Bonjour! 

We have been having lots of fun over the past few weeks! Our classroom has transformed into a Winter wonderland as we have been doing a variety of winter-themed visual arts projects :)

The students have created chalk snowmen for our "Mur de meilleur travail". Drawing with chalk helps to build fine motor skills as there is greater resistance on the paper! 

We also took advantage of the first snow day this year to improve our fine motor skills through folding and cutting paper snowflakes. It was also a great lesson in symmetry! These are now decorating the windows in our classroom.

 The students have been enjoying a book called "Un porc-épic dans un sapin." 

We decided to write our own version of the story, using the winter vocabulary we have learned. The students worked very hard, each completing a page (either alone or with a partner), and they are very proud of the finished book they created together! They did a fantastic job!

Now that the students have developed a substantial French vocabulary, we have had the first few sessions of our "Atelier d'écriture" (writer's workshop). I have taught lessons on how writer's generate ideas, choosing a topic to write about, using pictures to tell a story, and adding details. I am so pleased with the work I am seeing so far-- their writing is coming along very nicely! Afterwards, we gather at the carpet to share our writing in the author's chair, and the students are very excited to share what they have written :)

In Social Studies, we have been talking about rules and responsibilities, and how our responsibilities may differ in different settings (at home, versus in the classroom, in the school yard, etc.) We made posters demonstrating some of the rules and expected behaviours in each of these settings.

We have learned all about the vowel sound "é" with Zoé l'éléphant, and are currently reviewing all vowel sounds learned so far. You can help your child at home by doing some fun activities to practice phonemic awareness. The following is a list of syllables that your child should be able to read. I encourage you to practice reading these with your child-- if you find that he/she has difficulty, I am including some fun activities you can do at home to practice these sounds!

• make flash cards, and then play "Memory"
• tape the flash cards onto a wall and play "I spy"
• make silly (nonsense) two-syllable words and try to read them
• make silly (nonsense) three-syllable words and try to read them
• write the syllables in a plate of pudding!
• make the syllables with Alphagetti!
• make the syllables with Alphabet cereal!

Some news items: 

• A few parents have been asking about a holiday concert. This year, it was decided that the primary classes would hold our Seasonal Concert in the New Year. The precise date has not been finalized, but I will communicate that to you as soon as it is set!
• We have been hard at work on a special Winter art project that your child will bring home for the holidays! If your child will be leaving early on a vacation, please send me an email to let me know, so that I can make sure they bring this art project home in time. Merci! :)
• Our class will be having a Snuggle up and Read class party on Friday, December 23, from 12:30-1:45. Students are invited to wear their pyjamas to school and bring a favourite stuffed animal for this special day. I will be bringing in some winter treats (popcorn and hot chocolate), and will be sending home a permission form next week-- please use this form to indicate if there are any dietary restrictions where your child should not have popcorn or hot chocolate. Any parents who would like to join us are welcome to come and share in the enjoyment of reading :)

Have a wonderful weekend!

Mme Bena :)

Bonjour!

We have been keeping busy in room 150 :) Last week, we talked about peace. The students worked on "des colombes" (doves) where they wrote what peace means to them.

Chloe's mom came in to do a lovely activity with the class about how their acts of kindness can spread. 

They also made a beautiful wreath for our Remembrance Day ceremony.

We have been continuing to practice reading & writing syllables with the sound "u", with the help of our friend Turlututu la tortue. 

The students have been working on a variety of activities to help them practice words with the sound "u". 

Every day this year, we have started our day with a "Message du jour" (daily message). I wanted to share the progress with you, as we do a variety of activities that help the students to build phonological awareness. Our activities surrounding the morning message have included:
- finding & circling specific letters
- finding & circling specific sounds
- correcting Madame's mistakes (backwards letters, missing capitals, missing punctuation)

- filling in missing letters
- filling in missing words
- finding & circling specific words
And, today, the students found "les contraires" (opposites) and replaced them with the correct word! (Ex., "Henry est le grand mini prof.")

Notes:

1. I am very pleased to see that many students have been reading every night. There is a lot of excitement around the "J'aime Lire" folder, which is WONDERFUL!!! Many students have already read 10 books (using some French books from home or from the library), and I encourage all of the students to keep it up! :)
2. Our class will be visiting the Book Fair tomorrow. If you would like to send some money with your child, please send it in their note tote.
3. Friday is a PD day (no school) as there will be parent teacher interviews.

Have a great rest of your week!

Mme Bena

Happy Monday! I hope that you have all had a wonderful weekend.

Today your child will be bringing home their "J'aime Lire" duotang in their note tote-- this is our home reading program. 

Inside, you will find a pocket with a levelled book, some tips for happy reading at home, a "chenille" (where they will receive a sticker for every 10 books read), and a reading log sheet.

I have spoken to the students about how this program will work, but I wanted to share the instructions with you as well in case there are any questions :)

• Students are encouraged to read at home with an adult (or older sibling) every night if possible. 
• They should keep their J'aime Lire duotang in the note tote, and stored safely in their backpack when it is not being used. That way, we will always have it at school the next day!
• Any French books read at home can be included in the reading log: this includes levelled books sent home in the J'aime Lire duotang, library books, or any French books you may already have at home.
• I will be sending home extra syllable practice or sight word practice for some students. This will also be in the J'aime Lire duotang.
• Students are responsible for choosing a new book each morning when they bring their note tote into the classroom. I will monitor this at first, and give reminders, as we establish this new routine. 
• Please do not read the books to your child; your child should be doing the reading! If they are stuck on a word, you can help them to sound it out. If they need help with every word, that's okay! 
• Early reading skills can include memorization, looking at the pictures to help tell the story, and repeating (echo reading). These are all acceptable ways to practice reading as your child develops their early reading skills.
• The reading program is where students will reinforce the literacy skills taught in the classroom: sounding out words, looking at pictures for clues, recognizing sight words, phonemic awareness, etc. The more they practice these skills, the more their reading fluency will develop!
• I will also be reading with students and adding entries into their reading log.  

