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!

Turkeys all around

In this week's Take Home folder, is the collaborative books that

the students made for each child who presented their poster and

ME bag since September.  I so enjoyed being able to chose a

drawing that matched the actual child.  Thanks to Lori Kaus for

sharing her original idea with me.

In mathematics, our focus is on patterns.  They happen all around us!

Here are some words from our curriculum:

Students must learn to recognize, extend, create and use mathematical patterns. Patterns allow students to make predictions and justify their reasoning when solving routine and nonroutine problems.
Learning to work with patterns in the early grades helps students develop algebraic thinking, which is foundational for working with more abstract mathematics in higher grades.

Specifically in Grade One, the students are to:

1. Demonstrate an understanding of repeating patterns (two to four elements) by:• describing
   • reproducing• extending• creating
   patterns using manipulatives, diagrams, sounds and actions

I've included a variety of examples.

The criteria was to chose a pattern, create it and then extend it so that

it repeats three times, and label it.

In the scarecrow's garden, there was to be three different patterns.

The criteria gives the students the 'what to do.'

It also sets the manner in which the work is assessed.

When the work of the student is looked at,

 you begin to get an understanding to whether or

not the student understand the different aspects of

patterning.

This assists the teacher in knowing whether more practise 

is needed, and what should be the next steps in teaching.

This was Read In Week, and the students had a number 

of visitors come and visit and read to them.  

From the local library, they heard that they can

get their own library card.  How exciting!

This is Mrs. Szott, one of our district trustees, who

shared her love of reading with my class.

Aren't these little Thankful Turkey books the cutest?

Ashlyn Ellsworth was so kind to share her idea with me.

The students were working on recognizing what they

were thankful for within different aspects of their life.

Here is another pattern that the students worked on,

this time learning a little bit of geometry as well.

They were given squares of paper and found out that

two triangles are hidden inside of the square!

It wouldn't be Thanksgiving at our school, without the Turkey Tango.

Our special, gifted music teacher gathered all the turkeys she could find...

and they gobbled into the main gathering area to sing

and dance!

It's just a few seconds long but enjoy the ending of the dance...cha! cha! cha!