We went on our first field trip today and we all came back wet, but happy. What was everyone's favourite part?...the bus ride, of course! For many of the students, this was their first experience riding a big, yellow bus (with NO seatbelts). We were all very giggly and enjoyed singing our favourite classroom songs during the ride, and poking the people in front of us and behind us. But believe it or not, there was a whole lot more to the field trip than just the bus ride. We went to the Burnaby Village Museum where the highlight was riding a carousel that was over 120 years old, and that went FAST! Mme Van Sickle may have even been a little nervous when it first got going. We also got to see a blacksmith forge steel using fire, a hammer, and an anvil. We spent some time in an old one-room schoolhouse, learning about fountain pens and how the girls were required to clean the floors and desks every day. (There were no janitors). We toured an old general store and observed how phone calls used to be made on crank phones and we even got to sit in an old trolley car! Overall, it was a great day, despite the torrential rain. In other news, we've been working through a unit on bears, talking about what bears do during the different seasons, what they look like (lots of great French vocab here!) and where they live. We'll be learning even more next week, but this week we got to play a math hide-and-guess game with little bears to practice our addition, and the kids worked really hard to make some bear art based on the work of a Canadian artist named Ted Harrison, who comes from the Northwest. We also had the chance to read a First Nations story that hails from the Canadian Northwest, all about a bear who is very wise because he listens to the nature all around him. He's thankful for the sun, the water, the trees, the moon, and Mother Earth for all that they bring him. The students reflected on why they are thankful for each of these things, too!
It was an exciting week of visitors in our classroom! A group called "Science Alive", made up of students from SFU, came to do a STEM presentation for the students. (STEM = Science, Technology, Engineering, Math). They talked about coding language and had the kids give them exact instructions on how to make a peanut butter sandwich, as if they were writing in code. They also did coding magic tricks and helped us to make our own paper robots. But the best part was getting to practice some coding of our own, using spheros - little computerized balls that the students could program to move in different ways around the classroom by drawing shapes on an iPad. It was nothing but smiles all around as everyone experimented with changing the colour of the balls, making them move in star formation, hearts, or circles... We LOVED having Science Alive come to visit and can't wait for them to return with a new presentation in the Spring. We were also fortunate to have Mrs. Upton, one of the leading primary experts in our school district, come to our class to do a presentation called "Story Workshop". She began by reading us an adorable story about a narwhal, then inspired us to use all kinds of fun, random objects to each envision a story of our own. After we laid out our stories, we got the chance to tell them to the whole class and some of us even began documenting them. We can't wait to try the "Story Workshop" concept again! Ask me about: - visiting the Entrepreneur Fair - counting by 2s - bears and "hibernation" - coloring with oil pastels - walking to Mitchell Rd. Park with our buddies Something very exciting has arrived in our classroom!...a projector! Apparently last year's projector broke in June and we've been waiting for the last 2.5 months for the new one to arrive. It has been so much fun to begin incorporating it into our routine. We now watch 5 to 10 minutes of French clips on YouTube almost every day. This not only helps us decompress after recess, but it also gives all of us the much-needed exposure to native French speakers and nursery rhymes/songs that are deeply embedded in French culture. (Many of the clips we are watching were favorites of the two little French boys - 6 and 4 years old - that I lived with when I stayed in France for two years). If you want to watch some of these at home, you can check them out here and here. (Of course there are loads more if you want to keep digging into the YouTube blackhole). :-) Now that the weather has taken a turn for the worse, the projector is also allowing us some ways to stay dry and get our bodies moving. In the picture below, we are dancing along with a website called GoNoodle - a site filled with Kids' Zumba and other body movement lessons. Pretty soon Mme Van Sickle may even figure out this crazy "smart board" technology, officially ushering HER into the 21st Century.
And guess what... Christmas is coming. I know. You don't want to hear it. Or maybe you do. Maybe you're one of those people that already has their tree decorated on November 1st as soon as the Halloween decorations are put away. (Are you nuts?!) Anyway, we have begun preparing for our school Christmas concert. We will be joining with Mme Tremblay's Grade 1 class next-door to sing "Voici un petit sapin". The kids are already getting quite good at singing along with the YouTube clip! Likely Mme Van Sickle will accompany on the piano for the actual performance so we will soon transition to singing without the video clip. Please feel free to play this song at home occasionally and let the words absorb into those little brains. Ask me about: - making paper toys with my big buddy - my word ring, and the words that I am beginning to read - the sounds that I'm learning - going on a Math "safari" (searching for animals hidden in the classroom and counting what I find) - playing Math games with Lego Oops! How has it been two weeks since I last updated?! Everyone in my household is healthy again so we should be back to regular weekly updates now.
Today was a day of assemblies. We began the day with our solemn Remembrance Day assembly, where we listened to some special performances and watched a slideshow about being thankful for living in a country where we enjoy peace. We followed that up by learning a new song in class, all about poppies. In the afternoon we were treated to a very special performance by a group from the Bohemia Ballet studio. They performed various ballet, jazz, modern and street dance numbers for us, and then even taught us all some moves! The students got a kick out of watching their uncoordinated teachers attempt some hip-hop, and everyone had smiles on their faces as they practiced their moves with the music. Last week was Halloween and we had a great day, full of fun, activities, and food! The students paraded through the hallways, showing off their costumes to rows of encouraging parents, siblings, and school staff. How are we approaching mid-November already?! |
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