Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween from this class of cuties....and the Grinch???

Exploring the concepts of colour

Thank you so much to the dad, three moms and the grandma who 

were able to help the kiddos explore the different concepts of colour

that they are learning about in science.

Ask them questions such as:

What happens to a colour when you add a little bit of black to it?

(The answer is that the shade gets darker)

Ask:  What are the three primary colours?

(red, yellow, blue)

When you mix those colours together what do you get?

(secondary colours)

What are the secondary colours?

(orange, purple, green)

Which 2 primary colours make each secondary colour?

The students also learned what the terms opaque and transparent  mean.

Can your child tell you?  Their painting over the teddy bears should

help them remember.

Ask:  What happens to a colour when a little bit of white is added?

 (The answer is that the tint is lighter)

They loved mixing the little balls of plasticine to make the new colours.

The food colouring was messy but fun!

The students also got to see a rainbow, although the photo below

did not turn out the way that they saw it in the room.  They learned

that the colours of the rainbow always follow the same order

and that when you use the first letter of each colour, you spell a

person's name:   ROY G. BIV

Can your child name the colours in order?

We try to fit in fine motor work as often as we can without

making it seem boring.  Today after reading the story called

Where's My Mummy?, the students used some white yarn to 

wrap their own little paper mummies.

For little hands that are not given these kinds of opportunities 

the task was very difficult.  Learning is best with hands on experience.

Let your child try....and sometimes fail.  It is motivating.....

The mummies don't all look the same, but this was a great

chance for me to see who has developed some skill in planning

how to approach a problem, and who just brings it to an adult

with the words "I can't".  It's OK...just keep trying!

As well this afternoon we were blessed to have a local fire fighter educator

come into our class (we paired with another Gr. 1 class) and discuss fire

safety.  Expect your child to ask the question "How do I get out of the basement

if there is a fire in our house?" and "Where will we meet if a fire breaks out?"

Getting ready for Halloween

Here are some of the students from my class who are members of

the BEST choir ever!  Our music teacher is amazing and she always

finds ways for our students to shine!

Sorry for the blurred photo....I took it quickly because the show had

already begun and I wasn't sure that it was allowed....the students

closest to the camera are from our school.....almost 100 of them,

took part in the Halloween Howl, singing with the famous

Norman Foote, from Squamish, B.C.  They loved it!

I am so proud of them all!

Here was a fun extension for our Room on the Broom

book.  We practised writing a sentence that said

"I have room on my broom for my....."

and the students could choose who they would allow on with

them, including the dog....

...and the big sister!

Room on the Broom

Books are AMAZING!!

This British book, written by the same author as Gruffalo, has so many 

ways to encourage the imagination.  Today, the students heard the

story, but then were faced with a challenge.

Using styrofoam cups with the characters attached, along with

a ruler to act as the broom, and some plasticine stuck in a cup with

a pencil acting as the pivot, the students were asked to

balance the cups on the lever  so that they would all stay on.

This would be challenging enough, but the table groups of five

students also had to come up with a way to share the work, the ideas,

and the materials.  This is not easy for six year olds.

It was lovely to hear their plans, and their encouragement to their

table mates.  There were a few who just sat back and watched,

or complained because 'he took mine', but that in itself is a learning moment.

Is it fun to be part of the action, or mope?

Those who did not take an active role, might have learned

that friends will not ask you more than once to be part of the action.

In the end, there were squeals of delight as all five cups

found a way to stay on the ruler.....just like the witch and the cat, dog,

bird and frog found a way to all fly on the broom.

Is there Room on the Broom?

These hard workers proved that there is!

Dem Bones!

The students had a lovely day exploring the skeleton

on Friday.  The books "Dem Bones"by Bob Barker

helped the students see how the bones were connected

and the story "Skeleton Hiccups" by Margary Cuyler really 

got the whole class giggling.

If you can imagine, they used an unusual item

to create their own skeleton.....q-tips!  The idea

came from a magazine a few years ago, but is a

favourite to do each year.

I try not to promote eating candy in the classroom, but I could not

resist the little packets of colourful 'bones' that I was able to find.

The students are just learning how to put information onto a graph.

We have done a few examples as a group but

each little packet had a different number of each colour of 'bone'

so it was a perfect time to see how the students were able to

manage on their own.

There were steps to follow, and someone to check up on them,

but overall, they were able to line up the bits, colour in the

boxes, count and record almost all on their own.

The 'bones' were sent home so that they would not equate the

math activity with candy!

Aren't these skeletons just the cutest?

Each child could decide how they wanted the arms

and the legs to be put onto their own skeleton.

Each one has such personality!

In our exploration of the seasons, the students sat under the same tree that

they sat under in September.  The photo taken then was during the season of

summer, and the one on Friday was, of course, during the season of Autumn.

It will be hard for the students to believe that the season of Winter does not

begin until December 21st!  Will the snow stay away until then?