Our First Inquiry - Going Batty...

This year, our class is really interested in different animals and creatures.  Whales, dolphins and dinosaurs are all topics we've been chatting about.  This week, we read a story called Stellaluna by Jannel Cannon.  This story about a tiny fruit bat really inspired the students, and has sparked our first inquiry of the year.

In an inquiry learning classroom, the interests, questions and discoveries of the students lead the learning.  In this way, we still cover all the curriculum topics we need to cover for each grade, but the topic of study is determined by the students.  The students are more engaged and take more ownership of their learning because they are studying what they themselves are interested in.

We have been engaged in so many meaningful reading and writing activities this week, all centred around bats.  The students have been so engaged, we are going to deepen our inquiry next week.

Here are a few learning snapshots.  The students had a lot of fun working cooperatively to discover some bat facts from non-fiction books.  Please check in again soon to see some more learning in action!  We can't wait to see where the learning leads...

A fun start...without the jitters!

The month of September was a fun and exciting time in 1/2F.  We spent a lot of time getting to know one another, and we have a wonderful classroom community established.  All the children have been getting to know one another, and exploring what makes us all unique.  We are looking forward to an amazing year together.

A quick recap of our first month together...

On the first day of school we read two books that got us thinking about how some of us feel getting ready to return to school.  Reading First Grade Jitters (Robert Quakenbush) and First Day Jitters (Julie Danneburg), led us to some great discussions about how each of us were feeling, and we explored what "jitters" are.  We then read a great poem called Jitter Juice by Abby Mullins.  This fun poem was our first selection added to our Reading Folders, and many of you shared that you and your children enjoyed reading it together.

Once we had read, and talked about jitters, we decided to make some of Abby's Jitter Juice.  It was a HIT!  The students loved it, and all came up for seconds.  We decided that this really was special juice, because once we were done, no one had any jitters left!  Take a peek...

We also started exploring some of the centres in our classroom.  We read Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, and the students loved retelling the story using the coconut tree and alphabet letters.

We have many budding engineers and architects in our room this year.  The students are always very eager to get together to build amazing creations.  When working together, the students were discussing height, length, and the structural stability of their creations.  Their oral language skills were in full swing as they planned, discussed and explained their creations.  This is another opportunity to strengthen and improve cooperation, team work and problem solving skills.  Stay tuned for more exciting building opportunities this year.  There are some great things in store!

We are very fortunate to be hosting a SMARTBoard in our classroom this year.  We will be sharing the Board with the Gr. 1 class next door, but we will still have many opportunities to use this technology to enhance our learning.  Not only do we use the SMARTBoard during lessons, but it is also open as a centre.  Here one student is working on creating addition sentences, and another pair of students are sequencing numbers on a hundred chart.

Please check back weekly for updates and evidence of new learning opportunities.  There are many exciting explorations beginning to take shape!  As an inquiry-based classroom, the interests and ideas of the students will be taking centre stage, and will lead our learning.  The possibilities are endless! :)

A Wonderful Year...

What a wonderful year we had in 1/2 F.  Thank you so much for your support and encouragement this year.  Have a wonderful summer with your families.  Ask your child to read to you each day, and try to have your child write something each day as well (this could be a recount of a fun activity, a shopping list, a recipe, a book report - anything!).

What an amazing year it was...

Thanks for the memories 1/2F - we had an incredible year!  Have a wonderful summer!

How Does Your Garden Grow?

A very exciting project is underway in our community.  Neighbours, friends and community members are working together and have established a community garden in Bruce Park.  We were excited to get an opportunity to take part in this community event.  Along with Mrs. Richardson's grade one class, we walked over to Bruce Park with 35 pepper plants.

The sun was shining, and the community garden was taking shape.  We worked together to plant and water our pepper plants.  We will return once a week to check on sure plants (and the rest of the garden).  Over the summer, there are community members and neighbours who have committed to take care of the garden.  We hope to be able to try some of the vegetables when we return in the fall.

Take a peek at our "green thumb" grade ones and twos...

Look At Those Pearly Whites...

Last week, we were lucky enough to visit the St. Clair College Dental Clinic.  This gave us an opportunity for free dental check ups, cleanings, fluoride treatments as well as dental education.  Each student also received a free toothbrush.

The building we visited at St. Clair College is brand new, and just opened this year.  The facilities were state of the art, and the program was fantastic.  Each student had fun and the students and teachers at St. Clair were wonderful.  Thank you to our parent volunteers who travelled with us!

Take a peek at our fun day...

At each station, the children had their own television to watch during the check up and cleaning.  They were able to choose what they would like to watch!