January 16, 2026

 

Winter Field Study at Fish Creek Park 🌲❄️

This week, our Grade 3 students participated in a winter field study to Fish Creek Park, where learning took place outdoors and in connection with the land. Students were engaged, curious, and excited to observe how nature changes during the winter season.

Students began by finding their own sit spots—a quiet place to sit, observe, and listen. From these sit spots, students noticed winter details such as snow-covered trees, animal tracks, frozen water, and the sounds around them. This time encouraged students to slow down, focus their attention, and be present in their surroundings.

Thank you to our parent volunteers that walked with us to Fish Creek!

Students then completed a Medicine Wheel reflection, thinking about their experience through four interconnected areas:

• Body – How did my body feel while being outside in winter?

• Mind – What did I notice, learn, or wonder?

• Heart – How did being in nature make me feel?

• Spirit – How did I feel connected to the land and this place?

Back in the classroom, students used their Medicine Wheel reflections to support their writing. They wrote five complete sentences, focusing on using:

• capital letters at the beginning of sentences

• correct punctuation at the end

• adjectives and adverbs to add detail and clarity

Using a shared outdoor experience helped students generate ideas and strengthen their sentence-writing skills. We will continue to build on this learning as students begin to combine sentences into paragraph writing, focusing on a clear topic and supporting details.

Questions to Ask Your Child at Home 💬

To extend learning and encourage reflection, families might ask:

• Where was your sit spot, and why did you choose it?

• What did you notice in nature that surprised you?

• How did your body feel being outside in the winter?

• What did you write about your mind, heart, or spirit on the Medicine Wheel?

• What adjectives or adverbs did you use to make your writing more interesting?

• How did your outdoor experience help you think of ideas for writing?

• What do you think will be different when you start writing paragraphs?

Alberta Grade 3 Curriculum Connections

English Language Arts & Literacy

• Students create and share written texts to communicate ideas, observations, and experiences connected to real-world learning.

• Students apply writing conventions (capitalization, punctuation, grammar) to produce complete sentences.

• Students use descriptive language, including adjectives and adverbs, to add detail and clarity.

• Students progress from sentence writing toward paragraph writing, organizing ideas around a shared topic.

Social Studies

• Students develop a sense of place by engaging with local land and natural spaces.

• Students explore relationships with the land and reflect on how people connect to and care for the environment.

• Students engage in learning that honours Indigenous perspectives, including the Medicine Wheel as a holistic way of understanding learning.

Science

• Students observe and describe seasonal changes in their local environment.

• Students use their senses to make observations and ask questions about living things during winter.

Health & Wellness

• Students reflect on their physical, emotional, and mental well-being during outdoor learning experiences.

• Students practice mindfulness by noticing how time outdoors impacts their bodies and feelings.