December 17, 2014

It's Christmas vacation!  Today was spent doing lots of fun activities together, from caroling, to decorating gingerbread men, to our gift exchange, to our party!  They should sleep well tonight!

If your child has overdue work, they're bringing it home to complete over the break. I've also asked each child to complete Xtra Math 8 times (minimum) over the break. Thanks for your help in ensuring these tasks are completed. 

I pray you all have a blessed Christmas holiday, bountiful with family and friends. 

See you all in 2015!

December 12, 2014

Good afternoon!  Here's what took place in our classroom today:

1. Spelling test and memory check - the students did very well with the big memory check (the class average was 90%!).  Their scores are in their planners.
2. Reading workshop - we finished our reading from Ch. 8 today in our literature study, and worked on some associated work
3. Computers - the children enjoyed some game time today
4. Music - with Mr. Banman
5. Math - we continued our work on finding massing factors with the 3's and Venn and Carroll Diagrams with the 4's
6. Science - today we talked about the lunar phases.  See if your child can describe them to you, and if they can tell you why we can only see part of the moon some nights.
7. Art - snowflakes hit our classroom today!  Check out our windows for some of the awesome designs the children came up with!

Please remember to pick up your children from Chilliwack Baptist on Monday at 2:45PM.

December 11, 2014

The weather outside was frightful, but inside it was definitely delightful!

1. Our day began with Opening Exercises, and the students did a Mad Minute.  Many of them beat their previous records, which is awesome!
2. Then it was on to W.W., which the kids were super excited about because we finally started our Big Books.  They are writing picture books for the K-2 students, and this allows me to focus on story and plot development with them, as well as writing for a specific audience, and paragraphing.
3. Before recess we had Handwriting, and the 4's reviewed upper and lower case O today while the 3's worked on connecting lower case letters
4. Math - we continued with our work on finding the relationships between numbers.  The 3's are finding missing numbers in equations using their knowledge of related facts, and the 4's are using diagrams to show relationships (we focused on Venn and Carroll diagrams today)
5. R.W. - The students had a good chunk of Independent Reading (see the video I'm going to email you shortly), and then we worked on Chapter 8 of The Chocolate Touch
6. P.E. - with Mr. Banman
7. R.W. -with Mr. Ediger
8. Chapel - Mrs. Ryksamp led

December 10, 2014

Things have been pretty hectic for me at school these days due to preparation for the Christmas Concert. Please forgive me if I don't keep the blog up to date as I typically do. I promise we'll be back to normal in January!

December 9, 2014

Hello Everyone! Here is what happened in grade 3/4 today.

1. O.E.: We did a Math Word Problem.
2. Bible: We continued with our nativity story. Since we were reading Luke 2 today, the class recited the whole chapter instead of having me read it. They did a wonderful job!
3. W.W.: We learned about Limeracks today. They were a little difficult to write as they have quite a few rules to follow (syllable count and rhyming).
4. Math: We started with "I Have, Who Has." I didn't think we could get any faster than 1:24, but we beat our time!! We got 1:18! They sure were speedy today. We then worked on some symmetry stuff.
5. Science: We reviewed our knowledge about bridges and identified different types of bridges.
6. P.E.: Since the gym is being used by the church and it was pouring rain outside, we played a couple of games in the classroom to let off some steam.
7. H.A.C.E.: We did our final class on Healthy Living & Eating. We'll start our next unit after Christmas.

December 8, 2014

Just a quick post today to let you know that the students did an awesome job leading chapel today.  They shared the message of God's love in such an effective way.  Thanks to everyone who was able to come and watch!

December 5, 2014

Hi parents!  We had a wonderful field trip to Colour Me Mine today. What a fun way to finish our day.  Here are some photos of the adventures we had:

I hope to see all of you at our chapel on Monday. The kids have worked hard and are excited to share what they've been working on.  The program begins at 2 PM.

December 4, 2014

Hi everyone.  If you haven't checked your email yet, please do.  I'm looking for your feedback on a couple of questions I have for you related to ideas for the class, which I have not mentioned to the students yet, as I'd like to ensure that the majority of parents are in favour.  Please reply asap!  Thank you :)

Here's what happened in our class today:

1. Opening exercises - the class did a Christmas word unscramble
2. Chapel prep - we are working hard preparing for our chapel on Monday.  Some students still need to memorize their verses.  Please ask your child to tell you his or her verse tonight to ensure they've got it.
3. W.W. - we finished up invitations for our chapel day.  These are coming home tonight.  Please have your child pass them on to someone who might not know about it.
4. Handwriting - the Grade 4's are doing review of connections and the 3's are working on v, u, x, n, m, y, and z.
5. Math - we started our new unit on addition and subtraction for the 3's, and whole numbers for the 4's
6. R.W. - we did our literature study for most of the class, reading Ch. 7 and working on discovering the main idea as well as writing out supporting details for it.
7. P.E. - with Mr. Banman
8. R.W. - with Mr. Ediger
9. Chapel - led by Mrs. Hills

December 3, 2014

Hi parents,

I don't have time to write a full blog entry today due to parent-teacher conferences.  I've put down the homework though.

Hope to see you all tonight!

December 2, 2014

It's beginning to feel like Christmas in our class! Here's what happened today in Grade 3/4:


1. Opening Exercise: I had the students do a journal entry about inventing a new pizza. Funny how most of them turned out to be pizzas I would never want to eat!
2. Bible: Since Advent has just started, we started reading the Nativity story.
3. Writing Workshop: We did some writing with the Nativity story and then switched gears and wrote Color Poems. We did one together as a class and then each student did one on their own.
4. Math: We played "I Have, Who Has..." again and we beat our amazing score of 1:25. We got 1:24!!
5. HACE: Each student received a little booklet about healthy eating and the food groups. They can take it home and work on it at home. They don't need to worry about bringing it back to class.
6. PE: We played 2 Corner Soccer.
7. Science: We're learning about bridges, strong shapes, and materials so we watched a video about building strong bridges.

December 1, 2014

Here's the lay of the land from today:

1. Opening exercises - we fixed three very poorly written sentences (daily oral language)
2. Spelling/memory - Unit 12 (review) and Isaiah 45:10
3. R.W. - I read a book all about synonyms called "The King Who Rained" today, which everyone enjoyed (especially the one about giving the house two coats of paint!)
4. Math - we had our test.  These will be marked tonight and returned Wednesday for your signature and corrections
5. P.E. - with Mr. Banman
6. Math - some students needed extra time for their tests.  
7. Chapel prep
8. S.S. - we continued our study on communities, focusing on the things our community has that are for fun, and which are necessities
9. Chapel

Here are some fun photos from lunch today:

November 28, 2014

Whew!  We had a crazy day (in a good way!) today, and I am ready for the weekend!  Here's all the happenings:

1. Opening exercises - today we wrote an O.W.I. based on an amusing photo of a young girl and a camel
2. Spelling test/memory verse check - marks are in their planners
3. R.W. - Independent reading today
4. Chapel prep - we're getting ready for December 8th.  I hope you can make it!
5. Computers - everyone practiced their typing
6. Music - with Mr. Banman
7. Math - most students completed Show What You Know today, and those who were done went on to a unit problem involving some more complicated number concepts and operations
8. B.U. G. draw - the most exciting day of the month for a lot of the students!  Many fun prizes were awarded, and I hope the fantastic behaviour continues through December!
9. Art - we worked on our artwork for the chapel we are leading.  They will also be on display outside our classroom

