Patterns

Students rotated through pattern stations this week, to help solidify their understanding of creating, extending and labelling patterns. 

There were action patterns, which activated kinesthetic learning. They had to stomp, tap, clap, snap or slap to create their own rhythmic patterns and then transfer them on paper. 

Another station involved extending a small square pattern that had been cut from a piece of wrapping paper by colouring around it in the same fashion. 

Bingo dotters were a fun way to stamp colourful patterns. Labelling patterns with letters finished the task at this station. Some students were creative and challenged themselves to come up with less predictable patterns (ABBCC vs AB). 

The necklace station was popular. Students had to string cut up pieces of colourful drinking straws onto twine necklaces and draw and label their pattern. 

Pattern blocks were used to create patterns on strips of black paper before paper pattern blocks were glued down and labeled with letter coding. 

There was a lot of constructing and exploring at the pattern table this week. Not all explorations involved patterns per se, but they were creative nonetheless. 

Poppies

This lesson on painting poppies from Flanders Field focused on perspective. After viewing and discussing real photographs of Flanders Field in Belgium the children were ready to recreate their own realistic poppy fields using perspective. 

The backgrounds were quickly shaded in using unwrapped blue crayons. 

Large (up close) poppies were painted in organic shapes, followed by medium sized ones (farther away) and finally small (distant) ones. Black centres were added and then they were left to dry overnight. 

Green pastels in varying shades filled in the spaces to add greenery and grass to the fields. White and yellow oil pastels highlight the poppy centres. 

Hits of pink, yellow and blue paint add some colour and dimension to the pieces. Q-tips were perfect for adding this pop of colour. 

They are gorgeous. Amazing what small hands can do. The children really embraced the focus of this lesson and their final work demonstrates a solid understanding of using perspective and depth to create a realistic rendering. 

This class is so enthusiastic about art and are such patient and thoughtful artists. Our classroom is the calmest and quietest when they are immersed in creative, visual expression. It's a special thing and makes me happier than you know (I adore art especially when done with love by children). 

Their poppies offered a stunning  backdrop for the Remembrance Day assembly on Wednesday.

Thank you for your donations to the Poppy Fund. The children were pleased to contribute their coins into the collection tin this week. 

The children sang, Light a Candle, and recited the poem Poppy Poppy beautifully at the assembly. Well done Division 3. 

Halloween Fun

The children were so excited to come to school dressed up in their costumes. They looked fantastic! The costume parade was a big success and lots of fun was had by all. 

In the afternoon the children rotated through stations in the classroom. There was drawing/colouring, recipe and snack making/eating, counting, bingo, and everyday word hunts. They were so focused and enjoyed all the activities. The apples smiles were a hit. Jam was the filling of choice. A few opted for the cream cheese and the marshmallow teeth, well...yum! The jam made the smiles a little creepy too!

Creepy Carrots

Huge Peter Brown fan. Love all of his books! I couldn't find Creepy Carrots in the school library when I went looking and then noticed that one of our students had borrowed it during Book Exchange. Someone has good taste! I snatched it up in time for Halloween. 

Although not a traditional Halloween story, it has elements of suspense and the creepy factor is high. I love the unexpected twist at the end. Jasper, the main character, is satisfied he's solved his problem with the creepy carrots but we also see the carrots perspective and they feel equally accomplished and celebratory with the outcome too. It challenges the reader to rethink the events from the carrots point of view. 

It's also uber fun to create creepy carrots of your own, which is exactly what we did next. Paper, scissors and glue and we were good to go. The expressions are pretty priceless! Some creepy, some happy, some downright hilarious.