Rodeo Scavenger Hunt

We've been talking about cowboys and cowgirls all week because the Cloverdale Rodeo is coming up this weekend, right here in our community. Grade 4's had fun with the scavenger hunt. They worked in teams of 2 or 3, and using an iPad, they searched for the answers, having one team member be the recorder. Students loved this activity and learned about how to search and read carefully for the information they were looking for.

Rodeo artwork was done on the app called "Draw and Tell" by younger students. 

Our Sweet Potato

What great success we've had in growing our sweet potato! It took a while to get going but is now looking very robust. After a little more research, we found out that new sweet potato plants grow from slips that have been rooted before being planted. So I twisted off three of the slips (the stems with leaves) and have put them in water to see if they will root. Have you ever grown a sweet potato?

Update: May 25th

Update:  June 8th

The sweet potato slips have now been planted!  Thanks to my grandson, Isaac, for finding a place for them to grow in his garden.  I wonder how big the plants will get? I wonder if we will get any sweet potoatoes in the fall?

The Imaginary Garden

This week we have enjoyed reading, The Imaginary Garden, by Andrew Larsen, and worked hard to create our own imaginary garden wall in the library learning commons. What a beautiful garden!

What is your favourite flower?  I love hydrangeas and roses! Do you think gardens are important? Why?
Do you have a garden? What do you grow?  Please tell us in the comments section below.

What is composting?

This week we are reading Charlie's Dirt Day, by Canadian author, Andrew Larsen, illustrated by Jacqueline Hudon-Verrelli, also a Canadian. In this story, Charlie learns all about composting so I thought it would be fun to try composting in our Library Learning Commons!

I wonder how long it will take to make our compost?  We know that it needs brown (dry leaves, twigs), green organics (grass clippings, orange peel, banana peel), water (just until it's crumbly), and air.  We will have to give it more water and a stir every few days.  Now we wait!  Maybe we will be able to use the compost for our avocado seeds that are looking ready to sprout any day!

Can you tell what went into our compost?
We started with some dirt, twigs and dry leaves and added grass clippings, orange peels, banana peels, coffee grounds and tea leaves.  Then we added some water and mixed it all together with a gardening fork.  

The bottom picture shows what our compost looked like once it was mixed up.  The plastic container has small holes in the bottom and we put the black lid on top and put the compost in the window where it will get some sun.

Update:  May 2nd

Update: May 9th

Can you spot the mold?  What does the mold do? What do you notice that's different since last week?  Since the beginning?

Update: May 16th

What changes do you notice in this week's photo?  Do you think the compost is ready yet?  Why or why not?

Storytime and Lego Saturdays at Katzie

The Surrey Public Library staff will be at Katzie Elementary on April 16th, May 7th, and June 11th.
Please note the dates in May and June have changed from the originally published dates.

The Promise

This week we are enjoying reading "The Promise" by Nicola Davies. It is nominated for the Surrey Schools' Picture Book of the Year award. Have you ever planted a seed or grown something? I love plants and flowers and have created a windowsill garden where students will be able to watch plants grow. We have avocado seeds, a sweet potato, a pineapple top, and the cut off bottoms from celery and romaine lettuce. We've talked about the plants needing water and sunlight and look forward to watching the changes over the next few weeks! Here's a picture of the garden on the first day.

Update: April 11th

Update:  April 22nd, Earth Day

Here's what's still growing:  Celery is getting very leafy, carrots are growing taller leaves, avocados are starting to crack on the top, and sweet potato has tiny shoots starting on top.  Stay tuned!

Update: May 2nd

So after waiting patiently for a month, we can now see the leaves sprouting on the sweet potato!  So exciting!

Update: May 9th

Wow!  Look at the growth since last week!  We are still waiting for roots but the leaves are doing well.  

Update: May 16th

The sweet potato continues to grow well.  Still no sign of roots.  I've been talking to students and we are thinking that maybe it needs soil.  We may plant it in a pot soon.

Beginning to code

This week Grade 4's began learning about coding. We went to code.org and after a short introduction they were off to the races! As I walked from group to group, I heard, "Oh, I get it!" and students asking their neighbour for help. Students quickly realized they might not be successful on the first try but with persistence they were successful. There was much excitement and cheers when I told them we would be continuing coding next week!

www.code.org is easy to use in a classroom or library because it does not require a login to play the levels and provides personalized feedback to students as they work through the activities. And it works on the ipads! Why not give it a try?