Gingerbread Science Experiment

 In the story the Gingerbread Man did not want to get wet.  We did the Gingerbread Science Experiment to find out what happens when a gingerbread gets wet. We took a picture of a gingerbread man to show what it looked like before he got it wet. The chidren drew a picture of what they thought he would look like after he got wet and explained their predictions. See the slideshow to view the children's predictions.

Here is what our gingerbread man looked like after he got wet.

Children`s observations:

- It broke (Alessa).

- It cut in half (Folu).

- All of it breaked (Colin).

- It smells good (Brandon).






Then, we asked the question "Why did the gingerbread man break into pieces?"

Adam said that the water is rougher than the food you make. We agreed that the water creates friction against the cookie and helps to break it down. We then asked if an apple would break down if we put it in water. The children all agreed that it would not. We asked "What protects the apple?" Adam explained that the skin makes apples stronger than the water. We added that the skin also protect us from the water. That because of our skin, we are waterproof. We conclude that the gingerbread had absorbed the water and it is the reason why he broke into pieces. Sean commented that the gingerbread man broke because he did not have skin.This directed  us to ask the question what could the Old Lady from the story have put on the gingerbread man to help protect him from the water. Here are some suggestions: buttons, coat, chocolate, candies. After the New Year, we will test the impermeability of those objects to see if they could have been good choices and to see if we can find other objects that are waterproof.

Gingerbread Man

After reading the story ``The Gingerbread Man,`` the children got to help the Gingerbread Man return home. They had to build a road using tubes, place the gingerbread in the tubes and send him home (bucket) using water.

Here are the books that we read about the Gingerbread Man.

Problem: ``Peux-tu aider le Petit bonhomme en pain d'épice à retourner à sa maison.``



 We made a mini gingerbread man out of plasticine but it kept getting stuck so one of the children suggested that we roll it into a ball. Look at the video to see Hannah helping her Gingerbread Man get home.

 

 

Following the reading of our fairytales The Three Little Pigs, Little Red Riding Hood and the Gingerbread Man, we discussed what action to take when feeling unsafe or uncomfortable, and when and how to seek assistance in unsafe situations. You can help your child by talking with him or her about safety at school, at home and in the community. You can also help them learn your phone number and when to dial 911 in case of an emergency.

To see other activities that we have done this week go under the tab Our Classroom Activities.

The Three Little Javelinas

We read thes story The Three Little Javelinas. Then we comparared this story from the original version The three Little Pigs.

Different
Title: The Three Little Pigs Character: Wolf Setting: Forest The first house is made of straw.	Title: The Three Little Javelinas Character: Coyote Setting: Desert The first house is made of tumbleweeds.
Same
Characters: 3 pigs Problem: The wolf/ coyote wants to eat the three little pigs Ending: The wolf/ coyote got his tail on fire. Sayings: “Little pig, little pig, let me come in.” “Not by the hair of my chinny-chin-chin!” “Then I’ll huff, and I’ll puff, and I’ll blow your house in.” The houses being blown. The second house is made of sticks and the third is made of bricks.

Les trois petits cochons



 After reading the story «Les trois petits cochons» the children got to make the pigs` houses using different materials.  Then, they made the characters of the story. We displayed their work on our bulletin board. The children answered questions about the story and we had a discussion about what we could add to the bulletin to create the setting and time «Where» and «When». The children decided to make suns, clouds and trees to better show the setting and time.

Here are the questions and the children's answers in English:

1.      What is the title of the story?

The Three Little Pigs

       2.      Who are the characters?

 The three little pigs and the big bad wolf

      3.      Where is the story happening?

 In the forest

      4.      When is the story happening?

 In the morning

      5.      What is the problem in the story?

 The wolf wants to eat the pigs.

       6.      How is the problem solved?

 They are going to put a fire on the wolf`s tail.

 

Here is a summary of the story:

 First, the three little pigs left their mom’s house.

Then, they built a house of straw, sticks and bricks.

After, the bad wolf came to get the pigs by blowing their houses down.

Finally, he could not blow the brick house. He went down the fireplace. He got his tail on fire. He ran away.


