June 24, 2010

Although there are many special activities at the end of the year, we are still working on the curriculum. Today we explored magnets as part of our unit on force and motion. In pairs we moved pieces of metal through light cardboard and then noticed that sometimes magnets attract, and sometimes magnets repel each other. Some of us even figured out how to tell when to expect the magnets to pull toward each other and when to expect them to push apart.

You can continue to build on this learning throughout the summer by noticing pushing and pulling forces in activities around you. You could even observe any magnets you may have on hand.

Some families plan to leave before school actually finishes on Tuesday at 2:50. If your child will not be at school on Tuesday afternoon, please let me know so I can send home their things. Report cards will not be handed out until Tuesday. If you will not be here then. Please make arrangements to have your child's report picked up at the office.

June 23, 2010

What a great job Division 9 did today at the Primary Celebration! We danced well and looked great thanks to Ryan's mom and Heléna's mom.

I had planned to post a video here, but the person using my camera couldn't get it to work properly, so I have only this shot of the beginning. I apologize to those whose children are at the back. Everyone had a chance to be at the front, but this is the only shot I have to post.

The other photo was taken right after the celebration ended. You might be able to see our costumes.

Tomorrow we hear the local chorolations choir.

The next big event is on Tuesday. We'll clean up in the morning. In the afternoon, we'll go to the pool. When we get back, we'll have a brief celebration of our learning, get our report cards, and go home for the summer.

The end of this year is very close!

June 18, 2010

We did some long jumping. Here we are flinging ourselves into the long jump pit. We all tried to get better, and we did! Miss Owen signed a certificate for each of us that lists our longest jump.

June 17, 2010

We are practicing our Red River jig for the Primary Celebration on June 23 at 1:00. The music is available at
http://fiddlechicks.com/audio/redriverjig_gilbert.mp3

If your child wants to practice, you can just fire up the computer. You might even want to dance along.

May 18, 2010

On Wednesday, we will make stuffy pigs using the directions in a Jillian Jiggs book.

Please send an old nylon stocking (Pantyhose) or sock at least 7" long and a button for the pig's nose. I do have needles for everyone.

We could also use a lot of help between recess and lunch with this tricky project for little hands.

May 13, 2010 A

First of all, my apologies for waiting so long between posts. There always seemed to be something else more urgent to attend to.

Today I want to follow up on some of the topics I posted about before.

First of all, our class has completed our pilot of Dreambox. I am writing a report on our experience. (It is also in line behind many more urgent items.) The response from students has been mixed and my own impressions are also mixed. I will post the highlights of my report here when I have them written out.

Secondly, a group of Primary teachers at Gibsons Elementary have been working on a Learning Community Team project. We have been investigating the result of our teaching practice on the children's facility with mental Math. I'll report our findings here when we have them, too.

On Pro-D day, I shared our work with the rekenreks with the rest of our staff. There are many ways this tool can help children to build a mental image of a number.

While I was researching the development and the uses of a rekenrek, I came across the statement that when we speak of mental math, we are not talking about math in our heads, but math with our heads. This seems to me to be an important distinction. When we work with our heads, we are using clever and efficient means to solve problems. To do that, we have to understand numbers well enough to know which strategy is likely to work best at any given time.

May 13, 2010

Today we wrote stories with transition words. Transition words are words like: first, second, next, then, after, before, finally, etc. When you are reading with your child, see if the two of you can find transition words in the story.

April 7, 2009

Congratulations!

We have a Math star in our hallway. The stars hang in the hallway outside our classroom and celebrate those students who can answer all the addition facts to 18 in three minutes. We are looking forward to a whole universe of stars over the next weeks.

Our computer Dreambox lessons are finished. Right now we have lots of enthusiasm for worksheets full of Math facts. Of course, that's not all we want to do in Math, but for now, we are enjoying the practice and the sense of being able to do harder and harder questions.

We are also practicing our skipping skills. As temperatures rise outside, skipping is a great activity to build strong bones and a healthy cardiovascular system.

Does your child have a skipping rope?

