Now that Fall is really showing its colours we are taking advantage of the many learning opportunities this beautiful season has to provide; this week we talked and wrote about our Thanksgiving weekend, started the Jolly Phonics letters Cc/Kk, started our Popcorn (Sight) Word board with "and," talked and wrote booklets about natural occurrences in the Fall, made fall art (on display on the hallway bulletin board), and learned about how pumpkins and oak trees grow. We have also been singing four Fall Songs with the piano. We have completed our October calendar and will be completing "This is me in October" pictures (with writing for the SKs).
I am happy to see that most of the JK children can independently print their name. Practicing this at home is very helpful and children love to talk and write about their families and lives. Words like "mom," "dad" and sibling and pet names are often what children learn to write next. Some of the JKs are still learning how to use scissors - please provide them with child's safety scissors at home as well.
The children enjoyed going to the Book Fair. They will exchange their library books for new ones this week. Also this week will be our second Sharing assembly on Friday. We have been discussing the TDSB Character Trait of Responsibility for this assembly and will be singing a song about Halloween. Parents whose children will be recieving certificates this month have been informed by letter in their child's white TDSB bag.
This upcoming week the children will find the classroom decorated for Halloween! We will be weighing and measuring a pumpkin and will estimate and count its seeds. Our Halloween Parade and Party is on October 31st. An ideal costume for a small child is one in which they can move around easily, one with makeup as opposed to a mask, and no weapons please. Thank you.
If your child will be bringing in Halloween treats for his/her classmates, please ensure that they are nut and sesame-free. A great writing opportunity for your child at home is to write his/her classmates' names on each treat/treat bag as well as their own name ("To______ From_______").
I hope you have a wonderful week!
Sunday, October 20, 2013
Sunday, October 13, 2013
Week of October 15-18
Dear families,
I hope you are having a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend! We finished our unit on farms and for the next two weeks will be focusing on Signs of Fall and Patterns. The children are already talking about Halloween and we will start all our Halloween related activities and learning the week before the 31st. With October and the coming of Halloween a tremendous amount of learning can take place. Thanksgiving also offers endless opportunities to teach not only reading and math skills but also important values about being thankful. It was so sweet that many of the children drew their families on their "I am grateful for..." Thanksgiving plates.
Please take time to sit down with your child and review the poems, songs and finger plays that I teach at school. Copies of these are sent home I your child's white bag each week.
We are going to complete a fall-themed art project using the "resist" technique of oil pastels and watercolour. It is called "Falling Leaves on a Sunny Day" and I will display the art on our hall bulletin board. We will also be doing leaf rubbings on tracing paper this week - please bring in one fall leaf that your child can use. Leaves that are not very dry work best. Thank you.
This upcoming week is the Book Fair in the Library. Both the morning and afternoon classes will be going on Wednesday. If you would like your child to be able to purchase a book/books, please ensure their money is in a zip-lock bag clearly labelled with your child's name. Thank you.
Please take time to read each night with your child, picking out familiar words i.e. high frequency words such as is, the, a, mommy, daddy etc. to help build a sight word vocabulary. For the Juniors, practice printing your child's name and play games recognizing the letters of the alphabet. Magnetic letters are always fun and work well. These can be purchased at Mastermind or any department store. Also, www.starfall.com is an excellent website for learning how to read and the children really enjoy the activities. If your child says that his/her snuggle book is too easy, try the following: work on intonation, predicting, drawing conclusions, retelling and talking about why they like the book. Reading is so much more than reading the words on a page.
A special thank you to our parent volunteers this week; Quentin's mom did the white bags and snuggle books and was Mystery Reader, and in the morning class Rhys' mom was Mystery Reader and Lily G.'s mom did the white bags and snuggle books. Thank you so much!
Have a wonderful rest of the weekend!
