Healthy eating

We read a fun story today, about Albertine who will NOT eat Brussel sprouts at the start of the story… The story concludes with a fun recipe your child might like to try, Brussel sprout muffins! We will send a copy of the recipe home. Children notices what green fruits and vegetables they have in their lunch bags today.

Also, as part of our sciences and social studies unit on salmon, we read Mom, How Do You Make Smoked Fish? We are learning the significance of salmon as an indigenous food, and learning about different ways to eat salmon.

If your child was absent today, your child is encouraged to listen to the “Choux de Bruxelles” story.

Gym

We have been working on throwing and catching skills with balls and beanbags. Being active is also connected to our health!

Roots of Empathy

Baby Finley visited us on Friday for our pyjama day! We learned about why babies cry.

Math

We are continuing to measure in centimeters and in meters.

We are increasing our efficiency adding and subtracting, and applying mental math strategies to our computations.

French

Our focus this week is the sound eu in feu, as in the sound put.

We are reading fun stories about food, Indigenous legends and books in small groups with the teacher this week.

Children can silent read in the mornings for 12 minutes! Bravo!

Book Fair

We will be attending the book fair on Tuesday as a class. Parents may come with children before and after school on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

Remembrance Day – Jour de Souvenir

We will be painting poppies this week in art. On Friday, we will recognize Remembrance Day with a school assembly. There will be no school on Monday in order to honour this day.

Tuesdays and Thursdays this week and next week, treats will be on sale for 2$ each.

Wednesday is dress like your teacher day. Children can dress as any teacher, past or present. This is a spirit day to add a little fun to our school day!

What have we been learning?

Gym

• We have been using beanbags and balls to build throwing and catching skills.
• We have learned new outdoor games with Mme Stafford’s class.

Science

• We have learned about young salmon, tacons.

Social Studies

• We are learning about the Pieds-Noirs, the Blackfoot people.

Math

• We have been measuring in centimetres, and learning how to use a ruler.

French

• We are in the Hallowe’en spirit, with a focus on Hallowe’en words and stories.
• We have learned the sounds ain, ein and in sound the same.

Health

• We learned to appreciate the foods we eat during the autumn at harvest time.
• We are reading about where our food comes from.
• We wrote about foods we eat and like!
• In our nutrition unit, we will encourage children to eat a rainbow of fruits and vegetables, to include a variety of textures and to try new foods!

We are using a French bookmark to reinforce reading strategies. Our focus has been the first three strategies on the bookmark:

• Regarde et touche le mot. Look at ALL of the letters in a word, and follow under the letters with your finger.
• Trouve les parties du mot. Look for sounds we have learned in class such as é in bébé, in in lapin.
• Glisse les sons. Once a child has sounded out parts of word, slide the sounds together to say the whole word. See if it is a word that you know!

Here is what we have been up to in class lately!

Gym

• We have played whole class parachute games in the gym.
• We have played outdoor games on our own and weekly with Mme Stafford’s grade two class.

Science

• We have been learning about early stages of the salmon life cycle: oeuf (egg), and alevin (newly hatched fry).
• We have observed signs of autumn.

Social Studies

• We learned about Alberta this week, including its landscapes, animals and major communities.
• We will be beginning exploring BC’s wild nature with our next Show and Tell presentation theme!

French

• Our sound last week was oi as in oiseau. (like w-a)
• Our sound this week is in as in lapin. (like the e in red, but say it pinching your nose!)
• We are applying the rule that sentences begin with a capital and end with a “point,” punctuation.
• We have built our autumn vocabulary, including Thanksgiving words as well for those who celebrate.

Math

• We continue to use many strategies to add and subtract numbers.
• We have been measuring with our hands, feet, heights, and fingers! We are building our concept of standard units of measure, by introducing measuring with paperclips.
• We have also measured and weighed baby Finley in class as we had our first Roots of Empathy visit!

Art

• Today, we finished our fun “dindons”, our turkeys! They are displayed in the hall.
• We will be creating artwork later this month to contribute to our art card fundraiser, where a company makes items from your child’s art that you may choose whether or not you wish to purchase.

