The Number 12 PLUS Bagels and Butter 1 V 20

Hello Room 222!

Today is Day 49 of our stay-at-home time.

Keep reading to learn more about the word "dozen" and how to make homemade butter and bake homemade bagels!

COOL FACTS ABOUT THE NUMBER 12

Did you know...

* The word "dozen" comes from the French word "douzaine" meaning "a group of 12".
* There are 12 months in a year.
* There are 12 numbers on the face of an analog clock.
* Eggs, donuts and bagels are sold by the dozen.
* A baker's dozen is a group of 13. Hundreds of years ago bakers would get in trouble if a dozen baked goods did not weigh enough, so they would add an extra one to a dozen, making 13 or a "baker's dozen".
* There are 12 inches in a foot (imperial measure).
* 12 is the highest number you can roll with two dice.
* A 12-sided polygon is called a dodecagon.
* A 3D figure with 12 faces is called a dodecahedron.
* Do you know a cool fact about the number 12?

HOW TO MAKE BAGELS AT HOME

Today's reading assignment in Google Classroom is the book, The Bagel King. I got the idea for this assignment from when I was making a toasted bagel with butter for a snack. Then I thought, why not show the kids how to make bagels at home? They aren't the same as the ones you get from a bakery (they use yeast and special ovens), but they are pretty good!



This recipe makes 4 bagels. You will need:

1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup plain yogurt (Greek style is best - You need thick yogurt.)

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Mix all ingredients together until all the flour is mixed in.
Put the dough on a floured surface and knead the dough for about 5 minutes. Divide the dough in to 4 equal pieces. Take one piece of dough and poke a hole in the middle with your finger and press and pull the dough into a ring. Repeat with the other 3 pieces of dough. Place the four bagels on a cookie sheet and bake at 375°F for 20 -25 minutes. Bagels will be a light golden brown colour. Cool.



Mmmm...so good. BUT where is the butter? Did you know that you can MAKE butter at home? My sons used to make butter at home when they were young. It's easy here's how...

HOW TO MAKE BUTTER AT HOME

You will need a 500 mL container of 35% whipping cream and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. You will also need a clean jar with a tight fitting lid. (I reused a large, clean mayonnaise jar.)



* Pour the whipping cream and 1/2 teaspoon of salt in the jar. Put the lid on tightly and start to SHAKE the jar. Take turns shaking with other people in your family. Shaking adds air to the liquid and forces the small blobs of butterfat together. In the photo, you can see the cream getting thicker and changing colour from white to light yellow. After about 20 - 30 minutes of shaking, the butterfat will make one big blob of butter separate from the liquid (called whey). Pour off the liquid and keep pressing the butter with the back of a spoon to release more liquid. Finally, put the butter in a dish to use. Store the butter in the fridge.

Wow! Easy homemade bagels and butter. YUM! If you cook or bake stuff at home, send me a photo. I really like to see the activities that you are doing at home!

Zero and Some Circle Art 29 IV 20

Hello Room 222!

Today is Day 47 of our stay-at-home time.

Keep reading to learn some cool facts about the number zero (0), how to draw mandala circle art and how to cut a BIG circle from a paper rectangle.

COOL FACTS ABOUT ZERO

Here are some cool facts about zero (0):
- Zero was invented by Brahmagupta (a Hindu astronomer and mathematician) in 628 AD in India and used later by the Persians and Arabs and later in Europe.
- Leonardo Fibonacci brought zero and the Hindu-Arabic (our modern number system) to Italy and Europe over 400 years ago.
- Zero is an even number.
- The word zero comes from the Arabic word "sifr" which means "empty".
- In the game of tennis, a score of zero is called “love”.

MANDALA CIRCLE ART



Mandalas are circle shaped designs. The word "mandala" comes from the ancient Indian Sanskrit word for disk or circle. Many people think that drawing mandala designs helps to lower stress and make them feel calm.

These are some of the mandala designs that I drew in my drawing journal. You start with a circle in the middle and draw lines and shapes all around the outside. It shows a type of symmetry called radial symmetry (lines of symmetry that come from the centre of a circle). It's a lot of fun!

Here is a video that will help you start:



If you draw some mandalas, take a photo and email it to me. I really like seeing your work!

THE SUPER CIRCLE PAPER TRICK

In this trick, you take a paper rectangle, cut it and create a paper circle big enough to walk through! Really!



You will need a regular sheet of paper, a pencil, a ruler and a pair of scissors.

