All of the students have settled well into our routine and we are into some great new learning. Here is what we have been up to:
In Math, we are working to really understand the concept of addition - what it means and how it works. Students are learning standard notation so that they can record their work with accuracy. Some students need to work with hands on materials such as counters or block. Other students are using their fingers or the number lines on their desks. I will be working with groups of students at various levels and will design tasks appropriate to where the students are at with their understanding of addition.
In Language Arts, we have been learning about what makes an effective storyteller. Last week, each student chose a fairy tale that they want to learn to tell. I recorded their first attempt at their story on Monday and then we spent the week learning the story well and creating criteria for good storytelling. We watched a couple of stories told by a professional storyteller, Tony Wilson. You can watch them by clicking these two links:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8p9Fw1CsYxA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJl68amc97M
We noticed that a good storyteller:
-uses actions
-makes their voice go up and down
-has an expressive face
-uses different voices for each character
-when the story repeats, they tell it the same way every time
Each student created a story strip to help them remember the story. They will bring home their story strip today. Please have them practice their story over the weekend. They can keep the story strip at home as we will move on to using puppets next week.
Our gym unit on yoga continued this week. We have been learning strength poses and balance poses and even tried a little yoga outside in the snow.
In December, students participated in an activity to celebrate our unique talents and personalities and how we all belong to our school community. This work was done to develop the students' ability to appreciate that people may have physical, emotional, or learning challenges, but that everyone has something to contribute to our community. Every student in Tuscany School created a fabric art piece that expressed how they are unique. All of these pieces ave be quilted together to make a Belonging Quilt. Please watch the video linked here to see how it was done and the amazing final results
With the end of January coming soon, we are looking ahead to the month of February. We have some information to share with you about upcoming events.
Tuscany School's second annual Carnaval will take place from February 4 to February 10. For Carnaval, we are hoping to build a creation out of ice blocks. To assist in the building, we are hoping that each student can bring 2 blocks of ice on Monday February 8th. We need the blocks to be rectangular in shape in order to make building easier, so we suggest that families use milk cartons (any size) or large juice tetra packs to freeze water into ice. It can take more than a week to get large cartons frozen solid, so we recommend that you get them in the freezer as soon as possible. On the day, we would like you to make sure that the ice is out of the carton and brought to school in a plastic bag or reusable shopping bag with your child's name on it. This will help to ensure that students only use the ice from their own home.
We know that students and parents are already looking forward to Valentine's Day. Due to Covid 19, we will be doing things a little differently this year. In order to limit the contact from student homes, we will NOT be having any exchange of paper valentines or treats from home. We will be making personal messages as well as a collaborative art piece to celebrate the occasion.
