Today we did a photo hunt. Ms. Boyer and Mrs. Hamby took 12 zoomed in-pictures outside. We had to go outside with the photos and try to find the location of the photos. Then we had to place the pictures on the correct spots on a map of the schoolyard. Then we had to add the rest of the details to complete the map. This is part of our new study of our community that we will be working on for the next two months. We are going to become experts about our neighborhood and we are going to learn about Calgary's history.
Please remember that the Craft-A-Fair is happening at our school tomorrow. We hope you will be able to make it! Our classroom is also still looking for donations for our Family Dance basket. The theme for our basket is "The Lego Movie".
Our helper on Monday: Levi
Friday, April 29, 2016
Thursday, April 28, 2016
April 28
This morning we worked on some decorations for the Volunteer Tea. We were making flower walls. We were able to make almost 5 walls! We made the flowers using tissue paper and wire.
This afternoon we worked on trying to get to the centre of the target for our dioramas. Some of us were finished so we moved on to the next job. The next job is making a fact card to go with our diorama. We will be using both of these when we have our animal museum in a few weeks.
We have 3 notices coming home today:
1. Fun lunch order form
2. Bricks4kidz card
3. Swimming forms.
Tomorrow is Fresh Air Friday! We will be staying close to the school but please dress for the weather. We will be outside for about half of our morning time.
On Monday our helper is: Levi
This afternoon we worked on trying to get to the centre of the target for our dioramas. Some of us were finished so we moved on to the next job. The next job is making a fact card to go with our diorama. We will be using both of these when we have our animal museum in a few weeks.
We have 3 notices coming home today:
1. Fun lunch order form
2. Bricks4kidz card
3. Swimming forms.
Tomorrow is Fresh Air Friday! We will be staying close to the school but please dress for the weather. We will be outside for about half of our morning time.
On Monday our helper is: Levi
Wednesday, April 27, 2016
April 27
This morning we worked on storywriting. Lots of us were ready to record our stories into Photobooth and some of us were ready to start writing out stories down. After recess we had math. We kept working on practicing adding and subtracting. Mathletics Live practice would be a great idea for everyone. It is a good way to get some extra practice with our basic facts.
This afternoon we had Bricks4kids! We got to make an airplane and a boat. We used Technic lego for the projects. Technic lego uses motors and a battery pack so that the lego moves. We moved our desks into groups of 4 and worked with a partner to build. (We have an uneven number of students so we had one group of three.)
In music we played a special game where we held hands and did singing and dancing. It was sort of like the "Hokey Pokey" but not quite. We would be happy to demonstrate at home! We also played a copy-cat game.
The helper tomorrow is: Eiman
This afternoon we had Bricks4kids! We got to make an airplane and a boat. We used Technic lego for the projects. Technic lego uses motors and a battery pack so that the lego moves. We moved our desks into groups of 4 and worked with a partner to build. (We have an uneven number of students so we had one group of three.)
In music we played a special game where we held hands and did singing and dancing. It was sort of like the "Hokey Pokey" but not quite. We would be happy to demonstrate at home! We also played a copy-cat game.
The helper tomorrow is: Eiman
Tuesday, April 26, 2016
April 26
Today we worked on a special project that is coming home today. It is an invitation to the Volunteer Tea! We hope you will be able to join us for the tea so we can thank you for all of your help. We are going to be performing some songs at the tea.
After recess some of the grade 1's had WeeReads, but some of our buddies were sick today. After that we worked in our math groups. The grade 1's worked on a new domino game called "Even Steven and Odd Todd". It is a game where we practice our adding skills and review the idea of odd and even numbers. The grade 2's worked on understanding an easy way to add up 2 and 3-digit numbers that end in zero. For example, when you see 400+500, think 4+5 and then add on the 2 zeros. We are going to use this trick to help us with our two and three digit addition and subtraction skills.
This afternoon we had our last day of photography. We went outside and used our new skills to take some beautiful pictures of nature. We thought about taking pictures from different points of view, taking pictures up-close and far away, looking for patterns, colours, and shapes, and remembering to keep our pictures in focus!
Bricks4Kids will be here working with us tomorrow afternoon!
Tomorrow our helper is: Aanya
Our new sharing category is: Something very special (but that is still ok to bring to school).
After recess some of the grade 1's had WeeReads, but some of our buddies were sick today. After that we worked in our math groups. The grade 1's worked on a new domino game called "Even Steven and Odd Todd". It is a game where we practice our adding skills and review the idea of odd and even numbers. The grade 2's worked on understanding an easy way to add up 2 and 3-digit numbers that end in zero. For example, when you see 400+500, think 4+5 and then add on the 2 zeros. We are going to use this trick to help us with our two and three digit addition and subtraction skills.
