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A Cold Start to the Day

This morning was chilly enough that I could see my breath as I walked in! We settled quickly and jumped right into our work.

Our morning included spelling, a “Show, Not Tell” activity, Heggerty listening games, a maze, and a UFLI lesson. Everyone is really starting to find their rhythm with these routines!

Math time had us representing numbers in different ways, solving word problems, and practicing addition. The class showed steady improvement and some great problem-solving strategies.

Outside, the fall air was crisp but the sunshine made recess wonderful.

Back inside, we did “read to self.” It still needs practice, but today was already stronger than yesterday. We also began a writing lesson on complete sentences versus fragments, learning how a subject and predicate work together to make a full thought.

During guidance with Mrs. Lehnart, we stepped outdoors to practice mindfulness by using our senses in nature—and spotted a very cool caterpillar by chance!

PE was full of energy as we joined the K–1 class in the gym. We focused on personal space and safety, tried an animal-themed workout, and played musical hula hoops. The session ended with shout-outs and a big Cubs-on-3 cheer!

In Social Studies, Ms. Doucet had us working with thermometers and practicing how to read them. We know they’re useful for weather—but how else could a thermometer be important in science?

French class focused on vocabulary for the months of the year, days of the week, and different places.

At the end of the day, we wrote in our Book of Gratitude with the starter: “I am kind to others when…” Some of us earned free choice time, while others worked hard to finish up their tasks—because in this classroom, you have to work hard to play hard.

Dismissal was a little different today. With the other classes outside for PE and Guidance, we headed out early and ended the day enjoying the sunshine once more.

Get a good rest tonight—we’ll be ready for more learning tomorrow!

Another Amazing Day in Napan!

We had another great day together! We started with our regular morning routine. The Grade 3s had a quick guided reading session while the Grade 2s worked on their maze and got a head start. After that, we played listening games and organized our folders—duotangs can be a little tricky, but we’re getting better!

In math, we practiced showing numbers in different ways, solved word problems, and did some addition. Everyone worked hard.

For literacy, we did “read to self” time (something we’ll keep practicing) and started our writing journals. Today’s topic was “My Weekend.”

In PE, we tried an animal tabata and learned some new dance instructions. It gave us a good workout and built up our appetites! Luckily, it was a nice fall day, so we didn’t come back inside too sweaty.

In music, we practiced rhythm with “Te-Te,” “Ta,” and “Shhhh.” We clapped and counted the beats: “1 and,” “2 and,” “3,” “4.” This will help us later when we start strumming the ukulele!

We also checked and logged the weather. Outside, we used our senses to make notes for our Nature Journals. We shared our observations and talked about how a thermometer works.

In French, we practiced vocabulary for numbers and school items. To end the day, we wrote in our Book of Gratitude with the starter: “I like when my family…” Then we signed our home-to-school books, had a little free choice time, and packed up for the buses.

It was a busy day full of learning and fun!

Wrapping Up Our First Week!

Another cool morning to start the day—sweater weather again! I also learned about a new toy today called “Labubus.” I never thought cabbage patch dolls were all that cute when I was a kid, but these definitely surpass them!

We jumped right into our regular morning routine, continuing to practice writing conventions. We did some spelling, Heggerty listening games, and a small maze before moving into writing and guided reading. We also discovered how Brer Rabbit cleverly escaped from the well with Brer Fox—ask your child if they remember how he did it!

In math, we represented numbers in standard form, expanded form, and pictorial form. We solved basic word problems, making sure to answer with equations and sentences, and then did some addition practice. The morning flew by!

Recess was beautiful outside, and after that we broke out our canvases for painting. The focus today was on brush use and blending colors, as we created an early morning scene. The results were wonderful!

Lunch was extra special with pizza, and for a Friday treat we watched an old Napan Monthly Review video from the school website. It was fun to see memories from past years.

During PE, we practiced our underhand throws, focusing on performance cues: arm back, step with the opposite foot, throw, and follow through. We worked with partners to throw and catch simultaneously, and even practiced calling names so our partner had to turn and react quickly.

In Science with Ms. Doucet, we talked about weather, seasons, and seasonal changes. (Parent prompt: What subtle changes can you notice between seasons?)

In French, we had fun with some “blabber beasts” while repeating vocabulary for greetings, rooms, and sports.

We ended our day with the Book of Gratitude using the prompt, “Someone I saw being kind today was…” Then we signed our home-to-school books, enjoyed a bit of free choice time, and even had a surprise—Ms. Brown took us to the playground to finish the day outside before lining up for buses.

The first week is already over! I can’t believe how fast time flies when you’re having fun. Rest up this weekend—we’ll do it all again next week!

This morning started off cool enough for a sweater! There is no breakfast program this week, but it will start up again on Monday!

We came in and got right to work with our Morning Warm-Up. We did some spelling and writing, and for the first little while we’ll be focusing on conventions like size and spacing.

In math, we worked on representing numbers in different ways—standard form, expanded form, and Base 10 blocks. We also reviewed our “friends of 10” and our counting-on strategy.

By recess, the sun had warmed things up and we enjoyed a beautiful time outdoors.

Later, we did some literacy rotations: guided reading in small groups, writer’s workshop, and read-to-self. After each one, we took time to reflect and practice our active listening skills.

After lunch, we grabbed our water bottles and headed outside for PE. Today, we took our first try at throwing a Frisbee straight—we’re working on perfecting our release!

Ms. Doucet introduced us to our upcoming nature and weather journals, and we talked about the importance of our observation skills. We also looked at some French phrases and practiced saying our names.

Before heading home, we wrote in our Book of Gratitude with the sentence starter: “I laughed today when…”

The first week is flying by! Make sure to get lots of rest tonight—I know everyone is excited for our first Friday!

Today we moved closer to our regular routine. We came into the classroom from outside, ordered our milk, put our things away, and got straight to work. We talked about how we grade our work and tried to improve on what we did yesterday. Our morning included spelling, Heggerty listening games, a maze, and a writing lesson about our summer.

In math, we reviewed digits, place value, standard form, and expanded form. For example, what form are the following in: 756 and 700+50+6? Everyone worked hard and gave great effort.

We also had a surprise fire drill today. The class stayed calm and did an excellent job exiting and re-entering the building safely.

After lunch, we had PE. We reviewed our three gym rules, our outside “home,” and practiced different movements up and down the field. We played a few quick games of line tag and finished with a cool down to lower our heart rates so we were ready to learn again.

In Science and Social Studies with Mrs. Doucet, we explored some of the topics we’ll study this year, such as climate, history, and experiments. Do you think history is important to know?

We wrapped up the day with our Book of Gratitude, signed our home-to-school book, enjoyed some free time, and packed up for home. It was a great day, and I can already tell this will be an amazing year!