Briar Hill School’s coat drive is back! We will once again be collecting gently used winter clothing for Jacket Racket, a volunteer organization which aims to ensure that all school aged children are appropriately dressed in the winter. Please consider donating winter coats, snow pants, mittens and hats for kids and families. There will be a collection bin by the main doors within the school building. Please send in any items with your child to give to their teacher and we will see that they get into the bin. Donations will be accepted between October 23 and November 3.
As the weather is showing signs of cooler temperatures, we are exploring the changes that occur during this time of year. We are discussing what people and animals do to adapt to the changing environment including location, shelter, body coverings, food sources/preferences, activities and movement. We are learning about how indigenous peoples relate to the seasons and the significance of these seasonal cycles to their beliefs, culture and livelihood. What are you noticing about how your family is adapting at this time of year? Are you warming up the car? Wearing different clothes? Eating differently? Turning up the furnace? Changing outdoor activities? What do you notice animals doing? Changing colour? Gathering food? Seeking winter shelter? Migrating? Students are encouraged to engage in practical applications of this learning such as checking the weather forecast before going to school to ensure they are dressed appropriately.
We have been making scientific observations of natural objects and sketching what our eyes see. I am amazed at the level of skill the students are demonstrating with their sketching. We began with items we collected from nature including leaves, twigs, rocks and bark. We have pumpkins in our room now and have been using the same skills to sketch them. These skills will help students record and share and explain their learning across the curriculum. When you are out in nature, take some time with your children to stop and notice, sketch and wonder.
In math we are finishing up our patterns by identifying, creating and extending number patterns through skip counting, noticing rhythms and looking for rules. We are using various arrangements of numbers including hundred charts, number lines, ten frames, tallies, beaded number lines and place value charts to explore these number patterns in ways that make sense for us.
Do you see the visual patterns? Do you see the number patterns?
Hint: Look in the ones place.
45 45 ...
12122 12122 ...
During our daily calendar activities, we have been representing our daily numbers in many different ways in order to build understanding of quantity while we compose and decompose them. These foundational skills build understandings that are transferable to other applications. We are moving into exploring teen numbers in greater detail and moving on to numbers to 50. Unpacking these numbers through various hands on activities, written work and oral sharing will continue for the next few weeks. You can support your child with practice in reading and writing numbers as well as identifying the tens and ones in numbers.
We will also be completing a cross-curricular pumpkin unit that will focus mostly on math and science as well as some social studies and art components. We could use some volunteer help this coming week between 11:15 and 12:00 each day. This time will be devoted to pumpkin math including measuring, weighing, counting and comparing. On Thursday we will carve the pumpkins and having an adult at each of the four table groups would be greatly appreciated.
While our guided printing lessons have been completed, we will continue to focus on proper letter formation, size and placement through our daily work. Please notice your child’s printing in their agenda message to determine if they require some support at home with these skills. Daily direct teaching of phonics lessons will continue as we develop our reading and writing skills. Through a sequential and systematic process, students are learning “the code” of the English language which will enable to them to decode (read) or encode (spell) words successfully using the skills taught. I will be sending home “heart” words (irregularly spelled) and “high frequency” words (occur often) that you can help your child learn to read and write. Some words, such as said, fit into both categories.
I am in the process of setting up a home reading program wherein your child will bring home books/passages to read that focus on the skills they are currently practicing. Any books or laminated materials will need to be returned when the reading is complete. Plain paper sheets will generally not need to be returned.
