Team Awesome
  • Welcome
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Calendar
  • ABCs
  • 123s

Reading Sight Words Together

27/3/2023

0 Comments

 
​As you know, learning to read is fundamental to your child's success in school and in life. But becoming a strong reader is challenging: it takes patience and perseverance- both by the parent and the young reader. And practicing reading sight words will help. Sight words are high-frequency words that are often difficult to sound out or illustrate so its important for emerging readers to master them "on sight". Being able to read these words automatically is the first step to reading fluently. It allows young readers to focus on more challenging words and understanding the text. 
Try these things as you read books together:
  • Run your finger under the text as you read to help your child follow along. Then read the story again, but stop your finger on sight words we have been learning in class and help your child read those words aloud. 
  • Have your child read the story to you. Don't jump in if he or she gets stuck. Help your child figure out the challenging word using the pictures and context clues from the rest of the sentence. Ask, "Does that make sense? Does that look right? Does it sound right?".
  • Play 'I Spy Sight Words' while reading other books. Look for common words while reading other texts to your child and let them read those words aloud. 
Reading the same books over and over again will help young readers improve their skills and grow more confident as readers. Soon they will be on their way to not only reading more books, but loving to read!
0 Comments

The Leprechaun

24/3/2023

0 Comments

 
Picture
Last week as we were talking about St. Patrick's day, it was let slip that the intermediate teachers had been complaining about mysterious messes that happened in their classrooms over the weekend- when everything was locked up tight. And as we had read a book about a cheeky leprechaun already, Team Awesome was already aware that it was the time of year a little trickster might visit. It wasn't long before someone mentioned catching our tiny visitor and you know Team Awesome- they wanted a piece of that action pronto! Which led to a flurry of activity later that morning as the children first planned then built their own traps to catch the little man. If you picked up your child at the end of the day you might have heard about the traps placed willy-nilly around the class, looking mostly like pieces of recycling that hadn't been picked up but boy did a lot of thought and effort go into them. If we didn't catch the leprechaun that evening we would have to revisit and revise our traps as many of them didn't actually have doors that closed. So while a few traps had some bait in the form of shiny things to lure the fairy creature inside, there was nothing to keep the leprechaun in the trap after he stole the bait and had a nap. And that's what scientists do- revisit and revise ideas if they don't work the first time! 
As the children entered our learning spaces the next morning they noticed a wee bit of untidiness- books and blocks spilled, papers on the floor, pencils left about and things turned upside down. There were squeals of delight and excitement as the children checked their leprechaun traps and discovered multi-coloured glitter around their traps and our classroom. But alas, no leprechauns. As we looked around we discovered the smarty pants had left a note and a few little green handprints. And of course, very big messes, which the children worked together to tidy. We resolved to catch him that night. To that end, we shared how our traps were supposed to work, why we thought they didn't, and how we could improve them and that afternoon some of us spent some time upgrading our designs while others had had enough of the sneaky little guy and played with centres. A few of us made totally new traps. Bigger and better traps. And a few of us tried to be sneakier when setting them up- we put them in places the unsuspecting leprechaun was sure to go based on where he went the previous night or we tried to camouflage them. Our fingers were crossed that we would be luckier that evening than we were the night before. 
Well, that sneaky little leprechaun foiled us again despite our cleverly hidden(?) traps. And not only that, but he also felt the need to leave shiny shamrocks in our traps and green and gold clovers all over our room and have a bubble bath in our sink (and leave unmentionables in our toilet). If I didn't know better I would say our resident compact green guy invited his friends and they had a big party and forgot to clean up afterwards. We were excited to find he left us a nifty poem stating that he won't be returning (Boo!) and part of his pot of gold (Yay!). Team Awesome was glad he came to visit us but sad to learn he wouldn't be sticking around. We talked about setting up our traps at home in the hopes that we might catch a leprechaun there. If you did happen to catch one, don't forget they disappear in the blink of an eye- and please don't give him directions to our classroom. One leprechaun party a year is quite enough.

** We have so many pictures and videos around these activities that it was impossible to make them into a video to show you the fun we had. Please look at the March photo album in Google to see them and share in a bit of the magic.

0 Comments

Inch By Inch

22/3/2023

0 Comments

 
​Young children are inherent measurers and this is reflected strongly in everyday language when they compare, order and match – I can swim right across the pool now; it’s too big for me to lift; it won’t fit in the box; my hand is bigger than your hand. Personal experiences, such as playing with toys, interactions with other children and conversations with parents all reinforce children’s early development of the concept of attributes that can be measured. Students need experiences that lead to an understanding of why measurement is necessary and helpful. They need to work with non-standard units and to create their own measuring instruments, and to discover for themselves the necessity of having standard units and the efficiency of having measuring instruments to count the units. Team Awesome has been exploring length through hands-on activities with these objectives in mind and will also play with the concepts of weight, area and capacity. What fun!
0 Comments