Here are the questions and the children's answers in French:

1.      Quel est le titre de l’histoire?

 Les trois petits cochons

2.      Qui sont les personnages de l’histoire?

Les cochons, le loup

 

3.      Où se passe l’histoire?

 forêt

 

4.      Quand se passe l’histoire?

 Il fait soleil, in the morning (le matin)

 

     5.      Quel est le problème dans l’histoire?

 Le loup (veut) mange(r) les 3 petits cochons.

 

     6.      Comment le problème est résolu?

 Le loup got in fire.

See more activities under the tab Our Classroom Activities.

Do not forget to read our new inquiry about Wild Kratts and the children`s answers to our Rescue Heroes inquiry under the tab Our Inquiries.

 

 

 

Koalas Eating Part 2 (Adam)

The children had fun playing Adam`s game in the gym. We lined up against the wall of one side of the gym. We put bean bags on the other side. Adam decided that the game would begin when he started running to the other side to get the food (leaves). The only ajustment he brought to the game was that he told his friends they should only pretend to eat the food. The bean bags had to stay on their side of the gym. So the children had to run to one side of the gym, pretend to eat the food and run back to the starting line without being captured by the dingo(me, Mme Maklin). After the children who had not been captured by the dingo went back to the starting line, we would then start the game again with everyone.

 

Alphabet Soup

On Friday, we made our Alphabet Soup. Most of the children enjoyed the soup. Thank you for your help in making this activity a success. You can listen to the video of your child sing the alphabet in French by going into his or her ePorfolio.

 

la soupe à l'alphabet

The children wrote «J'aime la soupe.» if they liked the soup and «Je n'aime pas la soupe.» if they did not like it.

Ben

Jackson

Arman

Visit from Nathalie Pageau

Tuesday, we had a visit from our health nurse Nathalie Pageau. The children learned that sugar causes cavities and that good mouth care is important. She also talked about the importance of good eating habits to avoid cavities.

 

They learned that we should brush our teeth twice a day for 2 minutes and floss once a day. Brushing should be done in a circular motion. We should limit the amount of tooth paste to the size of the tip of our little finger. Sugar is one of the main contributing factors to causing cavities. It reacts with bacteries to create an acid that eats at our teeth. Moreover, healthy eating is important to keep our boby and teeth strong.

 

We also did an experiement where eggs were used to represent our teeth. We started by observing the eggs. We noted that they are white and hard. We explained that the egg shell represented the enamel of our teeth and that it protects what is inside. Then we soaked 2 boiled eggs in pepsi, 2 boiled eggs in tea and 1 raw egg in vinegar (acid) for a day. We noticed that the eggs soaked in pepsi and tea turned brown and the egg in the vinegar got bigger and lost its proctective shell. We concluded that acid eats at the enamel on our teeth and that brushing our teeth after drinking pepsi and tea can remove most stains on our teeth.

This week, the children are having fun pretending to be dentists and dental hygienists in our dentist office.

 

Our rainbow teeth

Koala (Adam)

Adam just came back from a trip to Australia. He brought with him a picture of him and his sister in front of a school and a little stuffed koala. After, he presented his picture, I noticed that we could see Adam's dad in it. So I decided to play Where is Waldo? with the children. I put a sign saying "Où est le papa à Adam?" During our play time, the children had the chance to look at the picture and find Adam's dad. Colin was the first to find him. Adam explained that it was a reflection of his dad in the window and that his dad was across the street taking the picture.

Picture is not showned in respect of privacy

Adam also told us that he had a game we could play with koalas. Here is the information that Adam gave me about his game.

Mme Maklin: What is your game called?

Adam: Koalas Eating

Mme Maklin: Where can we play the game?

Adam: In the gym

Mme Maklin: What material do we need?

Adam: Bean bags

Mme Maklin: How do we play the game?

Adam: We pretend that we are koalas, we pretend the bean bags are food. We need to get to the bean bags if we are captured we have to start over again.

Mme Maklin: Who captures you?

Adam: Tigers and lions

Mme Maklin: Where do koalas have to stand in the gym and where is the food?

Adam: We are going to be on this side (pointing to the right) and the food is going to be on the other side.

Mme Maklin: what do we do after we get to the food?

Adam: If we want we start the game again when everyone is on the other side.

Mme Maklin: How do we win the game?

Adam: Everyone wins even if you can`t make it to the line so no one will be sad.