This afternoon we had our last day of photography. We went outside and used our new skills to take some beautiful pictures of nature. We thought about taking pictures from different points of view, taking pictures up-close and far away, looking for patterns, colours, and shapes, and remembering to keep our pictures in focus!
Bricks4Kids will be here working with us tomorrow afternoon!
Tomorrow our helper is: Aanya
Our new sharing category is: Something very special (but that is still ok to bring to school).
Wednesday, April 20, 2016
April 20
This morning we had another photography lesson with Ms. C. We learned about how patterns, shapes, light, shadow, and line are important for taking really interesting photographs. Then we went to try to take pictures that included these elements. Then she talked to us about perspective. Perspective means that things close up look bigger and things that are far away look smaller. We tried taking pictures that showed different perspectives.
In math we went to our grade 1 and 2 groups to work on addition and subtraction skills. The grade 1's are using dominos to practice 1-digit addition facts and are learning to record their facts correctly. The grade 2's worked on learning to "explode" numbers so that we can see all the hundred's, ten's and one's. (This is also called expanded form).
For sharing today Jessica brought in her guinea pig named Snowball. He is VERY cute!
This afternoon, we worked on adding more details to our dioramas. We started adding babies and food. We are using a target to help us remember all the pieces our diorama needs to include.
In music we had a guest teacher named Mrs. Dorren. We sang some of our songs to her. In gym we worked on our skipping skills outside. Some of us tried skipping on our own and some of us tried using the long ropes and skipping with a group.
In math we went to our grade 1 and 2 groups to work on addition and subtraction skills. The grade 1's are using dominos to practice 1-digit addition facts and are learning to record their facts correctly. The grade 2's worked on learning to "explode" numbers so that we can see all the hundred's, ten's and one's. (This is also called expanded form).
For sharing today Jessica brought in her guinea pig named Snowball. He is VERY cute!
This afternoon, we worked on adding more details to our dioramas. We started adding babies and food. We are using a target to help us remember all the pieces our diorama needs to include.
In music we had a guest teacher named Mrs. Dorren. We sang some of our songs to her. In gym we worked on our skipping skills outside. Some of us tried skipping on our own and some of us tried using the long ropes and skipping with a group.
Monday, April 18, 2016
April 18
This morning our routine was a little different. During journal time we worked on adding our goals and strategies into IRIS. You can go to the Dr. Coffin website to look at the IRIS goals at home using your regular school username and password.
This afternoon we worked on our dioramas and talked about starting to add more details like the animals home, predators, and food. To be in the centre of the target we talked about having 2 predators or prey shown in your diorama. After that we had outside gym. We practiced throwing the frisbees with a friend. Two of the frisbees flew outside the fence but one of our neighbors was walking by and passed them back to us.
Please remember that Parent-Teacher conferences are on Thursday afternoon and Friday. If you haven't booked your appointment yet please do that. We have three notices coming home today.
Tomorrow our helper is: Bilal
This afternoon we worked on our dioramas and talked about starting to add more details like the animals home, predators, and food. To be in the centre of the target we talked about having 2 predators or prey shown in your diorama. After that we had outside gym. We practiced throwing the frisbees with a friend. Two of the frisbees flew outside the fence but one of our neighbors was walking by and passed them back to us.
Please remember that Parent-Teacher conferences are on Thursday afternoon and Friday. If you haven't booked your appointment yet please do that. We have three notices coming home today.
Tomorrow our helper is: Bilal
Friday, April 15, 2016
April 15
Today was Fresh Air Friday. We did mapping around our neighborhood. We each had a map of the neighborhood and we went for a walk to find landmarks. Then we added the landmarks to our maps. Some of our landmarks were: the green space, Mrs. Mitchell's house, the "mitten" tree (it is a round tree that looks like a mitten), the path to the green space, the path to the alleyway, David's house, Aiden's house, Dominic's house, Barrett Park, Teia's aunt's house, and Dr. Coffin School.
We learned that if you add landmarks to your map you can use it to figure out where you are and find your way if you are lost. We discovered that following a map and keeping track of where you are can be kind of tricky and takes practice.
After we finished our walk we came inside and used our pencil crayons to add the colour and some details to our maps. We had a really nice time walking around our neighborhood. We even broke out in song as we were walking up Barrett Drive!
