Designing with Geometry!

I was so glad all of you enjoyed reading If You Look Around You by Fulvio Testa. To refresh your memory, the book was about geometric shapes in scenes of children in- and out-of-doors.  After we read the book we headed outside and I hope all of you had fun on our nature walk! I also hope you were able to find many shapes in the neighbourhood just like in the story. All of you are really great at identifying and describing various two-dimensional shapes! You can test your knowledge with this fun guessing game.

This weekend for homework I would like you to create a picture by combining several two-dimentional shapes just like we did in class today. Have a look at the picture below, how many shapes can you find?

If you think you know your shapes really well then why not try out this fun activity where you are given a picture and you must fill in the correct shapes to make the picture complete!

Happy hunting!

Ms. Fletcher

Animal Research

Students, I just want you to know how proud I am of all of you! Your research skills are very impressive and I especially liked how well all of you worked today in the library. I hope the books and magazines were useful in your research. Remember, you are to choose two animals and describe their physical characteristics and they're behavioural characteristics. You can either draw a picture of your animals or you can find a picture in a magazine or online. You must write at least 5 sentences about each animal to go along with the picture. I will give you more time in class this week to work on your projects but I really hope you will try to do more research on your own at home. Kids Planet lets you find out more about animals in any part of the world.

This project will help develop your investigation skills as well as to help you understand that animals have distinct characteristics.

I was just reading about the Atlantic puffin online and I thought I would share with you some of my findings! Atlantic puffins are birds that live at sea most of their lives. They fly through the air like most birds, but they also "fly" through the water, using their wings as paddles. As they swim, they use their webbed feet to steer, much as a boat uses a rudder. Isn't that fascinating! Why not check out more animals and cool facts about them in the National Geographic Kids page. 

I look forward to learning about all of your animals!

Ms. Fletcher

Measurement

First of all I want to congratulate all of you for a fantastic job this week! We have been working together to estimate and measure length, height and distance using standard units and non-standard units of measurement. So far we have been measuring objects found in the classroom and over the Easter break I would like all of you to continue improving your measuring skills at home. Please find five objects in your house that you can measure. Remember to first estimate the length or the height of the object and then measure the object. To measure the object you can use either a ruler or a non-standard form of measurement such as a paperclip. During today’s class we measured with rulers and blocks. When we used the blocks we all seemed to get different answers; however, when we used the rulers our answers were a lot more similar. The ruler is a standard form of measurement and the blocks are a form of non-standard measurement. I can't wait to see what you measure in your home and how you measure it!

Why not also try a few online games to help practice your measuring skills? These websites can help you decide which measuring tool to use or to help you estimate an objects length.

Good luck and happy measuring!

Get Ready For Earth Hour

As we approach the end of March Break I hope that everyone is well rested and ready to return to school! I know it is hard to get back into the swing of things after a break but we have lots of exciting things to look forward to that I hope will make this return to class an easier one!

Before the break we discussed what we can do at home to help recycle. We have been discussing the environment for several weeks now and looking at how even one person can make a difference. We have been looking at how our actions affect the quality of air and water. An important day is coming up that shows how doing one small act can make a huge impact on our environment. On March 26, the fourth annual Earth Hour will occur. Approximately 131 countries will be taking part of this year's efforts to raise awareness of ways to be more energy efficient.

At 8:30 pm everyone is encouraged to turn off all their lights to help save energy and to make a collective effort to battle climate change and raise environmental awareness. People across the world from all walks of life will turn off their lights and come together in celebration and contemplation of the one thing we all have in common, our planet.

In the next week I would like all of you to have a look at the Earth Hour website. On the website you will find videos and fun activities all related to Earth Hour. One activity I suggest you try is to create your own virtual lantern. We will be doing an activity very similar to this together in class and I think by doing this activity online it will give you even more ideas for our activity in class. Click on this link to watch the Earth Hour official video!

To find out even more information about Earth Hour and what events are happening in your area you should check out the WWF site. Next week in class we will be compiling our own list of what we can do as a class to help conserve energy as well as what we will be doing during Earth Hour - so come ready with ideas!

March Break, It's Here!

Greeting class!  I just wanted to say, I hope all of you enjoy your March break. Whether you are going away or staying close to home, I hope all of you have fun and stay safe. Parents, if you are looking for some fun ideas for the break, there are some terrific ideas listed on this Toronto Guide or in the Toronto Sun.  Please also check out some of the links I have listed on my page under things to do in Toronto!

For my March break I am excited to be spending time with my family. I'm going to be taking my baby son to visit the Sugar Bush Maple Syrup Farm. To check out this and other maple syrup festivals have a look at Ontario Maple Syrup Festivals. I can't wait to hear all about each of your March breaks!

Now if the weather is rainy (like it was today), students you can check out TVO Kids. It has some great games and is a really fun site to explore!

Also don't forget to turn your clocks ahead Saturday March 12!

Enjoy and see you all in a week!

Dear Parents

I just wanted to welcome all of you to the new school year as well as your children. I am looking forward to a wonderful year of learning new things and working with the children. I'm sure the students have all told you about our visit from Police officer Gail. She came today to speak to the students about safety and strangers. To see more information about what officer Gail talked about and to learn more about how to keep your children safe there is a lot of wonderful information at the Toronto Police Safety Zone site.

I will keep you informed on this blog as well as via newsletters and notices of upcoming events, class themes and ideas for working with your child. I believe very strongly in the need for the school and home to work together, in order to provide your child with a well rounded, balanced and successful learning experience.Please feel free to contact me through this blog or in person at any time throughout the year to discuss your childs' progress or just to chat!

New Start!

Greetings grade two students! My name is Ms. Fletcher and I will be your teacher for school year ahead.  I am so excited to meet all of you and get to know each of you. Grade two is a big change from grade one and I hope to make the adjustment as easy and smooth for you as I can. We are going to work very hard this year and learn many new things; however, we are also going to have a lot of fun! I have set up this blog so that we can chat outside of school and review lessons we have completed together. I will also be posting many websites that you and your parents can look at together as well as some links to fun learning games.

Please always feel free to ask as many questions as you want and to write to me at any time. This is your year to shine and grow! Bloom where you are planted!

Ms. Fletcher