As summer wraps up..

What we have been doing.

Welcome fall!


What you can do at home:

  • Have your child count as often as possible in French
  • play a board game with dice such as Snakes and Ladders, Junior Monopoly or others. 
  • Look for patterns in the clothes that they choose, around the house
  • Make a pattern and have your child finish the pattern and then change roles
  • Regularly ask your child what the name for items are in French. The more they can say in French the easier it will be to read and write those same words.
  • Use both the Home Reading and Songs we are Singing to help build vocabulary.

Our class activities:

An art provocation.

Yesterday, I displayed some fall pictures up on the smart board and had prepared art materials at the table groups. The art supplies included pieces of cut paper, crayons, markers and glue. I asked the children to think about what they could do with the supplies. The only other instruction that I gave was they had to use all of the materials ate least once. 


 The materials and the picture for reference

   Getting down to work.            

Everyone decided to make a tree and they all looked different. It was a wonderful activity that gave everyone a chance to develop their own idea how to use of the materials. Also, they made decisions and choices about the tree that they wanted to make. 

Over the next month or so we are going to be talking about fall, colours, leaves, farms and pumpkins. 
What you can do at home:
  • Ask your child what changes they notice in the temperature and weather
  • Point out geese heading south
  • Wonder with your child about how and why some trees lose their leaves and others do not (you are not trying for a "right" answer, more just talking about possibilities).

Math

In math we  have several activities on the go at once. First thing in the morning the students are working on inquiry baskets. The inquiry baskets are designed to provide open ways to think about numbers.
  • Basket 1- the children use dominos to count the points on the domino and find the matching total. 


  • Basket 2- the children use cubes to show a number. The children pick an apple card and then use 2 colours of cubes to represent the number, i.e. 3 yellow cubes and 4 blue cubes to represent 7. 
  • Basket 3- Is a Tic Tac Toe type game that requires the children to match a dice roll with quantities of dots.
  • Basket 4- The children attach links of chain to represent a number on a card.
In the afternoons we are making patterns. Also we are looking for patterns in nature. Next week we will learn vocabulary to describe patterns. We will practice making ascending and descending patterns and we will play a game "Pattern Police". One student makes a pattern with a mistake in it and then another student has to correct the pattern. 

Literacy

We read the morning message together as a class. We have also read two books on the smart board. We have read "Gros"  and "C'est l'automne" . You can find these book under the Home Reading tab. We are beginning to read 2-3 letter words and our friends names. We have several centres that provide ways to practice these words and names. 

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