November 27, 2014

Hello to all our families out there!  Here's what took place in our classroom today:

1. Opening Exercises - the class worked on a Daily Gram (grammar checkup)
2. W.W. - the students shared their Spelling Stories from yesterday.  They were so creative that I wanted them to share them, and besides, it's wonderful speaking practice for them!
3. Handwriting - the Grade 3's learned heaps of new lower-case letters today: b, f, j, k, h, p, r, and s!  Please practice these at home with them too, as many of them are difficult (especially k, r, and s).  The 4's worked on lower and upper-case L and M.
4. Math - we worked on Show What You Know again, and I'm going to give the class one more day to complete it as most are not yet done, which means our test will be on Monday
5. R.W. - we completed our Guided Reading activity, and went on to the next reading today.  Then the class had independent reading
6. P.E. - with Mr. Banman
7. R.W. - with Mr. Ediger
8. Chapel - led by Mr. Ediger

November 26, 2014

Good afternoon (almost evening!) everyone,

Here's what took place in our classroom today:

1. Opening Exercises - today we did a preposition crossword
2. W.W. - we wrote a Spelling Story!  Ask your child what his or hers was about!
3. Grammar - One of the biggest challenges with this group is run on sentences, which was our focus today.  
4. D.P.A. - I was introduced to 2 corner soccer, and the kids had a blast playing it.  
5. Music - with Mr. Banman
6. Ketchup and Pickles - the class caught up on overdue work
7. Math - we started 'Show What You Know' today, in preparation for an upcoming test (likely Monday, but possible Friday if enough students finish tomorrow).
8. Chapel Preparations - our class will be leading chapel Monday, December 8th.  I welcome all of you to join us for that, starting at 2 PM.  The kids are doing some bible readings, leading the school in songs, and sharing artwork.

November 25, 2014

Here's what went down in our Grade 3/4 class today!

1. O.E.: We did a journal write about inventing a new ice-cream flavor. Some chose yummy flavors, others chose some interesting ingredients to add to theirs--frog legs anyone? I let the students read theirs to the class because they did a really good job on them.
2. W.W.: Last week, I handed out some poems to the class. They can memorize them if they want and recite them to class. If they do, they can get a prize. We started our W.W. with some poetry recitations. We then learned about a new form of poetry called "Cinquain Poems." They did a great job writing these poems for the first time.
3. H.A.C.E.: We finished up our Germ Monsters and did a bit of review of healthy living as we are finishing up our unit.
4. Math: We played a Math game called "I Have, Who Has". It was all about geometry and shapes. The class as a whole had to race against the clock to see how fast they could answer the questions. Our first round we got 2:38, but by the third round, we finished in 1:25! They're a speedy bunch!
5. P.E.: We played Belly Ball today.
6. Science: We started learning about Beam Bridges today and the different shapes that beam bridges can have--straight, arched, zig-zag, droopy, etc. In groups, students had to test to find out which beam bridge shape was the strongest. Here are some pictures from our experiment!

November 24th, 2014

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas in Grade 3/4!  We hung some pretty Christmas lights today to help with the Christmas spirit in our room and it definitely makes things a bit more festive.

1. Opening exercises - we started with independent reading today
2. Spelling/memory - Unit 11 is all words that the class has been spelling incorrectly in their writing.  The memory verse this week is 1 Peter 5:7
3. R.W. - We enjoyed some read aloud time
4. Math - Today was Math games day!  The class had a great time playing a variety of dice games related to addition and multiplication
   

   

   

   
5. P.E. - with Mr. Banman

1. S.S. - we studied mapping to do with communities, and then went on to discuss the differences in sounds heard in rural vs. urban communities
2. Chapel - Mrs. Hills led today

November 21, 2015

I can't get over how dark and gloomy it is outside this afternoon!  I hope you all have some joy-filled activities planned today and this weekend to help brighten things up on the inside!

Here's how our Friday went:

1. Opening Exercises - the children wrote a journal entry about what superhero power they'd like to have and what they'd do with it.  They had a blast with this one, and we got some very creative entries!
2. Spelling test and memory test - their marks are in their planners. 
3. R.W. - we worked on Ch. 6 questions from The Chocolate Touch
4. Computers - some of the class worked on their best day/worst day ever stories, while others worked on ATRT
5. Music - with Mr. Banman
6. Math - the 3's finished their work with 1000's and then played a game called 'Race to 1000'.  The 4's worked on word problems using multiplication and division.  The most challenging part for all of them was creating their own problems for others to solve.
7. D.P.A. - we had a game of 'Capture the Flag', but there was far too much complaining and disgruntled children, so we returned to class earlier than planned unfortunately.  I'm not sure if lots of children were just having a tough day, or what happened, but I told them that I didn't feel the game worked well with our group, and that we wouldn't be playing it again in D.P.A.  There are lots of other games we can have fun with, and we'll focus on those.
8. Science - today we talked about the moon and it's characteristics.  Ask your child if he/she recalls the extreme temperatures on the moon!
9. Art - today our origami project was making frogs that jump.  They were such a delight to make and the class really enjoyed it.  Many of the students wanted to race their frogs afterwards, so here's a photos of us getting ready for that, and then the actual race.
   
   

   
   

November 20, 2014

I just realized that one month from now, we will be on Christmas vacation!  Wow! We have lots to cover in class between now and then.  On that note, here's what was taught today:

1. Opening Exercises - that class did a Mad Minute.  They had 50 questions, and only a few got at least half right. Continue encouraging your child to do his/her Xtra Math each evening, as this will help so much with their math work in class.
2. W.W. - Continued work on our narratives.  Everyone is on the publish stage, and many are finished.
3. Handwriting - the Grade 3's learned how to make lower-case cursive a's, d's, g's, and q's today, and the 4's reviewed upper and lower-case J and K.  Write a note to your child in cursive in their planner or lunch kit and see if they can figure it out (I'm optimistic they can, especially the Grade 4's).  As of December 1st, the Grade 4's will be expected to handwrite much more frequently, and as of January 1st, other than a couple of exceptions, they will be writing everything in cursive!
4. Math - The 3's worked on making groups to count to 1000, while the 4's finished up their division/multiplication work
5. R.W. - We had Guided Reading today, and the children read with their small groups and then did some activities to demonstrate their comprehension.  Then we had Independent Reading.  I've been spending one-on-one time with each child during Independent Reading to ensure that the novels they choose are an ok level for them.  I've discovered that most are reading books a bit beyond their ability level, and I've encouraged them to choose something simpler if they find it confusing.
6. P.E. - with Mr. Banman
7. R.W. - with Mr. Ediger
8. Chapel - Mrs. Campbell led and spoke to everyone about fear/courage

November 19, 2014

We had a sweet, short day today, wrapping up lots of loose ends.

