This week we are working on telling the time to the hour and half-hour using both digital and analogue clocks. I like covering this early in the year so that the children can put their knowledge into practice right away. It's an easy thing to practice at home too! We have already talked about how on a digital clock (horloge numérique), we write the hour ending with two zeros. On an analogue clock (horloge analogique), we are being careful to distinguish our short hand from our long hand, and we talked about what each hand does.
When we first started this unit, we spent a great deal of time working on personal calendars. We got most of the important dates, as well as our birthdays, written in, in addition to finishing the numbering for each month. After all the time we've spent, it would be a shame to not use them this year. Therefore, I am sending them home with the hope that you can help your student hang it in their room or other appropriate place in your home. At the very least, maybe they can cross off the days as we go, and write other important dates (e.g., concerts) in it. Perhaps you can find an even more meaningful way to use to help your child learn how to plan ahead and stay organized.
In science, students had an assignment over the weekend to ask you about special parts of your home that help keep you cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Many students came back to school yesterday with ideas, and we started writing them into our notebooks. I had a sample of insulation to show the class, but I wasn't able to show them other items like a furnace, air conditioning unit or weather stripping. If your student forgot to ask you about this, please take a minute to tell them about some of those hidden features that go into a house. Thanks!
We also took advantage of this beautiful sunny November day to do an experiment outside. We each had a partner trace our shadow in the morning, using sidewalk chalk, and then we repeated the same thing in the afternoon. We found that our shadow was not pointing in the same direction in the afternoon, as it was in the morning. We drew the results of the experiment in our science duotang, but we haven't yet discussed why our shadows moved. Could be an interesting conversation to have tonight.
Mots de la Semaine
Here’s the last way to make ‘o’, and this happens frequently, particularly at the ends of words. Try writing a rhyming poem where each line ends with one of these ‘eau’ words!
l’eau, beau, bateau, chapeau, cadeau
Bonus words: ciseaux, couteau
I got a video of us doing our waltz with our partners. Oh my goodness, it's going so well! I hope the video works for you, and I apologize that I wasn't able to have the music in the background... too many things and only one device! Please waltz with your dancer at home - they can teach you!