Fifty Days of Friendship!

Today we celebrated our 50th day of learning together with a little fun ... we made Friendship Fruit Salad and had a Pigeon Painting Party!

We all brought fruit to share, and together it made an amazing snack, much like how we make an amazing classroom family when we are all together!

We love the Mo Willem's "pigeon" book series, so following a step by step guided drawing, we drew our own Pigeon. Then we used crayon and watercolour paint to create a creative, bright party!

We are so blessed and have so much to be thankful for; the friendships we have made, the learning and growth we have experienced, and the kindness we show one another. Today was a meaningful (and delicious) way to connect with each other!

Looking forward to the adventures that await! The first 50 days have been fantastic!

Don't Let the Pigeon Break Our Rules!

It all began with a book. A book about a bus. A book about a bus, with a pigeon who wanted to be the driver! A pigeon?!? Drive?!?

Mo Willem's Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus had us all howling with laughter! This spirited pigeon pulls out every excuse in the book to try and convince us, the readers, to let him drive the bus while the driver is away. Do you think he got to drive that bus? 

We all took part in a guided drawing lesson to learn how to draw Mo Willem's pigeon:

Then the children were challenged to think of a school rule they didn't want their pigeon to break, we added in a speech bubble, and ta da!

The students are now doodling adorable pigeons everywhere, not to mention devouring other books featuring the pigeon!

This was a fantastic way to introduce the word "responsibilities" and focus on making kind, positive choices. Fingers crossed, the pigeon follows all of our school rules! Stop by our hall to see our pigeon masterpieces!

Guided drawing lesson was courtesy of Mo Willems. 

Pigeon writing project inspired by Art Dish with MJ. 

Patterns & Pigeons!

Patterns
Our first Math unit focuses on patterning. We have worked hard to find a pattern, describe a pattern, continue a given pattern, and create our own pattern. Now the students are exploring how patterns can be related!

Yesterday we examined the patterns below. We practiced describing these patterns using words (e.g. scissors, glue, glue), letters (e.g. A, B, B...), and numbers (e.g. 1, 2, 2...).

Ask your child to describe the patterns below.
How are they similar? Different?

It is so important for the children to verbalize and justify their thinking. This helps deepen understanding not only in Math, but in any subject or situation. Don't be surprised if your child struggles with this skill at first. With daily practice together, we will only get better at explaining and justifying our thinking.

Pigeons

The boys and girls in our class are incredibly kind-hearted, responsible kids who work really hard to make smart choices each day. They're a fantastic bunch! 

But, rules are meant to be broken. At least, that's what our new friend, the pigeon, keeps telling us! This past week we have really enjoyed a series of books by author Mo Willems that feature a persuasive, sassy pigeon who is always pushing the limits!

Inspired by the picture books, the students set out to create their own set of rules for the pigeon, just in case he ever swings by Jean Vanier! Would he know how to behave in school?

We followed the directed drawing instructions by Mo Willems himself to draw our own unique pigeons. Then we wrote our own speech bubbles and did lots of careful cutting and gluing. 

Ta da! Our very own set of pigeon rules!

This project was excellent for reviewing our classroom and school expectations, and the students were so engaged. Who knew drawing a pigeon was so easy? There are now little pigeon doodles everywhere! To see all of our pigeon projects, please check our hall bulletin board!

Don't Let the Pigeon Break the Rules!

It all began with a book. A book about a bus. A book about a bus, with a pigeon who wanted to be the driver! A pigeon?!? Drive?!?

Mo Willem's Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus had us all howling with laughter! This spirited pigeon pulls out every excuse in the book to try and convince us, the readers, to let him drive the bus while the driver is away. Do you think he got to drive that bus? 

We loved this book so much that we wanted to be able to share it, so here is a goofy YouTube version of the story to enjoy at home:

We all took part in a guided drawing lesson to learn how to draw Mo Willem's pigeon:

Then the children were challenged to think of a school rule they didn't want their pigeon to break, we added in a speech bubble, and ta da!

The students are now doodling adorable pigeons everywhere, not to mention devouring other books featuring the pigeon!

Fingers crossed, the pigeon follows all of our school rules! Stop by our hall to see our pigeon masterpieces!

Guided drawing lesson was a free download courtesy of Heidi Songs. 

Pigeon writing project inspired by Art Dish with MJ. 

Don't Let the Pigeon into Grade One!

The boys and girls in our class are incredibly kind-hearted, responsible kids who work really hard to make smart choices each day. They're a fantastic bunch! During the first week, we all promised to "Care, share and be fair" by pledging with our hand prints. Have you seen this sign by our door?

Can your child find his or her hand print?

But, rules are meant to be broken. At least, that's what our new friend, the pigeon, keeps telling us!

This past week we have really enjoyed a series of books by author Mo Willems that feature a persuasive, sassy pigeon who is always pushing the limits!

Such hilarious books! We loved them!

What's that pigeon up to now?

The boys and girls really enjoyed a YouTube clip of Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! We think you will love it, too!

Inspired by the picture books, the students set out to create their own set of rules for the pigeon, just in case he ever swings by Holy Redeemer! Would he know how to behave in school?

We followed the directed drawing instructions by Mo Willems himself to draw our own unique pigeons. Then the students each told Mrs. Beliveau what they didn't want the pigeon to do, and she typed it into a speech bubble. Then we did lots of careful cutting and gluing. 

Ta da! Our very own set of pigeon rules!

This project was excellent for reviewing our classroom and school expectations, and the students were so engaged. Who knew drawing a pigeon was so easy? There are now little pigeon doodles everywhere! To see all of our pigeon projects, please check our hall bulletin board.


Follow the pigeon's tweets at @The_Pigeon. 
For loads of fantastic Mo Wilems "pigeon-themed" fun, visit Pigeon Presents.



Project inspired by Art Dish with MJ.