Hot Cocoa Caper!

January 31st is National Hot Chocolate Day and we were so excited to celebrate! However, we had a problem ... our hot chocolate mix and marshmallows went MISSING!

We each received our own case file and a list of suspects. Our challenge was to work through several tasks. As we completed each task, one of the suspects would be eliminated!

These tasks turned out to be a wonderful review of so many skills we've built! We worked through rhyming, adding vowels, reading CVC words, working with a number line, measuring, and more!

Each time we finished a task, we received a clue eliminating one of the suspects!

We found the culprit! The hot chocolate caper was solved and we were able to enjoy a delicious cup (or two!) of warm cocoa together!

What a wonderful way to spend a snowy day together! Happy Hot Chocolate Day, everyone!

Winter Escape Room Activities and Centers are from One Sharp Bunch by Ashley Sharpe

Animals & People in Winter

In Science, we've explored animals and people in winter!

PEOPLE IN WINTER

We brainstormed favourite winter activities, then bundled in our woolies and acted out a winter activity... indoors! Then we wrote a complete sentence about our chosen activity, and using our creativity and a fancy background, made imaginative winter posters!

ANIMALS IN WINTER

We've learned that animals hibernate, migrate, and adapt:

Hibernating: Blanket of Snow Experiment
Animals who hibernate often burrow under the snow. But how can you be warm under something so cold? The experiment was simple: bury one thermometer in a snowbank, and leave the other sitting on top of the snow. To protect the thermometers, each was safe in a box. 

We left the thermometers all morning and checked their temperatures before lunch. We discovered that it actually warmer under the snow! Many animals have a better chance of surviving the cold winter when there is a lot of snow. This snow acts like a blanket. It traps heat from the earth, as well as an animal's body heat when an animal burrows deep. 

Adapting: Beautiful Bird Feeders

Many animals change colour, grow thicker fur, or adapt in some way to withstand freezing winter temperatures. 

We know Canada Geese migrate, however many birds stay here, including sparrows and woodpeckers.  We made beautiful bird feeders to treat these hardy birds who stay here during the winter. Using birdseed and cranberries, we made delightful and delicious frozen feeders!

We were thrilled to find a place to hang them!

We didn't miss this opportunity to make artwork! Using cardboard to make branches and needles, the children used a stamping method to create wonderful boughs and berries. 

Look at the robins in the trees!

We learn best when it is hands-on. Bundle up and enjoy the winter, everyone!

Dream Snow Animals

We read the book Dream Snow!

In the story, a farmer falls asleep and dreams that snow covers his farm animals. This book is very clever! Clear plastic sheets, with "snow" on them, can be lifted to reveal the animal underneath! 

Armed with our knowledge of sentences, we made our own version of the book, but with a twist! Students each wrote clues about an animal of their choosing. Kids were challenged to write a sentence beginning with a capital letter and ending with a period. As well, students were required to spell Word Wall Words correctly (weekly spelling words posted on the wall). 

An illustration of the animal accompanied their clues, too!

Just like in Dream Snow, a clear page with painted "snow" covered the animal, so it would be lifted up to reveal the animal hidden under the snowbank! The very best part of this was adding "snow"!

Here are the clues:

Can you guess the animal? Peek under the "snow" to see!

Because of their fantastic work, the hallway near our classroom is packed with curious students, reading the clues and peeking under the snowbanks! Well done, Grade One!

Happy New Year: Jumping Back into Learning!

It has felt so good to be back together again! Take a peek at a few learning moments this past week:

Each morning we connected with a friend to buddy read:

We reviewed our numbers to 20 with a challenging number hunt . . .

. . . and found ways to make 5 using "ice blocks" on an igloo counting mat!

We presented groups we are a part of in Social Studies:

We celebrated the Feast of the Epiphany! We heard the story of the Wise Men and made our own little stars as a reminder to follow Jesus: 

What a fantastic week back together again! It is going to be a wonderful 2025!

Glory to God in the Highest!

Christmas break is upon us! During Advent, our students were able to deepen their faith and prepare their hearts with kindness for the coming of Jesus. 

Have a look at our journey through Advent!

May your families be blessed with peace, joy and health throughout this Christmas season!

We're Coding Kids!

This past week, we embarked 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 command buttons. The commands allow the TaleBots to move forward and back, turn left and right, and even dance! 

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. 

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 learnning! Watch for your child's Tale Bot Visits the Zoo story coming home today!

Advent: Preparing our Hearts for the Birth of Christ

This past Sunday marked the first Sunday of Advent. 

We have been learning about the liturgical calendar. Can your child point out the season of Advent?

Advent is a time of hope and anticipation. We are awaiting the birth of Christ!

As the liturgical seasons change, so does our prayer cloth and prayer table. We changed our prayer table cloth from green (Ordinary Time) to purple (Advent). Can you see our wreath? We light one candle for each of the four Sundays in Advent. This week we lit the first candle. As we light more candles each week, our world becomes brighter, symbolizing our growing anticipation of Jesus, who is the light of our world. 

Each morning, we have a daily Advent celebration, either at our weekly Monday
assembly or at our classroom Connection Time. 

Has your child mentioned our Shepherd? Each day during Advent, we hunt for the Shepherd. He is hidden around our school, and when we find him, his scripture message helps is draw closer to Jesus. 

As a school, we are rooting ourselves in Christ through the tradition of the Jesse Tree. We are decorating the Jesse Tree with an ornament or two each day that symbolizes key people and events from the Old Testament, leading us to the Birth of Christ. It is a beautiful way to hear about God's love for us through biblical events. We even created our own Jesse Trees and enjoy adding the daily symbol(s)!

As we journey towards Christmas, may we prepare our hearts with kindness as we joyfully wait for the coming of Jesus!