Holiday Card Project Update!

Wow!  There is a lot of great learning and discussion that has come out of our participation in the Holiday Card exchange.  The cards started rolling in last week.  For each card we open, the students have to find and colour the State/Province that it came from on a map of North America. Next, we discuss/graph the average December temperature of each spot.  (Each student is making their own map/graph and we are also posting a map/graph in the class).  After opening a few cards, the students have become very good at predicting the temperature of a place based on its location in relationship to other places that they already know the temperature of.  (Example:  they knew that Missouri and Kansas would have similar temperatures since they are right beside each other but that it would likely be much colder in Saskatchewan because it is farther North).  We have also been practicing our 'mental math' as we add together the number of boys and girls in each of the classes that send us cards.

When we left for the holidays, we had 11 cards opened.  We now have a bunch waiting for us when we get back in January.  I can't wait to open the rest of our cards to see where they have come from!

Holiday Traditions!

We have really enjoyed talking about our Holiday Traditions.  Christmas is such a magical time of year!  Its always fun to hear the students compare "naughty Elf on a shelf" stories and talk about the fun things they do with their families over the holidays.  Last year, I decided to start a 'holiday tradition' in my classroom.  I wanted everyone to have the opportunity to decorate a gingerbread house which is something that my own daughters have done (and continue to do) every Christmas.  I pre-assembled the houses so they would be sturdy enough to hold lots of goodies and then just enjoyed watching the students transform their houses. We were so proud of our creations that we invited Mrs. Brockman to come check them out! Thanks Grade 2 for helping me keep this tradition alive!  I hope those houses made it home in one piece!  LOL!  Merry Christmas to all!

Merry Measuring!

We have been having fun in our class using our measurement skills.  By the end of Grade 2, students should be able to estimate and measure length, height, and distance, using standard units (i.e., centimetres, metres) and non-standard units (ie. link its, blocks, buttons).  Students also should be able to record and represent measurements of length, height and distance in a variety of ways.

First, we reviewed the important steps to measuring:

1.  Place the first unit of measurement at the edge of the object.
2.  Place the next unit of measurement beside the first unit without any space between and without overlapping.
3.  Continue laying units of measurement until you reach the end of the object being measured.
4.  Count how many units long the object being measured is.

Next, we used a variety of materials to measure.
Students soon discovered that standard tools (rulers with centimeters marked) were faster and easier to use and that that everyone got the same measurement.

We compared and ordered objects by length using nonstandard units and practiced making statements of comparison. We also discussed the importance of choosing the right measuring tool for a measuring job. We learned "small objects can be measured with small tools, but you should choose bigger tools if you are measuring something big or it just ends up taking too long to measure it and it is too many to count."

Marvelous measuring Grade 2!

Sounds of the Holidays!

The small gym at St. Marys D.C.V.I. was packed yesterday as many classes from Little Falls attended a 'Holiday concert'.  We enjoyed listening to the bucket drummers, Grade 9 Band, Choir and Senior Band.  What a fabulous bunch of musicians for our younger students to look up to.  Thanks so much to D.C.V.I. staff and students for inviting us for this special event.  Thanks also to Sheila Kruse for helping to supervise our class.  

Museum and Library Excursion

We really enjoyed our trip to the local Museum this morning. It felt like we had travelled back in time and were sitting inside an actual log cabin like the ones the early settlers would have had.  Amy helped us to imagine what life was like for people who lived in that cabin.  It was a small, dark space and that one room was used for everything. Sometimes the kids had to all sleep in the same bed!  We talked about all the differences between homes from long ago and the ones we live in today.  We also talked about how Christmas was celebrated in the past, the gifts/toys that the children would have received and the decorations they would have had in their homes and on their Christmas trees.  We made a small yarn doll like the ones the children would have played with long ago.  It was tricky, but we were proud of the results!  After a quick lunch, we proceeded to the Public Library where we enjoyed several Christmas stories and made a Christmas Tree Ornament.  It was a perfect day to be out walking.  We had a fantastic day. Thanks so much to Jeff McCurdy and Jocelyne Gall for helping us today.  We couldn't have done it without you!