Home Learning January 10-14th:

I hope you were able to ease into Home learning last week with the suggestions by both the Department as well as this website. I aim to keep it light and manageable again this week and hope that you get along well. I'd like to remind you of the following quote I saw recently which I thought was very relevant to our days at home lately. In the Dumville household we sometimes struggle to juggle it all- teaching, learning, social, emotional, and physical wellbeing... while also working a full time job. Keep your eye on what is most important.

The focus this week will be all about winter and clothing. I don't know about you but I am happy to finally see the snow and have the kids go out and enjoy playing in it!

***We will be meeting "live" each day on "Google meet" at 2pm. This will simply be for fun. No actual "content" will be taught as I know all children will not be able to login at that time. I hope you are able to make it!

Click on "learning resources" at the top of the page. Next click on "google classroom." You will be prompted to sign into Google using your child's username and password (see bright green master password list that was sent home before break). Next, you will click on our class followed by the "join meeting" button on the left hand side. You can login to practice anytime but I will only be there to join you at 2pm each day to start the session. See the topics for the week below:

• Monday- Learning about the important buttons on Google meet such as mic on/off, raise your hand if you'd like a turn to talk etc... catching up about our xmas break.

• Tuesday-Bring a stuffed animal. Be ready to tell us a little bit about him if you feel comfortable. What is his/her name? what colour is he/she? how old is he/she? what type of animal is he/she etc...

• Wednesday-Snack and chat as if its "collation." Be ready to share what you are eating, is it your favourite snack? Do you eat it often? Is it good for you or a little treat for now and again? etc...

• Thursday- Favourite book Talk. Be ready to share by showing us the cover of your favourite book. It can be English or French. What is the title, who is the author (if you know). Do you read it a lot with your family? Why do you like it so much?

• Friday-Art show! Be ready with something artistic that you'd like to share. This could be a drawing, painting, lego masterpiece etc...

*** Please have your child start every day this week by reading the "message de la semaine" (weekly message). Next, review the winter vocabulary using the videos below (one each day) as well.

*Note: if you'd like to send me picture of your child's work either for motivation or just for fun feel free to do so. My email is kmdumville@edu.pe.ca. I'd love to see what you are up to at home and respond. There is, however, no obligation whatsoever to do so. I realize this is a stressful time and many are just getting by.

French Story-time

Click on the following videos (winter clothing themed as well) of me and Madame Robyn reading a story to children in french below. (one each day). Other animated French stories can be found on "the fable cottage" if you are interested.

Click the link below for a very special story from our school mascott, Westy!!!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uzmQspsXCjlra876lwbzW12MwML-ueej/view?usp=sharing

Reading options:

Past messages in the homework duotang

The pink song book

Online library of books on Cheneliere Education website

(see bright green "master password" sheet that was sent home before xmas break for your child's username/password). You will notice that there are many levels of books available on this website. Most students are on levels "3/4" or "5/6". That would be a good place to start. You can try some that are easier or a bit harder depending on how it is going. Often though the level may be right, the specific vocabulary of the story can make a big difference in it's level of difficulty.We have been practicing many strategies in class for reading including looking to the picture for clues, pointing to each word as we read them, identifying the first letter sound of the word we are reading and using our knowledge of sounds we have learned in class to decode unknown words.

Another easy option.... click on the sound/song videos from Mme T/Mme Michaud below and have your child follow along. Can they think of other words of with the "sound of the day" in them? Can you make a list?

(hint-our favourite 'sound song' in class was the "oi" song)

tired of screens? options for offline include the following:

• You can review the sight words we've done in class using the words accumulated in the homework duotang and the "oh snap" game explained within.

• You may also review words by creating a new "zip, zap" game! You can make an easy "twist" on the familiar "oh snap" game. Use the same sight word cards as you used previously in the old game. Add some "zip" and "zap" cards into the mix. Zip means you get to have another turn to read the word and keep it in your pile. "zap" means you lose the cards you had won. (As the game continues "zap" cards are left out in order to facilitate both motivation and winning. lol)

Writing options:

As mentioned before, this might be the trickiest part of the suggested activities. It takes a lot of effort, practice, and risk taking to learn how to write in grade one. We often do a lot of practice speaking using the practiced sentence structures before expecting students to write them down on paper later in the week.

