Coding

This week we have been learning about coding at our coding centers!

At our lego center we make paths with our lego and then give our partner the commands to get from the start to the end of the path.

At the ipad center, we practiced coding commands on the app Daisy the Dinosaur.

We made paths for our ozobots and tried to make them do tricks like spin and go backwards!

At our sphero center, we learned how to make the spheros move and change colours.

Remembrance Day

We have been learning about Remembrance Day in Grade 1.  Today we made a recipe from the Veteran's Canada website called War Time Cake.  During the war, people back at home didn't always have the cooking supplies they would have liked.  Recipes with little or no sugar, eggs and milk were used so there would be more for the soldiers overseas.  We would like to thank Mrs. Allen for coming in to bake with us.  If you would like to make it at home, the recipe is below.

War Time Cake

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In an 8 inch square pan put:
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tspn baking powder
1 cup sugar
1/2 tspn cinnamon
1 tspn baking soda
1/2 tspn salt
3 TBSP cocoa powder

Add to the pan:
1 tspn vanilla extract
1 TBSP white vinegar
5 TBSP vegetable oil
1 cup lukewarm water

Mix everything with a fork and bake for 30 minutes.

The Wonderful People of Room 8

We wanted to introduce our families to the wonderful people of Room 8.  Each day, the students wrote two important facts about themselves over the period of a week.  We hope you enjoy reading about your child's classmates.

Focus on Feelings

This week we have been reading some wonderful stories about feelings, including: The Grouchy Ladybug, Bear Feels Scared, When Sophie Gets Angry, Very, Very Angry, Zach Feels Frustrated and Have You Filled a Bucket Today?  As we have learned about feelings, we have done some writing as well.  Our focus has been on how to "fill someone's bucket" by doing kind acts and how to help ourselves feel better when we are upset.  Finally, we practiced how to breathe slowly and deeply with our eyes closed to help our brain feel calm. The children constructed mindful breathing tools today to practice this technique.

This is our display of "grouchy ladybugs". We wrote what "bugs" us and also what makes us feel better.


The children wrote what scares them and also what makes them feel better.



Elliot had some great ideas about how to fill a bucket: Say nice words and help someone up.


These boys are trying out their mindful breathing tools.

Different Kinds of Smart

We have been learning about the different kinds of smart.  We are all smart in different ways!  All of us have smooth roads, things that we are good at and bumpy roads, things that are more challenging.
We have also been learning what happens to our brain when we make mistakes or struggle with some difficult work.  Our brains spark and grow!
The students signed up as experts for their "smooth road smarts."  Now we know who to go to if we are struggling on a bumpy road!  We also made some beautiful brain art to decorate our smarts!

Fall Celebration

Room 8 celebrated the first day of fall!  Stories were read, fall patterns were created in math and the children learned how to do leaf rubbings. Mrs. Turner told the students a story about the fairy who placed a star inside each apple. After that, we had a fall taste test and tried four different types of apples and rated them. Yum!! Finally, we went outside with our Gr. 4/5 buddies and collected items from nature to make beautiful collages and had a little play. Wishing you all a happy fall!


   

  

                      

                      

Buddies

Today we met our Grade 4/5 buddies from Room 15. Mrs. Rosney and her class came down to Room 8 this afternoon. The children got to know each other by playing together. We look forward to exploring nature and learning about the Seven Teachings with our older, new friends.

First Day

We had a wonderful first day in Room 8!  We created a classroom promise to be safe, to be kind and to learn.  We learned about our new classmates by doing a "Friend Detective" activity.  The children had both gym and music today. Finally, there was time to play and explore! We look forward to an exciting year of learning with your children.

   



   

Outdoor Challenge

The students of Room 8 were fantastic participants in the second annual Outdoor Challenge.  Rain or shine, they explored the outdoors, appreciated nature and extended their learning.

Some students explored the woodworking station and worked with hammers and screwdrivers or made their project a bit more beautiful with some paint.

Enjoying the sunshine by painting rocks and sticks.

Getting carried away with smiles in the water play area on a sunny day!

We walked over to the Nature Playground one day to appreciate the wonderful playground in our own local community.

Jamie Oliviero, a local storyteller, captivated our students with rich, imaginative stories. They had the pleasure of listening to Jamie weave magical tales and the children actively participated with actions, silly voices and songs.

Splashing in the puddles - it is fun to play in the rain!

A student found ladybugs and ladybug larvae - interesting to see the life cycle in nature.

The kids created faces using natural found items, like leaves, mushrooms, pebbles and wild flowers.

Reading in the shade!

The bike rodeo!  Whether riding a real back or an imaginary one, all of the students learned to use hand signals, stop at stop signs, crosswalks and train tracks and to look where they were going. Thanks MPI!

Finally, our outing to Truro Creek! We released our tadpoles with their back legs back to the pond that they were born.  

Then the children went critter dipping. They had identification cards so they could determine which creatures they found.  Our class found frogs, tadpoles, little fish, snails, damselfly larvae, dragonfly larvae, leeches, water spiders and numerous aquatic insects.  Wonderful discoveries!