Friday, May 29, 2020

How to draw animals

Before school was paused in March, we had started sharing learning a little about poetry and I introduced you to a very funny poet named Shel Silverstein.
This is one of his poems about a bat.

Picture
By now, you would have picked up your school package with your animal unit. Do you know what type of animal a bat is?
Its a tricky one! See if you can figure it out.

Are you interested in drawing animals?
Check out Art for Kids Hub animal page here
https://www.artforkidshub.com/how-to-draw/animals/

It's a beautiful Friday, I hope you get a chance to go outside. Maybe you are going for a walk, or bike ride or even trying your luck on a scooter or a skateboard!

Missing you guys! I hope to see you again soon! 



Friday, May 22, 2020

Bubble Gum Brain

Hi everyone!

It is such a beautiful day today, I hope you are all getting outside to enjoy it.

I'm at school getting your packages ready for next week. In your package, there are some cool activities. One of those activities is a reminder about having a Bubble Gum Brain. (You will like the special treat I have included!)

"Great people make great mistakes!" is one of my favourite quotes from Julia Cook, the author of this book. 



Wednesday, May 20, 2020

New Science Unit

Hi all,

Another great morning to connect with 2B Top Dogs. Your next package will be all about animals. You will be learning about mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, amphibians and insects. I will be adding some animal books to your packages as well.

Your challenge is to take pictures of the different types of animals we are studying and send them to me. If you can't take pictures, then you can draw them.

This is one of my favourite science units to teach in grade 2. I love to learn about animals, I hope you will too.


Send your digital pictures to me using Remind or email me at kcarter@svsd.ca

Have a great day!
Missing you 

Tuesday, May 19, 2020

Feels Like Summer


It is starting to feel like summer! What did you do over the long weekend? 

Did you jump in the sprinkler? Take a walk? Go camping?
Did you plant a garden? I hope you had a great weekend! 

Tuesday, May 12, 2020


When kids get stressed or are struggling, it’s common for them to say they’re not going to do their schoolwork. They may even say they’re not going to school. But saying things like that is different from shutting down and actually not doing work or going to school.

Distance learning because of the coronavirus pandemic has been stressful for many kids. So if you’re seeing this kind of behaviour in your child, you’re not alone. You may be wondering what it means and if it will pass when the crisis does.

How do you find an answer? Start by taking a closer look at what you’re noticing. Is your child just complaining? Is it more about avoiding the work? Or is your child so stressed and overwhelmed that refusing school is the only option?

Complaining, Avoiding, and Refusing: What’s the Difference?
Complaining, avoiding, and refusing aren’t the same thing. Your child is telling you different things depending on which it is. Here’s an example of each.

Scenario 1: Complaining

Your child has math work to do. When it’s time to sit down and do it, your child whines and says, “I don’t want to. It’s boring and the website we use is so slow.” But when you hold your ground, your child reluctantly sits down and starts the work.

That’s complaining. Kids don’t feel like doing the work because they don’t like it. Or they’d rather be doing something else. But they’ll do it when they realize they’re not going to get to do anything else until the work is done.

Scenario 2: Avoiding

When it’s time to work, your child says, “I don’t want to do my math. It’s too hard. I can’t do it,” and cries and runs into the other room. But when you go after your child, you negotiate that work time will start in half an hour. You set a timer and when it goes off, your child sits down to do the math—with your help.

That’s avoiding. Some kids try to get out of doing the work because it’s hard for them. But with some planning and a little help, they’ll sit down and make the effort.

Scenario 3: Refusing

It’s time to do the math, and your child is nowhere to be found. When you finally find your child hiding, there’s a full-on meltdown to manage.

Even after everyone calms down a little, you can’t get your child to budge to do any schoolwork at all. And when you try to leave the room, your child clings to your leg, complains of a stomachache or headache, and starts to fall apart all over again.

That’s school refusal. It’s an extreme reaction, and it’s often caused by anxiety and fear. 

As many as 1 in 4 kids show signs of school refusal at some point. They won’t go to school, whether it’s outside of your house or at home. Unlike with kids who are complaining or avoiding schoolwork, you can’t talk them into doing it. They may literally make themselves sick over it.

These kids are often anxious about something related to school. So it’s important to find out if that anxiety is due to a temporary situation or something else.

How Can You Tell If School Refusal Is Temporary?
If this type of outright refusal is new for your child, you may wonder if it’s temporary. Right now, schoolwork is hard for a lot of kids. They’re not in their regular classrooms with their friends and teachers. With distance learning, “school” looks very different than it did before, and kids are learning new ways of working.

Many kids are having trouble focusing during distance learning. And lots of kids are worried, lonely, and anxious, which can make it harder to learn. Refusing to do the work may be their way of telling you that they’re not ready to learn right now.

