Hope you had a great day yesterday with Mr. O. My day in Churchill was amazing! It was a very early start (see last post) but we saw 10 polar bears in total including a grandpa, a mama and her cub, and lots of adult males and females. Here is a snapshot of the day:
After our very early wake up, we drove to the airport and took our 2-hour flight to Churchill. We arrived in Churchill at about 9:45 local time. Churchill is located in a region called the sub-arctic and is right on the tree line. This land is where the boreal forest ends and the arctic tundra begins. This mix of boreal forest and arctic tundra is called taiga.
Arriving at the Churchill Airport
Once we arrived we got on a bus to go to the Churchill Wildlife Management Area. This is the area where tours are allowed to operate provided they have one of 13 provincial licenses. On our way there we passed by Polar Bear Jail! Polar Bear Jail is where they keep bears that have been wandering into town and causing trouble. Instead of killing the bears or trying to relocate them, the bears are kept in a special facility until the ice forms on Hudson's Bay. Once the ice forms the bears can be released because they will head out onto the ice to start hunting seals and won't want to come into the town. Right now there are 7 bears in jail but they should only need do be there for a few more weeks. Then the ice will be forming and then can head out!
Polar Bear Jail
Tundra Buggy
Once we arrived at the Churchill Wildlife Management Area we got on our Tundra Buggy. A Tundra buggy is sort of like an extra wide school bus but it has enormous wheels so that it sits very high up. This is important because polar bears are really tall when they stand on their hind legs! The buggy also has an outdoor viewing platform so that you can stand outside to see the polar bears in a safe way. Our buggy driver was named Kevin and he was a polar bear expert. He has been driving his Tundra Buggy for 31 years and has also worked as a research assistant for polar bear studies. In addition he is a Ranger in the Canadian Armed Forces and works for Parks Canada. Needless to say we felt very lucky to have him as our guide for the day!
Our Driver and Guide Kevin
Once we started driving it was only about 10 minutes before we saw our first bear. It was a large adult but it was too far away to get a good picture. The bear was walking across a frozen pond heading east. Kevin thought there was a chance that this bear had been close to town the night before and had been scared away by the rangers. Thankfully this bear got the hint and was heading away from town.
Grandpa Bear - Right Next to the Buggy!
Next we came across another huge male bear. He was probably about as tall as me when he was standing on all 4 paws, and he would have been about 8-9 ft. tall standing on his hind legs! Kevin told us that this bear was probably about 13 years old and sadly might not make it through the winter. He had a lot of scars on his face and seemed to be very thin for a polar bear his size. He also had a big wound on his side, likely from fighting another male bear. Kevin also said that the scars on his face were a sign that he had probably sired lots of cubs (that means he had a lot of kids). Even though this bear was getting very old he was still VERY intimidating. He came really close to the buggy and stared right at me when he walked passed the outdoor viewing platform! YIKES!
Look at the Size of Those Paws!
After that we kept driving and drove past a few more bears in the distance. We couldn't tell if they were males or females but they were adults roaming alone. Polar bears are not very social and usually travel alone.
Mama and Baby Snuggling
Next we were lucky enough to see a mama bear and her cub. When we first came upon them they were having a nap on a bed of kelp. Kevin told us that when the bears on on-land they usually find piles of sea kelp to use as a bed. Apparently its pretty comfy! After we had been there for about 15 minutes the baby bear, who was about 8 months old, started wiggling around and eventually got up to walk around. He was really cute and seemed to like playing with the grass and kelp. We saw him practicing his front paw pounce and rolling around. Then he went back over to him mom and seemed to want her to play. He started climbing on her and nibbling on her ears. She was very patient but didn't really seem too interested in playing! Finally he got up and seemed to notice our buggy. He wandered a bit closer and started sniffing the air. We were so lucky to watch him play for such a long time!
Baby Bear Playing in the Grass
I think we could have spent all day just watching the baby bear because he was so cute but Kevin suggested that we move on and try to find some more bears. Along the way we tried to look for arctic fox and arctic hare but we didn't manage to see any. We did see some birds including snow buntings and ptarmigans. The ptarmigans were really hard to see because their camouflage is so good but luckily we had a guy on our buggy with really sharp eyes and he saw them. Sadly, we didn't manage to get any good pictures, they are just too well camouflaged!
After a bit more driving we came across a beautiful male bear. He was probably about 3 or 4 years old and was in really good shape. He also put on quite the show. He walked around for a while and then sat down in some willow bushes. He stretched out his very long neck and then rolled around scratching his back and grooming himself in the snow. He reminded me of Brinkley! This bear was so neat to watch that we stayed for quite a long time and ate our lunch on the Buggy while we enjoyed his show.
Me and the Polar Bear
Grooming and Scratching in the Snow
By this time it was starting to get dark (the sun sets quite early, even in October) so we had to start heading back to the bus. On our way we came across another adult female bear who was quite happy to let us get very close. She was having a nap when we arrived and then got up and started scratching and rolling in the snow. She even stuck out her tongue! Apparently bears do this to help them identify new smells.