Our writing outcomes suggest we provide models for the students to use when writing. In class we had just started to get the ball rolling by trying to create our own "Wowy, wow wow sentences." This includes taking our time to form neat letters, ensuring there are finger spaces between our words. This also includes looking over our work to make sure that we began our sentence with a capital letter and finished with and a period at the end.

Monday, gather your winter clothing and practice naming them in French. Draw a picture of yourself all dressed for outside and "label" it. Read your labels to an adult or sibling afterwards. Practice saying the names of your outdoor clothes in French repeatedly.

Tuesday, look at Madame's photo and message of what she is wearing for outdoor clothing. Practice speaking French and parroting back the sentence structures that describe what Madame is wearing in the photo. Do this several times. Draw a picture of Madame dressed for outside this time and label it. Read your writing to a parent or sibling.

Wednesday, examine the photo and messages of what Finn and Wyatt are wearing to play outside. Again, practice speaking French and describing what Madame's boys are wearing in each photo. Remember "Il porte" is for a boy and "Elle porte" is for a girl when talking about what he/she is wearing. Do this several times. Have your child draw a picture of mom, dad, or sibling dressed for outside this time. Again, label the outdoor clothing in the drawing and read your writing out loud.

Friday, use the sentence structure starters below and have your child write full sentences about what mom, dad, or a sibling is wearing to play outside. Remember "Il porte" is for a boy and "Elle porte" is for a girl when talking about what he/she is wearing. Afterwards, review your writing to see if you have "Wowy Wow wow sentences" (criteria to look for mentioned above.) Have your child read their writing aloud to someone at home.

Math:

As mentioned before we had been working on numbers to one hundred before christmas break. Before beginning each day this week, use the number song to warm up.

Suggested follow up math activities this week include the following:

Running out of time and energy? Here are a few quick math ideas

• Boom cards: There are many math boom cards that available for your child to practice the concepts learned in class. These can be done on the boom learning website or using a tablet. Your child's username and password for boom decks can be found on the bright green "master password sheet" that was sent home before the Christmas break. As children play the "boom math decks" they can earn points and change their little avatar.

• Pick and choose other numbers to one hundred games on this website. You can find them by clicking "computer games" tab at the very top of this page.

• "Blips" app: In this fun app, students press the speaker button and listen to a number in French. They must then click on the correct number that was said. After several questions, they may "unlock" new funny 'dancing robots.'

Easy peasy! Click on the "Trouve et nomme" number videos below. Students search for the hidden French numbers. They should try to say the name of the French number before the lady in the video does if they can and repeat it again afterwards for practice.

Oral French speaking/listening:

As students spend time at home it would be great for them to practice speaking French if possible. Simply having a few minutes talking with you as a parent (or a sibling) would be great.

Having the opportunity to hear French being spoken and work on comprehension skills would be wonderful practice as well. There are many little shows on Youtube that have a level of French that is not too difficult in grade one. These include the following: Tro Tro, Toupie et Binou, Tchoupie et Doudou, Caillou, Peppa pig etc.

Below you'll also find a link to "introducing high five French" that has various little videos depicting one girl teaching another proper sentence structures to use when doing everyday things such as introducing yourself, going to the market etc...If you are interested in the series of videos simply type in "high five french in your youtube browser"

Music/gym:

Here is the link to Madame Dorothy Dahn's music home learning site. https://sites.google.com/cloud.edu.pe.ca/westwoodmusicroom/ms-dahn/at-home-learning-music-class

Here is a link to Monsieur Trevor Starts gym home learning site:https://sites.google.com/cloud.edu.pe.ca/westwood-physical-education/home

Here is a link to the librarian, Madame Michelle Dodd's site if your child would like to "visit the library" this week: :) https://sites.google.com/cloud.edu.pe.ca/westwoodlibrary/home

Here is the link to our school councillor, Madame Cindy Wood's, page should you feel like you or your child require some of her services during this anxious time. https://classroom.google.com/c/NDQ0NDgwNzkwNDAw?cjc=zdbsep3

Fun brain breaks!

I don't know about you but my own kids just need to "move!" these days. They are used to being active in hockey, or just rolling around on the floor, running around screaming with teddies etc. (two typical boys). If you need to just set aside the home learning and take a break, go outside for a walk, play a game together, or turn on the tv so you can work a bit... there is no judgement here.