April 30, 2014

Today started with RW, and the class worked on an assignment related to chapter 15 and 16 from Charlotte's Web. Then we read from The Hobbit. The class was thrilled to head down to the lab afterwards, as they are really enjoying typing out their fairytales. 

After recess we had Math, and continued with bar graphs. Then the students had PE (track and field) with Mr. Banman, as well as POW.

Following lunch we had SS and the students are working on a role play about Cabot. We concluded the day with our monthly BUG draw!

April 29, 2014

What an excellent day today was!  We began with Theo sharing with the class about his adventures from the past weekend, and then on to Bible. Today's lesson was about how God designed each of us, and even knows how often our hearts beat.  We did some Math and figured out how many times our hearts do beat in a minute, day, hour, month and year and were blown away to realize the awesomeness of God to create such an organ!

Then we had a brief period of Independent Reading prior to leaving on our field trip to Safety Village.  The class had a great time and hopefully they all come home with some new information that they learned from the Hazard House and the bike safety route. We also all enjoyed a picnic together afterwards (the weather was perfect!).  Here are a few of the best photos from our adventures:

The children returned back in time to play a bit outside, and then it was on to S.S., where we continued with our study of Cabot.  The day was finished with Library and P.E.

April 28, 2014

It's merry, magnificent Monday! (I figure if I keep telling myself, it will seem better!) :)

We began the day with RW, studying Charlotte's Web (chapter 15 and 16), and The Hobbit.  Then it was on to Spelling (Unit 28) and memory verse (Psalm 139:13-14).  We've already had Psalm 139:14 before, but tacked on verse 13 to it this week, as it correlates with what we are studying in Bible right now.

For DPA we enjoyed the beautiful weather and ventured outdoors for a game of Mother May I?  I was amazed that none of the students were familiar with the game!  They had a blast playing it, and burned off a bit of extra energy doing so.

After recess, we had Math and both grades continued working with bar graphs, reminding them of the essential parts of a bar graph.  Then we tried to go to the lab for writing workshop, only to discover the middle school class there doing presentations, so back to the classroom we went!  I opted to work on poetry anthologies and do corrections (hooray!) instead.

Following lunch we had Science, and the class learned about cold and warm fronts.  Check out this video that we watched in class today about cold and warm fronts.  Then we had chapel with Mrs. Hills.

April 25, 2014

Good afternoon families!

We began the day with devotions with Mrs. Everett, and then went on to our Spelling test.  The class did very well this week!  Afterwards we had RW, and we read another story in the reader.  The students are reading paragraphs out loud, which helps me to assess their ability to read orally. They also worked on Charlotte's Web for a while.

Following recess we had Math, and the class finished the work assigned by Mrs. Takeda yesterday.  Then we all went on to bar graphs, talking about the importance of a title, a straight X and Y axis (the Grade 3's simply refer to these as lines for now), labels for the axes, and a scale.

Then it was off to the computer lab to start publishing the fractured fairytales!  The students are learning the basics of word processing (saving, increasing font size, changing paragraph spacing to double, how to create a paragraph, etc.), while working on their keyboarding skills.

After lunch we had Science, and the class finished up their 'For Sale' posters for different weather tools.  Then we enjoyed some of the 'Planet Earth' video to finish up their time with me.  It was off to P.E. for the last block today.

I hope to see all of you at the Hoe-down tonight!

April 23, 2014

The day began with Writing Workshop, and after reading a teaser for a novel I just added to the classroom that is a fractured fairytale, we went to work on our own.  Over half the class is now ready to publish, and we're just waiting for the rest to finish up at which point we'll venture down to the lab and type them up, along with a title page.

During RW, the class had Independent Reading, followed by some Read Aloud time with The Hobbit prior to recess.

Following recess we had Math, and each grade finished up their work from last day, collecting and analyzing data.  Then they had P.E. and P.O.W. with Mr. Banman.

After a delicious hot lunch, we had S.S., and today we continued on our journey of the explorers by studying John Cabot and his journey across the Atlantic.

April 22, 2014

Good afternoon everyone!  We enjoyed a glimpse of the sun this afternoon at lunch!

