Counting to Christmas

Excitement about Christmas is starting to build in our classroom, and we decided to put some Christmas Countdowns together!  We read a beautiful story called:  Counting to Christmas by Nancy Tafuri and talked about the ways we prepare for the holiday season.  Then we each drew our own Santas and added 24 number stories that we'll be solving as we count our way to Christmas.

We each chose our own set of "just right" number stories, and we'll be adding a cotton ball each day to the one that is equal to the date.  We'll have to be great detectives and problem solvers!  

What are you doing to Count to Christmas?

Reindeer Games!

It may still be November, but it's never to early to enjoy the Reindeer Games!  This week we had a great time warming up with the Reindeer Pokey, and then jumped right into Blitzen's Ball Bounce, Snowball Throwing, Loading the Sleigh, Balancing Hot Chocolate Trays, and our favorite:  Reindeer Take-Off Practice!  We are wondering if any other classes out there like to have fun with seasonal games in the gym...

Sharpening Our Senses at Redwood Park

This week we were "Sharpening Our Senses" with our Grade 5 Buddies at a favorite local treasure:  Redwood Park.  Through our MindUp activities, we have been learning about experiencing our surroundings through mindful seeing, listening, smelling, and feeling.  (We decided to leave mindful tasting out of this fieldtrip!)  We spent time walking through the park, making observations and recording them.  It was easy to focus our attention and avoid distractions with so many natural wonders to take in!

From salamanders to seed pods, we all agreed that it was a wonderful experience noticing all that nature has to offer!  Thanks again to our Big Buddies, Mrs. Booth, Ms. Kennedy, and all of our Parent Helpers!

The Day the Crayons Quit in Division 13

We sure had fun with this playful book today!  We laughed and laughed at the collection of letters written to a boy named Duncan.  It didn't take us long to realize that the letters were written by his crayons; who were very unhappy.  After sharing our favorite moments and talking about the different feelings among the crayons, we were ready to race back to our pencil boxes to choose the perfect crayon to write our OWN letters!

Here are some of the letters from The Day the Crayons Quit in Division 13:

Hey Kate,

I know you never use me in your journal or your papers!  But can you please use me?  I'm begging you!  I am so mad that you are never using me anywhere!  You realize you don't even use me at home! If there was a shooting star, you know what I would wish?  For you to use me!  You just have to use me.  Please!  O please!  O please can you use me?  Waaaaaaaaa!  

From your so so so so so so so so so so so frustrated friend,

Black Crayon

Hey Daisy,

Why did you make me so stubby?  After only half a year!  You use me for the ocean and hats and clothes.  Every single thing you draw has to be my favorite colour.  I wish you could buy 100 crayon boxes a day!  You give my top cuts every day.  

From your mad enemy,

Bleu-vert Crayon

Hi Riley,

I just love it when you use me.  I know I'm your favorite crayon yellow-green and why did your Mum write your name:  Riley on me?  I want to know.  Also, I wanted to tell you this:  I love your colouring.

From your favorite crayon,

Yellow Green

Hey Avery,

You DO NOT USE ME!  Really, the last time you used me was in Kindergarten!  I'm feeling left out!  You should colour a pretty princess.  That would make me feel much better.  You are into soccer now and you like the colour blue.  And that makes me mad.  P.S.  Next time use me.

From your friend,

Red Violet

Hey Trevor,

It's Green Crayon.  I'm very mad at you because I'm a stubby crayon.  You are using me too much in your journal so now I'm stubby.  I'm getting tired too, so promise?

From your friend,

Green Crayon

Dear Abby,

I am very frustrated because you never use me.  That's not fair!  And all my friends are frustrated too because of you and you are not nice.  

From your frustrated friend,

Orange

Hey Ryan,

It's your bright friend Yellow Crayon.  Can you stop using me for drawing the sun and sand?  I am getting tired of it.  Can you please stop it?  

From your frustrated friend,

Yellow Crayon

Dear Arshaan,

Hi.  It's blue crayon.  I just wanted you to be OK.  I am broken.  Why did you write hard when you were drawing?  Now I am little.  I am sorry.  I forgive you.  Thank you so much.  

From your friend,

Blue Crayon

Dear M,

I know I'm your favorite colour, but you need to stop using me so much!  My top is wearing off.  And I need a break.  I am always used for sky.  And oceans.  And rivers.  And peacocks.  The earth.  And I just can't do it any more.  I'm sorry.

Your friend,

Blue Crayon

Hey Max,

Red Crayon here.  When will you use me this year?  I will be used this year, right?  I like being red.  And I am happy.  It will be fun being used.  And I want to be used.  And I will be happy if you use me a lot.  And I will be happy if you use other crayons too.  Thank you Max.

From your happy friend,

Red Crayon

Hey Aedan,

Listen up!  You use me too much.  Can't you give me a break?  You use me for trucks and for Santa when Christmas comes.  I am tired.  

Your over-worked friend,

Red Crayon

And for those of you who have the terrible habit of peeling the paper off your crayons....

