Our field trip to Storybook Theatre was a lot of fun and the students really enjoyed the show. For many of them, it was their first experience going to see a play at a theatre. The acting, singing, and dancing were all very well done and will hopefully have the children excited to see more live theatre in the future.

This week we focused on the "at" and "ap" word families. We will continue to look at other short vowel "a" word families next week. We have been practicing reading many CVC (consonant vowel consonant) words with "a" this week during our daily Shared Reading.

In Math, we practiced representing numbers 1 - 20 using ten frames. The students also had fun doing an "Around the Room" ten frame hunt. They had to find 24 different ten frames and identify the number being represented. Next week, we will be learning how to represent numbers 1-20 on number lines.

Once a week, we do a "Which One Doesn't Belong" Math Talk. Please see this week's in the photo below. You may be interested to ask your child which item they feel does not belong and have them explain their thinking.

We have been working on some special wintry art this week that will get made into art cards for an upcoming fundraiser. The cards can be purchased to be sent at Christmas and/or other Winter holidays. More information will be coming shortly.

The students made monsters out of playdough, googly eyes, and pipe cleaners this week. Afterward, they had to write sentences to describe their monster and to tell about what they liked to eat and do.  You can see some examples below.

We went to our Grade 4 Buddies' classroom today to hear the story Creepy Carrots by Aaron Reynolds. The students then got to create their own Creepy Carrot using Sharpies and paper. Your child should have brought their carrot home today. Mrs. Miller (the Grade 4 teacher) talked to the students about the artistic choices made by the illustrator to depict a spooky atmosphere such as colour choice and shading. We also listened to the illustrator talk about the process of illustrating a book and got to see how many different illustrations he did before the final ones were chosen.

Due to our Field Trip, we had to change our Library day to today. We will go back to our regular Tuesday time next week. Please return Home Reading and Library books on Monday, if you have not done so already.

Important information regarding Halloween at MTS:

Please ensure your child does not wear a mask as part of their Halloween costume while at school. Also, we ask that children do not bring props such as swords and do not have any gore. Please ensure that your child's costume will allow for participation in all learning activities including Gym and that they will be able to go to the washroom independently (no assistance needed for zippers, buttons, etc.). Lastly, please do not send treats with your child to be handed out to other students. Thank you for your cooperation. :) 

We have now completed our focus on the names and sounds of the alphabet letters, having worked on W, Y, and Z this week. We will now work with word families. Yesterday, we started with the "at" family. We also continue to read and write CVC (consonant, vowel, consonant) words daily, listening carefully for the short vowel sounds. We played a short vowel "a" game yesterday that I will be sending home soon for at-home practice, should you choose.

In Math, we continued to practice representing numbers 1-15 using tally marks as well as identifying the value of a group of tally marks. Next week, we will be working at representing numbers using ten frames. Both of these skills are reviewed daily during our "Calendar" time. During Math times, we sometimes do what is called an Esti-Mystery. These learning activities are created by a teacher named Steve Wyborney. Here is a link to his website where you can see the type of Mathematical learning that takes place when students participate in this activity. 

https://stevewyborney.com/2022/10/170-new-esti-mysteries/

I hope you all found the subitizing game I sent home with your child on Wednesday. They have played it twice now and should be able to explain it. However, if they forget, all you need is one die and playing pieces for two people. The goal is to be the first to cover four squares in a row. This is a great game to practice subitizing skills (the ability to identify a group of dots/objects with little to no counting).

In Science, we have started to talk about Matter and the properties of Matter. The students worked in partners to use "properties vocabulary" to describe a toy. We will be applying this same vocabulary soon when describing pumpkins and other objects. Key terms are: rough, smooth, heavy, light, tall, short, etc.

We will be leaving for our field trip at 8:30 a.m. sharp on Tuesday. Please ensure your child comes to school on time. 

Please return Home Reading and Library books on Monday, if you have not done so already.

Important information regarding Halloween at MTS:

Please ensure your child does not wear a mask as part of their Halloween costume while at school. Also, we ask that children do not bring props such as swords and do not have any gore. Please ensure that your child's costume will allow for participation in all learning activities including Gym and that they will be able to go to the washroom independently (no assistance needed for zippers, buttons, etc.). Lastly, please do not send treats with your child to be handed out to other students. Thank you for your cooperation. :)  

 Friday, October 13

Our focus letters this week were: X, K, and V.

