Prairie Garden Farms...in the snow!

Here's what Prairie Garden Farms looks like on a lovely Autumn day.

Here's what the fields looked like on Monday, after a healthy little snowfall the night before!

No matter!  Our little junior farmers were up to the challenge of becoming helpers on the farm for a day and were eager to learn all that they could.  We started in the pumpkin patch where we learned that pumpkins don't like the cold and that frost is not their friend,

To help the farmer, we set up an assembly line and picked and passed the pumpkins that were still in the field.  Tonight they would be housed in one of the greenhouses.

Look at all the shapes and sizes of pumpkins we found.  We learned that there is a blue pumpkin, which is the best one to buy if you want to make pumpkin pie.

Our next stop was a tipi, with bales of straw inside to sit on.  We found out that the straw is both scratchy and pokey!

We learned a little bit about life long ago for the early peoples in Alberta.

Did you know that it was the women who put the tipi up, took it down and moved it from one location to another?  

Thanks to the dads and moms and the grandma who came to help us during this day!

We heard the story of the Little Red Hen told with the use of puppets, and some cool music that we could clap along to!

Instead of trying out the corn maze, we went through a bale maze.

Ask your kiddo what the straw is used for!

It was fun to sit in the wagons and have the tractor pull us around.  

You can see from our smiles that we all loved it!

There really is a farmer!  Her name is Farmer Tam.  She took us into the garden and let us pick some things to eat.  There was a leaf that looked like an arrow and when we ate it, it was as sour as a lemon.  We tried kale and chives and lettuce too.

Each of us got to pick our own apple and eat it.  The apples were the best ever!

We saved what we couldn't eat to share with a new friend....

the goat, who loved the treats we brought her.

She ate everything, even the seeds!

Silly little goats!  They climbed up into the hay feeder,

and stuck their head in through the cracks.

This guy wanted to show he was bigger than any of the kiddies!

The bunny was huge!

Can you tell that this is a goat?  He dove right in!

Here was a little sheep.

Thanks for dressing your little ones for the chilly weather.  It must have been a good day because I did hear a boy say "This is the best field trip ever!"  A little snow?  It doesn't matter to us...we love to learn!

What a week!

Each and every day this week was chock-a-block full of exciting new learning.

The students got to work at Language Learning Word Work boxes for the first time.

There were activities that related to the alphabet in the form of games

and puzzles.

There were activities that allowed the students to work on spelling

and on making the letters of the alphabet correctly.

The students loved 'parking' the cars onto the correct places on in the Alphabet Parking lot.

They also were learning how to 'stay on task' and 'work co-operatively.'

Earlier in the week, the students created a 'glyph' about their families, using the chart that can be seen on the left.  Thanks to April Larremore for the idea.

The weather was lovely for our school's Terry Fox walk/run.  The students all wore stickers on their shirts to tell us who they were running for.

Part of our science studies this year will be on the changes seen throughout the season.  We are adopting this tree which we can see through our classroom window to watch.  We were surprised at how many of the leaves have already fallen off of the tree only a week after Autumn began.

It's time to read!

Today is the day!

The students in my class begin their Read at Home program, which is also known as 

'Read to Someone'

Inside the front pocket of each students' 'kanga pouch' is the following letter:

Dear Parent:

We will be starting a Home Reading Program in our class starting today.  Home Reading Programs are widely used in classrooms throughout Canada. The idea behind it is that parents are a child’s first and foremost teachers. It allows the child to get a second chance to practice what they worked on during the school day.  Home Reading Programs also foster the partnership between the home and the school - a partnership that brings success for all students. We are very excited about this program and need your support for it to be successful.  A new book goes home nightly (Mon.-Fri.) The book from the school comes back the next morning and is exchanged for a new book by the child.  Help your child see their success as a reader by filling out the sheet that will be in the pouch as well.  Both the book and the sheet are brought back to school daily. Reading at home will help your child become a successful reader through your modeling and assistance.  In the beginning this reading will take about 5 to 10 minutes but will evolve to about 15 as the year progresses and the stories have a few more words.

Below is a list of strategies that you can use when reading with your child:

·       ♦  If just starting out, read to the child first. Use your finger to track as you read so that your child can use you as a role model.

·       ♦  If you feel that your child would like to start - encourage them to do so!

·       ♦  Another suggestion is for your child to read one page and then you read a page.

·       ♦  Try to have your child read the story to you. Have your child use their finger for tracking purposes when reading.

·       ♦  If your child comes to a word that they don't know...

- use the pictures to help them
- suggest they look at the first letter and make the sound of that letter
- have them skip it or use the context of the sentence to try and figure it out

I thank you ahead of time for the support you are giving your child and the school.  I hope that this home reading program will allow you to see how your child is developing their reading skills.  If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me at sherrym@eics.ab.ca.

Sincerely,

How to do it

1.     Pick a book to read together (the one in their Kanga pouch and one from their book bag too). Read it slowly and spend time looking at the pictures and asking about the story.

2.    Before you start to read, tell your child the name of the book and what it is about.

3.    Sit in a cozy place during story sharing. Ask your child to touch the book and help turn the pages.

4.    Use your finger to follow the words as you read. This will teach your

child how reading works. Point to pictures in the book that show your child who is speaking and what is happening in the story.

5.    Get creative! Change your voice to talk like different characters in the book. Act it out! If you are reading about a character flying, you and your child can flap your arms. You may feel silly but your child will love it!

6.    Take your time. Don't rush through the book - enjoy it! (Try not to think of the 101 things you have to get done!)

7.    Encourage your child to say important words or phrases and to make comments about the story.

8.    Talk about the story when you finish reading it. This will help your child remember characters and what happened.

9.    Talk about other books that you have read together that have similar actions, characters, or themes. For example, "The wolf in this book reminds me of the wolf in the Three Little Pigs."

10.  Keep your child involved. Ask your child to name the things he/she sees in the book or predict what might happen next. (Adapted from Homespun, 1992)

Please read with your kiddo tonight and each and every night.  It is absolutely alright to read to them first, then perhaps partner read and if your child is ready, they might read on their own.  If not, then have them 'parrot' which is you read first and then they point to the words and read right after you.

This is just the beginning of a very exciting journey for your child.  The best both you and I can do is believe in them so that they can believe in themselves.  Don't worry....they will get there!  It's the biggest and best change you will see in your child this year!

REMEMBER:  Fill in the sheet and send back the book so it can be exchanged each and every day!

Book orders and Birthdays!

This box is always full of wonderful surprises!

The students who have ordered something through the book orders can't wait to get their new books home!

I was excited too because this is what I ordered.  Did you know that September birthdays top the list in our classroom with 5 little ones celebrating this month.  Two have already done so!

For their birthday this year I am giving them the gift of a free book!  I will hold onto the birthday coupon but will remind you that your child can choose a book from the next order, worth up to $6.00 and I will be paying for it through the Scholastic birthday program.  The reason I will hold onto it, is, as you can see, the coupon code must be given at the time of the order.  Just write FREE next to the item that your child would like to receive and when the next box appears, their present will be inside!