Hey Simon,

Why did you show everyone that I was naked?  Why?  Why?  Why?  Why?  Why did you?  Now listen buddy.  Tell me now, now, now!  OK buddy, you want to play that way?

From your naked friend,

Peach Crayon

Global Read-Aloud Celebration

We have been so lucky to share our Global Read Aloud book:  Marty McGuire with Mrs. Betts' Grade 2's and 3's.  We have read aloud through Skype and have enjoyed large and small group discussions about this very funny novel.  It has been wonderful asking each other questions and comparing favorite characters and predictions.  

Because we partnered with another class in our own school district, we were lucky to arrange to get together to celebrate the conclusion of "Marty".  Mrs. Betts' class came our way, and we had a great time sharing which character we are most like, and favorite moments from the book.  We viewed the final video post from Kate Messner, the author of Marty McGuire and learned more about the sequels she's written.  Mrs. Betts organized a fun drama game and we had fun saying, "Let the magic begin!" just like James Jackson.

It was so much fun watching the students try to make us believe an everyday object was something else!  This chalkboard eraser was an apple... crunch!

And this ruler was a lollipop!  Sluuurrrrp!

Finally, we had a VERY special treat baked and handcrafted by Trevor's Mom.  Can you believe how incredible these lilypad cupcakes are?! 

Our time together went by so quickly, but it really was a wonderful way to celebrate the "bittersweet" ending to our Global Read Aloud.  Thank you Mrs. Betts and the Cheetahs for being such terrific GRA Buddies!

We Remember...

We have been taking time to reflect on what Remembrance Day is all about.  We read an incredible true story called Bear In War with our buddy class that had us all in awe that a small teddy bear could make the journey all the way to the front lines of World War 1 and return home again.  If you ever travel to Ottawa, make sure you go and visit him in the Canadian War Museum.  His story is truly remarkable and is a symbol for all of the sacrifices that our soldiers have made for our freedom.

As a symbol of peace, and the hope that is represented in children everywhere, Mrs. Booth organized a special buddy project for our classes.  We created a mural with our fingerprints and if you look closely, there is a legend underneath each dove that shows the colours of paint that belong to each 

big and little buddy group.

"If we are to teach real peace intheis world...  We shall have to begin with the children." - Ghandi

The Day After Hallowe'en...

The Primaries at our school enjoy a tradition of PJ Day and Flashlight Reading the day after Hallowe'en.  We had fun reading with our Grade 2 friends in Mrs. Thorner's class, and had a great time sharing all our favorite read-alouds.  It was the perfect way to ease into the day after a busy night of trick-or-treating!

Hallowe'en Happenings

We have been SO excited about Hallowe'en in Room 204!  We have been reading lots of fantastic books (our favorite was Hallowiener by Dav Pilkey), enjoying visiting other rooms during our Primary Craft Rotation, and creating works of art during our own Craft Afternoon. 

When Hallowe'en arrived, we were ready to enjoy a day filled with fun!  We read The Ghost-Eye Tree, wrote in our journals, had a class party with wonderful treats from our families, and participated in our School Costume Parade.

Even though it was such an exciting day, we were so well behaved and Mrs. Schnare is still talking about our wonderful manners and how much appreciation we showed for how special the day was!

Looking Closer at Larger Numbers

We were so lucky to have a visit from Chris Hunter, the District Numeracy Helping Teacher that Surrey Centre is working together with.  The students are always excited to have visitors join us and Mr. Hunter was a big hit!  

First we played with the concept of the "teen" numbers being 10 and some more.  We want the students to build on their understanding of 10 and be able to visualize (picture) numbers beyond that using their  dependable anchor of 10.  We had lots of fun explaining our thinking and proving how we knew we had built the numbers.

Then we played with representing even greater numbers.  We found out that we ran out of space on our ten frames... a funny task from Mr. Hunter who knew we didn't have enough room.  But wouldn't you know it, those quick thinking kiddos from Room 204 found a way to work around this.  Some of us just stacked up the counters and had no problem showing the number 37!

Then we had to clarify some guidelines about 10 frames.  One counter in each box meant we had to think of something else.  Out came our mini ten frames!  (And look - there are those pigs again...)

We worked at building numbers in more than one way, and then jumped into playing a fun strategy game with dice and a number grid.  We had a terrific time with Mr. Hunter, and the students decided to write him a thank you letter and mail him the two "stacking caps" that ended up being left behind.  I think maybe we should have kept them and then he would have to come back and visit to get them back!  We do hope he will come back and join us again for more numeracy play soon.

100 Chart Number Puzzles

We have been extending our thinking about number patterns and looking more closely at 100 charts.  They are a tool that we use often and it's important to think about how they are organized and get a feel for the number patterns.  We have been working with partners and 100 chart puzzles.  It is tricky to look at the numbers rather than just looking at the shapes of the pieces!  Some of us thought we were missing numbers and some of us thought we had 100 charts that weren't square-shaped.  But with some careful detective work and some re-arranging we realized we had all the pieces we needed to get the job done!   This might be a fun activity to try at home...

Mathematicians have to be persistent, flexible, and prepared to do

some "re-thinking"!