Our Teach the Teacher Week!

God has blessed each of us with unique talents, passions and gifts, and this week we shared these with our class! We began the week reading a fantastic book by an Inuit author about our gifts:

Then Mrs. Beliveau became a student and the children took turns being the teacher! It was such a joy seeing students light up and share their passions. 

We learned about the Portuguese culture and then tried counting to ten!

Our "teacher" led us through an experiment using cyanopaper, which is special paper that is sensitive to sunshine! We chose items, set them on the cyanopaper, and left it outdoors! What an incredible result!

Another awe-inspiring science experiment followed! We all had an opportunity to make a reaction with vinegar and baking soda, creating bubbling and fizzing volcanoes!

Then we got crafty! 

We were taught how to make adorable hedgehogs out of play-dough and pasta. 

We were guided, step by step, in a drawing lesson to create flowers. 

 

Using stickers, markers, and loads of creativity, we made memorable fridge magnets to celebrate our special class!

A French lesson taught us the days of the week and how to count to 10!

We discovered a new game, Brainiac, and took turns guessing the mystery code. What a great challenge!

The sun shone for a basketball lesson! Check out our dribbling skills!

We enjoyed an exciting roller hockey demonstration as we learned the ins and outs of skating quickly and stick handling. 

What an AMAZING week! It was a great opportunity for everyone to lead the learning and to share their gifts and talents. 

Growing Together: Our Class Plant

Back in September, we began our Grade 1 journey together by reading The World's Best Class Plant and welcomed a little spider plant into our room. In those early days, both the plant and our students were just settling in and finding their roots. 

Our spider plant in September

As the months flew by, we grew in height, knowledge, and kindness, and our plant grew right along with us! We were filled with excitement every time someone spotted a new spiderette growing! We practiced our numeracy skills by counting them, and we practiced a much bigger life skill, forgiveness, when Mrs. Beliveau accidentally froze off all the spiderettes bringing the plant home over Christmas! 

But just like our resilient Grade 1s, that little plant showed us what it means to be strong and grow deep roots. Despite that frosty setback, it bounced back, grew, and thrived. It was the perfect lesson for us this year; even when things get tough, we can adapt, try again, and keep growing!

It's June! Look at those spiderettes!

This week, our resilient little spiderettes were harvested. Now, every single student received a special piece of our classroom plant to take home.  

Thank you all for a beautiful year of watching your children bloom. This spider plant brought our faith theme to life, and we truly did grow together in Christ's love! 

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How to Care for Your New Spider Plant: 

• Planting: Plant the entire biodegradable cup directly into a larger pot filled with standard potting soil. The cup will naturally break down as the roots grow through it. 

• Light: These plants love bright, indirect sunlight. 

• Watering: Water it thoroughly when the top inch of soil feels dry to the touch. They prefer to dry out a little bit between waterings rather than sitting in soggy soil.

• Temperature: Keep it in a comfortable room-temperature spot. 

I hope this little plant brings a bit of our classroom joy into your homes for a long time to come!

Walking on the Wild Side: Our Zoo Day!

What an incredible way to kick off the week! Our Grade 1 classes enjoyed a fantastic day of learning and discovery at the Edmonton Valley Zoo. The sun was shining, the students were curious and engaged, and the adults were just as excited for the adventure!

Our morning was spent participating in the "Animal Movers and Shakers" program, which connected with our Science Energy Unit, helping us explore how things move. As we travelled through the zoo, we discovered the many ways animals move and the reasons behind their movements, from swimming otters and soaring birds of prey to prowling carnivores, slithering snakes, and swinging gibbons. Along the way, we learned about the unique adaptations that help animals survive and thrive in their environments. A special highlight was meeting Pepperoni, a blue-tongued skink, who is an omnivorous lizard with some remarkable adaptations. And yes, we got to see Pepperoni's blue tongue!

After lunch, students explored the zoo in small groups alongside our incredible volunteers. These smaller groups gave students the opportunity to spend extra time with the animals that captured their interest most. It was a wonderful way to follow our curiosities, deepen our learning, and enjoy an awesome afternoon together. 

One fact we were amazed to learn today is that the peregrine falcon, one of the birds of prey we saw, is the fastest animal on Earth, even faster than a cheetah! Even more surprising, though, was the fact that not a single student fell asleep on the bus ride home. Truly shocking!

Our students were incredible ambassadors for our school. Our zoo interpreter even reached out to express how genuinely impressed she was, sharing that our students were "some of the best behaved, most engaged and active participants" she has ever had! 

We're not surprised! These kids are incredible!

