Dear families,
What gorgeous weather we are having! I hope you are having a great weekend and are having fun at Springfest!
This week was busy in Room 166. Thank you as always to our amazing volunteers - Rielle's dad was the Mystery Reader this week!
One of the caterpillars changed into a pupa and is hanging upside down in its little container. When all the 6 caterpillars have done this, we will move them to a new large net so they can fly around when they emerge from this stage in about 2 weeks. The children did a lot of learning about butterflies and caterpillars this week and their folders went home on Friday. They worked on symmetry, completing the other half of a butterfly (a mirror image) with their reading buddies; watched time-lapse videos of metamorphosis; learned new butterfly facts (they taste with their feet!); completed caterpillar ABC and 1-20 work; coloured and then drew a life cycle wheel themselves; traced and coloured in butterfly shapes, making sure they were symmetrical; did a butterfly colour-by-number sheet; completed and read a "caterpillar walk" booklet with position adjectives (in, around, over, on, below, eg.); looked at leaves in the Kindergarten garden that had holes in it because "caterpillars nibbled through!"; saw an inch worm; re-told the Very Hungry Caterpillar story with flash cards and manipulatives; sequenced the story with pictures; and read fiction and non-fiction caterpillar and butterfly books. The numeracy component of this inquiry was learning about symmetry, sequencing and writing numbers.
Thank you so much to Ruby and Catherine for singing the "This Land is Your Land" and "Land of the Silver Birch" for us! I will be teaching the children these songs as part of our Canada inquiry. Your probably know them yourselves! Thank you Catherine for sharing your beautiful dreamcatcher with us.
In our inquiry on Canada, we did "H is for hockey/I is for inukshuk/J is for Jasper" in our ABCs of Canada booklets. We learned all about Inukshuks. I brought a small one in from home and we learned how they are made, what they are, why the Inuit people of Canada's north make them, and what shape they are. Then the children cut and assembled one themselves out of paper, then drew one freehand. Good job!
The words of the week were FUN and FRIEND. IN the computer lab the kids played on GoNoodle.com and learned more about caterpillars.
The June words sheet and homework bingo went home in Friday's mail bag. It's hard to believe that it's June already!
Senior Kindergarten students, please send in a baby picture by June 8 for the Senior Kindergarten graduation video. Thank you.
Thank you to everyone who donated to our basket for the silent auction. It looks great! Have fun at Springfest!
That's the news for this week. See you on Monday!
Saturday, June 3, 2017
Sunday, May 28, 2017
Week of May 22-26
Dear families,
I hope you are having a lovely weekend! What gorgeous Spring weather!
This week we started a mini art inquiry on The Group of Seven ("G is for Group of Seven") in our inquiry on Canada. We are learning more about nature and the seasons from their beautiful paintings. If you have a chance to take your children to the McMichael Gallery in Kleinburg, or to the AGO, they would be able to see the real paintings of colouring they did themselves. The children learned about the WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN WHY and HOW of the Group of Seven, and many of them know and have been to parts of Ontario where the Group painted (Algonquin Park and Georgian Bay, for example). We talked about why they painted nature, how they traveled to the north, how they camped, and the children tried to figure out how they made such big paintings there (they didn't - they traveled with a small box with slats for wood panels that they painted on both sides, and chose ones they liked the best to replicate on large canvasses back in Toronto). The children practiced simple coding exercises by following step-by-step instructions to colour Lawren Harris' "Mountain and Lake" and and Tom Thomson's "The West Wind." They then did a step-by-step painting in the style of Tom Thomson's "Northern Lights." Hint! Father's Day is coming!! The children watched a beautiful video about what the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) is on the Smart Board and did a colouring sheet about it. We also read two books about the Aurora Borealis Indigenous myth. Next week we will learn about indigenous painter Norval Morrisseau whose works are also at the McMichael Gallery. He painted in vibrant primary colours, which the children will love. We will also learn about symmetry from his paintings.
Next week we will continue our ABCs of Canada and will talk and write about where we have traveled in Canada and/or where we are going to travel in Canada this summer!
Thank you so much to Alex who brought in wonderful books about Canada and a beautiful map book. Thank you as well to James' and Hudson's moms who helped with Friday's pizza lunch.
Our Caterpillar larvae have arrived! We read The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and will be learning all about the life cycle of the butterfly. They will start to form their pupas in about two weeks. It will be very exciting when we have butterflies to see and release into the yard!
