March 19, 2015

Welcome to Spring Break everyone!  We had a busy, productive day today (much to the student's chagrin - many were hoping for free time and parties!).

1. Opening Exercises - the students corrected 3 sentences that were on the board
2. R.W. - we finished the work from Chapter 1 of These Are My People and then finished The Indian in the Cupboard
3. Spelling/memory test - marks are in their planners
4. Math - the class finished their work from yesterday
5. W.W. - we spent the block in the lab working on the Typical Day writing
6. P.E. - with Mr. Banman
7. R.W. - with Mr. Ediger
8. Chapel - Mr. Ediger led

March 18, 2015

We had a wonderful Wednesday in Grade 3/4 today!  Here's how it went down:

1. Opening Exercises - we did independent reading.  Some of the students are having a tough time sticking with one chapter book.  By this point in Grades 3 or 4 they should be able to read an entire chapter book (at varying levels depending on the student of course).  If your child would enjoy it, why not plan a trip to the public library over the break?  There are so many books there, and I'm sure many would appeal.
2. Math - the Grade 3's did some estimating and measuring with measuring tapes and the 4's worked on estimating area and then measuring using pattern blocks as units.
3. Grammar - we worked on commas in lists, as well as commas after Yes, No, and Well, when they start a sentence
4. DPA - guess what?  The majority of the class wanted to play Dungeon Ball again!  
5. Music - with Mr. Banman
6. R.W. - we read the remainder of Chapter 1 from These Are My People and worked on some comprehension questions, many of which pushed the children beyond the first level of Bloom's taxonomy of thinking (knowledge) and into comprehension and even a bit of analysis, which was challenging for many.  I'd like to continue pushing some of their current limits in thinking and encourage them to realize they can answer these types of questions if they take the time to truly reflect, reread if necessary, and apply themselves.  Sometimes the answers aren't just black and white, but more of an opinion or synthesis, which I know all of these children are capable of. I'll get off my soapbox now. :)
7. W.W. - we worked on the lab today, as some of the students are onto their published copy of their Typical Day writing, which is typed.  
8. S.S. - Today we learned about the pioneers encounters with the First Nations, and talked about how it it might have felt from both sides.  

March 17th, 2015

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!  The class learned today about who St. Patrick was (a young missionary in Ireland).  Here's what we did on this unusual Tuesday, with Mrs. Bergen teaching:

1. Math - many students needed extra assistance after yesterday's activity, so we spent the class going over any problems the students had and correcting their mistakes to ensure they understood.  Unfortunately, some didn't use the 50 minutes very wisely and therefore have some homework.
2. R.W. - I read aloud from The Indian in the Cupboard
3. Science - we did some fun experiments where we learned about suspension and chemical reactions!  Ask your child to describe the volcano and the goop we made!
4. W.W. - we had a wonderful time doing some Mad Libs today.  As silly as they might seem, they really reinforce what a noun, verb, plural noun, and adjective are.  
5. Art - we continued on our butterflies in motion project
6. Library
7. P.E. - we enjoyed a game of California Kickball outside
8. Computers - the class did 25 minutes of ATRT and then had 25 minutes of educational game time

March 16, 2015

It's a merry Monday in Grade 3/4!  Everyone was excited about the shortened week and early start to Spring Break that we'll be having with Friday being a day off.  Spelling and memory will be on Thursday this week as a result.

1. Opening Exercises - we did an O.W.I. after Aiden shared his show and tell
2. Spelling/Memory - words and verses are on the blog
3. R.W. - independent reading
4. Science - Tyson and Jayden shared their Science project (both were absent Friday)
5. Math - we finished the Grade 4 work on a 24 hour clock and the Grade 3 work on measuring with a ruler, two activities that I really wanted to closely supervise the students to ensure they understood how to do it properly.
6. P.E. - with Mr. Banman
7. S.S. - we continued with our pioneer unit, focusing on school/education in Pioneer days
8. Chapel - led by Mrs. Hills

March 13, 2015

Happy Friday everyone!  We had an awesome day today.  Here's how it went:

