Monthly Archives: December 2016

Greetings From Iceland!

Happy Holidays Everyone! I hope you are having a great break from school!

As promised…here are some pictures from my trip to Iceland. It has been extremely windy here! The kind of wind that takes your breath away and then tries to blow you over! Windy in Reykjavik video! (Not sure if it will work!) The weather is always a little crazy in Iceland. They usually say “if you don’t like the weather just wait 10 minutes and it will change!” So far this has had a little truth to it. The weather changes constantly…but the “good” weather only lasts for a few minutes, then it is back to rain, sleet, hail, snow and/or wind! It is unfortunate because Iceland is full of things to do outdoors and on this trip, we haven’t been able to do much sightseeing and exploring. We did some shopping and lots of walking even though it was pretty wet out. Good thing we brought our raincoats!

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So…this picture was taken at noon! There are only about 4 hours of daylight in Iceland right now (and this is one of them-AND it is still so dark!)

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As we are driving- half of the sky is clearing up and the other half looks like a storm is about to hit. So crazy!

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View of one of the shopping streets in Reykjavik…

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Where I bought a new wool blanket. The wool is from Iceland, but the blanket was made in Lithuania since there are no factories that actually manufacture blankets here (this is one of the more popular souvenir items to buy)

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The landscape in Iceland is so different from anywhere else I’ve ever been. It looks like we are on another planet. It is so rocky and rough looking.

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My lamb dinner. Lamb is on most menus in Reykjavik. This plate looked particularly pretty…and tasted pretty good too!

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I find some bathrooms in Europe to be strange! This shower drains right onto the floor and is right beside the toilet. I ALWAYS make a mess and flood the whole bathroom!!!

That’s all for now. We are headed to Holland tomorrow! Crossing my fingers for some calm weather and sunshine. I better get to bed since my wake up call is coming at 5:00 AM…which is 11:00 PM Winnipeg time. (Go Jets Go)

ttyl

Danielle 🙂

 

 

Update!

Happy Sunday! So…this  blog seems to take more time to get comfortable with than my last one did, but eventually I’ll get used to it! As this is our first post in awhile I will attempt to update you with what has been going on in our class and fill you in with what is coming next.

Last week we worked on our ‘making’ component of our projects. After we brainstormed different ways to showcase our learning, each group decided on something to make. This was a prime example of the use of the 4Cs. We decided to incorporate the 4Cs language into our presentations as well. After each group presented, students asked questions and also talked about what they noticed about the project (in regards to communication, collaboration, critical thinking and creativity). Everyone did a great job showing their learning through making and presenting.

Here are some pictures to see some of our awesome work in progress! Enjoy!

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We have one more presentation and a reflection piece left to do, then our Ancient Civilization unit will be over! Next up…Countries around the world. The class is already excited about which country they might like to learn more about and also using some video technology as a tool to present. I’m really looking forward to starting this unit because I love to travel! Just a heads up: we might need your help with this unit. I’d love to have some sharing about trips the students have been on, about cultural traditions, etc. There are so many opportunities to be creative! Let me know if you’d be interested in helping us out over the next few months AND if you are handy with video technology we may need your help later on!!!!

We’ve also taken a break from word sorts in Words Their Way to get a little festive. Each student will make 3 crafts (we have finished 2 so far and will do the 3rd one tomorrow). They will travel with the Words Their Way groups to each of the 3 classrooms. It’s been really fun and a nice chance to work with all the students in 3/4.

Here is the craft my room has been doing (thanks to our super crafty helper!)

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Each Rudolph has its own personality!

Up Next:

-Tomorrow (Monday, December 19) at 1:00 is the dress rehearsal for our Winter Concert. Please check for an email about what each class will be wearing. We will be wearing white shirts (long or short sleeved has been approved) and dark (black) bottoms. It is optional for our class to wear “Canadian” (maple leaf) or Hudson’s Bay Company accessories. Students need to wear their concert outfit for the dress rehearsal and all 3 performances on Tuesday.

-Tuesday: Winter Concert (10, 1:30 & 7). Ticket information was sent home a few weeks ago and purchased tickets have been sent home as they’ve been processed by the office

-Wednesday: Field trip! We are going to see a production of Elf!!! Emailed information will be sent shortly

-Thursday: Last Day of School! Sing Along Assembly at 1:00.

-January 9: Back to School!

Looking forward to this upcoming week full of holiday cheer.

Note: I’ll let you know what our plan for Thursday is. We will not be having a ‘party’ with food, but will do something fun to celebrate 🙂

 

 

We’ve Moved!

Welcome to our brand new blog!!!!

To be more in line with the blogs that many WSD teachers are or will be using I have decided to move my classroom blog. Once again it feels like I’m starting from scratch! Oh well…I’m always up for learning new things!

I’m thinking that there might be a way to transfer posts from our original blog, but since I’m not sure on how to go about that yet I’ve thrown in the link on the bottom of the blog under bookmarks, then dshrumm’s blog (in case you want/need to see something we’ve done earlier in the year). Or you can simply click on the link below!

dshrumm’s blog

Stay tuned for an upcoming post to fill you in on what’s been going on in our room!