Field Trip Fun

To finish our social studies unit about community past and present, we headed down to our very own Magrath Museum.  Take a minute to check it out - they even have on old grade one schoolroom.

And we couldn't finish our plants and animals unit without a visit to the local fish pond.  We saw leopard frogs, water skeeters, and a water snake!

Cinco De Mayo

The fifth of May is known as "Cinco De Mayo" in Mexico.  So we decided to celebrate with a multicultural theme day.

Here we are dancing to "La Cucaracha!"

We also sampled salsa and tortilla chips...

Some Mexican show and tell...

This was a math number game featuring the Mexican flag.

Our Fiesta was Muy Bien!

Critical Thinking

What is the purpose of education?  Is it to fill our minds with endless texts and facts?  No - but rather to develop the ability to think critically, to analyze and resolve, and to problem solve.  To be able to apply these skills to life and learning is the goal for which we aim.   

Our grade one's were recently asked to complete a graphing exercise about their responsibilities in their home.  A question came up - "Do you clean up the toys in your house?".  When faced with a yes/no T-graph, without being instructed to do so, several students used their critical thinking skills.  They explained to me after that while it is their responsibility to clean up toys in the home, it is not always their job, or it is often overlooked (and thus completed by mom, dad or older sibling).  The students invented a third column - the sometimes column.  Now that's problem solving!