We added the words "can" and "you" to our sight word list. We have been reading and writing these words in sentences, in addition to the other sight words learned this year.

In Math, we began to represent numbers 1 - 10 using tally marks this week. We learned that we make bundles of 5 when using tallies and have been practicing counting by 5s to 20. We also have been working on accurate and efficient ways to count groups of objects - by 1s, 2s, 5s, and 10s depending on the quantity.

We have also been practicing our subitizing (ability to recognize the number of objects without counting them) skills through a fun partner game. I will send home a copy of the game for the students to play with an adult or older sibling if they choose.

In Inquiry (aka Science), we began talking about scientists. We read a book called I Wonder by Annaka Harris and shared some of our "wonderings". We learned that scientists are people who are curious about the world and their surroundings. Scientists have many wonderings that they try to answer through experiments and research. We will be conducting a leaf experiment next week! :)

We read the book The Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert and created our own leaf animal or person using creativity and leaves, pinecones, pebbles, berries, and some twigs. Here are a few examples:

We met with our Grade 4 Buddies today and did a Picture Book Scavenger Hunt. The students had a list of 20 things they needed to look for with their buddy in both fiction and non-fiction books. Afterwards, the buddies looked at books together with the older buddy reading to the younger buddy. Some of the Grade 1 students were also able to practice their reading skills with the older buddy's support when needed.

Mr. van Sluys introduced lacrosse this week in Gym. The students have been practicing many skills and have already improved greatly in their ability to scoop, throw and catch, and cradle the ball with their lacrosse sticks.

Important! :)

*** Next week, we will begin to delve into a Science unit on Matter. Please have your child bring in a small toy that they can use for our lesson on Tuesday.***

Please support your child in bringing their Home Reading books back each Friday so I can give them new books and/or reading activities the following Monday. Please ensure the books are returned in the Ziploc bag I provided or one from home so that the books can be protected while in transit. Thank you for your help. :)

Field Trip forms for our Storybook Theatre trip on October 24th were sent home on Tuesday. Please return the completed forms as soon as possible.

Friday, October 6

We had a very busy, fun-filled week of learning!

It was great to see so many family members in the audience for today's dance show. I hope you all enjoyed seeing the choreography that your child was learning these past two weeks. The students were engaged and excited during their classes with Alara. They couldn't wait for their chance to perform in front of an audience!

Our focus letters this week were: Q, U, S, and P. We began talking about the suffix "ing" and continued to practice reading sentences that included the high-frequency words we have been learning  - is, for, I, see, the, this, and, here, a.  We have also been reviewing the vowels each day and have been practicing both their short and long sounds. We learned that Y is both a consonant and a vowel depending on how it is used. 

The students have been demonstrating a good understanding of 4 part patterns this week. They have been representing given patterns in numerous ways - colours, shapes, simple drawings, and letters. Next week, we will move on from patterns and put our focus on learning how to represent numbers in multiple ways such as tally marks, dice, and ten frames.

We went on a Fall walk in our school field this week to observe changes in our environment. We learned the terms "deciduous" and "evergreen". The students also learned that the larch trees at the back of our field have needles like evergreen trees. They were surprised to feel the larches' soft needles and to see that the needles had turned a beautiful golden colour. We also talked about hibernation and migration and the way in which animals are beginning to prepare for Winter.

Today, we met up with our Grade 4 Buddies and did a fun and artistic get-to-know-you activity. Please see photos below. Ask your child to explain to you how they and their partner created these pieces. Hint: It had to do with answering questions.

Fall Art

* For Tuesday, please have your child bring a sandwich or medium-sized Ziploc bag filled with a variety of leaves, pinecones, small pebbles, berries found on a branch, seeds, etc. to use in creating a Fall art piece. 

Please remember to have your child return their Home Reading books each Friday so that I can trade them and have them ready to be sent home on Monday.

Library day is Tuesday. Books need to be back in on Monday so that our librarian, Mrs. McLean can check them in prior to our visit.

Picture Day is Wednesday, October 11th.

Upcoming Field Trip - Volunteer Needed.

All of the Grade 1 classes will be going on a field trip to Storybook Theatre to attend Honk! The Ugly Duckling Musical on Tuesday, October 24. If you have a current police clearance done through the CBE and are available to come, we'd love to have you join us. I currently need one more volunteer. Please email me at jllarmer@cbe.ab.ca if you can come.

There is no school on Monday for Thanksgiving.

Here's wishing all of you a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend!