New Blog Posts

The students posted about the "3 Sisters Garden" on their blogs.  It is a First Nations traditional story that talks about how plants help each other within the garden.  Follow the link to view the posts:

http://kidblog.org/MrsEldersClass2012/

HOJA visit to Coronach

The acappella group HOJA visited our school this afternoon.  We studied a few of their videos online before getting to see them in person.  Their performance in the gym this afternoon was awesome and the kids LOVED it!

There are a few video links below of how our afternoon went ~ enjoy!

Jonah and Hoja
All the Single Ladies ~ Hoja
Dynamite ~ Hoja

The last video is one of me, and Hoja.  Thank you to Ashton for grabbing the Ipad and recording part of this.  Much of the music can't be heard, as the students are laughing at their very embarrassed teacher... haha
Mrs. Elder and Hoja

Pumpkin Plants

Today I sent home the very healthy pumpkin plants! They are ready to be transplanted into a larger space and will hopefully produce some pumpkins for you this fall.

Ask your child to tell you what the pumpkin plant is going to need to keep growing strong.  I would love to see pictures of where your child's pumpkin gets planted so please feel free to email pictures to:

elder.christa@prairiesouth.ca

Google Street View

So there was a bit of excitement on the playground at noon today, as the "Google Car" drove by.  The first time surprised us, but the second and third time it drove by produced a bit more of a reaction.  After dinner I showed the students what the car does, and what the final results are.  We looked at Google Maps for Coronach, and virtually "travelled" down down a few familiar streets.

This is a great tool to play around with ~ you can look through Coronach, or places that you have visited around the world!  If you haven't used it before, have a look and have fun!

https://maps.google.ca/

This car is similar to the one that was
driving around Coronach today!

New Blog Posts

Today's blog posts were about our long weekend.  Have a look and leave a comment if you like!

http://kidblog.org/MrsEldersClass2012/

I've Lost My Cat

Today your child is coming home with the book "I've Lost My Cat" by Philippe Beha.  This book is in celebration of the TD Canadian Children's Literature Awards, and was donated by the Canadian  Children's Book Centre and TD Bank Financial Group.

We have read this book a few times at school, and I encourage you to read it again with your child.

Thanks!

Star of the Week ~ Cheyanne

Last week our star was Cheyanne.  She has a dog named Jasper and her favourite book is "Kiss Kiss" by Margaret Wild and Bridget Strevens-Marzo.  Cheyanne's favourite food is pancakes and lasagna.  Thanks for sharing with us Cheyanne!

Pumpkin Seeds ~ Day 11

Only 2 of the 30 did not germinate and grow.
That's not bad!

Lots of green growth!

Looking good!

Spelling Words (May 21st - 31st)

Grade One
not
make
blue
find
help
here

Grade Two
around
found
right
write
would
which

Pumpkin Seeds ~ Day 7

We are observing a variety of results with our pumpkin seeds.  Day 7 after planting has shown us everything from no visible sign of life, mounds of dirt with a seed about to "pop" through, to plants that have "popped" out of the soil!  Here are a few pictures of our pumpkin plants!

June Book Orders

The catalog for June book orders are being sent home today.  If you are interested in ordering anything, please have the forms back by Wednesday, May 22nd.

Thanks!

Sight Word Matching Game

Here is a matching game that uses sight words.  It also reads the word for the student which helps to reinforce the learning.  Click on the link below to have a look.  I will also place a permanent link on the "Learning Links" part of this blog.

Don't be fooled by the assigned Grade levels that they use ~ they are all great practice.

Sight Word Matching Game

Word Work in Guided Reading

Dress Code

Now that the weather has warmed up, I want to remind everyone about the school dress code policy.  Spaghetti straps are not to be warn at school.  Our class has decided to call the more appropriate straps "lasagna straps" ~ these are thicker/wider.  Also, the length of shorts should be longer than the child's fingers when their arms are held at their side.

We had a quick chat at school this morning and the students are all aware of the rules.  Thank you for your cooperation.

Star of the Week ~ Autumn

Last week our star was Autumn.  She loves hot dogs with ketchup, mustard, and relish on them.  Autumn loves her dog named Charlie.  She also loves to ride her bike. Thanks for sharing Autumn!

Planting Seeds

Today we planted pumpkins seeds as part of our studies in Science.  We have looked at different types of seeds, different types of plants, the life cycle of different plants, and what plants need to grow.  We will keep you posted on the progress of the pumpkins as they grow, and grow, and grow...

California Redwoods

It started with Maia's show and tell many months ago ~ she brought a National Geographic magazine with a 5 page fold out of a California Redwood tree.  The past few weeks as we studied plants, and the life cycles of plants and animals, one of the students said, "Hey, remember that HUGE tree that was in Maia's picture! I wonder..."