Mrs. Tyndall
I hope you are having a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend! We finished our unit on farms and for the next two weeks will be focusing on Signs of Fall and Patterns. The children are already talking about Halloween and we will start all our Halloween related activities and learning the week before the 31st. With October and the coming of Halloween a tremendous amount of learning can take place. Thanksgiving also offers endless opportunities to teach not only reading and math skills but also important values about being thankful. It was so sweet that many of the children drew their families on their "I am grateful for..." Thanksgiving plates.
Please take time to sit down with your child and review the poems, songs and finger plays that I teach at school. Copies of these are sent home I your child's white bag each week.
We are going to complete a fall-themed art project using the "resist" technique of oil pastels and watercolour. It is called "Falling Leaves on a Sunny Day" and I will display the art on our hall bulletin board. We will also be doing leaf rubbings on tracing paper this week - please bring in one fall leaf that your child can use. Leaves that are not very dry work best. Thank you.
This upcoming week is the Book Fair in the Library. Both the morning and afternoon classes will be going on Wednesday. If you would like your child to be able to purchase a book/books, please ensure their money is in a zip-lock bag clearly labelled with your child's name. Thank you.
Please take time to read each night with your child, picking out familiar words i.e. high frequency words such as is, the, a, mommy, daddy etc. to help build a sight word vocabulary. For the Juniors, practice printing your child's name and play games recognizing the letters of the alphabet. Magnetic letters are always fun and work well. These can be purchased at Mastermind or any department store. Also, www.starfall.com is an excellent website for learning how to read and the children really enjoy the activities. If your child says that his/her snuggle book is too easy, try the following: work on intonation, predicting, drawing conclusions, retelling and talking about why they like the book. Reading is so much more than reading the words on a page.
A special thank you to our parent volunteers this week; Quentin's mom did the white bags and snuggle books and was Mystery Reader, and in the morning class Rhys' mom was Mystery Reader and Lily G.'s mom did the white bags and snuggle books. Thank you so much!
Have a wonderful rest of the weekend!
Mrs. Tyndall
Sunday, October 6, 2013
Week of October 7-11
Dear families,
I hope you are enjoying your weekend!
Thanksgiving weekend is around the corner and this upcoming week we will be completing several numeracy-, literacy- and craft-based activities related to this theme. It will tie in very well with the farm unit we just finished; we are talking about being thankful for the harvests from the fields.
If you have a chance, look at the bulletin board in the hallway to see the wonderful writing your children have done about Farms and themselves. We read, wrote and talked about farm food, farm life, farm animals, and why farms are important. A visit to an apple farm would tie in very nicely with our unit if you have the time! The children will decorate a plaster farm animal of their choice with their Reading Buddies this week to take home.
Related to the Thanksgiving theme was the homework I sent home in Friday's mail bag. I am looking forward to seeing the wonderful turkey puppets the children made at home. This week we will be making an "I am Grateful For..." plate.
We also learned and reviewed the letter sound "Pp" and so far have learned/reviewed the letter sounds SATIP. This week's letter sound will be "Nn." If you have magnetic letters at home it is amazing how many words can be made with those six letters (and this is why we learn them in this order as opposed to alphabetically). We are also learning about the changes that occur in the Fall.
Thank you to my Parent Volunteers this week: Mystery Readers were Luke's mom and Grace's mom, and white bags and snuggle books were done by Clive's mom and Izzie's mom.
If your child will be picked up by someone other than their regular caregiver, please remember to provide me with a note and to let the office know as well. It is very important for your child's safety that we are certain of your child's safe arrival to school and home. Please do not leave it up to your child to tell me that they are "not taking the bus today" for example or that someone different will be picking them up; the school must have a written note and/or the office must be called. Leaving a note in your child's backpack will not guarantee that s/he will remember to give it to me; it is best to call the office and they will let me know. Thank you so much.
The LKS Book Fair is the week after Thanksgiving in the Library during school hours. If you would like your child to be able to purchase a book/books at the Book Fair, please put money in a clearly labelled and sealed plastic bag. Thank you. October's Scholastic Order is due on October 20th and September's order should arrive this week!