Today began with Spelling, which we typically don't have on Tuesdays, but seeing as there wasn't school on Monday we had it today.  No memory verse this week though!

For RW the class finished Chapter 14 of Charlotte's Web and then we had WW, where we worked on a poem about caterpillars and moths racing to see which was the fastest.  We focused on elements of a narrative poem, and how to compare two things using the word "as" (a simile) in poetry.

After recess the class had Music, and they prepared for the Senior's Luncheon presentation at that time.  Then we had Math, and both grades bid farewell to geometry and started data analysis today.  This is a fun unit to teach, and I'm looking forward to some great activities with the children!

This afternoon began with the presentation at the Senior's Luncheon (I'll post the video to the Facebook site later), and then we had Science where we continued our study of weather tools, creating  a poster to sell a weather tool.  The students had to meet certain requirements with their posters that demonstrated their understanding of these tools.

The day finished with Library and P.E.

Enjoy your evening everyone!

April 17, 2014

What a fun day filled with excitement!  The children were buzzing, I suspect in anticipation of the long weekend ahead!

We began with Bible, and focused on Christ's death and resurrection.  We watched a very well done animation about the story (check it out here) to refresh everyone's memories about how important this weekend is.

Then we had Handwriting (Y for Grade 4 and L and Q for Grade 3), followed by Grammar.  Today the Grade 4's focused on the use of commas and quotation marks while the 3's studied contractions.

After recess, the students had Music and DPA, and then Math.  We continued working through our cumulative review of everything we've done since September.  Next week we'll venture into data analysis (graphs).

Following lunch we had Art, and the class worked on beautiful pastel rubbing crosses.  Some students left theirs on their desk, but hopefully your child's made it home in time for Easter!

Jack's dad, Jeff Gates, spoke in chapel today all about different foods of the Passover and their significance.  The kids were very excited to have him there, especially Jack!  Thanks Jeff, for sharing your wisdom with the school!

April 16, 2014

The day began with WW, and the class had a surprise Grammar quiz.  Overall they did well, and I think one of the most significant lessons they can learn from it is to read the questions thoroughly.  Many of the students lost marks because they didn't do what the question asked.  If you see an area that your child is struggling with at Grammar and you're willing to work with them at home, please let me know and I'll put together some activities (and websites if I can find related ones) for you.

Then we went on to continuing on our fractured fairytales.  We're going to publish these ones, and actually type them in the lab, which will be fun and good keyboarding practice as well.

For RW today we corrected some previous chapter's work, and then started to read chapter 14 of Charlotte's Web.

After recess was the math test, which came home to be signed by you, and then we did a long overdue desk clean.  The class had P.E. with Mrs. Burns today (Mr. Banman was away), and then did some catch up work (aka 'Ketchup and Pickles')

I had the pleasure of being in the audience for three delightful role plays about Christopher Columbus today during S.S.!  The kids worked hard and did an excellent job portraying the attempted mutiny of the crew during Columbus' expedition across the Atlantic in search of the Indies.

April 15, 2014

Today began with Bible and we learned today about what it meant to praise God's glory and ways that we could show others God's amazing love. 

Then we had RW and the students finished the associated activities from their reading in their readers yesterday. This was followed by some much overdue work in their poetry anthologies. A student pointed out to me today that we have a lot of pages to fill in it before June!

After recess the class had Music and then Math. We finished up the Show What You Know (I marked everyone's that completed it today) and I feel the majority of the class is ready for tomorrow. 

After lunch we had SS and we started work on role playing Columbus' expedition. We'll complete and present these tomorrow. 

April 14, 2014

What a beautiful weekend we had weather-wise, and the glorious sunshine continued today!

We started with our Daily Gram, and then went on to Reading Workshop.  The kids were eager to begin something new in Guided Reading, and we did just that today, venturing into our grade-appropriate readers (from Reading for Christian Schools).  Each grade read one story, and next day we'll work on some activities related to the stories they read.

For DPA today we decided to take advantage of the weather and play Capture the Flag outside on the playground.  Everyone had a blast!

After recess we had Writing Workshop and after a lesson about words to use instead of said, the class worked hard on their fractured fairytales.  Then we had Math, and everyone was on the 'Show What You Know' pages in anticipation of our test on Wednesday.