Our helper on Monday is: Pania
We learned that if you add landmarks to your map you can use it to figure out where you are and find your way if you are lost. We discovered that following a map and keeping track of where you are can be kind of tricky and takes practice.
After we finished our walk we came inside and used our pencil crayons to add the colour and some details to our maps. We had a really nice time walking around our neighborhood. We even broke out in song as we were walking up Barrett Drive!
Our helper on Monday is: Pania
Thursday, April 14, 2016
April 14
Today we continued working on our storytelling. We were focusing on adding juicy words, sound words, and descriptions about how the animals move. After recess we had some special parent guests come to do an activity with us. We aren't telling Ms. Boyer or Mrs. Smith what it was. It is a surprise! In math, we got to choose which math game we wanted to play. Our choices were "I can top that", Place value concentration, and "Race to 100 (new version)".
Today it was fun lunch! We had Subway. Thank you to the parents who came to volunteer!
This afternoon we kept working on our plasticine animals to add to our dioramas. We were trying to use the techniques we learned from watching Barbara Reid.
Tomorrow is Fresh Air Friday. We will be exploring our community. If you would like to join us for our walk please feel welcome! One of our Room 2 parents also passed along a great article to share. The article made her think of our Fresh Air Friday work and the benefits of spending lots of time outdoors.
Today it was fun lunch! We had Subway. Thank you to the parents who came to volunteer!
This afternoon we kept working on our plasticine animals to add to our dioramas. We were trying to use the techniques we learned from watching Barbara Reid.
Tomorrow is Fresh Air Friday. We will be exploring our community. If you would like to join us for our walk please feel welcome! One of our Room 2 parents also passed along a great article to share. The article made her think of our Fresh Air Friday work and the benefits of spending lots of time outdoors.
Our helper on Monday is: Pania
Wednesday, April 13, 2016
April 13
Today we continued working on telling our stories and we are hoping to start writing them down next week. We also had a chance to learn a new math game called "I can beat that!". If you have playing cards you can try playing this game at home! It is a game that uses our place value skills and makes us think about probability.
This afternoon we started making our animals using plasticine. We focused on the shapes we would use to make our animals and the tools we might need to make them look realistic. Tomorrow we will have a longer time to work on our animals and we are hoping to get a lot done.
Tomorrow is our library day. Please remember to bring back all of your books. It is also fun lunch tomorrow!
Our helper tomorrow is: Bilal
This afternoon we started making our animals using plasticine. We focused on the shapes we would use to make our animals and the tools we might need to make them look realistic. Tomorrow we will have a longer time to work on our animals and we are hoping to get a lot done.
Tomorrow is our library day. Please remember to bring back all of your books. It is also fun lunch tomorrow!
Our helper tomorrow is: Bilal
Tuesday, April 12, 2016
April 12
After guided reading we worked on our storywriting. Some of us needed to finish our animals but the rest of us got to start practicing telling our stories. We talked about trying to think of an interesting way to start the story.
After recess more of us had a chance to put up part of our learning reflection into IRIS. Today we worked on adding a photo of the project we are the most proud of. Some of us did this job yesterday and a few of us will be doing it tomorrow.
Today we learned about an artist named Barbara Reid. She is a famous clay artist. She has written a lot of books including The Subway Mouse and Effie. We were watching how Barbara Reid makes her pictures to help us get ready for making our own animals out of plasticine. She used some really great techniques like adding texture with a comb, blending colours with your fingers, starting with "snowballs" and "snakes" to make the different shapes you will need.
Here is a video of her work:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4aOMVZLEpw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1wy44NqNOo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtZmc2fZt7E&nohtml5=False
In gym we played some line games. We played "Cookies and IceCream" and we played "Little Chicks, Little Chicks". Here is a video of us!
We are bringing home a notice about the family dance and a new book order today!
Our helper tomorrow is: Peter
After recess more of us had a chance to put up part of our learning reflection into IRIS. Today we worked on adding a photo of the project we are the most proud of. Some of us did this job yesterday and a few of us will be doing it tomorrow.
Today we learned about an artist named Barbara Reid. She is a famous clay artist. She has written a lot of books including The Subway Mouse and Effie. We were watching how Barbara Reid makes her pictures to help us get ready for making our own animals out of plasticine. She used some really great techniques like adding texture with a comb, blending colours with your fingers, starting with "snowballs" and "snakes" to make the different shapes you will need.
Here is a video of her work:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4aOMVZLEpw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1wy44NqNOo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtZmc2fZt7E&nohtml5=False
In gym we played some line games. We played "Cookies and IceCream" and we played "Little Chicks, Little Chicks". Here is a video of us!
