ABC Countdown Continues!

May has wrapped up, but we are still packing our days with both learning and fun. Our ABC Countdown began last week and was in full swing this week!

D - Dice & Dinosaur Hill

We tackled a partner adding game (linked here) and were so excited to use dice INSIDE dice! We each rolled a double die, added our total, and whoever had more took a cube. Gather all 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!

E - Explore the Environment

A Nature Scavenger Hunt had us outside exploring God's beautiful Earth! Add "exhaustion" to our letter E day, too!

F - Frisbees and Freeze Dance with Friends

Freeze Dance challenged us!

We had a blast tossing Frisbees to our friends!

G - Games (and Giggles!)

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

Tournament of Books

Starting next week, we'll read two books each day and vote on our favourite. The winning book advances to the playoffs!

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

We're Coding Kids!

This past week, we embarked on a coding adventure! Simply put, coding is writing 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 the command buttons. The commands allow the TaleBots to move forward and back, turn left and right, and even dance! 

Our first challenge was to have the TaleBot move around a piece of lego. There was lots of trial and error (and squeals of joy!) as we problem solved, discussed, and corrected our code. 

We tried the same challenge on a coding mat, and it became easier, as we were able to use the spaces on the mat to help us count out our commands. 

We examined a zoo mat and were challenged to write a story all about the zoo! The stories are about TaleBots who visit the zoo. Where do they travel to 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!

Next week we are excited to teach our big Grade 4 buddies how to code with the TaleBots. What a spectacular week of learning!

ABC Countdown!

How many letters in the alphabet? 26! Our ABC Countdown started this week, and we'll be adding a little sparkle and zip to each day with activities for each letter!

A - Awesome Authors and Animals

With a stuffed animal under one arm and a favourite book in the other, we relaxed with the letter A!

B - BINGO!

We headed into the fresh air and enjoyed Summer Bingo!

C - Chalk and Cup Stacking

Coffee? Chaos? Crazy? Yes, we had those three "c" words, too, but we celebrated letter C with cup stacking challenges and chalk!

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

Chalk in the fresh air with friends? Yes, please!

Have a wonderful weekend! Letter Dd will add some extra excitement on Monday!

A TREE-riffic Day!

 Arbor Day was TREE-riffic! We were so excited to hop on the bus for an adventure! 

Did you know trees have birthdays, too? We learned to count the rings on a tree "cookie" and learned how drought and the seasons affect the rings. Trees need TLC! 

We met some very brave and bendy arborists who were caring for trees! As we nibbled a cookie, we watched in awe as climbed high in the tree and taught us about PPE. 

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

We planted our very own seedling in biodegradable cups, so that the cup can be planted along with the tree. Remember to give your seedling lots of sun, water, nutrients, and of course, LOVE! Trees will come home Monday.

We headed towards a treed area to hear a story and build "fairy houses" with dead material (e.g. sticks on the ground, fallen pine cones). The students loved this activity!

We learned about the importance of fire safety. We were cautioned that fires are incredibly dangerous and are never, ever 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 practiced being an unhealthy (tightly packed) forest and a healthy (spread out) forest. It was neat to see how the ball, which represented fire, moved differently. 

We each received fantastic lunch bags filled with water, bananas and cookies, and we settled in for an interactive performance by environmental activist and Juno-award winning Canadian artist Peter Puffin! Can you see our classmate who was chosen to be on stage?

What a fabulous morning of adventure and learning! It was bright and busy, and we loved every minute!

Animal Research Projects

After spending a week at Zoo School, it was clear how much we all love animals! 

The children were challenged to learn more about an an animal of their choosing. We explored the San Diego Zoo Kids website to find an animal that piqued our interests. Then we worked with our Grade 4 buddies to read challenging text, gather information, and complete our animal research.

After completing the research part of the project, we wrote complete sentences about our animals and illustrated with detail. Wowzers!

We can't wait to share our reports with our Grade 4 buddies!

This writing and research project dovetails nicely with our forthcoming Science Unit, Living Systems of Plants and Animals. Watch for your child's animal report in our next package of Evidence of learning.