Hello again to all the brilliant pupils of St. Gabriel’s NS!  I hope that you are all feeling confident, healthy and strong.  This week I did a little bit of cycling and running and a lot of walking to keep myself healthy and strong like you.  I also did some baking and made some delicious, healthy granola and some even more delicious chocolate chip cookies!!

There were more cookies than this but they seem to have disappeared somewhere!

Yoga                                                                                                                                         I was so impressed last week to see a video of someone doing their morning yoga on Seesaw.  I am still practising holding the Tree pose and I am definitely getting better.      This week I want you to practise the Warrior 1 pose. Stand tall and don’t forget to breathe.  Think warrior thoughts like “I am brave, I am strong”.

Writing                                                                                                                               Remember you can be any age and still think up an amazing and creative story.  If you don’t feel confident writing your story down then illustrate what you have created or else just tell someone the story as people did in olden times.  This week I want you to think If you could have any fantasy pet, what would it be and why?

Finally to the children and their families in the school who will be celebrating a little differently this weekend than they would normally, wishing you peace and health.

Hello again to all the clever pupils of St. Gabriel’s N.S.  I hope you are all staying happy and healthy and being kind to everyone around you.  I know that the class teachers have really enjoyed seeing your work and hearing from some of you this week.  Remember that the activities we put on the website are optional – you won’t get in trouble with your teacher for not doing everything – and if you are busy with other activities such as playing, baking, drawing, building etc, then that’s a good thing as well!

https://padlet.com/faheymairead/5srjmewuml22

May Day                                                                                                                              The first of May is called May Day.  It has long been celebrated in Ireland as the start of Summer.  In ancient times people would light fires at sunset on the 30th of April to celebrate the coming season.  Another tradition is for children to pick May flowers (usually primroses and gorse) and some people leave them on the door step of their house.  Today we might do this because it has become a tradition and it looks pretty but in olden times people believed that it would keep away ‘evil spirits’.  Some people go outside on the 1st of May and wash their face in the morning dew (the liquid on the grass early in the morning).  The tradition goes that the dew on the first of May has magical properties and will give good health (and skin!) to the person who washes their face in it.  I had never heard of this tradition until a teacher in the school told me that she does it!  And yes, she does have very good skin and is always in good health so maybe it works.                                            If someone in your family comes from a different part of the world, ask them if their country has any traditions for the first of May.

Using your imagination, answer the question and tell us How did this banana grow so huge?  If you are in Junior or Senior Infants you can just talk about how it grew to someone in your family.  If you are in an older class then write a few lines to tell us what you think!

Reading                                                                                                                                   I hope you have been trying to get some reading done every day.  It is very difficult at the moment when all the libraries are closed but there are words all around us and sometimes we are reading without even realising it!  From the writing on packets of food, to the work your teachers are giving you, reading recipes and even reading your own free writing, there are lots of opportunities to read.  I know that some children from our school have been downloading books online from Dublin City Libraries  https://www.librariesireland.ie/elibrary.  If you are reading a new PM book from school (or any book!) remember to:          – look at the book cover and title first.  What might this book be about?  Make some predictions even at this stage.                                                                                                  – next look through the pictures in the book to get an idea about what the story might be about.  Remember the pictures are all clues to help you.  You might want to change your predictions now!                                                                                                                       – now go back to the start and try reading the words.  The pictures and words work as clues together.                                                                                                                          – try and use your lovely reading voice!

Poetry                                                                                                                                This year the last day of April is Poetry Day Ireland 2020.  Here is a poem about May for you to enjoy.  Could you write your own poem about May or Summer?                                                             

A big hello to all the lovely pupils of St. Gabriel’s NS!  I hope everyone enjoyed the Easter break.  I know most of you were out enjoying the lovely weather and I was lucky enough to see some pupils in the Phoenix Park getting some exercise with their parents and family.

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog is a sentence known as a pangram.  A pangram is a sentence that contains all 26 letters of the alphabet.  Check it and see!  There might be some letters that appear more than once, can you find out which ones?  Which letter appears the most?  Write out the sentence on your whiteboard or a piece of paper and cross out each letter as you go through the alphabet.  Could you make up your own pangram?  I’m going to have a go myself!

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z 

Click on the picture below to see the sentence made into a song.  A word of warning however, this is a song that can get stuck in your head for weeks!

Try to keep up your reading.  It’s a great idea to read a book that you have read before and that you know well.  When I was in school my favourite books to read again and again were The BFG by Roald Dahl and The Magic Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton.  For those of you who have PM readers at home, pick a book you already know and like and read it for someone.  Pick a different one every day this week and then try a new book that you haven’t read before on Friday.

And finally try to keep practising your Bumblebee Breath and your yoga poses.  The Cat is my absolute favourite at the moment!

Hello my friends. How are you all today? Well, I hope! The last week went very quickly. I hope that you were all getting outside into the fresh air as well as having lots of fun indoors playing and doing some school activities. I’ve added some new links here if you want to hear more stories or keep playing your games. https://padlet.com/faheymairead/5srjmewuml22

Happy Easter to you and your family!

Play

Please don’t forget that when we are playing we are also learning a lot of new things.  You may not have all the toys in your house that our Aistear Playroom in school has but you can still create your own play area.  Using your imagination you could play at the following things:

• the hairdresser – write out a price list for your customers
• the dentist – make some posters to tell people how to keep their teeth healthy
• a cafe/restaurant – make a colourful menu.  Write down the customers’ orders
• the school – you be the teacher and give your family some homework!
• the optician – make an eye chart with letters of the alphabet to test your family’s eyesight
• the bakery – what kind of breads and pastries do you sell? Make some advertising posters and a price list
• a supermarket – encourage your shoppers to make a shopping list and tick off each thing as they find it

The most important thing to remember is to have fun!

Art

Over the next few days you might want to make some Easter cards for family and friends or you might just want to draw some pictures of the Easter bunny to decorate your house.  My niece Jessica (6) showed me a really good website that teaches you to draw pictures step by step.  She drew these pictures using the website and she said it was really easy.  I’ll put the link on my padlet as well.

https://www.artforkidshub.com/draw-big-easter-bunny-portrait/

Yoga

I hope you have been practising your Bumblebee Breath as you go about your day.  You could also try humming a song and ask your parents or brothers and sisters to guess which song it is.  The only problem with this is that if you start laughing, it’s really hard to hum. Try it!

Last week we talked about the Mountain pose and the Down Dog.  This week we have the Triangle pose.  Start with your feet wide apart making a triangle with your legs.  Stretch your arms straight out from the sides of your body and turn your toes on one foot to point the same way as your arm.  Now stretch over and bring one hand down to your ankle to make more triangles.  Repeat on the other side.  Don’t forget to breathe!!                                                                                                 The Cat pose is another one that I think most of you already know.  Kneel down on all fours like a cat (hands under shoulders and knees under hips).  Now breathe in and lift up your head as your back arches.  Breathe out and make your back round while looking at your belly button.  Now start to stretch like a cat to see how it feels.  Are you a pet cat or a wild lion or tiger?

Hello to everyone!  I’m sure you are all missing school as much as your friends and teachers are missing you.  Even though we are in our own homes, sometimes we can all find it hard to relax so it’s really important that we do some things to help us feel better.  Bees hum all day as they fly around visiting flowers and making honey.  Using your Bumblebee Breath, think of things that make you happy!  Wherever you are – playing or resting – breathe in fully and as you breathe out close your lips to hum like a bee.  Make sure your face and lips are soft so you can feel your lips tickle.  Repeat for as long as you like!

Online Activities

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