Eating Crickets!

After reading Step Gently Out written by Helen Frost,  photographs by Rick Lieder, we collected insects, listened to crickets and took magnifying glasses outside to look for insects.  One of the main ideas of the book is:  we share the world with insects-- do we know they are there?


One of the most interesting things we discovered is people eat insects too!

 Each package contains

about 7 or 8 flavoured crickets!

You can buy these for less than $4!

I thought it would be easiest if the winner of the lottery, 

just tipped the cup into the mouth 

instead of picking it up with fingers.  

The crickets were fragile and 

you can see one of the legs broke right off!

 Rachel said it was good! 

Amy came prepared with her water bottle

 ready to wash it down!

Anahat said she was proud of herself for doing it!

Jeremy doesn't look nervous 

but his sister in the hat and pink shirt does!

 "It tastes better than my mom's cooking!" Jeremy exclaimed. 

Others said it crunched like potato chips.

Rose threw back the cricket in one swoop!

"It's crispy!" she said.  

Jenny looks like she is trying to decide if it is delicious or not.

The audience was very appreciative and applauded after 

each "snack".  What an exciting day!

Ms Leko took all of these photographs except the cricket boxes which she found at
wayfaringchocolate.wordpress.com

Creative Eagles Club: Jenga

While the chess board and pieces are out of the room, 

these three boys are playing Jenga!

Observation, coordination and steady nerves are necessary!

Come to the learning commons on Wednesdays at lunch to try it. 

We also have the game Connect Four, checkers and pick up sticks!

Do you have a game to donate?

Drop by and chat with  Ms Leko

Workers install new fire alarm system

We do all kinds of reading at Erma Stephenson Elementary.  This man is reading a schematic drawing for the electrical and fire alarm system.  The workers were in the building for a few days.

New Blocks!

This photograph captures some of the cooperation, team building, imagination and language skills needed to create a complex structure.  It looks like play but so much more is involved.  Who is the teacher and who is the student?  Everyone!

Even the grade 7's like building with these blocks.

 The building team said it was ET.  

I think it looks like a Frog, what do you think?

Kindergarteners Write Stories and Share Them

After reading "Ralph tells a Story" by Abby Hanlon, we wrote our own.

 We decided pictures and words would be good to tell our stories!

The stories are on the coffee table 

in the learning commons for everyone to read.

Here's a link to news from Abby Hanlon.

LiD Kid Club Ice Cream Sculpture

It's hard to resist a bowl of ice cream!  I learned I should have asked students NOT to eat their creations until after I took a photo! We had lots of fun imagining how mini M&M's, liquorice, gummy worms and penguins, chocolate chips and cookie crumbs could be used with our vanilla, strawberry and chocolate ice cream.

This is Michael's helicopter.  Do you see the liquorice as spinning blades and rotor?

The Learning in Depth Club is taking a break.  I hope kids will continue to explore their topics over the summer with their families and I look forward to working with every one in the fall.

Ideas in Chalk with Learning in Depth Kids Club

Linda, our generous Learning in Depth helper, brought pink chalk to our Monday lunch meeting a few weeks ago.  The chalk was a gift from her geologist friend who uses pink chalk to mark rocks when conducting research.  Apparently this pink is a good contrasting colour and hot pink rocks do not occur naturally in the environment.

We loved using the pink chalk to show our ideas! Thanks for sharing, Linda!

Can you guess Chantel's topic?  It lives in water!

Daniel's chose to draw his frog eating lunch!

 Ella is concentrating on the next part of her bird.

Did you know big birds lay fewer eggs than small birds?

Gavin is interested in Lego.  

It is a big topic and he is wondering 

just how many Lego people have been created so far.

There are 4 layers in rainforests 

as Shelby's drawing shows:  

emergent, canopy, understory and forest floor.

Another day in the learning commons

Examing past grade seven yearbooks.

