SNOW!!.....Oops

I was wondering where all my post have been going! Then today I noticed that I had been writing them on an old blog I started years ago.Oops! So here are my last two post, sorry for the delay.

Hi everyone. I hope you are all staying warm today seeing that it’s snowing! It was great to see some of you at Spring Fling! What a great event. The students sure enjoyed it and it was great to see the community of this school come together!
I cannot believe that April is almost over and we only have two months left of school. This week we are learning about the different types of farm animals, male, female and their babies. The students will learn the proper names of each animal, where they live, the sounds they make and the products they produce. In the following week we will be moving onto insects, the cycle of life and how plants grow. Thanks for sending in the egg cartoons, scrap paper and CD cases. We will be using all theses for projects in the next couple of weeks.

We have started subtraction in class which seems to be going great so far! Fingers crossed that it continues when we start to learn different strategies. Science is coming along and students have learned how to read a thermometer. We did an experiment last week and they were super surprised to see the thermometer rise and fall depending on the temperature of the water. In social studies we will be starting Le travaille (work) from the different areas that we are studying. In English we are having a great time learning about the different types of poems, so far we have learned about Haiku's and started acrostic poems today in French about rain (PLUIE) We have started to play with plasticine or as some say modelling clay last week. The students watched a video on Barbara Reid and the techniques that she uses when creating her illustrations. They also made snakes and will have the chance to make a cat and a spring time seen. In art this week students also had the chance to use water paints to create a rainy day seen, which goes with their acrostic poem PLUIE.

Thank you too all the volunteers for Anne of Green Gables. Hard to believe we are heading there in a months’ time. So to confirm we will be going to the play on Thursday May 30. We have to be at the theatre for 11 am and the play starts at 11:30. It should last 2.5 hours with a question period after. I do not think we will be able to stay for this seeing that we have to be back at school for about 2:50. We will see though, I still have to do a couple of runs on the train myself to get the timing right and so on. We will bring our lunch and snacks with us to eat in the plaza right by the theatre. I was also thinking that if we arrive there with enough time, we might go explore the children’s floor of the library right by the station. Just a thought, we shall see how it all goes.
That’s about it for now. I hope you all enjoy the rest of the week and lets hope that this weather changes soon.
Laurie Anne

April flurries bring May flowers?

Well I am not sure about you all but I am getting tired of this snow business! I hope the warm weather comes sometime soon.

This week we are looking at words with silent letters at the end, in french we call them les lettres  muettes or les lettres fantomes. I have noticed that some students tend to pronounce the lettres and then get confused with the meaning. For example we do not pronounce the "p" in trop. Most of our sight words this week all have les lettres muettes. In French we are also starting to look at comic books. This week we will compare and note all  the differences between comic books, fiction and non-fiction books. The student will have the chance to write their own comic books in the next couple of weeks. Earth is coming up so we will be brainstorming some ideas on how or what we can do to help our our environment.

In music the students were very excited to start to learn about "STOMP". We had a great introduction and they learned about vibration, amplification, frequency, and volume.

 We are having some success in math as of today. I think I actually saw some light bulbs come on! Great moment! I encourage you to keep working with your child at home on this. Also if you are able to give them a good introduction to double digit subtraction at home it would be very beneficial for them when we will start to learn about it in the next coming week. I also wanted to ask you all if you could help your child with their double and double plus one math facts. I think that some do not have these master yet which is what can be holding them up.

We continue to work on adjectives in English and the students will start to learn about poetry, seeing that April is poetry month. This week we will look at the different styles of poetry and read a couple of poems by Shel Silverstein and Jack Prelutsky. The students will practice their rhyming skills and learn that not all poems have to rhyme.

In science we will be playing with thermometers and getting our hands wet for some of our experiments. This week students will learn the different parts of a thermometer and we will be putting them to the test in bowls of water. We will also be using our hands to measure temperature as well.

 I am hoping to get to the art room sometime this week and work on a spring scene (If it ever comes). The students will be working with water color pencils, which can be super fun.

We keep getting post cards from around the world, a huge thank you for helping us out with this project. That is all for now. I hope things are going good at home, let me know if you need anything from me or just want some ideas on what you can do with your child at home. I am always happy to help you all out in anyway I can.

Chat soon

Laurie Anne

 

 

 

PS - Good Deal Alert!

I got a ton of great french books at a used books store that is going out of business down in mission. All their french books are $1.00 and all the other books in the store are 50 percent off. There is a good selection of children's chapter books left too. For you parents also wanting to learn french or help out at home with words, there are tons of good dictionaries left along with a couple of work books.  I read a book to the kids today that I got there and they asked where I got it. In the end I told them the story, so they have asked me to let you all know. The store is called books on 4th, (2100 4th str SW) its tucked away in the corner by the meat shop and a video store,. ( There are some real island directions for you all lol) If you head down and have the kids with you, you should also check out the pet store and the pot bellied pig that lives there. I hope if you have time you can check it out, there are suppose to close April 30th if they do not sell out by then. I might head back there today and pick up a few more books.

Welcome Back!

Hi everyone,
I hope you all had a fabulous break and are well rested. I had a great time in Vancouver taking in the greenery and ocean air! How I miss the ocean and its humidity!
In the next couple of days we are going to finish up a few odds and ends that I didn't get a chance to do before break seeing that I was out sick for most of the last week. Once we finish we will be starting a new theme which has a focus on spring, our environment and both farm and zoo animals. The students will learn new vocabulary, how plants grow, the importance of recycling and keep our earth healthy.
In art we will be taking a look at Barbara Reid and her clay illustrations. Students will learn some of her techniques and will be able to play with modelling clay. For one of their projects they will need an empty CD case. If you could send that in with your child's name written on the back of it that would be great. I would like to have them before the 19th of April if possible. Thanks in advance!
In English we will be learning about the different forms of poetry. We will be reading poems by Shel Silverstein, Jack Pretlusky, Roald Dahl just to name a few. These authors have great websites, so feel free to go exploring with your child in your free time. We will continue to read Anne of Green Gables in class as well.
*Just a note on going to see the Anne play. I have booked it however I had the date wrong. We will be heading down to Calgary Theatre on Thursday May 30 for 11:30. I hope this does not cause any problems for anyone. If you could also let me know who all wanted to join us again that would be great. Those who are volunteering can send in their $25.00 for the ticket and I will put it towards our field trip.*
In french I am hoping to do a book study on comic books. We will look at the different styles, compare them to the books we are use to reading. They will also be able to create their own comic book.
In music we will be listening to different songs from around the world and take a look at the musical instruments used in STOMP and how they are different from others we have seen. I am still looking for some lovely volunteers to come in and play for the class if there are any takers.
In math we are learning different strategies to add double digit numbers. They are starting to get the hang of it!
In science we are still working on hot and cold and will learn about the different parts of a thermometer. In social studies we are finishing up our unit of traditions and will be starting our unit on work.
That is all for now! I hope you all had a great break.
Laurie Anne :)