Directed Drawing Lessons

We have Directed Drawing lessons 3 or 4 times a week. Students follow the direction of my drawings on the whiteboard while creating their own pictures on paper.  They have been taking these lessons quite seriously and are gaining their skills more and more each week.  We have been drawing a variety of domesticated animals.

As a result of these lessons many students are spending their free time (book time or Centres) using my collection of ‘how to’ drawing books to continue to work on their drawing techniques.

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I am happy to see so much enthusiasm for Art!!

Pumpkin Carving in the Classroom

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As part of our pumpkin unit, last Tuesday afternoon we dissected the class pumpkin that I got from our trip to the Laity Pumpkin Patch.  I had a bulb / root that had come out of my garden when I was collecting leaves for our Elements of Art lesson a few weeks ago.  So we began by talking about the ways that plants grow – bulbs or seeds.  We talked about the similarities and differences between the two methods. While one is a bulb, and the other a seed, they both are planted in soil and begin by sending roots down into the earth.  The jobs of the roots are to hold the plant securely in place and to suck up water to provide the plant with the means to make food.  Once the plants are ‘grounded’ they send shoots up into the air from which the plants grow.  We have spent a fair bit of time over the past two weeks discussing the process of photosynthesis – the way that plants use water, air, and sunlight to make their own food (glucose).

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I had cut the lid off of the pumpkin and then let the students clean it out.  Those students, who wanted to, formed a very productive assembly line which included: some students cleaning out the seeds and pulp; some washing the seeds; and others drying the seeds and putting them onto a cookie sheet.  I baked these after school and left them for the students to have the next day.

The students had all tried the pumpkin pie that I brought into class the day after Thanksgiving so they were interested in seeing the part of the pumpkin that we eat.

 

Elements of Art – Colour

In the ongoing series of our lessons on the elements of art we have been experimenting with colour.  Students learned about the three ‘primary’ (or first) colours:  red, yellow, and blue.  These are colours that cannot be made by other colours but, when combined, will create other colours.  These colours are called ‘secondary’ colours.  These colours are: green (made from blue and yellow), purple (red and blue combined), and orange (red and yellow put together).  These are ‘secondary’ colours if they are mixed with equal parts of each ‘primary’ colour.  When more of one primary is used than the other, then the resulting colour is called an ‘intermediate’ colour.

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Elements of Art Lesson

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Last Thursday we had a discussion on the Elements of Art.  Students learned what an element is (the parts that make up a whole thing).  We then discussed the six things (elements) that make up Art – colour, form, shape, value, line, and texture.

On Friday, students explored these elements through the media of wax crayons and leaves by experimenting with rubbing techniques.  They outlined some leaves to show ‘line’ and ‘shape’.  They used a variety of ‘colours’.  By putting more or less pressure on the wax crayons they were able to show ‘value’ (lightness and darkness). The feathery look of the rubbings inferred ‘texture’.  The only element that was not able to be demonstrated was ‘form’ as the leaf rubbings cannot be picked up off of the paper.

The students’ work is on the bulletin board in the hallway outside of our classroom.

Here are some portions of the rubbings:

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Laity Pumpkin Farm Trip


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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

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The Play Farm

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The Forest Villages

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The Corn Maze

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and … panning for ‘gold’.

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We also enjoyed a tractor ride, snack time, and hunting for the perfect pumpkin in the field.

A HUGE THANK YOU to all the parents who helped out by driving us to the farm and helping to supervise while we were there.

Upcoming Pumpkin Patch Field Trip

On Tuesday, October 6th, our class (along with Division 6 – Kindergarten) will be going to the Laity Pumpkin Farm.  A notice about this went home today.  Please consider driving for this trip as we will need to cancel if we don’t get enough parent drivers.  It is a fun trip for everyone.  We get to enjoy the petting zoo, a tractor ride, wander through the forest displays, and explore the corn maze.  Students also get to choose a pumpkin (one the size that they can carry on their own).  This pumpkin will be sent home with students for their own personal use.

We go on this trip rain or shine so please ensure that your child is dressed for the weather.  They also need to bring two grocery bags (to carry their pumpkin) and their car seats for the drive there with parent volunteers.

Corn Roast and Terry Fox Run

Last Friday, September 18th, students had the great experience of ‘shucking’ an ear of corn.  We all went out to the undercover area and peeled back the outer leaves, and removed the strands of silk, from our corn.  These were then put in a container to be later boiled by our parent volunteers.

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In the afternoon we honoured Terry Fox through an assembly and by running our Fun Fitness route.  We were lucky that the rain was light. Terry ran far longer each day and it was often in much worse weather conditions than we had on Friday!

After the run we all enjoyed eating our corn!!!

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Welcome back to school!!

It has been a good start-up to the new school year this year.  As we are about to enter our third week (our second full week together as a class) the students are beginning to settle in nicely.  We have been working on learning the routines of Grade 1.  We are hoping to have our weekly schedule finalized this upcoming week at which point a copy will be sent home, as well as updated on the Weekly Schedule page on this blog.

Most of the start-up paperwork (forms and supply money) have already been returned!  Thank you to all who have done so.  If you have not yet returned these forms (and money) please do so as soon as possible.  The office needs to get the class verification paperwork updated for the new year and the school supplies have been purchased and are already being put to good use.

I have updated the Upcoming Events page on this blog.  I am looking forward to meeting all the parents this week during our Intake Interviews.  This is a great opportunity for you to share with me your thoughts and other information about your child.

A notice about the Laity Pumpkin Patch field trip will be coming home soon.

If you have any questions or comments you could: drop me an email; write a note and put it in the front plastic pocket of your child’s planner; or chat with me after school.

I am looking forward to a great school year with your children.

Mrs. S. Temple

School and Family Picnic – June 18th

We had a great day at Confederation Park last week.  We settled under a nice shady tree by the playground as our home base.  Students loved the different activities that we did during the course of the day.

We played at the playground, enjoyed a nearby sprinkler, got wet at the spray park, and ate hot dogs, popcorn, and watermelon!!  A highlight, as always, was our trip on the train!!

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We were very fortunate to have such nice weather!  The rains did not come until after we were long gone:)

It was nice to see so many families at the park with us.  I hope you all enjoyed the day.

C.A.R.E. Kit Lessons

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We spent most of June learning about personal safety through the use of the C.A.R.E. kit and with the help of its character puppet whom the students named “Robert”.  Students learned the correct, scientific names for parts of the body and what our rights and responsibilities are for keeping our bodies safe from harm.

Daily lessons were followed with a take-home paper that students were expected to share with their parents.  I hope you had good discussions with your children.