Looking over the class photos from years gone by.  I wonder what the three people at the end of the couch are studying.  They look intent, don't they?

Reading just doesn't happen in books....

thinking and searching are all part of learning.

Grade One Students are Learning in Depth Leaders!

Seoyeong, in Mrs Chalmers' class, shares her

learning in depth ideas with kindergarten students. 

Students collected facts and pictures then organized them 

 into books provided by our helpful volunteer, Mrs. Holmes.

Daniel is happy to share his facts about the solar system

 

Sehej shows Keegan explains his ideas about small planes and jets.

Creative Eagles Club

Creative Eagles Club

The knitting group and the chess players both needed a place to work....why not the learning commons?

I saw lots of kids with rainbow looms...why not join us?  It seems like a perfect fit!

I think more creative people could join in the future....paper airplane pilots? jigsaw puzzlers?  Got an idea?  Talk to Ms Leko in the Learning Commons.

Learning commons = teaching and learning together.

Ms Sadafi is getting some tips about rainbow looms

what you can make on them.

Caden shows us his new creations!

Amy and Lily talk about how to work the elastics 

on their fingers instead of a loom.

Teaching and learning together!  The Creative Eagles Rock!

Jon and Winston in the Creative Eagles Club!

Paralympcis 2014


"You can't play hockey.  You don't have any legs."

"You can't ski.  You're blind."

Some students at Erma Stephenson were puzzled by these comments.  Some thought playing hockey without legs would be impossible.  How can skiers go down hill without seeing where to turn?  How can blind athletes shoot at targets in the biathlon? 

Our conclusions?  Change the rules!  Change the equipment!  Change the building!  Change attitudes!

Watch these videoes:

Visually Impaired Russian Biathlathele - Mikhalina Lysova

US Paralympics Biathlon

Each of the these short videos have information but did you notice which one was more neutral and which was more patriotic?

Sledge hockey in Canada

I especially like the part where Bradley Bowden admits he wanted to stay home and play video games but his grandmother was big on getting him out of the house.

Go Gramma! I admire this lady!  She encouraged her grandson and now he is on Team Canada representing his country with the best sledge hockey players in the land.  I bet she is very proud!

Luge

This week students in the Erma Stephenson learning commons were given a challenge after watching this "Inside the Action" video from The New York Times about luge.   Show how luge athletes position themselves on a sled.

 Chloe and Kaya are showing the correct foot position--pointed so the air flows over the body.

 Kayla is checking Eddie's head position.  It looks great--just high enough so he can see the track but not too high to cause a lot of wind resistance.  His legs are lifted so they wouldn't be dragging on the ground.  What team work!

Try it at home!  You will be surprised at how much core strength is needed to lift your legs and head!

Big Boxes - What happened?

When the office got new furniture, the learning commons got 3 big boxes:

 

How many kids can fit in a teepee?

A box on its side can be a quiet reading cave 

or on its side it's a perfect boat for four!

Big kids want to play too!  

Ready to be shipped to an exotic location?

The kindergarteners wanted to decorate the outside of the box.

There was a serious discussion about how big to make the eyes, what colour they should be and where to put them on the bus.  All of a sudden something else became more important than the eyes.

Unifix Cubes - What happened?

No directions....just linking cubes on a table.....

"Look at this helicopter I made!"

Some intermediate students wanted to send this message:

 

I was having a hard time sticking the cubes together to make the  letter S.  A boy suggested I place the letters on the table first to make the shape and then click the cubes together last.  
I found creating letters his way easier and faster.  

The learning commons is about everyone learning together.  
A good teacher-librarian can create situations 
where students are the teachers.  
Children need to see adults learning too.

A close up of the reindeer and sleigh:

Stamps - What happened?

I put out some stamps and paper so students could make a bookmark. What happened?

Students made bookmarks for their friends! Some of them didn't want to use the stamps because they had their own ideas.  Other children saw their ideas and added to them!