May 23, 2020

Hi Families,
I have decided that I will no longer be updating this blog. It has served its purpose, and is not being viewed. 
(I will continue to update our songs and videos and link the pages to Google classroom.) 
All of our work will be found on Google classroom until home learning ends on June 19.
I hope you have a great day,
Madame 

Week of May 19-22

Hi Families!

I hope you enjoyed your long weekend and the beautiful weather we had. Our Google classroom has been updated with learning activities for this week. Don't forget that you are welcomed to post photos to our Google classroom, or send them to me and I can post on your behalf. It is great to see what the children have been up to! I have added some new Boom cards to our account and have updated the blog with a few new songs and French videos. Please be easy on yourselves and don't try to do "too much." I have spoken to a few parents worried about their child being behind next year. Not to worry, as next fall's curriculum will reflect this shortened year and the teacher will ensure that your child's needs are met when school resumes.

Enjoy your week!
Madame

Bonne Fête, Jackson!

Bonne fête et bonne journée, Jackson! Tu as 7 ans! 

Week of May 11-15

Bonjour à tous! 

Comment ça va, mes amis? I hope that everyone continues to do well. I heard from many of you last week, and it seems that families are adjusting to the routine of home learning and discovering what works best for them. It is hard to believe that this is week 6 of teacher-lead home learning. I don't know about you, but I find the weeks are flying by very quickly. 

We have been keeping busy with lots of outdoor play, reading, drawing,bike riding and baking. It was nice to get out on the Confederation Trail and do some biking with friends, now that some of the restrictions have been lifted. My daughters have taken over most of the kitchen duties which has been a great break not to mention, a fantastic learning experience for them! Our animals continue to keep us entertained. I know the children like to hear about our cats, so here are a couple of  recent pictures! 

Sammy and Willow spend a lot of time snuggling on their favourite chair, and Willow was "helping" us to put a puzzle together. He seems to choose unusual places to sit, where he is very much in the way! And yes, he is a male cat, but his name is Willow. We thought he was a female at first! 
It has been nice  to see some photos of what you have been up to! You are welcome to send me photos, or you can even post them to Google classroom yourselves. It is sweet to see the children commenting on their classmate's photos. 
Our classroom blog is now linked to the Sherwood School webpage.
This coming weekend includes Victoria Day, so next week's assignments won't be posted until Tuesday, May 19. Please reach out in the meantime with any questions or concerns. 

Jackson C will be celebrating his birthday on the 18th! 

Bon anniversaire, Jackson!

Watch for a special birthday blog update on Monday

Until next week,

xo

Madame

Week of May 4-8

Salut, mes amis!

I hope everyone is doing well and I miss all of you! 

I was sad to hear that we won't be going back to school until at least September. I had hoped that we might at least have a few weeks together in June. I have been keeping busy at home with my family. We are trying to enjoy the nice weather outside as much as possible. Have you seen some new signs of spring? The tulips are beginning to come up in my garden, the robins are hopping around in my yard, and I noticed that beautiful daffodils are blooming in front of the school!

If you'd like to send me a photo of what you have been up to, I would really love to see it! 
Have you been baking, biking or doing some art work?  Feel free to leave comments or photos on Google classroom, or send me an e-mail. 

Our work for this week has all posted on Google classroom. A reminder that you may choose from the activities provided. You do not need to do everything. If you are feeling overwhelmed or your child is having an "off day," reading together would be enough.
Of all the activities posted, regular reading practice is the most important!

I have added more Boom card decks this week for spring word work, syllable counting, the sound "in" and subtraction. 

As always, please keep in touch with your concerns or questions. Let me know which types of activities you prefer, and I will attempt to provide more of those!

Have a great week,
Madame

Bon Anniversaire, Eric!

Tu as 7 ans aujourd'hui! Bon anniversaire, mon ami!

xo

Madame

Week of April 27-May 1

Bonjour tout le monde!

I hope everyone is enjoying our lovely spring weather. It is so nice to feel the sun again after a long winter! This week's assignments have all been posted to our Google Classroom.
https://classroom.google.com/c/MTA5MjY4NzQ3NDNa

I have added some new Boom card decks for math, for rhyming, for the sound "on" and for spring vocabulary. https://wow.boomlearning.com/signin/student?req=login

Under the links tab above, I have added  Ms.White and Mrs. Waite's music teachers' blog.

