Exploring Play Everyday!

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In June, we released 11 Painted Lady Butterflies! Even though I do this every year, it is always so exciting. Seeing the faces of the students when  a butterfly lands on them is remarkable. Until next year, butterflies!

It's the end of the school year! 9 days until summer vacation (but who's counting)  Each Spring I give students some 'homework' and I never really tell them why they are doing it. They are given a sheet of paper with each of their classmates names on it- and they are supposed to think of a positive word (or 2 or 3) to describe that person. I end up with a whole list of positive words about each child in my class! I add some words to it and make these word clouds for them as an end of year gift! It's meaningful and not expensive (dollar store frames!)  What do you give for end of year gifts?  I use wordart.com   to make the word clouds! Once you figure the program out it's very use friendly! Rainbows and Sunshine, Mrs. Lloyd

Four of our painted lady butterflies emerged from their chrysalises today! SO much excitement in grade one!  See below for a time lapse video that shows the metamorphosis It's one of my favourite times of learning! Rainbows and Sunshine,  Mrs. Lloyd

 I love when activities are cross curricular and offer choice! This week we looked at pictures online of 'Pixel Art' - which reminded the students of Minecraft. I offered the choice of a paper grid and crayons, or large white paper and small squares of colour paper for them to explore pixel art. To my surprise, most students choose the grid and crayons. Some students found the idea of colouring each square just one colour, and not having any rounded lines tricky.  Others (especially those who frequent playing Minecraft) got right to work with pixel-like figures. When they completed the picture, they made a 'Key' or 'Legend' for their picture. They had to count the number of each colour.  A great activity for a rainy afternoon in June! Give it a try! Rainbows and Sunshine,  Mrs. Lloyd

We went outside today to explore symmetry in the world around us! Here is just some of the things we found in front of our school that are symmetrical! Next we took our chalk and drew some symmetrical things! Same learning, but more fun and more fun = better recall and memory!  Gotta Love Play Based Learning!  It doesn't have to be extravagant to have a high degree of engagement and learning! Rainbows and Sunshine,  Mrs. Lloyd

How do animals features help them survive in their environment?  This science provocation was really engaging for the students. They enjoyed being able to play with the finger puppets and plastic animals while talking about the features of the animals. I heard discussions about warning colours and camouflage, about snail shells and 'goo' trails and about tiger stripes and squirrels tails.   Another science provocation that students explored in science was about how animals move. While we had already learned and practised this concept outside the other day, I thought it would be beneficial for the students to engage in more discussion and practice with the concepts.  Students even added another movement - slither- and added some animals from the other table into the sorting circles.  Happy Exploring! Rainbows and Sunshine,  Mrs. Lloyd

Elephant & Piggie books by Mo Willems are a huge hit in grade one, and a great introduction to comics. I haven't seen this amount of engagement in writing since the Peeps STEM unit we did at Easter time!    Students had 3 choices of comic paper. One choice had elephant and piggie, as well as speech bubbles already places, so students had to fill in some words. The second had no illustrations, but speech bubbles already on the page and the third was a blank comic template for the students to design their own illustrations and speech bubbles. Many students began with the Elephant and Piggie paper and went on to one of the other choices.  Some students chose to cut out the comics and make a mini book.  Overall a great little lesson and literacy time-- and I have a feeling there will be a lot more comic writing in the weeks to come!  Rainbows & Sunshine, Mrs. Lloyd

One of my favourite parts of Play Based Learning is taking the learning outside. While my school doesn't have a lot of space on the property for play and exploration, there is a trail system close by that we can explore. This week we have continued our Living Things science unit with lots of outdoor learning. How to animals move?  Students brainstormed the different ways animals can move, and we chose 6 of those ways to put on our big active living cube. Then we took turns rolling the dice - they would call out the name of an animal who travels in that way and then they would pretend to be that animal. Students had lots of fun. After the game, we had a discussion about why animals move in different ways. Why to snakes slighter? Do animals move in different ways so they can get to the food they want? Why are some animals faster than other animals? Crabs and bugs both crawl- but really differently- are they both called crawling? So much wonder, inquiry and questioni...

Connect 4 - Addition game It was just 2 years ago that I began hearing about Math Block and its many benefits. Since I had my Literacy Block up and running smoothly (most of the time), I decided to give it a go! I haven't looked back since.  Geometry with Pattern Blocks Sorting 3D shapes by sorting rules I love that Math Block is designed to reinforce and practice new and old concept- concepts just learned and concepts that were taught in October. It's amazing just how quickly they forget the names of 3D shapes, how to extend a pattern or the dreaded addition strategies!  With Math Block they can practice these skills in a non-threatening way, with a partner, with manipulatives, or by themselves!   Play and exploration is an important part of math practice in early grades. How many of us adults say we 'hate math' because we spent hours as small children using a pencil to write answers to questions? There is plenty of time for memorising fac...

We welcomed some new creepy crawly insects to our classroom last week! The students were instantly intrigued.  We haven't talked about the life cycle yet, however one student has already asked me to show him a picture of it so he could represent it in a drawing.  Other students have been reading and viewing all about butterflies, moths and insects- and others can't get enough of watching them grow using the magnifying glasses! What a joy to have in our classroom... watching the caterpillars grow, and the students grow at the same time! Inquiry at its best Rainbows and Sunshine,  Mrs. Lloyd

Love love LOVE getting little notes from kids... they mean the most! I love the confirmation that Play Based Learning works- and makes kids comfortable, happy, social and clever problem solvers! Sometimes kids remind us what it's all about! Rainbows and Sunshine, Mrs. Lloyd

Where do I begin? It was only a few years ago that our school board brought in Play Based Learning for the Kindergarten level. I was one of the lucky few who were trained in the pedagogy at the very beginning. However I didn't teach K right away, so I didn't have to dive right in. This year, the PBL idea moved up to grade 1. I was excited... Scared... sceptical.... unsure.... But I did it, I jumped right in! I learned what I could, did webinars, read blog posts, searched online, spoke to colleagues. I felt like I was back in university again! Will it work? Will my students be able to read and write by June? Will it really minimize behaviour issues? Is going outside almost everyday in Canada really feasible? Will it be a lot of work? Well.... the answer to all of those questions is YES! Here is a graphic I designed- I wish someone would have told me these things before I started. This is geared more to preparing for writing in Play Based Learning (which I found...