1. Opening Exercises - the class did a Daily Gram
2. Spelling/Memory Test - marks are in their planners
3. R.W. - we read the first bit of These Are Our People, our new novel study
4. W.W. - we went down to the lab today and learned how to create a Word document, where we will be typing our 'Typical Day' projects.
5. Music - with Mr. Banman
6. Math - the Grade 4's started learning about 24 hour clocks and the 3's were doing lots of measuring around the classroom with their rulers
7. Science - presentation day!  The class did an awesome job with their projects!  Thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Gates for being an audience.  I am truly impressed with the work the kids put into this.
8. Art - we started a butterfly in motion project today

March 12, 2015

Today was Miss Dyck's last day teaching at our school prior to her wedding, and we had a good time celebrating her with a writing project we worked on.  The kids had heaps of advice for her marriage, so I took as many photos as I could and will post them below.  Rest assured we had a wonderful day!  Praying for blessing on her wedding and marriage in 9 days!

March 11, 2015

Good afternoon everyone!  Here's what wacky Wednesday was like in our classroom today:

1. Opening exercises - we did independent reading today
2. W.W. - the class worked on their typical day writing and Mrs. Diaz was in to help as well
3. Grammar - we worked on finishing last week's work, as well as abbreviations (Grade 3) and capitals (Grade 4)
4. DPA - a rousing game of Dungeon Ball was played
5. Music -with Mr. Banman
6. R.W. - the class worked on their Guided Reading books
7. Math - the 3's continued with mass and the 4's worked on elapsed time further
8. S.S. - we started our new unit about the pioneers!  Ask your child what they think were some of the school rules (we haven't talked about the actual rules yet, just hypothetical ones).

March 10, 2015

Happy Sunny Tuesday! Before I give you the run-down of our day, I wanted to share some news with all the parents of the class. Next year, I have decided that I (Miss Dyck) will not be coming back to Cascade Christian School as I will be living in Langley. The commute is too far for me to drive on a regular basis so unfortunately this will be my only year at the wonderful school. I told the students today but also wanted to keep you in the loop. Here's how our day went:

1. OE: We did some independent reading.
2. Bible: As Easter is just around the corner, we spent some time discussing how Jesus died on the cross for our sins so that we could have eternal life with God in Heaven.
3. HACE: We are making a giant puzzle with each student having their own puzzle piece. Each piece shows how that person is a good friend and what they look for in a friend.
4. Math: We continued our math lesson from last week about restaurant menus.
5. Library: With Mrs. McNutt.
6. PE: Since it was a beautiful day outside, we went outside for gym. We played a round of Man Hunt and Soccer.
7. Science: We continued our research in the computer lab.

March 9, 2015

Greetings to everyone!  Here's how our day went:

1. Opening Exercises - we did a journal entry on 10 crazy reasons why my homework didn't get done (they were encouraged to use their imaginations!)
2. Spelling/Memory verse - Please see the link on the blog for the words and verse this week.  The memory verse will be fill in the blank again but with a lot more blanks than last week!
3. W.W. - we wrote a letter to the mayor, Sharon Gaetz, to thank her for our time there last week
4. Math - the Grade 3's continued with measuring the mass of items (close to 1 kg, and heavier than or lighter than 1 kg), and the 4's worked on elapsed time today, which proved to be challenging for some, particularly if the elapsed time went into a new hour.
5. P.E. - with Mr. Banman
6. Lunch - picnic!  What a beautiful day it was for our picnic today.  Thanks to Veronica for bringing treats to share with everyone as well.
7. Science - today was the last work block for the planet projects
8. Chapel - led by Mrs. Bloch's class

March 6, 2015

Happy Friday everyone!

