Tuesday 13 December 2016
How Many Monkeys?
Has your kid been talking about monkeys at school? Have you been wondering what that is all about? We have been counting how many students have bananas in their lunch boxes each day. The students who have bananas get to stand up and act like monkeys at the beginning of first nutrition break. On occasion, Mrs. Piquette has forgotten to count the monkeys, but never fear: the students remind us EVERY DAY. We have now started graphing how many monkeys we have each day. Here are some students to show us what it's like to be a monkey at school.
What do you think of our monkey tradition? Can you think of some other things we could do to tally different fruits? Apples? Strawberries? Raspberries?
Friday 2 December 2016
December Has Arrived!
There's excitement in the classrooms and halls at SIB as the holiday season quickly approaches. On December 1st, we noticed that the children's excitement level was quite heightened, and were thankful that it was day "4-est." We went for a long ramble in the woods, and found the "Smiley Tree" that we saw last week with Mr. Leader (our supply teacher for two days).
The children explored a new area of the forest, where many trees had fallen. there were lots of logs to balance on and sit along. Some students attempted climbing the smaller trees using the branches that had fallen. A few children pretended that one of the logs was a "rocket ship" and climbed on to blast off into outer space.
We also discovered that our own Elf on the Shelf had arrived in room 105. A few children discovered the elf when they came in first thing in the morning. He was sitting on top of our gingerbread house that we decorated on Wednesday. The class came up with possible names for our elf, and Mrs. Piquette closed her eyes and pointed. The big winner was "JAMES" so that's his new name!
Today (December 2) was also a very big day. We started by arriving at school and peeking in the window to see if we could spot James. The students were so excited that we couldn't keep them away from the window! When we finally discovered him in the cubby area, we came inside and noticed that he had eaten some candy from our gingerbread house! Luckily, the manager from Bulk Barn didn't notice when she came to pick up the gingerbread house. Phew!
Speaking of the Bulk Barn gingerbread house, please be sure to visit the Bulk Barn this month to vote for your favourite. You vote by adding coins to the container with our gingerbread house. All money raised goes to Christmas charities in the region.
Only 2 days into December, and already so many updates! Stay tuned for a paper update coming home in your child's home bag today. Wowzers!
The children explored a new area of the forest, where many trees had fallen. there were lots of logs to balance on and sit along. Some students attempted climbing the smaller trees using the branches that had fallen. A few children pretended that one of the logs was a "rocket ship" and climbed on to blast off into outer space.
Today (December 2) was also a very big day. We started by arriving at school and peeking in the window to see if we could spot James. The students were so excited that we couldn't keep them away from the window! When we finally discovered him in the cubby area, we came inside and noticed that he had eaten some candy from our gingerbread house! Luckily, the manager from Bulk Barn didn't notice when she came to pick up the gingerbread house. Phew!
Speaking of the Bulk Barn gingerbread house, please be sure to visit the Bulk Barn this month to vote for your favourite. You vote by adding coins to the container with our gingerbread house. All money raised goes to Christmas charities in the region.
Only 2 days into December, and already so many updates! Stay tuned for a paper update coming home in your child's home bag today. Wowzers!
Monday 28 November 2016
Sewing Poppies for Remembrance Day
What a busy November it has been! When I came online this afternoon to write a post, I found that I have not blogged since the beginning of November, and this week will see the end of the month fly by.
We are getting ready for the busy holiday season, and Mrs. Proud and I have some really fun things planned for our students.
However, before we delve into all things winter and holiday season, we wanted to share some photos of our students sewing their poppies.
For those of you who do not know, the children in our class enthusiastically created their own poppies for Remembrance Day this year. From tracing the shapes onto fabric, to cutting, to sewing on the button, your children became sewing rockstars.
Today we sent home a note asking for each child to bring in a plain, white sock for a new craft we will be doing in December. This craft will also include sewing, since our students were so enthusiastic about the process of making poppies. Sewing is going to become a more regular activity in our classroom. We will even be teaching the children how to thread needles!
We are getting ready for the busy holiday season, and Mrs. Proud and I have some really fun things planned for our students.
However, before we delve into all things winter and holiday season, we wanted to share some photos of our students sewing their poppies.
For those of you who do not know, the children in our class enthusiastically created their own poppies for Remembrance Day this year. From tracing the shapes onto fabric, to cutting, to sewing on the button, your children became sewing rockstars.
Today we sent home a note asking for each child to bring in a plain, white sock for a new craft we will be doing in December. This craft will also include sewing, since our students were so enthusiastic about the process of making poppies. Sewing is going to become a more regular activity in our classroom. We will even be teaching the children how to thread needles!
Thursday 3 November 2016
A Possible Inquiry Topic - November 2
Beginning after our Hallowe'en celebration, we noticed that the children were showing some interest in building a "city" in the Engineering Centre. They began building elaborate structures and road ways. When we asked them what they were building, they said it was Toronto.
The students began by building a base out of large, hollow blocks. They then elevated the structure using foam brick pieces. Flat blocks or bricks were placed on top to cover the structure.
Mrs. Piquette went and sat with the children to engage with them and pose questions.
Jake and Liam began by telling Mrs. Piquette that they made the place where the Blue Jays play baseball.
"What's that called?" asked Mrs. Piquette.
"The baseball field." Jake replied.
Next to the "baseball field," Tessa was quietly building a tall structure with the foam bricks. Mrs. Piquette asked her what she was working on.
"It's the CN Tower." she replied.
The students involved then began to tell Mrs. Piquette about their visits to the CN Tower. Jake and Tessa talked a lot about the glass floor at the CN Tower and how they weren't even afraid to walk on it.
