Adventures With Mrs. Craig

With the new season of Spring arriving, we have started our new Science unit: Plant Growth and Changes. So far we have learned the basic needs of plants: light, water, air and space. We also have learned what leaves and roots are used for. With this new season we have started to see changes within the environment outside. Our class has been enjoying mindful walks of getting fresh air, as well as using our senses to notice the new season.  In math we have been solving tricky number puzzles! They have also been working on division the past couple of days.  We finished the cards for Mrs. Paolini's family today. Everyone did such a great job and really thought of meaningful messages for them.  In Language Art we worked on reading comprehension. The reading piece was on different landforms. 

This morning they wrote about their Spring break! We then sat in a circle and shared a few special things we did. These writing pieces are in their backpacks to share with you!  In Math today we worked on showing fractions through equal pictures. They also completed division and multiplication equations.  Today they created Spring flowers using pastels. I will be laminating these for book marks. We have been asked by Mrs. Paolini's husband to create bright, beautiful cards for her celebration of life. We practiced the flowers today and will be completing the cards this week.  In Social Studies we learned about multiculturalism in Alberta. We broke down the word to really understand what multiculturalism meant and why it is so important within Canada. They answered the questions: What is multiculturalism? Why is Alberta a multicultural society? How can we make sure all cultures are respected and supported? Our spelling words will be the same as the week before Spring break...

 We had a busy day today! We even had a special visitor (Miss Kim!) teach us how to make an origami shamrock. Enjoy the pictures! 

Today in Social Studies we learned, drew and wrote about compasses. They each drew their own compass rose using a guided drawing. Ask your child how a compass works! In Science we did a very tricky cross word puzzle! We will continue to work on these tomorrow.  Tomorrow we will be doing the video of our poem. The link will then be put on our blog when the full school video is made.  Words this week: Red: fan, man, tan, can, pan Blue: search, word, courage, dice, graphing Green: musician, quietly, performance, winding, characteristic  3 days until Spring break! 

 We have kicked off our Jump Rope for Heart campaign at school.  If you are interested in supporting the Heart and Stroke Foundation go to,  www.jumpropeforheart.ca  to register and begin fundraising!

 Please remember to sign up for a parent teacher interview on Thursday or Friday. You can do this though your powerschool account. If you are having issues with this, please call the office and they can book you in.  In math we have been learning about representing one quarter, one half, three quarters, two thirds and one thirds. We have been using objects to show our understanding.  In Language Arts we have been working on comprehension and inferring.  Many students did their animal or country presentations today! Ask your child if they have gone. Some students had me show the class instead. 

 Today we worked on our country or animal poster. Many of them are doing such a great job and can't wait to show the class. Some students are being challenged to stay on task during this independent research time.  Please sign up a time for parent teacher interviews on Thursday or Friday. Each student shared one thing with me today that they would like me to tell you. :)  We are reading a classroom novel about windmills. A boy in Africa is trying to save his family from starvation by building his own windmill. We learned about how they create energy.  Spelling words Red: spring, bring, thing, sing, being Blue: senses, important, phrase, phone, photograph Green: fraudulent (thanks Emmanuel for the great word!), ecosystem, paraphrase, photographing, pyramid

We started off our morning by completing multiplication facts (double to dingle digit). They are really getting the hang of it!  We learned about fossils in Alberta! They answered these questions in their science books: 1.) Why are fossils found in Alberta? 2.) Where are most of the fossils found in Alberta? 3.) What is the name of Alberta's famous fossil museum?  Alberta is famous for dinosaur bones! This is a great conversation to have at home with your kids. A day trip to Tyrell Museum would be awesome too.  Have a great weekend! 

 We represented fractions through groups of painted dots. 

 Today we learned about photosynthesis and drew a diagram explaining this process. With looking at this picture, have your child describe photosynthesis to you.  In Science we also learned about plastic. What is made of plastic? Why do we use plastic? What are some of the negative and positive things about plastic? How is it made? We watched a "Mystery Doug" on the subject afterwards.  In the afternoon they started a mini research project. They were allowed to research any country or any animal. I am not sure they have ever been so quiet! They seemed to really enjoy finding facts and pictures on their topic. Tomorrow they will be given a poster paper to complete their project. Ask your child what they learned.  We had a practice lockdown today. Everyone did a great job.