Following lunch, we had Science.  Ask your child if they remember what an anemometer, thermometer, wind vane, hygrometer, rain gauge and barometer are!  We built our own anemometer, which failed miserably, but thankfully Jack provided us with one he brought from home that worked well!  We also made a rain gauge.

Mrs. Hills led chapel today, and talked about Christ's death and resurrection.

April 11, 2014

It's fantastic Friday!  Mrs. Everett started the day with the class doing devotions, and then we went on to the Spelling test.  Afterwards we had independent reading, followed by some work on our literature study, and then I read aloud from The Hobbit.  I was curious as to how many of the students were enjoying The Hobbit so I asked for a show of hands of how many of the students were interested in continuing it.  Everyone raised their hands, so on we will go.  We are just past the halfway point, and I'm glad they're interested!

Following recess we had Math.  Each grade is wrapping up their geometry units, as our tests our next Wednesday.  Today the 3's finished work on their skeletons while the 4's did some sorting by lines of symmetry.  Then we had computers, and we did some typing, and some educational games as well.

After lunch we had Science and we spent some time with Bill Nye reviewing what we've learned about the atmosphere. 

Have a fantastic weekend everyone!

April 10, 2014

Greetings families!  Here's the notes from today:

We began with Bible, and continued learning about why God created each of us, and what praising His glory means.  We also added 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus and Philemon to our books of the Bible list!  We're almost at the end of the Bible, which surprised many of the students today.

Then we went on to Handwriting and the 3's did a review page while the 4's mastered their upper and lower-case X's.  For Grammar we worked primarily on commas.

Following recess the class had Music, then a surprise fire drill (they did very well), and then Math.  The 3's worked on 3D structures using toothpicks and playdough and both grades played a Guess the Object game together where they had to describe the number of vertices, edges and faces on a mystery object to get their group to determine what they were talking about.  The 4's finished an assignment on lines of symmetry.  Both grades did some marshmallow math with me right before lunch, creating edible 3D shapes.  Needless to say, this was a hit!

After lunch we had Art, and the students completed their continuous line portraits from last week.  We finished our day with chapel, which was led by Mrs. Bloch.

April 9, 2014

We had a productive day today, and learning a lot and sharing a few laughs along the way!

The day began with WW, and we focused our time on poetry today, reading a poem together about nature, with a specific metre and rhyming pattern, and then the students wrote their own poems following the same metre and rhyming pattern.  I was thrilled with the efforts and creativity the children put it into this activity!  Be sure to come and read some of them, as they'll be on display on 'The Wall of Fame' today.

Then we went on to RW and this consisted of finishing off the work related to Ch. 13 of Charlotte's Web.  I had hoped to read aloud to the class today, but time didn't permit, due to our poetry lesson going a bit long.

After recess we had Math and today the 4's continued working with lines of symmetry while the 3's focused on sorting shapes according to different attributes (faces, vertices and edges).  Then the class had P.E. with Mr. Banman and P.O.W.

After lunch we had S.S., and the class finished their rip maps (on display in the hallway), and then went on to learn more about Christopher Columbus.  At dinner tonight, ask your child why Columbus was on an expedition in the first place, what he was hoping to get to, what happened with his crew during his journey and why, and what "mistake" he made.  They should know the answers to these questions!

April 8, 2014

Just a quick entry today everyone to let you know that there isn't any homework tonight.  Enjoy your evenings everyone! :)

April 7, 2014

We had an awesome field trip today!  Here is a copy of what's going in the school newsletter:

A Wild Adventure with the Grade ¾ Class

            Mrs. Bergen’s class ventured off to the Cheam Wetlands this morning for a field trip.  Their adventures began with the main road to the Wetlands being blocked due to construction, but the workers felt sorry for all of the disappointed children and allowed us to pass through!  They were thankful to have avoided a lengthy detour.

Then the students had an opportunity to do some pond dipping.  With nets and buckets in hand, everyone started hunting for unique insects, fish, and larvae.  It was pretty fascinating what they came up with, and everyone was so excited to share their discoveries with their classmates.  Ranger Gord even let us stay longer than planned so that we could continue exploring, as the class was so enthralled with exploring their findings.

