Friday

Hi parents,

Pajama Day was a big hit! The students had lots of fun, but still tried their best, and so we were able to enjoy the day to its fullest.

In the morning, the students worked in their Math Groups instead of doing Quiet Reading, and I had the chance to teach some more subtraction lessons using the Golden Beads. This is the first year that I've taught subtraction before addition, and I think it has worked out pretty well! It's definitely a useful skill to have when the Class Dojo Store rolls around.

We also had our Spelling Quiz, and this week, I gave out more A+ scores than ever! I noticed that a lot more Grade 1's are trying to do both lists now, and having quite a bit of success too. :)

The students had a lot of time to work on their board games today. They're looking awesome so far. In fact, later in the day when we had "Fun Friday", many students asked if they could play their own games with their friends! I think that taking the time to play through the games is a valuable part of this project too, because it's the best way to identify areas for improvement. There are many students who get way too into the 'trap spaces', and then their games are basically just impossible.

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

Zac

Thursday

Hi parents,

We had a pretty good day today, all around, and the students got to see a very cool presentation from a real, local author and illustrator duo!
In the morning, the students worked in groups and brainstormed ideas about what makes a good board game. I was quite pleased with the ideas they generated! Here are a few:

• It has Dice.
• You move characters around the board.
• It has short cuts.
• It has traps.
• It has scooters to make you move more slowly (clearly not the Lime ones downtown...)
• It has a theme

Then, as a group, we came up with some other things that make a board game great:

• It has to be neat and organized, so you can understand where to move your piece!
• It has to make sense, and have rules that are easy to understand
• It has to be multi-player!

So, with all that said, the students started to plan out their own board games. So far, things are looking pretty good. The students are being quite creative, while still designing games that seem simple enough to play. If you could take the the time to talk at home about your child's plan for their game, that would be awesome! It definitely doesn't need to be anything fancy. I just want them to make sense. I think it would be fun to have a board games day later, where the kids can try out each other's games!

Anyway, on with the day. In the afternoon, the class went to a presentation from local author Jace Jax, and local illustrator Henry Hama. They read the class one of their original stories, and explained in detail how they wrote, illustrated, and published their book. It was great!

Tomorrow is our Pajama / Toy Day! Everyone in the class is encouraged to wear their Pajamas to school. They are also allowed to bring one toy or stuffy that they will be able to play with during our "Fun Friday" time at the end of the day. It's only about 20 minutes long but it will probably still be the highlight of the week.

Have a good night,


Zac

Wednesday, October 16

Hi parents,

We had a great day today! The whole class earned tons of 'dojo points'. If every day was like today, they would all be dojo rich, and I'd be making many more trips to the dollar store.

In the morning, the students had Music, and then we did quiet reading, some math lessons, and Gym. We had a lot of work period time too, which is where the students really shone. It was amazing - I quickly went over the work period choices, sent the kids to work, and within one minute, everyone in the class was quietly working!

In the afternoon, we had Daily 5, and then we had a class discussion about board games. I showed the students some examples of 'classic' board games, and we talked about the similarities and differences between a variety of popular board games. The students noticed that most games involved dice, spinners, or some other way of deciding how far you move each turn. Some games, like Monopoly and Life, involved fake money, while other games, like Trouble, just involve jumping on other players pieces and ruining their nights.

The students wrote in their journals about their own favourite board games, card games, and video games.

Board Game Project!
The reason we're talking so much about games is that we're about to embark on our first big project of the year, in which the students will be creating their own Board Games! Playing (and inventing) board games is an excellent way to help children practice counting, and often even adding, if the game has two or more dice. I will also be challenging the students to incorporate other math / reading elements to their games. This could be as simple as saying "if you land on this special space, you have to solve a math problem from this stack of math cards." Or something like that.

If you could talk with your child tonight about what ideas they may have for a board game, that would be great! We'll be talking about it tomorrow in class, as the students start to plan out their games, but going into the discussion with a few ideas would definitely be helpful. I know Grade 1/2 students are incredibly creative, and I want to make sure their creativity shines through with this project!