We will play Adam's game tomorrow during our gym class. Do not forget to read our blog to found out more about Adam's game.

After our discussion, we decided to get books on koalas to find out what they eat and other interesting information. During circle time, we researched koalas on the Internet and read a book about them. We learned that koalas eat eucalyptus leaves, they sleep most of the day, their predators are dingos and pythons and they measure more or less a meter and weight between 10 to 30 pounds.

We also watched Wild Kratts Koala Balloon during our popcorn and movie on Friday. We learned that eucalyptus leaves are poisonous to human, koalas live in the shade of trees and are active at night.

 

We are learning more about koalas and Anstralia.

Visit from Mrs. DiGiacomo

Last Friday we had a visit from Mrs. DiGiacomo. Here is what she had to say about her role and responsibilities at school.

Role: Office Administrator

Responsibilities: Take teacher and student's attendance, organize bus transportation, make sure all registration forms are filled out, assign students to their class, deposit money,  purchase school supplies, take phone messages, call parents and take care of small injuries.

Tools: Telephone, computer, headset.

Thank You Mrs. DiGiacomo for giving us pencils after your presentation.

Ville Sparkle

This week the children have learned the roles and responsibilities of several school and town community helpers. We are still expecting a few more visitors, so keep reading our blog to find out more about our community helpers. The children have also been learning about Fire Safety and the role of a fire fighter and the tools used on the job through their pretend play. Go under the tab Classroom Activities to see pictures.

The children have also been learning about buildings that can be found in our community. Here is the town that they have built. Giuliana G. decided to call it Sparkle.

ville Sparkle

caserne de pompiers made by Ben, sign written by Tianna

station de police made by Colin sign written by Giuliana G.

hôpital made by Kaitlyn, docteur made by Giuliana G.,
sign written by Kaitlyn

Alessa, Tammy, Folu and Ava decided to be neighbours 

Nahisha and Joanna-Lee decided to be neighbours

lac made by Joanna-Lee, sign written by Ava

Preston wanted to be Giuliana G.'s neighbour

Alessio and Mme Maklin are neighbours

le parc and l'oiseau made by Giuliana G., signs also written by her

l'école St.Rita made by Tianna

notre cour d'école made by Tianna, maison made by Giuliana M.

A Visit from Spiders (Leila)

 

 

With the Winter weather we've had lately, our visits from M. Marc, Mr. Slack, Mrs. DiGiacomo., and Ms. Cocco have been accompanied by some other friends coming for visits of a more extended kind, making their way in for a warmer place to call their home for the snowy season ahead of us. We found a couple spiders the other day and decided to put them in a jar for the kids to observe for a few days.

 

 

 

Observations made by the children:

 

Devin: That`s the mommy and that`s his baby. They stay still so bugs will come. Momma made the spider web. Puts his teeth in and wraps it around in his silk.

 

Mrs. Cole: Why did the spiders come in the classroom?

 

Colin: I think he found his way inside because he wanted to get warm. I think they`re having a Halloween party.

 

Mrs. Cole : Why is he curled up in a ball?

 

Hannah: He`s hanging on a spider web.

 

Sean: He`s hanging on spider silk so he can protect himself from predators.

 

Nahisha: Because, so he can be safe.

 

Ben: So he can stay safe.

 

Mrs. Cole:  What's that yellow thing on his back?

 

Sean: It makes the spider web, it makes the silk.

 

Mrs. Cole:  How many eyes does a spider have?

 

Sean: 6

 

Hannah: 5

 

Kaitlyn: 6

 

Alessa: 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Visit from Officer Grant

This afternoon, we had the visit from Officer Grant. Here is what he had to say about his role and responsibilities in the community.

 

Role: Police Officer

Responsibilities:
- A police officer main`s responsibility is to help people.
- He or she gives traffic tickets to keep people safe.
- Occasionally, he or she has to arrest criminals.

Uniform and tools:
- Pants with red stripe
- Badge
- Police crests
- Baton
- Flashlight
- Radio
- Walkie Talkie
- Hand cuffs
- Whistle
- Police car
- Siren
- Pen
- Computer

Other information:

- A police siren can make 6 different noises. Each noise responds to a particular situation.

- The tool that is used the most is the pen. Police officers spend a lot of time reading and writing reports. The children were told that to become a police officer they need to have good reading and writing skills.