March 25, 2010

We have a Talent Show coming up at Gibsons Elementary. Some students have already asked to take home a permission form. Since this is voluntary, asking for the form is the responsibility of the students.

The next responsibility is to return the form by the end of the school day on March 30. No late entries will be accepted this year.

Talk with your child to see if he or she would like to participate. If so, be sure the form is filled in and returned by Tuesday next week.

We had a great first day at the pool! Thanks so much to Shirley Waite for the oranges at the end of the swim!

March 24, 2010

Our swimming days are the next 5 Thursdays: March 25, April 1, 8, 15, and 22. Please be sure your child has appropriate clothing for walking to the pool. And of course send a swim suit and towel.

March 17, 2010

Thank you to everyone who returned the form for the swimming pool. To the rest, please return that form as soon as possible. This is a relatively new requirement for us, and I have to get the forms to the pool BEFORE we go for our lessons.

You will be getting a second form about swimming. It's the one that gives us permission to take your child off the school grounds. Our dates for swimming are Thursdays March 25, April 1, 8, 15, and 22. It would be great if you could come with us.

We have a new seating plan and in response to our class meeting, we are earning points by getting our work done. We can earn extra points for working quietly and for doing other things that make our classroom a better place. So far, the response has been positive.

An area where many children can use help is with basic Math facts to 18. I know many of you are working on this at home. Thank you.

March 15, 2010

Daylight Savings Time seemed to get the better of many children. When we started our day, 11 children were missing from their desks.

Good job to all who got to school on time today!

This afternoon we had a class meeting to think of ways to make our classroom better. After much discussion and a vote using stickers, we chose two things:
1. Get a pet, preferably a rabbit.
2. Have a hot tub put into the classroom.

We followed up that decision making with some problem solving activities.

We found out that if we want a pet, someone needs to take responsibility for the pet at the end of June. We also have to get some money to buy the things the pet will need.

We found out that putting in a hot tub would take too much work to be finished before the time everyone moves on to the next year. We also have to get more money than we can imagine, and we have to get permission from the people in charge of the school building.

We are going to find out if there are ways we can solve these problems.

In the mean time, we can do some of the other things that were also on our list, things like getting points for being quiet, putting up decorations for Easter, and moving our desks into a new configuration.

March 3, 2010

Not only did we have parents in to see our work today, but we also got a new Math manipulative.

It's called a rekenrek. (And two of them wrecked right away. James' Nona was here and she helped to repair them, but they still need more glue.)

Today we used our rekenreks to think about doubles plus one, which is what we have been working on in Math. The rekenreks help us to see the numbers in new ways. After we've used them a lot, we should be much better at our mental math.

March 2

I had a message to glue into the planners today, and I forgot to put it out. Here is what it said:

My huge apologies! I had the wrong dismissal time for Tuesday and Wednesday. It is 1:35, not 1:45.

I am about to begin phoning everyone to be sure you get the message. If I don't reach you, I hope you are reading this.

I'll see you tomorrow with your child.

February 27

We did a great job of our readers' theatre of the The Three Billy Goats Gruff. The video does not do justice to the performance. The camera did not take a complete track of the whole story. I'm sure your child will happily perform his or her part (and probably other parts as well) at home.

Thank you to all who have sent in the interview time sheet. Most have been given their most preferred time. If you don't have an appoint time yet, please call me at the school to make an appointment for Wednesday or Thursday.

Children will be dismissed early on both Wednesday and Thursday to allow for interview times.

February 25, 2009

Baby Charlotte grew 8 multi-links since we measured her in November. Now she is 37 multi-links long.

We will do a readers' theatre performance in the Primary assembly after recess tomorrow. Parents are welcome to attend.

February 24

Today we did Olympic printing. We copied some work from a chart in the room. Then Miss Owen marked it. If we score 12-13, we get a gold medal on our paper. If we score 10-11, we get a silver medal on our paper. If we score 8-9, we get a bronze medal on our paper. We will show off our work on the bulletin board in the hallway.

