Thanks to Mrs. Cassidy, we have this wonderful YouTube video of our two classes skating. It amazes me how much these children improve in just three short sessions on the ice.
Article posted March 6, 2013 at 02:46 PM GMT-7 •
comment (1) • Reads 7718
Here we are on our 2nd day of skating. We get to skate as a class three times. For some of the children it is only their second time on the ice. It's amazing how fast children this age catch on to skating! We skate one last time next Tuesday.
Article posted February 26, 2013 at 09:10 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 789
Many of the children of Westmount School participated in the Salute to Youth program put on by the WHL Warriors' hockey team. Between the 2nd and 3rd period the children performed in a Flash Mob to the music of Party Rock Anthem. It was a blast! The warriors played against the Medicine Hat Tigers. The Warriors won, 8-4.
Article posted February 7, 2013 at 10:52 AM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 3818
I realize this is really old but I just had to post it. The children each got to put on a moustache tatoo when it was their turn to be Boss Hog. I only made it to mid way through November before I had to shave my stubble off. It was driving me crazy!!!
Article posted February 6, 2013 at 09:37 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 226
It's taken me a while but I finally got the photos of our Remembrance Day display posted. Our school won first prize in the city for our display. The Legion gave us a cheque for $200. Many people put a lot of work into the dispay.
Article posted February 3, 2013 at 09:24 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 431
These girls were kind enough to help me carry the mannequin into the school. This mannequin was used in our Remembrance Day display. He was dressed in a WWII uniform for the display.
Article posted February 3, 2013 at 08:22 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 89
The students of Westmount School were given free tickets to the hockey game on Friday. We did a flash mob in between the 2nd and 3rd period. It was a lot of fun! We were also treated to a scrimmage with the TimBits between the 1st and 2nd period.
Article posted February 3, 2013 at 07:13 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 91
The Saskatchewan Science Centre came to our school yesterday. We learned about all of the five senses....Seeing. hearing, tasting. feelinmg and smelling.
Article posted January 31, 2013 at 08:15 AM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 540
We've been helping out with a prpoject called Tomatoshere. The project involved germinating tomato seeds and contributed to experiments in the field of space farming. This project is supported by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), Agriculture Canada, Heinz as well as others. This project contributes to experiments in the field of space farming which is a critical ingredient in the design of a life support system needed to send humans to other planets. Whoa.. that's a mouthful.
Article posted November 5, 2012 at 09:02 PM GMT-7 •
comment (1) • Reads 12922
We had a tour of the exhibit called "100 Years of Loss". The exhibit tells the history of the Indian Residential School System (IRSS) in Canada. The children learned about First Nations people and how they lived before European contact. They also learned how First Nations children as young as 5 years of age were taken away from their families and sent to residential schools. These children were not allowed to speak their native language. We ended our tour decorating wooden tiles that will be put together with hundreds of other tiles to remember the children and families that were affected by the IRSS.
Article posted November 1, 2012 at 11:14 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 1251
The whole school was treated to one class act!! Flying Bob is a world renowned juggler, tight rope walker and all round goof, I mean clown. He entertained the children from both Westmount School and Empire School. That's over 500 kids at once. It was an awesome show!
Article posted November 1, 2012 at 10:47 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 198
Our travel buddy from Rotorua, New Zealand has arrived after a long flight in a very tight package. Baa Baa brought with him (or her) a hilarious book about himself, some pineapple chews (which are delicious), a travel log and some post cards. The title of the book is "Baa, Baa Smart Sheep". Whatever you do , don't eat smart pills if a sheep tells you to. My children were very excited to meet their new friend and can't wait to start taking Baa Baa home for sleepovers. The travel buddies that we sent to New Zealand are already having the adventure of their lives. We sent the Pigeon and Scaredy Squirrel. Scaredy Squirrel wouldn't go alone for obvious reasons.
Article posted October 26, 2012 at 10:27 PM GMT-7 •
comment (1) • Reads 1649
My grade 1 class got together with Mrs. Turcotte's Pre-K class to set up our worm composting boxes. The worms are red wigglers. They eat fruit and vegetable waste and turn it into rich soil that will be used in the indoor garden that the Pre-K class is starting up.
Article posted October 21, 2012 at 08:17 PM GMT-7 •
comment (1) • Reads 1167
The Kindergarten, Grade 1 and Grade 1/2 classes spent the afternoon at the Water Park. We had an awesome time! The weather was hot, hot, hot! Thank goodness the water was cooooool!
Article posted June 25, 2012 at 09:08 PM GMT-7 •
comment (1) • Reads 11406
We had a field trip out to Luise Bergen's Farm. She is taking care of the pheasants that we hatched in the spring. The pheasants are doing great! As you can see Luise has a lot of different kinds of animals including horses, sheep, ducks, dogs, cats and rats and elephants and as sure as you're born but she didn't have any unicorns. The children had an awesome time at the farm. They even had a scavenger hunt. Luise and her daughter, Joline, were wonderful hosts and tour guides. We are very thankful for their generosity!
Article posted June 21, 2012 at 07:47 PM GMT-7 •
comment (1) • Reads 1596
We had two visitors in our class on Monday afternoon. They were Sanders, the burrowing owl, and Lori, the handler. Burrowing owls are an endangered species. Sanders is an ambassador owl who visits classrooms around Saskatchewan to teach children about burrowing owls and why it is important to help protect endangered species.
Article posted May 30, 2012 at 08:18 PM GMT-7 •
comment (1) • Reads 5681
We had been incubating pheasant eggs for over 21 days. They started to hatch over the May long weekend. We had 12 chicks hatch out of 18. That's a good hatch! The baby pheasants stayed with us all day Tuesday and Wednesday. The children loved them. The baby pheasants are now living out on a farm where they will stay until they are old enough to be released into the wild.
Article posted May 27, 2012 at 08:11 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 1437
On Thursday we made a contraption called the Rube Goldberg Leprechaun Trap. Basically the trap is made up of 4 separate parts. Each part makes the next part work. I broke the class into 4 groups of 5 and they had to work cooperatively to get their part working. The groups then had to cooperate to make the whole contraption work. The first part of the contraption was the text book dominoeos and tower. The second part was the balloon pop apparatus which was followed by the golfball, pulley and trough. The last part of the contraption was the broom stick, pie plate, toilet roll and egg drop apparatus. The goal of the whole contraption was to successfully get the egg into a cup of water. The children worked really well together and after much trial and error we had a lot of success but we didn't catch any leprechauns.
Article posted March 18, 2012 at 07:38 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 485
Article posted March 3, 2012 at 08:56 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 2124
On Tuesday, February 28th we went the local Art Museum and learned about homes of the Plains. We learned about traditional 1st Nation homes and the homes of the first European settlers. The children learned that the 1st Nation homes had to be portable so that the people could follow the buffalo herds. Some of the early European homes were made of mud and grass and they were called "soddies". We ended our tour making models of the traditional 1st Nation hhome which is called a tee-pee.
Article posted March 3, 2012 at 08:56 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 2124
Article posted March 3, 2012 at 05:27 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 226
This was our first day of skating. Some of the children are pros on the ice and some are looking pretty shakey, including me. All of us are having fun!
