Day 57
Snow is here and it may just stay on the ground!
Our Weekly Spelling List - Week Thirteen (Quiz will be next Monday)
Grade One (long a words) Grade Two (long i words)
1. day 1. sky
2. rain 2. night
3. sail 3. cry
4. may 4. light
5. wait 5. fly
6. pay 6. sight
7. tail 7. by
7. tail 7. by
After we had sung the national anthem we decided to show our parents how we also sign the song. We'll show a little bit today.
For the "O" in "O Canada" we form a letter "O" with our raised right hand.
For the "O" in "O Canada" we form a letter "O" with our raised right hand.
For "Canada" we form a letter "C" over our chest and we tap our chest three times to emulate the three syllables in the word "Canada".
We touch our ear for the word "our".
For "home and native land" we circle our right hand over our left hand.
(Some children still confuse right and left, but that's okay!)
We cross our pointer finger and our middle finger for the word "True"
We raise our crossed fingers for the word "patriot".
We hug ourselves and turn side to side for the word "Love"
We tap our right middle finger onto our left palm for "In all"
Then we flip our left hand hand over and place our right hand on top for "thy sons" (or "of us")
We salute for the first syllable of the word "command".
Then raise our arms for the second syllable.
(That's better...our little friend in the front now has his hood down for the anthem.)
(That's better...our little friend in the front now has his hood down for the anthem.)
We place our hand on our chest for "With glowing hearts"
We hope you have enjoyed seeing how we sign the first part of our national anthem.
Ask your son or daughter how the rest of the signing goes.
We created a class book on the "First Snow" of the season.
Although we did have snow over a week ago, our first big amount that remained on the ground came over the weekend.
The children brainstormed four selections for each sentence of their story.
Then they picked their favourite one.
This means that after some six or seven sentences, each child would have their own unique version of the story. We'll share our stories later in the week.
Indeed, character counts!
This is a great question this young lady is asking.
Yet another stained glass poppy nears completion.
Some pupils finished up their thank you note to a veteran.
Others found time to complete their "Peace Begins" class book page.
Have a wonderful Monday evening. Check in tomorrow for more great pics and stories from Mr. Hamer's Grade One/Two class! Mr. Hamer OCT
Day 58
Day 58 of the school year finds us visiting the annual St. Bernard Scholastic Book Fair.
Before we head to the learning commons to check out all of the books and goodies, it's so nice to take a peek around the classroom.
Before the students enter the room.
Nice to see all those shoes resting quietly awaiting another day of hard work!
Agenda time! "Get your agendas completed quickly, boys and girls!" Mr. Hamer announces. ""We've got to high tail it over to the learning commons for the Book Fair!"
Standing in line, the lad at the front of the class tells Mr. Hamer to look down.
Aha..twins!
We arrive the learning commons to find everything set up so masterfully.
Ms. Avila, our school librarian, goes over the rules with the children.
We are joined by a junior class.
Following initial instructions, it's time to look around!
"This book looks interesting!"
"I want one of these and two of those!"
"It's so hard to pick...there are so many great books!
But we are all having fun nonetheless.
Also goodies to be sought after.
Indeed, we grow through reading.
Reading with a buddy is way too much fun!
Books are exciting.
They can take you to far away places!
"Look what I purchased, Mr. Hamer."
"I like this book!"
Back in class, it was time for science.
Remember we did that little experiment with water and pepper.
Where we learned about surface tension?
Well...milk is a liquid as well.
It most likely shares similar properties to water.
Let's see if we can break the surface tension by introducing some dish detergent to the mix.
Aha! We've broken the surface tension.
Such a colourful way to learn!
We'll show more pics tomorrow with other colours.
This little one led the class at calendar today.
What an appropriate shirt to wear.
As later in the day we would learn about Canada's Prime Minister.
Indeed, the children learned so much about Prime Minister Trudeau...where he works and where he lives. I explained that normally he would live at 24 Sussex Drive, but for the next few years his family will live in the cottage (actually a tall brick home) located on the grounds of Rideau Hall.
Here's the prime minister now!
Well...not exactly the Prime Minister.
But...on this special day he feels just as important.
As he is the "birthday boy" with a great big smile!
Surrounded by adoring classmates.
Who are very happy for him.
On this, his special day!
So we sang the birthday song.
And...everyone enjoyed a wonderful day!
Happy Birthday to our special friend and enjoy a great evening!
Mr. Hamer OCT
Day 58
Day 58 of the school year finds us visiting the annual St. Bernard Scholastic Book Fair.
Before we head to the learning commons to check out all of the books and goodies, it's so nice to take a peek around the classroom.
Before the students enter the room.
Nice to see all those shoes resting quietly awaiting another day of hard work!
Agenda time! "Get your agendas completed quickly, boys and girls!" Mr. Hamer announces. ""We've got to high tail it over to the learning commons for the Book Fair!"
Standing in line, the lad at the front of the class tells Mr. Hamer to look down.
Aha..twins!
We arrive the learning commons to find everything set up so masterfully.
Ms. Avila, our school librarian, goes over the rules with the children.
We are joined by a junior class.
Following initial instructions, it's time to look around!
"This book looks interesting!"
"I want one of these and two of those!"
"It's so hard to pick...there are so many great books!
But we are all having fun nonetheless.
Also goodies to be sought after.
Indeed, we grow through reading.