Friday Housekeeping

17/3/2023

0 Comments

 
Picture
Picture
  • Please send library books back for exchange by Monday, April 3.
  • DeVry Flowers/Plant Fundraiser order form came home on March 17th.  Orders are due on May 5th and they will be ready for pick up on May 19th . 
  • March 18 to April 2 is our Spring Break with a return to school on Monday, April 3. Enjoy!
  • BEST will have a fire drill Tuesday, April 4.
  • April Sharing projects are due Tuesday, April 4, or when they are done. It is a kite with a tail. Thank you.
  • ​Please send 2 hard boiled in-shell eggs with your child for Wednesday, April 5 so we can dye them as part of our Easter activities.
  • Thursday, April 6 is Day of Sucwentwecw and we will be participating in an assembly and some activities.
  • Friday, April 7 is Good Friday and the beginning of Easter weekend. Team Awesome will be home.
  • Monday, April 10 is Easter Monday and Team Awesome will return to school on Tuesday, April 11.
  • ​PAC Pizza orders are due Tuesday, April 11 with lunch delivered on Friday, April 14.
  • Please send a water bottle with your child every day. Thank you!
  • Please have Team Awesome read any little paper books that come home (approximately 1 per week) multiple times for practice/ fluency. Thank you.
  • Sight words we are learning right now: because, fun, here, jump, make, play, why. Please feel free to practice at home.​
  • Scholastic flyers are available here monthly. They are done online and sent directly to your home. Our class code is RC210022.
  • Newsletters can be found on the BEST website at best.sd73.bc.ca.​
  • If your child is exhibiting illness symptoms of any kind they must be kept home. Thank you. ​
Go forth and have an Awesome break!
0 Comments

I Brush My Teeth

16/3/2023

0 Comments

 
​As part of our health and nutrition unit, we learned about brushing our teeth as a way to take care of ourselves this past week. Of course, this is a subject that Team Awesome is familiar with and they had a lot to contribute on the subject. We read some books, learned about bacteria in our mouth and plaque and did two experiments to bring home how important brushing and flossing our teeth regularly really is. Oh- and we listened to this song a number of times, but beware, it gets stuck in your head and will pop up at the most inopportune times and you just can't help but sing the chorus out loud. Crawford The Cat gave us a few pointers and we learned how toothpaste and tooth brushes are made as well. We hope that seeing why brushing is so important will help lessen the nightly arguments over taking care of our teeth. 
0 Comments

April Calendar

15/3/2023

0 Comments

 
0 Comments

FAF 3/3/23

13/3/2023

0 Comments

 
0 Comments

Friday Housekeeping

10/3/2023

0 Comments

 
Picture
Picture
  • Please send library books back for exchange by next Monday.​​
  • BEST will be participating in a Cardboard Challenge and we will be needing some boxes of various sizes (cereal, tissue, cracker etc.- nothing too huge) for the week of March 13 please. Projects are available for parents to view on Thursday, March 16 from 2:00-2:45. Our projects will go home on Thursday. Fun!​
  • Sunday, March 12 we will be jumping the clocks ahead for Daylight Savings time.
  • April lunch orders are due back by Wednesday, Mar. 15.
  • View the results of our Cardboard Challenge from 2:00-2:45 Thursday, March 16.
  • Friday, March 17 is a possible Fresh Air Friday. 
  • DeVry Flowers/Plant Fundraiser order form will be coming home on March 17th.  Orders are due on May 5th and they will be ready for pick up on May 19th . 
  • March 18 to April 2 is our Spring Break with a return to school on Monday, April 3. Enjoy!
  • ​PAC Pizza orders are due Tuesday, April 11 with lunch delivered on Friday, April 14.
  • Some members of the team are coming without water bottles and we do not have enough cups for all of them. Please send a water bottle with your child every day. Thank you!
  • Please have Team Awesome read any little paper books that come home (approximately 1 per week) multiple times for practice/ fluency. Thank you.
  • Sight words we are learning right now: because, fun, here, jump, make, play, why. Please feel free to practice at home.​
  • Scholastic flyers are available here monthly. They are done online and sent directly to your home. Our class code is RC210022.
  • Newsletters can be found on the BEST website at best.sd73.bc.ca.​
  • If your child is exhibiting illness symptoms of any kind they must be kept home. Thank you. ​
Go forth and do Yoga!
0 Comments

100 Days Smarter!

9/3/2023

0 Comments

 
​As of last week we are 100 days smarter! And boy were we busy learning so we can be 200 days smarter. We made crowns, we played games and puzzles, we tried to write 100 words and we are working on adding 100 fish to a giant fishbowl. We did 100 seconds at stations in the gym and played with 100 Lego pieces. We read 'Miss Bindergarten Celebrates the 100th Day of Kindergarten' and some other books about 100 and made plenty of connections. It was a great 100th day of Kindergarten!
0 Comments

Earth Rangers at BEST

7/3/2023

0 Comments

 
Thanks to a sponsorship by New Gold, BEST was the recipient of a visit from the Earth Rangers team whose mission is to create a generation of conservationists. We participated in games, saw and learned about some live animals and learned how to become an Earth Ranger and make a difference. We hope many BEST students not only decide to become an Earth Ranger, but to change the world for the good of all creatures who inhabit the Earth. Become an Earth Ranger here.
From their website: Earth Rangers is the charity that transforms children’s concerns about the environment into positive action. When a child becomes an Earth Ranger, they become an animal saving hero, developing confidence that they can make a difference and optimism about the future. Through a variety of programs and content, we empower kids to become environmental leaders at home, in school and in their communities. From organizing shoreline clean-ups, to creating backyard animal habitats, to reducing food waste and energy consumption at home, our members are committed to leaving the world better than they found it – and having a whole lot of fun doing it.
0 Comments
<<Previous

    Mrs. Bowden &
    ​Mrs. Farber

    We have taught many grades, including high school, but LOVE teaching primary.

    Categories

    All

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.