Montessori Monday, February 28

 Hi parents,

We had a great day today! As you can probably gather, today was our first "Montessori Monday", which is a new thing that we'll be trying out each Monday. Although our school is Montessori every day of the week, I thought it would be fun to dedicate some extra time towards explicitly learning about Montessori values, materials, and history, and to try our best to emulate a "traditional" Montessori classroom. Each week we'll learn about a different aspect of the Montessori philosophy on Monday, and then spend the rest of the week incorporating it into our regular classroom activities wherever we can. 

Today's topic was 'caring for the places in which we live and learn'. We spent a lot of time discussing and brainstorming ideas of how we take care of different environments. We talked about how to effectively clean and organize the classroom, as well as cubbies and coathooks. The students took home a lot of old work, water bottles, lunch containers, and other things that were cluttering up our workspace.

The students went outside with Ms. Brown for gym, and also visited the library for a book exchange. They wrote in their journals about their weekends. We did not use any electronic technology today - for Morning Math, the students explored a wide range of Montessori math materials.

At the end of the day, we practiced Spelling. I'm slightly changing the way we do spelling quizzes. Even though I really appreciate how students have been challenging themselves to do all three lists, I think it might be more helpful for them to just focus on one list at a time. I think they may be trying to learn too many words at once and getting overwhelmed. I'm also planning to send home the quizzes so that you can go over them at home if you like.

Tomorrow is our first day of Guest Reader! The easing of school restrictions has inspired me to bring back a whole bunch of awesome activities and routines that have been a big hit in the past, and I'm so excited to share them with this class. I think the second half of the year is going to be even better than the first. 

Some students participated in a "Sand Castle STEM Challenge" today in the library, and asked me to upload some photos:

Have a nice night!

Zac

Spelling Words (Week of Feb. 27)

 Spelling List A

Over	Were	Term	Verb	Herd
Here	Help	Make	Yellow	Two

 

Spelling List B

Under	Cover	Baker	Mercy	Every
Sleep	Five	Wash	Or	Before

 

Spelling List C

Customer	Observer	Astronomer	Composer	Manager
Commander	Philosopher	Passenger	Entertainer	Designer

Good luck!

Friday, February 25

 Happy 100th Day of School!

We had a pretty good day today and did some 100 themed activities. It was a nice way to wrap up our week of special days.

First, the students worked on a challenging math problem, in which they were asked to spend 100 imaginary dollars on a variety of items from a made up flyer. We talked about keeping a 'running total', and other effective strategies that make it easy to add up many different quantities without losing track. Finding benchmark numbers is another great approach. We also talked about how a problem like this could be approached by subtracting from 100, or by adding up until you reach 100. 

The students wrote paragraphs about what they think their life will be like at age 100. 

We also had our spelling quiz, and read another chapter of Droon.

We were discussing whether "Ninns" (big red tough guys from Droon) make good guards. They're big and scary, but not very smart - which quality is more important?

Stay tuned for next week's spelling words, and have a great weekend!

Zac

Lost and Found Overflowing!

 The Lost and Found at LBS has been exceptionally packed lately. If your child is missing anything, please encourage them to take a thorough look through it tomorrow!

Thank you!

Thursday, February 24

 Happy Beach Day!

We had a pretty good day today. In the morning, the class completed their morning work choices, and then met with their Social Studies Buddies to do some more research on Iqaluit. The focus today was on traditions, and the many changes that have occurred over the past hundred years or so. The students learned how Inuit people used to live in Igloos in the Winter, and relied heavily on animals like seals and caribou for survival. They also learned how many traditions, such as storytelling, throat singing, and building inukshuks, still live on to this day.

We read another chapter of Droon and did some comprehension questions.

We revisited the topic of 'rounding' and I was happy to see that everyone remembered what we'd discussed. I'm sure the kids will start subconsciously rounding every time they see a price soon!

We watched an episode of Wild Kratts to celebrate the class earning 20 Helping Hearts at Lunch.

We did some Beach Day poetry writing. Students had the option of doing a beach ball poem, or a palm tree poem.

We ended the day with Gym, recess, and Music. Tomorrow is the 100th Day of School, which means that 4/4 days this week were special days. I'm just about celebrated-out. 

We will also finally be having the spelling quiz. 

Have a nice night,

Zac

Fitness Bingo at LBS

 FITNESS BINGO AT LBS!

All of the classes at Lake Bonavista School are participating in a fitness bingo challenge from February 23-April 8! We wanted to share the bingo card with you so you can continue the fun at home! At school, each time a class completes a ‘blackout’ bingo card, they will be added to a draw and entered to win bonus recess time! If your family complete all of the exercises on a bingo card at your house, please notify your classroom teacher and your child’s class will receive an additional entry in the draw.

 

Each exercise on the bingo card is to be completed in an interval style - 20 seconds of the exercise, followed by 10 seconds of rest. In order to cross the activity off of your bingo card you must complete a minimum of 4 interval sets. If some of the exercises are unfamiliar, please ask your child to teach you the movement.

 

Feel free to check out the video below for a further explanation of the bingo challenge.

https://youtu.be/ejIjfWUBwpY

 

Happy sweating!

 

Active Living Committee

The Book Fair is Back!

 Save The Date! 

Dear families, 

 

Mark your calendars! The fun and excitement of a Scholastic Book Fair is coming to our school! To adapt to our changing needs, Scholastic has developed a Hybrid Book Fair (in-school with a virtual link) to provide an opportunity for our students and families to experience the joy of reading together. 

 

So, save the date! Our Scholastic Virtual Book Fair will take place on:  

Friday, March 4^th – Friday, March 11^th

 

When it’s time to shop, you can choose to visit the virtual link and purchase online or send in cash for your child to purchase books in person. We will be sending home a letter with more information soon!  

 

Happy reading!