Month: November 2017

Cups are a surprisingly interesting building material. Today, we have a castle that a girl and boy live in. Maybe we will have a tower tomorrow.

This is our school compost bin beside our primary playground. Parents are welcome to toss apple cores, vegetable skins, orange and banana peels or other organic material directly into the bin.

We learned that this brown banana peel is yummy worm food.  Worms will eat the banana peel and produce rich dirt and compost material that will be used in our school garden.

We then went back into the classroom and took a closer look at worms that Nikoo brought for us to observe. Nikoo also read us ‘Diary of a Worm.’

Some of us were brave enough to gently handle the worms. Ms. Yonka remembers playing with worms and frogs as a child. I was happy just observing the worms with a magnifying glass.

When we look at the beautiful trees and plants in our schoolyard, Nikoo reminded us to remember to thank the worms for recycling materials andy producing the rich soil necessary for plants to grow.  Thank you, Nikoo, for this great lesson.

Ms. Kathy has started Roots of Empathy lessons with Division 10. We have Ms. Sophie visit once a month with Baby Matthieu, and we are learning about how a baby grows, what a baby needs, and how to have empathy for others. We had our first visit with Baby Matthieu on November 2 and he is SO cute! He did not cry at all during the entire visit. Please check the bulletin board in the library just beside our classroom for updates about our Roots of Empathy program.

On October 23, Division 10 had the wonderful opportunity to create beautiful artwork led by Maureen from Arts Umbrella. We were taught how to draw bridges over a pond with waterlilies and a rainbow in the background.  It was an amazing experience!

 

During centres time, students have free choice within the classroom.  I have some students who love to read books, some who love to play with Lego, and some who enjoy building with loose parts. Loose parts are small items that can be used for making patterns, pictures or creative arrangements.

During their time playing together, students are learning about how the world works.  They learn how to balance blocks together so their tower does not fall. We may have the beginnings of an architect or a carpenter.  We test out what keys match 6 different locks. We may have a future locksmith in our group. Many of the students enjoy telling stories and looking at books. We may have future authors, writers and teachers.  As we play and discover, we learn more each day.