The most interesting thing about the building that was happening in the Engineering Centre today was the sheer number of children involved. While Jake, Liam, and Tessa worked on the CN Tower and the baseball field, Evan was quietly stacking blocks and lining up community helper figures.
Amir and Vinu were working on building roads around the city. When they ran out of road pieces, Mrs. Piquette went and got some grey construction paper for them to use. Vinu placed the roads, and Amir drew the white lines with a crayon.
Madden joined in with Amir and Vinu, adding tape to the paper so it wouldn't fall off of the blocks. Maya also took an interest in the paper roads, helping Vinu figure out the next spot to put the roads. She and Vinu got more blocks to put into place for the paper road pieces, while Madden taped them in place and Amir drew the lines. Each time Amir finished one road piece, he would look up, smile, and say "finished!" The four students worked together on building an elevated road way for several minutes.
Zachary became interested in the city and came over to see what the other students were working on. At first he watched from afar, but then he joined in, and started "fixing" the broken parts of the city. He also began adding small loose parts to the structure the other children had made.
Grace came over and joined Evan in making a road on the far side of the city, away from the large road that Amir and Vinu were building.
Zachary's "fixing" encouraged other children to start fixing as well. Liam used a wooden branch block as a hammer and tapped the blocks into place. Meanwhile, Bronson and Zachary added people to the "basement" of the baseball field.
As the carpet area started to fill up, Liam stood on top of the ramp leading up to the "baseball field" and looked around. The students started talking about whether or not their "city" looked like Toronto.
Mrs. Piquette stood back with Mrs. Proud and looked at the city. We observed the students and listened to them talking about Toronto. Mrs. Piquette decided it may help if the students had a visual. Bringing the computer over to the projector, we projected an image of the Toronto skyline on to the ceiling, just above where the students were working.
As we projected the image, Mrs. Piquette took a video of the children reacting to the photo of Toronto.
The students began by building a base out of large, hollow blocks. They then elevated the structure using foam brick pieces. Flat blocks or bricks were placed on top to cover the structure.
Mrs. Piquette went and sat with the children to engage with them and pose questions.
Jake and Liam began by telling Mrs. Piquette that they made the place where the Blue Jays play baseball.
"What's that called?" asked Mrs. Piquette.
"The baseball field." Jake replied.
Next to the "baseball field," Tessa was quietly building a tall structure with the foam bricks. Mrs. Piquette asked her what she was working on.
"It's the CN Tower." she replied.
The students involved then began to tell Mrs. Piquette about their visits to the CN Tower. Jake and Tessa talked a lot about the glass floor at the CN Tower and how they weren't even afraid to walk on it.
The most interesting thing about the building that was happening in the Engineering Centre today was the sheer number of children involved. While Jake, Liam, and Tessa worked on the CN Tower and the baseball field, Evan was quietly stacking blocks and lining up community helper figures.
Amir and Vinu were working on building roads around the city. When they ran out of road pieces, Mrs. Piquette went and got some grey construction paper for them to use. Vinu placed the roads, and Amir drew the white lines with a crayon.Madden joined in with Amir and Vinu, adding tape to the paper so it wouldn't fall off of the blocks. Maya also took an interest in the paper roads, helping Vinu figure out the next spot to put the roads. She and Vinu got more blocks to put into place for the paper road pieces, while Madden taped them in place and Amir drew the lines. Each time Amir finished one road piece, he would look up, smile, and say "finished!" The four students worked together on building an elevated road way for several minutes.
Zachary became interested in the city and came over to see what the other students were working on. At first he watched from afar, but then he joined in, and started "fixing" the broken parts of the city. He also began adding small loose parts to the structure the other children had made.
Grace came over and joined Evan in making a road on the far side of the city, away from the large road that Amir and Vinu were building.Zachary's "fixing" encouraged other children to start fixing as well. Liam used a wooden branch block as a hammer and tapped the blocks into place. Meanwhile, Bronson and Zachary added people to the "basement" of the baseball field.
As the carpet area started to fill up, Liam stood on top of the ramp leading up to the "baseball field" and looked around. The students started talking about whether or not their "city" looked like Toronto.
Mrs. Piquette stood back with Mrs. Proud and looked at the city. We observed the students and listened to them talking about Toronto. Mrs. Piquette decided it may help if the students had a visual. Bringing the computer over to the projector, we projected an image of the Toronto skyline on to the ceiling, just above where the students were working. 
As we projected the image, Mrs. Piquette took a video of the children reacting to the photo of Toronto.
Happy Hallowe'en!
After going through well over 200 photos, here are the best images from our Hallowe'en Celebration earlier this week. Enjoy!
Wednesday 2 November 2016
Mousekin's Golden House by Edna Miller - Tuesday, October 25
Each cycle day 4, we try to go on a walk in the neighbourhood, either to the woods, or to a trail where we can see some wild life and conduct investigations in nature. We have even started calling day 4 "day forest." (let's start this hashtag up on twitter!)
On Tuesday, October 25, we went for such a walk on the trail behind Gray Oak Drive. Mrs. Piquette brought a story that she used to love when she was little, called "Mousekin's Golden House." The story is about a small mouse who finds a discarded Jack-o-Lantern in the woods. He makes a home out of the Jack-o-Lantern for the winter.
After reading the story in the woods, the children set out to find animals. We eventually encouraged them to find a quiet spot to sit and wait. The students showed incredible patience in this activity!
We collected some leaves to bring back for our sensory bin, and headed back to school.
Wednesday 26 October 2016
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