Article posted March 3, 2012 at 05:27 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 226
Article posted February 7, 2012 at 05:47 PM GMT-7 •
comment (2) • Reads 3812
We celebrated the 100th day of school today. The grade 1s brought collections of 100 things while the grade 2s had to come up with collections of 1000. As you can see the children came up with some very interesting things to collect including marshmallows, chocolate chips, pennies, rice, Cheerios, popsicle sticks, Corn Flakes, buttons and gum. Wow! We got immersed in 100 today!
Article posted February 7, 2012 at 05:47 PM GMT-7 •
comment (2) • Reads 3812
Article posted January 30, 2012 at 01:20 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 1084
On the same day that we have Reading Buddies with the Mr. Capbell's Grade 7/8 class we often do some kind of In-Motion activity in the gym with them prior to Reading Buddies. Mr. Campbell has some awesome ideas on how to get kids active and have fun at the same time. On this particular day the children were given a number of challenges involving 2 people. For example between the two people only three feet could touch the ground and two hands must be touching the ground. As you can see the children had a blast! It's amazing how well the older students worked with the younger ones.
Article posted January 30, 2012 at 01:20 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 1084
Article posted January 30, 2012 at 01:01 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 169
About once a week my grade 1/2 class get together with the grade 7/8 class for Reading Buddies. My children really enjoy being read to and they also get an opportunity to read to their grade 7/8 buddy. Here we are in the school library.
Article posted January 30, 2012 at 01:01 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 169
Article posted January 22, 2012 at 03:10 PM GMT-7 •
comment (1) • Reads 2064
Once a week my class pairs up in Phys. Ed. with Mrs. Cassidy's Grade 1 class and we play games. One of the games the children love to play is Paramedics. Tiffany Casssidy took these pictures of the children while they played Paramedics.
Article posted January 22, 2012 at 03:10 PM GMT-7 •
comment (1) • Reads 2064
Article posted November 24, 2011 at 07:01 AM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 2797
Through the month of November all of the male staff quit shaving in recognition of prostate cancer. This week we sold chocolate milk and cookies to the students as a fundraiser for prostate cancer. These photos show some of the milk moustaches that the children had after enjoying their chocoalte milk.
Article posted November 24, 2011 at 07:01 AM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 2797
Article posted October 26, 2011 at 08:46 PM GMT-7 •
comment (1) • Reads 11870
Perky the Pokeko is nearing the end of his journey in Canada. He has had many interesting adventures while visiting with his Moose Jaw friends. It is almost time for Perky to get back on a plane and head back to Rotorua, New Zealand.
Article posted October 26, 2011 at 08:46 PM GMT-7 •
comment (1) • Reads 11870
Article posted October 21, 2011 at 01:29 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 3341
Perky has had so many great adventures with the Cyberkidz. He's almost finished all of his home visits. I'm sorry to say that Chester, the racoon, whom we sent from Moose Jaw to Rotorua, New Zealand has not arrived to his destination yet. I hope he gets there soon to enjoy some of the Bright Stars' Spring. Hurry up Chester!!!
Article posted October 21, 2011 at 01:29 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 3341
Article posted October 18, 2011 at 08:49 AM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 1968
Perky has been to sleepovers with over half of the class. This past Monday Perky did not come back to school. He was AWOL (absent without leave. As it turned out Perky was just having an extra long sleep-in at the baby sitters. He finally got back to school after the morning recess. Perky...you naughty bird!!!
Article posted October 18, 2011 at 08:49 AM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 1968
Article posted October 6, 2011 at 04:22 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 2754
Perky loved his sleepover with this child. This Thanksgiving weekend Perky gets to go with another child all the way to Medicine Hat in Alberta. They'll be gone for 3 days!!! I'm sure Perky will have something to tell about after the long weekend.
Article posted October 6, 2011 at 04:22 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 2754
Article posted October 4, 2011 at 12:19 PM GMT-7 •
comment (15) • Reads 397
This is a picture of Perky on one of his sleepovers. So far Perky has slept over at 5 children's houses. Perky has been getting the royal treatment. That's Perky in the middle. Perky is a purple swamp hen from New Zealand.
Article posted October 4, 2011 at 12:19 PM GMT-7 •
comment (15) • Reads 397
Article posted September 20, 2011 at 08:01 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 7054
Chester, our little travel buddie, is on his way to New Zealand. I shipped him off yesterday. It's going to be a long voyage. I hope I packed him enough nuts. Once Chester arrives in Rotorua, New Zealand he will be hosted by the Bright Stars (a class of year 3s I think) whose teacher is Mrs. Bright. They have already sent their travel buddie in the mail to us so the race is on!!! By the way, Chester is a racoon. We'll be hosting "Perky". I can't wait to see what kind of animal Perky is.
Article posted September 20, 2011 at 08:01 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 7054
Article posted September 16, 2011 at 02:26 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 360
Well...schools off to a fast beginning but I must say that my classsroom blog is off to a slow start. My apologies. I'm having difficulties getting the orphaned students on to my class list. Oh, technology...you gotta' love it! Well, my class is doing something exciting with another class from Rotorua, New Zealand. We're exchanging "Travel Buddies". These are stuffed animals that will have sleepovers at each child's home. after everyone has had a chance to have a sleepover with their travel buddy the buddy will fly back to their original classrooms to share their adventures in a "Travel Log". I'm excited to get our "Travel Buddy" sent away to Rotorua, New Zealand.
Article posted September 16, 2011 at 02:26 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 360
Article posted June 22, 2011 at 01:48 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 39624
Yesterday our class got to meet the Bright Stars via Skype. The Bright Stars are a group of children in Mrs. Bright's class in Rotorua, New Zealand. It was great seeing them for the first time. Our time with them went by so fast that we agreed to Skype with them again today at 2:00 PM. When it is 2:00 PM here in Moose Jaw it is 9:00 Am the next day in New Zealand. One other interesting fact... It's Summer here and it's Winter in New Zealand.
Article posted June 22, 2011 at 01:48 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 39624
Article posted June 14, 2011 at 01:46 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 531
I have been reading the book "The Borrowers" by Mary Norton to the grade 1s and 2s. It's one of my favourite children's novels and one that lends itself to some really neat activities. One such activity that I do is to make "dioramas"(3-D pictures in a shoe box)of a borrower's home. The children have to do a scavenger hunt by borrowing things from home and each other. Last Friday we brought all of our stuff together and glued it into shoeboxes to look like little borrower homes. The dioramas turned out really well. We'll end our "Borrower" experience by watching the old version of "The Borrowers" with Eddie Albert in it playing Pod. It's almost as classic as the book.
Article posted June 14, 2011 at 01:46 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 531
Article posted June 9, 2011 at 09:42 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 3501
http://www.flickr.com/photos/silversides/5816691981/
Students from all over Moose Jaw met at the new Field House last Friday to participate in a flash mob. The dance, Double dream Hands was inspired by a segment from the Ellen Degenres show. Our Double Dream Hands dance was video taped and it will be sent to the Ellen Degenres show in the hopes that it will be aired on the show.
