Week of September 19-23

Dear families,

I hope you are enjoying this lovely fall weather.

This week we continued learning about primary and secondary colours. to inspire us we read the wonderful Herve Tullet books "Press Here," "Mix it Up" and "Let's Play" as well as "Mouse Paint." We graphed our eye and hair colour, mixed primary paint colours together and did primary colour "math" (i.e. red + blue = purple). Next week we will make and mix primary colour play dough together as well.

We also learned about one of the simple machines in our classroom (door stopper) and how wedges made jobs easier. The children helped me identify wedges in the playground and in the classroom (e.g. wood chips, sand tools, eating utensils).

We are completing Pete the Cat pattern books which reinforce colour words and sight words, and which the children can read with you at home.

Many of the Juniors are still learning to form letters (their name being the most important word!). Any extra small-motor practice they have at home as well is terrific, including using child-appropriate round-edge scissors, glue sticks, and tracing and writing with various writing utensils. I remind the children to write letters and numbers with pencil, and to colour with crayons/pencil crayons etc. For the Juniors, tracing is a very good activity that strengthens their small motor ability and control of writing utensils. I have sent home a tracing alphabet for practice. Writing your child's name in highlighter and having them trace over top of it is also helpful.

The Popcorn Words of the week are CAN and ME. Your child's first Snuggle Up and Read Book went home in Friday's mail bag. Please return the book each week so that s/he can get a new one.

The SKs received their Journals on Friday. When our child completes a journal entry, I will "mark" it (I will write a note to them in the journal) and will put awesome stickers on it, too. :)

I also sent home instructions on how to make a Bedtime Book Box out of a shoe box, which is where your child keeps his/her popcorn words and Snuggle Up books. There is no need to bring it to school when it is done. It's just a fun way to inspire your child to read before bedtime.

We will meet with our Grade 4 Reading Buddies from Mrs. Shkler's class next week! Each week on Day 2 we will read books together, write together, and make new friends. The children will also take turns reading with three Grade 8 volunteers during each Homeroom period.

The whole school also participated in a Wellness Activity on Thursday by talking about what makes us happy. Our answers are on a paper chain outside the classroom.

Our very first Sharing Assembly this year will be on September 30th. We are going to sing a song called "There's No One Like Me."

I hope you have a lovely weekend. See you Monday!