Friday 29 June 2018

Farewell Message

Dear boys and girls, 

Our classroom is quiet. Our classroom is empty. But today, my heart is full. Full of joy, full of laughter, and packed full of memories from our time learning and growing together this year. 

The most important lesson I hope you've learned is that you are loved.  I love you. Your families love you. And most importantly, God loves you. He loves you infinitely, and always will, no matter what. 

Boys and girls, share your love. Be kind. Be a friend. Be Jesus' hands whenever you can ... and you always can! 




With my warmest love,

Mrs. Beliveau


Be the Nice Kid quote from Alison Thompson on TPT

Friday 22 June 2018

Building With Fairy Tales

We had a blast this week! Inspired by fairy tales, we tackled several building challenges in Science!

We are exploring the following learning outcomes:


  • I can choose appropriate building materials
  • I can describe the job of each part of an object I made
  • When I look at 2 things, I can describe what is the same and what is different

3 Little Pigs: House


First up, the 3 Little Pigs! We read the fairy tale and then reviewed the parts of a story. 

Then, just like the pigs, we built with "straw" (paper shreds), ...



"sticks" (wood blocks), ...




... and "bricks" (Lego)!



We learned so much about choosing the best materials for the job!





Goldilocks and the 3 Bears: Chair


Next up, we enjoyed Goldilocks and the 3 Bears!




Our challenge was to create a chair for baby bear! The criteria? The chair must have 4 legs and a bear figurine must fit in it. 


Success!


3 Billy Goats Gruff: Bridge


We enjoyed the story of the 3 Billy Goats Gruff, especially that nasty troll!

Then came our building challenge: build a bridge that can hold a billy goat! As I pulled out plasticine and popsicle sticks, one student raised his hand and asked, "Mrs. Beliveau, do you think we could build our bridges out of Lego instead, because Lego is sturdier!". Great reasoning! So ... change of plans! 

In partners, we built Lego bridges that could hold a goat!



Then we used our mini-puppets to retell the story!


Next week we will be building a boat for Captain Hook and a toy with moving parts, like Pinocchio!


Fairy Tale STEM Activities for Primary Grades from Dancing Into First

Monday 11 June 2018

We Are Readers!

Bus shenanigans
The boys and girls were so excited to jump on a bus and head to the Strathcona County Library for a very special tour, and we learned a lot! 

When we arrived, Pascale showed us many of the items that can be borrowed from the library. We can borrow read-along kits (book/CD), CDs, DVDs, beginning readers, picture books, really fun PlayAway kits (an MP3 player with stories to listen to), and so much more



We took a tour to see what we can do in the library! We went through the children's section, the Discovery section, the computer area, past the Information Desk, and back to the program room! 



Back in our program room, we got a super secret sneak peek at the Summer Reading Game "Welcome to Meliora" and that the library offers! You can play every day once school finishes. Can your child tell you how to earn a free, brand new book? 



Have a peek in the Grade 1 reading kit your child received today. It is specifically tailored for our readers entering Grade 2 in the fall! Can your child tell you how we can get our names on the rocket ship board?



Ask your child how to get our names
posted on the board!

Be sure to check the Summer Program Guide for many FREE programs offered this summer for kids and families, including the Lego Night that got us all excited!



The library makes reading and learning so much fun, and is an excellent way to spend your summer! Please encourage your child to continue reading daily throughout the summer, as this will make the transition to Grade 2 tremendously smoother. 

It was an awesome trip and we are so excited that we have become readers!



Wednesday 6 June 2018

Awesome Animals

Back in January, Zoo school really thrilled our students, so we decided to learn a little more about animals!

This week, the children were challenged to learn more about an an animal of their choosing! They drew and labelled a detailed diagram of their animal and wrote three facts with accompanying illustrations. We used the San Diego Zoo Kids website to help us with our research.



This was not an easy project, but we rose to the challenge! Students navigated challenging text, gathered information, wrote complete sentences, and illustrated with detail. Wowzers!








We can't wait to share our reports with the students in Kindergarten tomorrow!

Watch for your child's report, along with a mini-rubric sharing his or her progress. Happy reading!