Week One of School

Yes, it's that time of year again as the banner hanging in Mr. Hamer's Grade 2/3 combined classroom tells us!

The raindrops indicate many, many rules.  The umbrella encourages us to learn only two that will cover all of those "oh so" many rules...yes...respect and responsibility.

Our spelling words for this week.
Say, you can enlarge the pictures on this blog by clicking on them with your cursor.
You can return to the default look of the page by clicking outside the image.

We have been researching the number line in class to assist us with our adding.

The students have learned a great hint for adding in your head...start with the larger number first, then add the smaller number.  It's a lot easier than the other way around!

Here was our agenda from Day One of school.

Hey, I spotted two former students of mine out on the playground on the morning of the first day of school.  Yes, Mr. Hamer taught the young lady on the left of the hug last year...and he taught her mom a number of years ago.  (This is my 40th year of teaching!)

Lots of eager students checked out the class lists on Tuesday morning of this week.

The students must have been excited...and a bit nervous!

The parents all seemed to have great big smiles on their faces.  I wonder why?

Our classroom is arranged into five groups we call islands.

The students get to work together.

They share their resources Mr. Hamer has set out.

Some groups have four students and some have three.

The tennis balls on the bottoms of the chair legs help to protect the classroom floor.

We love our class!

The students come to carpet for some of their lessons.

They're great at sitting "criss-cross apple sauce!"

The carpet is a fun place of learning.

In science class we are learning all about air and water.

With Hurricane Dorian in the news, we have been able to relate to the forces of air and water in a real life way.

Mr. Hamer shared some videos made especially for children about hurricanes.

We learned that the center of the hurricane is called the eye.  Along the eye wall we find the most powerful winds.

We also learned the while hurricanes spin very quickly, they actually move across the ocean quite slowly.

We wouldn't want to be out in that weather.

We also offered up some prayers for the families affected by Hurricane Dorian.

Here is our class prayer table.

Our little book nook.  (The shelves were recycled from Dollar Stores that  were going to send them to the landfill.)

Hey!

Check out that colourful giant on the Primary playground.

It wasn't here last year!

Yeah!  Yabba dabba doo!

What a great new structure for our Primary classes.

We will share the play structure with Junior classes as well.

Their smiles tell it all.

A mountain climber.

A bunch of monkeys!

The new climbing structure is located near the kindergarten area.
We would like to thank everyone who helped bring this new structure to our yard!

The recess bell has rung and we line up to the left while Mrs. O'Toole's class lines up to the right.

Mr. Hamer is a musician and he keeps a guitar in class at all times.

Here we are learning a new song.

The song is called Sambalele about a young boy who is a show-off.  Have your child tell you all about him.  We have learned actions to the song!

Another song we learned this week is "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" and the children caught on right away to the lyrics and the "Wumba Way" refrain!

Mr. Hamer is also an artist who loves to create some of the work the children complete at their desks.

We first learn the lesson as a whole class.

Then the children begin their work.

They like to keep their papers organized in a binder.

When they complete their assigned task, they can colour the pictures.

It's nice to see them work independently.

They can also help each other if Mr. Hamer is busy with another student.

They are learning to work quietly when Mr. Hamer has to teach one of the two grades in the classroom.

The children can use blocks to solve addition or simply perform the calculations using their fingers.

They may use a ruler for assistance.

But...always remember to begin with the bigger number first.

For 2+8, you are better to start with the 8 then add 2 more.

Neatness counts a great deal in Mr. Hamer's books!

Her ruler comes in handy when completing the algorithm.

He's finished, so he's colouring.

Great calculations!

Great concentration.

Let's take a look at our amazing class.
A handsome lad.

A gamer for sure!

A great smile.

A cool shirt with a wink.

This lad shared his summer vacation photo album with us on the first day of school.

Cool panda bear!

Time for work...time for fun!

Let's pick a book to read, shall we!

"I agree!" he says.

Rainbow girl!

He's learning our classroom oath in behind.

So is he!

She knows the class rules already.

And...so does she.

Unicorn girl.

Spaceman shirt!

A great big smile.

We've learned that rhyming words share the same or similar endings.

Some of our faces on the board.

Even more.  (One is missing and will be up soon.)

Words have letters that head down in the basement below the line the word is printed on.

Some letters stay on the main floor...

...and other head up to the second floor of the house!

Well done!

On the second day of school we held an assembly in the gym for the classes from grades one to six.

Mrs. MacDonald, our principal and Mr. Hogg, our vice-principal, went over the rules and routines.