We used pastel, watercolour paint and our imaginations to create unique turkeys!

How to Support at Home

• When a worksheet comes home, with words that correspond to our sound of the week, have your child read the words to you at home! You can also make flashcards using those words if you would like to provide your child with extra practice.
• READ! Our home reading program is in place with incentives and praise to encourage lots of reading in French. Wednesday is the day every week when children should bring their “pochettes” to school. They can also exchange home reading books on other days.
• In math, adding and subtracting to 20 was in the grade 1 curriculum. If your child struggles in this area, you are encouraged to provide extra practice at home depending on you and your child’s style:
  • Play arcade style games on-line.
  • Do simple addition and subtraction questions on-line.
  • Buy dollar store flashcards at home and practice on recycled paper or on a mini-whiteboard.
  • Orally practice with your child in the car, waiting for an appointment, in line… the more practice, the better!
  • Practice doubles! Practice adding 1 to a number! Practice making 10! Practice subtracting from 10!
  • The resources tab of this blog has some links to various free math practice on-line.

We have been learning about Phyllis Webstad’s personal experience, as she was separated from her family to attend residential school. Her orange shirt was taken away. Now, she shares her story to support us in our journey towards Truth and Reconciliation. On Monday, there will be no school to recognize this day. So, Lloyd George will acknowledge Orange Shirt Day today. Children are encouraged to wear orange.

In class, we have been exploring feelings in September, and made a connection with how Phyllis was feeling when she was a girl. We have our work displayed in the hall on a collaborative bulletin board with some neighbouring classes, as together, we share our learning around Orange Shirt Day.

Home reading begins today!

This year, students will read in French at home, accumulating points that enable them to travel across Canada and beyond! In this way, we will be combining some of our social studies and science topics with our discussion in class of our home reading goals.

Students are encouraged to read daily, but you and your child together can choose how many times a week you wish to read. Read for approximately 15 minutes. For some children, this may mean reading a book. For others, it may mean reading a chapter in a short novel before the end of the year. For some, it may mean getting through part of a book. A kitchen timer and a bookmark can be your friends!

Once a week, on Wednesdays, students will choose 3 books. Rather than daily, books will be formally exchanged once a week. Children may also read library books, French books from home, or reread books more than once a week.

Each day your child reads at home, write the date and the title of the book on the tracking sheet. Then a parent signs beside the entry. I completed an example on the yellow log sheet in your child’s home reading “pochette.” The home reading folder does not need to come to school daily, but choose a safe place at home to keep it! On Wednesdays, we will count how many days your child read that week. One day reading at home = one point. With these points, your child will move across our Canada wall map.

If your child has chosen books that are too easy or too difficult, please write a note to me in the agenda, and I will help guide your child’s choices. Reading at home should be fun, not frustrating! Also, books should provide the opportunity to develop some new vocabulary, so books shouldn’t be too easy all the time either. To begin the year, I will put out my easier books for students.

In summary:

• Reading in French one day = one point
• Accumulate points to travel across Canada
• Write the book title on the Home Reading tracking sheet
• An adult signs beside the title on the date the book was read
• Have fun reading!

What are we learning this week?

Math

We are building on our math stories last week.

I had 4 blueberries. My friend gave me 3 blueberries. How many do I have altogether? 4+3=7.

We are exploring relationships in number families, and the relationship between addition and subtraction.

If your child counts one at a time when adding big numbers (9+7… 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16) help your child become more efficient. In the example below, we can start at 9 and count on. Using a rekenrek, we can see 5 red or white beads without counting them. We can slide 5 white beads to the right, then slide 4 more red ones to make 9. Then we can add another bead to make ten, then a lower bead to the right for a total of 11. 9+2=11.

We use beads on rekenreks to help us add and subtract.

French

Our sound this week is ez in nez. This makes the same sound as last week, the long a sound as in cake.

Your child can try to read some sentences from their sheet to you at home.

What have we been learning in grade two?

