Week of December 15-19

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you all!

Thank you for your kind and generous support over the last few months! We look forward to making lots of happy memories in the New Year!

Love, Mrs. Johnson and Ms. Santiago

Here is our Poem of the week by L.A. France:

Little Christmas Carollers
We are a band of carollers,
We march through frost and snow,
But care not for the weather
As on our way we go.

At every hall or cottage
That stands upon our way,
We stop to give the people
Best wishes for the day.

We pray a merry Christmas,
Made bright by Christmas cheer,
With peace, and hope, and gladness
And all they may hold dear.

And for all those that happen
To pass us on our way
We have a smile, and wish them
A merry Christmas-day.

Week of December 8th - 12

Families, Thanks for joining our blog again this week. You'll notice we now have a game of chess on the sidebar. Several children in the class have expressed an interest in learning and/or practicing the game. Have fun with that!
We are asking that each child please bring a christmas hat (I've seen them at the dollar store for a dollar) so we can use them at the Christmas-Sing-A-Long. Thanks so much!


This week's spelling words are:
Whole Class (all contain a short vowel 'o' plus a blend of two letters (e.g. st, mp, dr):
chomp
cost
drop
pond
frost
blot
flock
stock
stomp
prod

Challenge program (all contain the ending with 'y'):
crafty
jumpy
nasty
thorny
springy
puppy
pesky
kindly
scary
strongly

Spelling test on these words will take place Monday December 15th.
As always, please review the word and its meaning.
Thanks!

And it's December!!

Hello all,

I can hardly believe how the days have flown past us and we find ourselves in December already! The children are busy preparing for the upcoming Christmas Sing-A-Long - and I've heard from our music teacher that they sound divine. In our classroom we are beginning to work on some fun Christmas crafts. I'll try to post pictures so you can peek in on the children as they prepare for Christmas.

There will be no list of spelling words this week as this is a Dictionary week and each child will compile their own words to learn and study. Congratulations to everyone in the class who did so well on this week's poetry test - excellent work, all of you!
Mrs.J

Poem of the Week: Autumn Leaves

This week's poem is a really fun one! The language is nonsensical and full of whimsy. Look at the words "tumbledown" and "snappety" and "stompy" - what fun the poet must have had creating these words to describe the journey of a leaf as it falls down from the tree!


Autumn Leaves by Eve Merriam
Down
down
down
Red
yellow
brown
Autumn leaves tumble down,
Autumn leaves crumble down,
Autumn leaves bumble down,
Flaking and shaking
Tumbledown leaves.

Skittery
Flittery
Rustle by
Hustle by
Crackle and crunch
In a snappety bunch.

Run and catch,
Run and catch,
Butterfly leaves
Sailboat leaves.
Can you catch them?

Scoop
Swoop
Pile them up
In a stompy pile and
Jump, jump
JUMP.

What makes a 'Good Thinker?'

Today the children and I were discussing the characteristics of a "good thinker." We brainstormed as many things as we could about what people who are 'good thinkers' do. Here is a list we made:
- good thinkers use strategies that we've learned in school (for example S.M.A.R.T. listening skills, Phonetic spelling skills, etc)
- good thinkers use their imagination
- good thinkers have a lot of knowledge: from reading, listening, learning, trying, and doing
- good thinkers are flexible: they are ready to make and try lots of solutions to solve a problem
- good thinkers make decisions using evidence
- good thinkers consider different points of view
- good thinkers ask questions

With such an incredible list of ideas I conclude that we are a classroom of 'Good Thinkers!'
Mrs. J

News for the Week of November 17-21

This week we continue with our unit on Plant Growth and Change. We are discussing and diagramming the Plant Life Cycle. We are also using the Montessori Botany cabinet to learn about the many shapes and varieties of leaves. We are making an art project based on tracings of leaves that we have made. When they are finished I will post pictures on the blog!

Spelling Words

Whole Class (all have a short vowel 'o')
flop cost drop frost romp shod stomp smog flock stock

Challenge Words (all have either 'y' or 'ing')
frisky selecting lucky stamping sloppy depending ornery representing perfectly grumbling

As always, please help your children understand the meanings of the words. We have already reviewed the words in class - but follow up at home is always helpful.

Thanks,
Mrs. Johnson

Big Spelling Quiz on Monday

This Monday we will have a quiz on words chosen from the past several weeks. I will randomly choose 25 words for the test. The only way that you can prepare is to review the words that you have had trouble spelling. All of the words are listed in your spelling books (I hope you remembered to bring them home!) But, if you forgot your spelling books then you can find most of the spelling lists here on the blog.
I recommend that you make some flashcards to practice - you won't need to make flashcards for all the words - just the ones you have had a hard time learning.
Good luck!
Mrs. J

Poem of the week

Parents, our poem this week is called "Leaves" by Elsie N. Brady. Scroll down to see the poem written out (it's below the Halloween photos)

Halloween 2008

Halloween at Garden City began with our first Family Team meeting. This was held in the gym and there we met our buddies and other family team members. We also saw everyone including our teachers dressed up in their Halloween costumes. In the afternoon, we had a tour of the Haunted House across the hall. Mr. Yesaki's class and Mrs. Serrano's class set up their rooms to make them really spooky. After, we had our own Halloween class party with classmates bringing lots of healthy goodies! We also finished up our Halloween art work. Please take a look at the online gallery of photos by clicking the link below.

Halloween Pictures

Poem of the Week: Leaves by Elsie N. Brady

How silently they tumble down
And come to rest upon the ground
To lay a carpet, rich and rare,
Beneath the trees without a care,
Content to sleep, their work well done,
Colours gleaming in the sun.

