All done!

It's all over!  Grade Two will soon be a memory as these sweeties move onto Grade Three where their new teacher will become 'the best teacher in the whole world!"  They are ready for the change!

We spent Tuesday at the Ukrainian Village.  One of the things that makes this experience come alive is the leaders who present themselves as actual people from the era when Ukrainian settlers arrived in Canada, taking up the government on the promise of free land.

This guy was able to find his great grandparents on the commemoration board.  Neat!

Our group leader took us to the 

first kind of house the settlers would have built, one made of sod.

For some of the children, they came face to face (literally) with animals they had never seen in real life before, such as cows...

..pigs

("Their hair is scratchy")

sheep

and a couple of Clydesdale horses who pulled the cart we rode in.

Don't forget the chickens!

The children went to school, using slates and chalk to

work on Roman Numerals with

the strict headmaster, who asked the students to stand when they answered a question.

Was it fun?

Yes (and a bit tiring!)

When the countdown balloon was popped on Wednesday, it was time to draw with chalk!

Thursday's balloon was an ice cream party!

(First we had a full day of ice cream related work to complete.

So delicious, that they licked the bowl clean!

The room was emptied of all of the tables and chairs and shelves,

and it was time to give out the awards...

and report cards (which we already knew said they were going onto the next grade)

and a little present from the teacher.

September will come all too quickly!

Enjoy the summer.  Read and write and practise math so that you can do your best in Grade Three!

Investigation of the Bubble kind...

Inquiry requires opportunities to ask questions, observe and draw conclusions.

The students investigated two different questions using bubble mix, a summer staple!

Will a large bubble move faster than a small bubble?  In partners, the students blew bubbles then using a paper fan, watched as the air carried the bubbles away.   

            The conclusion appeared to be that the smaller bubbles moved quicker than the large bubbles. 

The students also had to figure out how to make the bubbles appear in different sizes!

Using pipe cleaners, and in groups of four, the second investigation was to see what shape of bubble would appear when the bubble wand was in a square, triangular, double circle or heart shape.

The shocking conclusion.....bubbles are always round!

Here's our proud family with their latest addition of a little sister.  I am sure there are always enough hands to hold this little sweetheart!

We're still learning!

The students have ben writing up a storm!  In this last language learning unit exploring the world of dragons, the students have practised using similes and adjectives to write two dragon description paragraphs....

....have written a story entitled" How Dragon Lost His Fiery Breath", using what they had learned this year to ensure that the story had characters, a setting, a problem, three attempts at a solution and a suitable ending......

...and finally, used nonfiction material to fill in a graphic organizer with new learning and facts

about the dragon that exists on Earth today,

on five islands in Indonesia,

the Komodo Dragon.  

They worked on creating an introduction, four paragraphs of information and a conclusion.  They are all familiar with the understanding that each new paragraph of information should be indented.

For the last ten days of school, the students are hearing a loud 'POP!'

as each and every day, a balloon is burst.

Inside each balloon is a special activity that will be done that day.

On Monday, all the students learned how to make a paper airplane and then we had a contest!

It was a hit!

Our 'Small Crawling and Flying Creatures' science unit is not yet finished.  This past week, we explored the world of bees, learning that there are many different kinds and that like many other insects, they have compound eyes, which have multiple lenses!  These glasses helped the students see like the bees do!

Congratulations to this handsome fellow...

and this lovely gal who have now brought their lives closer to Jesus through the receiving of Communion.

Congratulations also to this guy who is now a big brother!  Baby is so sweet! Lucky to be the little sister to someone with big arms for lots of hugs!