Have a nice night,

Zac


Think Jumanji, but Math-ier

Tuesday, October 15

Hi parents,

Today was a pretty good day for our class!

In the morning, the students wrote about their Thanksgiving weekends, and practiced their spelling words. We played some new tag games in gym, and then went to the Library.

OVERDUE BOOKS ALERT
I noticed today that many students seem to have misplaced their library books! As a result, they are not able to check out new ones, which makes our Library time a bit less exciting. If you find a LBS Library book at home, please send it back to school as soon as possible!

In the afternoon, we had Daily 5, and then the students split into their Math Groups for some small group subtraction lessons. Students who were not involved in the lesson were doing a variety of other math activities independently. I think it went really well! I hope we can try this again so that I can have more opportunities to give individualized lessons to every student.

Class Pictures have arrived! I sent home the individual student photos today. From what I saw, they all look great. But if you are interested in retakes, we will be doing those on Nov. 12!

Pajama Day Friday!

Last week, our class successfully collected all 26 of the Alphabet Stickers that are mixed in with my other reward stickers. So, this Friday, October 18, we will be having a PJ Day! This means that students are also allowed to bring one toy / stuffy, at parents discretion. Please do not send any electronics! I'm hoping that the students will be extra appreciative of the opportunity to bring toys now that I've mercilessly implemented the "Toy Ban" for regular school days.

Have a great night!


Zac

Spelling Words! (Week of October 14)

Spelling List A

Big	Wig	Fig	Dig
Pig	Twig	Rig	Jig

Spelling List B

Gold	Fold	Cold	Scold
Untold	Behold	Hold	Sold

Thursday, October 10

Hi parents,

Today was another kind of crazy day for our class, and even though the students got a lot of work done, I felt like I was repeating every instruction at least 5 times... this is an exceptionally big problem when it comes time to clean up. Usually, this is when every student decides they need to go refill their water bottles.

In the morning, we had our spelling quiz, and then did a quick math activity where the students had to represent numbers in creative, artistic ways. We went to Gym, and when we got back, we did Daily 5.

In the afternoon, we did a fun Thanksgiving art piece, where the kids assembled and coloured their own turkeys. Hopefully they remembered to take them home... If not, that's okay too, because turkey is just as good the week after thanksgiving.

TOYS IN CLASS

In light of our last couple days, I've decided to no longer allow students to bring toys to class, until we collectively get our act together again. This includes Hatchimals, Bakugan, and stuffed animals. If students do bring toys, they'll have to keep them in their backpacks.

Stay tuned for the new spelling words! Have a good weekend,

Zac

Wednesday, October 9

Hi parents,

We had a pretty good day today all around. In the morning, I worked with the Grade 2 students on solving 2-digit subtraction problems using the Golden Beads material. This material makes it easier for students to visualize the process of 'borrowing' when they solve a problem like: "52 - 26 = __ ". I noticed that some students are already familiar with the traditional written algorithm, which made me very happy, because it is often one of the most challenging things that Grade 2 students have to learn all year! So, thank you all for the math work you do at home - it makes a gigantic difference. 

I also had a chance to work with the Grade 1 students on subtraction and number representation, also using the Golden Beads material. The kids were very quick to see the convenience of using the '10 bars' to show groups of 10, instead of painstakingly counting out 10 tiny, rolling, hard to pick up, beads. 

Retro Golden Beads footage, c. 1996

After Gym, we had a class discussion about the month of October, and all the exciting things that happen during it. We have five different students who have birthdays in October, and lots of sibling, parent, and pet birthdays too, so the class had lots of reasons why October is a fun month.

In the afternoon, we had Daily 5, Music, and some time to play a whole class math game called "Classroom of Doom". The kids did a great job with this game and kept the noise level surprisingly low!

Remember that Friday is a PD Day, so our Spelling Quiz will be Tomorrow! Good luck!