- Children should  never touch guns. They should tell an adult if they see one. 

- If they are in danger and by themselves they should call 911.

- Children should know their phone number. Officer Grant assigned this as homework to the children.

Visit from Ms. Cocco

Today, we had the vist from Ms. Cocco. Here is what she had to say about her role and responsibilities at school.

Role: Resource Teacher

Responsibilities: Help students with their reading, writing and math skills, talk to parents, teachers and doctors, order materials (special books, learning games),  help teachers set up goals for students, help children improve their fine motor skills by doing exercises.

Here are Alessa and Giuliana G. demonstrating how to exercices your fingers.

 

 

Visit from Mr. Slack

Today we had the visit of Mr. Slack. Here is what he had to say about his role and responsibilities at school.

 

Role: Principal

Responsibilities: Announcements, lock downs, fire drills, safety, make sure that students follow rules, discipline, help teachers and teacher aids, set up goals for students and with the help of teachers establish a plan to meet those goals, manage school web site and blog and visit the classes. His favourite part of his job is going to classes and reading a story to the children.

 

Rescue Heroes

For the last two weeks, the children have been playing with the Rescue Heroes figurines. This was the perfect opportunity to teach the children about who can help them in our community, at school and at home. From our inquiry, the children were able to identify some of the "helping hands" in our community (go under the tab Our Inquiries to learn more). This week we turned the house into a Police Station. The children built a cruiser, a computer for the phone operator and Colin decided that we needed a jail and some boys made walkie talkies to communicate. We also read the book The Kissing Hand. Then, we had a discussion on the helping hands in our school community. The children learned that their teachers, Mr. Slack, Mrs. G., Ms. Cocco and M. Marc are our helping hands at school. M. Marc. was in our class fixing our tables and shelves and we took that opportunity to ask him about his role and responsibilities at school. This is what we learned.

Role: Custodian

Responsibilities: Cleaning the school, fixing things, safety, shovelling, getting the balls from the roof, painting, putting in work orders and fire drills.


 In the next few weeks, we will be visited by other community and school helpers.


You can go under our tab Classroom Activities to see pictures of our Police Station and other activities on the topic of Fall.

Learning About Pumpkins

Here is our bulletin board display showing activities that we have done on the topic of pumpkins. The children have learned to identify the inside and outside parts of a pumpkin. They have used their eyes, hands and nose to make observations about a pumpkin. They estimated seeds and measured the circumference, width and height of pumpkins.  We will continue to learn about pumpkins by observing our seeds growing in our `pumpkin patch and by watching ``Rachel the Pumpkin`` turning into compost. To see those activities closer, and other activities go under Our Classroom Activities tab. 

Visit from Mr. Shallal

Today, we had the visit from Mr. Shallal, Christina`s dad. Mr. Shallal owns a Gabriel Pizza and we invited him to visit our class and answer questions.

Mr. Shallal owner of Gabriel Pizza, 178 Greber in Gatineau

1.    Do you wear a chef hat?

 

Mr. Shallal - Yes, we wear paper hats or hair nets.

2.    What is your most popular pizza?

 

Mr. Shallal - Our Deluxe pizza.

3.    What day of the week do you sell the most pizza?

 

Mr. Shallal - Friday

4.    What holiday/ special day do you sell the most pizza?

 

Mr. Shallal - On Superbowl Sunday

5.    What kind of pizza do you sell? Meatball?

 

Mr. Shallal - We sell many pizza like the Combo, La belle, Hawaïen, Little Italy, Deluxe, Vegetarien, Canadian and others. The Litte Italy pizza had meatballs.

6.    How many crusts do you do?

 

Mr. Shallal - Whole Wheat, Gluten free, regular, thin regular, thick

7.    Do you have pizza for parties?

 

Mr. Shallal - Yes, we make them different sizes depending on the customer`s request

8.    What is the biggest pizza you’ve made?

 

Mr. Shallal - 120 cm X 35 cm

9.    Do you sell anything other than pizza?

Mr. Shallal - We sell hamburgers, donairs, subs, cake, pasta, salads, wings, chicken fingers.

 

We would like to thank Mr. Shallal for giving us Gabriel Pizza boxes and flyers from his pizzeria. The children had lots of fun playing in our Gabriel Pizza restaurant.

