Where is spring????

Where is spring?  It has to be around here somewhere.  Yesterday, we began planning for when the weather turns warmer, and wrote about what we would do on the first day of spring.  Unfortunately, the long bike ride along the beach that I have planned is going to have wait for awhile.  Spring has to come eventually, doesn't it?

Today, we worked on parts of speech, focusing on nouns and verbs.  We used this skill to help create some Mad Libs.  Here is the site we worked on:\
Nouns and Verbs
If you're unfamiliar with Mad Libs, they are a blast.  Please visit this site to try your own:
Mad Libs
 
Please remember that tomorrow is the last Zumba day for this year.  

Have a good night!

Tomorrow (Thurs.) is our character ed. assembly, we hope to see you there.  Also,  its Crazy Socks day.  Wear your best and your brightest.

Have a good night!

Report cards today, Zumba Tonight

Please remember that tonight (Fri. Feb 20th) at 6pm is Zumba night where our school community is invited to come in and dance the evening away.  We hope to see you!

In math, our unit on operations (+, -, /, x) is well underway.  Here is our warm up game today:
Ghost Blasters III
For a change of pace on Friday, we also used the pentominoes.  If you are unfamiliar, check out this game.  Warning, it is addictive!
Pentominoes

 In literacy, here is a fun game to practice finding antonyms (opposites).  Who wouldn't want to play a game called FURIOUS FROGS?

Report cards go home today.  Please contact me here at the school if you have any questions or you wish to set up a conference.  Have a good weekend!
 

A big thank you!

A big thank you to M. Cannon and parent council for the Carnaval they organized yesterday.  Students from grades 3-8 had a great day, and the weather was just right.  

Remember that tomorrow night (Fri.) at 6pm, PIne River is having parent Zumba night.  Come see what your child has been up to on Fridays in February!  Report cards go home as well.

In math, we continue to explore addition of two and three digit numbers, using base ten blocks to help.  Here are a couple of fun sites to follow up on:
Tackle Math

Math Dodgeball

Have a good night!

Carnaval tomorrow!

Hopefully everyone had a good long weekend.  After the cold that we had, It may take a few days to thaw out.  Tomorrow, M. Cannon and parent council have organized a Carnaval for grades 3-8.  Students will be doing indoor and outdoor activities, so remember to wear warm clothes.  It is supposed to be warmer than the weekend, but still well into the minus double-digits. 


Today in math, we started our unit on Number Sense, revolving around the operations (+, -, /, x). We started using base ten blocks to add 2 and 3-digit numbers today, and will be back to it either tomorrow or the next day.  This is a website we used today, one that we've visited before:

Molly and the Pyramid

Don't forget that report cards go home on Friday the 20th.  Friday @ 6pm is also our Zumba Family Night. 

Have a good night!

Wigglebottom!!

With our dance-a-thon today, I couldn't think of a better title for today's post.  Howard B. Wigglebottom is a picture book character that my own children are very fond of.  His books talk about how to deal with some of the problems that kids have while they are growing up.  They are a great character education resource.  The link below will take you to the site, and while the online story books are fantastic, there is a lot more to see.  The songs are very catchy and free to download.  As well, there are games, colouring sheets, and more.  The polar vortex is back, so take some time to have a look!  
Howard B. Wigglebottom

Today in math, we built nets of 3-D shapes.  Tomorrow (Friday) we are having an assessment and getting ready to move on to our next topic.  Students can use the websites I have posted over the past couple of weeks to review.  Under the Sea is a great site for math practice.  Click the link below, input a good fishy name, and on the right hand side of the screen you will see "3-D Objects and 2D shapes".  Send your fish to that, then go to the 3-D section.  .   
Under the Sea


Tomorrow is Zumba, Red and White Day, and don't forget that Monday is Family Day. 

Have a good  night!

3-D Wednesday

Today we continued to work on 3-D shapes.  This unit is coming to an end in the next couple of days, and we will be moving on to a unit on Number Sense involving adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing.  Here is another review on 3-D shapes.  
3-D Shapes

Remember that tomorrow is Dance-A-Thon, so wear something that you can dance in.  On Friday we have Zumba, and it is also Red and White Day.  Valentine's Day is coming!
Valentine's Word Search

Have a good night!

Nice to See the Sun Shine

The sun is shining, and we get a short break from the cold weather before we dive back into the frigid temperatures.  Enjoy it while you can.

