Entry for Monday, March 23
Thank you for checking in on the blog. With schools shuttered for the time being, this does not have to mean that learning cannot take place. We learn all of the time! Below is a letter for my wonderful families from my class with suggestions for websites the students may wish to visit...totally optional. Following the letter, I will offer up what we had been learning in class in the various subject areas and offer suggestions for further learning...again, totally optional.
Use the scroll bar on the right to advance through the blog or to return to an earlier entry.
To see entries from previous weeks in the school year, simply click on the week or the month in the blog archive located to the right near the top section of the page.
To view any images in larger format, simply click on the image.
To return to the default look of the page, click outside the image.
This image enlargement works mainly for images Mr. Hamer has taken with his personal camera.
This image enlargement works mainly for images Mr. Hamer has taken with his personal camera.
The hyperlinks I post may take you directly to the desired location on the internet or you may have to copy and paste the link into your computer's browser.
If you have some time each day to check in with this blog over the next couple of weeks with your child, that would be great, but it is not mandatory. God Bless.
Mr. Hamer OCT
When we live in these challenging times with our planet facing such uncertainty, humour can provide some great medicinal treatments. I used to love searching for Waldo with both my daughters many moons ago when they were wee little lasses! Can you find Waldo in today's version?
My puppy dog, Lilly, loves practising social distancing as the longer leash offers her greater reign in her kingdom, aka, our neighbourhood.
A typical Canadian taking care of their needs in a responsible manner...big grin.
We are encouraged to sing a couple of verses of a favourite song while washing our hands frequently. Hey students, how about "Sambalele is a show off..."
Or, perhaps, the tune..."I like to go bowling with my friend, Bert..."
Or...maybe..."Let's do the numbers Rhumba!"
Mr. Hamer's Newsletter..."touching base" with Families
Dear Parents of Mr. Hamer's Gr. 2 Class:
I hope you are all well and enjoyed March break - despite the limitations on usual activities for families this year. Here are some links to educational resources that may be helpful during this extended period of time away from school. Of course, not all learning is academic and there are many ways to enhance experiential learning at home... cooking, cleaning, tidying, map reading, nature walks, the list goes on.
These resources are being provided for those wishing to enhance learning at home. Please feel free to message me if you have any questions or concerns .
The Government of Ontario is providing parents access to a collection of educational sites, videos, etc.
https://www.ontario.ca/page/learn-at-home
Scholastic Canada has compiled some resources for at home learning as well as ways to explain Coronavirus to children.
https://classroommagazines.scholastic.com/support/learnathome.htmlhttp://scholastic.ca/kids/thingstodo/https://classroommagazines.scholastic.com/support/coronavirus.html
The Ottawa Public Library offers many titles in ebook format - downloadable with a regular library card and an e-reader app available free online. "Libby" is one that works well with the Ottawa Public Library.
This is a blog site with a list of education companies offering free subscriptions during this time, with the added benefit of some sites remaining free to subscribers afterwards
https://kidsactivitiesblog.com/135609/list-of-education-companies-offering-free-subscriptions/?fbclid=IwAR0DvXuTK12TxKBQL28Ua4MJnvcZ2BpFvF1ZtNoBE0zlcVTv-3Z4YqPl4EA
Below is a free reading program available for children. Inspired by educator and student feedback, Sora was created to excite kids about reading and remove distractions to promote a focus on learning. Easy to use, one tap to get inside a book. The largest catalog of ebooks and audiobooks...made even larger by access to your public library through Sora
https://meet.soraapp.com/
Here is the link to my personal classroom blog which has been ongoing since the start of the school year. There are hundreds of photographs of the students at work, creating, learning,playing - indoors and out.
https://hamergrade2.blogspot.com/
Stay well everyone.
Mr. Hamer OCT
Mr. Hamer has tried out a video link. Click on the link below to see Mr. Hamer
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kal0HPG_HrBH_9OUHxIpAPapNzUoiZvU/view
What we have been learning about in Religion Class
Mr. Hamer's Newsletter..."touching base" with Families
Dear Parents of Mr. Hamer's Gr. 2 Class:
I hope you are all well and enjoyed March break - despite the limitations on usual activities for families this year. Here are some links to educational resources that may be helpful during this extended period of time away from school. Of course, not all learning is academic and there are many ways to enhance experiential learning at home... cooking, cleaning, tidying, map reading, nature walks, the list goes on.
