March 29th to April 1st.

It was great to be back together after our Spring Break. Thursday was the first day with everyone here in a very long time!  Time is passing by so quickly. How are we already in April?!

We began a new unit in Science, Classroom Chemistry. To begin the unit I challenged my inner storyteller and shared a story about the creation of a potion. The story was told with an overhead and a variety of substances such as food colouring, oil, baking soda and vinegar.  It was a great springboard to a discussion on the differences between substances and mixtures, how different mixtures can be made and how substances can be separated. 

We continued discussing different mixtures such as solids with liquids and two liquids as we explored dying cotton yarn.  We tried to get substances such as berries, spices and avocado pits to dissolve in water by blending, heating the water and stirring. Ask me how adding vinegar, lemon juice and baking soda changed the colour of cabbage. We made predictions on which substances would dye the yarn and what colour it would become. Thank you to everyone who sent items in for testing.  We are very excited to see our results!  

In Math, the students were introduced to the grid method of multiplication. Many students will have a clear preference for either the traditional method or the grid method. We have discussed that neither method is "right", they both arrive at the same product. The students will now select the method that makes the most sense for them.

Our Stellaluna inspired books are coming along wonderfully. We have Ms.Style working with us for the full hour and Ms.Campbell for half an hour. It is incredibly to have so many adults in the space at one time. We are able to work closely with the students on their specific writing goals and needs. It is my favourite hour of the day!