Area! Area! We know what to do!

Unfortunately I have been quite unwell the past week! L I don’t usually get sick but as soon as I do it goes straight to my chest! L L L L

After fighting it for a week I finally went to see the doctor and he told me exactly what I had thought it is viral so there is nothing to be given and we just have to wait for it to run its course….to which he then told me he thinks I have another few days ahead of me!

 

To make things even harder this time - I lost my voice!

Which in the teaching word makes things pretty near impossible!!!!?

Try taking your kids on an excursion with no voice……

I did…. - it’s not a stroll in the park!

However I was and AM very fortunate to work alongside two amazing teachers who helped me out a lot! J I love those girls to the moon and back!

 

BUT on the bright side of all this blogging and TPTing does not require me to speak at all!!! J J however please excuse spelling mistakes as my pain medication does make me drowsy hee hee It has taken me two days to write this as I drop in and out of sleep!

The past week we have been looking at area in our class J

I love teaching area! It can be so much fun and it is a concept where 96% of the class are able to be extended to work at a year three level! It just boosts their confidence up so much to know what they are doing is year three work or for some year four!

I decided to create a unit about area and perimeter because I think there are so many fun things you can do with this!!!!  J

 

We began our unit by looking at what area was and the difference between area and perimeter. We created an anchor journal page that we could refer back to if needed. I think it is important kids try to put things down in words J

 

After this we brought out the cubes and had a go together find the area of shapes using cubes!

We did LOTS of practise with the cubes making sure everyone knew there needed to be no left over space, to start at the edge etc.

After this we moved on to counting squares on a grid to find the area of rectangles and squares!

We practised this understanding by making an area picture and we later created our own area robots! J

Some of my students have very quick math brains and so we had a look at finding the area when they cut through half of a grid.

 This is not included in the pack but I will upload it as a freebie when I go into school next :)

Below is a snapshot of everything in the pack ....You can grab it at my store :)

In case you can't tell I am getting quite drowsy and hitting a lot of random keys so I am going to head to bed quickly!!!

Speak soon!



Pirate Mapping

So we have just finished Week 8 which means there are 2 weeks left of this term.

This means there is only 12 weeks of school left!!!!

 12!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This year has just come and gone so fast!!! 

One minute I was meeting my little fish and working out what they needed and now I am mentally preparing to let them go - which is not an easy thing for me to do!!!!

I am trying my hardest to make every day memorable and meaningful - in terms of our interactions not learning. Our learning is ALWAYS meaningful! ;)

This week we have been looking at our mapping skills in maths!!!

I love teaching mapping because there are so many fun things to do with it!  

Last year my class really loved Harry Potter so we went on a hunt for Voldemort’s horcruxes!!This year my little fish are not into Harry Potter as much so it was time for a change and nothing beats a good old pirate treasure hunt!!!

I found an only cardboard box with a flap lid to use for my treasure chest!

Using spray paint, glitter and a hair dryer I turned a plain brown packing box into a pirate treasure chest!

Inside the treasure chest I put in some pirate loot bags for my little pirates backed with some goodies! J

Big W has a new party section which is AMAZING it has party decorations according the theme! These are just SOME of the great things I found!!! 

I have linked the pictures to their online store. Click on the picture to buy them online! Although I do suggest you go in and have a look to see everything! :)

I also found an adult pirate costume so of course I bought it to make the lesson more exciting! 

The pirate masks above were my favourite buy because it meant the kids could be pirates with me!!! J

Check out my little pirates below!!

During the week we learnt about how to read a map, follow coordinates and interpret a key. I made a map about our school that included all of these skills. 

We began our hunt in our classroom where I read them the first clue and gave them their coordinates. They found the symbol on the map and read the key to find where to go next!

Off we went to our first destination!!!!

At each spot I had a little challenge or activity for students to do. At the first pit stop they needed to run a lap around the AstroTurf. 

 

Once they completed their challenge they received their next set of instructions and coordinates. 

We made our way to the quick sand pit where we walked along and plank and then tried to run through the quick sand without getting stuck!

We followed out next set of coordinates which led us to a walk through the nature play. We walked across a wobbling log and tiptoed across log circles.

The next clue told us to sail across the seven seas so we had to pretend to be a ship and sail over to our next destination!

These two were priceless that whole hunt!

One of them brought along his own map - which they used together to find the next stop!

At each stop they would run around looking for the treasure and call back to each other in a pirate voice!

They also checked around every corner to make sure no one was following them or sneaking up on them!

Got to love them J

At last we received our final clue that our journey would end where it began!

We quickly began to make our way back to class where they found the treasure placed under the palm tree!! J

It was a GREAT day!!!

Thanks for stopping by to read :) I have been working on a perimeter and area unit that will hopefully be ready by next weekend! 

For now I thought I would leave you with a sneak peek!

Have a great weekend or what is left of the weekend! :)

Fathers Day

It feels like FOREVER since I have had a moment to myself these past few weeks!  

I am so happy I have ……ahhh about 10 minutes to myself right now to get some blogging down and done! ;) So in light of this I am going to make this short BUT hopefully sweet!

This weekend is Father’s Day and in preparation for all the special dads out there we read a story about why dads are super heroes!!!

We then colour in a super hero outline and a small super dad sign!!!!! We cut the head off the super hero (which they enjoyed a little too much!!!) and replaced it with a drawing of their dad’s head!

Sorry it is upside down - my images sometimes play up!

Earlier in the week the year one teachers at our school help a Father’s day paraliturgy and breakfast! So many families came down for breakfast- it was honestly AMAZING!!!!!!

Then during the liturgy we got to watch a slide show that one of the incredible teachers had put together. IT showcased photos of children in the school and their fathers/grandfathers or significant male figure in their life!!!

It was so beautiful that I had to actively remind myself to not start crying and I am not even a highly emotional person!!!

I looked like such a goof!!!! I was grinning so much that my cheeks were throbbing!!

In light of Father's day and recognition of those special men (and people) both in or who have touched our lives I couldn't go past sending my love and thoughts to my incredible grandparents who I miss dearly!!

Have a lovely weekend! 

Hug and kiss those in your life and make sure you tell them you love them! :)