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Sunday, October 20, 2013

Phew!

I had no intention of being away from the blogosphere for so long, just after I had started this blog. My family has been through a lot these past few months, but now I'm back.

Okay, get ready for some UGLY... Here is my new classroom before I set it up...Trust me, there is a happy ending.



One of the crazy things that happened was that my portable classroom was given a new floor! Yay! I wasn't able to work in the classroom for a week, but it was so worth it! 

I did some painting of book cases and cupboards first, to try to brighten up the place. I ordered a matching carpet which just arrived 10 days ago. Here is a photo of the class library and word wall taken before the kidlets arrived. You can see a bit of the new floor here.


I will take a photo of the new reading area and carpet tomorrow and post it. 

     I am very happy at my new school. I miss my lovely friends at my former school, but that's what texting and Facebook are for, right? I have a large class - 28 as of Tuesday, and they are all great kids. I am teaching 4-5 this year, which I have done twice before. At first I was sad to be leaving Primary, but I am totally loving being back in Juniorland. This class is a DREAM. They arrive with bright smiles each morning and ask excitedly, "What are we doing today, Madame?". They are so thirsty to learn and try new things! And who doesn't love students who love to help you with jobs around the class? Merci, merci, merci, les amis!

 I have a lot to share about my class programming but I will leave it for now, to talk about...

GRADE 2 SCIENCE!!!!!

I LOVE teaching Grade 2 science! I have an outfit and everything! 
     I'm using la Valise Magique (Magic Suitcase) to introduce the Science units to the students at the carpet. The picture is blurry, but I think it gives you the idea of what I'm up to.  To introduce the unit on weather and seasonal changes, the suitcase held a thermometer, a water bottle, a tuque, a paperweight with blue "ocean" water and dolphins inside, a rubber ducky and some wooden toy trees. We talked about each object and how it was related to water or weather. The kids were instantly engaged and curious. The suitcase idea has been around for a while, but I thought I would share what I'm doing with it. On Friday, we started a unit on Animals, so I had a whole bunch of different Ravensberger plastic animals and a plush skunk inside the suitcase. After we talked about what is unique about each animal, I gave the students a worksheet I made up for them to draw their favourite animal write down one thing that is unique about that animal. 

     In September, the kids did some awesome collages to illustrate the Water Cycle, and I'll be sharing some of them with you here later this week.

Sorry for being away so long, and thanks for dropping by.

Happy fresh new week!
     

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