Thursday was a very special day because Terry Fox's brother Fred came to LKS to participate in our assembly. Our class was Team Orange and had fun cheering on their team's tricycle racers!
It was also our May Sharing Assembly, recognizing the TDSB Character Trait of "Integrity." Congratulations to Nathan, Mia, Kate and Maddie who received certificates!
Last week was also the Book Fair in the Library and the children enjoyed shopping for books!
In the Computer Lab with Miss. Santiago the kids have been working with the program ABCya.com.
That's the news from Room 166 this week! Next week we will continue learning about Canada and Butterflies. :)
I hope you are having a lovely weekend! What gorgeous Spring weather!
This week we started a mini art inquiry on The Group of Seven ("G is for Group of Seven") in our inquiry on Canada. We are learning more about nature and the seasons from their beautiful paintings. If you have a chance to take your children to the McMichael Gallery in Kleinburg, or to the AGO, they would be able to see the real paintings of colouring they did themselves. The children learned about the WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN WHY and HOW of the Group of Seven, and many of them know and have been to parts of Ontario where the Group painted (Algonquin Park and Georgian Bay, for example). We talked about why they painted nature, how they traveled to the north, how they camped, and the children tried to figure out how they made such big paintings there (they didn't - they traveled with a small box with slats for wood panels that they painted on both sides, and chose ones they liked the best to replicate on large canvasses back in Toronto). The children practiced simple coding exercises by following step-by-step instructions to colour Lawren Harris' "Mountain and Lake" and and Tom Thomson's "The West Wind." They then did a step-by-step painting in the style of Tom Thomson's "Northern Lights." Hint! Father's Day is coming!! The children watched a beautiful video about what the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) is on the Smart Board and did a colouring sheet about it. We also read two books about the Aurora Borealis Indigenous myth. Next week we will learn about indigenous painter Norval Morrisseau whose works are also at the McMichael Gallery. He painted in vibrant primary colours, which the children will love. We will also learn about symmetry from his paintings.
Next week we will continue our ABCs of Canada and will talk and write about where we have traveled in Canada and/or where we are going to travel in Canada this summer!
Thank you so much to Alex who brought in wonderful books about Canada and a beautiful map book. Thank you as well to James' and Hudson's moms who helped with Friday's pizza lunch.
Our Caterpillar larvae have arrived! We read The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and will be learning all about the life cycle of the butterfly. They will start to form their pupas in about two weeks. It will be very exciting when we have butterflies to see and release into the yard!
Thursday was a very special day because Terry Fox's brother Fred came to LKS to participate in our assembly. Our class was Team Orange and had fun cheering on their team's tricycle racers!
It was also our May Sharing Assembly, recognizing the TDSB Character Trait of "Integrity." Congratulations to Nathan, Mia, Kate and Maddie who received certificates!
Last week was also the Book Fair in the Library and the children enjoyed shopping for books!
In the Computer Lab with Miss. Santiago the kids have been working with the program ABCya.com.
That's the news from Room 166 this week! Next week we will continue learning about Canada and Butterflies. :)
Saturday, May 20, 2017
Week of May 15-19
Dear families,
I hope you are having a wonderful long weekend. This week the children learned about why Canadians celebrate Victoria Day and they made Victoria Day Fireworks art. In our "ABCs of Canada" booklet the children did "C is for Canada/cougar/cottage/canoe or cold;" "D is for Dinosaur Dig in Drumheller (Alberta)/diamond mine/dogsled/dreamcatcher;" "E is for eagle/the Edmonton Oilers;" "F is for flag/Terry Fox;" and we skipped ahead to "V is for Victoria Day." Happy Victoria Day! The children also learned about dream catchers and are making their own with Miss. Santiago. They coloured a Canadian flag, circled the sight words from "Oh Canada," watched an anthropologist dig for dinosaur bones in Drumheller, Alberta, and learned about dream catchers and why Canadian indigenous people make them.
Thank you so much to Sarah's mom and brother who were our Mystery Readers this week! Thank you as well to Maya who brought in her copy of "ABC of Canada" to share.
Thank you as well to Miss. Kim who invited us to watch her class perform two "Reader's Theatre" plays. The kids loved it!
The kids are enjoying "reading their clothes" i.e. "Roots" or Beaver Canoe" or "World's Best Kid" on their t-shirts. :) They also had a wonderful time meeting author Lorna Shultz in the library. Ms. Shultz came all the way from Drumheller, Alberta to read her wonderful books about hockey to the kids.