Today a notice went home about the parent-teacher interviews that are coming up. Please return the green form as soon as possible so you can have your most preferred date and time.

Tomorrow is Green Day.

We will wear green. We will also try to have a lunch that is good for the environment. We are trying to bring more reusable containers or food like apples that don't need wrapping at all.

February 17

We had a great time on 100 Day!

We had a special book for all our activities. We even had some activities left over to do at home. Here we are wearing our special 100 Day glasses. It's much easier to do 100 Day work when we wear these glasses.


We also held a draw to decide who would get the Olympic mittens Mr. Heidebrecht gave us and the growth chart with the Olympic mascots on it. Here are the winners with their prizes.

Remember that Friday is a Professional Development Day. Children don't come to school that day. I will be with the rest of the teachers on the Sunshine Coast at Chatelech learning more about teaching both Reading and Math, especially to children who struggle.

February 16

Mrs. Pinkey was pleased to report that Division 9 worked hard for her while Miss Owen was away enjoying Pairs Figure Skating.

Tomorrow is 100 Day, and everyone is reminded to bring a collection of 100 things displayed in a way that is easy for others to count. Today we talked about using smaller containers to hold 10 itmes each, using small bags, and using elastic bands. The most important thing is that parents and children talk together about the collections.

Watch for information on the next opportunity for Parent-Teacher interviews. A notice will come home giving you choices of when you want to meet with your child and the teacher to set goals for the final term.

February 6, 2009

We have been very busy lately.

We've been writing stories. First, we listen to a story many times. We act out parts and practice saying lines from the story. Then we use pictures from the story to help us tell the story ourselves. We will be bringing home our first story after we have had a chance to read it to a Kindergarten child. You can see samples of stories other children are writing around this time of year. http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/perf_stands/writing.htm This link takes you to page where you can look at writing performance standards. Simply click on your child's grade level. The part that applies right now is the part about Literary writing.

We've been using the Olympics to learn more about Canada. We got to watch the torch relay run right past our school. Some children from our class broke into a spontaneous rendition of O Canada when it was over.

We've been deepening our understanding of the number system and increasing the number of strategies we can use to do mental math. Some of this is through the use of Dreambox, and some is through more traditional methods.

We've been painting. We are learning to use materials correctly. For example, we use only the tip of the brush for paint.

We are looking forward to Valentines Day. We will celebrate on February 12. Please keep all cards at home until that day.

January 27

Who knew there were so many interesting facts stored up by Gibsons Elementary students -- or so many ways to attach those facts to backs!

Now that we are used to using Dreambox, many children are making good progress through the lessons. Some others still need serious teacher time. Parents who give me their email addresses by Friday will be able to follow their child's progress for free as long as the pilot continues (into March). Of course, the two-week free period will remain open to anyone at any time.

Janaury 25, 2010

We had a great DEAR day! The children brought in a wide variety of books and dropped everything to read them. We even used our books in gym as place markers and in a running game.

On Tuesday, we will each have a poem in our pocket. Then we will ask each other to read the poems we have throughout the day.

On Wednesday, we will wear a fact on our back. The fact is to come from a book we have read (or had read to us). Attaching the fact could pose a challenge. I wear keys around my neck on a lanyard. When I have lean over children, I often flip the keys over onto my back. I plan to wear my fact attached in the same way.

On Thursday, we will dress up as a book character we like.

Then on Friday, Nicola Campbell, a First Nations author will come to talk to our students about her books. (I will be in Madiera Park in the morning talking about mine.)

We are ironing the kinks out of our Dreambox use. All the children can log in on their own now, and most are good at staying on task. The teacher's dashboard lets me know that some are using the program at home.

You can still give me your email address if you want to check on your child's progress or allow your child to use the program at home.

We now have permission for our parents to extend the usual two-week period to the full time that we will be piloting the program.

I'm available to answer any questions about Dreambox or any other aspect of our classroom life.

January 20, 2010

We've read the story of The Lion and the Mouse. We've practiced saying some of the lines from the story. We are now writing the story for ourselves and doing a wonderful job!

Watch for a big book to come home in the next few days.