1. Opening Exercises - we completed an O.W.I. based on a picture of a man walking through a field of locusts in Madagascar
2. W.W. - we continued working on our narratives of our best/worst days ever.  I hope to have these done and on display in the computer lab by the end of the week!
3. Grammar - today's lesson was about interrogative (command) statements and exclamatory (surprise) sentences.
4. D.P.A. - a fun game of Dungeon Ball was played by everyone!  I may have joined in ;)
5. Music - with Mr. Banman
6. R.W. - we read Chapter 2 from Indian in the Cupboard
7. Math - everyone worked on corrections, and then the 3's worked further with estimating and the 4's focused on related division and multiplication facts
8. S.S. - we continued our comparison between Mt. Pleasant (in North Vancouver) and Chilliwack using a Venn diagram.

November 18, 2014

It's been a while since I was with the class -- 2 weeks! Far too long!! It was great being back with them. They are such an easy group to come back to :) Here's what happened today in grade 3/4.

1. Opening Exercise: We did a crossword about penguins.
2. Bible: We did our second day in our prayer journals. The students wrote about people they wanted to pray for, what they needed prayer for, and what they were grateful for.
3. Writing Workshop: Since it was 2 weeks ago that we talked about alliteration, we did some review of alliteration. The students wrote their own alliteration poems, using any letter they wanted. Some were ambitious in their letter choice!
4. Math: We spent a bit longer on math today since it was 2 weeks since we had talked about geometry. We did a math review game called SCOOT! We rotated around the classroom answering different geometry questions at each desk. After about 3 minutes at one desk, I would say "SCOOT!" and the students would rotate.
5. Library: With Mrs. McNutt.
6. P.E.: We did some warm-up with skipping ropes and hula-hoops. Then we played a few rounds of Dungeon Ball.
7. Science: We took our knowledge about shapes from geometry and applied it to Science. We wanted to know what shapes make the strongest structures: squares, arches, or triangles. Turns out that triangles are the strongest. We learned this through a hands-on experiment.

November 17, 2014

Good afternoon everyone!  It's a beautiful, brisk fall day outside today.  We had a great time in this gorgeous November weather at lunch recess.

Here's how our day went indoors:

1. Opening exercises - today we corrected some poorly written sentences.  Ask your child if they found it difficult or easy to find the mistakes, and which ones they missed.  
2. Spelling/memory verse - this week's memory verse is a long one!  Ephesians 4:29.  We also got the words for Unit 10 (-ing words for the 3's and long 'e' words for the 4's)
3. R.W. - we read Chapter 6 in The Chocolate Touch
4. Math - After finishing up some work from Friday, we went on to estimating with the 3's and further work with related multiplication and division facts with the 4's.
5. P.E. - with Mr. Banman
6. Lunch - here's a photo:
   
7. S.S. - we compared Chilliwack to Mt. Pleasant, and discussed other aspects of our community
8. Chapel -

November 14, 2014

Happy Friday everyone!  Most of today went well, with one small blip (read below to find out more).  Here's what we did:

1. Opening exercises - today the children did some silent reading and also listened to Aiden's show and tell about his martial arts
2. Spelling test and memory verse check - marks are in the student's planners
3. R.W. - We started our new read aloud, The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynn Reid Banks.  After just one chapter, the class was begging me to read on.  I'm making them wait until next week though! ;)
4. S.S. - Tyson and Alexus shared their election articles with the class.  Thanks to those families for helping the children choose something to bring in!  
5. Computers - We spent some time doing typing today, and then the class had some time with educational games as well
6. Music - with Mr. Banman
7. Math - the Grade 3's continued their work with counting coins by skip counting, and the 4's worked on dividing using related multiplication facts.  Some of the 3's have unfinished work that they're bringing home to complete over the weekend.
8. Science - today's focus was on why we have seasons. Hopefully your child can tell you that it's because the earth is tilted.
9. D.P.A. - we enjoyed a game of Capture the Flag,
   
    but this was where our one small blip happened.  As the class was getting into line I had 5 different children involved in pushing and shoving to get ahead of other children.  Seeing as this has happened many times before, I decided that from now on we'll line up alphabetically, until January at least.  I need everyone to feel safe in school, and many of them are getting caught up in the chaos of getting into line.  Please reiterate to your child the importance of being kind and considerate with our classmates.  Thank you!
10. Art - we had some fun trying out origami today!  Your child is coming home with a ladybug that we made, and we'll be doing more in the weeks to come.

November 13, 2014

Brrrr!  It's cold outside!  I am so glad to see that most of the students are dressed for the weather.  Please make sure your child is warm enough with the clothes they have with them.  Even if they don't want to wear mitts it doesn't hurt to throw a pair in their backpack just in case. :)

Here's how our day went:

1. Opening exercises - the students wrote a journal entry about if they could travel back in time, when would they travel to!
2. W.W. - We focused on quotation marks today, and Punctuation Pig came out to help us along too.  The students generally seem to have a solid grasp on how to use quotation marks, and were enjoying editing students writing. 
3. Handwriting - the 3's moved on to letters u, w, c, and o, while the 4's worked on I, i, and some review
4. Math - the 3's worked on counting money today (ask them about the "bag of money" they received), and the 4's worked on dividing using arrays.
5. R.W. - we started our first guided reading groups of the year today!  Each child has been placed in a group that best suits their reading level.  They will work through a book with their group, reading out loud, and occasionally on their own, doing group activities together about the book as well.  This will culminate in a project about their book as well.
6. P.E. - with Mr. Banman
7. R.W. - with Mr. Ediger
8. Chapel - led by Mrs. Ryskamp

November 12, 2014

After an unusual day off yesterday, it was back to work for all of us today, and we definitely had a productive day!

1. Opening exercises - we worked on a Mad Minute, but with 50 questions this time instead of 30.  They were more challenging addition questions too, so very few of the students did better than they had previously.  Encourage them to continue with their Xtra Math (here's the link in case you misplaced it) to help with their basic fact retention.
2. W.W. - we were back at our narratives about the best/worst day ever today.  They had been put on the back burner while we worked on the Veteran's postcards, so it took a bit to get going, but we're back at it again.
3. Grammar - Today's lesson was about different types of sentences (interrogative vs. declarative).  A frequent mistake I see children in this class making is forgetting to put an end mark on their sentences.  They must have one, whether it be a period, a question mark, or an exclamation mark.
4. D.P.A. - The popular vote was for another game of Dungeon Ball, so we all played today (I even joined in too!).
5. Music - with Mr. Banman
6. R.W. - We finished our read aloud, and soon we'll be on to The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks.  It's one I read when I was this age, and I'm looking forward to sharing it with the children.
7. Math - the Grade 4's got to play a fun multiplication game with my fancy 10-sided dice today. Ask them to play it with you at home - they can easily do so with two 6-sided dice, and it's a great way to practice multiplication facts as they don't even realize they're working!  The 3's finished up work from yesterday, and then both grades went on to an assignment where they have to push their thinking a bit beyond what we've done in class so far.  This proved challenging for many, but by the end I believe they all understood! We had a big problem today with students talking while I was talking and it made for a lot of wasted time in class.  As a result of all the lost teaching time, I had the students stay 5 minutes into lunch to cover what we hadn't covered during class time.  Hopefully that will never happen again.
8. S.S.- Continuing through our unit on 'Communities', today our focus shifted to Chilliwack, and what is unique about our community.  We learned about the population of Chilliwack and we also discussed the election as well.  Please read the homework assignment description on the homework page. 

