Thursday evening at 6:30 at St. Paul’s Church is our Easter Tenebrae. Very similar to Lessons and Carols at Christmas, we will be reading a short verse and singing a song. Could you write me a quick note in your child’s agenda to let me know if you will be attending the Tenebrae as we’re trying to have rough numbers.

Also, I will be there but I’m going to be a little bit late. It’s one of those nights where I have to get my daughter to 2 places and myself somewhere!

These inclement weather days foiled my plans for this week but I’m going to go ahead with my plan for tomorrow. We are having a HAIR DAY tomorrow. They can come with crazy hair, braided hair, messy hair, however they want to “style” their hair!

My goof on the date! I thought Thursday was the 24th!

Last week we began using our “Spaces”.  In 3 days, the kids have been incredibly engaged, excited and showing off their genius. Here are just some random pics.

The last couple of weeks have been quiet on my blog as I write report cards and revamp some things in the classroom. So I’m writing this with much excitement!

I don’t know how much the kids talk about our Math Stations but it’s basically a set of 10 stations that I have developed. Each station includes a task and a game. The idea is that we are covering all parts of the curriculum at all times and they’re practicing basic skills through the games. I then take small groups and teach lessons. We also do large group lessons when it fits. I won’t bore you with all the details.

If I could somehow figure out how to do this type of thing all day long, it would be amazing as the kids are engaged and learning. Well just over a week ago, I met someone who told me about Maker Space and my mind exploded with all the possibilities! On my professional blog, I wrote a little something about my process if you want to know more about this brain I have to live with! http://wewillrock2.blogspot.ca/2016/02/maker-space.html

Essentially, I’ve created 9 different maker spaces in our classroom and we’ve tested them out the last couple of days. The kids are being encouraged to contribute to the possibilities in each space so it’s a work in progress. They have been building simple machines, using geometric solids to create, exploring creation apps on the iPads, writing creative stories, publishing, and more. The language and the engagement is incredible!

At this point we have 3 iPads. I also have 2 old iPods from home. One that only has the ability to hold music and one that has camera and video capabilities. Already the kids have created some stuff that I will send links to you personally when I get a chance. I’m sitting here eating my breakfast as I quickly try to write this. If you happen to have an old device hanging around, aging in a drawer, with camera/video capabilities, we could actually put it to use. What I’ve done with mine is load the images and video to DropBox and then I can send you links so you can also see them.

ALSO…..If at ANYTIME you would like to come into our classroom and see what’s going on, I invite you to drop by. Our day basically goes in this order: Math Stations and Reading Activities until 11am. Maker Spaces between 11:40 & 1:20 and then at 2, the kids present their “stuff”. French, music, drama, dance is the last period of the day (2:40-3:20) with another teacher. Just give me a heads up so I can let the office know.

Have a fabulous weekend and thank you for blessing me with these incredible little people!

Here’s what the kids decided:

Boys: Wear either a Star Wars shirt or a black shirt.

Girls: Wear black tights and a dress.

Please remember it’s a $1 donation to children around the world less fortunate than ourselves.

This Wednesday, February 17th, is Twin Day, brought to us by our school’s We Day Group. A $1 donation is requested to help raise money for impoverished children in other countries.

We chatted about it last week and about the whole class dressing up in the same colours or all the boys doing one thing and all the girls doing another. I don’t want anyone to be left out or feel they don’t have anyone to twin with. We didn’t actually come up with an idea so we will tomorrow and I’ll let you know, or they’ll write it in their agenda.

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

This blog  post is brought to you by Taylor.

First we drew the head. Then we drew the body. Last we drew the mitten. Then we painted the person. After we made snowflakes with a white crayon. Then we painted over the snowflake. We waited for it to dry and finally we glued it on the page.

Since we’ve come back from Christmas holidays, the children have been attempting to work more independently on activities, either by themselves or with a partner. When they have an activity completed, they have the option of presenting it to the class.

They’ve done puppet shows, role playing, reading aloud and learning new apps. Funny how instantly shy they become when presenting to their peers. It’s great for building their self confidence and another way of assessing them. Here are a couple of photos and videos for you to enjoy.

Chart paper stories are becoming very popular. They enjoy writing together and will have the option of publishing these into books later if they would like to.

The following video links use an app I taught them called Telegami where they can create a “Gami” and then voice it. They had to recite the Act of Contrition as practice for the First Reconciliation.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/zru9ieqh20pq4vk/2016-01-26%2012.44.31.m4v?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/z5sjpakyorolzdf/2016-01-26%2012.15.35.m4v?dl=0

I have to tell you that they are each becoming more and more tech savvy. They are independently turning on the projector and air playing from the iPads and they are beginning to use various apps. It’s so cool to sit back and watch them in action!

I taught the kids a new card game this week which is turning into a favourite! For our Math Stations this month, it is one of the games they play once they are finished their task. It’s called Race to 27 and I thought I’d share it with you because it’s a fun game to play and enhance adding skills at the same time!

Race to 27

This game has players adding cards until they reach 27.

2 – 4 players

Deal out all of the cards to the players.

Players put their cards into a pile in front of themselves with cards face down.

The first player turns over their top card and places it in the center.

The next player turns over their top card placing it on top of the first card. This player adds the value of the two cards and tells everyone the total.

The next player does the same adding the value of their card to the previous total.

Play continues until the total reaches 27 or over. The player who puts down the card that takes the total to 27 or over takes all of the cards in this pile and sets them aside in a separate pile.

Play continues until there are no cards left.

The winner is the person with the most cards.

For a more advanced version you can play Race to 50 or Race to 100.