Monday, May 27, 2013

Week of May 27-31

Dear families,

Our unit on Canadian Coins and their Values continues this week as we review the penny, nickel and dime and learn about the quarter. Thank you for sending in the 10 pennies, 2 nickels and one dime for the children's Piggy Bank Booklet. Now they can count out the money at home with you. This will help reinforce the concept of 5 pennies equals one nickel, 10 pennies equals one dime, one nickel and 5 pennies equals one dime too.

To help the children understand these values, we played Ice Cream Store and Snack Store in the classroom, in which the children had to "pay" for their treats.

We also had fun making rubbings of the coins and watching them magically appear on paper.

We have learned about why the symbols of the Maple Leaf, the Beaver and the Bluenose are on our coins, and I brought in a photo of the Bluenose II from a trip to Halifax. Charlie contributed a lot of information as well since he has been to Halifax and knows a lot about this famous schooner too. Thanks Charlie! For the nickel the children took a good look at the real stuffed beaver in the Library. What an amazing animal! I will not be bringing in an elk/caribou as we learn about the quarter :) but if your children call it a Moose please remind them that it is a caribou/elk :) Caribou are often spotted in the Banff area where a lot of kids have been skiing. Try to relate learning to real life experiences and your children will remember!

Some of our bean plants have germinated and sprouted, and when they are about 3 inches tall I send them home. You can plant the seedling, including the paper pot, directly into the ground in a sunny spot. Next to a fence is ideal since beans climb and need support.

Our letter sound was Ww, like the noise the wind makes. This week we are learning about the letter sound Yy.

The children had fun at the Scholastic Book Fair. Thank you for supporting the LKS Library with your child's purchases.

Our poem for this week's Sharing Assembly is "Wiggly Tooth." I hope you can join us May 28 at the second last assembly of the year! We will be celebrating the TDSB Character Trait of Integrity. Next month we are celebrating "Perseverance" and Taylor, Kate, Jonas, Luke and Charlie will receive certificates celebrating their hard work and their terrific ability to always try their best and never give up!

Have a wonderful week!

Mrs. Tyndall