It was "store day" today! (le magasin) We finally got the chance to spend all of our hard-earned nickels. And some of us even became first-time home buyers, having earned enough cash to scoop up our properties and end our pesky weekly rent payments to Madame. Others of us chose to continue renting for now, in favour of spending more on tangible items we wanted in the moment. We may come to regret this decision later, but this is all part of practicing and living out real-life scenarios in a safe environment. After all, the best way to learn is through experience. And at least for now, we were all thrilled with our choices. In gearing up for "Black History Month" in February, we have been learning about all kinds of famous people of colour who have made a huge impact on our society, whether through political action, art, music, science... you name it! From Martin Luther King Jr, to Viola Davis on our Canadian $10 bill, we have spent almost every day focusing on a different black hero. We were reminded continously that our skin is "just the wrapping paper" and had fun comparing our colouring. We have also enjoyed bopping in our seats during work time to a varied playlist of the greats like Arethra Franklin, Ella Fitzgerald, and Stevie Wonder... to Pharrell Williams, Beyoncé and Black Eyed Peas. (...as well as some famous black French singers!) And our team challenge this week was based on a famous black astronaut named Mae Armstrong. She was told that she would never achieve her dream of going into space and should become a nurse, instead. But she defied the odds. "If you can dream it, if you believe it and work hard for it, anything is possible." - from the book "Mae Among the Stars" In Mae's honour, we decided to make stomp rockets! Madame cooked up an interesting contraption with PVC piping and a 2-litre pop bottle, and we set to work. We made modifications along the way as we played with optimal designs. There was a whole lot of fun chaos in the classroom as we tested our models, but the best part was when we took it all outside. Those things could FLY! And Callum even figured out how to modify the design into a blow-rocket! Bravo, Callum! Amazing out-of-the-box thinking! We have been learning a new song! You may have heard some of us singing it around the house... the "Nations of the World," where we attempt to sing the names of almost all of the countries on Earth. How does this fit into the French curriculum? Madame says, "Don't ask... But we teach students first and the curriculum second." And Madame is trying to set us up to be killer trivia players in our later years, which is a critical skill for Tuesday nights at Foamer's, not to mention an awesome party trick. (And who says you don't learn anything in school?!) But in all seriousness, Madame has loved hearing us randomly break into song during play time. One of us will start singing the names of the countries, then another will join in, and soon the majority of the class is singing while building with blocks, sculpting putty, or delicately placing perler beads. We're not sure if we'll be able to learn the entire song before the end of the school year, but it will be a fun challenge just to see how far we get! Extra photos...
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