Math

• We can make 10 different ways by adding 2 numbers together.
• We work adding and subtracting in our workbook at our own pace.
• We can solve open-ended questions such as ? – ? = 5. (See photos)
• We reverse numbers sometimes (write them backwards) because we are learning, and look at examples of how to write them correctly. Our mathematical thinking is more important than writing numbers correctly.
• We can say numbers in French. (Encourage your child to sing along with the Alain le lait songs on the blog to be able to say numbers in French, with a focus on 1-20, then 1-100).
• We write in windows because of the research showing that it opens our thinking and increases our time on task.

A number – another number = 5. What might the numbers be?

Children who wish can explore big numbers with open questions!

Social Studies – Sciences Humaines / French

• We are learning about Canada.
• We are learning about Colombie-Britannique.
• In French, our focus this week is the sound é.
• We learned about Terry Fox.
  • Terry Fox was Métis. We learned some sentences in the Métis language, Michif.
  • Terry Fox inspires us to have perseverence. (Sheet went home)
  • Vocabulary about Terry Fox.
  • “Tout est possible si on essaie”- Everything is possible if we try. What is my dream? Children drew what they dream to do or be one day, and wrote and illustrated on a shoe.

Mon rêve

Gym

• We play tag games to work our heart and muscles.
• We play with students in our class and other grade two classes.
• We balance and stretch.
• We run or walk like Terry Fox.

Scholastic Book Club

• Next week, a Scholastic flyer will come home with our class code RC216572.
• If you wish to order French or English books delivered to your home, you can order on-line. There are many MORE books than appear in the flyer. By entering our class code, our class gets a credit that I can use to order items such as reading incentives for the class.

It’s the second week of school, and we’re already busy!

French

Each week we focus on saying, reading and writing a sound. This week’s sound is é as in bébé. It makes the long a sound as in cake. Your child brought home a worksheet today. Please have your child read the words to you. This should only take a minute! Praise your child for excellent reading:)

Verification Forms

Your child is also bringing home important forms from the office in the front agenda pocket. Please remove, review and sign the forms. Thank-you.

Terry Fox

Friday afternoon will be our Terry Fox fun! Children can wear Canada’s colours, red & white, or neon colours for our run.

We have a collection jar in the class for toonies for Terry, or you can donate on-line.

Criminal Record Checks

Parents/Guardians/Grandparents that are going on any field trip with students, are driving as volunteers or are coming to support with class special events must have a Criminal Record Check. All schools in our District transitioned to this practice last year. The link to the Criminal Record Check is the following: https://justice.gov.bc.ca/criminalrecordcheck. The access code is VHRR44PK8P.

September Calendar

Please note that some dates have changed since I sent home our September calendar. We will have an Arts Presentation on Thursday, Sept.19th, and our lockdown drill has been moved to Friday, Sept. 20th.

Also, the school will recognize Truth and Reconciliation day with an Orange Shirt Day on Friday, Sept.27th.

Reminders

• Library every Tuesday.
• Indoor shoes for school.
• Extra clothes in the locker, in a small labelled bag.

Our class is full of artists! Students used their imaginations to paint, draw, colour, cut and glue themselves dreaming and flying!

Show and Tell will begin on Monday. If your child’s name does not appear on the September calendar, your child will present in October.

Students will bring in an object for Show & Tell to share in French. Please have your child prepare in advance. See me in advance for help with any special vocabulary.

Topic this month:

Choose an object that represents a sport or activity that you like to do in your free time.

The object should be reasonably sized to fit into a mystery bag (shopping bag size). Students will play 20 questions to try and guess the activity. Then the presenter will tell us about what sport or activity they like to do and why in FRENCH.

Examples:

A sport you participate in. J’aime faire… J’aime jouer…

An art activity you love to do at home. Chez moi, j’aime…

A club that you are a part of. J’aime mon club parce que…

An outdoor activity that you love to do with your family. Avec ma famille, j’aime…parce que…

Special note: Many children love to play with toys in their free time! Please try and avoid your child bringing a toy to school for Show and Tell. Try and focus on an activity. For example if your child likes Lego, talk about building and constructing! If your child likes Barbies, talk about role playing and imagination games.