Mother's Day

Wishing all of our mothers a wonderful weekend. Hope you are all spoiled with love by your kiddos and loved ones. Enjoy the wonderful weather.

May

It has been so lovely to have some real spring weather. I am not sure who is more appreciative of it - myself or the students. Although, I love the beautiful weather - we do still have 2 months left of school and learning and some of our students have already started to get a little restless. Keeping up with routines and schedules is still important for our kiddos even if we would all rather be outside soaking in the sunshine!

At this point in the year, we still have curriculum to complete and learning to be done. Please do not forget to keep reading at home! 

In Language Arts, we have been reading a book called "The Chocolate Touch." Students are enjoying learning about the main character, John Midas and the drama/lesson of the chocolate touch.

We have been using this as a comprehension activity, as well as to look at characters and setting in regards to the story. Students are working hard at understanding what the questions are asking and answering the questions with the right information. We will be beginning our short story writing assignment once we are finished the novel study. 

In Science, we have been working on Exploring Liquids. Students have been using hands-on experiences to learn about different characteristics of water and other liquids. They have been learning about surface tension, viscosity and density of liquids. We have also started looking at the water cycle. Towards the end of the month, we will be beginning our Boats and Buoyancy Unit - which is so much fun for the kids!

With that being said - it is really only a matter of time before the school year is over. Summer is going to be here before we know it.

April 2018

Happy Spring - and it looks like we are finally enjoying some real spring weather. Things are drying up around the school yard and the sun is shining more than it is not. Please make sure to send appropriate outerwear for students so if it is chilly at recess - they can stay warm.

In Language Arts, we are continuing to read Robert Munsch books and have been working on our comprehension skills. Students are answering questions based on the book in full sentences. We have also been spending time on our spelling patterns in Words Their Way. Some of the patterns are tricky - hence why we do not have a set spelling test day. There may be times when we spend more time on a list and less on another.

In science, we have finished our Hot and Cold Temperatures unit. Students seemed to enjoy showing off their insulating containers and we were pretty happy to see that they all kept an ice cube somewhat frozen for a complete hour! We are now onto Exploring Liquids - lots of fun playing with water and other types of liquids. Then our last unit will be Boats and Buoyancy.

April

I hope everyone had an a amazing spring break full of fun and relaxation. I hope that the Easter bunny spoiled you and that you are ready to face the last 3 months of school for this year!!! Yes - can you believe it - we are headed into the last 3 months of school!

Students are wrapping up their Hot and Cold Temperature unit in science. We will be testing our insulating containers and then we will begin exploring liquids.

We are starting a Robert Munsch unit in language arts that will focus on comprehension of each story that we read, but will also look at characters as well as problems and solutions that are faced by the characters.

March

March... In Like a Lion...Out Like a Lamb???

March is upon us... and did it ever come upon us. With the snow and cold that doesn't seem to be able to make up it's mind whether it is coming or going - it is imperative that students are coming to school dressed appropriately for winter. Many of the students are showing up without snow pants, mitts, hats and are going outside in some cold weather. Our district policy is that unless it is - 20 degrees or colder students are to go outside for recess. Even when it is warmer - and students are outside without snow pants - they often come back inside wet and cold. Thank you for your support in this.

We have been so busy in class and students have been working on a number of different assignments. Over the course of February - students continued working on their Dragon unit, which included: reading comprehension activities, reading and writing poems, a newspaper article and related art. This unit will wrap up with a non-fiction research assignment. Students also completed a number of themed writing assignments (Ground Hog Day, Valentine's Day, 100s Day, Olympics). Students have been working hard trying to add details to their writing, as well as use joining words in their sentences. In addition, we have been working on Grammar - and students are becoming more familiar with the following parts of speech: nouns, adjectives and verbs. Students are also continuing to work on their spelling patterns in our Words Their Way program. 

In Science, we have been continuing investigating Hot and Cold Temperatures. Students are exploring thermometers as well as how we can protect ourselves from heat/cold. We will continue exploring how we heat our buildings, as well as some Arctic animals and how they adapt to the weather. Students will also be building an insulating container as an end of the unit project!  

February Events

Here are just some of the photos from February! 

Valentines Day... 100s Day... the Winter Carnival. 

It was a busy month in 2F.

February

No Shadow Means Early Spring...

February is a very busy month - with Groundhog Day, Teacher's Convention, Valentine's Day, Family Day and the Winter Olympics - this month is going to fly by!

One of the other things that is happening during the next couple weeks is this month's SWAT team event.  With our crew this month we will focusing on the topic of healthy nutrition with everyone.  Given that February is typically associated with heart health and loving others - we decided to go with the Love Yourself theme - and what better way to Love Yourself than by eating healthy. Over the course of the next two weeks students will have the chance to gain entry into a Rainbow Lunch prize draw to be held at the next school assembly.  Every class will be receiving "lunch tracking forms" for all the students in their classes.  The teachers will use the form daily to record those students who have brought in a rainbow lunch featuring an item(s) from each of the four food groups (as per the Canada Food Guide).  If the student has brought in a rainbow lunch they get to cross off a number for that day.  Once they have crossed off the 10 numbers, the form is cut out and it becomes an entry ballot for the prize draw.

In Language Arts, we have been working on A Dragon Unit, in which we have been studying different pieces of text to learn about the origins of dragons. Students are working on showing their comprehension of the texts, as well as responding to the texts. We have been look at new vocabulary and trying to use clues to determine meaning of unfamiliar words. Students have also been working on Words Their Way, our spelling program - and you may notice that spelling tests are not on specific days. As we work through the patterns, some lists may need more class time and others may not need as much time - and I will always try to give at least one weekend to study.

In Science, we have wrapped up our unit on Magnetism and we have started exploring Hot and Cold Temperatures. Students have enjoyed demonstrating their knowledge of both hot and cold things, as well as explaining what is hotter or colder than different objects.

As a class, we have also been going over the rules and class expectations. These cold days mean indoor recess and the students are getting a little antsy. We have had some conversations about how some things that we are allowed to do at home are NOT appropriate for school. We have also been learning about being bucket fillers, as opposed to bucket dippers. We are learning about how our actions can not only affect ourselves, but others too. Students have discussed how to be kind to others and to also be kind to ourselves and have a positive attitude towards our learning. Some of the students have a very difficult time when they make a mistake and we are really trying to demonstrate that a positive, willing to try attitude is the first step. If we don't think we can - we are setting ourselves up for failure before we've even had a chance to try! And above all, if we make a mistake - that is how some of our best learning happens! We all make mistakes - and that is OK!

Happy February!