New, kid-friendly and SAFE blog!

We will be starting to use KIDBLOG as a way to communicate with each other.  This will also be a means for engaging homework.

KIDBLOG is safe.  It does not require any personal information from the students.  It does not require an email address (for those parents who are still unsure about allowing their children access to email).  Here is what their website says:
"Kidblog provides teachers with the tools to help students safely navigate the digital – and increasingly social – online landscape. Kidblog allows students to exercise digital citizenship within a secure, private classroom blogging space. Kidblog’s security features put safety first:"

Students will be given a password to log onto our blog.  Here is the link to use when posting a comment or reading posts on the blog: kidblog.org/jbforest

Happy Blogging!

A welcome, inviting space... La forêt d’apprentissage!

Source: http://www.charivarialecole.fr/affiche-pour-la-classe-a48112113

Helping Your Child with Reading!

As a non-French speaking parent, helping your child with reading may be difficult.  Here are a few ideas that can help parents guide their kids along the reading continuum.

A few great resources:

AmherstviewPS
YES, You Can!

Happy Diwali!

We have recently had a fun time celebrating Thanksgiving and Halloween in our classes.

Happy Diwali!  Diwali is a festival of lights that originates from South Asia.  It is celebrated by Hindus, Jains and Sikhs.

I found this amazing craft that we will be doing in class to celebrate! 

Here is a link to the website where I found it: Diwali craft



Our beautiful Diwali elephants!



Boomerang Lunches!

We have started the year off with a program called "Boomerang Lunch"!  This helps students and parents to see the amount of waste that is produced daily.  This is great way to keep track of the waste we produce on a weekly basis and makes us think about how to reduce our carbon footprint by using reusable containers.  This can be integrated into Math and Science (and can be discussed at home too!)  It would be a fun Math discussion to figure out how many cheese string wrappers (or another favourite snack) would be thrown into the garbage each year if we consumed one each school day of the year!

It is also important to note that our school does not have a green bin!  Therefore, bringing our banana peels and apple cores home to place in the green bin (or even home compost) helps to diminish the amount of food that is sent to landfills.  I'll try to get some pictures of my home compost so you can seen how easy it is!

I will upload some great examples from students lunches to this post shortly.  In the meantime, here is a great link to one school that is making a difference: Boomerang School

Now, here is a question directed to my students...

Que pensez vous du système de "Boomerang Lunch"?  Pourquoi pensez-vous que c'est important à notre école/communauté/pays?

Internet safety!

A blog is an interesting and interactive way to communicate between school and home.  It helps to promote critical thinking and provides an opportunity for students to use their written communication skills outside of class.  A blog is not threatening since you can respond at your own pace and can re-read what you have written before pressing "post"!

When posting comments, it is advised that you sign your comment using your initials.  Please remember that when using the internet, parents should be aware of and included in their child's online activities.

Here are a few tips to help keep children safe: Common Sense Media

Here is the link to another organization that specializes in internet safety for kids: Childnet

Les paysages!

We have been working hard on our "Silhouettes africaines" and our "Paysages avec les couleurs chaudes ou froides".

Students are encouraged to think about their art and make connections with their emotions and the world through their masterpieces.  They communicate these thoughts in their "Journal d'art" after completing an assignment.

Here are a few real-life examples from our students.

We used tissue paper and papier maché glue (1/2 glue and 1/2 water) to create these "oeuvres d'art".

We used water colour paint for the landscape and black construction paper for the silhouettes.

All students are artists, in one way or another!  It is important to nurture their creativity.  I am so excited to have the opportunity to teach our students to explore their thoughts, feelings and ideas through art this year!

Here is a famous quote from Pablo Picasso: "All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once [they grow] up."  The Arts are so important to each child's development.  It teaches them to explore, to make connections and most importantly, that it is ok to express your emotions!

Les détails importants!

We have been working hard to extract important details from text.  We have used a few different types of text but the most interesting are the scientific articles for kids from "Les débrouillards".

I actually used to work for "Les Débrouillards" in Sherbrooke, Québec as an "animatrice"!  It was a blast.  For two months, we planned Scientific experiments for a summer of fun at camp (another two months of fun/hard work!).  Here are two photos that show off our experimental/creative skills!

Back on track, here is the graphic organizer we have been using to identify important details in various texts.  First, we highlight the text.  Then, we write down the important ideas we have highlighted.

We have also used a similar tool for our research projects on Canada's Provinces and Territories.  Here is the link to a video the students loved that depicts our beautiful country in aerial shots: Canada, An Aerial View

Les nouvelles!

Chaque jour, on essaie de parler des "nouvelles".

Ça veut dire que… on essaie de raconter des histoires de nos vies et de parler de ce qui se passe dans le monde.  Voici quelques erreurs que j’entends souvent pendant ces petites discussions à l’orale.

C’est affiché au mur pour que les élèves puissent choisir la bonne phrase… mais ce n’est pas toujours facile!

Bienvenue à notre blog!

Bienvenue à notre blog!  Je vais essayer d'ajouter ce qu'on fait en classe de temps en temps.  

We have been working hard on paragraph writing.  Here is an anchor chart we use to help guide us while we write.

We have been using this graphic organizer to help us organize our paragraphs.  Students are learning to select important details to write down in their graphic organizer and save the meatier sentences for the rough copy of their paragraph.