November 10, 2014

We had a busy day of tying up a lot of loose ends and preparing for the assembly.  Here's how it all went:

1. Opening exercises - We worked on an O.W.I. of a person at camp #2 on Mt. Everest.
2. Spelling - the students received their words for this week and their next memory verse
3. R.W. - We finished up the Chapter 5 assignment from The Chocolate Touch
4. Assembly practice - we ran through where everyone would stand for the Remembrance Day assembly in the afternoon
5. P.E. - with Mr. Morrow today!
6. S.S. - we finished up most of our postcards, as well as our letters to the scientist who came to visit.  
7. Assembly - everything went very well, and our class sang beautifully.  Here's a link to the video of their song: In Flander's Fields.  I'm a very proud teacher. :) 

Have a wonderful day off from school tomorrow and we'll see you all back on Wednesday.

November 7, 2014

Three cheers for Friday!  This week was great, but I think everyone in our class is excited for the weekend.  I hope everyone has a restful time with their family and friends.

What were we up to today?  Here`s the scoop: 

1. Opening Exercises - We worked on a daily gram, where the children correct grammar mistakes in writing
2. Spelling test and memory verse check - this was our first really big memory verse check and most kids did really well!  Their marks for both memory and spelling are in their planners.
3. Ketchup and pickles - the students had an opportunity to catch up on late work
4. Computers - we worked on typing today
5. Music - with Mr. Banman
6. Math - We played some fun place value games today and talked about greater than and less than with the 3`s and the 4`s reviewed related facts in multiplication.
7. Science - today`s lesson was about how we have seasons.  See if your child can explain to you that because the earth is tilted on it`s axis, as it orbits the sun, different hemispheres get more sunlight, leading to different seasons.  We also started a short Bill Nye video about the seasons.
8. Art - we all made some commemorative poppies today, with words that came to mind when reflecting on Remembrance Day.  These are on display in the hallway.
9. D.P.A. - I figured we should enjoy the sunshine that the Lord has blessed us with and took the children outside for their last 15 minutes of the day!

November 6, 2014

Here`s the lowdown on today:

1. Opening Exercises - the class worked on a word search together
2. W.W. - we finished up (or nearly finished) our postcards to the veterans.  I`m hoping these will be done tomorrow and will mail them off asap.
3. Handwriting - the class finished work from previous weeks
4. Math - Grade 3 continued with their work on skip counting, starting from more challenging numbers (i.e. skip count from 323 by 4`s), and the 4`s worked on their multiplication facts, and how related facts can help them solve more difficult problems.  Some students were very distracted today in Math, so there has been homework assigned.  Most children are done, but if your child isn`t, it`s likely because they were busy socializing instead.  This also resulted in a desk change, as being in groups was just a bit too tempting for many of the students to visit instead of complete their work.
5. R.W. - We finished up Chapter 4 in The Chocolate Touch, and read Chapter 5 today as well.  We are almost done our read aloud too (ask your child what Fudge did today!)
6. P.E, - with Mr. Banman
7. R.W. - with Mr. Ediger
8. Chapel - Ms. Dyck led

November 5, 2014

Good afternoon everybody!

Here's what happened today:

1. Opening exercises - we planned the chapel that our class will lead, on December 15th.  Feel free to play and join us that day to watch!  It begins at 2 PM.
2. W.W. - we started work on our postcards to veterans today
3. Grammar - the class completed work from previous lessons
4. DPA - everyone enjoyed a game of Dungeon Ball
5. Music - with Mr. Banman
6. R.W. - overdue work had to be completed first, and then the students went on to independent reading
7. Math - the 3's worked on their skip counting, forwards and backwards, while the 4's focused on using multiplication facts you know to help you figure out those you don't.  We also played a couple of games together, so be sure to have your child tell you about those.
8. S.S. - the class finished off their postcards about a community in B.C.
9. Library - in lieu of the missed library class yesterday

November 4, 2014

Today was a very productive day in grade 3/4. The students listened very well today and came eager to learn :) Here's what we did today:

1. Opening Exercises: The students wrote a journal entry about the scientist that came to visit them yesterday.
2. Bible: I started a new thing with the students today. It's a prayer journal. This is something that the students can use to write down their own prayer requests, things they are thankful for, and write down things that other people need prayer for.
3. Writing Workshop: Now that the class is more familiar with different poetry terms (simile, metaphor, alliteration, etc.), we started writing some poetry! We made silly poems today using alliteration. The students had to work their way through the alphabet and think of sentences that used alliteration. In each sentence, they had to use an adjective, noun, and verb. The sentences were hilarious! The class was laughing lots as we shared some of our favorite sentences we made.
4. Math: We worked through 3D shapes today as we determined how many faces, edges, and vertices each shape had. The students then did a little assessment piece for me to see how much they knew.
5. Health & Careers: We made germ monsters today--no, not actual germs! We used blobs of paint and straws to create splatted looking germ monsters. Next time, we will add some googly eyes to finish off our germs. Better on paper than on our hands, right? :)
6. P.E.: We played another round of Dungeon Ball.
7. Science: Today we learned about posts and beams and what materials make the strongest posts and beams. We did a hands-on experiment where the students tested which material was stronger: straws or popsicle sticks. They had to see which material held up the most marbles in a yogurt container. There were only a few times where students were losing their marbles--literally.

November 3, 2014

We finished our day in a pretty unique way today, but here's what happened first:

1. Opening exercises - we started with a journal entry about the weekend
2. Spelling - Unit #8 words are posted on the Spelling page.  This week's memory verse is Psalm 100:3-5.  Each student needs to only write that entire section one time for homework each night this week, not three times.
3. R.W. - we finished Chapter 4 in our literature study, and then we worked on some higher-level thinking skills to do with our reading
4. Math - the class finished the work that they started with Ms. Dyck on Friday
5. P.E. - with Mr. Banman
6. Science - this was the surprise today!  Mr. Ed Tadeuszow (also known as E.T.) came from Science World and talked to the class about space. Ask your child what they learned from him, as he had lots of knowledge to share with us. 

Chapel - led by Mr. Ediger 

October 31, 2014

Happy last day of the month everyone!  I'm writing our blog in the morning with a plan of what we'll do (no guarantees!) as I have to leave the school quickly after dismissal today for medical reasons (nothing to be concerned about).

Here's the plan:

1. Opening exercises - the students will do a Mad Minute.  Ask them how they did compared to their last Mad Minute.  Did they beat their score?  That's the goal, not whether they did better than other students.
2. Spelling test and memory check - marks will be in their planers
3. R.W. - We'll be finishing up some previous work from our Literature Study and Guided Reading, and then going on to Independent Reading
4. W.W. - The students will continue working on their postcards for S.S., writing about a community in B.C. that they have researched
5. Computers - we will spend time on All the Right Type today
6. Music - with Mr. Banman
7. Math - Miss Dyck will teach Math today as I have a meeting.  The Grade 3's will work on skip counting by 3s and 4s, and the 4's are using skip counting to multiply (now you see why I swapped the unit the 4's were working on, as this one works better with the unit the 3's are on).
8. Science - we're talking about what causes day and night today.  Ask your child about the experiment we did with the styrofoam ball!
9. D.P.A. - I have some hilarious dance time planned to some fabulous children's songs..we should have a good time with this!
10. Art - We're finishing our spirographs, adding the spiders to them as well.  These will be displayed in the hallway.
11. B.U.G. draw - I'm doing this right before dismissal.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone, and if you're venturing out tonight, stay safe and dry!