Here's what occurred in our classrom today:

1. Opening Exercises - the class corrected sentences.  One of the biggest challenges with most of the students in this class is determining where a period should be in a run on sentence (many don't even notice it's a run on sentence).  Please practice this at home by giving your child a run on sentence and asking them to fix the mistake (i.e. The boy went to school he learned a lot that day.).
2. Spelling and memory test - marks are in their planners
3. W.W. - we wrote a letter to a class from Calgary Christian today about Flat Stanley, who visited some of your houses.
4. Music - with Mr. Banman
5. Math - the Grade 4's worked on yesterday's assignment and the 3's started on mass today
6. DPA - we had a dance party brain break today.  I sent the video to many of you, but I heard from one that it didn't work, so I'm uploading it to YouTube as I type and will send you a private link asap.
7. Science - today was our second last work day on the solar system projects.  These will be presented in class on Friday.  Feel free to pop in and watch if you'd like (Friday at 1PM).
8. Art - we worked on our tin foil art, which look so cool.  These will be posted in the hallway once complete.

March 5, 2015

Hello out there!  Today was full of excitement and fun.  Here's what we did:

1. Opening Exercises - Mad Minute - many students beat their personal bests today!
2. Math - we continued with our work on time
3. R.W. - I read aloud to the class for 15 minutes
4. Handwriting - the Grade 3's worked on H and K and the 4's reviewed Zz
5. Field trip - We had an awesome time visiting Sharon Gaetz and touring City Hall!  First we met in the Council Chambers and Sharon reviewed what the city is responsible for.  Then she answered a number of questions the class had (and listened to many, many stories about how most of them know someone who knows Sharon well!  She is so kind and patient!).  This was followed by a mock council meeting!  We had Mayor Seth Hampson with his Councillors, Aiden, Tyson, Alexus, Troy, Irelyn, and Tharyn.  Then Ryan represented one group and Jack represented another and they debated the building of an apartment on farmland.  Such a fantastic experience.  Sharon's assistant toured us around the building afterward, and made an announcement throughout City Hall that we were coming through which had the children beaming!  We met Aiden's uncle, and saw Seth's dad's office as well.  What a fun day!  Here are a bunch of photos:
   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   
   
6. P.E. - with Mr. Banman
7. R.W. - with Mr. Ediger
8. Chapel - Mrs. Everett led today

March 4, 2015

Forgive me parents, but today I'm spending every spare moment on report cards!  We had a wonderful day in class.  Take care, and enjoy your evening.

March 3, 2015

What a wonderful day it is outside and what a wonderful day it was inside the class! Being a TOC and moving around to different schools really makes you appreciate your "regular" class. I love coming back to the grade 3 and 4 students each week :) Here's what we did today:

1. OE: The students did independent reading.
2. Bible: We spent our Bible time today sharing prayer requests and praise items.
3. HACE: We have been talking about how to be a good friend, what is fair, and how to be responsible for the last little while. Today, we made Wanted Posters for a good friend. We brainstormed as a class the important attributes of what a good friend looks like. They then described what they thought a good friend was and drew a picture alongside it.
4. Math: We shifted gears today and worked on some problem solving using a restaurant menu as our source. The students had to use multiplication, subtraction, and addition to solve the problems.
5. Library: With Mrs. McNutt.
6. PE: We played Dungeon Ball.
7. Science: We started the research portion of our Structure Projects in the computer lab.

March 2, 2015

What a beautiful "sunshiney" afternoon!  Hopefully all of you get a chance to enjoy the weather today, although as many of us learned at lunch, be sure to wear a sweater as the wind is a bit chilly.

Here's what took place in our classroom today:

1. Assembly
2. Spelling/Memory - Unit 21 spelling words, and this week's memory verse is a long one, so feel free to do it fill in the blank style for your child for homework (where you write it out leaving 3-4 words out of each verse for them to fill in), as this is what their test will be like Friday.
3. R.W. - we read from our guided reading novels today
4. Math - everyone finished their work from the previous day and then we started talking about time and analog clocks with the Grade 4 students
5. P.E. - with Mr. Banman
6. Science - I gave the students a work block for their solar system projects, which are coming along well.  Some also worked on the art project we started last Friday.  Here's a quick video snapshot of our block this afternoon:
7. Chapel - led by Mrs. Hills