Where did the week go???? I guess that's what happens with the days that follow a long weekend... they sure fly by! I'm sorry that I haven't written in the past few days (I'm sure the suspense has been killing people. Hahaha! Yeah... right! ;)) Anyway, it's been a quality Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Here's a brief synopsis just for you:
Mercredi
In the morning, the students visited literacy centres based on la lettre 'Bb.' These included a taste test and graphing of "les bonbons préférés" (I had the students design their own representation of the candies and place them onto the graph); the classic game of 'Candyland' - again because of les bonbons!; a 'blé d'Inde'(Indian corn) craft using found materials; and a structured page on which students were asked to draw pictures of themselves eating pieces of their favourite 'bonbons.'
We then met at the carpet and briefly discussed the letter and sound for "Bb," before heading outside for some gym time. We played "l'écureil et le citrouille" (which is a fun variation on Duck, Duck, Goose in which one of the students is the squirrel who drops the mini gourd into the hand of another student to 'choose' him or her to chase them); and hunted for pumpkins in the playground. I also provided some free play time outdoors for the children to play on the equipment, as I was fearing an indoor recess!
Upon their arrival back inside the classroom, we played a sorting game together at the carpet. I had glued some pictures of different types of food onto construction paper pumpkins, and written "parfois," "toujours" and "jamais" on a sheet of green cardstock. I had the kids work together with a partner to choose a pumpkin and place it in the correct location on the cardstock depending on whether or not the food was healthy to eat sometimes, always, or never. :) I'm happy to report that they did very well with this activity! Afterwards, the children visited sorting centres that included fall-themed items, and worked on their number books for le numéro un. When they had finished at the centres I provided them with some free choice activity time.
The kids cleaned up and I read them a story at the carpet called "Les belles feuilles d'automne" (Beautiful fall leaves), and we had a little discussion about the book before I sent them to wash their hands for the second nutritional break.
Following the second nutritional break, we visited la bibliothèque. We read a character education book together called "Je travaille en équipe," and we talked about how our class is a bit like a team that we are all playing on. If we work together, things just seem to go better for everyone involved! The kids chose some new books and we signed them out, then headed back to the classroom where I handed out their mailbags and we got ready to go home before enjoying a few more minutes of play.
Jeudi
I changed my mind about bringing in my guitar, etc. for Grade One music. I thought that it would be better to try to get to know the students a bit more before bringing in instruments and having a sing-along. Instead, we talked about how "Music is all around us." I showed the class a clip from the movie August Rush (It's called City Symphony if you feel bored enough to look it up on Youtube!), and we played a charades/pictionary game in which the kids acted out things in their environment that made "music-like" sounds. Afterwards, we read a book entitled "Just a Song in My Head" which tells the tale of a bunch of different animals and how they are all inspired by one another to have a song stuck in their heads... but in different ways (e.g., one thinks of the song as a whisper, and another as a whistle). We then chose a song to get stuck in the class' head... we went with "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star." I grouped the kids and had them work together to think of different ways of presenting this song (e.g., whistling, snapping/clapping, humming, opera style), and then had them perform it for the rest of the class. They did a pretty good job overall, but there were a few students who were rather hesitant to participate! I started to introduce the song "The Monster Mash" to the class, as well. I am no choreographer, but I am planning to develop and teach the class a dance based on the song in the weeks to come, as it fits in so well with the Halloween vibe that is going on!
Vendredi
Today was a good day, but everyone seemed a little 'off' - possibly because of the rainy weather!
We began our day with literacy centres - again based on Bb. These included: Wiki sticks, Candyland, B, b, b, comme les blocs, and Bb readers (similar to the Aa readers that the students decorated and read last week). The kids were also free to practice their writing and to visit the computer to play French games during this time. They all worked so very well this morning!!! I was impressed. We then went outside to play a few active games - dodgeball; rouge, jaune, vert; and Quel heure est-il Mademoiselle Loup? - before washing our hands for the first nutritional break.
Following the first break, we met at the carpet and talked about l'alphabet. We reviewed the letters of the alphabet in French with a fun song from my French CD, and then I had the students practice "air-writing" Bb. We read the new page in "Le grand livre de l'alphabet," this one reads "B, b, b, comme baton!" The kids seemed to like pretending to swing un baton de baseball! Maybe we should have a pinata at the Halloween party after all! We then began a discussion about the life cycle of the pumpkin. I showed them diagrammed pictures and they acted out each phase of the cycle. We also passed a real little pumpkin around the circle to get a sense of the weight and texture.
Our "special guest," Freggie then came to visit us in class, and two nursing students came in along with him to talk to us about the importance of healthy eating! :) I have never had the pleasure of seeing Freggie before, and actually found him to be quite hilarious! :) The kids seemed to really enjoy this little presentation.
Following the second nutritional break, we had some free play time, and I circulated the room and took notes on the play that I noticed that the students were engaging in. I then gave the students some quiet time to read at the carpet and we enjoyed a bonbon because it was vendredi! Le monstre, Pierre, then handed out les sacs-en-plastique, and we got ready to go home.
I'm looking forward to next week - we will be talking more about Bb and the life cycle of the pumpkin, and reading some good books that go along with these areas of the curriculum. On Monday, I hope to make some pumpkin chocolate chip cookies together as a class. I may, however, be attending a workshop during the day (if I can find a way to Guelph!), so we'll have to wait and see. An October newsletter is on the way!
Bon week-end!
Mlle Craig
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