Happy December everyone!
We started the week with sharing our small, medium and big problems. Many students were able to identify that the majority of problems we have at school could be identified as small problems, We were able to identify how these small problems made us feel, but often couldn't come up with different strategies to solve the problem, or regulate our feelings. So, we started looking at a large visual menu that offered us 50 different strategies for when we are feeling upset, sad or unfocused at school.
We also looked at three different Conflict Resolution videos produced by the ShowPeace project through the National Film Board to look at how small problems can become big problems when we aren't managing our emotions: ShowPeace NFB
When the Dust Settles: https://www.nfb.ca/film/when_the_dust_settles/
Dinner for Two: https://www.nfb.ca/film/dinner_for_two/
Elbow Room: https://www.nfb.ca/film/elbow_room/
Later in the week, students chose photo prompts to develop simple story lines about the character, their problem and their solution:
In our ongoing pumpkin/corn inquiry, we were able to answer all our questions this week:
1. Will the corn and pumpkin continue to grow if we give them all their basic needs: food, water, shelter, space and air?
Yes! Our pumpkin and corn seedings are rapidly growing, reaching for their light source! They are growing so well, we will likely need to repot them again, or build support structures for them!
2. What will happen to the pumpkin and seeds that we did not harvest for repotting?
Our pumpkin continued to rot away, and their were so many sprouts coming out of it at the beginning of the week, to the point the screen was being lifted off! But then, the chunks of pumpkin started to harden, and then sprouts started to wither. It is very dry in our school, and without us watering, growth couldn't keep happening.
3. Do all corn kernals pop when heated?
Students worked diligently to harvest the kernals from the calico corn cob. Mrs. Romanko gave us her air popper for us to finalize our experiment. Sure enough, we had some kernals pop! They were teeny tiny! The majority of the seeds did not pop however, which made students wonder about the age of the kernals.
In Math, we have been looking at examples of patterns and non-patterns, and developing our reasoning of how we know.
We also continue to develop our understanding of number, specifically different ways to count, depending on our current demonstrated levels of ability, as shared with you during conferences through the mini assessment done on each child in the month of November.
In anticipation of walking field trip to Nickle School on Monday, students created a list of questions they would like to ask their buddy in order to determine similarities and differences between the two schools. They were also reminded that we will be walking outside for an extended period of time, and given the expected snowfall and temperatures, it would be a good idea to be prepared so that they are comfortable: winter boots, winter jacket, snowpants, mittens/gloves and hat.
Please see the additional blog note regarding our upcoming Winter Concert on Thursday, November 13th. More information to follow.
Ms. Thomas