Article posted June 9, 2011 at 09:42 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 3501
Article posted June 3, 2011 at 06:34 AM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 3273
http://youtu.be/3F6ZZ3tSN7k
Here is a video that includes some of the events fo the year. It's also an introduction to our class. The names of the the children have been changed to protect their identity.
Article posted June 3, 2011 at 06:34 AM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 3273
Article posted June 1, 2011 at 07:41 AM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 919
These two boys have just completed their yellow belt in Tae Kwon Do. Their class was given the pleasure of watching them spar together. That's like a fighting match between the two of them. Notice all of the safety equipment that they are wearing. The boys also demonstrated their patterns and showed us how to count to ten in Korean. Very cool! Well done, boys!
Article posted June 1, 2011 at 07:41 AM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 919
Article posted June 1, 2011 at 07:23 AM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 557
Grades K to 6 took part in a fundraising event called Jump Rope for Heart. The children raised over $7000 in pledges that will go towards research for heart disease. Job well done, Westmount!
Article posted June 1, 2011 at 07:23 AM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 557
Article posted March 30, 2011 at 11:38 AM GMT-7 •
comment (1) • Reads 1289
Yesterday we had a group called Carnel Fiddle and Dance come and perform for us. Two of the musicians played the fiddle and one played the keyboard. The children got a real good taste of fiddle music. They also learned some dances like the Chicken Dance. As you can see, the children had a blast learning the dances!!!
Article posted March 30, 2011 at 11:38 AM GMT-7 •
comment (1) • Reads 1289
Article posted March 29, 2011 at 12:09 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 583
On St. Patrick's Day the children sorted out the marshmallow charms in Lucky Charms cereal. The children worked in pairs. Each pair got a cup of Lucky Charms and then they sorted the marshmallow charms and graphed how many there were of each charm. It was a fun activity and the children had a snack after they were done their graphing.
Article posted March 29, 2011 at 12:09 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 583
Article posted March 18, 2011 at 12:20 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 6643
Winter will officially be over on March 20 (the Vernal Equinox). We got to celebrate our last few days of winter with a Winter Carnival. The Carnival was planned and organized by the grade 5 and 6 class for grades 1 to 3. The children were divided up into 8 groups and then they rotated through stations at 5 minute intervals. The stations included an egg hunt, shoot the hoop, soccer, an obstacle course and relays. We've already lost a lot of our snow due to above +0 weather. It can get pretty muddy and slushy. But the day of the Winter Carnival was perfect. Not too hot and not too cold.
Article posted March 18, 2011 at 12:20 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 6643
Article posted March 8, 2011 at 06:39 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 4161
This was the second time skating for the grade one and two class. I let one of the children use the camera. Good pictures, eh? Some of the children have only been on skates a couple of times while others can outskate their teacher. We've got one more time on the ice.
Article posted March 8, 2011 at 06:39 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 4161
Article posted February 17, 2011 at 08:21 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 10307
Our class had a visitor on Thursday, Feb.17. Her name is Mrs. Gauvin. She came to talk to us about 1st Nation Treaties and Legends. Treaties are promises that were made between the 1st Nations people and the government. We live in the area of Treaty #4. We are all Treaty People.
Mrs. Gauvin told us a legend about the creation of Turtle Island (North America). Legends are stories that are passed down from generation to generation. They explain why things are the way they are.
Article posted February 17, 2011 at 08:21 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 10307
Article posted February 3, 2011 at 08:24 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 4397
We celebrated our 100th day of school on Wed., Feb. 2nd. Unfortunately I wasn't at school and I had a substitute teacher enjoy the day with my children. The Grade ones brought their collections of 100 things while the Grade twos had to collect 1000 things. I had only one rule and that was that whatever they collected had to fit into their backpack. The children made "100" and "1000" goggles. They also made 100 Day Fortune Tellers. I think they had a great day... too bad I had to miss it!
Article posted February 3, 2011 at 08:24 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 4397
Article posted January 28, 2011 at 12:39 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 4053
Thursday, January 27 was Family Literacy Day. The children from Kindergarten to grade 5 spent an hour in the gym participating in language related activities. Different age groups rotated through age appropriate stations. The Family Literacy Day was a huge success. I bet some of the cchildren were having so much fun that they didn't even realize they were learning!
Article posted January 28, 2011 at 12:39 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 4053
Article posted January 27, 2011 at 08:36 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 694
The Popcorn Dance was one of two dances Mr. Campbell's grade 5/6 class taught my class during our Beach Party last Wednesday. It was fun to do and fun to watch. We ended up doing it 3 times!!!
Article posted January 27, 2011 at 08:36 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 694
Article posted January 27, 2011 at 08:09 PM GMT-7 •
comment (1) • Reads 643
Today we had the perfect snow day. The temperature outside was above 0 degrees celsius and the snow packed really well. These days don't come very often so we had to jump at the opportunity. The children had 1/2 an hour to work in teams of three. We had the ideal open field (a baseball diamond) and the children worked so well together that the snowmen were done in no time.
Article posted January 27, 2011 at 08:09 PM GMT-7 •
comment (1) • Reads 643
Article posted January 27, 2011 at 07:59 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 516
Way back in November my class and Mr. Campbell's grade 5/6 class worked together to make a display for Remembrance Day. The local Canadian Legion recognized our hard work with a cash prize so we decided to celebrate by having a Beach Party on Wed.. Our party included learning two different dances, reading buddies and ice cream sundaes. Many of the children wore shorts and flip flops which is kinda' funny considering the ground is covered with snow and the temperature is below 0. Everyone had a blast!!!
Article posted January 27, 2011 at 07:59 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 516
Article posted January 26, 2011 at 03:07 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 866
So this is what some of the children do when we are stuck inside at recess due to the cold. We have indoor recesses when the combined temperature and wind chill is below -25 degrees celsius. The children really enjoy indoor recess for a few days because they get to play games and do fun activities. When the weather warms up they are tired of being in all the time
and anxious to get out and play in the fresh air.
Article posted January 26, 2011 at 03:07 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 866
Article posted January 9, 2011 at 09:04 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 6132
The children and I have had a couple of weeks off and have come back to school re-charged and ready for the New Year. From what I hear from the children had a great Christmas holiday. We're back to blogging this week.
Article posted January 9, 2011 at 09:04 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 6132
Article posted December 15, 2010 at 08:51 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 297
Some children were having fun creating designs using geometric shapes. This is one of a variety of activities that the children do during indoor recess(that's when it's too cold to go outside).
Article posted December 15, 2010 at 08:51 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 297
Article posted December 15, 2010 at 08:25 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 340
We went to the Art Museum on Tuesday. The children got to make clay angels. They learned about texture and how to join two pieces of clay together with "slip" (a mixture of clay and water). After the angels have dried they will be fired in a kiln. Some lucky people might be getting clay angels for Christmas!!
Article posted December 15, 2010 at 08:25 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 340
Article posted December 5, 2010 at 08:47 PM GMT-7 •
comment (2) • Reads 5634
The grade 8 students put on a cultural fair in the gym. Classes were invited to learn about different cultures from around the world. The children got to play games and sample food. It was a lot of fun and a great learning experience.