We are bringing home a notice about the family dance and a new book order today!
Our helper tomorrow is: Peter
Friday, April 8, 2016
April 8
Today we went to Nosehill to look for crocuses. First we walked to Nosehill and stopped for a snack break. Once we finished our snacks we started looking for crocuses. When we found a crocus plant we really liked we stopped to sketch it. We were trying to get as much details in the leaves and petals as we could. The leaves were really fluffy and inside they had lines on them. The petals were pointy and purple. Some of them were skinny and some of them were fat. They were a bit fuzzy. It was interesting to see how some small crocuses were purple and the bigger ones were turning white. Some of the crocuses grew in groups and some grew alone.
Next, we did a crocus tally. We were trying to find out how many crocuses there were on that part of Nosehill. There were so many that we couldn't count them all but we tried our best to count as many as we could in that area. Here were a few results we had from tallying: 141, 71, 212, 405, 425. It was amazing to see so many crocuses. We were really happy to get up to Nosehill while they were in bloom!
Thank you so much to our parent volunteers who came with us!
Our helper on Monday is: Morgan
Next, we did a crocus tally. We were trying to find out how many crocuses there were on that part of Nosehill. There were so many that we couldn't count them all but we tried our best to count as many as we could in that area. Here were a few results we had from tallying: 141, 71, 212, 405, 425. It was amazing to see so many crocuses. We were really happy to get up to Nosehill while they were in bloom!
Thank you so much to our parent volunteers who came with us!
Our helper on Monday is: Morgan
Thursday, April 7, 2016
April 7
Garden Update:
Our plants are doing very well in our indoor garden. There are 2 peppers that are very dark green and about to turn red. Some of the peppers seem to be turning purple. That is a bit surprising to us! There are still some flowers on the pepper plant that will turn into peppers and some baby peppers that are just staring to grow. The carrot tops feel really neat and there are so many we couldn't even count them! The stems are really skinny and for some reason the carrots are only growing on the edges of the garden box. We aren't sure why the seeds in the middle didn't grow. There is one big cucumber that is almost ready to pick. The baby cucumbers look spiky but they are not. We predict that the spiky-looking parts will get covered up when the cucumber starts to grow. There are 10 red tomatoes that are ready to be picked. Some of the tomatoes are orange and lots are green. There are still a few flower buds on the tomato plant that should grow into tomatoes soon.
Tomorrow:
Tomorrow is Fresh Air Friday. We will be heading to Nosehill to see the crocuses before they disappear. It is supposed to be very warm tomorrow but could be chilly first thing in the morning. Please dress in layers so that you can adjust for the temperature. Please also put on sunscreen before you come to school and remember to bring a hat and a water bottle. We will be taking our backpacks with us so you will be able to bring your water and snack with you. Please make sure there aren't any extra things in your backpack that will make it heavy to carry.
Our plants are doing very well in our indoor garden. There are 2 peppers that are very dark green and about to turn red. Some of the peppers seem to be turning purple. That is a bit surprising to us! There are still some flowers on the pepper plant that will turn into peppers and some baby peppers that are just staring to grow. The carrot tops feel really neat and there are so many we couldn't even count them! The stems are really skinny and for some reason the carrots are only growing on the edges of the garden box. We aren't sure why the seeds in the middle didn't grow. There is one big cucumber that is almost ready to pick. The baby cucumbers look spiky but they are not. We predict that the spiky-looking parts will get covered up when the cucumber starts to grow. There are 10 red tomatoes that are ready to be picked. Some of the tomatoes are orange and lots are green. There are still a few flower buds on the tomato plant that should grow into tomatoes soon.
Tomorrow:
Tomorrow is Fresh Air Friday. We will be heading to Nosehill to see the crocuses before they disappear. It is supposed to be very warm tomorrow but could be chilly first thing in the morning. Please dress in layers so that you can adjust for the temperature. Please also put on sunscreen before you come to school and remember to bring a hat and a water bottle. We will be taking our backpacks with us so you will be able to bring your water and snack with you. Please make sure there aren't any extra things in your backpack that will make it heavy to carry.
Wednesday, April 6, 2016
April 6
This morning we had a chance to start our study of photography with our photographer-in-residence Ms. C. Today we practiced taking photos with the iPads. We learned how to choose where to focus would be on our pictures, and how to make our photos lighter and darker. We tried taking pictures using different angles and distances from our objects. After photography we had a special Room 2 recess because our photography time went over the regular recess. In math we had another day of practicing place-value by playing race to 100. We are really starting to get the hang of it!