Reading with a buddy is way too much fun!
Books are exciting.
They can take you to far away places!
"Look what I purchased, Mr. Hamer."
"I like this book!"
Back in class, it was time for science.
Remember we did that little experiment with water and pepper.
Where we learned about surface tension?
Well...milk is a liquid as well.
It most likely shares similar properties to water.
Let's see if we can break the surface tension by introducing some dish detergent to the mix.
Aha! We've broken the surface tension.
Such a colourful way to learn!
We'll show more pics tomorrow with other colours.
This little one led the class at calendar today.
What an appropriate shirt to wear.
As later in the day we would learn about Canada's Prime Minister.
Indeed, the children learned so much about Prime Minister Trudeau...where he works and where he lives. I explained that normally he would live at 24 Sussex Drive, but for the next few years his family will live in the cottage (actually a tall brick home) located on the grounds of Rideau Hall.
Here's the prime minister now!
Well...not exactly the Prime Minister.
But...on this special day he feels just as important.
As he is the "birthday boy" with a great big smile!
Surrounded by adoring classmates.
Who are very happy for him.
On this, his special day!
So we sang the birthday song.
And...everyone enjoyed a wonderful day!
Happy Birthday to our special friend and enjoy a great evening!
Mr. Hamer OCT
Day 59
The book fair continues this day.
Here are a few more pics from yesterday.
As the children milled about.
Determining their selections.
Yes, we read for so many reasons.
The benefits are well known.
Reading brings excitement.
And chuckles too!
"Hmmm...which poster should I select?"
"I think I like this one!"
Books are so cool!
Looks like we have the place to ourselves!
Other miscellaneous items.
Sure pique the interest of the students.
"I'll write down that I like this book!"
Some sale tables.
Line up gang to head back to class!
Further photos.
From our science experiment.
What will happen if I break the surface tension between two colours?
Interesting effect.
A quick stir.
We've discovered a new planet similar to earth!
A new superstar in the NHL.
Love the colourful smiles.
Lots of characters to choose from!
I have a little pony!
Way to cool!
Lovely!
So cute!
Thanks for bringing in a wonderful crystal!
Have a great evening everyone!
Mr. Hamer OCT
Day 60
Today was the final day of the book fair.
Posters were hot items for sure!
A shaky picture of an "out of this world" poster.
"I want to play in the NHL some day!" this young lad tells us.
Some fun erasers.
In all shapes and sizes.
"I like this book!"
"I'm looking through you!"
Checking for stars in the classroom.
We have at least 20 of them!
"Maybe I can peer through the ceiling?"
"Aha! I've spotted a distant planet!"
No it's not...it's more science!
"Look what I made!"
It was basketball drills for gym today.
Nice form!
Great dribbling girls! It's tough to keep you in focus!
A hotshot for sure! Love the skill level.
Gym is fun.
"Hi mom and dad!"
Cool form.
Interesting?
Ah...much better.
"Look Mr. Hamer...I made a hoop with my arms!"
Over in the teacher staff room, a Kris Kringle activity is beginning to take shape.
With over 40 teacher participants, we spot about a quarter of them.
Back in class it was time for "Show and Tell".
A mussel shell.
That's one big mussel. Our little friend who brought it in mentioned that she also found the mate to the shell but decided to leave it for another child to find on the beach. That's a beautiful thought in my books!
Sharing a lovely quartz crystal.
Lots of questions for our presenters.
Our mini-white board comes in handy for some quick lessons.
Such as spelling out single digit numbers and the number ten.
And comparing them to their numeric form.
Time for clean up. Our night custodian appreciates students like this!
I notice the bulletin board outside the DE room constantly changes in very slight ways.
Mr. Hamer OCT
Day 61
Friday morning meant the dawn of the month of December.
This little elf is ready for the season, for sure.
Green, red and white will be the colours of the month.
How about checking in on the chrome books?
Where we can take art lessons.
The lessons teach us how to draw fun creatures from the many holiday seasons of the year.
A look back at our science experiments.
Where we studied surface tension.
This time utilizing four food colouring colours.
With two fingers laden with dish detergent.
Interesting effect right away.
A few seconds later.
After a little stirring.
Let's try it again, this time with four fingers!
With each finger touching the center of each colour.
Cool!
Looks like our planetary system has evolved into four planets!
Nice effect.
Four in a row.
Later in a quadrant grouping.
In the afternoon, we visited our junior buddy class with Mr. Papineau.
We discussed the first theme of Advent...Hope.
We asked the children what they thought hope meant.
There were many great responses.
We also talked about Advent being the "time of waiting" for the birth of the newborn baby, Jesus.
We created a class book based on a review of the month of November.
This child remembered when we changed the seating plan in the classroom.
This pupil recalled the Remembrance Day celebration.
This student was excited when Mr. Hamer brought his electric guitar into the classroom.
This little friend wants to improve on his/her progress report. That's a great idea as we all can improve in some areas of our work and life.
This friend did a lovely colouring job on their page...as did they all!
We were excited to celebrate a classmate's birthday in November.
The Book Fair was a big hit in this month as well.
Indeed, now as we enter Advent, hope is like a light shining in a dark place. As we look at the light from the Advent Candle of Hope on the Advent wreath, we celebrate the Hope we have in Jesus Christ. It is my hope that all of our St. Bernard families enjoy a lovely Advent Season.
Mr. Hamer OCT
