Weekly Activities

One of the “not a stick” ideas was the use of sticks as instruments.   Stemming from this idea, the children collected sticks to make into rhythm sticks. We have begun to explore how to play rhythm sticks and how music is a form of expression.   .

One of the favourite stories of the children is "Not a Stick" by  Antoinette Portis.  In this story, a stick becomes more than a stick through the character's imagination and play.  Inspired by the story, we went to the forest to find our own "not a stick." Looking for sticks excited the children and brought their creativity to life.   Their imagination transformed the ordinary stick into musical instruments, a walking stick, a  hammer, paintbrushes, and a pen to name just a few.  Showing the many uses of a "not a stick", the children expressed their talents for making the ordinary into extraordinary. Walking sticks, a pen and microphone. Keira suggested using a stick for a paintbrush so we tried it out!

This slideshow began as a photography project. I wanted the children to express their interest in the forest by taking photographs. It soon became evident that playing in the forest was what the children were interested in doing. While engrossed in play, I began taking pictures of the children expressing themselves.  Back in the classroom, the children viewed the pictures and enthusiastically shared the stories of their play. This led to more pictures being captured in the classroom and the playground.  The slideshow reflects how the children express themselves on a daily basis through their play and interactions with one another.

The children are exploring different ways to express their knowledge about trees.  Painting was the first method of expression.  Prior to painting, the children viewed a slideshow of different artists and their painting perspective of trees. We talked about the mood each painting evoked in each of us. To my surprise, all of the children preferred a realistic painting of a tree. Chloe - The Chicken and The Tree Keira - The Dying Tree Nico - Raindrop Tree Ryleigh - The Rainforest Sofia - .Donut Dot  Sofia said her painting is Russian. Tyreese - The Lollipop Forest William - Untitled

At the end of each unit, a summative task is designed to assess each student's understanding of the central idea. For this summative, the children worked individually to paint a river and salmon. They were asked the following set of questions relating to the central idea: What do you know about water? Why is water important to people? (what do they use it for) Why is water important to animals?   Why is water important to plants?    What would happen if there was no water? How can we make sure this never happens; how can we save water?

Bela had very important information to share with the group this week.  He told us that there had been an oil spill in Vancouver waters and that it was "really bad for the animals and us." The children were really interested in learning more so we took this opportunity to learn about oil spills and their impact. We looked at images of the oil spill in English Bay and discussed how the oil would affect the birds, fish, and others whose habitat is there.  As well, we talked about how the oil is not safe for us to touch and that the shellfish and fish that live in the water are no longer safe for us to eat. The children became very aware of the negative results of the oil spill.  We re-enacted an oil spill in the water table.  The children quickly spotted the oil floating on top of the water.  Once they started moving the water, they could see how easily the oil spread and was no longer contained in one spot. To help the children see th...

After learning about fresh water last week, the children wanted to find some groundwater.  Armed with shovels and pails, we set off for the sandpit.   The children were eager and determined to find water.  They worked in groups to dig two holes but despite their effort didn't find any groundwater. They did dig deep enough to reach wet sand. All this work made the group extremely  thirsty and very appreciative of their water bottles. Start digging! Is it deep enough yet? Even deeper but still no water! "Don't throw garbage in here because this water goes to the stream." Ryleigh