These resources are being provided for those wishing to enhance learning at home. Please feel free to message me if you have any questions or concerns .
The Government of Ontario is providing parents access to a collection of educational sites, videos, etc.
https://www.ontario.ca/page/learn-at-home
Scholastic Canada has compiled some resources for at home learning as well as ways to explain Coronavirus to children.
https://classroommagazines.scholastic.com/support/learnathome.htmlhttp://scholastic.ca/kids/thingstodo/https://classroommagazines.scholastic.com/support/coronavirus.html
The Ottawa Public Library offers many titles in ebook format - downloadable with a regular library card and an e-reader app available free online. "Libby" is one that works well with the Ottawa Public Library.
This is a blog site with a list of education companies offering free subscriptions during this time, with the added benefit of some sites remaining free to subscribers afterwards
https://kidsactivitiesblog.com/135609/list-of-education-companies-offering-free-subscriptions/?fbclid=IwAR0DvXuTK12TxKBQL28Ua4MJnvcZ2BpFvF1ZtNoBE0zlcVTv-3Z4YqPl4EA
Below is a free reading program available for children. Inspired by educator and student feedback, Sora was created to excite kids about reading and remove distractions to promote a focus on learning. Easy to use, one tap to get inside a book. The largest catalog of ebooks and audiobooks...made even larger by access to your public library through Sora
https://meet.soraapp.com/
Here is the link to my personal classroom blog which has been ongoing since the start of the school year. There are hundreds of photographs of the students at work, creating, learning,playing - indoors and out.
https://hamergrade2.blogspot.com/
Stay well everyone.
Mr. Hamer OCT
Mr. Hamer has tried out a video link. Click on the link below to see Mr. Hamer
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kal0HPG_HrBH_9OUHxIpAPapNzUoiZvU/view
What we have been learning about in Religion Class
In Religion class, many of the students are preparing for the sacrament of First Reconciliation. Due to the closure of the schools and the church, the date has been delayed until April 16th at 9:30 AM in the school. Of course, conditions could further postpone this newly set date.
In preparation for this sacrament, earlier this month, we read the "Parable of the Lost Sheep." The children learned that a parable is a simple story Jesus told to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson.
Through the reading of this parable, we came to the realization that when we sin, we are like the lost sheep...we have lost our ways. We are only "found" when we say sorry and seek forgiveness.
Throughout the school year we have come to understand that we are all God's children and that our God is a loving God who will always forgive us...no matter what!
Check out these two animated versions of the parable. (You may have to copy the hyperlinks into your computers browser.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ry2MaMyvGo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXLt3JjdmgI
A song we have sung in our school related to this parable entitled, "I Will Follow the Good Shepherd" can be found at the link below as sung by a grade 1/2 class from another elementary school in hyperspace.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WJzlNPt1JI
We also read the Bible story of Zacchaeus, the tax collector who robbed people every time he went to the door to collect their taxes indicating to them that they had to pay more than what was required.
As I mentioned in an earlier blog posting, when Jesus came to town all of the townspeople lined the street to see Him. Zacchaeus was a short man and couldn't see over the crowd of people, so he ran ahead and climbed a tree to gain a better view.
When Jesus came upon the man in a tree, he spoke with him directly. He asked Zacchaeus to take him to his home for lunch. All of the people standing around were upset with this decision asking themselves..."Why would Jesus want to meet him? He;s the man who has cheated us out of so much of our money!"
Alas, Jesus was on a mission. After hosting the meal with Jesus, Zacchaeus became a changed man. He told Jesus that he would return all of the money he stole and that he would pay each person "four times the amount" in return!
Reconciliation and forgiveness is clearly evident in this story.
Feel free to check out these two cartoons showcasing the story of the meeting of Jesus and Zacchaeus.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmZhUKS_cQA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j00qs7ghf-w
In the week previous to the March Break, we also learned about St. Patrick.
We conducted research as a class and then brainstormed ideas for a class book.
As I had mentioned in a previous blog posting, the students learned that St. Patrick grew up in England and was captured by Irish pirates at the age of sixteen. He became a slave on a farm in Ireland. Six years later he escaped his captors and ran home to England over land and by boat.