October 30, 2014

Good rainy afternoon everyone!

Here's how our day went:

1. Opening exercises - the students worked on an O.W.I., based on a photo of some wildebeests in Tanzania.  Ask then to describe the photo to you!
2. W.W. - Mrs. Simpson was in helping me conference with the children on their writing.  We got to everybody in the class, which was wonderful!  Their writing has improved so much since September and I'm so pleased with how they're implementing the use of paragraphs into their work
3. Handwriting- the Grade 3's are officially handwriters!  We started today on lower case e, l, i and t.  Get them to show you how they do it, and be sure they remember to slant their letters.  The 4's reviewed upper and lower case G and H today. Here are some photos of the first few minutes of handwriting:
   

   

   
4. Math - The 4's worked on multiplying by 0, 1, and 10 today while the 3's continued their lesson on writing numbers in different ways (standard form (950), words (nine hundred fifty), using base ten words (9 hundreds, 5 tens, 0 ones), and pictures).

1. R.W. - We enjoyed two chapters from our read aloud book, and then went on to read Chapter 4 from our Literature Study book, The Chocolate Touch.  The bell went right during a very suspenseful part, so the kids are hoping to finish it soon!
2. P.E. - with Mr. Banman
3. R.W. - with Mr. Ediger
4. Chapel - today the students heard from Tharyn's grandmother about the Christmas Shoebox program.  Each child came home with a box.  Please try to fill out with items suggested for either a girl or a boy, specific which age and gender you chose, and attach the form to the outside of the box.  Then return it to school.  It would be great if everyone in the class could fill a box for a child in need!

October 29, 2014

I'm sorry for the late blog post today - drama club went a little long so I'm quickly trying to get everything done!

1. Opening exercises - the children did a pumpkin word search
2. W.W. - they continued on their narratives, focusing on paragraphs
3. Grammar - I did a semi-formal assessment with the children today on what we've learned so far in grammar.  I didn't want them to prepare ahead of time as I truly wanted to know how much had been retained.  Feel free to ask them how they did.  I didn't required a signature.
4. DPA - the class taught me how to play dungeon ball, and everyone had a blast.
5. Music - with Mr. Banman
6. Math - the Grade 4's ventured into multiplication, reviewing what they've already learned and building on those skills.  The 7x and 8x tables are the toughest to memorize.  Please work with your children on these at home (I have flash cards you may borrow if you like).  Remind them to use some of the strategies we've learned in class (for example if you have 8x4, you know that 8x2 = 16, so just double it to find out 8x4).  The 3's continued with learning how to represent one number in more than one way using base ten materials
7. S.S. - the class started their community postcard project.  These will eventually be brought home for you to see the fruits of their labour. :)

October 28, 2014

Here's what happened in Grade 3/4 today:

1. Opening Exercise: We finished up our Daily Gram for last week. This activity focused on capitalization, punctuation, adjectives, and correct usage of words.
2. Bible: We started off with our weekly prayer and praise items and the class prayed for one another. Afterwards, we finished off where we last left off in our What's In The Bible series. We learned about salvation, faith, and redemption.
3. Writing Workshop: Today in poetry, we had a little quiz (it was just for me to see where the students were at). This way, I can see what we still need to work on before we get further into writing poetry. We ended our W.W. off by doing a sword drill in dictionaries. This will be important for the students so that when they're struggling with a word or a meaning, they can quickly look it up in the dictionary.
4. Math: We did pumpkin math today. I brought in 3 pumpkins and the students used these pumpkins to complete a pumpkin learning activity. It was all about estimating and then measuring. At the end of the day, we cut open our pumpkins and counted the seeds by either 2's, 5's, or 10's.
5. P.E.: Today I taught the students a new fun game called Dungeon Ball. It's a game very similar to Dodgeball.

October 27, 2014

Here's the low down on today:

1. Opening exercises - we did independent reading today
2. Spelling Word Work/Memory Verse - we reviewed Psalm 100:5 and did our pre-check for Unit 7 of Spelling.  Everyone has corrections this week (5 times a night, Mon - Thurs., in their Homework Book).
3. R.W. - We had Guided Reading today, and the Grade 4's read a skit called 'The Western Sentinel' while the 3's read 'Song Sounds'.  Then we enjoyed Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing together afterwards.
4. Math - We continued on with Numbers, and the 4's started working on greater than and less than while the 3's continued with representing numbers using standard form (762), expanded form (700+60+2), and written form (seven hundred sixty two).  I've decided to move things around a bit, and the 4's will be hopping on to a different unit for a while (multiplication!) because I feel this will better prepare them for future units.
5. P.E. - Mr. Banman
6. S.S. - we talked about different types of communities (lumbering, fishing, mining, industrial, ranching, farming) and the students wrote about which they would live in if they had to move and why.  Next day we're going to study three specific communities and create a project from one of them!  More information to come!
7. Chapel - Mrs. Hills led today

Here are some photos of the class at lunch today:

October 23, 2014

Hi everyone!  Hopefully your weekend is off to an excellent start.

• Opening exercises - today we did a desperately needed desk clean.  
• Spelling test - the average was 10/10 today, which is fantastic!  Glad to see the children are remembering their words. 
• W.W. - The students began their discovery drafts today of their "Best Day Ever" or "Worst Day Ever" stories.
• Handwriting - the Grade 3's are finishing their printing review this week and the 4's are working on upper and lower case 'e' and 'f' in cursive.
• Math - The Grade 3's and 4's both finished their work related to writing numbers in place value charts and in standard form (and grade 4's in expanded form and words).
• R.W. - The class completed their Chapter 3 activities from The Chocolate Touch and then we enjoyed 'Planet Earth' together.
• P.E. - with Mr. Banman
• R.W. - with Mr. Ediger
• Chapel - Mrs. Campbell led today and did a fun object lesson using pumpkins.  

October 22, 2014

We had an awesome day today, and considering I was up at 4:30 AM, that's a feat in and of itself!  I had to get my daughter to her bus for 5:30 AM to attend We Day in Vancouver, which got us off to an early start.