When children finish up their work they can find activities to partake in such as this fun game.

A proud student.

She deserves a break for working so hard.

The colours of her dress...

...match her hair!

It seems we've got a new Shania Twain in our midst!

Love the colourful guitar!

Bonjour Mme Pepe!

He's getting his agenda copied nicely!

Independent workers.

The children take ownership of their learning!

Outdoor fun...

...on the recess playground.

What's that in the distance?

Is it a bird?

Is it a plane?

No, silly!  It's our new climbing structure!

Some more hurricane lessons.

Rapt attention is paid tot he video.

While the three above mentioned storms are all the same...they go by different names in different locations around the planet.

Our "My Creation" board.

He's stuffing his hot-air balloon.

So is she.

Let's check them out.

Cool designs.

Colourful patterns.

A rainbow of shades and tones.

Proud hot-air balloonists!

The hot air put my camera out of focus!  Yikes!

Ah, yes...that's a better quality image!

Lightning bolts and wave patterns.

Nice!

A close-up view!

So cool.

Our class before the open house.

The board is filling up.

Some of our butterflies.

Taking off!

Flying high!

Soaring along.

In the bright blue sky!

Yellow sun.

Colourful wings.

Lovely frame.

Fantastic efforts.

Mme Pepe addresses some of our parents...

...at our open house.

Indeed, it is "Up, Up and Away!"

A rainbow of colours.

A plethora of designs.

Bold!

Beautiful!

Somewhere...over the...!

The "teach" gets in on the action!

Creative!

Stunning!

Lovely.

Inspirational.

Skylight!

Flowing waters.

Delicious, like pizza!

Circular!

Polka Dots!

Catch the wave!

The, catch another wave!

Great selections!

Can I fly with you!

The children have been finished up their first "class book."

Remember, you can click on the image to enlarge it in order to read what the students wrote.

As I mentioned at Program Night, the student conferenced with Mr. Hamer.

The children had to say how they felt on the first day of school.

Mr. Hamer jotted down on a piece of scrap paper what each child told him.

The pupils then went and copied the information onto their special page.

Once the completed their printing of the message...

...they went ahead and coloured the rest of their sheet.

They are happy to write their own page...

...for the class book.

Indeed, many of the students were a little nervous on the first day of school.

Who wouldn't be?

Weren't you when you were a little boy or a little girl.

I remember I was.

The children were wondering who their teacher would be.

Many wondered who would be in their class.

They wondered where would their class be located in the school.

Colourful pages.

After the coloured in the little school house...

...they put other little items in the background.

I like his bright, hot sun!

Mr. Hamer forgot to zoom in on his page...so I will do so on Monday and  re-post it!

The "My Creation" board in the classroom offers the students...

...the opportunity to post their work.

They love showcasing their efforts to their peers.

Mr. Hamer created the bubble letter names...

...and the students coloured them.

It's fun to be back in school.

The boys and girls...

...are eager to work hard!

They work well in groups.

They haven't forgotten much over the summer.

With this page up on the board...

...everyone is complete!  We can now publish the book.
We'll share that aspect with you next week!

We managed to get outside for an early recess and play on the new climbing structure.
I will post more pics of that fun later over the weekend!

Score Four...

...is a hit with the students.

She loves completing all of her assignments!

As mentioned, we check in on the fun at the new climbing structure.

She flips out!

Just hanging around.

Hanging out is so much fun!

Kings of the castle.

Great balance.

She's on the move!

There she is!

A blue sky girl!

Let's race down the slide.

"Hi Mr. Hamer!"

"Take our picture, Mr. Hamer!"

"I already did!"

More classes come out to enjoy the fun.

Upside-down!

Ditto.

Strong muscles!

Strong arms!

Lots of children, for sure!

Say cheese!

Two handsome lads!

An acrobat.

"Look at me!"

Stretching out!

Wee!

"I love our new structure!"

"This is great!"

Nicely framed.

Twirling around!

Look up!

"I love my school!

This is a sample of the homework I will be handing out next week.
The children will be given a week to try to memorize the poem.  If they memorized all seven days of Creation, then that's wonderful.  Should they only be able to memorize six or five days...then that's okay too. Even three or four.  The object of this lesson is to learn about how God created the world and to practise memorizing, one of the most fundamental skils a child can practise which will hold him/her in good stead even up to the college or university years!  

Thanks for checking in on our class through the blog.

Have a great week everyone!
Mr. Hamer OCT