Feb 24, 2012

To start off, just a reminder that there is no school next week because of Teacher's Convention.  I hope you all have wonderful plans to spend time together!

In Language Arts today we read the Nursery Rhyme Little Bo Peep.

Why not try the Little Bo Peep Crossword below (Just click on the image)

In Math today we worked on putting stickers into groups of 5 and groups of 2 in order to count to 50 more easily.  Check out some of the examples below:

Have a great week off and see you on Monday, March 4th.

Feb 23, 2012

Happy 100th Day of School! Check out some of the fun things we did today at school!

100 Chart Dog Bone Game (click to play online)

100 Day Writing as a Class:

If I had 100 dollars I would buy___________.  Then I would________________.

100 Colour, Count and Sort

Colouring 100

What can you build with 100 pieces of Lego?

Stamp 100 Cents

100 Piece Puzzle

To end the day we even had some healthy cupcakes

 (made with applesauce, zucchini, egg whites, whole wheat flour, and sucrolose) 

for a 100 day treat!

Feb 22, 2012

Happy Ash Wednesday!

Today we used our No Excuse Words in sentences.

For Word Work we used the letters i, u, c, d, g, k, l and n to make words.  Check out some of the great words the kids spelled.

For computers we went on the website ABRACADABRA.  Why not check it out at home.

This afternoon we had our Ash Wednesday Liturgy with Father Jose.  It was very meaningful and we all were very respectful and received a blessing along with a mark of the cross with ash on our forehead.  To end the Liturgy we sang one of our favourite songs; Lord We Lift Your Name on High. 

Feb 21, 2012

What's for supper?  How about pancakes? Today is Shrove Tuesday!

The long build up to Easter is called Lent. The day before Lent begins is called Shrove Tuesday. 'Shrove' means being forgiven for wrong-doings. It happens on a different date each year depending on when Easter is. This year Shrove Tuesday is today, 21 February, 2012.

Another name for Shrove Tuesday is Pancake Day. Long ago this was a day for feasting and having a good time. People would go to church to confess the bad things they had done and would be 'shriven' or forgiven before the start of Lent. Since rich foods such as eggs were forbidden during Lent, one way of using them up would be to make pancakes.

Many people still make pancakes on Shrove Tuesday!  In France and the United States Pancake day is called Mardi Gras which means 'Fat' or 'Grease Tuesday'.

Tomorrow begins the season of Lent.  The first day of Lent is known as Ash Wednesday. Ashes are something that are left when something is burned. Christians use them as a symbol of being sorry for things they have done wrong and want to get rid of forever. In many Christian churches there are special services where the vicar or priest makes the shape of a cross with ash on the forehead of each person. The ashes come from last year's palm crosses which are burned and mixed with holy water.

If you are available, please feel free to join us for our Ash Wednesday Liturgy in the Gym tomorrow at 12:45 pm.

Lent lasts for 40 days (not including Sundays). It is the time when Christians prepare for Easter by thinking of the things they have done wrong. It is a solemn time which reminds them of the time in Jesus' life when, after giving up his work as a carpenter, he began to teach people about God. Jesus prepared for this by spending 40 days without food alone in the desert.

Lent used to be a time for fasting or going without food as Jesus had done. Nowadays many people give up a favourite thing they enjoy like sweets and often give money to charity.

The colour purple is linked to Lent. In some churches the altar is covered with a purple cloth, the pulpit has a purple 'fall' and the vicar's garments are purple.

Purple is chosen for two reasons. One it is the colour associated with mourning and so it helps Christians think about the sadness of Jesus’ death. The other reason is that purple is the colour linked to royalty and so it celebrates Christ’s coming as a King.

Today we have 5 new No Excuse Words:

1. as
2. with
3. his
4. five
5. purple

In Social Studies today we read the story "I Love You Forever" by Robert Munsch.  

We then talked about what they would say to the man if his Mother passed away.  The kids came up with some very kind words, for example:

1. I will pray for you.
2. Would you like any help during this difficult time.
3. I wish she was still alive.
4. I am very sorry that she died.
5. Can I give you a hug?

In Math we continued learning about grouping objects to make counting easier.  Here is an example:

Happy Pancake Day!  

Feb 16, 2012

In Religion today we learned about the miracle of Jesus feeding the 5000; John 6:11.  Here is a fun little video that shares the story.

In LA today we read the Nursery Rhyme "Hey Diddle Diddle".  Once again we created Mad-Libs with the rhyme.

Why not try one at home on your own.  Click on the picture below to print up a Mad-Lib sheet.

Have a great weekend!

Open publication - Free publishing - More diddle

Feb 15, 2012

For No Excuse Words today the kids worked hard to break the spelling code, check it out below:

In computers today we played some fun Valentine Games.  The kids are getting really good at using the computers independently and being good problem solvers.  Click on the heart below to play the games at home.

We continued to work on our Numbers to 100 unit today in Math.  Today we learned that by grouping objects it makes it easier to count them.  That is, counting 3 groups of ten and 4 one blocks to make 34 is quicker than counting 34 one blocks.

Finally, if you are still collecting money for the victims of the fire we would like it all in by Wednesday of next week.  Thanks

Feb 14th, 2012

Happy Valentine's Day!  As a special treat there is no homework tonight.  Here is a fun disney movie we watched today...

I wish we had pictures of us swimming but sadly no cameras are allowed.

