Halloween

Today was a great day in Kindergarten! In the morning the students were excited to test out their jack-o-lantern with the lights off.  They were having so much fun that they decided to play in the "dark and spooky" classroom.

After lunch we all changed into our costumes for a class photo. Everyone looked great!

Playing musical chairs

Thanks to everyone who sent snacks for our party! The students loved the fancy jello cups, homemade cupcakes, rainbow Twizzlers, and the enormous Rice Crispy snake!

Happy Halloween, stay safe out there everyone!

3 Star Drawings

Today we talked about making really great drawings. We looked at four different drawings and talked about what we noticed about each of them. Then we gave each of the drawings 0-3 stars based on what we noticed.

0 Stars = Scribbles

Nothing

1Star = We can tell what it is

1 Colour

Some scribbles

Not many details

2 Stars = We can tell what it is

No scribbles

More details

3 Stars = Lots of details

Many colours

Background

Shows what you were writing about

After we were done, we all practiced making 3 star drawings!

Bus Ridership and Medicine Wheels

Today was a very busy day! In the morning Bus-Driver Bob came to visit. He taught us how to be safe on and around the bus. Here he was telling us about the "danger zone." 

We got to go on the bus and Bob showed us how to sit safely. He also showed us the emergency exits.

When we were all done, Bob helped us to practice leaving the bus through the back door.

In the afternoon, our artist came to visit again. This time she taught us about the Medicine Wheel. She taught us how the Medicine Wheel represents many things including the directions, stages of life, and seasons. We even got to make our own Medicine Wheels out of paper.

When we were finished, she read us a story about how roses got their thorns. We really liked all of the animals in the story!

Technology Buddies

Today we got to meet with our grade 4/5 buddies again! This time half of us went to the computer lab and half of us stayed in the classroom. Both groups showed their buddies our Kindergarten blog.  Some of our buddies even left comments!

The students who stayed in the classroom read books together.  We LOVE spending time with our buddies!

Take Me Outside Day

Sometimes kids don't get enough outside time. So we set up a scavenger hunt and we ate snack outside. We went outside with our grade 4/5 reading buddies.

It was fun going on the scavenger hunt with our buddies - Mercedez
I found everything on the list with my buddy Aaliyah - Kiera
I liked eating outside - Delilah
I liked looking for stuff outside today - Julia
I filled up my whole page with my reading buddy Braeden - Krystal
I was wondering why Take Me Outside Day was today? - Jessica
I liked outside day! - Piper
We went outside and I loved it when we ate out there! - Kiara




Make a video of your own at Animoto.

This is us standing by the Inukshuk. This is right after we were acting out The Three Little Pigs in the learning circle. 

Stick Bug!

A long time ago Mrs. Lowe brought about 20 stick bug eggs to our classroom.  We waited and waited for them to hatch.  Today a stick bug came out.  We saw him standing on the twig.  He was standing very still.

Mrs. Lowe asked us "Why do you think he is standing so still?" Our predictions were:

Because he’s scared – Mercedez

Maybe he’s afraid to see new faces? – Krystal

He wants to be still because he’s camouflage – Kiara

Maybe he’s sleeping? – Ashton

Because he’s nervous of us. - Kyran

We will have to take good care of him. We think he will need:

-water

-food (lettuce)

-a home

-sleep

-air to breathe.

Does anyone have any stick bug advice for us?

Artist Visit

Today an artist came to visit our classroom.  Her name is Mrs. Alexander.  She is an Aboriginal artist.  When she visited us she let us play her hand drums. She sang two songs. She used the drum when she was singing. We danced like chickens to the sound of the drum. 

Touching some furry moccasins.

Mrs. Alexander brought many Aboriginal artifacts including some turtles and beadwork.

Learning how to play the hand drum.

This is a sash.

The rabbit fur was very soft.

We loved looking at the dream catchers.

I liked feeling the soft fur- Krystal

I liked feeling the bunny fur - Piper

It was fun with Mrs. Alexander - Kiera

I liked when we got to play the instruments - Mercedez

I like her (Mrs. Alexander) - Delilah 

SAGE 2012

Hello, it's Mrs. Lowe writing today.  I hope all of my room 8 students had a great long weekend.  I just wanted to tell you a bit about what I was doing on Friday.

On Friday, all of the teachers in Manitoba participated in SAGE (Special Area Groups of Educators). I chose to go to an event called Embracing the Edge. The whole day was focused on technology!