            The children had a wonderful time venturing through the park, traversing bridges, expanding their learning of our Science unit, ‘Habitats and Communities’, and observing God’s creation in an absolutely stunning location.  The weather couldn’t have been better, which made the field trip fantastic!

April 4, 2014

We had a fantastically fun Friday today, particularly because there were two special guests in our classroom!  Sarah and Parker (my children) joined us today as their school had a Pro-D day.

We began with devotions with Mrs. Everett, and then went on to our Spelling Test.  The class average was 94%, so everyone deserves a high five for that one!  Then we had RW, and today's was spent doing a variety of things.  First we had independent reading, then we read Ch. 12 from Charlotte's Web, and then I read aloud from The Hobbit.

Following recess we had Math, and the 3's continued their work with vertices, faces and edges of prisms and cylinders while the 4's went on to lines of symmetry, and how to find them with a mirror.  Then we headed down to the computer lab and tried out some educational games for a change (the following quote was heard while we were in the lab today: "FINALLY we get to do something FUN in computers!") :)

Thankful that the rain held off for recess and lunch today, the children came in, relatively dry, to enjoy a mentally challenging afternoon of art and P.E.  We did contour drawings in art today, where the students were paired with another and had to draw pictures of their partner without lifting their pencil.

I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!  Remember we have our field trip Monday morning, so dress your children for the weather and send booster seats if necessary.

April 3, 2014

Today began with Bible, and we started our next unit about fellowship. Then we had Handwriting, and the 4's worked on their upper-case W's while the 3's worked on their upper-case I's and J's.  For Grammar today we focused on the use of upper-case letters in writing as well as abbreviations.

After recess the class had Music and then DPA, followed by Math.  Today the 4's went on to discuss how you can make different prisms using the same number of cubes, while the 3's worked with some 3-D prisms and cones, comparing the number of vertices, edges and faces of each.

Following lunch we had Science, and today focused our time on weather and climate, and the difference between the two. We ventured outdoors to make some observations about our current weather as well, which the kids got a kick out of.

Mrs. Lothian led chapel today, and talked with the students about the wise man who built his house upon the rock.

Have a wonderful night everyone!

April 2, 2014

Good afternoon everyone!  We started today with WW, and the students are continuing with their fractured fairytales.  My reluctant writers are struggling with the 2 page minimum I gave them (double-spaced), so I'm working a lot on the importance of including details in their writing so that the reader pictures exactly what the writer intends.  I'll read the child's writing and then tell them what I'm visualizing so that they can see where the gaps are.  Feel free to encourage your child to bring his or her writing home so that you can do the same.

This was followed by RW and we continued through our work affiliated with Chapter 11 from Charlotte's Web and then went on to reading some more from The Hobbit.

After recess the class had Math, and the 4's built some prisms from nets today, while the 3's worked on creating other polygons using more than one polygon.  Then they had P.E., and then P.O.W. with Mr. Banman.

Our afternoon was spent working on personal timelines, and some students brought these home tonight so that they can fill in a few blanks that they couldn't recall, hopeful that you can help them out!

April 1, 2014

Happy April Fool's Day everyone!  The students had a few giggles this morning due to some pranks I pulled on them (shoe switching, desks backward, a wacky agenda, etc.), and they managed to get me back at lunch time by changing the homework board and making my inbox and chair disappear! :)  All in good fun.

We began the day with Bible, and the class finished off their Creation Diagrams, showing the different events on each day of Creation.  Then we had RW, and we read Ch. 11 of Charlotte's Web.  This was followed by reading a poem about winter and working on some comprehension questions as well as some personification work.

Following recess we had Music and then Math.  The 4's had some fun building prisms with playdough today, so be sure to ask them about that.

After lunch we had S.S., and we started our new unit on the explorers that came to North America.  The class will be working on a personal timeline of some historical events that have taken place in their lives over the past week, so be sure to remind them of anything that they might want to be sure to remember!

We didn't have library today, but the class was fortunate enough to have an extended P.E. class with Mr. Banman, playing soccer in the sunshine!