The children's sunflower seeds have all germinated and went home last week. Please place the whole biodegradable pot in your garden or in a large pot in a sunny spot. The children also painted a still life of beautiful spring lilacs that Mrs. Stefanowisz brought to school from her garden.
Next week we will learn a song about the Provinces and Territories of Canada, we will learn and write about the G (Group of Seven/Geese/Great Lakes) H (Hudson's Bay/Halifax) and I (Inukshuk) of Canada, will continue making our dream catchers, we will make puzzles from our map of Canada, and we'll go to the Book Fair on May 25. If you would like your child to purchase a book/books from the Book Fair, please send money in a zip lock baggie with his/her name on it. Thank you.
The next Scholastic Order is due June 9th. There will be one more Scholastic Order after this.
That's the news for this week. I hope you are having a fun long weekend with family and friends. Happy Victoria Day!
I hope you are having a wonderful long weekend. This week the children learned about why Canadians celebrate Victoria Day and they made Victoria Day Fireworks art. In our "ABCs of Canada" booklet the children did "C is for Canada/cougar/cottage/canoe or cold;" "D is for Dinosaur Dig in Drumheller (Alberta)/diamond mine/dogsled/dreamcatcher;" "E is for eagle/the Edmonton Oilers;" "F is for flag/Terry Fox;" and we skipped ahead to "V is for Victoria Day." Happy Victoria Day! The children also learned about dream catchers and are making their own with Miss. Santiago. They coloured a Canadian flag, circled the sight words from "Oh Canada," watched an anthropologist dig for dinosaur bones in Drumheller, Alberta, and learned about dream catchers and why Canadian indigenous people make them.
Thank you so much to Sarah's mom and brother who were our Mystery Readers this week! Thank you as well to Maya who brought in her copy of "ABC of Canada" to share.
Thank you as well to Miss. Kim who invited us to watch her class perform two "Reader's Theatre" plays. The kids loved it!
The kids are enjoying "reading their clothes" i.e. "Roots" or Beaver Canoe" or "World's Best Kid" on their t-shirts. :) They also had a wonderful time meeting author Lorna Shultz in the library. Ms. Shultz came all the way from Drumheller, Alberta to read her wonderful books about hockey to the kids.
The children's sunflower seeds have all germinated and went home last week. Please place the whole biodegradable pot in your garden or in a large pot in a sunny spot. The children also painted a still life of beautiful spring lilacs that Mrs. Stefanowisz brought to school from her garden.
Next week we will learn a song about the Provinces and Territories of Canada, we will learn and write about the G (Group of Seven/Geese/Great Lakes) H (Hudson's Bay/Halifax) and I (Inukshuk) of Canada, will continue making our dream catchers, we will make puzzles from our map of Canada, and we'll go to the Book Fair on May 25. If you would like your child to purchase a book/books from the Book Fair, please send money in a zip lock baggie with his/her name on it. Thank you.
The next Scholastic Order is due June 9th. There will be one more Scholastic Order after this.
That's the news for this week. I hope you are having a fun long weekend with family and friends. Happy Victoria Day!
Sunday, May 14, 2017
Week of May 8-12
Dear families,
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!! I hope you like the cards, candles, booklet and song the children have made for you ❤️ and I hope you are having a lovely weekend! Thank you so much to the AMAZING volunteer mom's who spent their day with us at the Ontario Science Centre: Amy, Vivian, Heather, Jennifer, Marsha, Tara and Seshi! Thank you to Henry's mom for being our Mystery Reader!
This week we started learning about Canada! We are making an alphabet booklet called "The ABCs of Canada " and have done "N is for Niagara Falls," "A is for Arctic" and "B is for Beaver." With our Reading Budfies we coloured a totem and Cabane a Sucre and read books about Seeds, Plants and Canada.
The children completed their "This is me is May" work by writing and drawing a picture about their trip to the Science Centre. They also completed the calendar.
The words of the week were THERE and THAT.
The next Scholastic order is due by tomorrow, Monday.
That's the news for this week! We'll continue learning about our beautiful country for the next few weeks.
I hope you have a terrific week!
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!! I hope you like the cards, candles, booklet and song the children have made for you ❤️ and I hope you are having a lovely weekend! Thank you so much to the AMAZING volunteer mom's who spent their day with us at the Ontario Science Centre: Amy, Vivian, Heather, Jennifer, Marsha, Tara and Seshi! Thank you to Henry's mom for being our Mystery Reader!