He later studied in Europe and chose as his vocation to spread the Word of God. He purposely returned to Ireland to teach others about our Lord...the very country that had enslaved him! He is now known as the Patron Saint of Ireland. We celebrate this great man on the date he is known to have died..March 17th.
There is a wonderful cartoon which interprets the story of St. Patrick. The link is below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6ZbN1R7Bos
In a future posting over the next few days, I will share with you some more Bible stories surrounding the theme of Reconciliation.
Mr. Hamer OCT
What we have been learning about in Math Class
2D Geometry
In math we had just begun investigating two dimensional shapes.
We began to learn the names of the different shapes.
We also learned that 2-D shapes are flat. Yes, they only have one face.
We learned that the sides are the edges and that the vertices are the points or the angles where two sides meet.
A triangle has three edges (sides) and three vertices (points or angles) and only one face.
A square has four edges and four vertices and a single face...
...as does a rectangle. Squares and rectangles both have four sides so we say that they are quadrilaterals.
A pentagon has one face, five edges and five vertices.
A hexagon has one face, six edges and six vertices.
A heptagon (yes, we learn this shape in grade two!) has one face, seven edges and seven vertices.
Our good old STOP sign, the octagon, has one face, eight edges and eight vertices.
Later in the year, we will investigate three-dimensional shapes and identify how many faces, edges and vertices they have. (This cube has six faces, 12 edges and eight vertices.)
Feel free to check out this video on 2D shapes. The narrator calls the vertices "corners" instead.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgQJcN-hMpc
Multiplication
Just before we began our study of 2-D shapes we did a mini-unit on the introduction of multiplication.
We discovered quickly that multiplication is related to addition.
The students realized early that a multiplication equation is really just shorthand for longer addition equations as I will show below!
2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 =
7 x 2 =
Of course, we know that correct answer is 14.
The students have memorized their zero, one and two times tables thus far.
Tricks to memorizing...
When you multiply a number by zero, the answer is always zero
When you multiply a number by one, the answer is always the number you multiplied one by
When you multiply a number by two, you "double" the number.
When you multiply, it is no different than skip-counting!
Feel free to view this video which showcases multiplication by repeated addition.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lk4KIIcDr9E
What we have been learning about in Language Class
In grammar, we have been learning about compound words where two words are joined together but have a totally new meaning.
This video will remind the children about compound words.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOASe7Ol2hE
We have also learned about the "Magic - e" at the end of many words.
The ""magic e" turns a short vowel sounding word into a long vowel sounding one.
bit - bite
man - mane
ton - tone
us - use
Check out thess fun videos showcasing the "majic e" (or silent e)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZhl6YcrxZQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxVWScxsOsc
In writing, we have been doing story recount...where the children write a simple review of a story they have read or an event that occurred at school where we created a "class book" around the event.
Perhaps you could have your child write a short account of what they did over their March Break and have them draw a picture to correspond with their writing.
Read Alouds
In class we have read aloud time when Mr. Hamer brings the students down to the front of class to listen to a story. A recent story we read was "The Rainbow Fish" which taught us a valuable social lesson. The story also was integrated from a recent science class study of the oceans. Feel free to watch the read aloud with your child. Ask them some questions with regard to the story at any time by simply hitting the pause button...or you can do so following the finish of the story. To enjoy "The Rainbow Fish" read aloud once more, simply check out the link below!
The Rainbow Fish Read Aloud
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3cmddZh6t8
Another cute read aloud (which we have not read in class) along this theme is
"The Bravest Fish"
The Bravest Fish Read Aloud
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9qCa0wntIY
Art Ideas around The Rainbow Fish
https://www.pinterest.ca/pinningteacher/rainbow-fish-activities/
What we have been learning about in Science Class
We recently finished our unit on "air and water" where we learned about the weather. We learned how wind is created. We studied major storms and how they are caused. We discovered that it is the energy from the sun which acts as the engine for our weather. We also looked at how we should take greater care of our planet.
Feel free to view some of these videos on air and water.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOqP09oQOBw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIDwG-SAqc8
This video showcases the "Water Cycle."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auvGBmIxG08
Because weather is all over the world, we studied the globe. The children learned the names of the seven continents even though this is really social studies. They had fun doing so. They also checked out the names of the oceans of the world.