1. First, fold the paper in half, short edge of the rectangle to the opposite short edge of the rectangle.

2. Next, draw 7 vertical lines evenly spaced across, starting at the bottom folded edge but ending about 1 cm from the top edge.

3. Then, draw 6 vertical lines evenly spaced across AND in between the first set of vertical lines, starting top edge but ending about 1 cm from the bottom folded edge.

4.  Now, cut the six places along the folded edge (see photo). DO NOT cut the one on the far left or the one on the far right.

5. Finally, open up your SUPER BIG circle! Can you walk through it? If it doesn't work the first time, try again!



Iggy is always a good helper! If you try this, take a photo and email it to me. I really enjoy seeing your work!

Number puzzle and circles 27 IV 20

Hello! Today is Day 45 of our stay-at-home time.

Do you see my cat Iggy? He is ready with "Old Red" to mark your work! These days he will have to just watch me instead while I work on the computer...

NUMBER SEARCH

You've heard of a WORD SEARCH but this puzzle is a number search! It works the same way to help your brain find patterns. Give it a try and good luck!



PAPER CIRCLES

There was a problem with the video. I had trouble with my video camera and the sound recording doesn't work anymore. I will have to buy a new camera and make the video again.

Soup! 24 IV 20

Can you find all 12 words?

VEGETABLES               CARROTS               THANKFUL
SOUP                           TOMATOES             GRATEFUL
ONION                        YELLOW                  SHARING
ZUCCHINI                  PEPPER                    NOODLES


I was inspired by the book in today's assignment, Stone Soup. I made a word search puzzle using the names of some of the ingredients in vegetable soup. You can make your own word search puzzles too. Here is the link to the site that I used to make the above puzzle.

http://puzzlemaker.discoveryeducation.com/WordSearchSetupForm.asp




In the past, it's been a tradition in my class to make vegetable soup after I read aloud the book, Stone Soup. Each child would bring a vegetable to class. The students would take turns washing and cutting the vegetables. While the soup was cooking, the class would write in their journals. They wrote about what it means to be grateful and thankful and what it means to share. Finally, the children would enjoy the soup at their desks, sharing a meal together. (Just like in the story, Stone Soup!)

* You need an adult to help you with this activity.

Vegetable Soup

- washed and chopped vegetables (I used onions, tomatoes, carrots, yellow pepper and zucchini)
- noodles
- salt
- water

 Place the washed and chopped vegetables in a large pot. Pour water into the pot until the water covers the vegetables. Put the pot on the stove and turn up the heat to medium-high and wait until the soup starts to boil. Then turn the heat down to low, put the cover on the pot and put the timer on for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, remove the lid from the pot and add salt, a teaspoon at a time, to taste. Then add the noodles and cook until the noodles are done (about 5 minutes).

*** I have made this soup many, many times and the type of vegetables do not matter. Green onions,  mushrooms, corn, green beans and potatoes are also good. Sometimes I add a can of beans. It's fun to experiment!

I hope you enjoy making nutritious, homemade soup. Email me photos if you try this recipe!

Earth Day Activities 22 IV 20

Happy Earth Day! Remember to always be kind to the Earth.

Today is Day 40 of our stay-at-home time.

Keep reading to learn a word game and how to make art out of empty cans!



MAKING WORDS

1. Write the word EARTH in big letters on a piece of paper and then cut the letters apart.

2. Move the letters around to make new words. How many words (real words, not made up ones) can you make?

3. Sort the words into 5-letter, 4-letter, 3-letter and 2-letter words.

Here's your first word...did you see that one? Can you find more than ten?



*** Email me your answers and I will write you back! ***

POEM COOPERATIVE ART

Please remember to write and colour your words from our class poem on a piece of paper and email the photo to me. I will put all the words together in a photo collage of the whole poem and post it to the blog when I get everyone's photos. (You can find the instructions on the 17 IV 20 blog post.)

EARTH DAY ART



You can reuse empty metal cans to make holders for pencils, spoons or anything you want. If the can has a plastic lid you can make a treasure box!

Here is how to do it:

1. You will need an empty can. Soup cans and cans that had vegetables or beans in them are a good size. Sometimes cans of nuts will have a plastic lid. Make sure the empty can is clean and dry.

2.  Get some paper from a magazine or decorate some scrap paper.  (I coloured in the spaces on some lined paper to make horizontal stripes. On another piece of paper I doodled some zentangles.)