Article posted December 5, 2010 at 08:47 PM GMT-7 •
comment (2) • Reads 5634
Article posted November 24, 2010 at 07:24 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 5788
The children went on a tour of our local Art Museum. They got to see collaborative art work. That is where two artists work together on one piece of art. The children then got to try it out themselves using a variety of different "marking" tools such as pencil crayons, chalk and oil pastels.
Article posted November 24, 2010 at 07:24 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 5788
Article posted October 28, 2010 at 09:37 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 5310
We've done it!! We've created a monster and his name is Crazy Freaky Doodaw. The children had a great time creating him. The Monster Project is a project that involved classrooms from all over the world. Each classroom got to choose a part of the monster and then describe how they would like that part to look. Everyone then created their own monsters based on the descriptions. Very cool! The last thing that we do is share our monsters with everyone and then vote for the best name. I hope Spikey Freaky Doodaw wins.
Article posted October 28, 2010 at 09:37 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 5310
Article posted October 24, 2010 at 07:13 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 1722
On Friday, Oct. 22 our whole school walked over to Riverview Collegiate to watch a First Nation's Drum and Dance presentation. The presentation was part of Education Week. The dancers were great! The costumes were bright and colourful. The drummers beat out rythms that got your whole body moving. It was a rich cultural experience for everyone.
Article posted October 24, 2010 at 07:13 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 1722
Article posted September 21, 2010 at 02:47 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 7745
Today the grade 2s were learning a problem solving method called Guess and Check. They had to solve a problem using 6 beads of 1 colour, six beads of another colour and 3 beads of another colour. The problem was to see how many different patterns they could come up with using all 15 beads and repeating the core of the pattern at least 3 times. I put the children into groups of 3. The children worked so well in solving the problem.
Article posted September 21, 2010 at 02:47 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 7745
Article posted September 13, 2010 at 09:29 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 749
We're off and running. We're into our third week of school. The children in Grade 1 and 2 are going to be blogging soon. I'm still trying to figure out how to get photos the blog. Things have changed and I have to try to learn new photo sites. I'm an old dog, you know.
Article posted September 13, 2010 at 09:29 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 749
Article posted June 24, 2010 at 10:51 PM GMT-7 •
comment (1) • Reads 18171
Well... another year has passed and I am ready to move my little guys and girls on to grade 2. It's truly amazing how much these little people change over the span of ten months. They go from practically non-readers to individuals who can read independantly. Their sense of humour has developed over the year. I don't have to hear the same Knock Knock Jokes over and over. It's going to be hard saying good by at the end of June. I'm just glad I'll be able to see them in the halls at the beginning of the new school year. Have a great summer, everyone
Article posted June 24, 2010 at 10:51 PM GMT-7 •
comment (1) • Reads 18171
Article posted June 6, 2010 at 10:09 PM GMT-7 •
comment (1) • Reads 6561
It's been a long time since I last blogged. My students are doing better than me. We were able to watch most of the life cycle of the Painted Lady butterfly. I received the caterpillars almost 3 weeks ago. Within a week the caterpillars turned into chrysalises(not sure of the spelling of this). Another week later the butterflies emerged. It's quite an awesome cycle to see.
Article posted June 6, 2010 at 10:09 PM GMT-7 •
comment (1) • Reads 6561
Article posted March 30, 2010 at 12:03 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 6390
We have e-pals in Belgrade, Serbia. They belong to a Grade 1 class in an International School. We have already recieved a video about them and we want them to know a bit about us.
Article posted March 30, 2010 at 12:03 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 6390
Article posted March 25, 2010 at 08:53 AM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 1283
I had a really cool experience last night with Skype. I was able to take part in a university class of primary teachers from Farmington, Maine (and I didn't even have to leave Moose Jaw!). I shared with them how I incorperated technology into the classroom. I also got to learn about how they did things in Maine. The students were particularly interested in our Acceptable Use of Computers policy. All in all it was a great experience!
Article posted March 25, 2010 at 08:53 AM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 1283
Article posted March 3, 2010 at 03:20 PM GMT-7 •
comment (2) • Reads 1044
Our Gr. 1 class and a Gr. 3 class from Lumsden (not that far from Moose Jaw) had an interesting exchange of literature today. I read a story to the Gr. 3 class using Skype and the other teacher read a story to our class using Skype. It was really cool.
Article posted March 3, 2010 at 03:20 PM GMT-7 •
comment (2) • Reads 1044
Article posted March 1, 2010 at 09:59 PM GMT-7 •
comment (1) • Reads 945
The children and I went on a tour of the local Art Museum. We saw sculptures and pottery made of clay. The art work was done by a local couple. Their work was truly incredible. After the tour the children made their own clay sculptures of monsters. It was a really good experience. I'm very thankful to the parents who came with us. They helped make tour a positive learning experience!
Article posted March 1, 2010 at 09:59 PM GMT-7 •
comment (1) • Reads 945
Article posted February 28, 2010 at 09:55 AM GMT-7 •
comment (3) • Reads 687
Mrs. Cassidy's class and my class went skating for the the 1st of three ice times. The children had a blast. I was amazed at how well the children did!
Article posted February 28, 2010 at 09:55 AM GMT-7 •
comment (3) • Reads 687
Article posted February 5, 2010 at 12:59 PM GMT-7 •
comment (1) • Reads 1231
Yesterday we had the pleasure of watching a performance by a proffessional puppet troupe called "Wide Open". They performed "Munsch to the Max". The puppets were amazing! The children had a blast! We went back to our classroom and made paper bag puppets.
Article posted February 5, 2010 at 12:59 PM GMT-7 •
comment (1) • Reads 1231
Article posted January 29, 2010 at 01:44 PM GMT-7 •
comment (1) • Reads 1792
We have this floor mat that is actually a map of the world. The children had been bugging me saying "When are we going to build the world map?" I told them that we would build it when Malcolm the Moose arrived back from Rotorua, New Zealand. Well, guess who arrived back from his world journey??? The children had a blast putting the puzzle together. We were able to visit all the places that we are familiar with such as New Zealand, Hungary, USA, Canada, China.
Article posted January 29, 2010 at 01:44 PM GMT-7 •
comment (1) • Reads 1792
Article posted January 17, 2010 at 09:48 PM GMT-7 •
comment (1) • Reads 2323
The Olympic Torch Run went through Moose Jaw on Sunday, January 10th. One of the torch bearers was a parent of two children at Westmount. Torch bearers had the option to buy the torches that they carried. These two children were kind enough to share the torch with us. The children in my class were thrilled to get a chance to touch the torch.
Article posted January 17, 2010 at 09:48 PM GMT-7 •
comment (1) • Reads 2323
Article posted December 16, 2009 at 09:38 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 2312
On Dec. 9th all of the schools in Moose Jaw participated in an Olympic torch run. Each school had 4 torch bearers and all of the rest of the school children lined the streets when the torch bearers ran by each school. The temperature was below -25 Celsius. Brrrrr.....
