Last week when I had to be out of the classroom for the afternoon, I left an assignment for my teacher-on-call to use.
It said, “Ahh! My teacher isn’t at school! I think my teacher is____________________________ right now!
I had a good laugh when I returned the following morning. Their ideas just cracked me up! Have a look at where they thought I might be!
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Guiding young children to be stewards for the environment is something that needs to begin when they are very young. Our field trip to Bright Angel Park provided a perfect setting in which to do so. Last week we had absolutely ideal weather for our trip. The kids rotated through five stations and this is what they did at each:
1. Up Close and Personal: Find a partner, spread a loop of string on the ground, get down and have a close up look with a magnifier at all the different organisms you can find in your circle.
2. Tree I.D.: learn about the different evergreen trees that grow in the park and make a crayon rubbing masterpiece using samples of the different species.
3. Slug Station: learn why slugs are so beneficial to this ecosystem, examine one with magnifiers, and learn to identify the parts of their body.
4. Wildflower Walk and Log Hotel: identify the wildflowers that are blooming in the park, learn to appreciate why they are so special, and listen to a story about what happens in a decaying log.
5. Playtime: Play on the playground and eat a pocket snack.
Here are a few of their drawings of our activities. Don’t you just LOVE the details they included? Just look at those slugs and centipedes!
And here are a few pictures of some of the wildflowers that were blooming in the park.
It was a beautiful day in a beautiful park. I sincerely appreciate all the parent helpers. Thank you Jen and her Mom, Carrie-Ann, Jamie, Megan, Greg, Karli, Pam, and Laura!
What have we been up to lately in Division 10? We’ve been doing LOTS of writing and LOTS of reading and LOTS of working with numbers. In between, we’ve found time to create some beautiful art, learn a new game in the gym, and hone our skills in the computer lab.
We had tons of fun with Mo Willems “Pigeon” books! We laughed ourselves silly over Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, The Duckling Gets a Cookie, Don’t Let the Pigeon Stay up Late, and The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog
We wrote notes to him, and he wrote back!
We’re also getting ready to celebrate Earth Day on Monday, April 22. Our school, along with hundreds of schools across Canada, has registered with Lights Out Canada. We’ll be learning in the dark that day, and helping to do our part to save energy and reduce global warming.
We’ve got the whole world in OUR hands.
1. Sensing the kids’ excitement and anticipation as soon as I greeted them in the line-up before the morning bell.
2. Listening to them thank each other for their valentines . . . sincerely . . . without me even having to remind them to do so.
3. Watching them pretend they were at a fancy restaurant as they served themselves from our buffet of pink or red fruit or veggies. Such good manners!
4. Receiving a shiny red apple from a sweet little guy.
5. Attempting (unsuccessfully) to temper their excitement over guessing which growing sponge toy was emerging from their cup of warm water . . . and then just enjoying their enthusiasm.
6. Watching pint-sized scientists make hypotheses about which Valentine candies would sink or float.
7. Having Jen help out in the classroom this afternoon. Couldn’t have done it without her!!
8. Noticing how incredibly quickly they learned how to read coordinates when we played Valentines Battleship on the SMARTBoard. It’s amazing what a little competition can do.
9. Coming home and reading their little heartfelt messages and admiring the drawings in their valentines
10. Savouring chocolate from a special group of parents. Thank you everyone, and Happy Valentine’s Day to you and your families!
We’re having a “love-in” in our class this month. Valentine’s Day provides a perfect opportunity to let each other know how much we like them and appreciate them. We have a Random Acts of Kindness board in our room right now. Rules? Try to catch someone doing something nice for someone else, write it down on a paper heart and post it on the board. Can you write one for yourself?
Nope. 
And here is a picture of their outpourings of love, mostly for their family members (although one little sweetie chose to make her Valentine for her guinea pig instead.) They sponge painted hearts, mounted them, and then attached a smaller heart with their message.
