We did some non-fiction reading and writing today. Ask your child about jackals…they should be a fountain of knowledge after our activities!
See note below regarding the carnival in June:
Volunteer for the Woodlands Year End Carnival on Thursday, June 22 from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm. In order for this event to be a success we need volunteers to man stalls and games etc.
To sign up as a volunteer, please use the link below.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0e48afa82da5fac16-woodlands/135376776#/
Since Mrs. Switzer left our school to prepare for the birth of her baby, we have been lucky to have a new teacher, Mr. Camden, teach us PE. Mr. Camden has been excited to hold gym classes outside in this beautiful weather! While we miss our lovely Mrs. Switzer, we are also happy to have more time to learn outdoor games and spend time in the fresh air.
We looked at the long 'e' vowel sound represented in a number of ways today. Ask your child if they can tell you some words from the '-ee', '-ea' and '-e' categories!
We read 3 books by Doreen Cronin in our latest author study. Diary of a Worm, Diary of a Spider and Diary of a Fly gave us lots of funny facts and ideas about life as a little critter. Ask your child which one they loved the most and if they can tell you something interesting about that particular creature!
There are no classes for students on Monday, so we will see everyone back at Woodlands on Tuesday May 30th.
We had a great observation session with the duckling eggs today. We candled eggs #1, 2, 3 and 4 to check out their development. We saw moving embryos, lots of veins and dark blobs that we know are part of the sac within the egg. So exciting! We sketched and wrote about our observations and all came up with an "I wonder" statement...
"I wonder if the eggs will hatch before Day 28?"
"I wonder if any eggs are duds?"
"I wonder what colour the ducklings will be?"
We are on Day 14 today...half way there!
We have been looking at some vowel combinations in our reading program. Today we focused on a long ‘a’ sound produced by -ay, -ai, and -a. Ask your child if they can tell you some of the words we practiced (eg. snail, play, baby…) and see if you can help them spot them in books or signs around them.
Measurement centres!
Today's math lesson was around measurement. Students used non-standard units (paper clips, for example) to compare length, and had fun estimating weight and volume using balance scales and a variety of containers. Measurement is a very fun, hands-on unit in Grade One math!
It was wonderful to get outside with the class again for a prolonged morning recess after three days of indoor recesses!
Enjoy your long weekend, and I look forward to seeing the students back at school on Tuesday May 23rd.
Room 4 loves their story time. I read a story to them every day, from every genre and it is definitely my favourite part of the day. We have completed a number of author studies, enjoyed non fiction material and are now enjoying our first chapter book read aloud, Stuart Little by E.B. White. This book was written many years ago and only has occasional sketches for illustrations so is very different from what we have read throughout the year. The students are really enjoying it! Ask your student about Stuart’s challenges as a mouse in a human family!
We observed some informational videos and charts today to see where our eggs should be on Day 6...we plan to candle them on Friday to check their progress and we are excited to see if all eggs are viable!
Our class is creating a Duck Life Cycle bulletin board to document our learning. Today's task was to make a 3-D egg, paint it with natural colours and then create a nest for it using paper, colouring markers and sticks. They are so cute! Ask your child what the important things are to remember in caring for eggs...whether it's a mother duck or an incubator, it's pretty much the same!
We are on Day 5 (officially, starting from the first day we set up our incubator) of our duckling watch. We discussed the duck life cycle today and know that Day 28 is the big day for potential hatching! We don't have much to look at at the moment as the eggs need to stay safe inside the incubator, but we are hoping to get a chance to safely 'candle' an egg or two to check out the embryos inside. Ask your child if they can tell you something interesting about ducks...perhaps about their webbed feet, oily feathers or how their bill is shaped perfectly for filtering out mud!
Did you hear the news? We are hatching ducklings in Grade One!
We have 7 eggs in our incubator that will stay toasty warm for the next few weeks. We are hoping that we will have 7 little cuties in our classroom by the middle of June! Ask your child if they can tell you anything they learned from our Duck Facts video today...
We had our whole school photo taken today, and forms went home with students that can be filled out and returned if you would like to order a copy.
Our final walk into Fish Creek Park yesterday was absolutely the best one yet. We sat in a 'sit spot' to observe the landscape and sketch as many living and non-living things in our viewpoint. Students were excited to see rose hips, buffalo beans and poplar trees (they are becoming great horticulturalists).
Well, we made it across the crosswalk to Fish Creek Park before we heard the first rumble of thunder. We had to make a Plan B quickly, as we didn't want to be caught out in something like yesterday's storm! We paid a quick visit to our Pet Tree before heading back inside for the last 15 minutes of the day. Hoping for better weather tomorrow! Rain is one thing, but lightning is another.
After watching the students let go of umbrellas, poke each other (mostly accidentally), struggle to hold onto umbrellas in the wind, and manage umbrellas that get whipped inside out (and hold their science clipboards and pencils) we are going to leave umbrellas in the school for our Walk Alongs. I recommend a rain coat with a hood if you have one instead. Thank you for understanding.
We managed to beat the rain today for the first expedition of our week-long Walk Along to Fish Creek Park! We spotted many kinds of trees, lots of new growth, some critters and most excitingly, dried up crab apples still dangling from the trees! We stopped to sketch and label a crab apple tree and enjoyed observing living and non-living things. Ask your child how the thunder sounded when we heard the first rumble!
Ms Stacy, our area physiotherapist, visited our classroom today to show us some activities to strengthen our core, use our muscles, and calm our bodies for those times we need movement breaks. Ask your child if they can demonstrate the side plank! (it's tricky!)
We are using our workshop time to create examples of homes, clothes and transportation from long ago. The students are able to articulate their understanding of how these things have changed over time through their creations.
180 'school days' ago, we started our journey in Grade One together...and now it all wraps up tomorrow with our last day of school! ...
