Week of November 6-10

Dear families,

I hope you are having a nice weekend!

Last week we focused on being a good friend, feelings, empathy, diversity and respecting others, which tied in to our discussions about why we wear a poppy on Remembrance Day (to remind us to be a kind friend). We did two book studies: "The Skin You Live In" by Michael Tyler and "It's Okay to be Different" by Todd Parr. The children made a class book called "It's Okay To..." which we'll make copies of for the children to enjoy at home. The children also did an exercise comparing their name to a friend's in a Venn diagram. It was challenging for some of them but we'll keep practicing this with other names and things.

The Kindness Quilt is finished and looks beautiful on our class bulletin board! Each child wrote how they can be kind to one another and dreew a picture.

We also did an impromptu inquiry on acorns! The children learned which animals (other than squirrels and chipmunks) eat acorns, which trees make acorns, why an acorn is shaped the way it is, what the not inside the shell looks like, and more!

November 16 is Pajama Day! If the children want to bring their favourite stuffy that's okay too!

The children did a wonderful job at the Remembrance Day Assembly. Thank you to Anjali who was the wreath bearer! The children made the wreath by cutting crepe paper into poppy shapes and gluing them altogether on a circle. If your child is struggling with small motor skills, a great idea is to buy them blunt-edged child scissors to practice at home. Maybe have them cut out pictures of the Mastermind Toy catalogue to send to Santa as a wish list!

On the Smartboard we worked on letter sounds and letter formation.

Last week we had some chilly weather and several children wisely wore their snow pants! Please encourage your child's independence by having them try to dress themselves. We learned a song to help us. The tune is My Darling Clementine:

First the snowpants
Then the boots
Then the scarf, and the hat,
Then the coat, and the zipper
And the mittens go on last


We listened to the very first Curious George story written by Margaret Rey and H.A. Rey. The children helped create a timeline of the story on chart paper. This helps them use the words "first, second, third" etc. and "next, last." Look for more monkey stories to come! The children are also learning to think about the characters in stories we read: how they look, how they feel and what they do.

Thank you so much to Christopher's mom who was the mystery reader this week!

That's the news for this week. I'm looking forward to meeting you this upcoming week at Parent-Teacher interviews.

Mrs. Tyndall