'Twas the Day of Halloween

'Twas the day of Halloween
And all through the halls
The children were vibrating
They were bouncing off the walls!

We were surprised by a visit
From our grandma we adore
We enjoyed spooky stories
We begged her to read more!

Grandma Theresa from Linking Generations

Then a Locked Box arrived
And we puzzled over each clue
We opened three locks
These kids knew what to do!

After lunch we got dressed
And enjoyed the parade
We strutted our stuff
And cheered as we waved!

Then we moved through the stations
Crafts, challenges, and games
We were all so grateful
To the volunteers who came!

We're headed home for more fun
Think of what we learned with Safety Bear
Make smart and safe choices
Have fun and take care!

Thank you Constable Kelly!

I'll see you all tomorrow
November 1st is All Saints Day
More learning awaits
Don't forgot to wear your PJs!


Happy Halloween, friends!

Making Connections When We Read

Reading becomes so much more meaningful when we are able to personally connect with the text! This past few days we have been focusing on making a personal connection with what we are reading. This means the children have been challenged to connect the story to their own life, own experiences, and own feelings. 

We enjoyed reading several books appropriate for the Halloween season! The boys and girls made meaningful text-to-self connections using these texts!

In Creepy Carrots, we met Jasper Rabbit, who loves carrots, until they turn on him and become scary! We connected with the story by sharing our favourite food to snack on!

Next we enjoyed the story "Where's My Mummy?"! Where is little mummy's mama? Little mummy felt scared without mama! Here are our personal connections of a time we felt scared:

The Littlest Pumpkin is about a teeny tiny pumpkin that nobody picks from the pumpkin patch.  The boys and girls thought of a time they felt disappointed, and also made matching mini-pumpkins!

Crankenstein features an ordinary kid who can become very cranky! What makes us cranky?

We tried to pose with our crankiest faces, but it turned into giggles!

Watch for these activities to come home next week and continue to reinforce those personal connections as your child reads. Connecting to the text is an excellent way to increase and develop your child's comprehension!


Where's My Mummy activity and craftivity from Deanna Jump's unit. 
The Littlest Pumpkin activity and craftivity from Cara Carroll. 
Crankenstein activity from Falling Into First. 
Creepy Carrots inspired by Anita Bremmer. 
Connections poster from the Comprehension Strategy Poster collection made by A Year of Many Firsts.  

Building Number Sense: Junk It!

In grade 1 we learn how our number system works by examining numbers up to 100. First, we went hunting for numbers! Where do we see numbers? When do we use numbers each day? Why are numbers so important?

Right now we are working very closely with numbers to 20. 

• How are numbers related? 
• What are some different ways to make a number? 
• How can we take a number apart? 
• How can we count carefully?

Keep hunting for numbers with your child! Road signs, recipes, flyers ... they're everywhere and so important!

Junk It Game

In case you haven't heard, we were introduced to a fast-paced card game, Junk It! It helps us recognize numerals and order them 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 4 ... 

... so she put it down where the 4 goes. 

When she placed her card in the 4 spot, she picked up a 6 (formerly face down in the 4th place). Off the 6 goes to spot 6!

When she put the 6 down, she picked up an 8, so off that card goes to the 8th place. 

Notice how when she put her 8 down, she picked up the card in that spot? It is another 6! She already has a 6, 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. Keep playing!

The first player to get all 10 cards flipped over in order wins! 

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?!? Learning is so much more fun when it's a game!

Thankful Hearts

We. Love. Thursdays. We really do!

We call this day "Thankful Thursday" and each Thursday since school began we have been journaling about what we are thankful for. Gratitude breeds positivity and it is a wonderful lifelong practice that will help our students see the blessings God has sprinkled into our lives!

These journals are coming home for the weekend ... enjoy! Return them Tuesday, please. 

This week we spent a little extra time exploring how blessed we truly are. Our blessings so are abundant and we seized every opportunity we could to thank God! 

With just the mention of the word "thankful", the students' hands were shooting up and ideas were overflowing. They were bursting with gratitude!

In the spirit of fostering a "growth mindset" and giving the students (and their teacher) the opportunity to practice perseverance and patience, we tackled a challenging Thanksgiving project, woven place mats!