3. Match up the bottom edge of the can to one edge of the paper. Use a pencil to draw a line where the top of the can edge is and then cut along that line. The paper will be shaped like a rectangle.

4. Tape one of the short edges of the paper rectangle to the can, wrap the paper around the can and tape the other edge in place.

5. Put some pencils or whatever you want in your decorated container!

Birthdays and Folded Hearts 20IV20

Today is Iggy's 14th birthday! Meow! (That's like 72 in cat years.)

Please keep reading to learn some cool facts about birthdays and how to fold a paper heart!

BIRTHDAY FACTS

I posted two assignments on Google classroom today. One is a reading assignment about birthdays using fiction books on Epic books. The other is a math assignment with birthday word problems.

Here are some cool facts about birthdays:

* Domo's "birthday" is December 22, 1998. He's from Japan.

* The "Happy Birthday to You" song was first sung in the U.S.A. and was copyrighted in 1912, but people think it was sung before that.

* Since your last birthday, the earth has gone around the sun once, 31 million seconds have passed (actually 31,536,00), your nails have grown 4 cm and your hair has grown 12 cm!

* When your age and birthday date are the same number, it's called your "Golden Birthday". So if you are born on the 8th of the month and it's your 8th birthday, it's your "Golden Birthday".


POEM COOPERATIVE ART

Please remember to draw your colourful words of the poem, Salutation to the Dawn, and email me a photo for our class photo collage. See last Friday's blog post for the instructions.


HOW TO MAKE A FOLDED PAPER HEART

This week, I made a video showing how to fold a paper heart. I chose a heart because I wanted to make one for my cat Iggy for this birthday. It was fun to make so I thought you would like to learn to make one too.

*** These days, your parents are very tired from doing their jobs and looking after you. Take a moment, fold a paper heart and give one to your mom and make one for your dad too. It will make them smile!

Poem and Apple Cake 17 IV 20

Today is Day 35 of our stay-at-home time.

Keep reading to learn about an amazing poem and how to use what you know about capacity and fractions to help you bake a delicious apple cake!

HEAD + HEART

There is a tradition in my class at this time of year when the children learn about the poem, Salutation to the Dawn by the Indian Sanskrit poet Kalidasa (7th century CE). The students usually memorize the poem to recite at the annual Spring Concert. Here is the poem:

Salutation to the Dawn

Look to this day,                           A
For it is life,                                  C         
The very life of life,                      Da
In its brief course,                        Dhak
Lie all the verities,                        Dhan
And realities,                                E
Of our existence.                          G
The bliss of growth,                      J
The glory of action,                       K
The splendor of beauty.                 M
For yesterday is but a dream.         N
And tomorrow is only a vision,       P
But today well lived.                      Ra
Makes every yesterday,                  Re
A dream of happiness,                   Sal
And every tomorrow,                     Sam
A vision of hope.                            Sh
Look well therefore,                       Sm
To this day,                                     So
Such is the Salutation,                    T
To the dawn!                                   V

In past years, the class would work together to talk about what the poem means, the meaning of new words and who the poet Kalidasa was. We then use the reciting of the poem as a way to start our school day.

These words were written over 1,000 years ago, but the message is still worth knowing. Doing your best each day means that your memories of the past will be happy and your vision for the future will be hopeful.

ART CHALLENGE

I would like each child to take part of the poem and write the words in BIG colourful letters. (Please only use the words on the same line as the initial of your first name.) Take a photo and email it to me. I will take the photos and make a collage to create the complete poem. Even though we are apart, we can still do things "together".

HANDS

Did you know that when you make a recipe you use math? Cooking uses capacity measurements and fractions! When I was a child, my mother and I used to make a recipe she called a "one egg cake". It's a simple recipe that uses basic ingredients that most people have in their kitchens. When my children were little, we made the same cake together, but they chose what to mix in it, like chopped apple, nuts or chocolate chips! Here's how to make it:





APPLE CAKE

1 cup (250 ml) flour
1/2 cup (125) sugar
2 teaspoons (30 mL) baking powder
1/2 teaspoon (8 mL) salt
1/2 teaspoon (8 mL) cinnamon

1/2 cup (125 mL) milk
1 egg
1/3 cup (80 mL) vegetable oil or melted butter

1 apple, peeled and chopped into small pieces

Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a square 20 cm by 20 cm baking pan. First, in a medium bowl stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Next, in a small bowl mix together the milk, egg and oil. Then, mix together the dry mixture and wet mixture and the chopped apple pieces until combined. Finally, pour the batter into the greased baking pan and bake for 25 minutes. The cake is done when the middle springs back when touched. Cool.