This afternoon we tried to finish up the trees, bushes, and shrubs in our dioramas and add most of our plants. We will have one more day working on the backgrounds and then we will be starting to use plasticine to make our animals. In music we learned the ending to The Bremen Town Musicians. Mrs. Smith is sure she'll be singing that song all night, its very catchy!
If you haven't returned your fun lunch form please return it tomorrow. There is a white notice coming home today.
Tomorrow our helper is: Jason
This afternoon we tried to finish up the trees, bushes, and shrubs in our dioramas and add most of our plants. We will have one more day working on the backgrounds and then we will be starting to use plasticine to make our animals. In music we learned the ending to The Bremen Town Musicians. Mrs. Smith is sure she'll be singing that song all night, its very catchy!
If you haven't returned your fun lunch form please return it tomorrow. There is a white notice coming home today.
Tomorrow our helper is: Jason
Tuesday, April 5, 2016
April 5
This morning we started with our new centres. The new choices are: Finishing our signs of spring page, garden update, spelling practice, and adding and subtracting practice. Ms. Boyer told us that if we have our garden updates done early we will get to do a special job! After guided reading and centres we kept working on our stories. Some of us are still working on our objects and some of us are finishing up our animal characters.
After recess we had our longer solo book time while some of the grade 1's went to WeeReads.
In math we continued playing race to 100. We got to pick new buddies to play with if we wanted.
This afternoon we worked on our dioramas. Some of us are still working on the trees and bushes but most of us were able to move on to the next step which is making the different plants that live on Nosehill. We made wild blue flax, golden rod, purple aster, white aster, and coneflowers, and crocus.
Then we worked to finish up our journals. A few of us are bringing them home for homework.
In gym we played king's gold. We played on 2 teams. One of the rules is that if you slide when you're trying to steal the gold you don't get to take it. We have that rule to keep us safe.
Tomorrow our helper is: Claire
After recess we had our longer solo book time while some of the grade 1's went to WeeReads.
In math we continued playing race to 100. We got to pick new buddies to play with if we wanted.
This afternoon we worked on our dioramas. Some of us are still working on the trees and bushes but most of us were able to move on to the next step which is making the different plants that live on Nosehill. We made wild blue flax, golden rod, purple aster, white aster, and coneflowers, and crocus.
Then we worked to finish up our journals. A few of us are bringing them home for homework.
In gym we played king's gold. We played on 2 teams. One of the rules is that if you slide when you're trying to steal the gold you don't get to take it. We have that rule to keep us safe.
Tomorrow our helper is: Claire
Monday, April 4, 2016
April 4
Today we continued working on our dioramas. Some of us are still painting and some of us are adding the trees and bushes. In math we learned a new version of race to 100 that helps us learn about place value. We are learning about groups of 10's and 1's.
In music today we listened to a story called the Bremen Town Musicians. Bremen is a town in Germany. It was about 4 musicians. A cat, a dog, a donkey, and a rooster. They all got kicked out of the barn because they were lazy.
Treat day is tomorrow. Remember to bring 25 cents. If you have not returned your fun lunch form please do that tomorrow. There is a green notice coming home today about a new school fundraiser.
Tomorrow our helper is: Isla
In music today we listened to a story called the Bremen Town Musicians. Bremen is a town in Germany. It was about 4 musicians. A cat, a dog, a donkey, and a rooster. They all got kicked out of the barn because they were lazy.
Treat day is tomorrow. Remember to bring 25 cents. If you have not returned your fun lunch form please do that tomorrow. There is a green notice coming home today about a new school fundraiser.
Tomorrow our helper is: Isla
Friday, April 1, 2016
April 1
Today we went looking for signs of spring. We talked about how Calgarians have to be able to use nature to tell if spring is here because spring can arrive at very different times depending on the year. Sometimes spring arrives in March and sometimes it arrives in April or May, even though the calendar says spring starts on March 21.
On our hunt for signs of spring we found:
On our hunt for signs of spring we found:
- Daffodils
- An active anthill
- Pussy willows
- Ladybugs
- A woodpecker
- Dandelions
- A cocoon
- New green grass
- Prairie crocuses
- Very dark shadows
- Siberian squill (that's a tiny blue flower)
- Buds on the trees and bushes
- Fluffy seed pods on the aspen trees
- Chickadees
- A male and female sparrow building a nest
- Wet sap
- Wasps
- A robin
- A bee
- Tulips
- Berries
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