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)

Milk Bags for Beds

I have asked parents to send in milk bags (the outer bag with the logo on it)
Like this one:
(By the way, this information below is from the Earl Beatty Library Blog! check it out!)

MILK BAGS FOR BEDS
Canadian Food For Children is making sleeping mats for children out of milk bags. The material used in milk bags resists mildew and bugs, is washable, and provides cushioning for children who sleep on the ground or on bug infested leaves. They prevent 75% of diseases from parasites and hookworms. It takes 250 to 400 milk bags to weave one mattress. They are shipped to Haiti and Africa.

We are looking for the outer milk bags only. The bag that says Neilson or Beatrice or whatever, that holds the 3 smaller bags. Currently, the City of Toronto does not recycle milk bags. Instead of going to the landfill, milk bags can be dropped off at the Earl Beatty Library.

For further information click here

The Pumpkin Patch

Although we didn't visit a pumpkin patch, the read about them and talked about them. We don't do a class trip this early in the year because some of the juniors are still learning our routines, and aren't quite ready yet.So we made our own pumpkin patch! It's flying in the air above our tables! If you look closely, you will see some bats flying up there too!We talked about how pumpkins come in many sizes and shapes, and how some are for Jack-o-lanterns and some are for eating.
We read books about the life cycle of the pumpkin too.
I learned new things too -- did you know that the reason the pumpkin is cut with a long stem is because it helps keep the pumpkin from getting moldy? So if you buy a pumpkin with no stem, it will get moldy much faster. You shouldn't carry your pumpkin by the stem either, because it might break off (and the whole pumpkin will rot faster)

October and math

I've talked alot about reading and writing on the blog -- but what about math? Our first (formal) exposure in the day to numbers is at the calendar. The helper of the day holds the pointer and points to the numbers and the whole class says the numbers. This helps us match the written number to the number that we say. It also helps the helper learn that we read the numbers from left to right, and then do a "return sweep" at the end of the line and go back to the left again. This month we have added a basic abab pattern to the pictures (leaf, apple, leaf, apple) The person who is chosen (by the helper) to put up the missing number (today's date) also has to choose the correct picture (apple number 6 or leaf number 6). I keep notes on who "gets it" and who needs a bit more practice.

We have been working on matching numbers with quantity in the math centre. We have begun to estimate and independently make patterns too!