that the students made to decorate our class tree for the Christmas Concert. As a bonus they got to take them home for their own trees! As the ornaments are laminated they should last for many years.

Gingerbread House building

Notices went home last week about our Gingerbread House building which is scheduled for Thursday, December 17th in the afternoon. Please send in the items on the list by Tuesday, December 15th so that I can ensure that everything is ready for the 17th. Here is a photo of the size of milk container that is needed as the base of their houses:

The children also need a hard cardboard base, covered with tin foil. I have purchased the Graham wafers and mini cones, and will make the green icing for the ‘cone trees’.

This is a very fun activity that the students all love to do. Please ensure that your child has a fun day by sending in the needed items.

Thank you for your continuing support.

Christmas is coming …

We have been busily getting ready for the Christmas concert. In between our regular academic subjects we have been using our ‘theme’ time to enjoy our fairy tale unit, and also to have some fun with Christmas crafts. I won’t tell you the main one – as it is the children’s Christmas present to their families – but we have also spent some time making our class Christmas tree with some very special unique ornaments which, I hope, will become longtime family keepsakes. You will see them at the Christmas concert. We have also made some other fun ornaments for your Christmas trees.

Student also had fun last week making paper chains for decorating the gym for the concert.

We look forward to seeing you all at the concert on Wednesday, December 16th. The children have been working very hard. I am sure the show will be very nice.

Remembrance Day

While you enjoy your day off tomorrow please take time to remember all that we have because of those people who sacrificed so much for us in the past, and those who still do today.

Poppies, poppies, everywhere …

We have spent the past week getting ready for Remembrance Day. This has involved stories, poems, and discussions about war, peace, and the reasons that we recognize this important day each year. Student learned about John McCrae, a Canadian army physician, who wrote the famous poem “In Flanders Fields”. They made their own poppies out of heart shaped construction paper which they arranged around a copy of the poem. These are displayed on bulletin boards in the corridor outside of our classroom.

We also had a directed drawing lesson on the shape of a poppy. Students then re-created these poppies onto large cartridge paper which they then outlined with black china marker. These were then coloured with red painted petals and green centres. After these had dried the students went over the black lines with the china markers again, cut out the poppies, and mounted these onto green construction paper. These are also displayed on the large bulletin board board in the corridor.

The poppies that we made for our wreath are displayed (intact as a wreath) in the centre of this bulletin board.

Each poppy demonstrates the students’ individual interpretation and creativity. They all look great!

Pumpkin Carving With Our Buddies

On Thursday, October 29th we met our Division 2 buddies in the gym and had fun carving our pumpkins. Some of us got more into it than others.

In the end they all looked great.

The pumpkins were all lined up on the stage and made for a very nice surprise when we came into the darkened gym for our Hallowe’en Assembly the next morning. They were all well lit from within with flame-less candles!

We had a good Hallowe’en day with the assembly/parade and all the great goodies that were brought into the classroom. Thank you to those who sent in treats.

Laity Pumpkin Farm Trip

We had a really great trip to the pumpkin patch on October 6, 2015. We were lucky to have so many parents willing to give their time to help make this a fun day for our students. The weather was spectacular which added to our great experience.

Here are some of the highlights of our trip:

The Petting Zoo