Article posted December 16, 2009 at 09:38 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 2312
Article posted December 16, 2009 at 09:15 PM GMT-7 •
comment (1) • Reads 388
The children from Kindergarten to Grade 5 had their Christmas Concert on the evening of Thursday, Dec. 10. The children sounded wonderful and as you can see they looked good too.
Article posted December 16, 2009 at 09:15 PM GMT-7 •
comment (1) • Reads 388
Article posted November 18, 2009 at 09:08 PM GMT-7 •
comment (4) • Reads 2562
The Art Museum Tour on PhotoPeach
Today we had a trip to the Art Museum. We had an introduction to the Art Museum and then we got to make sponge painting with a Fall theme.
Article posted November 18, 2009 at 09:08 PM GMT-7 •
comment (4) • Reads 2562
Article posted November 17, 2009 at 08:28 AM GMT-7 •
comment (5) • Reads 632
Our monster's name is Spikey Mikey. He has purple spots and 8 legs. He has a purple tale with spikes, chains and blood. His belt has a triangular eye, teeth and maggots. He has one big hairy hand and 7 little hands. He looks gross, scary and spooky. He has horns. One of his eyes is dangling down. The Monster project was done by over 38 classrooms from around the world. Each classroom contributed characteristics and then based on those characteristics they built their own monster.
Article posted November 17, 2009 at 08:28 AM GMT-7 •
comment (5) • Reads 632
Article posted October 13, 2009 at 08:50 PM GMT-7 •
comment (4) • Reads 2751
Our Reading Buddies helped us make hand print turkeys just before Thanksgiving. The grade 7s and 8s worked great with the grade 1s. Too bad I didn't get some pictures of the finished product. The turkeys escaped from the room before I had a chance.
Article posted October 13, 2009 at 08:50 PM GMT-7 •
comment (4) • Reads 2751
Article posted September 17, 2009 at 10:01 PM GMT-7 •
comment (2) • Reads 1637
Terry Fox is a national hero. He was diagnosed with cancer at a young age. He had to have his leg amputated because of the cancer. After that he decided to run across Canada on his artificial leg to raise money for cancer research. Terry started his journey in Nova Scotia. He ran an average of one marathon a day (that's 26 miles per day). Terry made it to Thunder Bay, Ontario before the cancer struck again and he had to quit his run. This time the cancer took his life. The date was June 28, 1981.
We recognized Terry and what he did and continues to do for cancer research by simulating what it is like to run with a disability.
Article posted September 17, 2009 at 10:01 PM GMT-7 •
comment (2) • Reads 1637
Article posted September 7, 2009 at 08:59 PM GMT-7 •
comment (1) • Reads 2312
"Dog" is visiting with a couple of his new friends. Their names are Travis and Tara. They are both red eared sliders. Travis and Tara are Mr. Silversides' pet turtles.
Article posted September 7, 2009 at 08:59 PM GMT-7 •
comment (1) • Reads 2312
Article posted September 7, 2009 at 08:54 PM GMT-7 •
comment (3) • Reads 378
"Hey! Hold on there! I said I wanted to learn the finer points about football. I didn't say I wanted to be the football!!!"
This is "Dog", our travel buddy from New Zealand. He just arrived a few days before school started. We have sent a travel buddy to New Zealand but unfortunately our New Zealand buddies have not received theirs yet. He's probably held up at the Customs office.
Article posted September 7, 2009 at 08:54 PM GMT-7 •
comment (3) • Reads 378
Article posted August 29, 2009 at 10:02 PM GMT-7 •
comment (1) • Reads 582
The children found out what happens when you add Mentos to a bottle of Coke...you get wet. Actually, you get a real cool geyser. No children were harmed in this science experiment.
Article posted August 29, 2009 at 10:02 PM GMT-7 •
comment (1) • Reads 582
Article posted August 28, 2009 at 02:42 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 446
The new grade ones are off to a fantastic start!!
We've already done some pop bottle science using Mentos and Coke. Today we had Sharing and Library book exchange. They are a real cool bunch of kids. :)
Article posted August 28, 2009 at 02:42 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 446
I finally got it together and dressed up for Fancy Friday. The children from grades 1 to 4 celebrated our rich use of words in our language by having Fancy Friday. We dressed up elegantly. We talked elequantly and our behaviour was impeccable.
Article posted May 29, 2009 at 04:13 PM GMT-7 •
comment (2) • Reads 1120
As part of our Fancy Friday the Grades 1 to 4 had a Fancy Ball in the gym. Many of the children danced elegantly. Their teacher managed to avoid dancing with anyone by pretending to be the official photographer for the Ball.
Article posted May 29, 2009 at 01:59 PM GMT-7 •
comment (6) • Reads 546
Article posted May 28, 2009 at 04:29 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 303
The last time I wrote on this blog was pyjama day and I didn't even come dressed in my pyjamas. Well, tomorrow is Fancy Day and I hope to make up for it.
Article posted May 28, 2009 at 04:29 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 303
Article posted April 29, 2009 at 07:19 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 6278
We had Pyjama Day today. Almost everybody wore their PJs. I had a tired bunch of kids. I was one of the few that forgot to not get dressed this morning.
Article posted April 29, 2009 at 07:19 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 6278
Article posted April 16, 2009 at 01:28 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 385
On St. Patrick's Day the children sorted out all of the marshmallows from the cereal to see if there were more green clovers than anything else. You can see the results on our graph. To see the results of all of the classes that participated in this fun activity go to: http://www.jenuinetech.com/Projects/st2009/sp2009_results.htm
Article posted April 16, 2009 at 01:28 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 385
Article posted April 8, 2009 at 03:06 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 549
We've been working on this contraption on and off for a couple of weeks. The children have learned problem solving. trial and error, and cooperation.
Besides all of that they have had fun. Rube Goldberg was a cartoonist known for his cartoons with ridiculously complex contraptions that did nothing.
Article posted April 8, 2009 at 03:06 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 549
Article posted March 17, 2009 at 12:10 PM GMT-7 •
comment (1) • Reads 1626
Some of the children in our class were busy making their own leprchaun traps in hopes of making a quick fortune by catching the crafty wee folk. I'm sorry to say that those children are going to be a teeny bit dissapointed when the leprechauns trick them.
Article posted March 17, 2009 at 12:10 PM GMT-7 •
comment (1) • Reads 1626
Article posted March 13, 2009 at 04:09 PM GMT-7 •
comment (1) • Reads 840
Yesterday was our last day of skating. We went skating 3 times. The children loved it. I survived it. I just wish that we had one or two more sessions.
Article posted March 13, 2009 at 04:09 PM GMT-7 •
comment (1) • Reads 840
Article posted March 8, 2009 at 09:57 AM GMT-7 •
comment (1) • Reads 1268
Yeah! I finally figured out how to get "Build Your Wild Self" on the blog. Thanks Kathy. Now I just have to teach my students how to save their Wild Selves properly so that they can share theirs as well.
Article posted March 8, 2009 at 09:57 AM GMT-7 •
comment (1) • Reads 1268
Article posted February 19, 2009 at 11:06 AM GMT-7 •
comment (1) • Reads 2698
It took me a while to figure out Photo Story 3 and Teacher Tube but finally I'm done. We had a perfect day for making snowmen on January 30. The children had a blast!