We are very excited to start recording all the books we read! Happy reading! :)

Bonjour!

We have been having a great week here in room 150! In Language, we have been consolidating our knowledge of the vowel sounds "i" and "a" by practicing reading syllables.

We have played "Mémoire", trying to match pairs of vowels.

We have also done a silly word challenge, where the students get to ring a bell if they can correctly read a nonsense word made up of syllables we already know.

Yesterday was National Take Me Outside Day, so we did a nature walk around the school yard. We discussed seasonal changes we could see, and we also collected twigs for a craft :)

The students chose a shape to hang from a "décoration d'Halloween/d'automne", such as bats, pumpkins, colourful leaves, etc. 

They looked very spooky hanging up in our classroom today! Not all of these are finished, so a few more will be going home tomorrow :)

Our writing prompt for the day was to help Mme Bena choose a Halloween costume... the students drew a picture of a costume they would like to see me wear, and then they wrote about it! Let me tell you, they laughed quite a bit! :)

News items:

1) I wanted to thank those who were able to order from this September's Scholastic book order-- your orders allow us to get new books for the classroom, so a few weeks ago we voted, and today we were able to add three exciting new titles to our classroom library. Merci! :)

2) Reminder - tomorrow is our field trip! We will be outside all day so please ensure your child is dressed warmly (winter coats, snow pants, winter boots, mittens, and a hat are all good ideas!) Please also remember to send them a lunch-- if your child usually orders pizza, they will not receive it until we return to school at 2:30. They will need lots of healthy food to give them energy until then :)

Have a great night, and enjoy the s-n-o-w! :)

Mme Bena

Bonjour!

I hope that you all enjoyed a wonderful weekend! I'd like to share some pictures of our learning from last week :)

Our language focus is the sound "a" and we are learning about Tara le chat. Students have been completing a variety of activities to help them read and write words with the sound "a", such as:

ami
Tara
chat
rat
avec

We have been talking about Fall vocabulary, and observing seasonal changes in the world around us. Last week, we went on a nature walk around the school yard and gathered leaves of different sizes, shapes, and colours. Each student then chose one leaf to bring back into the classroom. 

Once inside, we learned some describing words for our leaves. The students then drew a picture of their leaf and wrote about it in their journals. 

We made our own Bingo cards to help reinforce the Fall vocabulary we have learned so far.

We also made a Fall craft which emphasized fine-motor skills. First, the students traced a leaf template. 

They then cut it out, and glued tissue paper squares onto their leaf. Our classroom is now decorated with these beautiful "feuilles d'automne!"

News items: 
1) On Friday, I sent home the October Scholastic book order forms. If you wish to place an order, please return the completed forms by Wednesday, October 19, 2016.
2) We will not be visiting the library tomorrow, as there is an event scheduled in the library during the day.
3) Wednesday is iWalk Day, where students (and staff!) are encouraged to walk to school, to promote a healthy and green lifestyle. For those who are unable to walk to school, we will be walking the school yard in the morning before entering the school!

Have a great week!
Mme Bena :)

Bonjour! This week we have been learning about Terry Fox. We read a book about Terry's story and talked about some of the values he showed: bravery, courage, and perseverance. 

The students participated in the Terry Fox run this morning. It was wonderful to see the whole school outside running and participating for a great cause. 

We have also been learning "le vocabulaire d'automne" (Fall vocabulary). We brainstormed a list of things we can see in the Fall.

We then played a game where the students roll a dice and then have to say and colour the vocabulary word.

We have been very excited to notice the changes in our chrysalis this week. First the students noticed that the green became darker a few days ago. 

They then noticed that it turned almost black. Slowly, we started to see glimpses of orange...

And suddenly, this afternoon... un papillon! The students were jumping up and down with excitement :) 

Tomorrow we will have a little butterfly release celebration. We will do our final observation of the butterfly, we will make butterfly hats, and we will release our butterfly, which the students have decided to name Terry Fox! :)

Some Important Notes:
1) I have had several parents contact me about the Nutrition Breaks/lunches. Our morning learning block is the largest chunk of the day, and therefore the school's first scheduled Nutrition Break is not until 11:25. However, children cannot learn if they are hungry! The rule in my classroom is that if a student is hungry at any point during the day, they are allowed to take a few minutes to eat something from their lunch. If your child has mentioned being hungry or not having enough time to eat, please remind them to ask me "Est-ce que je peux manger?" (the answer is always yes!) :)

2) We have learned all about the sound "i" (sounds like "eee") and next week will be moving on to the sound "a" (sounds like "ah").

3) Homework... As a general rule, I do not send worksheets home as I strongly believe that young children need time to unwind and rest after a long school day! However, READING together is incredibly valuable, and we will be starting our home reading program (J'aime Lire) in October. By spending time reading with your child, not only are you spending quality time, but you are reinforcing what we are learning in class, practicing important skills (reading from left to right, sounding out words), and boosting their confidence. More information to come... Keep an eye out for the reading folder which will be coming home soon in your child's note tote!

Have a wonderful night,

Mme Bena