Please remember to send in a small amount of a cut-up, ready-to-serve PINK or RED fruit or vegetable for our Valentine’s Day snack time. This is just for snack time; they will still need a regular lunch. Happy Valentine’s Day to all our families!
Being ASKED to crinkle up paper? How fun! This art project had beautiful results. To make the background for their Arctic scene, my Grade 1′s crinkled up and then tore waxed paper. They glued it to the background, being careful to overlap it before deciding where to position the polar bears they had cut out. Stretched cotton balls turned into clouds, and they were done.
Have a look!
Most students completed their homework assignment to try four new foods in two weeks. Way to go! I hope they had fun doing so and have added a few more “likes” into their diet. During our unit on Nutrition, the kids have been learning that eating a variety of foods is the best way to make sure they are getting all the nutrients their body needs. Some kids will eat anything; others have a very limited number of foods they like. I’ve always felt that it is important to let them know that if they don’t like something now, they will probably like it when they get older.
Here are some of their comments when they tried something new.
Spaghetti squash: I like it. It tasted like regular spaghetti.
Lichi fruit: It looked like a really big peeled grape. The outside was spikey. I didn’t really like it.
Kumquat: I like it but it was weird to eat the skin.
Tofu: Gooooood!
Corn Chowder: Thumbs up!
Thai Curry: Too spicy. I need a drink!
Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake: Yummy!
Couscous: I like it.
Pepper cheese: I didn’t like it.
Fish: Don’t like.
Garlic sausage: I love it.
Laughing Cow cheese: didn’t like it.
Prawns and spaghetti: I love it.
orange glazed carrots: I did not like them.
snow peas: I like them
Baked beans: Mmmm. My favourite. They make you fart.
Canteloupe: It was so good!
Poutine: Bien.
Honey garlic wings: sticky, yummy!
BBQ Pork Roast: Awesome Mom!
Wild Salmon: It was ok.
Fresh garlic fettuccini: I loved it.
Organic roast chicken: I loved it.
Homemade chicken noodle soup and biscuits: I love it. Yummy.
Pink grapefruit: Oh: that’s a lot of flavours–bitter (with a sour face)
Marinated artichokes: Not good.
Papaya: Didn’t really like it. Liked it in the salad though. Mom used the seeds in the dressing.
Asian pear: It’s good!
Sushi: Was not good, but smoked salmon rolls were delightful.
Enchiladas: I say these are good!
Starfruit: I don’t really like it.
Danish havarti: It’s pretty good!
Cucumber: I like it. It tastes like carrots with water in them.
Brussel Sprouts: Yes, I like it.
Hummus and Pita Bread: This is the worst stuff ever made.
Mango: Yum, this is good.
Curried Chicken with rice: Bad. But the rice was good.
Buffalo Mozzarella: good!
Chili with black beans and corn: Don’t like it.
BBQ ribs: Don’t like it. Don’t like the bones in it.
Plum sauce: Delicious!
Caesar Salad dressing: Yummy.
Figs: Ummm–it looks like a raisin, tastes like sugar.
Quinoa: Yummy. Tastes like nothing.
Wild Salmon: It was good.
Fresh garlic fettuccini: I loved them.
Organic chicken: Yummy!
Chicken Soup: It was OK.
Cooked broccoli: I gagged.
Cooked frozen corn: I didn’t like it.
Pecans: I did not like them.
Pomegranate seeds: I finally liked them.
Baba Ghanoush: Mmmm . . . this is good. What is it?
Guacamole: Oh it stinks. Yuck. It tastes bad.
Grandma’s cucumber and carrot salad with spicy Hungarian paprika. Mmm. Smells good. Closes his eyes and gives two thumbs up. Tastes good. It’s a little spicy. But I’m still not going to try sushi!
Star fruit: Mmmm. Tastes good. Kind of like pomegranate. After the second piece, Oh, it’s kind of tangy. It doesn’t really taste that good. I’m not gonna eat any more.
Well done, Grade Ones! Keep on trying something new!