Just like Brinkley!
Did You Know Polar Bears Have Purple Tongues?
Then she started to walk across a large pond. She seemed to be using her paws to test the ice by pounding her huge paw on spots that looked weak. She also stopped and scratched away some of the ice so that she could have a drink of water. It is amazing to see their powerful paws and claws!
Testing the Ice
Walking Across the Pond
Finally we made it back to our bus and went to buy a few souvenirs in the town of Churchill. Then it was time to get back on the airplane to come home. What an amazing day!
Good Morning! It's 4:45 and we're off to the airport. Have a great day at school, remember to check the blog over the weekend for pictures from Churchill!
This morning we continued our Whispering Woods writing. We moved on to the "I feel..." part and tried to focus on including more describing words in our sentences. For grade 2's we also focused on adding a second idea to our sentences to make them more interesting and to help our readers build a more exciting picture in their brains.
In math we continued our pattern hunt from Tuesday. Our learning focus was to try to find, record, and label new indoor patterns. Many of us chose to work with a partner and tried to help each other solve problems with labeling and recording.
This afternoon Ms. Boyer had to go to a school board meeting. Mrs. Wilkens came to work with us. We worked on the arctic animal research that we started yesterday. After that we had gym and music.
Before Ms. Boyer left she reminded us that tomorrow is her big trip to Churchill, Manitoba! She won't be able to send us pictures while she is there because there is no cell service in Churchill. Ms. Boyer will plan to update the class blog on Saturday with pictures and stories from Churchill. Please feel free to check the blog on Saturday evening or Sunday to see the update!
This morning after guided reading we continued working on our Whispering Woods writing. We tried to get the "I see..." and "I hear..." parts finished so that we will be ready to move on tomorrow. Most of us were able to finish but a few of us will need to catch up tomorrow.
In math we did a pattern challenge. It was an infinity challenge because there was no end, there was an infinite number of possibilities to try to figure out. Our challenge was to create as many patterns as we could only using 2 colours. We recorded our patterns with our markers and then had to show the pattern using letter labels. We also had to show that we had repeated the pattern 3 times by circling the pattern core each time it repeated.
This afternoon we began looking at arctic animals that Ms. Boyer might see on her trip. We started by watching a video about the arctic and trying to pick out as many different animals as we could. We made a list of animals and then used some books to add to our list. After that we got together with a buddy and chose an animal to start researching. Tomorrow we will use books and computers to research our animal. When we are finished we will get to research another animal and try to make an animal guide book to add out our Churchill tourism folder. If you want to do a little research in advance at home please feel free! This website is a great place to start:http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/animals/
This afternoon we also had gym and library. In gym we continued practicing skipping skills. Lots of us are still working on forwards skipping but a few of us were able to do 20 skips in a row so we were challenged to try backwards skipping. Today our photo order forms were sent home. Please check your child's backpack. Tomorrow our helper is: Dominic
Today we continued working on our Whispering Woods writing. We focused on writing about the things we hear. In math we did an indoor pattern hunt. We were allowed to go all over the school looking for patterns and then we recorded them in our math journal using letters and labels.
This afternoon we kept working on our arctic landscape watercolours. They are looking really beautiful. We will need one more day to finish them up. In gym we started working on our skipping skills. We are trying to be able to skip forwards right now. A few of us are able to skip backwards too!
In music we did a mystery music activity. The name of the song was Fossils. At the end of the day Inga made a special presentation. She had shared some ladybugs with us yesterday and Ms. Boyer sent her home with the special challenge of finding out what ladybugs do in the winter. She found out that they hibernate and that ladybugs have special blood that works like anti-freeze.
Today we got a new class pet. It is part of an experiment to see if we can grow tomatoes using a hydroponic system. The system was created by a student at CJP named George and he has given it to our classroom to try for the year. The fish waste gets sucked up by a pump and put into the container with the tomatoes. Then, the tomatoes roots and rocks filter the water and it gets put back into the fish tank. Sadly, at the end of the day we noticed that one fish is looking sick. We are hoping that the rest of the fish will be ok.
Today we also had student teachers come to visit our classroom. They will be here observing all week.
In math we did some computer work. We started by making 2 log-in cards. One is staying at school and another one is coming home so that we can log in to Mathletics and raz-kids at home. After our cards were ready we worked on the patterns section of Mathletics.
At lunch, Mrs. Nicky was our lunch supervisor instead of Mrs. Kidd. They are going to take turns being our supervisors so that they all get to know us.
After lunch we started working on our good copy watercolour painting for our Churchill, Manitoba tourist folders. Then we had gym. In gym, it was our last day of hula hoops. We did some tricks and then we did a relay race. After that we did some journal sharing. We made sure the people who did not get to share last time got a turn this time. Then the rest of us did knee-to-knee sharing. A few people are bringing home their journals to finish.