Today we learned just how big the sun is, why we can block such a large object with just our small hands, and how to make large things look far away in a picture.

Until further notice, we will dismiss from the computer lab on Tuesdays.

January 13, 2010

We got to see Baby Charlotte again today. She is definitely growing. But today she was not a happy baby. We learned that sometimes fussy babies who are not hungry want to nurse so they can calm down. We heard Baby Charlotte telling her mom that she didn't want to be moved. We know that fussy babies are not bad babies. They are babies with a problem and they need our help, so Maria, Baby Charlotte's mom, listened to her baby and didn't move here.

The following message will go home tomorrow in the planner. Some children have been ill, so I am posting the information here, as well.

Those following the class blog know that we have begun to use a computer Math program called DreamBox. Parents can receive two weeks of free access to their child’s work by giving me their email address and asking me to include them in the invitation to parents. I will send out the invitations through the site on Monday evening, so if you want to be included, please let me know and give me your email address by Monday at 3:00 pm.

January 12, 2010

DreamBox will not be our whole Math program.

We have been learning strategies for mental math. That's math we can do in our heads.

First, we are learning what the word strategy means. It's a way to make something easier to do.

So far, we have worked on a strategy for +0 and the "counting on" strategy for +1 and +2.

You will be seeing special strategy sheets come home from time to time. They have two columns of questions. If you look at them closely, you will see that the questions are similar, but that the column on the right is slightly more difficult than the column on the left. Children who have problems with any of the strategies get extra help at school. You can also check how your child is doing and give hints that work for you.

January 11, 2010

After school today teachers from across our district went to a session to learn about an online Math resource called DreamBox.

We were impressed by some of the things it can do for the children. We were even challenged a little by some of the tasks.

This program uses technology to figure out a child's level and then presents tasks meant for exactly that level. Each child moves along at his or her own pace.

We have agreed to pilot this program for 90 days.

Once I have the class logged in, and the children have learned how to use the program, I will be sending home information about how you can participate at home. Parents can sign up for a free two weeks. After that, there will be a charge. I'm hoping it will be minimal because I'm sure most of you would like to see exactly what you child can do.

Of course you will always be welcome to come in and watch what your child is doing with this or any other activity. With the number of classes wanting to participate, our schedule will probably have to change somewhat to give all of us the time we want.

January 7

Sometimes the timing is just perfect!

Shannon came today for a Roots of Empathy lesson. She talked about how babies get teeth and how Grade Ones and Twos lose them. Then she asked the children to draw pictures about losing teeth and write about the feelings that gave them.

After Shannon left, we went on with other work.





Suddenly, Maya called out, "My tooth came out!" And like a magnet, that tooth pulled all the children out of their seats for an inspection. Sure enough, there was a new space in Maya's mouth and a tooth in her hand.

At Gibsons Elementary, children who lose teeth while they are at school get a tooth container from the office so they can take teeth home safely.

January 6

Today we looked through a frame to find something interesting to draw. It's a lot harder than it looks.

January 5

We welcomed two new students today.

Cory and Malaki bring our numbers up to 23. They help to balance the girl/boy ratio. They joined in well and we look forward to working with them.

January 10, 2010

Today the children brought home a Word Wall list. This is a list of words they are expected to spell correctly in class.

That's because the words are posted on the wall where the children can see them at all times.

Note that the children are NOT expected to memorize these words. Some will, and that's fine. But the real goal is to give them a growing list of words for which they are responsible.

The list grows by 5 words each week. Look for a new list each Monday. New words are always circled. Watch, too, for the practice sheets the children bring home each day. The children are given clues and write all five words daily in response to the clues.

During the daily practice, the children learn a great deal about language by using the clues. They also focus on printing.

Families use the Word Wall Words in a variety of ways. Some have their child simply read the words each day. Some give clues themselves and have their child choose which word fits each clue. Some post the list on the fridge or on a bulletin board. When the child is writing, the parents can remind the child to check the list.

By using the correct spelling for this list, children often learn the words by memory by the end of the year.