Here's what happened in the 3/4 room today:

1. Opening exercises - we did a Mad Minute (30 math facts, with 1 minute to complete as many as possible).  I emphasized with the class that I don't care who has the highest mark.  What I am concerned about is if they improve their own scores.  They are solely competing with themselves, and hopefully working on Xtra Math will help with that.  Other mathematical concepts are so much simpler if the students know their basic facts well.  Thank you to those families who have been doing Xtra Math regularly!
2. W.W. - the students continued with their narrative writing, finishing off their prewriting organizers. Today we talked about transition words (after, lastly, suddenly, as soon as, etc.), and paragraphs.  The Grade 4 students that I taught last year are accustomed to paragraphs but the Grade 3 students are likely venturing into new territory.  With the prewriting organizer that they have, their paragraphs are made for them, with one for each event.  We've also been talking a lot about paragraphs during R.W., so they've seen them in action in books.
3. Grammar - today's assignment was review of the previous weeks
4. DPA - we played a round of Capture the Flag
5. Music - with Mr. Banman
6. RW - we had 20 minutes of Read Aloud time, and everyone was keen to hear another chapter of Fudge's antics!
7. Math - the students had their first assignment with numbers today, and for many of them much of the time was spent getting accustomed to working with a textbook and setting up their exercise books properly.  This can be a difficult feat, but once they know how to do it properly (date, title, legible printing, numbers on the margin, etc.), it makes everyone's lives easier!
8. S.S. - today we crossed over our mapping unit with our communities unit and looked at city, farm and town maps and compared the three

October 21, 2014

Sorry for the late post! Today was a busy day in Grade 3/4. Here's just a brief snapshot into our day today.

1. Opening Exercise: We did a daily gram today (my first time doing one with the students).

2. Bible: We took time today to share prayer requests/praise items. One thing the whole class was thankful--and very excited--for was the arrival of baby Malachi, Tyson's new brother :) The class then prayed for either their own requests or for their fellow classmates. As a teacher, it warms my heart to see how much these students care for one another.

3. Writing Workshop: In poetry, we discussed adjectives and how we can use them in our poetry writing to make our poems come to life.

4. Math: We did a bit of review on regular and irregular polygons.

5. Health & Careers: Since it's germ season, we learned about the journey of a germ and how to prevent the spread of germs.

6. Gym: We played round 3 of Belly Ball. After 3 weeks, the teams are dead-even: 37-37.

7. Science: We veered from Structures today and did a bit of hypothesizing and observations. We tested the reactions of Mentos with different beverages. The students LOVED this.

October 20, 2014

I can't believe how far we are into October already!  Time is flying by with these students.  Thank you for raising such wonderful children for me to work with.  They all put in a great effort today and were truly a joy to teach,.  I am so thankful.

1. Opening exercises - we worked on an O.W.I. today, featuring a group of children playing soccer by the ocean in Brazil
2. Spelling/memory - Unit 6 (all review words) and memory verse 4 will be tested Thursday this week due to the Pro-D day Friday
3. R.W. - we worked on the activities to do with Chapter 3 of The Chocolate Touch
4. Math - Today we bid farewell to our patterns unit and moved on to Number Concepts.  The students have brought home everything from their Math duotangs to do with the previous unit.  It's up to you what to do with it at this point.
5. P.E. - with Mr. Banman
6. S.S. - Another unit was finished today!  Mapping came home, and Communities was started.  The children will learn all about urban and rural communities, different communities in B.C., and our government in this unit.
7. Chapel - Mrs. Bloch led today

October 17, 2014

We ended the day with the kids putting me into tears laughing so hard, which is a perfect way to end a busy week in my opinion!

1. Opening exercises - the children worked on a challenging crossword puzzle
2. Spelling test - their scores, along with their memory verse scores, are in their planners
3. R.W. - we read Ch. 3 of The Chocolate Touch
4. Computers - we spent some time exploring a few links I find for the students for educational games
5. Music - with Mr. Banman
6. Math - tests were returned, corrections were started, and tests are being brought home for signing.  If you have time to work on any further corrections with your child, that would be appreciated
7. D.P.A. - the gym was in use, so we did DPA in the classroom today.  Each student led the class in movement and we had lots of fun
8. Science - today we learned about how the sun's position in the sky affects the length of shadows.  We did an experiment to do with this as well, noting how short shadows are at noon compared to the morning and evening.  If the sun comes out this weekend, please take some time to point out shadows and their lengths to your child!
9. Art - we continued on our spirographs.  These are starting to look really neat!

October 16, 2014

Today was a productive day!  Here's what went down:

• Opening exercises - we did independent reading and reviewed the new homework procedures.  
• W.W. - we began a new project today.  The students will be writing narratives (stories that can either be real or imaginary) about their best or worst day ever.  Today we shared some personal stories about best and worst events in our lives and then started our graphic organizer for our prewriting
• Handwriting - the Grade 3's continued their print review and the 4's worked on upper and lower case D
• Earthquake drill - we practiced what we would do in an earthquake, and answered a lot of "What if" questions about earthquakes
• Math - we had our patterns test.  On to number concepts and operations next!
• P.E. - with Mr. Banman
• R.W. - with Mr. Ediger
• Chapel - Mrs. Ryskamp spoke today

October 15, 2014

Your child is coming home with some information about our new homework program today.  Please read over the handouts with them, log in to Xtra Math, and ensure they do their memory verses and Spelling homework.  The yellow duotang needs to come back to school every day. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Today we began with some journaling about Thanksgiving.  I asked your children to mark themselves out of 5 based on what they wrote, how much they wrote, and how wisely they used their time.  I'll be curious to see their grading. :)

We also worked on compound words and contractions in Grammar today, and then enjoyed 'Guard the Castle' in DPA.

Math was spent doing some review work in preparation for our test tomorrow, and then after lunch we had our S.S. mapping quiz.  I'll mark those tonight and have them back to the children tomorrow.

October 14, 2014

Here's what happened in our grade 3/4 class today:

1. Bible: We continued with our "What's in the Bible?" series as we learned how books were chosen to be a part of the Bible in both the Old and New Testaments.
2. Poetry: We have been learning about figurative language (similes, metaphors), as well as imagery. Today we learned about voice and how different poems have different voices. We brainstormed different words that would describe a poem with the following voices: happy, sad, silly, and lazy. The class was very creative! We then used those words to create 4 mini poems.
3. Math: The students are now familiar with polygons so I introduced them to regular and irregular shapes.
4. PE: We continued with our game of Belly Ball (hopefully you now know what Belly Ball is all about). The Red Thunder Bolts continue to lead against the Green Gladiators, but only by 1 point! It's 32 to 31!
5. Science: Today we discussed the importance of a solid foundation and even related it to the story of the wise man who built his house upon the rock. The students got the chance to see how different foundations affect stability of a structure.

October 8, 2014

I'm hurrying off to the ASCI Teacher's Convention in Kamloops today, but here are some photos from our field trip!  Have a wonderful long Thanksgiving weekend everyone, and see you all back at school on Tuesday!