I had to create a new account for our "Splash Learn" math activities. Please use the new class code and password that I e-mailed to you on Friday. The old ones will not work.
https://www.splashlearn.com/

Here are some fun ideas for working on sight words and spelling words: (suggestions in blue print are new this week)

• Crazy writing:  Place some shaving cream, rice, salt or sugar on a rimmed baking sheet. Have your child use their finger or a Q-tip to write their words.
• Finger paint in a bag: Put some paint into a large clear zip-loc bag. Close the bag tightly. Your child can now use their finger to write words on the bag.
• "Abracadabra!": Affix words to the wall or ceiling. Turn out the lights and use a flashlight to read the words.
• "Word Hunt": Write the words on flashcards and hide them around the room or even outside! Have your child find the word and then read it or spell it.
• "Surprise Bag" Place all words in a bag. Have your child draw a word card out of the bag. If they can read it in a "click", they keep the card. If not, it goes back in the bag.
• "Word Hop" Write the words on cards and place them on the ground a short distance apart from each other. Have your child jump from word to word reading them as quickly as possible. I can see this working well with sidewalk chalk on the driveway!
• Continue playing "Go Fish" with word cards. I recently posted a Go Fish reference sheet on Google Classroom, that will help parents to play the game in French (in the reference section of the "classwork" page.
• Write words in different ways" using Scrabble tiles, letter stamps or magnetic letters on a cookie sheet. You could also cut letters out of magazines or cereal boxes or have fun writing the words on the driveway with sidewalk chalk.

Happy birthday to Eric who will be turning 7 on Friday! "Bonne fête, Eric!"

A note on Google classroom: I personally find the "stream" page disorganized looking. If you click on  "classwork"  at the top of the page in Google classroom, you will see the assignments and suggested activities organized by topic/date.                                                                                                 

Do what you can, choose from among the activities I have suggested and don't put too much pressure on yourselves. Try to have fun and aim for 30 minutes of speaking listening/reading/writing and 15 minutes of math daily 
(45 minutes total/day)

Have a great week! 

Madame

C'est l'anniversaire de Joshua!

Bonne fête à toi, Joshua!

xo

Madame

Week of April 20-24

Bonjour à tous!
I hope everyone continues to do well! The spring weather seems to have arrived we have been getting outside to enjoy it every day. 

Wednesday is Earth day "Le jour de la Terre." If we had been in school, this would have been our focus for the week. I challenge everyone to try and do something good for the Earth. Maybe clean up some litter in your yard or be more mindful to turn off lights when they are not needed. 
If you'd like to share what you did, I would love to see a picture (either on email or Google classroom.) 

Here are some learning suggestions for the coming days. 30 minutes of literacy and 15 minutes of math is the goal, although I am well aware that this is not always doable. Do what you can, and try to have fun! 

A note on Google classroom: I personally find the "stream" page disorganized looking. If you click on  "classwork"  at the top of the page in Google classroom, you will see the assignments organized by topic. 

Listening and Speaking:

1. Watch some videos and listen to some songs in French (on tabbed pages above) Discuss what you watched and heard with your parents or older siblings. Tell your parents what you liked or didn't like about the songs and videos using the French words you know.
2. Scavenger Hunt: Go for a walk around your neighbourhood and try to find the items on the "Scavenger Hunt." I have provided a new one for you on Google classroom. Be sure to speak French and practice the provided vocabulary and sentence structures."Je vois le ____", "J'ai trouvé un_____."
3. Listen to the story "Nous sommes dans un livre" by Mo Willems. My daughters had fun recording this read aloud for you! We hope you enjoy it. You can find this on Google classroom (shared with the permission of Scholastic.)
4. Fortune tellers/"Les coins-coins: I used to love these games when I was a child! Print off the pattern on Google classroom and follow the folding directions. If you don't have access to a printer, you could fold a piece a paper and write the text on yourself, using the fold lines as a guide. Use the sentence starters to practice speaking in French. I think the children will really like this activity! 

Reading: 
If you do nothing else this week, please try to read with your child and have them do some independent practice. Try the "Je lis, je lis..." site if you haven't logged on yet.

Don't forget to "jette un coup d'oeil"(take a sneak peek) at the cover/the first few pages and  make some predictions before reading. While reading always ask "Does this sound right?, Does this make sense? Does the word I just read match the letters on the page?  Don't guess at words! Use your reading strategies! I have posted some helpful information on Google classroom under the "Resources" topic. After reading, it is important to discuss the book in some way. Perhaps reread a favourite part, discuss the characters or retell what happened (beginning, middle and end.)

1. Sign on to the "Je lis, Je lis littératie site" and read one of the online books I have selected for you. https://jelis-free.rkpublishing.com/student   
2. When finished, do one of the following reading response activities posted in Google classroom.

• Roll and Retell
• D/M/F activity: draw or write what happened at Début, Milieu, Fin (beginning, middle, end) of the story.

