Today, in my AQ course with Trent, I was reminded of something. Donna, a fellow teacher in my course wrote about a book called Seeds and Trees by Brandon Walden. She mentioned that this book was about "the power of words and the effects of feelings and emotions." I immediately remembered an experiment that my children and I did in 2015.

In 2015 my children and I conducted an experiment. We heard about the Dr. Masaru Emoto water experiments/study and we wanted to experience it for ourselves. We were amazed with what happened.

First we wrote down the materials we would need. Next we came up with words/phrases that were kind and positive and then we came up with words/phrases that were not.

We didn't cook the rice as the original experiment says to do, but the raw rice worked as well. We put an even amount of rice and water in each jar. We then put words "happy, sad/mean and ignore" on the jars. The whole purpose of this experiment was to see how words and even silent thoughts change water. The relation to human beings is also important because we are about 60% water and if these words and thoughts can affect water in a jar (without emotion or a brain), than just imagine what words and thoughts are doing to us as humans. This awareness can be critical for all of us. I encourage you to try this for yourself - especially if you have children. Allow them to experience this with you. In conclusion, my children learned how important it is for themselves to think good thoughts, say kind words about themselves and others. They also found out that ignoring people is just as damaging as mean words are.

We kept these jars for 7 years (I know seems crazy), but in those 7 years the happy jar stayed very clear with no mold and the other jars continued to grow mold (colours and also blobs of something that looked like slime).

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A printable version of the Language Conventions Continuum from the new curriculum document. (updated this blog, July 12, 2023)

A summary/condensed (at a glance) version of the new curriculum that I was given by a classmate in my Reading AQ course in July. Thank you Renee!

Click here to review some key terms and examples of each as well as other helpful resources that many educators will appreciate.

Welcome to a journey about what literacy is for a grade 3 student. It consists of many steps, puzzle pieces to put together, and bridges to cross. It can seem difficult at times but you are amazing and you can learn as you grow. As you keep practicing and learning, the journey will get easier and easier and you will have more fun too!

Enjoy this journey...be sure to take the steps in the correct order for it all to make sense.
If you would like to simply watch the presentation, you can press play below, or if you would like to click on the steps on your own pace, use this link.