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!

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!

Never the Same Day Twice!

Our Grade One class is likely the happiest place on earth! Our learning takes us in many directions and it is never the same day twice!

Here are just a few unique highlights we recently experienced:

Pani Lynne - Linking Generations 

We welcomed a special senior from our community through the Linking Generations program, which pairs classes with seniors to build meaningful relationships that benefit everyone.

Pani Lynne is a former teacher, active parishioner at OLPH, and all around lovely human! She read us a silly story, and then we read to her individually. She was dazzled by our new literacy skills!

We’re excited to welcome Pani Lynne most Wednesdays this school year for art projects, reading, numeracy games, and so much more. Her heart is so warm and I’m certain this is the beginning of a wonderful journey together!

Pumpkin the Dog

A special furry friend, Pumpkin, visits our school each week with his human, Miss Brittney. Pumpkin is a trained CAWWLS animal and the purpose of his visits is to promote positive mental health. We gently scratched and scritched Pumpkin as we took turns reading. We will learn about how we can take care of our own mental health throughout the year.

Vohon Performance

Today our students and staff attended Svitlo (“Light”), a Vohon dance presentation at the Jubilee Auditorium. We practiced being a respectful audience and were dazzled at the production, costumes, music and dance. This was a beautiful way to learn more about the rich Ukrainian culture and to take our learning into the community.

Grade one is truly a joyful place to learn. We love meeting new people, experiencing new opportunities, and growing together. If you or someone you know might be interested in connecting with our class to share a unique learning opportunity, definitely connect!