Weekly News May 24th
I hope everyone enjoyed their holiday Monday as much as I did. It's clear sailing now - no more holidays or early dismissals until the 2 hour early dismissal on the last day of school! (Thursday June 27th - dismissal at 12:13pm).
Tuesday morning right after fine arts we headed for a walk in the woods. We brought our snacks and as usual there was lots of interest in the culvert that runs under York Avenue at the corner of Adelaide. Even with no water in the ditch, the students are very intrigued by it. In the woods we noticed that the grass had really grown - it's even taller than some of the students now! We observed a slug (our new favourite obsession!) and found flowers of varying sizes. Once we got back to the school we used the flowers to work on some math. We compared the sizes and counted petals on some of them (some had too many!). In the afternoon Ms. Mousseau's class joined us in the library since they missed their time on Monday. Miss Julie read us a book called "When Sophie's Feelings Get Really Really Hurt". Sophie has a special tree that she goes to help her gather her thoughts and process her feelings. We talked about our special trees in the woods that help us feel better.
Wednesday morning we did a quick calendar and then we took our writing books to the woods. We started by talking about our science skills and all the ways we can notice things. I told everyone about something I learned last week which is that it is important for our brain to hear birds outside so we can develop the part of our brain that helps us know where we are. We closed our eyes and practiced listening to which direction we could hear the birds from. Afterwards everyone had a snack and then worked on recording some observations about what they had noticed in the woods. We found some different kinds of ferns and noted how they were the same and how they were different. In the afternoon we had the option of playing inside or outside during centres.
Thursday was outdoor classroom day. I had to go to a district event so the guest teacher and Ms. Mousseau took the classes to the Queen Street park for the morning. Everyone had lots of fun playing in the water and on the playground. In the afternoon everyone was outside for centre. Ms. Mousseau supervised the playground and I supervised a small group of students who asked to have some time for rough and tumble play. Together we made the rules (no hitting or punching or kicking) and practiced the clear message for communicating ("Stop! I'm done!") and then those who wanted to play rough and tumble could do so with my strict supervision. I don't do it every day, but it is good for those who want the opportunity to build their skills with reading body language and expanding their limits.
Friday after fine arts and calendar we took our snacks up to the ball fields. While everyone was eating we talked about ways to make 5 (4 and 1, 2 and 3, etc) and then before they could play students had a chance to show what they could do. Next we will work on ways to make 10. We got back from the walk just as the bell for lunch recess was going so the students put their backpacks away and went right outside. It was a quiet lunch recess as all the older students were away at the track and field day. In the afternoon we had a rest, relax and read time before we headed to centres.
NEXT WEEK - May 27th - 31st
Monday - Walk day - to the BEACH! We will spend the full day at the beach so please be sure your child is sunscreened before they get to school. They should have a full lunch, a hat, sand toys if they want to be responsible for them and lots of water. We will leave by 8:45 and return around 2. You are welcome to join us if you want. We are hoping it is so successful that we will spend more Mondays at the beach - cause seriously, all Mondays should be beach days! No BFF's necessary!
Tuesday - Library Day
- Parent-Child Mother Goose - preschool program in the library from 9am - 10am
- PAC Meeting 6:45pm in the library
Wednesday - Walk day
- Ready, Set, Go! event welcoming 2019 kindergarten students 12:30-2:00pm
Thursday - Walk day
- Spirit Day - 80's Day
- Community meeting about the disposal of the old Crofton Elementary site 6:30-8:00pm
Friday -
Tuesday morning right after fine arts we headed for a walk in the woods. We brought our snacks and as usual there was lots of interest in the culvert that runs under York Avenue at the corner of Adelaide. Even with no water in the ditch, the students are very intrigued by it. In the woods we noticed that the grass had really grown - it's even taller than some of the students now! We observed a slug (our new favourite obsession!) and found flowers of varying sizes. Once we got back to the school we used the flowers to work on some math. We compared the sizes and counted petals on some of them (some had too many!). In the afternoon Ms. Mousseau's class joined us in the library since they missed their time on Monday. Miss Julie read us a book called "When Sophie's Feelings Get Really Really Hurt". Sophie has a special tree that she goes to help her gather her thoughts and process her feelings. We talked about our special trees in the woods that help us feel better.
Wednesday morning we did a quick calendar and then we took our writing books to the woods. We started by talking about our science skills and all the ways we can notice things. I told everyone about something I learned last week which is that it is important for our brain to hear birds outside so we can develop the part of our brain that helps us know where we are. We closed our eyes and practiced listening to which direction we could hear the birds from. Afterwards everyone had a snack and then worked on recording some observations about what they had noticed in the woods. We found some different kinds of ferns and noted how they were the same and how they were different. In the afternoon we had the option of playing inside or outside during centres.
Thursday was outdoor classroom day. I had to go to a district event so the guest teacher and Ms. Mousseau took the classes to the Queen Street park for the morning. Everyone had lots of fun playing in the water and on the playground. In the afternoon everyone was outside for centre. Ms. Mousseau supervised the playground and I supervised a small group of students who asked to have some time for rough and tumble play. Together we made the rules (no hitting or punching or kicking) and practiced the clear message for communicating ("Stop! I'm done!") and then those who wanted to play rough and tumble could do so with my strict supervision. I don't do it every day, but it is good for those who want the opportunity to build their skills with reading body language and expanding their limits.
Friday after fine arts and calendar we took our snacks up to the ball fields. While everyone was eating we talked about ways to make 5 (4 and 1, 2 and 3, etc) and then before they could play students had a chance to show what they could do. Next we will work on ways to make 10. We got back from the walk just as the bell for lunch recess was going so the students put their backpacks away and went right outside. It was a quiet lunch recess as all the older students were away at the track and field day. In the afternoon we had a rest, relax and read time before we headed to centres.
NEXT WEEK - May 27th - 31st
Monday - Walk day - to the BEACH! We will spend the full day at the beach so please be sure your child is sunscreened before they get to school. They should have a full lunch, a hat, sand toys if they want to be responsible for them and lots of water. We will leave by 8:45 and return around 2. You are welcome to join us if you want. We are hoping it is so successful that we will spend more Mondays at the beach - cause seriously, all Mondays should be beach days! No BFF's necessary!
Tuesday - Library Day
- Parent-Child Mother Goose - preschool program in the library from 9am - 10am
- PAC Meeting 6:45pm in the library
Wednesday - Walk day
- Ready, Set, Go! event welcoming 2019 kindergarten students 12:30-2:00pm
Thursday - Walk day
- Spirit Day - 80's Day
- Community meeting about the disposal of the old Crofton Elementary site 6:30-8:00pm
Friday -