Strathcona Wilderness Centre

What a chilly, chilly day it was BUT thanks to all of the parents who ensured

that the littles were well dressed in layers, with lovely boots to protect them

from the wet grass, and mittens and toques for warmth, we had a great day!

We started with a type of nature hunt.  Here is the sheet that listed what we were to look for.

Later we searched for colours found in nature like..

purple thistles,

brown tree trunks,

yellow leaves,

and orange ones too!

Finding little crawly and flying creatures was a bit harder.

It meant digging under leaves and around roots,

but it paid off!

Thanks to the grandmas, and mamas who came along to help!

We learned a lot about the animals different ways to prepare for winter 

during this season of Autumn, including long words such as 

hibernation and migration.

Later on we got to hear another interesting lady explain all about 

Indigenous peoples of Canada and their life long ago.

She had so many interesting items that we were allowed

to carefully touch like these mittens made from seal skin.

She even let this little guy wear a necklace made with teeth and bones!

Moccasins, breastplate, jingles, beads and deer skin!  Wow!

We all got a chance to make a little craft, a fan with feathers.

She taught us some games that were part of the culture and

we got to try them both inside,

and out!  Fun!

It was a lovely outing but the kiddos were definitely ready to go home!

We are learning

Do you ever wonder what we do all day?

Most of the time we are just sitting around.

Well, actually that's not quite true.

We do sit with a partner and practise reading.

These are the little books we have been making and they contain

many of the sight words that we are learning to read and spell.

Learning to read is hard work, but our friends in our class do not judge us.

They help us get better.  That's what friends are for!

We have started to learn a bit more about ourselves within our

community.  We all belong to families, but families do not all

look the same.  People in our families love us and that is what

is important!

The students created their own family glyph.

Glyphs are often used by children as a way to gather and

depict data, in this case, a picture form of their family.

Who lives in this child's house?  This child said that they have a mom, dad, sister, 

grandparent and two pets that live with him or her.  The white square is the child.

Can you tell if this is your child?

Maybe this represents your family or

maybe it is this one.  The students were able to talk about their

family in a concrete manner using the glyphs.

These two fellows were so proud!  During language learning centre time,

where the various work tubs are full of activities (many that are working those time motor

muscles that are so important) these two created the whole alphabet!

What looks like play is real learning!

Even though we prayed for better weather, God chose to let the rain come down.

Our Terry Fox 'run' turned into a walk with Grades One and Two classes

doing laps within the gym.  We all know that Terry is a Canadian HERO

and we are proud to continue his Marathon of Hope.

All the students got to decide who they were running for.

Here is the little guy who was able to put a chocolate and whipped cream 

pie in my face!  He was sweet and didn't smash me!  It was worth

the need for a bath tonight, because the students in my class were very

interested in learning about Terry, our hero!

The students got to paint using watercolours.  This is just the 

first step in a multi-medium project that they are working on.

Wait until you see the final product!!

This is how we learn

Because we have been writing since we were little, we don't really think about

how much our little ones need to exercise their muscles in order to do the things

they do in school....print, paint, colour, cut and glue.

It is important that your child's pincer grip is strong.  That is the ability

to use their thumb, pointer finger and middle finger to pick up and manipulate

things.  Think about when you have dropped something small like a

bead or a screw onto the ground.  Look at how your fingers work together to pick it up.

Today the students were exercising their fingers as they pulled off

alphabet stickers to place them in order 'up the coconut tree.'  That's

from the Bill Martin Jr. book Chicka Chicka Boom Boom.

After they had the 'whole alphabet up the..." they came and read

their work to me for a quick assessment.  Have your child point to each letter

of the alphabet and say it to you.  Can he or she say it rather than sing it?

Do the letters l m n o p become a new funny word instead of 5 individual letters?

Does your child actually point under the letter or is the hand moving without

actually being on the letter that he or she is saying?

Knowing the letters of the alphabet is an important first step in both reading

and spelling.  Knowing them is different than singing them.