National Day for Truth and Reconciliation - Orange Shirt Day

We read the book Shi Shi Etko

Knowing she will go to residential school soon, Shi Shi Etko takes the time to appreciate and love the land that is her home.

Maybe you could take a walk in the beautiful sunshine this weekend and appreciate the trees, animals and leaves of home.

The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation has some wonderful resources you can use to continue the conversation at home. https://nctr.ca/education/

As we wrap up September we prepared our package of monarch butterflies to send to a partner school in Mexico. This is part of the Symbolic Migration Project

We each created a life sized butterfly to send to kids in Mexico. They will send some back in the spring when the butterflies are on their way back to Canada!

We each made a fingerprint monarch to send to Mexico. I will put them in the mail this weekend.

Hola desde Canada!

 Terry Fox Run!

We had a great time running for Terry!

We ran (and walked) the circuit around the field for 20 minutes!

The grade eights helped us put on Terry Fox temporary tattoos!

Our school surpassed our fundraising goal! As a thank you we got freezies. It was really cold outside and the freezies were really big - so you will notice the freezies went home in backpacks perhaps for a warmer day.

 Take-a-Trip Tuesday!

We want to continue to find out more about where Cupcake and Magical are headed. We took a trip to Mexico.

Still learning about Mm. We played move the marble. 

They have lots of beaches in Mexico! We are working on sorting seashells.

We read Dear Primo again today - because its always good to read books more than once! We are building Charlie's house and Carlito's house.

Mindful Monday!

Today we learned about "Five Finger Breathing". 

thecalmcorner.com

To start "Mm" week we read the book Dear Primo

In this book we meet Charlie and Carlitos. They are cousins who write letters to each other. Through these letters we learn about where they live. Carlitos lives in Mexico. We are learning about Mexico because that is where Magical the Monarch is flying to right now!

Aurora Heights Open House - This Wednesday!

I look forward to meeting many of you at our school open house this Wednesday from 5:00 - 6:00

 Thankful Thursday!

Today we started a year-long gratitude practice called Thankful Thursday. According to the Dr. Robert Emmons (a scientific researcher in gratitude), people who regularly engage in gratitude experience health benefits such as; better sleep, less feelings of stress and better coping techniques when faced with stressful situations. 

First we brainstormed some ideas of things we are thankful for.

Then we started our journals.

Next Wednesday (28th) is our school Terry Fox Run. Below is a link if you wish to and are able to support our school fundraising efforts.

https://schools.terryfox.ca/15935

 Today was the last day of summer, so for Wondering Wednesday we were wondering... What is your favourite season?

We wrote our names on a sticky note and voted for our favourite season. Which season has the most votes? Which has the least?

Continuing "Cc" week we read The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

Can you creep like a caterpillar?

We practiced today!

 Take a Trip Tuesday!

Today we took a trip to Mexico - to see where Cupcake and Magical are headed.

Throughout the week we are working together in small groups to piece together the monarch lifecycle.

Success!

Our letter of the week this week is Cc.

Can you make a "C" with your body?

What can you find around your home that starts with the letter C?

 Mindful Monday

With all of the excitement of our monarchs last Monday I forgot to tell you about Mindful Monday. We are learning different ways that we can help ourselves if we are feeling sad, frustrated, angry or upset.

Last week we learned about a Rainbow Breath. Can you show your family at home how to do a Rainbow Breath?

Today we learned about a Cupcake Breath. Can you show your family at home how to do a cupcake breath?

We wrapped up "Bb" week with some fun activities.

We LOVE writing on the white board.

Can you get the beanbag in the bucket???

B is for Butterfly.

I wonder where Cupcake and Magical are now?

We are also working on our knowledge of the numbers from 1-10. Today was #3 (we did 1&2 earlier in the week). How many different ways can you show the #3?

A special thank you to Hannah. In celebration of her birthday, she brought a gift for each of our class members. A fun mask!

Happy Birthday Hannah and Thank you!

 Wondering Wednesday!

We talked about what we already know about monarch butterflies. 

We asked questions about what we are still wondering. 

You can inspire curiosity at home through the encouragement to ask questions. Remember - we as adults don't always need to know the answer. 

B is for Butterfly!

Our letter of the week is the letter Bb

We used string to practice writing the letter Bb

What can you find around the house that starts with the letter B?

Butterfly Math!

Roll the dice and give your butterfly that number of button spots.

We made caterpillars with beads. Our caterpillars have a pattern. Can you spot the pattern?

You should find caterpillars crawling their way home in backpacks throughout the week.

 What a beautiful day to fly to Mexico! 

Today we said farewell and safe travels to our dear Cupcake and Magical.

The weather was perfect - sunny and warm!

They were ready to fly right away!

Safe travels!

Send us a postcard!

Then we celebrated at the playground. 

First time on the monkey bars!

 Great excitement over the weekend!!!

One of the monarchs came out on Saturday...

and the other came out on Sunday!

I sure wish this had happened at school, but nature doesn't operate only within school hours.

Our first job today was to name them. We have a boy and a girl.

We brainstormed some ideas and then each of us voted. This gave us a great opportunity to practice our tally marks!

The winning names are: Cupcake and Magical!

I love these names.

Since it is raining today, we cannot let Cupcake and Magical go, so after school I fed them.

Can you see the proboscis? It is the straw tongue that they eat with.

As soon as we have a sunny day, we will let them get off on their way to Mexico!

 We made it to Friday!

Continuing our learning about monarch butterflies, we read "I'm a Caterpillar"

And we are learning about the life cycle of a monarch.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

 Another great day in our first week of kindergarten!

We read the story "Welcome to Kindergarten" and we saw that our classroom had many of the same things as in the classroom in the book. We found our science table, our reading center, our art supplies and more!

We have two special guests in our classroom for a little while...

Monarch butterflies!

So we read the story "Gotta Go, Gotta Go" to start learning all about monarch butterflies

.

Can you finish the sentence:

"Gotta go, gotta go, gotta go to_______!"

Where are the monarchs headed?

Here are some other fun and exciting activities from today:

Bubble fun!

Building fun!

More independent learning about monarchs