Math Monday - Number Sense and Numeracy

Remember:
Numbers are used to describe quantities, to count, and to add, subtract, multiply, and divide. Understanding numbers and knowing how to combine them to solve problems helps us in all areas of math.

To try at home:
Practise "skip counting". Together, count by 2's and 5's. Ask your child how far he or she can count by 10's. Roll two dice, one to determine a starting number and the other to determine the counting interval. Ask your child to try counting backwards from 10, 20, or even 100.

Math Monday - Number Sense and Numeracy

Remember:
Numbers are used to describe quantities, to count, and to add, subtract, multiply, and divide. Understanding numbers and knowing how to combine them to solve problems helps us in all areas of math.

To try at home:
Ask your child to help you solve everyday number problems. "We need six tomatoes to make our sauce for dinner, and we have only two. How many more do we need to buy?" "You have two pillows in your room and your sister has two pillows in her room. How many pillowcases do I need to wash?" "Two guests are coming to eat dinner with us. How many plates will we need?"

Mr. HoHo

If you are a parent of a child in Room 15, you may have heard of Mr. HoHo. He is helping us count down the days until Winter Vacation.
He started out having a very long beard. Each day his beard gets a bit shorter :)

Word Wall

These are the words that we have up so far on our Word Wall. These words will remain up on the wall for the rest of the year. These are words that we are practising and, hopefully, all of the Grade 2's will know them all by the end of the year, and the Grade 1's will know most. We also have a math word wall.


We also have a word wall that changes with the seasons, celebrations or science units that we are studying.

In our writing, all of the words that are on the word wall should be spelled correctly. It is a necessary writing strategy to look at the word wall (this is an early form of dictionary). Please remind your child that it is not cheating to copy a word if they can easily look at it or find it in a familiar book!
Here is part of our current Holiday Word Wall (the Hanukah words are off camera)


The students came up with the words as a group, then individually illustrated each word.

Dear Mayor Ford

As you may have heard, our Community Centre (which is attached to our school) is on the list of those that might be closing. The students were very sad to hear this, so we wrote letters to the mayor to ask him to reconsider. The letters were passed on to the Mayor, along with many other letters from Students at our school. Here are some of the letters:



(clarification of the bottom 2 lines, above: "I want to play mixed up sports".)



"Dear
Mayor Ford
Please don't close the
community centre....
Because I have karate
after Christmas."

Homemade Gingerbread

Words of the Week
Grade 1
men
ten
den
hen
pen
bonus word: make

Grade 2
make
take
bake
cake
lake
bonus word: cookie

Math Monday - Number Sense and Numeracy

Remember:
Numbers are used to describe quantities, to count, and to add, subtract, multiply, and divide. Understanding numbers and knowing how to combine them to solve problems helps us in all areas of math.

To try at home:
Discover the many ways in which numbers are used inside and outside your home. Take your child on a "number hunt" in your home or neighbourhood. Point out how numbers are used on the television set, the microwave, and the telephone. Spot numbers in books and newspapers. Look for numbers on signs in your neighbourhood. Encourage your child to tell you whenever he or she discovers a new way in which numbers are used.

Skip Count Song (Poem of the Week)

We are learning to skip count!
We are counting by 2's, 5's and 10's

This song is sung to the tune of Skip to My Lou.


We've been using 100's charts to help us count.
You can practice with an interactive 100's Chart here.

Words of the Week

Grade 1
an
can
ran
man
fan
bonus word: skip

Grade 2
ski
skip
skirt
skin
skate
bonus word: song

Math Monday - Number Sense and Numeracy

Remember:

Numbers are used to describe quantities, to count, and to add, subtract, multiply, and divide. Understanding numbers and knowing how to combine them to solve problems helps us in all areas of math.

To try at home:
Sing counting songs and read counting books. Every culture has counting songs, such as "One, Two, Buckle My Shoe" and "Ten Little Monkeys", which make learning to count – both forwards and backwards – fun for children. Counting books also capture children's imagination, by using pictures of interesting things to count and to add.

Blue Sky Morning

We are hoping to see some bright clear skies for this poem!

Blue Sky Morning

It’s a blue sky morning

With a wind that’s blowing fair.

It’s a leaf blowing morning.

There are dry leaves in the air.

It’s a gold sky morning

With a sun that’s blazing bright.

It’s an eye blinking morning.

There’s a blaring brilliant light.

Words of the Week

Grade 1
sun
run
fun
bun
pun
bonus word: sky

Grade 2
my
fly
sky
cry
try
bonus word: morning

Math Monday - Number Sense and Numeracy

Numbers are used to describe quantities, to count, and to add, subtract, multiply, and divide. Understanding numbers and knowing how to combine them to solve problems helps us in all areas of math.

