Read to Self

We can read for 20 minutes without stopping! We have great stamina!

 

 

 

Mrs. Ashley Daley-Creamer

September Math Games

In Math we play a lot of Math games as warm-up activities or to help us learn a new concept. This week the Grade 1 students played a matching game with numbers and number words. I wanted them to practise reading number words. This was a warm-up activity for Gr. 1 before we got into the "meatier" math. The Grade 2 students played the "Guess the Core" game. One player was the "teacher" and one player was the "student". The teacher made a pattern. They needed 3-4 elements in their core. The student had to guess the core, then roll a dice and extend the pattern 1-6 elements (depending on the number they rolled). Here are a few pictures of the kids in action!

No peeking! The kids were not allowed to watch "the teacher" build the pattern.

A Gr. 1 kiddo sorting her cards before playing the matching game. She knows she needs to be organised to play!

Mrs. Ashley Daley-Creamer

Today's Math-Patterns

Both the Gr.1's and 2's are working on a unit on patterns. The kids are learning the words pattern, repeat and core (the part of the pattern that repeats). Grade 2 are going one step further and learning about attributes (colour, size,shape and orientation) and elements (the parts) of patterns. Below are journal entries from both grades. The Gr. 1 kids had to make a pattern, label it (tell me if it is AB or and ABC etc. pattern) and tell me the core (they did this part orally so you won't see it on their pictures). The Gr.2 kids wrote about their patterns. Below are a few examples done in class today.

By Hazen

By Brooke

By Maddie

By Kiona

By Simon

Mrs. Ashley Daley Creamer

Words of the Week Chants

Our kiddos can't be expected to sit down and learn all day-they need to get up and move! During our word work time the kids not only write our words of the week but they also use their bodies to remember/spell our words. Below please find a video of our grade 2's chanting the words of the week to our cheerleader chant. We use many chants/actions-soccer, mouse/bear, tennis and hockey just to name a few more.

I cut the first kiddo off a bit! Oops!

Mrs. Ashley Daley Creamer

Watercolour ABC 123

Our kiddos have been using watercolour paints (thanks to our new Art Room at FES) to create beautiful works of art. I love starting the year with this project as it is simple and a great way for the kids to practise holding a paintbrush properly. Check out our work below! 

Mrs. Ashley Daley Creamer

Picture Day

As was announced in our September newsletter and weekly homework sheet-TODAY WAS PICTURE DAY!

 

 

I just received the proofs and the kids look great!

Mrs. Ashley Daley-Creamer

Setting Goals

A new year calls for a new set of goals. At the beginning of the year I like to have students write about what they hope to accomplish while we are together. I had quite a few students tell me they wanted to get better at Math, learn new songs in Music etc. Below I've posted two goal sheets from our class so you can see what some of our kiddos are hoping to work on. I would have posted the goals of our entire class but my smart phone isn't being so smart today! Be sure to ask your child what they hope to get better at!

Love the money bit-we will definitely be touching on that in Gr.2!



Unfortunately I cut off the last two goals-#2-Be better at writing long sentences. #3-I want to learn how to tie my shoes.
Check out my shoe tying technique that I like to teach the kids-http://youtu.be/eoH0P8JKy90

 Mrs. Ashley Daley-Creamer

Vowels!

Today in Gr. 1 we were talking about vowels. First of  all let me just say- that Ms. Shuttleworth is very creative! Almost all of our Gr.1's were in Ms. Shuttleworth's kindergarten class and they learnt a song about vowels when they were with her! I want to say it is almost like the song in the link below but I couldn't find an exact version. 

http://youtu.be/aqizfmO_D_A

I am not as musical as Ms. Shuttleworth (although I wish I was) so I showed them a little trick that I learnt in order to remember the vowels. See below-your kiddo will definitely be able to explain the vowel face to you!

Ask them why Yy is not a part of the face!

We also identified the vowels on our ABC chart. The kids and I put post-its under the vowels. We ripped a post-it in half under the Yy because Yy is only sometimes a vowel.

Only half of a post-it for Yy!

Anyway, since we were able to identify the vowels we practised all of our vowel sounds, and "stretched" a few words to figure out the vowel sounds that we heard. The kids did a wonderful job! It makes me very excited to start reading groups!

Mrs. Ashley Daley-Creamer

Monthly Outcomes

        I am a firm believer in open communication between home and school as it is necessary for maximum school success. I love using this blog to tell you some of the wonderful things our kids are accomplishing in class! I also try to "fill you in"  by sending home monthly newsletters, communicating important information through our weekly homework sheets, emails, phone calls and sending home notes.

      In the monthly newsletters and homework sheets you will find an overview of what our kiddos will be learning in Math, Language Arts and You and Your World (YYW-basically our Health, Science, and Social Studies curriculum). On the entrance to our classroom I have posted the outcomes from our newsletter. If you happen to pop into our classroom you will also see "kid friendly" outcomes posted. I like to begin each lesson by saying "Today you will be learning..." and explaining to the kiddos why we are learning this. Most of the time they tell me why they think we are learning something and they can be spot on! Please feel free to contact me if you are ever wondering what the children will be learning! 

This is what I show the kids in class when I am telling them what we will be learning.