The following video will help remind them of the names of the seven continents.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6DSMZ8b3LE
We have also been conducting a scientific investigation on our oceans in a unit of study we called "Ocean's Alive" where we learned about this major ecosystem on our planet.
The class learned that our oceans offer us up a fascinating travel destination. They provide our planet with half of the world's oxygen and they absorb 50 times more carbon dioxide on the planet than the atmosphere does.
The oceans cover 70% of our earth. They help to regulate, or balance out our climate.
Our oceans provide food for the many people on our planet. The oceans also offer us up a means of travel and transportation.
Check out these two videos which teach children the names of the oceans.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfv7TF9RHbY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6BE4VcYngQ
In the week leading up to the March Break some of the students began researching an animal for a one page animal project. We visited the National Geographic For Kids website. The children were shown how they can take notes about the animal of their choosing and how they can write the paragraph "in their own words" from what they learned.
If your child did not get the chance to do their research as yet, feel free to have them check out the website, select an animal to research and have them write a short paragraph on the animal on the bottom of their page and have them draw their animal on the top half of the page. As for drawing the animal, your child may google their animal with the word "cartoon" in the google entry where they will see a simplified drawing of the animal. Feel free to assist them with both their research and their drawing!
National Geographic for Kids
https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/
A sample of a cartoon zebra...
...lion...
...panda...
...dolphin...
and...giraffe!
Have a brainy and brilliant day everyone!
Mr. Hamer OCT
Check out these two animated versions of the parable. (You may have to copy the hyperlinks into your computers browser.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ry2MaMyvGo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXLt3JjdmgI
A song we have sung in our school related to this parable entitled, "I Will Follow the Good Shepherd" can be found at the link below as sung by a grade 1/2 class from another elementary school in hyperspace.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WJzlNPt1JI
We also read the Bible story of Zacchaeus, the tax collector who robbed people every time he went to the door to collect their taxes indicating to them that they had to pay more than what was required.
As I mentioned in an earlier blog posting, when Jesus came to town all of the townspeople lined the street to see Him. Zacchaeus was a short man and couldn't see over the crowd of people, so he ran ahead and climbed a tree to gain a better view.
Alas, Jesus was on a mission. After hosting the meal with Jesus, Zacchaeus became a changed man. He told Jesus that he would return all of the money he stole and that he would pay each person "four times the amount" in return!
Reconciliation and forgiveness is clearly evident in this story.
Feel free to check out these two cartoons showcasing the story of the meeting of Jesus and Zacchaeus.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmZhUKS_cQA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j00qs7ghf-w
In the week previous to the March Break, we also learned about St. Patrick.
We conducted research as a class and then brainstormed ideas for a class book.
As I had mentioned in a previous blog posting, the students learned that St. Patrick grew up in England and was captured by Irish pirates at the age of sixteen. He became a slave on a farm in Ireland. Six years later he escaped his captors and ran home to England over land and by boat.
He later studied in Europe and chose as his vocation to spread the Word of God. He purposely returned to Ireland to teach others about our Lord...the very country that had enslaved him! He is now known as the Patron Saint of Ireland. We celebrate this great man on the date he is known to have died..March 17th.
There is a wonderful cartoon which interprets the story of St. Patrick. The link is below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6ZbN1R7Bos
In a future posting over the next few days, I will share with you some more Bible stories surrounding the theme of Reconciliation.
Mr. Hamer OCT
What we have been learning about in Math Class
2D Geometry
We also learned that 2-D shapes are flat. Yes, they only have one face.
We learned that the sides are the edges and that the vertices are the points or the angles where two sides meet.
A square has four edges and four vertices and a single face...
...as does a rectangle. Squares and rectangles both have four sides so we say that they are quadrilaterals.
A pentagon has one face, five edges and five vertices.
A hexagon has one face, six edges and six vertices.
A heptagon (yes, we learn this shape in grade two!) has one face, seven edges and seven vertices.
Our good old STOP sign, the octagon, has one face, eight edges and eight vertices.
Later in the year, we will investigate three-dimensional shapes and identify how many faces, edges and vertices they have. (This cube has six faces, 12 edges and eight vertices.)