To try at home:

Count everything! Count toys, kitchen utensils, and items of clothing as they come out of the dryer. Help your child count by pointing to and moving the objects as you say each number out loud. Count forwards and backwards from different starting places. Use household items to practise adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing.

Primary Colours

We have been learning about colours.

First we talked about primary colours.

Red


Blue


and
Yellow



The next day we mixed the primary colours. More on that in the next post!

Measuring

We have been measuring around objects. We used string to compare some lengths.
From the left to right:
table; rug; book; mug; wrist

We also compared the measurements of our heads. All of our heads were the same measurement! This was so surprising to everyone that the smallest person in the class had the same head size as the largest!

The exception was Ms. Brown. Ms. Brown's head is 3 (of Ms. Brown's) finger widths larger than the student's heads!

Ordering

We put the 12 months in order. Some students found this very easy, some found it very difficult -- even though they could all sing the song to me!

(I just noticed that someone missed July :)
I have some detective work to do tomorrow....

Everyone remembered this one too:

"Glue, glue, a little dot will do."

That is SO important!

Twelve months in the year

Our poem this week helps us remember the months of the year. When we sing this song, each person has to stand up when we sing the month that they are born in. It's really fun when we speed it up! (We sing it to the tune of "Michael Finnegan" or the "One little, two little" song).


Months of the Year

January
February
March
and April
May
June
July
and August
September
October
November
and December
There are twelve months in the year!


Words of the Week

Grade 1
and
hand
land
band
sand
bonus word: one

Grade 2
one
two
three
four
five
bonus word: twelve

O Canada

This week we are working on learning the words to our national anthem! We will also be discussing the meanings of the words.


O Canada

O Canada!

Our home and native land!
True patriot love in all thy sons command.

With glowing hearts we see the rise.
The True North strong and free!

From far and wide,
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

God keep our land glorious and free!
O Canada we stand on guard for thee.

O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

Words of the Week

Grade 1
in
pin
win
tin
bin
bonus word: Canada

Grade 2
free
tree
three
see
bee
bonus word: Canada

Math Monday - Measurement

Remember:
We use measurements to determine the height, length, and width of objects, as well as the area they cover, the volume they hold, and other characteristics. We measure time and money. Developing the ability to estimate and to measure accurately takes time and practice.

To try at home:

Estimate everything!

Estimate the number of steps from your front door to the edge of your yard, then walk with your child to find out how many there really are, counting steps as you go. Estimate how many bags of milk your family will need for the week. At the end of the week, count up the number of bags you actually used. Estimate the time needed for a trip. If the trip is expected to take 25 minutes, when do you have to leave? Have your child count the number of stars he or she can draw in a minute. Ask if the total is more or less than your child thought it would be.

Keep a record of the daily temperature outside and of your child's outdoor activities. After a few weeks, ask your child to look at the record and see how the temperature affected his or her activities.

The Snow Queen

This week we went on our first real class trip. We took the school bus to the Markham Theatre to see a production of The Snow Queen.


Here is the synopsis:

Kai's heart has been pricked by mirror shards that have fallen from the hands of devilish trolls. His heart is frozen and he is abducted and taken to the palace of the Snow Queen where he is held captive. But Gerda's epic journey to find Kai takes her to the snowy wilds of Lapland and finally to her lost friend to see if she can warm his heart again.

(this wasn't the exact cast that we saw)

Ask your child what his/ her favourite part was. Many of them told me that they liked the singing flowers. They were loud and annoying! (They were supposed to be loud and annoying). At this age they seem to really like loud surprises and slapstick humour :)

All of the children in Room 15 were really well behaved on the school bus and in the theatre. Pats on the back for them all!

Poppy

This week we are discussing Remembrance Day.


We are talking about remembering people who aren't with us any more, and remembering the people who fought to keep us safe and free.

We are talking about what peace means and why peace is important.

Let us hope that these (and all) children will always live in peace....

Poppy

Poppy we are but children small,

We are too little to do it all.

Children you may do your part,

Loving each other is how you start.

Play without fighting,

Share your games and toys.

Be kind and thoughtful,

To all girls and boys.

Words of the Week

Grade 1
we
be
me
he
she

bonus word: you

Grade 2
girls
boys
toys
you
your

bonus word: children

Math Monday - Measurement

We use measurements to determine the height, length, and width of objects, as well as the area they cover, the volume they hold, and other characteristics. We measure time and money. Developing the ability to estimate and to measure accurately takes time and practice.