You can try adding other ingredients like coconut, raisins, nuts or chocolate chips instead of apples.

If you make this cake, please email you a picture and show me what you made!

Little Bookstore 15 IV 20

Today is Day 33 of our stay-at-home time.
Keep reading to learn about the smallest book in the world, how to keep your heart healthy and how to make a little bookstore!

HEAD  

What is the  smallest  book in the world?

The world’s smallest book is the children's book, Teeny Ted From Turnip Town. It was made in 2007 in Vancouver, British Columbia. It is made out of silicon (the same element as computer microchips) and is smaller than the thickness of a human hair. Here is a video of the the Canadian creator of this book, Robert Chaplin:

HEART

Have you been exercising your heart? Ms. Francesca has given us a website with lots of ideas of how to keep your body healthy at home. Here is the link:

https://sites.google.com/tdsb.on.ca/davisvillehpe

HANDS

Did you make some folded books? After I made the video for you to see how to make a little folded book yourself, I had a pile of little books and I was wondering what to do with them. Then, I thought I would make a bookstore! 

Here’s how I made mine:

You need a tissue box, masking tape, scissors, a marker and some scrap cardboard and scrap paper.

Make a vertical cut in the middle of the top of the box and two horizontal cuts at the top and the bottom. Now fold them back to make the "doors". 

To make the shelf, cut a piece of scrap cardboard (from another box like a cracker box), 4 cm wider than the width of the box. Draw fold lines on each end about 2 cm from each short edge and then fold down each side of the shelf piece.

Use masking tape to tape the shelf inside. Make sure the space at the bottom is tall enough to hold your books.

Put the books inside. Make a sign for your bookstore.

Use a piece of masking tape as a "handle" to help keep the two doors closed. I was so happy that the clear plastic of the tissue box actually looks like a store window!

*** If you make some books or the little bookstore, please take some photos and email them to me. I would love to see what you created! ***

Homophones and Folded books 13 IV 20

Today is Day 31 of our stay-at-home time.

Read about some new words, see our heart photo collage and learn how to fold a book from a piece of paper!

HEAD

This week on google classroom, you will be learning about fractions. Fractions are equal parts of a whole object or group of objects. A fraction is also known as a "fair share".

Did you notice the two homophones above?

1. whole/hole
2. fair/fare (fair is also a homonym with two meanings)

HOMOPHONE ALERT!

1. The word whole means all of something or an entire object, for example, "I ate a whole bag of potato chips." A hole is a hollow space with nothing there, for example, "I have a hole in my sock and my toe is sticking out."

2. The word fair has two meanings. First it means right and appropriate, for example, "The teams played a fair game." But it can also mean a traveling show with games and rides, for example, "When I go to a fair, I always go on the roller coaster." Fare means money paid for a trip on a bus or subway, for example, "You have to pay your fare as soon as you get on the bus." But fare can also mean the types of food at a restaurant, "That restaurant serves a wide range of fresh vegetarian fare."

Which homophones go where?

a) Did you get your ________share of pizza at the party?

b) Henry had to dig a big ________ before he could plant the tree.

c) There are almost 600 students in our ____________ school.

d) In the summer, my family goes to the __________ to have fun playing games and trying to win prizes.

BONUS

e) Do you have enough money for bus _______ and to buy some of the ________ at the bakery?

f) Do you think that _________box would go through that __________in the wall?

HEART

Thank you to everyone who sent in a big, beautiful heart! These pictures show the love and caring to and from all the students. Here are the photo collages:





HANDS

I've made a video to show you how to make your own book out of a piece of paper. Try making books with stories in them or just pictures or words that are important to you or whatever you want.

If you make some books, please send me photos. Maybe we could create an online Room 222 classroom library. Have fun making stuff!

First, here's a photo of my assistant Iggy, working hard to help me make the video.



Here is the video:

Eggs 8 IV 20

Today is Day 26 of our Coronavirus at-home time.

Please keep reading for some cool facts about eggs and, if you want to, how to dye eggs at home!

HEAD

Eggs are used all over the world to welcome spring. Here are some cool facts:

• The egg is a symbol of spring because it represents new life.

• It is ovoid shaped (from the Latin ovum=egg) and the smooth, rounded shaped has no beginning or end, just like the circle of life.