Also... I am sorry to post this again, but I am still missing a lot of coupon books / payments for coupon books... If you are not interested in buying an ADmazing Savings book, please send it back tomorrow! If you are interested in buying one, please send the $25 to school tomorrow. Thank you very much in advance! :)

Have a good night,

Zac

Tuesday, October 8

Hi parents,

Today was a 'just okay' day for our class, because even though the students worked hard during work period, it seemed like I had to repeat every instruction three times before anyone started listening! It's weird how days like today just randomly happen after we had such a great day yesterday.

In the morning, we talked a bit about Thanksgiving, and the students wrote lists of all the things they are thankful for. After that, we had some work period time, and then went to Gym. When we got back from the gym, it was time for library, and that took us through the rest of the morning.

In the afternoon, we had Daily 5, and then did some math work using the ten frames. Ten Frames are useful in the same ways that fingers are useful. In terms of math, I mean. Basically, a Ten Frame is a 2x5 grid, where students can fill in the empty space to show numbers. Just like with fingers, using a Ten Frame helps students to see how numbers relate to the 'anchors' of '5' and '10'. Students who finished the Ten Frame activity early had time to continue working on their weekly math problems.

At the end of the day, we sat in a circle, and the students shared one 'wish' they had for our classroom. I can't believe I'm not the only one who wishes it was a bit quieter! It was nice to see that the students felt the same way about today as I did. I think they all want to see our classroom be the peaceful, respectful, and kind place it usually is. :)

ADmazing Savings Coupon Books

We are now in the last week of our ADmazing Savings Coupon book fundraiser. The proceeds from this fundraising activity will be used directly in your child’s classroom. Books are available for $25.00 each, of which Lake Bonavista will use $10.50 for the benefit of our students.
If you wish to take advantage of these discounts, please complete the order form printed on the back on the ADmazing envelope, and enclose the correct amount of money - $25.00 per book ordered. - directly to your child’s classroom teacher by Thursday, October 10th, 2019 or earlier.

Have a good night!
Zac

Monday, October 7

Hi parents,

Today was a good day for our class - I think that Mondays always go well, for some reason. Maybe it's because our Monday work choices are always the same, so the students are becoming increasingly able to do their work independently!

In the morning, the class wrote in their journals, mostly about their weekends. It sounds like the Wild Kratts put on a pretty good show! The class also practiced spelling, did Morning Math, and worked on their weekly math problems.

We are still working on subtraction. I've been working with the Grade 1 students on using their fingers to help solve subtraction problems. Even though counting fingers may seem like a 'beginner' strategy, it's actually a fantastic way to help kids build their understanding of numbers! And here's why: Almost every child already knows that they have 10 fingers in all, with 5 on each hand. So when they show the number '9', for example, they will quickly notice that all of their fingers are up, except for 1. So, they realize "9 is one less than 10". Being able to relate numbers to 10, or 5, can really help students to solve addition and subtraction problems! When a student makes the number '7', on their fingers, they see it as 5 + 2! Or, 4 + 3, if they do it that way.
Anyway, that is why I think finger counting is actually a very sophisticated method of solving math problems.

We also had Music this morning.

In the afternoon, we had Daily 5, and then gym, and a fire drill. When we got back inside after recess, the class did some more math, and that took us to the end of the day.

ADmazing Savings Coupon Books

We are now in the last week of our ADmazing Savings Coupon book fundraiser. The proceeds from this fundraising activity will be used directly in your child’s classroom. Books are available for $25.00 each, of which Lake Bonavista will use $10.50 for the benefit of our students.

If you wish to take advantage of these discounts, please complete the order form printed on the back on the ADmazing envelope, and enclose the correct amount of money - $25.00 per book ordered. - directly to your child’s classroom teacher by Thursday, October 10th, 2019 or earlier.

Have a good night,


Zac

Spelling Words! (Week of October 6)

Spelling List A

It	Sit	Bit	Fit
Hit	Pit	Kit	Visit

Spelling List B

Right	Night	Light	Tight
Knight	Fight	Fright	Might