Teacher's Blogs: Grade 1 & 2
Cool Cows
Grade 1/2 has been studying animals, with special focus on God’s creation of the cow. In this part of Ontario, one doesn’t have to venture too far to see a tall standing barn with silos, and cows roaming the fields around it. Because cows are so common, they can be passed over for …
Each Day
I am learning what a beautiful thing it is to teach, interact with, and “live life” with the students. As I do, a whole range of emotions usually results. Like the day I said the students could bring their stuffy to school as a treat….. and found this guy sitting in at my desk when …
Heavy Laden
“Mrs. Snoek, did you cut a tree down on your day off?” asked a student as she saw me walk in to school carrying a stump. “Why is there a stump in the classroom?” The stump in question is the Jesse Tree, a beautiful tradition I learned about only a few years ago. Each day …
Did You Know?
Professor Sjaarda, a scientist from Queen’s University paid a special visit to our class. We revisited our prior knowledge of States of Matter while engaging in some awesome experiments. As Professor Sjaarda taught us about sublimation, we got to observe the process in action. We also got to see some really neat chemical reactions when …
Genesis in Action
Recently our class had the pleasure of visiting Ripplebrook Farm near Napanee, owned and operated by Kevin MacLean. Mr. MacLean was prepared and excited to share his farming experience with us. Students learned about all the responsibilities a farmer has in taking care of his animals. Mr. MacLean has 130 dalry cows and calls each …
City Hall
We have recently started a new social studies unit about our local community. To help the students better understand the idea of citizens and local leadership, we took a field trip to City Hall. Before our tour we took opportunity to explore Confederation Park, a worthwhile outing for us all. During our tour, we …
Fulfillment
We have been enjoying learning about the life and times of Moses in Bible class. This week we talked about the ten plagues and about the Passover. Yesterday we were able to participate in a very basic version of the Passover meal. It was a very sensory experience for us all to see how the …
We Remember
Today, after much preparation, conversation, and thought processing, our class was honoured to lead the Remembrance Day assembly. I was very pleased with the respect our class, and the entire student body, showed as we remembered veterans and those affected by war. To close our assembly, each student placed a poppy on a cross. In …
Mixing Matter – The Chocolate Chip Cookie Experiment
As we come to the conclusion of our States of Matter Unit, students apply their knowledge and make hypotheses regarding the mixing of solids, liquids, gases, and the application of heat in baking chocolate chip cookies. Students quickly observed reversible and irreversible changes that took place: The flour and sugar went through an irreversible change …
Continue reading “Mixing Matter – The Chocolate Chip Cookie Experiment”
A Walk in the Park
This week we wrapped up our mapping unit with a mapping walk. The students were put in small groups and given a map from school to a mystery location in the nearby community. They had to remember and use what we learned about proper mapping, and they had to work together to make sure they …