Well, the "I wonder" statement is my goal.  They had so many questions about California Redwoods!  We watched video clips and even spoke on the phone (then emailed) Lynda, a lovely lady who works in the Redwood National Park!  Today we went on an adventure to my house to watch "Climbing Redwood Giants" that is on Netflix.

It was a great day BUT I will apologize in advance ~ many of the students are now putting the California Redwood Forest on their list of places to visit!

Mother's Day Blog Posts

This morning we created our Mother's Day gifts ~ a blog post in honor of Mom.  Please have a read and leave a comment. I am so proud of how the kids are writing, and I hope you are too!

http://kidblog.org/MrsEldersClass2012/

Happy Mother's Day!

Connecting and Asking Questions

This morning we viewed this picture ~ I gave the students no background information about it.  They had 2 jobs to do when looking at the picture: 1) tell me what it reminds them of 2) what questions do you have

A few of the comments and reactions:
"This reminds me of Cheyanne's mitten from the winter"
"This reminds me of my sweater"
"That looks like my beach towel"
"It looks like the rainbow from the Skittles commercial"

"I wonder what kind of field that is?"
"I wonder where that is?"
"I wonder what those people are doing?"
"I wonder how long the field really is?"
"I wonder if those flowers smell?"

* The field is in the Netherlands, and is full of tulips*

Spring Reminders

With the warmer weather hopefully here to stay, just a few classroom reminders:

1) Students still need to have appropriate inside shoes to wear during the day, and for gym.
2) If sandals, flip flops, etc are being worn outside, please send a pair of socks that can be worn with their inside shoes.
3) There have been many students finding woodticks on them in recent days.  Please check your child on a daily basis for woodticks.

Thanks!

Discovery Education Parent Resources

In my classroom I use Discovery Education on almost a daily basis.  I find many resources, such as pictures and videos, that can supplement what we are learning about in our room.  We have watched videos about the seasons, the life cycle of a frog, and my classroom's favourite ~ Magic School Bus episodes!

On the Discovery Education page, there is also a tab for parents.  On this page you will find everything from homework help (videos for Math, Science, etc), ways to motivate your kids in and out of school, and fun activities to try with your children at home.  I encourage you to have a look at what the Parent page has to offer.

I find the Discovery Education a very valuable resource, and I hope you will too!

http://www.discoveryeducation.ca/parents/

Star of the Week ~ Dashiel

This week our star is Dashiel.  He loved to go boating, skidooing, swimming, and riding the side-by-side.  Dashiel loves to play board games and his favourite food is cheeseburgers.  He loves to play with Lego Ninjago and his remote control helicopter.  Dashiel brought snacks to share with everyone too ~ thanks for sharing!

When I Grow Up

With Coronach Grad happening this weekend, the students posted on their blogs about what they want to be when they grow up.  Be sure to have a look an leave a comment!  There is also a display in the hallway outside our classroom if you happen to be in the school.

http://kidblog.org/MrsEldersClass2012/

What a Weekend Writing

This Monday while writing "What a Weekend", I challenged the kids to change their usual writing patterns.  Instead of starting with "On my weekend I..." , I asked them to find an exciting and creative way to write about their weekend adventures.  I watched them use different printing styles for emphasis, varieties of sentence starts, and experimenting with different punctuation! Here are few samples that I got :

Star of the Week ~ Cody

Last week our star was Cody.  His loves to eat cookies and milk.  Cody loves to fish, ride his horse, and play Lego Ninjago.  HIs favourite movie is "Open Season 2" and he loves to read "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" books.  Thanks for sharing with us this week Cody!

Important Days ~ May

**Please check back, as more dates will be added**

Tuesday, May 7th
Chili and a Bun Fundraiser

Monday, May 13th
Early Dismissal

Monday, May 20th
No School
Victoria Day

Monday, May 27th
Early Dismissal

Week of May 27th-31st
Show and Tell

Stem Systems of a Plant ~ Part Two

24hours later

24hours later

24hours later

What we observed. What we wonder.

- most of the flowers changed colour

- one variety of flower did not change

- we wondered if it was because the stem was different (taller, thinner)
- the green had the smallest amount of change, wasn't very "bright"

- we thought leaving them overnight would help, but it still didn't change

- we thought the lilies in red water were the most beautiful

Stem System of a Plant ~ Part One

Our flowers in blue water at 10:30 am

Flowers in green water at 10:30am

Flowers in red water at 10:30am

What we predicted:

- the flowers would turn the colour of the water they were sitting in

- ALL the flowers would change colour

- the red would probably show up as pink because red+white=pink