Article posted February 19, 2009 at 11:06 AM GMT-7 •
comment (1) • Reads 2698
We had our 100th day of school on Wed., Feb. 4th. Instead of collections of 100, a lot of the children took the challenge and counted out collections of 1000. Did you know that two goups of 500 is 1000? And 10 groups of 100 are 1000? Cool, eh!
Article posted February 11, 2009 at 02:21 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 798
We've been waiting for weeks for the right day to make snowmen and I was hoping to do it before the end of the month. Well, January 30 proved to be the perfect day to make snowmen. The snow conditions were just right. It was warm enough for the snow to stick together when the children rolled their snowballs in the snow. We had a blast!! Stay tuned for our video, "A Recipe for a Snowman". I'm still figuring out how to put it together so bare with me. I wonder if Ms. Dewhurst's children got Sticky snow today?
Article posted January 30, 2009 at 03:29 PM GMT-7 •
comment (3) • Reads 2148
We tried to make snowmen today but we couldn't because the snow wasn't quite sticky enough. So when you can't make snowmen...make snow angels, dig like a dog and hope for another warm day. I wonder if Ms. Dewhurst's children have had a perfect day for making snowmen yet???
Article posted January 19, 2009 at 03:21 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 2209
We've been back to school for a week and a half and indoor recesses have become the norm. Temperatures have been below -20 degrees celsius more often than not. The children are having fun when they do get out in the snow. There's a lot of snow!!!
Article posted January 14, 2009 at 02:32 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 1349
Little Johnny and Billy Boy ran into a little trouble at the wood shop today. Johnny accidently put a nail through his finger when he was hmmering and Billy's hand got too close to the circular saw blade. Oops!
Happy Halloween!!!
Article posted October 31, 2008 at 03:23 PM GMT-7 •
comment (1) • Reads 3974
This is just one of my idiosyncrasies....Making ballon hats for the children when they have a birthday. They are expected to wear the hats throughout the day.
Article posted October 29, 2008 at 04:22 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 947
Article posted October 22, 2008 at 09:05 PM GMT-7 •
comment (4) • Reads 1356
A colleague of mine showed me this interesting site called pictaps. You can draw on it and then it will animate your drawing. It's a cool effect and fairly easy to use. Mute the music when it gets annoying,
Article posted October 22, 2008 at 09:05 PM GMT-7 •
comment (4) • Reads 1356
Article posted October 22, 2008 at 04:35 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 436
We sent a package to new Zealand and it has arrived there safe and sound...almost. It turns out that lentils are a banned substance and cannot go through New Zealand customs. The customs officers had to confiscate the lentils but the Maple leaf made it through. Strange, huh?
Article posted October 22, 2008 at 04:35 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 436
Our class went to the Art Museum on Monday. We saw a display about portraits that focused on war brides. the artist had interviewed many women who had married soldiers from from other countries during times of war for example World War II. The artist then did a portrait of each of these ladies. The children then practiced making portraits of themselves.
Article posted October 22, 2008 at 04:28 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 442
One of the children brought a huge puzzle of the earth to school. The puzzle is made up of over 250 pieces. The children worked on the puzzle in groups and it was put together in a very short time. Many hands make work light. The children had no problem finding New Zealand. Hello down there!!!
Article posted October 10, 2008 at 03:55 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 4390
Article posted October 3, 2008 at 04:11 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 3358
BubbleShare: Share photos - Play some Online Games. Today was a bubble day. We're quickly running out of days like that. Soon the temperature will drop and before you know it there will be snow on the ground. The children got to explore bubbles with their bubble pipes, bubble wands and their things that make bubble walls.
Article posted October 3, 2008 at 04:11 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 3358
Our school and two other schools walked and ran for cancer today. It was called the "Terry Fox Run". Terry Fox was a guy who was diagnosed with cancer in his teens. He lost his leg because of the cancer and shortly thereafter decided to walk/run across Canada to raise funds for cancer research. Terry wasn't able to complete his run before the cancer came back and took his life in 1981. Since then there has been an annual Terry Fox Run to help raise awareness and funds for cancer research.
Article posted September 25, 2008 at 04:21 PM GMT-7 •
comment (1) • Reads 4343
Yesterday (Thursday) the children got to Skype with their blogging buddies from Rotorua, New Zealand. It was very exciting. The children shared their likes and dislikes and it's amazing how many children don't like their veggies. We got to learn abit about each others cultures through our sharing.
Article posted September 19, 2008 at 04:07 PM GMT-7 •
comment (1) • Reads 3472
Article posted September 11, 2008 at 04:04 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 3480
It's been a long time since my last blog article and we're already into our third week of school. I have a great group of kids, 27 in all, and I am just going to be doing our 1st lesson on blogging today. I'm very anxious to get started as there are two exciting projects just waiting to get off the ground. One is that I will continue our blogging buddies with Whaea Andrea's class in New Zealand. The other project is with some university students in Maine. We'll be having them make comments to our blog articles. I can't wait to get started on these projects.
Article posted September 11, 2008 at 04:04 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 3480
We've started a new year and these are just some of the Cyberkids in Mr Silversides' Grade Two class. You can see Hiwi the Kiwi from New Zealand. He is our travel buddy. Hiwi goes home with different children on a regular basis. We have sent a travel buddy named Mortimer the Moose to a class of year twos in Rotorua, New Zealand. Mortimer has been in Rotorua since the end of July.
Article posted September 4, 2008 at 09:06 PM GMT-7 •
comment (1) • Reads 529
Article posted June 19, 2008 at 10:47 PM GMT-7 •
comment (1) • Reads 9213
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Here is the much anticipated, long awaited 3-D marshmallow geometric shape day. Personally I think that dhildren were more interested in eating marshmallows than constructing shapes but I was wrong. The children had fun making cubes, pyramids and triangular prisms out of toothpicks and mini marshmallows. In the end I gave them clean, un-touched marshmallows to munch on.
Article posted June 19, 2008 at 10:47 PM GMT-7 •
comment (1) • Reads 9213
Article posted June 12, 2008 at 08:45 PM GMT-7 •
comment (1) • Reads 1257
I forgot to mention that we have alos been blogging back and forth with a class of Grade 2 children from White City, Saskatchewan. We've also been trying out a really neat thing called Skype. This is like video conferencing. The children can see the person they are talking to. So far we've done literature circles using Skype and we are presently doing interviews withthe children of White City. The children are very excited about having buddies in both White City and Rotorua.
Article posted June 12, 2008 at 08:45 PM GMT-7 •
comment (1) • Reads 1257
The children are blogging with children from Rotorua, New Zealand. I have just made contact with this class within the past week. It's very exciting to be able blog with people so far away. Hey!!! How did Bobby the Bear get into the picture?
