The Case of the Hot Cocoa Caper

January 31st is National Hot Chocolate Day and we were so excited to celebrate this week! However, we had a problem ... our hot chocolate mix went MISSING!

We each received our own case file and a list of suspects. Our challenge was to work through several tasks. As we completed each task, one of the suspects would be eliminated!

These tasks were a wonderful review of so many skills we've built! We worked through rhyming, adding vowels, reading CVC words, working with a number line, measuring, and more!

Each time we finished a task, we received a clue eliminating one of the suspects!

After lots of teamwork, we found the culprit! The hot chocolate caper was solved and we were able to enjoy a delicious cup (or two) of warm cocoa together!

What a wonderful way to end a wonderful winter month! Happy Hot Chocolate Day, everyone! 

Winter Escape Room Activities and Centers are from One Sharp Bunch by Ashley Sharpe

Celebrating Family Literacy Day!

Family Literacy Day is celebrated annually in Canada on January 27 and encourages families to read and learn together each day.

While we may not be able to welcome every family into our classrooms to celebrate, we found a meaningful way to connect home and school. Students selected a favourite book from home, wrapped it, and brought it in to share with their classmates. Each day, we unwrapped a surprise book and enjoyed reading it together as a class.

The excitement each morning was infectious! This simple activity has been an exciting and engaging way to celebrate our shared love of reading and the important role families play in nurturing literacy.

Happy Family Literacy Day!

Sneaky, Snowy Sentences!

Our playground and field are covered in snow, so it was fitting this week to read Eric Carle's book Dream Snow!

In the story, a farmer falls asleep and dreams that snow covers his farm animals. This book is very clever! Clear plastic sheets, with "snow" on them, can be lifted to reveal the animal underneath! 

Armed with our knowledge of sentences, we made our own version of the book, but with a twist! Students each wrote clues about an animal of their choosing. Kids were challenged to write a sentence beginning with a capital letter and ending with a period.

An illustration of the animal accompanied their clues, too!

Just like in Dream Snow, a clear page with painted "snow" covered the animal, so it would be lifted up to reveal the animal hidden under the snowbank! The very best part of this was adding "snow"!

Here are the clues:

Peek under the "snow" to see the animal!

Because of their fantastic work, the hallway board near our classroom has curious students reading our clues and peeking under the snowbanks! Well done, Grade One!

Hibernation: A Blanket of Snow

Seasonal changes are something we explore year-round in Science. Recently, we've begun learning how animals hibernate, migrate, and adapt to the cold winter months. 

Animals who hibernate often burrow under the snow. But how can you be warm under something so cold? 

Our experiment was simple: bury one thermometer in a snowbank, and leave the other sitting on top of the snow. To protect the thermometers, each was safe in a box.

We left the thermometers all morning and checked their temperatures after lunch. We discovered that it actually warmer under the snow! Many animals have a better chance of surviving the cold winter when there is a lot of snow. This snow acts like a blanket. It traps heat from the earth, as well as an animal's body heat when an animal burrows deep. 

Bundle up and enjoy the heaps of snow, everyone!