January 29

We got all dressed up in Sheree Fitch hats and went to see this engaging poet at Davis Bay Elementary. I can't post the whole video here -- at least not all at once -- but I thought you would like to know what a highly published Canadian author thinks makes a book a book.

January 29

We've been chanting Double Rap for a few days now. Today we thought we'd go public. We do have a video, but I'm having trouble getting the material onto the blog. I'm going to keep trying. In the mean time, you can ask for your own private performance at home.

Yay! It's up.

I apologize for cutting the video short at the beginning and the the end. I'm still getting used to this camera.

January 28

Ms. Fitchell's class made Math games to help us learn things about Math.

We really liked the games and hope they will come back soon to play with us again.

January 26

Our heritage sharing is going very well. Today we had a tasty treat from Italy. We've also seen pictures of Scotland, Indonesia, Greece, and the United States.

Some of us have practiced writing clues. Here is an example of our work from today:

It is an animal.
It lives in a house.
It meows.
Can you guess?

We know how to start with a big idea and narrow our focus to one clue that lets everyone guess correctly. Maybe you can write some clues together at home.

January 22

Carol helps us make big numbers using groups of 10.

January 21

To prepare for our meeting with the wonderful Canadian author Sheree Fitch, we have been reading her poems.

Ask your child about Beggs and Acon. After we read this poem from If I Had A Million Onions, we had some fun playing with our own names.

Beggs and Acon uses spoonerisms. If you are looking for something to do in the evening or you just want to hear lots of giggling, create some spoonerisms of your own. Then tell your child it's time to...

...tush breeth and bo to ged.

January 20

We have been exploring doubles (1+1, 2+2, 3+3, etc.). Today each child wrote as many doubles as possible during the Math lesson. Then we looked at some patterns that happen when we add doubles. Some children worked with material that helped them make doubles with "big" numbers (40+40, 100+100, 1000+1000, etc.).

Tomorrow we will continue our work with doubles, looking more closely at the patterns in doubles to 50+50.

Ask your child to show what (s)he knows about adding doubles. You can expect some misunderstandings at this point. When your child makes a mistake with doubles, see if you can figure out what misunderstanding created the mistake. Questions like, "Tell me now you know that," or "Show me how you did that," help your child to figure things out while feeling smart.

January 19

Today we began a new unit with our Aboriginal Education teacher, Mrs. P. (Mrs. Pugh). We will be learning how Aboriginal people see the natural world as part of their family. Today we talked about being thankful for the things animals give us.

This video will show you how to help your child with printing. If your child has trouble with a letter or a group of letters, check to see how we make the letter at school. If you use the same technique at home, your child will make faster progress.

I apologize for the quality of the video. I have been on a steeper learning curve than I expected with a new camera and a new computer that uses a different method for editing video than I am used to. I hope I can replace this video with others later.

You will also notice that this video does not cover all letters. That is also the result of my lack of technical knowledge. Other letters will follow.

January 15

Feelings change. That's what we've been talking about in our Second Step lessons. For example, a child who feels afraid to ride a bike with training wheels, comes to enjoy riding even without them. Tastes in food change.

Knowing about these changes can help a child to feel hope that the unpleasant feelings of today will pass.

Do continue to use words related to feelings when you talk with your child. The words our program focuses on are: happy, sad, mad (or angry), scared, excited, and disgusted.

January 13

We have started our unit on movement. We'll be talking about all sorts of movement and trying out as many as we can. You can support this at home by being alert to vocabulary about movement. This includes words about placement like behind, near, over, etc., as well as speed words like fast, slow, quickly, etc., and types of movement like, swimming, galloping, walking, bending, etc. If you need cooperation in getting jobs done for example, you can turn the job into a movement game: Can you pick up your toys like a bear, a butterfly, moving sideways, on one foot and one hand? Lots of room for imagination in this one.

January 12

This picture shows our two sets of twins with birthdays in January. One set of twins are actual sisters. The other set are twins only because they were born on the same day. Can you tell which set is which?

We heard about all the birthday celebrations today even though only two of these children were born on January 12.

With children turning 7, we are noticing that we are moving into a new phase of our school year. Not only are children having birthdays, but they are also learning many new things.

January 9

We had our last Christmas sharing. For now, we will have sharing on our old terms. Beginning on January 19, we will be sharing about our family heritage. Watch for a schedule of when your child will share.

January 8

One aspect of printing that is often overlooked, is the position of the paper on the desk. Whether your child is right handed or left handed, the side of the paper should be parallel to the writing forearm.

I'm hoping the pictures below are worth 1000 words.

January 7

One focus for the class this term will be printing. You can ask your child to explain how cats help us to print properly.

We are still sharing Christmas gifts with enthusiasm. Two more days and then we go back to the usual ban on toys as items to share.

January 6

We are still hearing about favourite Christmas presents.

With the daily downpours, the only word for the playground is wet. Please be sure your child has extra clothes at school. This includes socks and underwear.

Watch for a change in our home reading routine. Remember that no matter how you read with your child, daily reading together is the best thing you can do for your child's education.

January 5

Although five students were absent this morning, we got back into the groove quickly.

If you want your child to exercise more independence at the end of the day, leave me a note in the planner. Children who go take the bus or who go to Kids Club already leave when the bell rings. Those who are picked up must wait until someone comes to the classroom door. If you do want your child to meet you outside of the building, be sure to reinforce safety. I will still be in the classroom, so I cannot supervise the parking lot.

Each child is invited to bring one gift to show to the class during this first week back.

Our first group was enthusiastic about the things they brought.

January 1

Happy New Year!

This entry is also for the children.

We are having snow again this morning. From my window it looks wonderful! I've even been for a walk in it already. Today it is crunchy.

I know that you are used to thinking that snow is white. Today I'd like you to take a closer look. What colours can you see in the snow? Try looking at the snow at different times of the day and in different places. Try cutting into it where it is all piled up. What colour is it there? How many different snow colours can you find?

If there is still snow when we get back to school, we'll do this together. But the snow might be gone by then, and I want you to have a chance to think about snow colours while you are still in Grade One.

See you on Monday!