Circle stories, jump rope for heart and more.

Field trips and special events

Dinter's- We had a wonderful trip to Dinter's this week. We toured the greenhouses and the tropical area of the store. We learned what the plants need to grow. We also learned about ponds and the predators that eat Koi in the ponds. We also released ladybugs to help keep the plants healthy by eating the aphid.

Of course we also transplanted tomatoes to a bigger pot. I hope that you were able to find a good home for the plants at your home. The plants will grow an Italian type tomato.

Museum trip- We will be heading to the museum and Beacon Hill park on Tuesday. As we will be walking and eating outside, please pack layers as well as a hat for your child so that we are prepared regardless of the weather. At the time of writing the temperatures are supposed to be cool, like they were at the beginning of this week. 

At the museum, we will be focusing on the second floor, the Natural gallery as it matches well with the science curriculum for both grade 1 and 2. We will be focussing on the features of the living things in those galleries and their babies. If you are guiding a group. It would help if you asked the children about the appearance of the animals, birds and marine life.

On the third floor, the First Peoples' gallery also meets curriculum for grade 1 and 2. The children are to learn about Indigenous traditions and to be able to describe how their traditions are different. Again if you could keep this focus in mind as you lead your small group. 


Circle stories

We have been reading circle stories this week. These are stories that you may be familiar with such as "If you give a moose a muffin". The children planned and tried to write their own story that started at one place and ended at the same location. Many of those stories came home in the agendas this week. Your child may not be able to read their story but ask them if they can retell it. You can ask your children about the evaluation sheet and how we have new goals to reach for as we finish up the school year. Also you can ask them about marking my work using the evaluation sheet!


Subtraction

We are continuing to work on subtraction. We have been practicing subtraction facts to 20 through games and by using the manipulative in the class such as cuisinaire rods and hundred chart. Most students are subtracting by counting backwards, which is not really subtraction yet. If you have a grade 1 student, counting backwards is all they need to do this year. 

Over the next two weeks we will practice new strategies to subtract including using a number line and counting up to subtract. 


Ed Inform

I have been busy adding to Ed Inform:
  1. pictures of subtraction activities with comments and ideas for practice at home (for some students)
  2. a reading video with a complete evaluation and next steps for improving reading and fluency
  3. videos of skipping from the Jump Rope for Heart event 

What you can do at home:

  1. Practice subtraction at home. You can write a simple fact on a piece of paper using numbers between 1-20 eg 15-8 and have your child draw and answer.
  2. If you have a snakes and ladder board, start at 100 and roll one die to subtract the number. Move the piece to the new square and repeat until you reach 1. 
  3. Continue to read the home reading books and encourage them to change the books often, at a minimum on every Wednesday. Ultimately this is their responsibility to get the bag out of their back pack in class at reading time and change their books.😊

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