Thursday, December 19

Today was a little lighter on the academic side, being the last day before winter break.  Today we wrote messages to go along with our art work, read some Christmas books and reviewed our Christmas vocabulary.  M. Trevor is away skiing with the big kids so we had our PE class outside because it was so nice out. 
Wishing you a wonderful winter break! 

Wednesday, December 18

After calendar students went to music class with Mme. Zdrill.  Students worked on an art project and then in math, they worked with a partner to solve an open ended math problem.  Here's the problem "On the weekend, I made some Christmas cookies.  I made them in the shape of tree decorations and candy canes.  I made 20 cookies.  How many of each cookie did I make? "  Students will share their answers tomorrow.  We continued with Christmas vocabulary and read several stories about kindness during the holidays.  Students participated in free centres (they could choose what they wanted to do) in the afternoon.
Please send along both library books and Home Reading books, as well as the red duotang.  Students will exchange books and I'll place the January words in their book.  Tomorrow is also "wear anything festive" day, if your child would like to participate.

Tuesday, December 17

Room 8 has reached their reading stamina goal of 25 minutes. Yeah!  In math we played an exciting game of "Tim Horton's Double Double." Ask your child about it, or check out the instructions in your child's green folder. Students finished off an art project. In science, we watched a video about magnetism, learned the 4 kinds of magnets and wrote down items that were magnetic and non-magnetic.  Students also enjoyed gym with M. Trevor, where he taught them more about skiing and snowboarding skills.
Please return any library books you may have at home.  Tomorrow is wear a festive hat day if your child would like to participate. I'll be sending home indoor shoes for a size check on Thursday.  If the shoes are good to go, just send them back on January 6.

Monday, December 16

This morning students used the Words of the Week (colours) in sentences in their journals.  They also played the game "Qui suis-je?" This game requires students to ask questions in French to determine the character they have chosen.  For example "Does your person have fur?  Is your person an elf?  Are they wearing a hat?"  We'll play this game throughout the week as it's great for practicing French oral language skills.  Students had music with Mme. Zdrill and in Math students finished up some addition work. We didn't get a chance to play our Math Monday game so I'll put that on the list for tomorrow.

In the afternoon in Science, students were each given a large magnet and asked to find things that were magnetic.  They recorded their "findings" in their notebooks. See what they found in the pictures below.  We went outside for our movement break and finished the day with an art activity.
Don't forget tomorrow is wear red and green if you'd like.

Friday, December 13

An exciting morning of caroling.  After caroling students had a snack and we went outside for a movement break.  We finished off the day with some art, our Star of the Week's presentation and some oral language practice.
Please send library books back on Monday.  Our librarian is collecting all books before the break. Thanks!

Thursday, December 12

I was away sick yesterday, so there was no post.  Today we had a fantastic presentation from M. Emil, Ella's dad about his trip to Cocos Island.  Students listened very well to his presentation which include a video and slide show, and they asked some great questions.  After he left, students wrote about what they learned in the French in their journals. We had an art lesson and in the afternoon, we worked on Christmas vocabulary and reading comprehension.

Tuesday, December 10

This morning students successfully completed our "Défi de Lecture"(reading challenge). We visited the library for the last time before the winter break.  In math, we reviewed how to do addition without re-grouping.  We read two books on kindness and bucket filling.  We'll continue this work for the remainder of December.  Students drew a picture of last week's Star of the Week and wrote about them.  Our final period of the day was PE with M. Trevor. 

Monday, December 9

This morning after our calendar routine, students visited Mme. Zdrill.  After recess students worked on the first part of their science test.  Students then worked on addition and we played our math Monday game. It's in your child's green folder.  We finished off our science test and while some students finished up, we watched a short film about hot and cold.  In social studies, we began working on a project describing Saskatoon.  We didn't see M. Trevor today but we got our exercise outside with Mme.

We will be going to the library tomorrow so place return books.

Friday, December 6

A short but busy morning.  After the calendar was presented, students' worked individually in their math books.  They are really enjoying working quietly and independently on their addition, and I'm just going to go with it!  We had a movement break outside and then each student went to listen to a book of their choice in another teacher's room.  The purpose of the activity was for students' to get to know other kids as well as teachers and as such, I did not let any of my own students stay with me. I'm happy to report, all students had a great time. 
Room 8 will head to the library on Tuesday, so please return books by then.  Tuesday is also special lunch.

Thursday, December 5

Tomorrow is PJ day for the school.  Students are welcome to wear their PJ's if they would like.  They may also bring one small stuffie.  As always, super special items should be kept at home as our room is not secure (but also happy to report nothing has gone missing this year).

Your child has the December Scholastic book order.  Should you like to order, please do so by 8am Monday, December 9.  I am not sure the book order will arrive BEFORE Christmas break, so perhaps don't order if you'd like them to be in time for Christmas. 

Today we started by using the 5 words of the week in our journals and I'm happy to report that most students are able to use all 5 words in the 25 minute period. After recess, students worked on their skip counting by 2's, 5's, 10, and 25.  In science, both before and after lunch we worked on a review of concepts covered during our hot and cold unit.  Students will write an assessment on Monday.  Students also played a fun throwing game in gym with M. Trevor.

Don't forget red duotang and home reading books tomorrow.

Wednesday, December 4

Lots of science learning today.  We were able to finish our unit on hot and cold and we began our unit review.  Students also had music with Mme. Zdrill and we went outside for our PE class.  In FLA/science we finished our "ne..pas" sentences about how animals stay warm in the winter.  We did not do math today.  In health we talked about the steps we can take when encountering problems outside at recess. 

Tuesday, December 3

We began our day with math and a magic number.  Today's number was 20 and students were given 15 minutes to write down as many ways to make 20 as possible. Tallies, pictures, addition, subtraction, ten frame, greater than, and less than were all possible ways to show 20.  I've included a student sample so you can see what I mean.  We also enjoyed a great presentation on marshal arts from our Star of the Week.
After recess, I gave each student their individual addition work, based on their current level of understanding.  We played Math Monday and in science we reviewed how animals stay warm and began an activity where students' must place the words in the correct order to make a negative statement (pictured below).  Students did some practice on my easel.  Students also had gym class.

Monday, December 2

Wow, it's already December!  This morning our helper of the day presented our December calendar for the first time.  We created a chart in our notebooks to document our ice cubes in their insulators/coolers.  After recess, students wrote in their journals and saw M. Trevor for gym class.  We continued to monitor and record our ice cubes throughout the day.  Also in science we read about how different animals keep warm.  Ask your child how a polar bear, bird, cow or sheep stays warm in the winter.  The picture below is how bees keep warm in their hive!  We did not get a chance to play our math Monday game, but we'll be sure and do so tomorrow.  5 students who were able to keep an ice cube cold from 9am-2:30pm-WOW!