Today was Fresh Air Friday. We went on an outdoor pattern hunt. We worked in groups of 3 and had to take pictures of different patterns using the iPads. Here are the types of patterns we had to find:
Outdoor Pattern
Hunt
- An AB pattern
- A colour pattern
- A shape pattern
- A human-made pattern
- A natural pattern
- An ABC pattern
- A pattern you’ve made
- Your choice pattern
After we found all the patterns we created a poster to show our patterns. Our posters had to include a title, 8 pattern pictures, labels, and extra details to make it interesting.
This morning we started our day with a visit from author Marty Chan. He told us some very interesting folktales from China and even included some magic tricks in his stories! We really enjoyed listening to him and loved it when he made up a brand new story just for us. Isabel was the main character (a world famous ballerina) in his story and Diego was her enemy (the strongest kid in the world). Diego was jealous of Isabel's dancing but in the end Isabel taught him how to dance and they became great friends!
After Marty's presentation we decided we should write him some letters to say thank you. We each wrote a letter to Marty and put them in a big envelope for him. Mrs. Hamby gave him the envelope just before he left the school at lunch time.
Before lunch we finished up our leaf books and had a bit of time to play math games on the iPads. We are bringing our leaf books home today!
After lunch we had one last day to finish up our arctic landscape rough copies and our suitcases. Next week will be moving on to paint our watercolour landscapes. Only one more week until Ms. Boyer goes on her big trip!
Please remember that tomorrow is Fresh Air Friday. We will be outside for most of the morning and need to be dressed properly. Due to our chilly mornings it is a good idea to bring gloves, a hat, a warm coat, and warm outdoor shoes. On Fridays it is also a good idea to bring a snack. Working outside makes a lot of us extra hungry! Our helper on Monday is: Abdul Ahad
This morning we started with centers and guided reading. We also had home reading. Most of us remembered our books so we will come home with a new book today! After that we continued working on our Whispering Woods writing. We tried to finish our "I See..." ideas.
In wordwork the grade 1's practiced hearing the difference between the "ig" and "og" word families. The grade 2's worked on rules for short 'a' and long 'a' vowel sounds.
In math we put our leaf attribute books together. Tomorrow we will finish the covers and then we will bring them home.
This afternoon we kept working on our Churchill, Manitoba picture. Most of us are finished but a few of us need some more time. We will keep working tomorrow. Once our practice drawings are finished we will make water colour postcards to show the landscape in Churchill. After that we had library. Most of us remembered to return our books!
In gym we played with the hula hoops. We practiced rolling the hoops without letting them fall over. Then we practiced passing the hoops to a partner. Then we learned a trick about how to throw the hula hoop and get it to come back to you. Tomorrow we will have a guest author visiting our school. His name is Marty Chan. Following his presentation he will have some books available for purchase for between $5-10. Please check his website for more information about his books.
This morning some students had guided reading but some students did not because on Monday's onlyt the grade 1's have guided reading. After we had our pictures taken we started working on our journals.
After recess we continued working on our attributes art project. Some of us don't have very many leaves left. We will be trying to make one more page tomorrow so please bring some extra leaves from home if you think you will need them.
After lunch we started looking at the landscape in Churchill, Manitoba. We used Google images to find pictures and dragged our favorite landscape picture to our desktop. We noticed that it looks really icy and snowy in Churchill. There are not a lot of big trees but there are a lot of rocks. In the ocean (which is Hudson's Bay) we noticed some icebergs.
In gym we started working with the hula hoops. We did a few different drills with the hula hoops and we will keep working with them all week. After gym we had a few minutes to finish our journals. A few of us are bringing them home for homework tonight.
Home reading started today! Please check your child's backpack for their book and make sure the book is read and returned to school each day. If you are available to volunteer for home reading please sign up on the Google calendar. Please remember tomorrow is treat day hosted by Room 2! Each treat will cost 25 cents. Ms. Boyer isn't feeling very well. So Mr. O will be here to teach us tomorrow while Ms. Boyer stays home to get better.
Today was Fresh Air Friday. Before we went outside we worked to finish up our suitcases for our Churchill project. While we were working some of us went to help Mrs. Smith plant daffodil bulbs and crocus bulbs that Ashton's family gave to us.
Then we started our outside time by playing camouflage in the Whispering Woods. In camouflage Mrs. Hamby was the predator and the rest of us were the prey. We had to hide and hope that Mrs. Hamby couldn't see us. If she did, we were caught and we had to go to the path. Some people found really good hiding spots and Mrs. Hamby wasn't able to find them.
After that we had our snack break inside and then we did some sketching of Whispering Woods. When we were sketching we got to choose our perspective by deciding if we wanted to sit at the top of the hill or the bottom of the hill.
Parents: - We are hoping to begin our home reading next week. If you are able to volunteer please add your name to the home reading google calendar. This program is extremely valuable for our students but can only run with parent support. - Please remember that Monday is photo day. - Please remember that Tuesday is treat day hosted by our class!