When that goes away depends on the child. Some kids may stop refusing school once routines get back to normal. Others may gradually get more comfortable once they’re back at school and are confident that everyone is safe and healthy.

But for some kids, school refusal isn’t just temporary. Here are a few things to keep an eye on to know if it’s a bigger issue:

Does your child worry about school during down time or on weekends?

Is your child having tantrums or meltdowns about going to school or doing schoolwork?

Does your child say they can’t do it because of physical complaints like stomachaches, headaches, dizziness, or just “not feeling good”?

Does your child refuse to get dressed or do other parts of the morning routine, knowing it will make it hard to get out the door?

If you’re seeing this type of behaviour consistently, there are things you can do to help.

What to Do If Your Child Is Refusing School
Distance learning can be hard for kids who learn and think differently. That’s especially true for kids who struggle with focus. If your child is still learning from home, try to set things up to make it as easy as possible. This can reduce some of the stress.

Look for patterns, too. Some kids may refuse to go to school on certain days or to do certain kinds of work. Maybe your child refuses school on days when the class is taking turns reading out loud. Or shuts down when there’s a writing assignment.

Share what you’re seeing with your child’s teacher. Ask if the teacher has noticed similar reactions or has ideas on why your child is refusing to do schoolwork.

Talk with your child, too. Here are three ways to start that conversation:

“Let’s talk about what’s happening when it’s time for you to go to school….”

“I need your help in understanding why you’re so upset about schoolwork.”

“Let’s talk about what’s going to make you feel better about going to school.”

For some kids, school refusal is related to anxiety. They may be anxious about their routine changing. They may worry that something is going to happen to a parent or family members. With COVID-19, loved ones may be sick. And kids may be overly concerned about getting sick themselves.

Kids can be anxious or fearful of other things, too, even when there’s no big disruption or upsetting event. So it’s important to know what’s typical anxiety and what’s not, and to keep track of what you’re seeing.

One of the most important things you can do is to create a safe space for your child to talk. Learn more about how to get your child to open up about school.

Key Takeaways
School refusal is more extreme than complaining about or avoiding school.

Observing your child can give you clues about what’s going on.

Keep an eye out for signs of anxiety, and find out what the teacher has noticed.

Monday, May 11, 2020

May 11-15

Happy Monday everyone,

I hope you were able to get outside in the sunshine this past weekend.
Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms!  I hope you had a very happy day!

Today and Thursday are pick up and drop off days from 9-12 at school. There are new packages available to you with Math, Spelling and Phonics review pages to complete. The next package will be ready in 2 weeks.

Are you been doing some special projects at home? Zachary and I have started a window garden (it's too cold to plant anything outside yet) and have been taking Cooper for regular walks. We have been exploring different trails around the Valley and have started Geocaching.

Lots of cool things are happening these days... Jacob got a new kitten! Welcome Lynk!



Do you have any pictures to share? Send them to me and I will post them here.
I hope you have a great day and week!

Missing you,
Ms. C

Saturday, May 2, 2020

May 4-8

Hi,

It is feeling a little more like spring. Have you looked for any new signs of spring?

How are you doing with the work that has been sent home? I know it can be difficult getting things done when you aren't used to doing it at home, that's normal. A lot of you are helping out at home, some are at daycare or stay with family or friends when family members go to work. Everyone is a little different and we are just doing the best we can. Hang in there.

This week is catch-up week. In the last few weeks we have been working on Language Arts (Spelling, Phonics, Writing and Reading) and Mathematics (Time, Measurement and Geometry).


This week I would like you to take some time to look back through your work and get things ready to hand in on Monday, May 11th or Thursday, May 14th.

What were you able to work on?

Phonics - Units 5 & 6 - did you finish your book? Get it ready to hand in!

Spelling - Did you continue with the lessons? One lesson/week (You can hand in the pages you completed - this might be tricky to cut out the pages, get an adult to help you - its such a nice book)

Writing - Did you complete some journal prompts from your Journal workbook or complete some story questions from your Comprehension booklet? Take those out and send them back - don't forget to write your name on your work!

Math - Jump Math units on Measurement and Geometry. Did you finish some of the work? Some questions would have been pretty tough to do because we needed scales and blocks and materials from school. It's ok if you skipped some of those questions or found something different to measure with at home. You are all very good problem solvers! Get that ready to hand in as well.

On Tuesday, May 5th at 10:00 AM we will have another Zoom class meeting. It was so good to see some of you last week! Please have your parents message me if they did not get the email link to attend the meeting.

kcarter@svsd.ca


I hope that you are all well and enjoying getting outside for some fresh air. I thought of another sign of spring that I have seen around Swan River - MOTORCYCLES! 

I can't wait to see you all again,

Ms. C