I was very happy to see all the wonderful Bedtime Book Boxes that the children have made. They look terrific and are a wonderful way to encourage daily reading at home.
If it is your child's Special/Snack Day remember that it is also their Show and Tell Day.
I hope you have a wonderful week!
I hope you are enjoying your weekend!
Thanksgiving weekend is around the corner and this upcoming week we will be completing several numeracy-, literacy- and craft-based activities related to this theme. It will tie in very well with the farm unit we just finished; we are talking about being thankful for the harvests from the fields.
If you have a chance, look at the bulletin board in the hallway to see the wonderful writing your children have done about Farms and themselves. We read, wrote and talked about farm food, farm life, farm animals, and why farms are important. A visit to an apple farm would tie in very nicely with our unit if you have the time! The children will decorate a plaster farm animal of their choice with their Reading Buddies this week to take home.
Related to the Thanksgiving theme was the homework I sent home in Friday's mail bag. I am looking forward to seeing the wonderful turkey puppets the children made at home. This week we will be making an "I am Grateful For..." plate.
We also learned and reviewed the letter sound "Pp" and so far have learned/reviewed the letter sounds SATIP. This week's letter sound will be "Nn." If you have magnetic letters at home it is amazing how many words can be made with those six letters (and this is why we learn them in this order as opposed to alphabetically). We are also learning about the changes that occur in the Fall.
Thank you to my Parent Volunteers this week: Mystery Readers were Luke's mom and Grace's mom, and white bags and snuggle books were done by Clive's mom and Izzie's mom.
If your child will be picked up by someone other than their regular caregiver, please remember to provide me with a note and to let the office know as well. It is very important for your child's safety that we are certain of your child's safe arrival to school and home. Please do not leave it up to your child to tell me that they are "not taking the bus today" for example or that someone different will be picking them up; the school must have a written note and/or the office must be called. Leaving a note in your child's backpack will not guarantee that s/he will remember to give it to me; it is best to call the office and they will let me know. Thank you so much.
The LKS Book Fair is the week after Thanksgiving in the Library during school hours. If you would like your child to be able to purchase a book/books at the Book Fair, please put money in a clearly labelled and sealed plastic bag. Thank you. October's Scholastic Order is due on October 20th and September's order should arrive this week!
I was very happy to see all the wonderful Bedtime Book Boxes that the children have made. They look terrific and are a wonderful way to encourage daily reading at home.
If it is your child's Special/Snack Day remember that it is also their Show and Tell Day.
I hope you have a wonderful week!
Sunday, September 29, 2013
Week of September 30-October 4
Dear families,
I hope you enjoyed the lovely weather this weekend.
This week we continued our unit on Farms, reading books and reading and writing words about farm animals and their characteristics, what farms produce, farm work and why we need farms. The children started making a booklet called "Who us in the Barn" with their Reading Buddies as well.
The children did a wonderful job reciting the poem "Me" at our first Sharing Assembly.
The Halloween Scholastic order is due October 20. September's order is due on Monday.
Thank you to the parent volunteers who walked with us on the Terry Fox walk. LKS has raised 10,000 so far and that means we are having Crazy Hair Day on Tuesday!
Please join me in welcoming Emma, an ECI co-op student who will be assisting my afternoon class every other day until June.
This week we will finish our Farm Unit and starting to learn about patterns.
I hope you have a wonderful week.
I hope you enjoyed the lovely weather this weekend.
This week we continued our unit on Farms, reading books and reading and writing words about farm animals and their characteristics, what farms produce, farm work and why we need farms. The children started making a booklet called "Who us in the Barn" with their Reading Buddies as well.
The children did a wonderful job reciting the poem "Me" at our first Sharing Assembly.
The Halloween Scholastic order is due October 20. September's order is due on Monday.
