Teaching Basic Mapping Skills

I find my students have a lot of difficulty understanding where we live in relation to the rest of the world, so I made these nesting maps out of different sized tin cans so they would all fit together.

We started with our school, and then put it into the Calgary container and so on. I used whole brain teaching to talk about each one, so we mirrored as we went and then the students taught each other. I think we are moving closer to understanding. I really feel that this skill is developmental, so I continue to look at different ways to present the concept throughout the year.

Mrs. Dunn

Let's Get Acquainted Linky

Flying Into First

I am linking up with Flying into First Grade for a favourites linky party.!

Favourite Place to Shop

Hmm, well I think clothing wise I would say probably dynamite, but I'm actually not a huge shopper so that's about all I can come up with.

Favourite TV Show

I really really love this show. Like A LOT and I watch it over and over again, including all the bloopers I can find on youtube. So amazing.

Favourite Sweet Treat

Peanut butter confetti square. Because it is peanut butter, and marshmallows and I could eat a whole pan if given the chance.

Favourite Food

Lasagna, and most things that are Italian like. MMM cheesy, meaty noodly goodness.

Favourite Restaurant

I'm not huge on eating out, but when we do one of our go to places is an Indian Restaurant called Tamarind. So yum.

Mrs. Dunn

100 day... a little late!!

Well, with report cards finally being finished up, I made some time to get my pictures up from 100 day. We had the best day.

Here is Grandma Dunn, I may have pretended to be my Grandmother all day, and it may have actually worked.

The students dressed up too! We did super art project. The kids made themselves at 100 years old. They turned out just adorable.

We did centers all day and the kids really had a great time.

Making 100 day glasses

Making 100 day crowns

100 day writing booklet

Reading 100 day stories

Making words from one hundred

A student modelling the crown and necklace

Most of these activities were found on Teachers Pay Teachers. We had a super day, can't wait until the next 100 day!
Mrs. Dunn

New Chair Pockets!

So you may remember from before that I had bought book sox for chair pockets. WELL, it was becoming a bit of a disaster. A few of them broke, and so we had small piles of students things in various corners in the room, and when I went to get more book sox, they only had the smaller size. So.... I bought them.... and they broke within a couple of days. SIGH.

I got frustrated, I looked at those little piles of student things and I became obsessed. I would try to organize, them, I would tell the kids to organize them, I would look at them, and then I began to loathe the little piles that soon turned into heaps of things.

I took the big step. GULP I bought those really expensive chair pockets that I had vowed at the beginning of the year not to buy because, oh the book sox will work so well.

 I am now officially a happily organized and obsessive free (well for this anyway) first grade teacher. They are beautiful. They fit everything, I don't even need my name tags on desks anymore because they go in the back of chair pockets. There are no more growing mountains of things popping out of corners.

SIGH, so happy! Now to avoid showing the hubby my credit card bill. . .

Mrs. Dunn

Valentine's Day- Pinterest inspired

It was a pinterest-y valentines day for my students on Wednesday. They had so much fun!

THE PIN

Brilliant Beginnings Preschool

Student work

THE PIN

Teacher Bits and Bobs

Student work

Hope your Valentine's was as great as mine!

Mrs. Dunn

Five Senses and MY FIRST VIDEO POST!

We are STILL working on our five senses unit in science class, it seems to be dragging on FOREVER, I'm tellin you. 

We read the story "The Black Book of Colors" which is so cool and has words in braille and raised pictures. 

We then talked about what it would be like to not have our sense of sight and be blind. All of the students wrote out their names and then used the "secret code" to make their name in braille. They glued split peas onto the sheet after colouring in the dots to make the bumps.

I then did a lesson on how scientists smell. Sorry it is so choppy and you can only see my face and lovely lights, just keeping privacy of the children in mind! So excited to have my first video up. I was actually inspired by Cara Carroll, she posted a video of her teaching and it was neat to see what a great teacher she is in real life!!

Mrs. Dunn 

Baby You're a Firework!

 Well it's hard to believe that we've been back in school now for over a week already. The kids are settling back into routines nicely and it has been a pretty calm couple of weeks. Just thought I would share some of the activities we completed from my TPT New Years package. 

Students made their cityscapes with grey paper and cut up pieces of yellow for windows. I then put a blob of sparkly paint on their sheet, and with a pointy stick they pulled out to make the fireworks. Here is what the entire bulletin board looked like:

Students also made their New Year's Resolutions on these little people and I hung them beside the bulletin board.

Hope you have lots of fun with your students in the New Year!

Mrs. Dunn