Graphing Democracy

Our classroom will be turning into a museum over the next while. We've looked at different types of museums, generated a list of 8 things we could study, voted, and prioritized our learning. Mummies it is. Our kids can't legally vote until age 18 but it's great to get them exercising that right early. 

Letters Make Words

This is a student who knows their letter sounds and is beginning to understand that letters come together to make words. 

This student is ready for exposure to high frequency "sight words", words that appear in early texts most often. You can find a list of these by Googling "Dolch Sight Words" or clicking here. 

https://www.google.ca/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=dolch%20sight%20words

Indoor Shoes Please

Hi everyone,

please note that if you haven't provided indoor shoes, we are getting to the time of year when shoes are often wet. This poses as a safety concern first and foremost, as our classroom becomes slippery. It also makes the school more difficult to keep clean, including our carpet. 

We are asking that we begin to honour that request. If finding another pair of shoes poses as a problem, let us know and we can try to figure out a solution. 

Thank you

Meaningful Writing

For this student, we stretched out the words by every sound and now know that we can work on the 'silent e' in 'Maple' as a next step. 

Out students get support by:

-having words stretched out by each letter

-having words stretched out by syllables

-finding the word in a familiar text

and for those who are learning their letter sounds/building their fine motor skills,

-we write what they say and they trace the words. 

Co-creating

Hand over hand, modelling, guiding, the goal is always to increase student independence and the confidence that comes along with taking risks. 

Those who chose to participate were  focussed, intentional, and calm/happy. They could probably tell you how that feeling felt.

Have a great weekend. 

"You need a hexagon plate for that"

I love cookies but I especially love pretend play cookies. 

Everything is something. 

Patterns Patterns Everywhere

Patterns are everywhere because they are how we make sense of the world. Some were always there, others we've created for the sake of order. From the same morning routine day after day to art inspired by the works of Anthony Goldsworthy (see below), patterns make us feel safe, patterns please us, and patterns stay with us. Sometimes patterns become so ingrained, we have to learn to let them evolve/let them go.

So...

While it's a busy weekend, we ask over the next couple of weeks that you go for walks in nature (we don't have much in walking distance from the school) to collect pinecones, leaves of all colours, twigs, flowers, rocks, etc.  We intend on making patterns, loving patterns, then breaking patterns.

Have a great long weekend!

These were created through a grade 4 collaboration between our's and a neighbouring school.

Everything Is Something

"The lizard is coming". 

And we work with it because "Everything Is Something". Everything has connections to the curriculum (entry point into sciences, storytelling, visual arts, geometry, etc.).  

Choosing Materials For Play

To piggyback on last week's post, here are some materials that can promote specific areas of development in our children. 

(Sorry for the poor photo, I was unable to find/link the site.)