Feel free to check out this video on 2D shapes. The narrator calls the vertices "corners" instead.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgQJcN-hMpc
Multiplication
Just before we began our study of 2-D shapes we did a mini-unit on the introduction of multiplication.
We discovered quickly that multiplication is related to addition.
The students realized early that a multiplication equation is really just shorthand for longer addition equations as I will show below!
2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 =
7 x 2 =
Of course, we know that correct answer is 14.
The students have memorized their zero, one and two times tables thus far.
Tricks to memorizing...
When you multiply a number by zero, the answer is always zero
When you multiply a number by one, the answer is always the number you multiplied one by
When you multiply a number by two, you "double" the number.
When you multiply, it is no different than skip-counting!
Feel free to view this video which showcases multiplication by repeated addition.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lk4KIIcDr9E
What we have been learning about in Language Class
In grammar, we have been learning about compound words where two words are joined together but have a totally new meaning.
This video will remind the children about compound words.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOASe7Ol2hE
We have also learned about the "Magic - e" at the end of many words.
The ""magic e" turns a short vowel sounding word into a long vowel sounding one.
bit - bite
man - mane
ton - tone
us - use
Check out thess fun videos showcasing the "majic e" (or silent e)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZhl6YcrxZQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxVWScxsOsc
In writing, we have been doing story recount...where the children write a simple review of a story they have read or an event that occurred at school where we created a "class book" around the event.
Perhaps you could have your child write a short account of what they did over their March Break and have them draw a picture to correspond with their writing.
Read Alouds
In class we have read aloud time when Mr. Hamer brings the students down to the front of class to listen to a story. A recent story we read was "The Rainbow Fish" which taught us a valuable social lesson. The story also was integrated from a recent science class study of the oceans. Feel free to watch the read aloud with your child. Ask them some questions with regard to the story at any time by simply hitting the pause button...or you can do so following the finish of the story. To enjoy "The Rainbow Fish" read aloud once more, simply check out the link below!
The Rainbow Fish Read Aloud
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3cmddZh6t8
Another cute read aloud (which we have not read in class) along this theme is
"The Bravest Fish"
The Bravest Fish Read Aloud
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9qCa0wntIY
Art Ideas around The Rainbow Fish
https://www.pinterest.ca/pinningteacher/rainbow-fish-activities/
What we have been learning about in Science Class
We recently finished our unit on "air and water" where we learned about the weather. We learned how wind is created. We studied major storms and how they are caused. We discovered that it is the energy from the sun which acts as the engine for our weather. We also looked at how we should take greater care of our planet.
Feel free to view some of these videos on air and water.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOqP09oQOBw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIDwG-SAqc8
This video showcases the "Water Cycle."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auvGBmIxG08
Because weather is all over the world, we studied the globe. The children learned the names of the seven continents even though this is really social studies. They had fun doing so. They also checked out the names of the oceans of the world.
The following video will help remind them of the names of the seven continents.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6DSMZ8b3LE
We have also been conducting a scientific investigation on our oceans in a unit of study we called "Ocean's Alive" where we learned about this major ecosystem on our planet.
The class learned that our oceans offer us up a fascinating travel destination. They provide our planet with half of the world's oxygen and they absorb 50 times more carbon dioxide on the planet than the atmosphere does.
The oceans cover 70% of our earth. They help to regulate, or balance out our climate.
Our oceans provide food for the many people on our planet. The oceans also offer us up a means of travel and transportation.
Check out these two videos which teach children the names of the oceans.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfv7TF9RHbY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6BE4VcYngQ
In the week leading up to the March Break some of the students began researching an animal for a one page animal project. We visited the National Geographic For Kids website. The children were shown how they can take notes about the animal of their choosing and how they can write the paragraph "in their own words" from what they learned.
If your child did not get the chance to do their research as yet, feel free to have them check out the website, select an animal to research and have them write a short paragraph on the animal on the bottom of their page and have them draw their animal on the top half of the page. As for drawing the animal, your child may google their animal with the word "cartoon" in the google entry where they will see a simplified drawing of the animal. Feel free to assist them with both their research and their drawing!
National Geographic for Kids
https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/
A sample of a cartoon zebra...
...panda...
...dolphin...
and...giraffe!
Have a brainy and brilliant day everyone!
Mr. Hamer OCT
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