Article posted June 12, 2008 at 08:25 PM GMT-7 •
comment (1) • Reads 485
Article posted May 29, 2008 at 04:20 PM GMT-7 •
comment (4) • Reads 654
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Our chicks hatched on Tuesday night. We had been incubating them for the past 21 days. Our of 24 eggs we got 17 healthy chicks. That's the best I've done in a long time. The children absolutely adore them. Unfortunately the chicks had to go home to a farm today. There were a few sad children at noon.
Article posted May 29, 2008 at 04:20 PM GMT-7 •
comment (4) • Reads 654
Article posted May 10, 2008 at 02:17 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 1661
This is my first voice thread. Now that I have a bit of an idea of what I am doing I will get the children doing the next voice tread instead of me. Great tool! I like it and I see its potential in the classroom for blogging.
Article posted May 10, 2008 at 02:17 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 1661
Article posted May 1, 2008 at 09:42 AM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 811
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We're are doing Literature Circles with another grade 2 class in a small city in Saskatchewan. Today we will actually YackPack with them and share our thoughts and ideas about the book, Wake Up Henry Rooster. These pictures were done by our Artful Artists.
Article posted May 1, 2008 at 09:42 AM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 811
Article posted April 28, 2008 at 09:01 AM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 547
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We had Fancy Friday on May 25th. In writing we are learning about the six traits and one of the traits of writing is Word Choice. We've been collecting some fancy words like colossal,and rampage. We decided to have a fancy day to go with our fancy words. A lot of us dressed fancy. As you can see I wore a kilt. We also had a fancy dance during our phys. ed. period. Fancy Friday was a lot of fun.
Article posted April 28, 2008 at 09:01 AM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 547
The grade ones and twos had a field trip to the Art Museum on Monday. The children got to glaze their clay bowls. The bowls will be fired in a kiln and then Mr. Silversides can pick them up before the end of the week. We also learned about the different types of glazes and pottery.
Article posted April 15, 2008 at 01:13 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 516
Article posted March 25, 2008 at 02:00 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 383
I'm very excited!! This is my first "You Tube" video. This contraption ends with an egg being dropped into a glass of water. As you can see by the children's reaction, the contraption was a success.
Article posted March 25, 2008 at 02:00 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 383
Article posted March 16, 2008 at 11:00 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 374
BubbleShare: Share photos - Find great Clip Art Images. <
Only three children were crafty enough to construct traps that would out-smart the clever little leprechauns. Were they successful with their traps? Kind of.... the gold was stolen but the Easter eggs were left in its place. Wierd, eh?
Article posted March 16, 2008 at 11:00 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 374
Article posted March 16, 2008 at 09:10 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 351
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We had our last day of skating on the 13th of March. We skated with with Mrs. Cassidy's grade 1 class. The children really enjoyed it. We even managed to get by without any accidents.
Article posted March 16, 2008 at 09:10 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 351
It was an exciting day in my class today. We had two important events. First we had the 100th day of school to celebrate. We recognized this by reading stories about 100, sharing our collections of 100 things (the grade twos had to bring collections of 1000)., and counting our collections. One of the moms even made cookies shaped like the number 100. Thanks Ms. Taylor. The second thing we had to celebrate was the Chinese New Year. Gung Ho Fat Choy!!!
Article posted February 7, 2008 at 03:15 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 432
The classes from grade 1 to grade 3 enjoyed a pancake breakfast this morning. Everyone in my class had a great fill. Parents provided plates of cheese and fruit. The school provided the pancakes. Our Principal, Mr. Pandila, gave us a helping hand. He also ate his fair share of pancakes.
Article posted February 5, 2008 at 12:09 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 411
Guess who got a Monkey Bike! No, not the kid who is sitting on it. Mr. Silversides did. The children think the monkey bike is nice. They'll all get a chance to ride on it sometime.
Article posted January 30, 2008 at 11:33 AM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 439
Article posted January 29, 2008 at 03:19 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 407
It was so cold today that only 10 children showed up in Mr. Silversides' class. The temperature outside with wind-chill was colder than -40 degrees celsius. None of the school board busses were running. Needless to say we had an interesting day at school.
Article posted January 29, 2008 at 03:19 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 407
The Grade 1's in my class have been working really hard at reading since the beginning of the school year. They've been doing Guided Reading and reading at home. They've been read to lots and and they have been practicing their sight words. All the hard work is paying off. They are now reading to their Grade 7/8 Reading Buddies. Way to go Grade 1's.
Article posted January 28, 2008 at 03:10 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 413
I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Encourage your children to Blog during the holidays. I'll check my e-mail just in case they do. :)
Article posted December 20, 2007 at 03:12 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 357
Article posted October 16, 2007 at 08:43 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 408
I took these photos at the beginning of the school year. I've been feeling pretty comfortable using Flickr but I wanted to figure out Rock You. We don't get a lot of times with our Grade 7/8 reading buddies because Reading Buddies always falls on a Monday and we have missed a few Mondays for one reason or another. My Grade 1/2's really enjoy reading buddies
Article posted October 16, 2007 at 08:43 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 408
The whole school participated in the Terry Fox Run on Fri., Sept. 29. We walked, jogged and ran around the track at Guthridge Field. One of my little grade one children even worked up quite a blister!
Article posted October 1, 2007 at 08:48 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 329
Article posted September 27, 2007 at 09:04 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 402
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The goldfish are a permanent fixture in the classroom. Sally the Salamander is going back to her natural home real quick so that she can prepare for her hibernation.
Article posted September 27, 2007 at 09:04 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 402
Article posted September 27, 2007 at 08:51 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 324
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We've been exploring feelings in Social Studies. I hope to teach the children how they can be more in control of there own feelings when dealing with others.
Article posted September 27, 2007 at 08:51 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 324
Mrs. Cassidy's Class and my class spent Friday afternoon at the paddling pool. The children had a great time there. We only have three days of school left before summer holidays. Yippee!
Article posted June 24, 2007 at 11:06 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 321
Article posted June 8, 2007 at 08:55 AM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 354
Our Grade 8 Reading Buddies used my Grade One class as their "guinea pigs". The younger children did some product testing with Coke products, potatoe chips and gum. (I had to twist their little arms to do it.) Ms. J and I didn't think the Grade 1 children should do product testing on the energy drinks.
Article posted June 8, 2007 at 08:55 AM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 354
Article posted June 5, 2007 at 08:54 AM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 335
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In May our school held a fundraising event for the Heart And Stroke Foundation called the Jump Rope For Heart. Children collected pledges for the Heart and Stroke Foundation. On May 18 the children from Kindergarten to Grade 6 participated in an afternoon of skipping. In total we raised over $7000 for the Heart and Stroke Foundation. Three cheers for Westmount!!!
Article posted June 5, 2007 at 08:54 AM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 335
Article posted June 4, 2007 at 11:21 PM GMT-7 •
comment (2) • Reads 340
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We had a very successful hatch in May. There were 2 Bantam chicks, 3 Pennsylvanian Naked Necks and 12 other chicks. The children loved them.