That being said, we had an AWESOME time!!!

Feb 13, 2012

Just a reminder that we are going on our field trip to Mac Island tomorrow.  Please send your child to school with these items tomorrow:

c Swimsuit (your child can wear it under their clothes tomorrow if they like).
c Towel
c Change of underwear
c Comb/Brush/Hair elastic
c A bag to put their wet swim suit and towel in.

Volunteers:

If you are able to volunteer, please meet us at the main entrance of Mac Island by 12:15a.m. tomorrow afternoon. We should arrive around the same time.

·      All volunteers MUST wear a swimsuit and be in the water with the students.
·      Students may only use the Kiddy Pool Area; no students are allowed in the Lazy River, the two large slides or in any other pool.
·      We are in the waterpark from 12:30-1:30
·      All Students must wear a life jacket regardless of swimming ability.
·      2:10 p.m. – Bus arrives to bring the students back to school. Volunteers may leave Mac Island at this time.

To start our week of No Excuse Words we put them in alphabetical order:

In Social Studies today we read the story "The Berenstain Bears New Baby".  We then talked about the changes that would happen in a family if a new baby was born.  The kids were very concerned about dirty diapers :)

In Math today we worked on the 50s chart.  Why not work together to fill in the missing numbers from the chart below:

Have a great night!

Feb 10, 2012

The Elf on the shelf sent us a valentine message today and attached the following video:

In Social Studies today we read the story "David's Father" by Robert Munsch.  The story is all about a boy named David who moved into a new house.  We then made a bar graph showing all the houses our class has lived in.

In Math today we played some fun math games and we worked with Mrs. Easton on place value.

Have a great weekend!

Feb 9, 2012

First off, just a reminder that there is school tomorrow.

For tonight's writing homework please play the game "The Patchworker" by clicking on the following link:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/magickey/adventures/patch_game.shtml

Tomorrow will be our No Excuse Word Spelling Test.  The words are:

1. it
2. he
3. for
4. orange
5. three

In Language Arts today we continued with our Nursery Rhyme Unit.  Today we focussed on the rhyme; "Old Mother Hubbard."  After reading the rhyme we decided to do a little Mad-Libs as a class which you can also try at home.

Our Apple Schools Campaign this month is Active Living.  You can check out the website by clicking on the link: https://sites.google.com/a/fmcsd.ab.ca/st-annes-apple-schools/monthly-campaigns/active-living-campaigns.  Here are some ideas the students came up with when we brainstormed ways to stay active:

1. Gymnastics
2. Hockey
3. Figure Skating
4. Biking
5. Soccer
6. Skateboarding
7. Skiing
8. Football
9. Basketball
10. Swimming

Kids aged 6-11 need to do 60 minutes of physical activity a day.

For Art today we learned about Analogous Colours.  These are the colours that are closest to each other on the colour wheel.  We used the red colours on the colour wheel below for a Valentine project that you will get to see on Tuesday.

Feb 8, 2012

Today we did cloze sentences for our No Excuse Words Activity.

In computers today we played a couple of fun measurement games; "Can You Fill It" and "Poodle Weigh In".  You can check them out at the following link:  https://sites.google.com/a/fmcsd.ab.ca/grade-1/computer-class

This afternoon we went on our Winter Walk as a school.  Check out some pics of the kids below:

Feb 7, 2012

In music this week we have been watching the classic Disney movie "Fantasia".  It is a wonderful way for students to experience orchestra music.

For No Excuse Words today we did a spelling scramble.  This is when the students are broken into small groups and each group is given a set of floor size alphabet tiles.  I call out a word and the students work together to spell the word on the floor.

During centres this week one of the centres is how many words can you spell with the letters in 

VALENTINE.

Here are a couple of the girls working together to figure it out:

Feb 6, 2012

Our No Excuse Words for this week are:

1. it
2. he
3. for
4. orange
5. three

In LA today we worked on re-writing the story "The Three Little Pigs".  We are really working on writing neatly on the line and using uppercase letters at the beginning of sentences and punctuation at the end.

In Math we learned about the concept of mass.  We used balance scales to see if items were heavy or light.  A great iPad game you can play at home is Measurement HD.  Here is a screen clip of all the different measurement games you can play:

Feb 2, 2012

Happy Groundhog's Day!

Have you read Deuteronomy 32:11?  We did today!  We learned that God is like an eagle.  He protects us with his wings.








In LA today we wrote descriptive paragraphs about our special objects.  We then made little videos on the iPad app Videolicious.  Check out the couple below and in the next couple of days expect an email with your child's video attached.

In art today we learned all about the artist Kadinsky.

We then made our own versions of Kadinsky's Circles.  Here are a few pics of the kids hard at work and I will post a picture of them all when they are done next week.

Feb 1, 2012

Wow, the second month of 2012 already.  Tomorrow is wear your favourite outfit day.  Also, we will be having our No Excuse Words spelling test tomorrow and the words are:

1. green
2. is
3. that
4. two
5. you

In computers today the students made a planning web about their special object in Microsoft Word.  If you would like to make one at home download the document at the following page:

https://sites.google.com/a/fmcsd.ab.ca/grade-1/computer-class

In math today we worked on the concept of volume and capacity.  We compared the volume of different containers by filling them with rice.  We also watched the movie Peep and The Big World: There's No Place Like Home, where Peep and his friends try to measure how much water is in Quacks pond.