Week Two: A Safe Place to Learn

The Early Learners had a wonderful second week of school together and were busy engaging in a variety of learning experiences. The girls are quickly becoming more comfortable with each other, and they are enjoying working collaboratively, relaxing in the same space, and supporting each other through different parts of the day. The beekeepers from Alvéole came to Linden on Wednesday morning to do the honey harvest (different from the honey extraction, which is coming later this fall). The students also got to participate in a science class with the grade 1-2 students in the science lab, and they learned about safety procedures when doing science. Finally, our learning-filled week ended with a ravine hike, which was made extra special by the addition of the grade 3/4/5 students. I hope that you enjoy the photos and stories from the week.

After learning how to safely smell substances in the science lab, O practices wafting the clear liquids to see if they have a scent.

A dips a q-tip in a clear liquid and then rubs it between her fingers to see if it feels like water. We are learning about using our senses when understanding new materials.

A has been building a boat at the Art and Light centre since we started school. Today she is adding the sides to her base, and she is taking her time as she works with the glue gun.

This morning's math game is "Roll the Dice", a game that builds number recognition, subitizing skills (recognizing small quantities immediately), graph interpretation, and motor control. A isn't sure whether 6 or 3 will make it to the top first. 

O and N watch intently as A colours in the bars on her graph.

A is excited to display her completed bar graph. She explains that 2 had the most rolls and 3 had the fewest.

The girls put up their "secret words" on our completed phonics table. This morning we reviewed the sounds /s/ and /a/, practiced writing these sounds in lowercase form, and brainstormed a list of words that began with each sound. The "secret words" at the end of the lesson allow the girls to practice hearing the initial sounds on their own.

A and V (grade 6) watch as the bee keepers blow smoke into the hive to calm the bees down. 

It was a bu-zzzzz-y morning on the roof watching the bee keepers remove the honey-filled frames from the hive. Look how many bees are trying to get back inside the hive after being shaken off of the frames.

The Early Learners and Grade 1-2s look closely as the bee keeper shows them the frame filled with honey and wax. We all learned that the raised parts are possible shelters for the queen bee.

A is working on measuring and balancing different materials at the Discovery centre. She shares that the seeds are very heavy when she put them all into the scale. 

A and A are having a blast practicing lowercase "i" during this morning's lesson. Who knew phonics could be so fun!

O is re-reading "Snappy Little Numbers" to herself after hearing it for the first time earlier this morning. The girls love the pop-up animals in this book.

The girls have been enjoying making creations using a variety of different materials at the Art and Light centre. After glueing the popsicle sticks down last week, A adds stickers, pompoms and chalk designs to her work.

A's garden carrots are back by popular request. Everyone enjoyed eating A's freshly grown, giant carrot last week that she was kind enough to bring in more for the class to enjoy during snack.

A practices matching upper- and lowercase letters during Friday's literacy centres time. 

A is working on sorting pictures based on their starting sounds, all of which are sounds that we have reviewed this week. 

A and O use the nature alphabet on the wall to help them alphabetize letters on the carpet. They are working as a team, one finding the letter on the wall and calling it out, and the other finding the letter in the pile of letters and putting it in the sequence.

N and A enjoy a quick snack in the shade before heading out on our favourite Friday ravine walk.

O and M (grade 5) practice being quiet, calm and patient as they observe the squirrels at the park.