Karate and Social Studies

   
Students are continuing to explore more karate movements and language. Today we learned some punches and blocks, as well as kicks. Karate is a great sport to develop balance and strength. Practicing these skills is something many children may not have previously experienced. Next week at our celebration of learning, students will share some of their knowledge!
  

We're starting our exploration into Canada's dynamic communities. We are starting by learning about an arctic community. Today we compared the landscape of the arctic to that of Alberta. We noticed the lack of trees and abundance of snow in the arctic compared to where we live. We also looked at average temperatures of Iqaluit vs. Calgary. Although, we feel like we have harsh temperatures here in Calgary, we learned it's much warmer (on average) than in Iqaluit. Students worked with partners to compare the two climates and then created a picture of themselves, dressed in the appropriate clothing for an arctic adventure.

Happy 100th day! Happy Valentine's Day!

We know 100 very well now!  We started our PE class today by doing 100 exercises.  We grouped them into 10 groups of 10 (10x10=100)...10 burpies, 10 sit-ups, 10 jumping jacks.... and got quite a work out.

During learning commons the children learned that coding doesn't have to happen on a computer.  The children used beads to code a secret valentine's message on a bracelet.

During guided reading, the children created a list of 100 juicy, interesting words they found in their books.

This afternoon:
-We made 100 masks with 100 dots.  (Ask me how using 10 colours helped us keep track.)
-We did some writing about 100.
-We used links to measure 100 units around the class. 
-We alphabetized our valentine's bags and handed out notes to our friends.
-We played race to 100 using our mental math to practice adding (Compare with your child, their prediction and the number of rolls. How did they differ?  If you child didn't finish, grab a die and finish it up and count up the number of rolls it took to get to 100.) 
-We compared sets of 100 objects using a balance to determine which set weighed more.  Afterwards, we ordered all of the sets from lightest to heaviest.  We were surprised to find that Haruto's set of 100 beads was lighter than Mrs. Wacker's set of 100 feathers!  (What about the expression: As light as a feather?)

We can't wait to see what we will learn in accomplish in the next 83 more days of school!

Remember there is no school tomorrow and Friday as it is Teacher's Convention.  Monday is Family Day.

KIAI! Karate started today! 100 day and Valentine's Day Tomorrow!

Our first day of Karate was super fun!  The children learned many important words, traditions and body movements (like kicks, blocks and punches)...and even got to try blocking attacks (with foam noodles) from our expert karate sensei!  We will demonstrate some of our learning from this residency at our Celebration of Learning on February 27th.

This afternoon the students used their creativity and their skills cutting on a fold to make symmetrical shapes, to create their own Valentine's mailboxes.  Tomorrow will be a BUSY day!!!!  We will not only have an opportunity to exchange Valentine's cards, but we will also celebrate out 100th day of school by doing a variety of activities that help us think of the number 100.  

Children are invited to bring in a collection of 100 things to compare, but this is not mandatory.  If you choose to bring in a set of 100, please put items in a clear Ziploc with your child's name on it.  Please NO LARGER THAN A LARGE FREEZER ZIPLOC. 

Physical Geography of Canada

The past few weeks we have been working on creating our map of Canada. We are exploring some regions of Canada this year, primarily the prairies, arctic and maritimes. We have looked at books, pictures, and videos to see the physical landscape of these places. Over the course of this term, we will be exploring the climate, natural resources, languages and culture, and games of these three places. For now, our map is finished!

Humans Come To Earth: The Third Great Lesson

We journeyed back in time to when the first humans were figuring out how to survive on Earth.  We realized that humans had the same needs back then, but they did not have the same resources we did.  Through looking at artifacts and a slide show, we explored how humans discovered various resources like rocks, bones, antlers to create tools and to make things they needed like clothes and shelters.  Beyond having big brains, we learned the importance of the human hand and our opposable thumbs, which enable us to grasp and manipulate objects.  Our next Great Lesson will explore how writing was developed. 

Afterwards, we used our very dextrous hands, with our opposable thumbs, to craft our own clay vessels using a coiling technique.  The children want to decorate them when they dry. 

Look Alike Day Tomorrow

For our spirit day tomorrow.  Kids can dress the same as a friend/s. 

Our class also came up with groups that others can join.

-Marital Arts outfits
-Sports jerseys and jeans
-Red shirt and dark pants (cjp theme)

See you tomorrow!

States of Matter

This afternoon, students explored the different states of matter of water.  We started by reading the story Sadie and the Snowman.  In this story a young girl problem solves when warm weather melts her snowman.

 We also acted out being water molecules, with our carpet being our container.  We started, all connected, as a piece of ice.  Our bodies vibrated but we stayed connected where we were.  Next, we pretended that we were warmed by the sun.  We gain energy, spread out and moved faster but we stayed in the bottom of our container. Finally we imagined that we were heated up more until we evaporated into gas.  Now, we moved faster and spread out of our container to fill our whole room.  We watched a video that showed great examples of the different states of matter.
A great connection during these cold days, is the condensation (water) found on our windowsills in the morning.  The water vapour in our houses gets cooled from the cold penetrating our windows causing it condense and sometimes freeze on the inside of our house.  Have you seen that in your house?

We are continuing to learn new poems each month, to practice reading with fluency.  We love Maurice Sendack's Chicken Soup Series. 

On Friday, it is Look Alike or Twin Day.  Your child can dress like a friend.  Our class came up with some groups to join.  Some kids are going to dress up in their Martial Arts outfits, some kids are going to wear jerseys and others are going to join the school theme of red shirts and dark bottoms.