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!

Duckling Joy

Over the past few days, we’ve had the joy of caring for five sweet little ducklings. What a gift it has been. Each day has held quiet moments of wonder, bursts of unbridled joy, and everything in between.

We're enjoying watching our ducklings grow so quickly. These babies have taught us about the beauty of new life and the goodness in God's creation. We've experienced patience, gentleness, and how something small can bring such deep joy.

The children were surprised to learn that the ducklings are born knowing how to swim - no swim lessons needed!  God's design is so incredible. 

The ducklings are off to the Beliveau Family Resort for the weekend and will return for a few more days next week. This experience has been rich in Science learning, but even more meaningful in growing our faith. We’ve noticed God in unexpected places. The ducklings have shown us just how awe-inspiring God's creation truly is. 

Hatching and Harvesting

Hatching

Our duck eggs are halfway through their growth! Our friendly farmer, Mrs. Junck, visits once a week to guide our learning. 

Mrs. Junck is always full of surprises and brought two grown ducks from her farm. We compared the drake (male) to the hen (female), noticing that the female is brown and camouflages well. This is because she has to sit on the eggs for 28 days and stay hidden from predators. 

We candled a few eggs from our incubator. Candling shows us if the egg is developing into a duckling. We made our classroom very dark. Using a bright light, we were able to see if something was growing inside by noticing the air sack, dark shadows, and even movement. Bright, lit up egg? No duck (bottom right). Dark, shadowy egg? Duck! (top right)

Ducks take 28 days to grow and we candled on day 14. Our growth is right on track. Isn't God's plan incredible?

Harvesting

The seeds we planted in our grow towers have thrived! Today we sampled the fruits (or veggies?) of our labour! Each student was treated to a fresh salad. What a wonderful experience!

Our class is bursting with new life, signs of spring, and lots of joy!

Happy Hatching

Spring fever has hit Grade 1 and ducklings are on the horizon! Our hatching journey has begun!

This morning we reflected on what we already know about ducklings. Here are a few of the students' comments:

"They come from an egg."

"They like to swim."

"Ducks have webbed feet."

"They can fly."

"They grow into a duck."

We also generated a list of what we wanted to find out about ducklings:

Our local farmer, Mrs. Junck, brought us 13 duck eggs and an incubator from her farm. She will be visiting us weekly to teach us about new life, rural communities, needs of living things, and so much more!

Our eggs don't come with a mama duck, so the incubator will act in her place. It will keep the eggs warm and moist, and will turn them twice a day. Our job is to carefully monitor the incubator's temperature and humidity.

Near the end of April and into May, we will be welcoming our ducklings! We are about to experience God's new life, right before our very eyes!

Visit Our Community!

In Social Studies, we've been learning about landmarks and communities. A community is where we live, work and play. Using everything we've learned, we created our own community, St. Nick Town! 

Our Grade 1 classes brainstormed landmarks we could include in our town. At home, each child created a landmark, an important place, for our town. We assembled everything, adding roads, trees, and movable people, to create our own community!

We couldn't be prouder of what we collaborated to create! 

Our town has a beautiful school...

... with a creative playground!

Stop by the rec center to play a little soccer!

Watch a movie at the theatre, visit our veterinarian, and grab a bite to eat!

Our town stays safe because of our caring firefighters and police.

A town isn't complete without mail carriers and a church!

Feeling unwell? Our hospital is here to help!

Bring your family to our community pool:

Grab some fries on your way to get your groceries! 

Take in a game at the arena and be ready to cheer! 

Visit the pet shop if you have a furry friend:

Our grocery store, toy store and coffee shop are ready to serve you!

This collaborative project has been an absolute highlight in our Grade 1 classes and we've been stopping traffic in the hall! Thank you for your incredible home support!

TaleBot Coding Adventures!

This past week, we went on a coding adventure! Simply put, coding is creating instructions. A fleet of little TaleBot robots joined our class and we learned how to have them follow our directions. 

We met the TaleBots and worked in pairs to learn how to use their comand buttons. The commands allow the TaleBots to move forward and back, turn left and right, and even dance! 

First, pairs were challenged to code the TaleBot to move around a block or two. There was lots of trial and error (and squeals of joy!) as we problem solved, discussed, and corrected our code. The spaces on the mat helped us count out our commands. 

Then we examined a zoo-themed coding mat and were challenged to write a story all about the zoo! 

The stories are about TaleBots who visit the zoo. What animal do they want to see at the zoo first? Next? Last? 

Once our zoo stories were written, we got back into teams. Using our story, we coded the TaleBot to retell our very own stories!

What a fantastic day of learning! You'll be able to see how your child codes their TaleBot at our upcoming Student-Led Celebrations of Learning!