A quick shot of what we are covering in Math-still a work in progress.

Not so kid friendly-this is more for me. This keeps me on track in Math with the two grade levels.



This is posted on the window by our door.

 

Mrs. Ashley Daley-Creamer

2013-2014 Class Mission Statement

We made a promise to one another! The kids set goals for themselves and then set goals for our class. Check it out below.

 

Mrs. Ashley Daley Creamer

Establishing Our Classroom Community

We are beginning to settle into a nice little routine in our classroom. The kids have been putting forth their best efforts and following our classroom rules. In fact, the kids are "rated" on their behaviour. In our room we have a behaviour chart. Each morning the kids start off at green (ready to learn). They then move up or down the chart depending on the actions they choose. As you will see below, our kids are pretty well behaved.

Be sure to ask your kiddo where they ended up on our behaviour chart today!

As a class we discussed using kind words when speaking to our classmates. I explained to the students that when they use unkind words it hurts hearts. I then gave them a little visual by using a paper heart and wrinkling it every time something unkind was said. In the end my paper heart was no longer smooth but wrinkled. I showed them that no matter how hard I tried to smooth out the heart, it was forever wrinkled. I explained to our kiddos that even if we apologise for our unkind words hearts are still "wrinkled"/hurt. We read a wonderful book called Chrysanthemum and I had the kids wrinkle mini paper hearts every time a character in the book teased our main character. It was a great little lesson for the kids. We have all pledged to choose our words wisely when speaking to one another.

 

 

We have such a nice class that I am sure no one will be "wrinkling" any hearts anytime soon.

 

 

Mrs. Ashley Daley-Creamer

Day One and Two

Well it certainly has been a busy two days! The kiddos seem to be settling in nicely. I love learning about them and getting to know their little personalities. We have a really sweet, hard working group of kids and I am so excited to see what they will accomplish this year!

Our days have been spent getting to know each other and learning the rules of our classroom and the school. The kids did many activities such as creating an All About Me mini poster, writing about our feelings concerning the first day, making art and constructing a birthday graph. Below you will find pictures of the kiddos creating this graph first by using their bodies. Tomorrow we will have more discussion on this graph.

The entire class making our birthday graph. April was the most popular. Go April!

Sorry for the blurriness-we were organizing ourselves pretty quickly and my phone camera isn't as quick as our class!

If your kiddo comes home and seems to be mum on the topic of school ask them what they need to say back to Mrs. Creamer when she says "Stop!". Here is a little hint below.

 

Hey don't judge, it gets them focused quickly, it is fun for them to say...and let's face it...it gives me a good chuckle.

 

Sorry for the short post but stay tuned for more updates and pictures. I won't be posting any of the  faces of our kids until I find out if I have your permission -so get those information forms in! :)

 

Mrs. Ashley Daley-Creamer

Changes!

Well it certainly looks like it is time for me to update! Our little class is now a wonderful 2/1 combined class! You can't imagine how excited I am for another combined class. Below I've posted some info on combined classes. I hope this helps!

How our 2/1 Combined Class Works

      

Dear Parents,

            Welcome to our 2/1 combined class! For some of you this is your first experience with your child in a combined class, for others this may be your 2^nd or 3^rd time. In the effort to ease any worries, below I have included a list of frequently asked questions about combined classes and my responses to the questions.

What is a combined class?
A combined or split class refers to a class that is made up of students from two or more grades. Combined classes occur most frequently in elementary schools and are the combination of students in two different grades with one teacher teaching both curricula. For example, a school might have a grade 1/grade 2 class combination or a grade 6/grade 7 class combination. It is important to know that students in combined classes are not held back to the level of the younger children nor are the children in the lower grade expected to do work beyond their abilities. The prescribed learning outcomes are grade appropriate for all students, whether or not they are in a combined class.

Why do schools create combined classes?
There are many reasons why schools create these classes. When school staff look to organise their students, that is to place the students in their classes with teachers, they have to balance the educational needs of their students with the staffing they receive from Human Resources as well as with legislated contractual considerations.

A school calculates enrolment. The Principal, working with the teaching staff of the school, then constructs classes based on these factors and the educational interests of each student. In many instances, combined classes result.

Will the teacher teach the entire curriculum to both grades?
All teachers, including teachers of combined classes, must teach the prescribed curriculum. Therefore the teacher is obligated to teach the entire curriculum to both grades. Our Grade one students will learn the grade one curriculum and the grade 2 students will learn the grade two curriculum.

How can I support my child in a combined class?
Parents can support their children in the same ways they would if they were in a single grade class. Staying interested and concerned about school work and activities, monitoring a child’s homework and keeping in touch with the teacher and attending the school whenever possible are ways the parents can support the child’s learning.

How will your class work?

Our class will be using the Daily 5 to structure our literacy time. The Daily 5 allows me to address the specific needs of students by working with them in small groups and to have regular reading conferences with individual students.

Math will also be a bit different. We will be working in grade groupings. We will also do some lessons together. The grade one students will learn the grade one curriculum and the grade two students will learn the grade two curriculum.

            I know there were a few questions at our open house about combined classes and I hope this helps to alleviate any concerns. As always please feel free to call or email me if you have any questions, comments or concerns.

Ashley Daley-Creamer

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