• Humans have been using eggs for spring decoration and giving decorated eggs as gifts since ancient times.

• Eggs are an important part of the Christian spring holiday called Easter and the Jewish spring holiday called Passover.

• The tradition of egg hunts and the Easter bunny started over 400 years ago in Germany to give decorated eggs to good children.

• In 1873, the first chocolate egg was made by Fry’s in England. Fry’s still makes chocolate and cocoa powder today.

HEART

Can you draw a big, decorated heart? When you do, ask your Mom or Dad to take a photo of it and email it to me. I’ll take all the drawings and make a photo collage to post on the blog. Don’t forget to write your name on your drawing!

HANDS

I like to decorate eggs by dying them different colours. I tried it at home today and the white eggs turned a beautiful gold colour! Do you remember when we dyed fabric at school? When you dye things you are actually doing a type of science called chemistry. 

This activity is optional. It's only to show you what I did and for you to do too, if you want.

First, you will need a parent to help you. Remember to be careful. If this dyes eggs, it will dye other things like counters and fabric too…

You will need a pot, eggs, water, white vinegar, turmeric and a timer.

In a pot put:

Water (enough to cover the number of eggs you are dying)

2 tablespoons of white vinegar

3 teaspoons of turmeric (a cooking spice)

Boil the mixture for 30 minutes. Add the eggs and cook on medium-low heat for another 30 minutes. Carefully take out the dyed eggs and dry them off on paper towel or an old tea towel. (If you don’t have turmeric, I read online that you can use onion skins or many other food items to dye things.)

Update for Parents

Welcome to our new and improved class blog with posts to help give your child enrichment activities to do at home.

Some notes for parents:

1. I know that materials are limited at home, so I will suggest activities that can be done with just a pencil and paper. However, it will be helpful to have additional items like scissors, coloured pencils (or markers or crayons) and glue stick (or white glue or tape). 

2. Please save scrap paper, flyers, magazines, toilet paper/paper towel cardboard tubes, cardboard boxes (from tissues, crackers, pasta) and clean glass jars and plastic containers. These items will come in handy for science experiments and art.

3. There are SO MANY online resources and sites online for children now. PLEASE BE CAREFUL before you let your child go to a new site. You need to check them first, so that they are safe for your child to work on alone. All links that are suggested here and on our goggle classroom are TDSB approved.

Hearts 6 IV 20

Student News 4 IV 20

Today is Day 24 of our Coronavirus at-home time.

When I post I will try to write a “morning message” letter to you, just like I do when we are in the classroom together. Did you read the letter in the photo above? Did you notice the hearts? How many are there? Why do you think I picked that number?

I was thinking that I should post different activities for your HEAD, your HEART and your HANDS. That way you will learn to do different kinds of things. 

HEAD

Did you read yet today?  Epic! Books has lots of great books for you to read. Remember to try to read a MIX of fiction books, non-fiction books and chapter books. Try to read for at least 20 minutes (or more) each day. Remember, you get better at reading by ……..(Did you say “reading”?) 

HEART

Can you draw a big, decorated heart? When you do, ask your Mom or Dad to take a photo of it and email it to me. I’ll take all the drawings and make a photo collage to post on the blog. Don’t forget to write your name on your drawing!

HANDS

When you do the worksheets on our google classroom, you will have to type information into the google doc. Your Mom or Dad can help you, but you should probably start to learn how to type on a keyboard. Here is a site that uses games to help you learn how:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zf2f9j6/articles/z3c6tfr

Please try to learn how to type for 15-20 minutes each day. It will be hard at first because your fingers are not used to moving this way. But with practise, you will get better and better!

Hello Everyone! 3 IV 20

Dear Room 222!

Today is Friday, April 3, 2020.

Well, it's Day 21 since we left school at the end of the day on March 13th. (I've included weekend days too.) We counted the days at school, so I think we should count these days too.

This week I've been very busy setting up online learning resources for the class. I will start to post activities and resources on Monday. As you know, I love projects, so it will be fun to see what we can do together using only computers and phones to communicate!

I will put information here and on Google Classroom. I have also invited everyone to EPIC! books so that you can read fiction and non-fiction books online too.

This is an adventure...let's see where it takes us!

From,
Ms. Rawlinson

(P.S.Above is a photo of my cat Iggy. I finished knitting a pair of socks and I knitted four little chickens with the leftover wool. Iggy now has four new friends!)