Week of May 2-6

Dear families,

This past week was all about Habitats in the morning and Dinosaurs in the afternoon! Our Habitats bulletin board in the hall is really coming along and the children have been busy writing words and making pictures to match each habitat. This week we focused on Tropical Rainforests and The Arctic. After reading them together on the Smartboard (guided reading),the children read and coloured their own booklets about these habitats. By the end of their inquiry they will have made a booklet for each habitat. Next week we'll learn about Deserts and Mountains. The children are drawing detailed pictures of what is in each habitat on their own after they share their ideas on chart paper. We also caught a local centipede that was scurrying in the classroom and took a good look at it in the Science Centre! I'm sure they would love to talk about our local habitat (forest, river, pond, lake) with you!

Our week got off to an exciting start when "Mrs. Tyndall found a giant egg in her back yard!" (In actual fact my daughter kindly made a large egg shape from papier mache which I painted.) First, the children shared their ideas (which we wrote down) about what they guessed or inferred about what was inside the egg. The kids' ideas were great: chocolate, confetti, a chicken, nothing (hollow), for example! Then they drew a picture and wrote the word of what they inferred. The next day, I gave them three clues one by one (long tail, sharp claws, sharp teeth)and after each clue, they inferred more and more about what was inside the egg. They wrote the clues down and drew what they NOW thought was in the egg. Finally, the next day, the egg "hatched" while they were at the Library and out popped a Triceratops! We learned about its features and the children drew it and wrote its name. I think they really enjoyed the activity because they each wanted a piece of the "egg!" It's in this week's mail bag.

We are also learning about fossils - what they are and how they formed. Henry brought in a fish fossil and I brought in a fish fossil from Alberta's Badlands and a fossil of a few shells that my son found in Mimico creek. We talked about there being a lot of fossils in the creek because of the mud and shale. (I reminded them to stay away from the creek unless they were with an adult.) On Friday we watched "Land of the Dinosaurs" and learned about what Paleontologists do. I showed the children the items we need to make our own fossils (plaster powder, water, two containers, a spoon, a shell) and the children helped us figure out what the steps would be, in which order. Then I made up some plaster and the kids chose a shell, and we poured the plaster mixture over it. Now we're waiting! We reused empty play dough containers with lids so the kids can open them at home safely with your help :) Thank you!

Thank you to Luca who brought in a nest, to all the children who are sharing their dinosaur books with us, thank you to Stella's dad who read "Dinosaur Stomp" to the kids, to Martel's Claire's and Tessa's moms who helped with pizza lunch, and to Riley's and Henry's moms who helped Miss. Nisker in the Computer Lab!

The sight words this week were PRETTY and HOW. The kids did a "how" read and write mini book.

I sent home the new May words and Homework Bingo, as well as a copy of the Special Person of the Day for May and June. The Show and Tell item for May and June is "My Family."

This was the last week for the "Take-Apart Centre" and the "Make a Toy (reuse materials) Centre. The new centre is "All about Plants and Seeds" and the children have been observing the growth of our various seeds and recording their observations in a class journal.

Elizabeth, Luca and Stella received TDSB certificates for Cooperation at this month's Sharing Assembly. Well done! All the Kinders sang "This is the Way we Help the Earth." The Kinders also enjoyed a presentation by children's author Chad Solomon!

That's the news from Room 166. I hope you have a wonderful weekend!