Today in language we worked on using the jot notes we took on an animal the other day to create a paragraph.  We worked on an example today, which I have sent to the Edmodo group.  If your child is in my Edmodo group, look for the example, and the jot notes/paragraph that they wrote today. 

In math, we were using the properties of symmetry to sort 2-D shapes into categories.  We also started talking about 3-D shapes, and the difference between prisms and pyramids.  Please see the quiz on symmetry and 2-D shapes, and the short lesson and quiz on pyramids and prisms.

Prisms and Pyramids

Sorting 2-D Shapes Quiz

Remember, tomorrow is Custodian Appreciation Day, so wear navy and grey, and get your dancing shoes ready for the Dance-a-Thon on Thursday.  Have a good night!

Monday already???

Yes, it came.  Monday is here, so on with the show.  Usually on Mondays we do, "Tell Me Something I Don't Know".  This is a chance for students to share a big event from their life that happened, or is coming up.  On weekends, try asking your child what they will be talking about on Monday. 

Today, we worked on symmetry in math class.  These sites will give students a quick review:
Symmetry and 2-D shapes
Symmetry
 
Try this QUIZ.

Here is a neat site from PBS kids to follow-up 
The Symmetrizer

Upcoming special days and events:

•  Wednesday is Custodian Appreciation Day, students are asked to wear navy and grey.
• Thursday is the school Dance-A-Thon.
• Friday is our Zumba class, as well as Red and White day.

And, some other dates to keep in mind are:

Feb 16 – Family Day

Feb 18 – Carnaval – Grade 3 – 8

Feb 20 – Report cards go home

Feb 20 – ZUMBA Day

Feb 20 – ZUMBA Family night @ 6:00 pm

Feb 26 – Character Education assembly

Feb 26 - CRAZY Socks Day

Feb 27 – ZUMBA

Have a good night!

Super Fun Friday!

Even though the temperature is going up, the snow keeps coming down.  Looks like another fresh blanket of the white stuff is coming our way.  Hopefully, you can get outside to make the real thing, but if not, you can build a snowman here.  Drive safe this weekend.

Here is a head start on Valentine's Day, with a crossword you can print out or do online. Valentines Day Crossword
  
Monday is the 100th day of school, but we got into the spirit today.  Here is a site to help you celebrate:
One Hundred Snowballs

The students started Zumba today, and do so every Friday for the month of February.

Have a good weekend!

Middle of the week!

Nice to see the sun shine today, a little vitamin D goes a long way.  

Today in math we used geoboards to make shapes from 3-8 sides.  Here is a site to practice at home:
Virtual Geoboard

Some students were using pattern blocks to make animals or objects, such as a lamp.  You can try this here:
Pattern Blocks

Some students are working on taking research notes on animals.  Here are some sites we visited to do our research:
 National Geographic

Science Kids 

Here are a few more fun shape games

Shape Construction

Shape Bingo

Shape Match


Remember, tomorrow is the first day of Zumba!  Students from K-8 will take part on each Friday in February.

Have a good night!

Speech competition today!

Today, the school held our annual speech competition for grades 4-8.  Congratulations to all the students who participated.  
 
We followed up Groundhog Day yesterday with an article from National Geographic.  You can check it out here:
National Geographic - Groundhogs
You can actually hear what a groundhog sounds like!

One of the students asked me to put this link on the blog.  It is a site we go to fairly often and has activities that correspond to many of the math strands we study:
Under the Sea!

We are hoping to participate in the Valentine's for Vets program.  For more info, please go to 
Valentine's For Vets

Here is a fun typing program that can help improve keyboarding skills.  Who wouldn't want to type with a goat?  
Dance Mat Typing
 
Have a good night!

Groundhog Day!

On this snowy, blowy day, it is hard to think about spring coming.  Turns out, our groundhog friends agree.  Check this out: CBC News - Groundhog Day  This activity is for the younger set, but it is fun: Groundhog Day

Curriculum Corner
In math, we have been working on shapes lately.  Here is a site some of the students have been using: BBC Shape Lab.

In Language, we are working on reports, and focusing on non-fiction texts.  This is a game to help with proofreading: Proofread! 

In the News!
Tomorrow (Tues. Feb. 3rd) at 9am the Speech competition takes place.
On Friday, Zumba starts for grades K-8, and takes place every Friday for the month of February..

Hope you found this first post useful, and that you'll check back later.