Schedule Update

We have our finalized weekly schedule and there are a few updates for you:

P.E. – Mondays and Fridays.  Please ensure that your child is wearing running shoes these days.  Also, it would be preferable if the girls were not in dresses or skirts for our gym times.

Computer Lab – Thursdays – 11:15 – 12:00.  30 minutes will be dedicated to DreamBox (Math) once we get it set up and then 15 minutes for other activities.

Library – Tuesdays 1:30 – 2:00.  Please help your child remember to bring their books back each week so that they can check out two new ones.

Reading Groups – Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 9:15 – 10:00 a.m.   These groups are starting next week.  Students in our class are divided into leveled groups.  I will be sending a letter home on Friday with your child’s Reading Group teacher’s name.

Music – Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Daily Read Aloud – We have been enjoying Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Ask your child to tell you about what happens each day.  It will help the development of their listening skills and abilities to re-tell events.

Additional reminders:

  • please ensure that your child has indoor shoes so they don’t have wet boots/shoes on our carpet (sitting) area
  • please ensure that your child brings his/her planner to school each day as we write a daily message

We have had a great start to the school year!  I am looking forward to continuing our journey together.

Horton Hears a Who

We will be wrapping up our Seuss unit this week as Reading Groups will begin next week.

Today we read Horton Hears a Who.  We discussed the main idea which is that everyone deserves to be happy and live a safe and happy life.  “A Person’s a Person, No Matter How Small”.  After we discussed the story students filled in cards answering specific questions about things they like or would like.

img_4905

Autumn Time

After a very sunny, and warm-ish September, we are definitely now into the Fall weather.  We have a few Autumn visitors, and decorations, in the classroom now.

img_4904

Please join me in reminding your children that jackets are a good idea for outdoor times at Recess and Lunchtime.

We will be doing activities to do with the changing season in our classroom, along with our look at Thanksgiving and our upcoming trip to the Pumpkin Patch (please see the notice that went home today).  We will also be enjoying the vibrant colours in the changing of the leaves and be discussing the harvest.

img_4903

 

 

Terry Fox Run and Corn Boil

img_4901

What a rainy day!!!

We started our day by shucking our class set of corn on the cob.  We did this in the undercover area outside.  We then finished our ‘shoes’ for Terry. These were placed around the gym with those from the other classes. We had spent lots of time yesterday learning about Terry, his life, and his Marathon of Hope.  We also discussed cancer and people we know who have had it and who may or may not have survived.

At 2:00 all classes met in the gym for the Assembly put on by Division 1 students. After the emotional video about Terry we followed Division 1’s lead for warming up our muscles before we headed out for our run.  The heavy rain had stopped before our Assembly but it came back to a lesser degree for the run.  Students did a great job showing their spirit and support for Terry who ran a marathon every day in all sorts of weather – including heavy rain.

We headed back in to our classrooms and were treated to the cooked and buttered corn, compliments of our wonderful parents who came in to cook it for us.  Lots of students even had seconds!!

I hope you have a chance to speak with your child about Terry, his legacy, and his influence on our Canadian culture. He was a truly inspirational young man, and national hero.

On a Rainy Day We Like to …

In The Cat in the Hat, Sally and Nick are stuck inside their house on a rainy day when the Cat shows up to create some havoc in their lives.  As part of our Seuss study we brainstormed a list of things that we like to do when the weather makes it not so much fun to be outside.  Students then wrote out two of their ideas on paper umbrellas and decorated them.  These are in our classroom on our back bulletin board.

img_4896

Check them out when you come by for Intake Interviews this week.

Seuss!!!

While we are awaiting the onset of our Reading groups (in a few weeks) we are going to be doing a literary study of the books by Theodore Seuss Geisel – also known as, Dr. Seuss.  We will do all sorts of activities around some of his books: writing, predictions, extensions, and artwork.  Some activities will be individual and others will be group based.

This week we have begun with the iconic classic, The Cat in the Hat.

We had an extended directed drawing lesson on facial features.  Students then created their own faces through their drawing.  Hats, in the style of The Cat in the Hat, were made and added to their portraits.  These are on our main bulletin in the hallway.

img_4892

img_4890

Make sure you check them out when you come by for our Intake Interviews next week!

All About Me

We have spent time this week looking at ourselves and sharing things with our classmates.  We did a booklet called, A Book About Me.  In here we wrote about our likes / dislikes, our families, things we have recently learned, and things we want to learn next.  We also did initial drawings of our faces.  These booklets are posted on the bulletin board at the back of our classroom.

img_4895

 

Our Read Aloud Novel

img_4883

On Monday we began our daily read aloud: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, by J.K. Rowling.  We will read a few pages each day after Planners are done.  Reading a chapter book is a great way to encourage active listening and the expansion of the children’s vocabulary through her very descriptive and rich writing.  It is a great introduction to hearing stories that are longer and more involved.  Novels provide the opportunity to learn delayed gratification (i.e. not having the whole story over in 15 minutes) as well as teaching reflection, prediction, and anticipation.  I have a recently released special hardcover edition of the novel which has been illustrated throughout.

When we have completed the novel we will take the opportunity to watch the movie. Through this we will compare the book and the movie through their similarities and differences.  Appreciating that most of the movies that we watch originally came from the written books is also a valuable lesson – and hopefully will inspire their love of literature.

Welcome back!!!

It is so nice to have the class decided and to be getting on with our school year!!

I am looking forward to a great year.  Please check back to this blog as I regularly post information regarding our class activities and upcoming events for the school.

This first few days we have begun some of our regular routines, and also had a little bit of time to get to know each other through exploration of our Math tubs.

img_4834

img_4838

img_4845

Students also had a bit of time to explore some of the Centre activities we have in our classroom.

img_4837

img_4839

While we are awaiting the start of our Reading groups, our class will be doing a unit study on the books of Dr. Seuss. We will be doing lots of fun activities around his books.  We are also going to be getting to know each other better via a few activities around the theme of “All About Me”.

Stay tuned …