This week we started learning about Canada! We are making an alphabet booklet called "The ABCs of Canada " and have done "N is for Niagara Falls," "A is for Arctic" and "B is for Beaver." With our Reading Budfies we coloured a totem and Cabane a Sucre and read books about Seeds, Plants and Canada.
The children completed their "This is me is May" work by writing and drawing a picture about their trip to the Science Centre. They also completed the calendar.
The words of the week were THERE and THAT.
The next Scholastic order is due by tomorrow, Monday.
That's the news for this week! We'll continue learning about our beautiful country for the next few weeks.
I hope you have a terrific week!
Friday, May 5, 2017
Week of May 1-5
Dear families,
This week was all about how plants grow and building structures. Thank you for sending in snacks with seeds - the children planted several different kinds of seeds in our "Kinder Garden:" tomato, cucumber, strawberry, avocado, pepper, pear, blackberry, sunflower, apple, and watermelon! They each planted a sunflower seed to germinate in the classroom, and planted more sunflower seeds and pepper seeds in the Kindergarten garden. Fingers crossed! The children also completed a picture of a plant, drawing the flower, seeds and roots, and then labelling the parts. WE watched a short video about how plants grow, and a Peep and the Big Wide World video about Peep and his friends planting a seed.
It's been a very rainy and wet May so far, so we learned a poem called "Water" (the children filled in the blanks) and another called "Rain." They also drew a picture of themselves playing outside which we are then covering with "rain" by using a marble and gray paint!
With their Reading buddies, the kids completed two adjective charts about Living and Non-Living things.
They have also been working very hard on Mother's Day gifts (shhhhh!)!
The popcorn words of this week are LITTLE and OUT.
Thank you so much to Elea's mom and brother who were our mystery readers this week! Thank you as well to all the parents who volunteered for next week's field trip to the Science Centre!
This week the children really enjoyed building structures from a photo of a famous structure in the world, and then drawing it and writing about it. In the Computer Lab with Miss. Santiago, the children made pictures out of 2-D shapes. We then read the book "Scribble" by Ruth Ohi, and the children embellished their 2-D shape pictures to make it a more detailed and colourful picture. Then they wrote about what it is on the back of their drawing. These are on display in the school hallway.
We also reviewed our numeral formation on our mini dry erase boards, and spent Friday working with various manipulatives (stones, blocks, rocks, beads, etc.) to do some simple addition (i.e. ___ + ___ = 6; 6=___ + ___).
Next week we will start learning all about Canada to celebrate Canada's 150th Birthday this July.
That's the news for this week. I hope you have a nice weekend!
This week was all about how plants grow and building structures. Thank you for sending in snacks with seeds - the children planted several different kinds of seeds in our "Kinder Garden:" tomato, cucumber, strawberry, avocado, pepper, pear, blackberry, sunflower, apple, and watermelon! They each planted a sunflower seed to germinate in the classroom, and planted more sunflower seeds and pepper seeds in the Kindergarten garden. Fingers crossed! The children also completed a picture of a plant, drawing the flower, seeds and roots, and then labelling the parts. WE watched a short video about how plants grow, and a Peep and the Big Wide World video about Peep and his friends planting a seed.
It's been a very rainy and wet May so far, so we learned a poem called "Water" (the children filled in the blanks) and another called "Rain." They also drew a picture of themselves playing outside which we are then covering with "rain" by using a marble and gray paint!
With their Reading buddies, the kids completed two adjective charts about Living and Non-Living things.
They have also been working very hard on Mother's Day gifts (shhhhh!)!
The popcorn words of this week are LITTLE and OUT.
Thank you so much to Elea's mom and brother who were our mystery readers this week! Thank you as well to all the parents who volunteered for next week's field trip to the Science Centre!
This week the children really enjoyed building structures from a photo of a famous structure in the world, and then drawing it and writing about it. In the Computer Lab with Miss. Santiago, the children made pictures out of 2-D shapes. We then read the book "Scribble" by Ruth Ohi, and the children embellished their 2-D shape pictures to make it a more detailed and colourful picture. Then they wrote about what it is on the back of their drawing. These are on display in the school hallway.
We also reviewed our numeral formation on our mini dry erase boards, and spent Friday working with various manipulatives (stones, blocks, rocks, beads, etc.) to do some simple addition (i.e. ___ + ___ = 6; 6=___ + ___).
Next week we will start learning all about Canada to celebrate Canada's 150th Birthday this July.
That's the news for this week. I hope you have a nice weekend!
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