Let's Play Junk It!

This week, we were introduced to a fast-paced card game, Junk It! It helps us recognize and order numerals to 10. 

Junk It is a 2-player game. Remove face cards, but keep Aces. Put 10 cards in two rows of 5 face down in front of each player. Place the remaining cards in the centre. 

The first player flips a card over, and places it in its numerical spot. She picked up a 7 ...

... so she put it down where the 7 goes. 

When she placed her card in the 7 spot, she picked up a 5 (formerly face down in the 7th place). Off the 5 goes to spot 5!

Notice how when she put her 5 down, she picked up the card in that spot? It is also a 7! She already has a 7, so she gets to call JUNK IT and discard it in the middle. 

Her opponent can either pick up the card that was just discarded, or select a new card from the pile. He needs a 7, so he picked it up. 

The first player to get all 10 cards flipped over in order wins! Isn't learning more fun when it's a game?

It is a little confusing to explain on our blog, but the kids are definitely the experts! Will you challenge your child to a game of Junk It?!?

Advent: Waiting Joyfully!

This past Sunday marks the beginning of Advent. Can your child point out the season of Advent on the liturgical calendar?

Advent is a time of joyful waiting. We are awaiting the birth of Christ!

As the Liturgical Seasons change, so does our prayer table. We changed our prayer cloth from green for Ordinary Time to purple for Advent. Can you see our wreath? We light one candle for each of the four Sundays in Advent. This week we lit the first candle. As we light more candles, our world becomes brighter, symbolizing our growing anticipation for Jesus, the light of our world!

Each morning we have a little Advent celebration, either at our weekly assembly or during Connection Time. 

Has your child mentioned our Shepherd? Each day we hunt for the Shepherd. He is hidden around our school and when we find him, his scripture message draws us closer to Jesus. 

As a school, we're getting our hearts, our classrooms, and our world ready for Jesus. Instead of just focusing on gifts or decorations, we are practicing virtues that help make a true home for our King. Each child made an Advent Promise by choosing a virtue or kind action and writing it on the “hay”. Together, we are doing our best to create a warm and loving place for baby Jesus.

As we journey towards Christmas, may we prepare our hearts with kindness as we joyfully await the birth of Christ!