To try at home:

Measure items found around the house. Have your child find objects that are longer or shorter than a shoe or a string, etc. Together, use a shoe to measure the length of a floor mat. Fill different containers with sand in a sandbox or with water in the bath, and see which containers hold more and which hold less.

Compare and organize household items. Take cereal boxes or cans of vegetables from the cupboard and have your child line them up from tallest to shortest.

Days of the Week

This week, our poem is one that we already know very well orally. It is "Days of the Week" sung to the tune of "The Adams Family" We're working on remembering the order of the days of the week. They are a cycle -- a pattern.


Words of the Week
(when your child is doing any writing at home this week, please encourage him or her to use the words of the week! They can also try to find the words in the newspaper or in a magazine. If you would like me to send a newspaper section home with them, please ask me, I have lots!)

Grade 1
day
way
pay
say
may
bonus word: Friday

Grade 2
the
there
then
that
them
bonus word: Wednesday

Happy Halloween!

We had lots of fun today. We paraded around the neighbourhood, carved a pumpkin and painted and decorated some paper pumpkins. Tomorrow we'll do some follow up math and writing activities while it is still fresh in our minds.

First we painted:


Then we cut:


and placed:


and glued:



BOO! We're finished!

Math Monday - Patterning

Remember:

We find patterns in nature, art, music, and literature. We also find them in numbers. Patterns are at the very heart of math. The ability to recognize patterns helps us to make predictions based on our observations. Understanding patterns helps prepare children for the study of algebra in later grades.

To try at home:

• Explore patterns created by numbers. Write the numbers from 1 to 100 in rows of 10 (1 to 10 in the first row, 11 to 20 in the second row, and so on) (These need to be in an even grid -- this is called a "hundreds chart"). Note the patterns that you see when you look up and down, across, or diagonally. Pick out all the numbers that contain a 2 or a 7. What is the pattern?

Divali

On October 26, the Hindu celebration of Diwali (Divali) begins. We are very lucky to have had a parent come in and tell up about Diwali and also give us diyas (small lamps, or candle holders) to decorate. She also decorated our hands with henna. Thanks you so much for coming in and teaching us B! And Happy Diwali!

Diwali lasts for 5 days.

These are the diyas that we decorated. Some of us were VERY patient when painting our tiny lamps. Some of us learned that if you mixed purple, blue and orange, then you get brown. That was okay, because we had paper towels to wipe off the paint and start again (if we wanted).

October Magic

We talked about what is real and what isn't. We talked about our imaginations. We talked about what is scary. Do we like to be scared? (No, they all said, No). Then why do we like Halloween? (Candy, they all said. Candy). Then they started changing their minds. They did like the scary things. And they do know that it is all pretend....

Grade 1 Words of the Week
had
sad
dad
bad
mad
bonus word: pumpkin

Grade 2 Words of the Week
saw
paw
raw
jaw
law
bonus word: Halloween (it needs to start with a capital H)

*** last week the ou word family tripped up all of the Grade 2s -- we'll be practicing the ou words a more throughout the year. That is the point of practicing Words every week -- so I can see who needs help individually, or to determine if I have chosen words that are too difficult.

Math Monday - Patterning

Remember:

We find patterns in nature, art, music, and literature. We also find them in numbers. Patterns are at the very heart of math. The ability to recognize patterns helps us to make predictions based on our observations. Understanding patterns helps prepare children for the study of algebra in later grades.

To try at home:

• Use household items to create and extend patterns. Lay down a row of spoons pointing in different directions in a particular pattern (up, up, down, up, up, down) and ask your child to extend the pattern.

Inspire by example

If you want to teach your children, don't preach, inspire through example.

Ms. Brown takes classes too. Sometimes they are classes about teaching. Sometimes they are about computers and report cards.

Sometimes they are classes about art


Sometimes they are classes about social media and blogging.

When I take classes -- especially art classes, I bring my results into the classroom to show the children. They especially like my notebooks and all of the writing in them ("you wrote all of this Ms. Brown? Really truly?")

I also show them the books that I am reading to myself.
The conversations often go like this:
Student: "What are you reading today?
Me: "This book -- can you read the title?"(I show them the book)
The next day
Student: "What are you reading today?
Me: "The same book." (I show them, and I show them my bookmark).
Student: "It takes you a really long time to read a book."
Me: "Long Books take a long time -- a whole week, or sometimes more!"
Student: "Wow" (they look totally in awe)
Me: "You will read books this long some day"
Student :"I don't like books without pictures"
Me: "You will, someday"