Learning About Cedar

Today we were very lucky to have a visitor in our classroom to teach us about Cedar.

First she showed us what cedar trees look like.

Then she showed us some real cedar artifact.  In the picture below she is holding a net made out of cedar.

Next we saw other things made out of cedar such as the basket below.

A traditional cedar hat.

And even traditional clothing made out of cedar.

We also so pictures of rope made out of cedar.

In the picture below we learned that most of the items above were made from the special part of the cedar called the inside bark.  The picture below shows us how the aboriginal people got the inside bark of the cedar tree.

After she showed us many pictures we were able to pass around some real cedar bark.

Then we learned that the often put the cedar into thin strips so that it can be used for clearning.

At the end of the presentation we played some movement games. We moved like trees and then we learned about the four important parts of us in aboriginal culture - our mind, our heart, our body, and our spirit.

It was a really great day of learning.

A special thank you to our two visitors who came today to share their culture with us.

Learning with Elise Gravel - A Canadian Author

Writing Around the Room

We start our Thursday mornings with writing.  Some of us write in our journals and some of us write on our blogs. We get to decide.  We also get to write where it is best for us.  Take a look.

Our Second Mystery Number Skype

Today right before lunch we did a mystery number skype with Mrs. Cassidy's grade one and two class in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan.  They asked us some good "juicy" questions such as "Is it between 15 and 20?",  "Is it less than 10?", and "Is it beside 13?" .  In the end they were able to guess our number and we could guess theirs.  Unfortunately Ms. L forgot to take a picture while we were playing. I think she was too busy playing along too. :-) Maybe your class would like to play with us too?

The Surrey Nature Centre

Today we went on a field trip to the Surrey Nature Centre. However, before we left the school we wrote down some of our wonders about what we thought we might see there.

Created with Padlet

Then thanks to some awesome parent drivers we headed over to the Surrey Nature Centre where we were greeted by a forest fairy.

We met a forest fairy.

The forest fairy taught us a secret chant and call.  We tried the call and a bat came to visit us.

We learned about bats from the bat.

Then we tried the call again and then a raccoon came out to talk with us.

Mr. Racoon taught us about raccoons.

We then headed inside the building and learned a lot more about raccoons and bats. We played a game too.

The racoon and bat took us inside where we learned a lot more things about raccoons and bats. We also learned about other night animals. We played a mystery bag game too.

After we said our thank yous and goodbyes we headed outside to play a little game of Bat, Bat, Moth

We played a game called Bat, Bat, Moth. If you were a bat you had to close your eyes and try to find a moth to eat.

From there we walked to another section in the park.  We did our special chant again and an owl came out. He read us a little poem and taught us a lot more about owls.

The owl showed up his feathers. We heard them, and an eagle feather and heard how quiet owl feathers are.

We tried to turn our necks like an owl but we couldn't go nearly as far.

We helped build a nest for the owl.

This is the nest we build for the owl.

After we were finished building our nest and learning about owls we headed to the pumpkin field. Each of us picked our own pumpkin to take home.

In the end we visited a field with pumpkins and got to pick our own.

When we got back to school we created another padlet wall and shared some of the things we learned.  Here's our second padlet of the day.

Created with Padlet

Have you ever been to the Surrey Nature Centre? If you get a chance we recommend you go.

Someone Wants to Play Mystery Number Skype with Us!

A while back we received this message on our blog from a grade one teacher in California.  She wants her class to play Mystery Number Skype with us. Take a listen. What do you think? Should we do it?

listen to ‘Mary Berelson’ on audioBoom

A Voice Message About Our Journey Video

Today after school Ms. Lirenman discovered that someone left us a voice message about our video inspired by Peter Reynold's North Star.  Take a listen.

listen to ‘Miss Price’ on audioBoom

Our Journey

As part of the Global Read aloud and being inspired by Peter Reynolds' book The North Star, we have created a little movie talking about our journey.  Enjoy.

Reading with Ms. Walia's Class

Today after lunch we read with Ms. Wallia's grade three class in their classroom.  They were perfect buddies to read with.  They are good readers. They were good buddies. They shared their books with us. They were kind and nice.  Some of them even read chapter books to us.  We shared our books with them too.  Next week  Ms. Walia's class is going to read with us in our classroom.

Reading, Reading, and More Reading!

Since our class was formed one of the things we have done over and over again has been READING!  We are pretty lucky too because Ms. Lirenman shares her huge personal book collection with us.  Here are some photos of us practicing reading to ourselves and reading with a friend.  If you look really closely you'll notice that we like to read all over the classroom.  When it comes to reading you need to find a spot that works best for you.

Reading to a friend under our easel.

Reading with a friend in the small spot under Ms. L's desk.

Reading side by side, one on the rocking chair, one on a small wooden chair.

Reading on the small carpet. Knee to knee, elbow to elbow. Everyone loves Todd Parr!

Ms. Lirenman's blue bean bag chairs, the perfect place to share  book.

Knee to knee, elbow to elbow. Such fun to share books with our friends.

Reading at a round table.

Reading everywhere! Do you recognize any of our books?

The best part of our blue bean bag chairs? We can move them anywhere!

Sharing a great book with a friend.

Elbow to Elbow, Knee to Knee

Reader's Theatre for the Global Read Aloud

Today we did reader's theatre over a video conference call with a class in Iowa and a class in Florida.  This was all part of the Global Read Aloud which is taking place right now in classrooms around the world.  We are taking part in the Peter Reynold's author study.  Here is what reader's theatre performed over video conferencing looked like from our end.

Art with Nature

This afternoon we headed outside to collect artifacts from nature.  We then worked in groups to create art with our artifacts.  Here are some images from this afternoon.