October 7, 2014

Today was a busy, but fun day in grade 3/4. Here's how our day went:

1. Opening Exercise: We did a O.W.I. with a picture of an ice cave in Russia.
2. Bible/Writing Workshop: We combined the 2 subjects today as we talked about Thankfulness since Thanksgiving is approaching. We discussed things we are thankful for and recorded these on a chart paper. We then looked up different verses in the Bible that talk about being thankful. Afterwards, we wrote acrostic poems using the word THANKFUL. The students came up with some great ideas.
3. Math: Since we have been working on polygons, we built our own geometry monster glyphs (you can have your child explain this to you!). Basically, the students had to build their monster based on different factors (the length of their name, vowels in their name, how many siblings they have, how many pets they have, and so on). I can't wait to see the finished product!
4. P.E.: I introduced the students to one of my favorite gym games growing up: Belly Ball! This game is a mix between Dodgeball and California Kickball. Make sure you ask your child to explain this game to you - they absolutely loved it! We made teams in class and will continue to use these teams this month as we play different team games. We have the Green Gladiators vs. the Red Thunder Bolts. So far, the Red Thunder Bolts are winning by 1 point!
5. Science: We put our construction hats on and became engineers. We watched a quick little clip of a building collapsing and tried to determine why that building wasn't stable. Using what we had previously learned, we took an unstable structure (an empty toilet paper roll) and had to make it so it wouldn't tip over so easily using only a bag of beans, 2 elastic bands, and 2 pieces of toilet paper. They were much better engineers than the builders who built the collapsing buildings.

October 6, 2014

Good afternoon everyone. We worked hard today on listening.  That will be our focus for this short week and next.  The children know that it is very important to me that they are always listening for instructions and are doing what they've been asked.  Please help them with this by talking with them about it at home as well.

1. Opening exercises - we did a daily gram today
2. Spelling - the children received their words for Unit 5 today and their memory verse (Psalm 100:3) but they won't be tested until Oct. 17th
3. R.W. - I read aloud to the class from Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing
4. Math - we are wrapping up our patterns unit now.  The students will have a test on what they've learned next Thursday.  Feel free to ask your child to bring home his/her Math duotang home so that you can review with them.
5. P.E. - with Mr. Banman
6. S.S. - we started our Canada maps.  The students have a quiz on these next week Wednesday.  All grades will be given the capitals of the Canadian provinces and territories and will have to figure out which goes where.  The grade 3 students will also be given the province and territory names.  The grade 4 students will have to know how to spell the province and territory names correctly. Please practice these at home with your child.
7. Chapel - Mrs. Everett spoke today

October 3, 2014

What a day we had today!  Your child might mention that I spoke to the class this afternoon about the importance of listening.  Today seemed horrible with regards to this, as many times the class was just not paying attention.  Please reiterate that at home with your children.  The more attentive they are in class, the quicker we can move on to bigger and better things. :)

1. Opening Exercises - the children did Independent Reading
2. Spelling test and memory check - nearly everyone did very well.  Marks are in planners
3. R.W. - we finished our work from Chapter 2 of The Chocolate Touch. We spent quite a bit of time discussing cause and effect, and how it is an integral part of a good story.  The class discussed causes and effects from two of the books we are currently reading, as well as in our own lives.
4. Computers - the children are progressing at individualized rates through All the Right Type
5. D.P.A. - the class enjoyed another game of Guard the Castle
6. Music - with Mr. Banman
7. Math - The grade 3's worked on their addition patterns today while the 4's learned about predicting and justifying their answers based on information they already have
8. Science - We did an outdoor activity to start class today, as I wanted to show the children that although the sun appears very small in the sky, it's actually enormous, and that distance makes things appear smaller.  We found an entertaining song about the sun (check it out here), and the class journaled about their learning that we did outside.  We also corrected any thinking that the sun is a ball of fire (they should be able to tell you what it is...give them a hint that it has to do with hydrogen and helium). 
9. Art - We started our annual spider spirographs today.  This is related to our Math unit on patterns, and is a project which requires a ton of care and precision.  Some students were asking if they could do a spirograph at home too, so here's a link: (Spirograph directions and template).

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

October 2, 2014

I saw many of you at chapel today, which so much fun.  The Grade 5/6 class put on a wonderful student-led chapel, and their parents were invited to join us.

Here's what took place today:

1. Opening exercises - we did a Thanksgiving word search
2. W.W. - continued on our All About Me writing
3. Handwriting - the Grade 3's continued their review of printing while the 4's reviewed upper-case C and lower-case c
4. Math - The 4's did some multiplication stars (ask them to show you) and the 3's worked on patterns in adding 2 digits plus 1 digit as well as with calculators
5. R.W. - We read Chapter 2 from The Chocolate Touch and then I read aloud to the class
6. P,E. - with Mr. Banman
7. R.W. - with Mr. Ediger
8. Chapel

October 1, 2014

I can't believe that it's October already!  Here's how we started this month off:

1. Opening exercises - everyone cleaned their desks!  This brought great joy to me, as some were a massive disaster scene!
2. W.W. - The students shared their imagery paragraphs from yesterday (what awesome descriptive words they used!), and then went on to finish up their 'All About Me' writing.  About half the class has completed theirs now.
3. Grammar - our focus was on prefixes and suffixes today
4. DPA - we played a new game called 'Guard the Castle'.  Ask your child to describe it for you, but the majority of the class really enjoyed it!
5. Music - with Mr. Banman
6. R.W. - independent reading
7. Math - we had a big change in Math today.  After many failed attempts to have the entire class hand in certain pages, I have reverted back to duotangs for Math.  This way the students can just hand in their duotang, not needing to make sure they have certain pages handed in or that their name is on every page. Easier for them, and easier for me.  It took some time to get organized, but it will be worth it in the days to come.  Then the 3's went on to finding patterns with their calculators while the 4's finished up their graphing.
8. S.S. - we're wrapping up our mapping unit, and I told the class about their final project to do with mapping.  They will be working on a map of Canada, labeling all the provinces, territories, and capitals.  It must be done in straight, neat printing, with correct upper-case letters and spelling.  The map also will be coloured, with each province/territory being a different colour, and each one outlined with a pencil crayon, and then shaded in with that same pencil crayon.  Mapping is a detailed task, and one that must be done carefully and well.  If your child is meticulous with this type of task, I will encourage him/her to bring it home to work on it there.

September 30, 2014

Here's what went down in Mrs. Bergen/Miss Dyck's class today:

1. Opening Exercise: Today we wrote about where we would go if we had a flying magic carpet. They told me where they wanted to go, why they wanted to go there, and what they would do when they got there.

2. Bible: We continued in our series "What's in the Bible." We learnt about Adam & Eve and how they didn't trust God which led to sin. We discussed who we can trust, how we can trust others, and what comes from trusting God.

3. Writing Workshop: We had a lot of fun using our imaginations and five senses as we were learning about imagery. The class had to guess the scene of different mini stories I read aloud to them. They then got to make their own paragraph using imagery about a certain location. I collected them and had to guess the place they were describing. They did an awesome job!

4. Math: We continued learning about shapes in our geometry unit. We learnt about plane shapes and sorted out which shapes were polygons and which ones were not.

5. HACE: We discussed why it's important to exercise on a daily basis. Afterwards, we made training goals for ourselves on magnetic stars that we will do so that we stay healthy.

6. PE: We played a Miss Dyck favorite today: 2 Corner Soccer.

7. Science: We did group experiments to test the stability of certain objects.

8. Bug Draw: The time finally came for our first Bug Draw of the year! Everyone was super excited about this.

September 29, 2014

Good afternoon on this gloomy day!  The class was very energetic today, despite (or perhaps because of) the grey weather!