At other times, they wildly fly
Until they nearly reach the sky.
Twisting, turning through the air
Till all the trees stand stark and bare.
Exhausted, drop to earth below
To wait, like children, for the snow.

In the Forest!

Everybody Smile! What a beautiful day for a field trip to the forest. We are all excited to be at UBC and learn about the Temperate Rain Forest habitat.

Our naturalist taught us about how insects slow down in the winter because the cold air cools their bodies. She made a bug oven to heat one up and demonstrate how insects become much more active when they are warm. Cool!

We played a game called "Meet a Tree". We covered our eyes with a blind fold and a friend lead us to a tree. We used our hands to feel the bark, the lichen, and the moss. We tried to remember all the things we were touching. Then, our partner lead us away from the tree and took off the blind fold. Our challenge was to find the tree that we had just been touching! This was hard to do!

We learned that as plants and animals in a habitat die they decompose and provide food for the new growing plants and animals. Mushrooms are an important decomposer in a forest. We saw so many different kinds! Our favourites were the: Poison Pie, the Coral Mushroom, the Dead Man's Finger, and the cute little tiny brown mushrooms that were smaller than the tip of a pencil!
Another one of the beautiful plants we saw was called a 'sword fern'. It makes a great place for the small little animals of the forest, such as squirrels and mice, to hide under when they are in danger of being hunted. We played a game called "Owl Hunting", it was such fun - we hid like the little animals behind trees and rocks while the 'owl' tried to spot us by using only his or her eyes.

Week of October 27 - 31

Our field trip to UBC is tomorrow! Remember to dress the kids nice and warm for the chilly weather. The entire field trip is outdoors.
With Halloween just around the corner we are planning a small party for Friday. Healthy snacks are welcome! Ms. Santiago will post a sign-up sheet by the classroom door - or you can send an email to let us know what you'd like to bring. Kids are welcome to come to school dressed in their costumes on Friday if they'd like!

Have a great week!


This week's spelling words are:
Grade Two and Three Words:(all words contain the short vowel 'i')
drift
think
clip
list
clink
lick
thing
spring
bring
stick

Grade Three and Challenge Words: (all words end with 'y')
handy
dusty
foolishly
perfectly
fondly
softly
enemy
costly
only
candy
grumpy

As always, please review the words together and check for understanding! Thanks, Mrs. J

Sign up Sheet is on the classroom door!

For our field trip next week we will need four parents to assist. I have already signed up two parents - so there are just two spots left open. Would you like to join us? Come sign up!

This Week's Poem for Spelling

A Friend
A friend is like a flower,
a rose to be exact,
Or maybe like a brand new gate
that never comes unlatched.
A friend is like an owl,
both beautiful and wise.
Or perhaps a friend is like a ghost,
whose spirit never dies.
A friend is like a heart that goes
strong until the end.
Where would we be in this world
if we didn't have a friend.

by Breena Park


This is a beautiful poem which talks about the importance of friends. Please review the words which are in italic, as well as review the meaning of the words - many of which are new vocabulary for the students in our class.
Thanks! Mrs. Johnson

New for the week of October 20-25

Hello families!

Our spelling words will be posted Monday after our pretest.

Our field trip to the Pacific Spirit Forest is approaching quickly. I am looking forward to this unique opportunity to take a walk through the forest with two scientists (naturalists) who will talk to us about how the forest is preparing for winter. It should be fun and educational!
As this time of year has unpredictable weather please be sure to dress the children warmly and water-proofed! We must be ready to spend two hours walking in a damp (rainy) forest. I suggest thick socks, rainboots, raincoats, and a hood, but please no umbrellas because they will be difficult to carry.
Please pack a lunch that will be easy to take with us and eat at the forest.

I will need four parent volunteers to accompany us. If you can help out please sign up on the sheet outside our classroom door.

Thanks!
Mrs. J

Photos for Our Blog
We have sent home permission slips asking families to allow pictures of the children to be posted on this site. During the day we often take photos of kids working together and we'd like to share them with you. When we've recieved your slips we will be able to know which children we have permission to publish.
Thanks! Mrs. Johnson

Week of October 6-10

This week's spelling words are taken from a phonics based spelling program which emphasizes the patterns of letters that make up the sounds of the English language.

I will post the words tomorrow after our pre-test.

It is greatly appreciated if you take a few moments to go through the words with your child and help them understand the meanings. Last week we discovered many new words in our poem such as "cliff, path, journey, and poem."

Thanks, Mrs. Johnson

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Grade Two and Three words:
* All words contain a 'short vowel "e"' *
blend
mend
spend
chest
melt
slept
invent
check
then
fresh

Additional Grade Three Words
* All words are phonetically spelled (the same way they sound)*
compact
sunset
silent
drifting
human
including
behind
constant
talent
rental

Welcome to a New School Year!

We're so glad you've found our classroom blog - Welcome! 

September has been a wonderful month with the children as we have formed many new friendships and bonds. The kids have settled into the routines of school and arrive in the morning with smiles and readiness for a new day of learning.

We look forward to great things this year!  Mrs. Johnson and Ms. Santiago

Spelling Program

Our Spelling Program

Throughout the year the children will be studying words in a variety of formats. We will choose a variety of poems and draw our spelling words from them. In addition, we will study the phonetic structure of words by following a phonics-based program as well.

Words are chosen on Mondays and a pre-test is given to check their spelling knowledge. During the week we will do a number of literacy activities to reinforce our spelling and vocabulary skills. 

Spelling Poem for Week of September 29

(Words that are bold-face are the words to learn and study)

 A Poem Is a Little Path

A poem is a little path

That leads you through the trees.

It takes you to the cliffs and shores

To anywhere you please.

Follow it and trust your way

With mind and heart as one

And when the journey's over

You'll find you've just begun.