Montaganews--Tuesday, March 12, 2013

The day flew by again! The next time that I will see the students is April 2nd...incredible!

All of the students worked so hard today.  They worked so hard that I didn't want to rush them. This means that their My Healthy Body book isn't completely finished.  I want to do one more thing with them and it'll be a great activitity on our first day back after Spring Break...it's on rest & relaxation.  I think it'll help them remember to get a good amount of sleep after the common holiday routine of late nights and lazy mornings. :)

Today they're coming home with their Math-Shapes booklet.  Some of the children didn't finish the last page due to absence so if they'd like to do it at home it'd be great. Finished work can always be dropped off on my desk right across from the classroom door.

The latest reader's theatre group performed today.  They read "The Enormous Turnip" to both the kindergarten classes.  I heard they did a fabulous job!  I am so proud of them....they go down to the classrooms independently, read, and then return.  They set a fine example for those kindergarteners!  Pictures & video clip of their performance for our class to follow. Congratulations to : Bilal, Cedar, Henry, Angelina, Macy, Theo, Kaia, Nicole & our back up Serena.
(I am sorry I can't get the video to post and I'm sorry the picture is sideways. :( )

In Computers, Mr. A directed the students to a fun, learning website related to our Healthy Foods topic

http://www.fisher-price.com/en_Us/gamesandactivities/onlinegames/healthyfoodhunt.html
It might be fun to play this during the holidays. Also, don't forget about a great reading website:
www.starfall.com

Have a safe and exciting Spring Break!

Ebru Montagano

Montaganews--Tuesday, March 5, 2013

It's so nice to write my blog again...my apologies for not writing the last couple of Tuesdays.  I haven't had my usual free time right after school to write.

Anyways, it's been wonderful in Room 209, as usual.  The students continue to be delightful and simply a pleasure to teach.  We've been continuing with My Healthy Body and their booklets are coming along fabulously.  Wait until you see the fabulous work they've been doing-the learning has been extraordinary.  I'm trying to wrap it up before Spring Break, so next week is the last day....unless I change my mind :)  The Project Chef experience today helped build more connections too--it is such a treat when learning pieces come together like that. It really helps solidify concepts.  So some of the things we've been learning about is:
-our healthy body needs healthy food, exercise, water and air (oxygen)
-different foods have different things we need
-we've talked about vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, proteins, fats, etc.
-why we need exercise, our favourite ways to get exercise

Today in Project Chef, THEY made Whole Wheat French Toast with Blueberry Sauce.  But wait..let me tell you more:
-Barb (head chef) talked to them about what 'whole wheat' means, showed them a piece of wheat, right from the stalk and then showed white flour and whole wheat and talked about why we need to eat the whole wheat
-the bread we used was made from organic whole wheat, made into bread locally
-the eggs were from a farm in Langley
-the blueberries were organic from a farm in Maple Ridge
-the honey was local from canadian bees
-the kids were told that the cinnamon is actually tree bark
Every student ate everything.  A couple of students only had a taste , one bite was a must and everyone obeyed that rule. The whole experience ran smoothly thanks to the moms who volunteered today! I hear tomorrow is our AM turn so the cooking gets started at 9:30am.

In Math, we are still on Shapes.  We will move on to 3-D shapes next week. We've been talking about how shapes have corners and sides.  Feel free to play my favourite guessing game these days: I'm thinking of a shape...it has 3 sides, 3 corners.  (a triangle!) 

That's all for today.
See you next Tuesday.
Ebru Montagano

Matt from Project Chef, doing the Pasta Demo

Every day is pink day!

Our self portraits celebrating anti-bullying day!

Ginny Love, with her cookbook, Simply Love

Hi Parents,
Hasn't all the rain been worth it to get this one nice, hot, sunny day! What a glorious day! I hope everyone is enjoying themselves!

Speaking of glorious...we had an amazing week last week.
1. On Monday we had Catriona come in and we discussed global lunches versus the one hundred mile diet. We looked and dissected two different kinds of lunches and talked about how maybe we could start looking at having a global lunch as our "treat" lunches.

2. On Thursday we had Ginny Love come in and share with us her wonderful cookbook. The kids had a lot of questions as well as stories to share. Her favourite recipe that will be going into our family cookbook is her Macaroni and Cheese one. Our family cookbook is getting ready to be photocopied as all of our presentations have been done!

3. On Friday we had the privilege of Matt coming in and making Pasta. What a pleasure that was! As you can see from the smilemakers the children were deeply engaged!

So next week is our week to cook with our chefs from Project Chef. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday we will be cooking in the afternoon (1230 till 300) and on Wednesday we will have a morning session (900 till 1130). I have sent home a reminder of  what days you have volunteered for, if there are any problems with your day, let me know.

With that, have a great rest of the day and I will see you all on Monday.
Teri