Here's what happened today:

1.) opening exercises - completed a five minute frenzy which is a math drill. Both grades did addition, but the grade 4's had two digit plus two digit questions

2.) spelling and memory - we wrote out the Unit 4 words.  This week's memory verse is the last two combined (Psalm 100:1-2)

3.) R.W. - The class went on to the next story in our readers for Guided Reading

4.) Math - the 3's continued finding patterns in hundred charts and the 4's learned a bit about bar graphs today

5.) PE - with Mr. Banman

6.) S.S. - we finished the video about Canada and then started a brief summary of natural resources found in Canada

7.) chapel - led by Mrs. Hills today

September 26, 2014

We had such an awesome day at the H.R. MacMillan Science Centre today!  The rain made driving a bit stressful at times, but the children were very well behaved and we learned so much.  Everyone wished we had more time to explore the exhibits, but we were late enough as it was.  Perhaps some of you will be able to make use of the parent pass and return there soon.  I'll post some photos of our day later tonight. I also have photos of most of the children in the spaces suit which I'll send your way.  Again, my apologies for how late we were returning to school.  Have a wonderful weekend!

September 25, 2014

The children were buzzing with excitement today about our field trip tomorrow!  Here's what we got working on today:

1. Opening exercises - the children completed the O.W.I. process today, using a funny photo of a camel and a donkey to spark some writing
2. Spelling test - we had our test today seeing as we will be away tomorrow
3. W.W. - many students completed their All About Me writing today, and are moving on to a choice project
4. Handwriting - the Grade 3 students continued reviewing their printing skills while the 4's worked on upper and lower case Bb today
5. R.W. - We enjoyed some more of Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing and then the students did some independent reading
6. Math - the grade 3's continued with patterns, and the 4's worked on tree diagrams
7. P.E, - with Mr. Banman
8. R.W. - with Mr. Ediger
9. Chapel - Mrs. Lothian led a lesson about treasuring what we value and following God's rules (the 10 Commandments)

September 24, 2014

Here's what we worked on today:

1. Opening Exercises - we completed our third Daily Gram today, where the children correct errors in grammar.  If you could remind your child of the importance of coming into class and getting straight to work, that would be much appreciated.  Many of them take a very long time to get settled in the morning.  We've been working on this, but receiving the message from home might help too.
2. W.W. - we came up with some more VBO's, and then continued on our 'All About Me' writing.
3. Grammar - we worked on words with the same spelling and pronunciation, but different meanings today (pound, right, etc.)
4. DPA - everyone enjoyed a round of Capture the Flag
5. Music - with Mr. Banman
6. Math - the grade 4's had some challenging logic problems to work on today, and the 3's continued with finding patterns, this time with an addition table
7. S.S. - we read some trivia about Canada (did you know Nunavut covers 1/5 of Canada?), and then started watching an Imax video of an aerial view of Canada.  We saw the maritimes, Quebec, and most of Ontario today.

Please keep in mind that we will be leaving right at 8:30 on Friday.  The students should be at school by 8:15 if possible, meeting me in the classroom.

September 23, 2014

Here's what we did today:

1. Opening Exercise: We did a crossword about opposites.
2. Poetry: We spent our entire morning working on poetry. We looked at metaphors and similes, how they're similar and different, and how to describe ourselves using similes and metaphors.
3. Math: We read a book called "The Greedy Triangle" to introduce us to different polygons. We learnt the names of polygons up to 12 sides! We manipulated a triangle shape made out of marshmallows and toothpicks until we ended up with a 12-sided shape.
4. Gym: We played a few rounds of Capture the Flag.
5. Science: We made predictions about different structures and how their foundations work.

September 22, 2014

The first official day of Fall, and we were hard at work!

1. Opening exercises - we did independent reading
2. Spelling word work - Unit #3, tested on Thursday. No memory verse this week
3. R.W. - we finished the Guided Reading handouts and started our new read aloud, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume
4. Math - the Grade 4's went on to Carroll Diagrams today, while the 3's continued finding patterns in 100 charts
5. P.E. - with Mr. Banman
6. S.S. - We labeled a map with the provinces and territories of Canada, and the capitals of each
7. Chapel - led by Mrs. Bloch, about how sometimes things don't go our way, but they are always God's way

September 19, 2014

What a fabulous Friday we had!

1. Opening exercises - the students wrote a journal entry about their favourite room in their houses today
2. Spelling test - almost everyone achieved 10/10!  Way to go children!
3. R.W. - the class had independent reading
4. W.W. - we continued on our 'All About Me' writing
5. Math - Grade 4 worked with Venn diagrams while the 3's completed addition tables
6. Music - with Mrs. Schmitt
7. Computers - we worked on All the Right Type today
8. Science - we discussed the differences and similarities between the day and night sky (and appreciated a cross-curricular connection between Math and Science as we used Venn diagrams for this).  Your child has homework that requires they stay up past dark one night this weekend, preferably Saturday or Sunday when it's supposed to be a clear sky. :)
9. Art - the class painted pictures of the sky (yet another cross-curricular connection!)

Have a wonderful weekend!

September 18, 2014

It was a gloomy day outside, but lots of learning happened inside our classroom today!

1. Opening exercises - the children worked in pairs with a student from the opposite grade on a Math problems worksheet
2. W.W. - we continued with our All About Me writing.  Ask your child what a V.B.O. is (Vague, Boring, and Overused word, such as good, bad, nice, cool).
3. Handwriting - the Grade 4's reviewed upper and lower case cursive A's, and the 3's reviewed printed C's, D's, E's and F's
4. R.W. - we finished reading Ch. 1 in The Chocolate Touch and answered a few questions about the reading
5. Math - the Grade 4's found patterns using addition and multiplication, while the 3's had some fun with bingo chips finding patterns.  Ask them to show you a pattern at home using something of the same shape (i.e. toothpicks, marshmallows, coins, etc.)
6. P.E. - with Mr. Banman
7. R.W. - with Mr. Ediger
8. Chapel - Mrs. Campbell spoke today

September 17th, 2014

The children left the classroom buzzing with excitement because they just heard about an upcoming field trip we have planned for September 26th.  We are off to the H.R. MacMillan Science Centre (Planetarium) for the day!  I can't wait for this field trip, as it will be a day of learning, fun, and memory making.  Please return the field trip form and money by next Tuesday.

We also received a new classroom rug today which I am so happy about!  

Here's how the day went today:

1. Opening exercises - today we added the "w" portion to our O.W.I. (now we have 'observe' and 'wonder').  The students looked at an interesting photo from China.  Ask them to explain it to you tonight!
2. W.W. - we continued working on our 'All About Me' writing.  Some students are moving onto the 'Revise' stage of their writing which is exciting!
3. Grammar - today's focus was on homonyms (words that sound the same but mean different things). If your child isn't done last week's grammar work yet, it is for homework tonight.
4. D.P.A. - we enjoyed a quick game of Capture the Flag.  Now that everyone knows the rules, we'll be able to play it again more easily!
   
5. Music - with Mr. Banman
6. R.W. - We finished Clementine today, which means I'm off to find a new read aloud for the class! :) 
7. Math - The grade 4's did some complicated work with patterns in a table today while the 3's sorted different vehicles in a matrix!  Be sure to ask them which attributes they used in their matrix
8. S.S. - We studied different water bodies and then did a fun crossword activity using the words we had studied.