 

 

Spaceship and Space

A few weeks ago, Adam showed an interest in building a spaceship. We did an inquiry to find out what the children knew and what they wanted to know about spaceship and space. We had lots of fun building a rocket, a spaceship and a moon. The children learned why astronauts wear a helmet, a backpack, a space suit and boots when they go into space. They also learned what they eat, how they sleep and even how to use the washroom in their spaceship. You can go under the tab Inquiry to listen to children answer the questions. 

Procedural text: How to make a rocket.

The children also listened to songs about the sun, moon and planets of our universe. Here is what they have learned:

There are 8 planets (Ben).
We turn around the sun (Giluliana G.). The sun is super hot (Adam).
Mercury: It is as small as the moon (Giuliana G.)
Venus: It is the same size as Earth (Ben). There are volcanos and mountains (Sean)
Earth: It is where we live (Anthony). There is gravity (Sean). There is oxygen (Devin).
Mars: The planet is red (Sean). It has 2 moons (Davan).
Jupiter: It is the biggest planet (Ben).
Saturn: It has a ring (Ben) made of lots of rocks (Colin).
Uranus: It is laying on its side (Adam).
Neptune: It is the coldest planet (Ben) and it rains a lot (Sean).


To view more activities go under the tab Our Classroom Activities.

Pizza

Today, Tianna, Kaitlyn, Alessa and Colin got to serve pizza and birthday cake in their Pizza Restaurant. It all started when they were making pizza and birthday cake with playdough and then wrote a menu for a pretend pizza restaurant. Mrs. Cole and I thought it would be a good learning experience for them if they got to sell pizza and birthday cakes in a real life situation. We decided to get all the children involved by having them create their own pizza recipe, as we were already talking about procedural text in our Inquiry of Space and with our apple crisp. We chose to have Colin serve apple crisp as his birthday cake for a healthier choice.



This morning the children used their recipe to make their own pizza. We then set up four tables where Tianna, Kaitlyn and Alessa got to sell the pizza made by their classmates. Colin sold apple crisp on which he added a candle to make birthday cakes. Nahisha, Giuliana M., Ben and Ava got the be cashiers and Giuliana G. did an amazing job as our hostess. Here are a few pictures. Do not forget to view your child`s ePorfolio to see your child in action.

Recette de pizza

Restaurant Alessa - Pizza $1

Restaurant Colin - Gâteau $5.00



Restaurant Kaitlyn - Pizza $10.00

Restaurant Tianna - Pizza $4.00



 

Pizza Restaurant menu written by Tianna, Alessa, Kaitlyn and Colin.

Click here to listen to what the children have to say after tasting the apple crisp  

Here are more comments about our apple crisp 

 

What did you like most about making pizza?

 

 

James: Eating it in the afternoon.

 

Adam: I didn't like anything about the pizza, I just liked the apple crisp.

 

Aiden: Making the pizza and eating it with the apple crisp.

 

Ben: Putting on the cheese.

 

Alessio: Cheese

 

Tammy: I liked putting on the cheese on the pizza.

 

Devin: I liked putting everything on it because it tasted really good and it tasted so delicious like apples.

 

Kaitlyn: I liked when I got the bread.

 

Hannah: I liked to put on the sauce.

 

Colin: The pizza because I put mushrooms and peppers. I don't like spicy peppers because they're too spicy for me.

 

Davan: I like the peppers and the pineapple but not the mushrooms because I don't like mushrooms.

 

Brandon: I like getting the cheese.

 

Preston: Just cheese.

 

Ava: Cheese.

 

Jackson: Putting on the sauce.

 

Nahisha: Putting the cheese.

 

Joanna-Lee: I liked the cheese.

 

Folu: All of it.

 

Tianna: Cheese on it.

 

Mahmoud: Pouring cheese on it.

 

Fouad: Eating it, it was yummy.

 

Giuliana G.: Putting the cheese on.

 

Giuliana M.: So I liked it how I made the pizza and I liked it how I was the cashier and I liked it how I eated my pizza and the apple crisp.

 

Christina: I like to make that pizza and I liked to put the cheese on it and the sauce.

 

Antonio: Putting on the cheese.

 

 

After doing a survey, we found out that 15 children preferred the pizza over the apple crisp.