Overflowing with JOY!

Book Tournament

We've been looking forward to reading two books a day in our Joyful June Book Tournament! We even learned the word "unanimous" after one of our votes!  

Here are a few of the book pairings...

ABC Countdown

Our ABC Countdown allows us to try new things, connect with our classmates, and move and groove in new places and spaces!

J - Jokes and Jumping Rope

We enjoyed several knee slappers and side splitters!

Q: What do you call funny mountain?
A: HILLarious!

Q: What is a duck's favourite snack?

A: QUACKers!

The rain put a damper on jumping rope, but we plan to be flexible and tackle it on a sunnier day. 

K - Kindness

The boys and girls got busy spreading kindness! They wrote uplifting, colourful notes to share with people in their lives. Some chose to spread kindness to some special staff, and it was a joy to watch the deliveries!

L - LEGO Challenges

We were challenged to build a variety of structures!

M - Magazines

We were curious readers as we flipped through Chirp, Highlights, Chickadee, National Geographic Kids, and more! 

N - Nature Hunt

We did some exploring in nature! Using "nature trappers" or an outdoor scavenger hunt, we gathered our treasures as we explored. Good news... we beat the rain!

We sure are savouring these last few weeks together! Slow down, June! 

Chasing the Joy

We're going to keep chasing the joy as we approach the end of the school year!

Today we began our "Joyful June" book tournament! Each day we'll read two books and vote. The winning book advances!

E - Electronics

We are becoming independent chrome book users, and had fun playing phonic and word games on Teach Your Monster to Read, enjoying stories on EPIC, and learning about animals on San Diego Wildlife Explorers. 

F - Frisbees and Freeze Dance with Friends

Freeze Dance challenged us and we had a blast tossing frisbees to our friends! We learned how to use the disc golf stands out by Dinosaur Hill. 

G - Games (and Giggles!)

What a great opportunity to play fairly, take turns, and be gracious winners and losers! So much JOY!

H - Hula Hoops & Hats (and boy, was it HOT)

We went out early, found some shade, played a few cooperative games and learned some hula hoop skills!

I - Ink Pen

We were excited to set our pencils aside and use real ink! A word search with each of our names made for an awesome "inky" start! 

See you in June!

ABC: Finding JOY in 1B!

Our ABC Countdown has officially begun! Each day brings a new letter, a little extra fun, and special memories together. 

A - Awesome Authors and Animals

Cuddling a stuffed animal is the best way to enjoy stories!

B - BINGO!

We played our favourite BINGO game, Rhyming Word JINGO!

C - Chalk and Cup Stacking

We enjoyed sharpening our hand-eye coordination as we stacked cups. Our patterning, sequencing, and perseverance were all strengthened!

Team work makes the dream work!

Chalk in the sunshine with friends? Yes, please!

D - Dice and Dinosaur Hill

We tackled a partner adding game using dice IN dice! We each rolled a double die, added our total, and whoever had more took a counter. Gather 10 counters to win!

The sun was shining and a walk to Dinosaur Hill was in order. Can't hustle up a hill and not roll down!

As we step into the last weeks of Grade 1, one thing is certain ... we're squeezing in all of the joy we possibly can! 

Arbor Day Adventure

 Today we spent the morning at Strathcona County's Arbor Day Celebration!

We were in awe of the arborists! We learned that they are "tree doctors". We saw several of their special tools, including the chain saws! We met several arborists who gave us an amazing demonstration!

To keep our energy up, a quick cookie hit the spot! 

Trees have birthdays too! We learned to count the rings on a tree "cookie" and learned how drought and the seasons affect the rings. We even got to practice on our own little "tree cookie":

Our hearts were pumping at the "Nature-cize" obstacle course:

We planted our very own seedling in biodegradable cups, so that the cup can be planted along with the tree. Trees will come home next week. We also met Bertie Beaver, Alberta's fire prevention celebrity and mascot!

We headed towards a treed area to build "fairy houses" with dead material (e.g. sticks on the ground, fallen pine cones). What a collaborative, creative activity!

We learned about the importance of fire safety. We were strongly cautioned that fires are dangerous and never to be played with. We were, however, surprised to learn that forest fires are a natural part of the forest ecosystem and can play a role in maintaining a healthy forest. 

We each received reusable lunch bags filled with snacks and we settled in for an interactive performance by Crescendo Music Studio's musician Laurelle!

Strathcona County put on a fabulous Arbor Day for us and we had so much fun learning about trees! We are called to care for all God created and learned more about being stewards for our big, beautiful earth!