We started the day with a talk from David Warlick. He was an amazing speaker and made me feel really motivated to continue to help my students to adopt a "Learning Lifestyle."

Today, it is not just about Literacy, Learning

But, "Learning Literacy,"

Not just about Literacy Skills,

But, "Literacy Habits,"

Not just about Lifelong Learning,

But, it is a "Learning Lifestyle"

 - David Warlick

In the morning I went to a session on blogging. Erin Malkoski and Leslie Dent did a fantastic job of teaching us all about how to use blogging in our classrooms. I got some great tips and made some excellent connections with other blogging teachers.

You can check out their classroom blogs here:

http://200awesomedays.blogspot.ca

http://missdentsclass.blogspot.ca

In the afternoon I attended sessions on "Putting the Love in I Love to Read Month" and "iPhonology." I learned about some great new apps, tools and websites.  I also got some great tips on how to take better photos with my iPhone. 

Source

It was a really fun day and I learned many new things.  I missed my students and can't wait to see them on Monday!

Monster Mash

The students from Stevenson school have been learning The Monster Mash in Music and Phys. Ed. classes. Mrs. Rempel (music teacher) also made a video so that they could practice in the classroom too. The students are excited to show off their moves at the Halloween Parade.

It was fun doing the Monster Mash - Kiera

I liked walking like a zombie - Piper

The Monster Mash was fun - Jessica

I liked the walking part - Delilah

This week Annabelle has been our Star of the Week. She did a fantastic job of sharing her photos, favourite book, and her toy kitty. Great job Annabelle!

Roots of Empathy

This morning Mrs. Macdonnell came to talk to us about the Roots of Empathy program and baby Violet. She told us that empathy means caring about how others feel.

We made guesses about what baby violet will be able to do when she comes to visit us.

Mrs Macdonnell brought a special blanket for baby Violet. When she comes to visit, she will need a safe space. We practiced with the Roots of Empathy doll.

We are so excited to meet baby Violet!

Games and Birthday Celebrations

Today we learned a new game called POP UP. First we roll a dice on the Smart Board. Then we read the word on the dice. When we see the word "is" we pop up!

Words we practiced today were: mom, to, went, I, love and is.

Today we also celebrated Delilah's birthday. She is turning 5 years old. We made her a crown, sang Happy Birthday, and gave her a special birthday book.
Happy Birthday Delilah!!!

I love Delilah's birthday, the best part was that I made a card for her book - Krystal
I played in crafts with Oliver - Kyran
I liked playing Pop Up. p.s. Love you Mom! - Brooke
It was fun celebrating Delilah's birthday - Kiera
(Writing our own messages to our readers is our favourite part of blogging)

Apples and Stars

Today we continued to learn all about APPLES!

We learned that:

• Apples grow on trees - Kyran
• There are all different kinds of apples - Jessica
• Every apple has a different taste - Krystal
• Apples taste good - Mercedez
• Apples have a core - Kiera
• Apples have skin - Annabelle
• Apples have a stem - Kiara
• I like the taste of the Granny Smith apple - Piper
• Apples grow from the crown of the tree - Delilah

We tasted 6 different kinds of apples. We made a graph of our favourite apples.

Kyran was our Star of the Week the week.  He shared some of this favourite things, showed us his pictures and then we wrote about him.

Great job Kyran!!

Walk to School Day

 Today was Walk To School Day.  Many students met at the Rod's football field and walked to school together.

It's good to walk to school for many reasons:
-to get fresh air
-to get exercise
-to build muscles
-to spend time together
-to help our Earth

Walking to school and holding hands.

 When we got back to the school the other kids were waiting for us and we sang O'Canada outside.

 In our classroom we found a special treat. Thank you Mrs. Couch! We loved the Rice Crispy squares and juice boxes.

Terry Fox

Yesterday we learned about Terry Fox.  We learned that he was a famous runner. He tried to run all the way across Canada.  He was raising money to give to doctors so that they could help sick people who have cancer.

Today we stayed inside because it was snowing and raining. We walked in the hallways in a big circle. Kids brought "Toonies for Terry".

"I learned that Terry Fox had cancer." - Krystal

"I learned that he got sick in his leg." - Kyran

"I missed him when he died." - Piper

"Walking in the big square made me dizzy." - Logan

"I learned that Terry Fox ran a looong way." - Jessica