Article posted June 4, 2007 at 11:21 PM GMT-7 •
comment (2) • Reads 340
Article posted April 23, 2007 at 10:08 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 341
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We were learning about different 3-D shapes using toothpicks and miniature marshmallows. The children made triangular pyramids, cubes and triangular prisms. The children also learned about corners and edges>
Article posted April 23, 2007 at 10:08 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 341
We made a very complicated machine that served no purpose other than to drop an egg into a glass of water without breaking the egg. The children had a lot of fun and the also learned co-operation, trial and error and patience. You wouldn't believe the excitement when the contraption actually worked!
Article posted March 16, 2007 at 04:41 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 349
Article posted February 27, 2007 at 08:03 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 387
Our last day of skating was on February 13 so this entry is a little late. Skating was a lot of fun . The children grew a bunch in only three short sessions. We could not have done it without the help of all of the parent volunteers! Our class got to share the ice with Mrs. Cassidy's grade 1/2 class.
Article posted February 27, 2007 at 08:03 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 387
Article posted February 2, 2007 at 04:27 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 331
It was Pyjama Day at Westmount Elementary. I could really get into wearing pyjamas to school every day. Today it is -21 outside. With the windchill it feels like -34. Mmmm...Maybe I don't want to wear pyjamas if it stays this cold.
Article posted February 2, 2007 at 04:27 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 331
Article posted February 1, 2007 at 03:49 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 476
Tuesday, January 30 was our 1st day of skating. We went skating with Mrs. Cassidy's class. They are also grade 1. The children were all excited before we left. For some of them it was their 1st time skating so for those who were 1st timers there was a little bit of nerves mixed in with their excitement. We got to take a bus to the rink. The children liked that! I even had enough parents to help tie skates and a few who came out on the ice with us. All in all it was a good time until.... I noticed one of my students laying on the ice (not unusual, they're 6). What was unusual were the children forming around her and the faint sounds of wimpering. I immediately went over to find out if she was ok. She couldn't get up on her own and when I picked her up she wouldn't put any weight on her right foot. I got another adult to help me get her to the penalty box where I took off her skate to check for swelling. Her whole leg was sensitive to touch but all the time this little girl put on a brave front. I called her dad at work and he was able to come right away. A kindly grandmother whom I knew quite well stayed with the girl while I went with the rest of the class back to school just before lunch. Needless to say the girl did not come back in the afternoon. As it turned out the girl had landed in a funny way and broke her leg ( not just a bad sprain as I had suspected). The doctor put her leg in a cast that covers her foot and goes half way up her thigh. She'll have to wear a cast for 2 months. This was not a good 1st experience.
Article posted February 1, 2007 at 03:49 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 476
Article posted January 24, 2007 at 03:44 PM GMT-7 •
comment (1) • Reads 391
We've been adding a penny each day since the beginning of September. Every time we get to ten pennies we trade them for a dime. We're at 90 cents. Only ten cents away from a dollar.
Article posted January 24, 2007 at 03:44 PM GMT-7 •
comment (1) • Reads 391
Article posted October 31, 2008 at 11:00 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 532
These boys are demonstrating the fine art of problem solving using double sided beans. They are using the "Guess and Check" method. OK... They're just playing around and having fun, but they're learning at the same time.
Article posted October 31, 2008 at 11:00 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 532
Article posted January 20, 2007 at 10:13 AM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 325
On Friday, January 12 the Grade 6 and 7 class came and did a craft with my class. We made Snowmen. My Grade 1's had a great time. The older class were fantastic teachers. Everyone did a good job of cleaning up at the end.
Article posted January 20, 2007 at 10:13 AM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 325
Article posted January 10, 2007 at 03:31 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 360
It's been almost a year and a half since I started teaching Grade 1 and I'm really enjoying this age level. Granted, their sense of humour is still at the early stages of development but I'm working hard at helping them grow in that department. Five and six year olds are still so genuinely innocent and sincere and that's what I like about them. I'm also finding that, in my opinion, this age seems to soak up much more information in such a small amount of time than any other grade that I've taught. Case in point, they go from non-readers in September to being able to read simple books by Christmas. It's phenominal how much they can read by the end of June. I'm hoping to get my students blogging over the next two weeks and believe me, I know how hard it will be for some. Some of my students will be fairly care-free and willing to take risks with there "magic writing". Their Blogging will be interesting. Others will be rigid with their blog and want to spell everything "correct". I know I will still have a couple of reluctant bloggers and if any one has a miracle cure I would like to know what the solution is for them. My last thought is this...It would be real nice if my students could partner up with another grade one class somewhere (anywhere) as long as the other class speaks English to exchange comments to each others' blogs, kinda'like "Blogin'Buddies"
Article posted January 10, 2007 at 03:31 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 360
Article posted January 4, 2007 at 03:21 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 310
It's part way through the school year and I'm getting the blogging bug again. I believe that the children in my grade 1 class have enough language background to type their thoughts out in a blog. I can't wait to get them started.
Article posted January 4, 2007 at 03:21 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 310
Article posted May 24, 2006 at 03:00 PM GMT-7 •
comment (2) • Reads 449
I can't believe it! I've made it through my first year of grade one. In all of my twenty years of teaching grades 2 to 4 I always said that I would never teach grade 1 because I never felt that I was qualified. Well, I've found out how wrong I was. Grade 1 is great and I look forward to teaching it again next year.
Article posted May 24, 2006 at 03:00 PM GMT-7 •
comment (2) • Reads 449
Article posted April 12, 2006 at 03:11 PM GMT-7 •
comment (1) • Reads 368
I can't believe that Easter is here!! Spring is in full bloom here in Moose Jaw. It's my favourite time of year because that's when skipping ropes and yo yo's come out and get dusted off. I've already got three grade one children wanting to yo yo.
Article posted April 12, 2006 at 03:11 PM GMT-7 •
comment (1) • Reads 368
Article posted March 16, 2006 at 09:20 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 412
Today our class has constructed a trap in the hopes of catching a leprechaun. I understand that they can be very clever so I don't hold out much hope of catching one but I believe the building of the trap is half the fun. My students have helped me construct an elaborate assortment of pulleys and ramps that tie in
together to form a chain reaction that in the end might catch the crafty little beggar. Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!
Article posted March 16, 2006 at 09:20 PM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 412
Article posted March 4, 2006 at 10:27 AM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 437
I'm feeling really good about my first experience with blogging and I can't wait until my children open up their blogs. Already their blogs are attracting some unexpected traffic (thanks Tim and Dean). It's very exciting. Thanks to Mrs.C and her class for making our first blog experience a positive one. Now I can't wait to hear from other bloggers around the world.
Article posted March 4, 2006 at 10:27 AM GMT-7 •
comment • Reads 437
Article posted March 3, 2006 at 03:32 PM GMT-7 •
comment (1) • Reads 516
This is the very fist time that I have submitted my own blog article. I'm in the computer lab with 35 plus grade ones and a very competent blogger named Mrs. C. Her class has been blogging fort a few weeks already and her children are teaching my students how to blog. Mrs. C. has a group of very good teachers.
Article posted March 3, 2006 at 03:32 PM GMT-7 •
comment (1) • Reads 516
About the Blogger
I'm in my 27th year of teaching. I've spent the majority of my time teaching grades 1 to 4. I'm presently teaching a grade 1 and lovin' it!!!
Get a Voki now!
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