Les aventures des jeunes

We have had a very busy 6 weeks or so since the concert! I thought I would share all the things we have been doing over the last few weeks. We have had a focus on reading and writing. You may have noticed fewer posts on Fresh grade as some of the writing has been coming home as a hard copy. We have also spent a lot of time finishing the garden project pictured below. The growing garden We have been working on representing a garden in the school. You may remember we went to the forest to see what was in "dirt".  The children also brought home the bean seeds that they planted. From that point we continued to create a full garden and to talk about biodiversity.  Our garden includes seeds, roots, leaves, flowers and ladybugs (to eat the aphids). It also includes the water cycle. We labelled the garden so that others could learn from our work. It was a combined effort between our class and Erin's grade 1/2 class.  If you are in the school, please take time to t...

We have had a busy few weeks since the return from March break. Before the break we spent time with the story "The little Red Hen". Since our return we have picked up the theme of planting and seeds. Planting and seeds Jack and the Beanstalk- Story writing, Art and Engineering As a connection to spring and "The Little Read Hen" we read several versions of Jack and the beanstalk. We compared the characters that we included in the various versions. We made note of the common elements. We played the game telephone and talked about how oral messages change over time and how this happened to Fairy Tales and other stories that come from an oral tradition.  We talked about who were the characters in the stories, where the events took place and what were the key events. The children brainstormed what they would do if they found a large beanstalk outside their bedroom window. The then took the ideas they had drawn and wrote a story. I hope you enjoyed the stories ...

Hello everyone! We have a very busy week planned for next week. Next week we will be focusing on Friends and Friendship. Valentine's day The grade 6/7's have a fundraiser that will come home in the agenda's Tuesday February 7th. They are offering to prepare a class set of Valentine's for your child to hand out on February 14th. The cost is $10.  For those families who would like to make their own cards, I have attached a link to a class list. Please send a card for each member of the class. Also this year we have many allergies and sensitivities including children who are sensitive to sugar. Please do not attach a candy, chocolate or lollipop to the cards. Thank you. Link to class list 100th day I will send home a "cape" with your child later this week. The cape is in a ziploc bag that includes instructions, a 10 frame and a rectangle of plastic. The goal is for your child to attach 100 items to the cape for our celebration of 100 days at...

Loose parts We have been using the loose parts (see pictures) for many projects over the last several weeks. We have made many winter scenes. The children have then told stories about their winter scenes practicing telling beginnings, middles and ends of stories.  This week we looked at pictures of snowflakes as they were seen under microscopes. The students then used the loose parts to make symmetrical snowflakes with a pattern around the centre core.  Also this week they used the loose parts to build a shelter for a penguin during an antarctic storm. The shelter had to be big enough for the penguin and be able to withstand substantial wind (blowing on the shelter). These activities promote creativity and critical thinking. They are also related to many of the subjects of the curriculum, including Applied design, skills and technologies.  Science Challenge On Friday we participated in the science challenge. The student were to build a ping pong...

Welcome back to each of you! We have had a wonderful start to the new year. I have really enjoyed the snow and the cold (yes, you may call me crazy!) Our icy field- it was inspiring.  Last week we read stories about snowmen. We talked about the water cycle in terms of water melting and freezing. We studied the ice in the field and wondered how the bubbles got into the ice. We did a few art projects. We made snow scenes with loose parts (there are pictures on Fresh Grade), snowmen out of plasticine and a paper art project of a melted snowman. We used the paper art project as inspiration to write about what snowmen should not do to prevent melting. There were so many good ideas in the class such as visit the desert, have a bath or drink hot chocolate. The world at the poles While the cold weather is here, we have started a unit on life at the poles. We will look specifically at penguins and polar bears. The class seems really interested in penguins right now. We are going...

While we have been trying to keep to our usual routine, we have also been working on some larger projects in class over theses last 2 weeks. The goal of these projects is not necessarily the final product but the process that the students go through while finishing the project. These are called the Core Competencies which are at the heart of the new curriculum. They are essential qualities that business leaders have shared that they look for in employees. Link to: Core competencies in the new curriculum Last week we were practicing "working with others" and "Trying something a different way" (if the first attempt did not work). In order to practice these competencies, the students were asked to build a sleigh that could hold at least 10 presents using nothing but tape, paper and 2 straws for the sleigh runners. There were many different sleighs and they all held the gifts through a turbulent ride. Gingerbread building also required us to look at another ...

What you can do at home: To support you child at school, there are many things that you can do at home. One of the most important things that you and your child can do at home involves helping your child to become self-reliant and see themselves as capable people.  When a child feels capable they are more willing to try new things at school even if they perceive the activities as difficult.  Here are a few ideas for home to build self-reliance: Have your child empty their own backpack and bring the lunch kit to the kitchen and give/ put the agenda where you can sign it Have your child put the lunch kit and agenda in the backpack in the morning (Find a spot to put the lunch and agenda that you can see in the morning to help them remember the new job.) Have your child bring dishes to the counter or load the dishwasher (if you are comfortable with them loading) Let your child zip their own jacket and help only when the zipper is truly stuck. Teach them to tie shoe...