Candy wrappers are Environmental Print

We made "candy books" with our wrappers after we counted and sorted them. Each student picked their favourite candy and then had to draw what came inside the wrapper. The write Their name and what they like! (I scribed for many of the Juniors). We love our books -- they are the first books that are taken off the shelf each day.

Environmental Print

Definition: Environmental Print is the print of everyday life: The symbols, signs, numbers, and colors found in McDonald's, Wal-Mart, Exxon, Pizza Hut, 7-Up, and on websites, for instance. They offer excellent entry points for young children to begin to learn to read, write, and do math.

Resources for environmental print are: Books, billboards, calendars, catalogs, comics, containers, coupons, flyers, greeting cards, grocery stores, journals, labels, magazines, menus, newspapers, office supply packaging, posters, recipes, road signs, snack bags, telephone books, and websites.

The reasons to use environmental print: It is everywhere and, because it is, it is a natural starting point to teach young children to read, write, and do math. Children have a concrete connection to everyday print. They "read" it within the context of their everyday experiences--their interests and backgrounds. It bridges the gap between the functional print of school and the print outside. It doesn't cost a lot of money to use.

(this information was from sharonmacdonald.com)

Candy Math

First we sorted. Then we talked about more and less. "Do you think that there are more salty snacks or chocolate snacks?" Then we estimated which group had the most. Then we counted each group. Chocolate won in both the morning and the afternoon! Sorting, understanding quantity and estimating are important math skills -- who knew that candy was so important?(Using the candy wrappers was a big hit, and really motivated the students too)(don't forget that you can click on any picture to look at it larger)

I'm wondering if the trick or treaters got mostly chocolate, or were our findings a bit skewed because they ate the chocolate first, so those were the wrappings that they brought in? Are there lots of those molasses taffy candies left at home still?
(we did another activity with the candy wrappers -- it will be on the blog later in the week)

Looking for something to do this weekend?

I'm passing along some information from the owner of Little Footprints -- who happens to have a child in our morning class...... and I am a big proponent of shopping locally and supporting stores that I have a connection to!

"The Children's Trunk Show is a shopping event featuring high-quality fashion, jewellery and art made by moms and geared exclusively towards kids and families. 50+ vendors are hand-selected to ensure a wide variety of goods—so you're sure to find unique and useful gifts for all the children in your life in one place. We're kid-friendly!"

Hours:

Friday November 6 9:30am-4:30pm

Saturday November 7 from 10 am -3pm

The Distillery
In the Fermenting Cellar
Buildings 6 & 7
55 Mill Street, Toronto
http://www.thedistillerydistrict.com/
http://www.fermentingcellar.ca/
Lots of parking available.

For more information click here

Our favourite (and local) planet-friendly kid's store, Little Footprints, will be there with a selection of their best Eco-Friendly toys and games for kids of all ages along with over 50 other wonderful businesses offering wonderful clothes, art and gear for kids and their families and some fabulous free indulgences too! Little Footprints will be bringing their Top 10 Eco Toys for The Season so come and get a head start of your gift list this year!

Tribes

Our school is on the Tribes path. You can read more about Tribes here: www.tribes.com/
We follow the 4 Tribes agreements in our class (and in the school)
1) Mutual Respect2) Attentive Listening3) The right to participate, and the right to "pass"
4) Appreciations only -- no put downs
We are learning how we can respect ourselves; each other; our own belongings; other people's belongings; our school; our outside environment, etc.

We have read the book The Golden Rule by Ilene Cooper
It is likely that the most basic everyday guideline for human behavior is to treat people as you would want to be treated if you were in the other's position. In the United States, this guideline has been known as the "Golden Rule" since the 1800s.

Many human troubles, conflicts and tragedies involve situations in which people could have acted according to the Golden Rule but, to their sorrow, they did not. Cultural examples of this in American history include the treatment of African-Americans, Native Americans, other minority groups, laborers and women. Most people can think of personal situations that would have been less stressful if the Golden Rule had been used. (from The Scarboro Missions website)