Sight Words/Word Work:

1. Continue with Sight word cards from your homework bag. If you finish a set, email me and I will send you some new words to work on. These words need to be read quickly in a "click." Please keep the same set for at least a week before asking for new words. These words must be mastered, not sounded out. I now have digital versions of the "colour" sight word card sets. Let me know when you need a new ones!
2. Boom Cards: Play any of the sight word or word building decks I have assigned.
3. Spelling words:  dans, du, des (ami, avec, j'aime)                      Words in parentheses were assigned last week, but should still be reviewed. Children must know how to spell these words independently by the end of Grade 1.                       
4. Game suggestions for practicing sight words and spelling words:

• "Abracadabra!": Affix words to the wall or ceiling. Turn out the lights and use a flashlight to read the words.
• "Word Hunt": Write the words on flashcards and hide them around the room or even outside! Have your child find the word and then read it or spell it.
• "Surprise Bag" Place all words in a bag. Have your child draw a word card out of the bag. If they can read it in a "click", they keep the card. If not, it goes back in the bag.
• "Word Hop" Write the words on cards and place them on the ground a short distance apart from each other. Have your child jump from word to word reading them as quickly as possible. I can see this working well with sidewalk chalk on the driveway!
• Continue playing "Go Fish" with word cards. I recently posted a Go Fish reference sheet on Google Classroom, that will help parents to play the game in French (in the reference section of the "classwork" page.

Write words in different ways" using Scrabble tiles, letter stamps or magnetic letters on a cookie sheet. You could also cut letters out of magazines or cereal boxes or have fun writing the words on the driveway with sidewalk chalk.

Le Son de la Semaine: (Sound of the Week):  

 "oi" (pronounced "wa")

1. Use your pink song book and look for words containing the sound "oi." Circle or highlight the sound within the word. If you forgot your song book at school, it is now available in our Google Classroom under the "Resources" topic. Look on "classwork" page to see assignments organized by topic.
2. In Google classroom, there is a Slide presentation with a video outlining syllables, vocabulary words and a song with the featured sound. There is also the dice game "Lance et Lis."
3. Work on the new "oi" Boom cards I have assigned.

Writing:

Please let children try their best. Do not help them spell words. You can tell them the word, but they should orally slowly stretch the word out and write the sounds they hear.  They could also listen for the syllables in the word to help with spelling. There are several reference tools posted that will help with spelling of common words and special vocabulary words.

1) Earth Day/ Jour de la Terre sentences:  On Google classroom, watch the video where I present the book " Je peux aider la Terre." by Madame Angel (used with her permission.)

Use the following sentence model:
Pour aider la Terre, je peux __________. 

Copy and complete the sentence stating a way you can help planet Earth. Use the provided Earth day vocabulary or the ideas from the book I share in the video.

Examples" Pour aider la Terre, je peux planter un arbre.

Pour aider la Terre, je peux ramasser les déchets.

Illustrate the sentences and colour the pictures. Be sure to use proper capitalization, spacing, letter formation and punctuation. Be sure to reread your work to ensure that it sounds right and makes sense. It is important to share the writing with someone afterwards.

Extra challenge: Make several sentences on separate pages and create a book. Make a cover and create a book title. 

2) Boom Cards: Work on building simple sentences with the "Phrases Fantastiques" cards. Be sure to listen to the sentence first and then try to build it with the provided words, pictures and punctuation. The Easter deck is still there, and I added another deck with a food theme last week.

3) Earth Day themed "Write the Room" activity in Google Classroom: Print the vocabulary cards, or write the words out on post it notes. Hide the words around the room. Have your child find the word and then write it on the provided sheet (or any piece of paper.) This is extra fun if you have a clipboard! The children are familiar with this activity as it is a common one we use in class. This is also a great way to practice spelling words.

Math/Numeracy:

1. Create a "Doubles" booklet:  This was last week's activity. You could finish it this week if you have not had a chance to do it yet (see last week's blog post.)
2. Splash learn site: We are experiencing "technical issues" with our account. It seems as if our class has been "locked out", as nobody can log in anymore (myself included). I hope to get to the bottom of the problem very soon. I will email everyone when I hear back. I hope I won't need to issue new passwords etc, but that's a possibility.
3. Play a math card game: Game instructions under the "math games" tab. I have posted a new card game to Google Classroom "Addition War."
4. Work on the math-related Boom Cards: More new cards have been added this week for addition.  
5. Counting by 2,5,10: Collect a pile of Lego blocks, Shopkins toys, cereal, macaroni or any other small household object.  Have your child count the same pile of objects in three different ways (by groups of 2,5 and 10s). Repeat with a different number of objects. 
6. Doggie Doubles Bump Game:  Print or recreate the game board with a simple drawing. Instructions are on Google classroom. Instead of a spinner, you could play with dice. Roll the dice and double the number rolled. For example, if you roll a 6, you would double that and put your marker on the dog with the number 12 (6+6=12.)
7. Counting/naming numbers in French: Listen to the counting songs under the songs tab and try to sing along.

Boom Cards:

I have added some new decks for addition, for rhyming and for Earth day vocabulary.  https://wow.boomlearning.com/signin/student?req=login



Have a great week!
Madame