We began by writing and colouring.

Then with the help of our Grade 3S buddies, the students learned to weave paper strips over, under, over, and under. Fantastic teamwork! Many also showed off their patterning skills!

Amazing work! These will, without a doubt, be the center of the Thanksgiving tables this weekend!

We have been blessed beyond measure and it is so important to take time and give thanks. God is indeed SO GOOD! 

If you and your family are feeling energetic and grateful this long weekend, give this scavenger hunt from Natural Beach Living a try together!

On a personal note, I want to share how very thankful I am for each child in my class. Each student is a special blessing and I recognize what a responsibility & gift it is to spend eight hours a day learning alongside your little one. I am also very grateful for the support I receive from our classroom families and am thankful beyond measure for this support each and every day.

May you have a blessed Thanksgiving!

Mystery Readers: Making Reading Exciting!

To develop a love reading is a huge goal in Grade 1. If the children are excited to read at this young age, it is very likely that they will continue to read and be avid readers throughout their lives. 

One way we have been getting really "pumped" about reading is by welcoming in Mystery Readers. By some stroke of luck, we had two last week ... and have more scheduled!

First, the children read three clues about the Mystery Reader. Then, the Mystery Reader is welcomed in to share a story!

For our first Mystery Reader, we welcomed in a grandma! We worked as a team to read her 3 clues and then settled in to enjoy her story. What a fantastic way to begin our Mystery Reader fun! 

We had another reader join us, too! She has a daughter in Grade 1 ... and also a granddaughter!?! Those clues really challenged us, but we loved figuring out that tricky puzzle and meeting Mrs. Beliveau's mom! She brought a fantastic Halloween book!

If you are interested in coming in as a Mystery Reader, or have a family member who is, please get in touch. You don't have to be a grandma (but we sure do love them!). We will find a convenient time and you are welcome to select a book or one can be provided. It really is a simple way of making reading exciting!

Connection Time: Building Relationships One Day at a Time!

Before we can learn and grow, we need to understand and trust one another. This is why, each morning, we begin our day with "Connection Time"! This invaluable time helps us ease into a busy day and prepare us for our best learning!

When we gather, we sit in a circle on the rug so we can see eachother. Even Mrs. Beliveau skips her cozy chair for a place in the circle!

Have a peek at some highlights from our morning Connection Time meetings:

1. Prayer
God is at the center of all we do and all we are, and we always begin in prayer. "Father in Heaven, I give You today, all that I think, and do, and say. Amen". 

2. Say Hello!
We have learned the importance of eye contact when greeting our classmates. While we have practiced our eye contact while giving a firm handshake, we also say hello in silly ways, too, like the stinky shoe greeting!

3. News
This time allows the students an opportunity to share what's on their minds, thereby helping us focus on learning later in the day. News can be both good or bad, and everyone is given an opportunity to share if they wish. So far we have heard about several lost teeth, soccer games, grandparents visiting, fish passing away, and even discovered a student can wiggle his ears! 

4. Social Scenario Problem Solving
To help the children develop age-appropriate critical thinking skills, they are presented with a social problem to solve. In partners, they brainstorm possible ways to solve the problem and then we come together as a large group to share and discuss. 

We talk about how some problems are "mouse problems" (small) or "elephant problems" (big), and small problems don't require an elephant-sized reaction. 


Some of the problems we have tackled include:

• not being able to find your indoor shoe after recess
• a classmate pushes ahead of you in line
• you notice a friend crying at their desk but don't know why
• someone wants to be your partner but you don't want to work with them

It is important for the students to see that there is no one way to solve a problem and that they do not always need an adult's help. 

5. Story
We close Connection Time with a story. Each book is carefully chosen and has an important lesson. 

Here are a few we have enjoyed already:

While Connection Time seems packed, it rolls along rather quickly and sets a positive tone for our day! This is time very well-spent and enjoyed. Connection time truly is about building relationships and seeing the masterpiece in all of us. 

My favourite message our room!

Connection Time is inspired by the structure outlined in the Morning Meetings by Kriete and Davis

Social Scenario Problem Solving Task Cards from Pathways 2 Success