Thank you to the parent volunteers who walked with us on the Terry Fox walk. LKS has raised 10,000 so far and that means we are having Crazy Hair Day on Tuesday!
Please join me in welcoming Emma, an ECI co-op student who will be assisting my afternoon class every other day until June.
This week we will finish our Farm Unit and starting to learn about patterns.
I hope you have a wonderful week.
Sunday, September 22, 2013
Week of September 23-27
Dear families,
This past week we completed our first calendar of the year. We will complete one each month, practicing writing our numbers 1-30. When the calendar goes home please put it on your fridge and practice number recognition, especially with the JKs. The children also enjoyed using our class set of magnetic write and erase boards, practicing number writing.
We have learned (JKs) and reviewed (SKs) the first three letter sounds of S, A and T. The next three are I, P and N. It's amazing how many words you can make with those six letters!
We also started writing a booklet called "I am..." and the children are doing a lovely job completing the sentences and drawing accompanying pictures. We will do several similar booklets this year, with different starting words. Our next booklet will be called "Farms are..."
We also welcomed our Grade 8 Reading Buddies again, who come each day from 9-9:20 and from 2:45-3:05 to read phonics books one-on-one with the children. They are doing a fabulous job and the children enjoy reading with them! We also had dun with our grade 2/3 Reading Buddies from Ms. Shklar's and Ms. Sunde's class. They are getting to know each other and are working very well together!
We use scissors and glue sticks often in the classroom; please encourage your children to use junior child-safe scissors at home as well. This is an important small motor skill.
Our science table has changed to fall items; pine cones, acorns, changing leaves.
Please remember to return your child's white bag each Monday. Remind your child to hand me their white bag when they come into school on Monday morning/afternoon.
Please return your child's medical/permission forms if you have not done so. Thank you.
If you would like to volunteer for Mystery Reader, white bags, class craft parties please let your Grade Parents know; they are responsible for doing the volunteer calendars. Thank you!
This week we are starting our unit on Farms. We will be doing several numeracy and literacy activities with this theme as well as a craft. This is the perfect time for apple picking - if you have a chance, take your child to a local apple farm and help your child understand that our food comes from farms.
It is getting chillier as Fall is officially here. Please remember to provide your child with a light jacket and appropriate foot wear. I hope your have a wonderful week!
This past week we completed our first calendar of the year. We will complete one each month, practicing writing our numbers 1-30. When the calendar goes home please put it on your fridge and practice number recognition, especially with the JKs. The children also enjoyed using our class set of magnetic write and erase boards, practicing number writing.
We have learned (JKs) and reviewed (SKs) the first three letter sounds of S, A and T. The next three are I, P and N. It's amazing how many words you can make with those six letters!
We also started writing a booklet called "I am..." and the children are doing a lovely job completing the sentences and drawing accompanying pictures. We will do several similar booklets this year, with different starting words. Our next booklet will be called "Farms are..."
We also welcomed our Grade 8 Reading Buddies again, who come each day from 9-9:20 and from 2:45-3:05 to read phonics books one-on-one with the children. They are doing a fabulous job and the children enjoy reading with them! We also had dun with our grade 2/3 Reading Buddies from Ms. Shklar's and Ms. Sunde's class. They are getting to know each other and are working very well together!
We use scissors and glue sticks often in the classroom; please encourage your children to use junior child-safe scissors at home as well. This is an important small motor skill.
Our science table has changed to fall items; pine cones, acorns, changing leaves.
Please remember to return your child's white bag each Monday. Remind your child to hand me their white bag when they come into school on Monday morning/afternoon.
Please return your child's medical/permission forms if you have not done so. Thank you.
If you would like to volunteer for Mystery Reader, white bags, class craft parties please let your Grade Parents know; they are responsible for doing the volunteer calendars. Thank you!
This week we are starting our unit on Farms. We will be doing several numeracy and literacy activities with this theme as well as a craft. This is the perfect time for apple picking - if you have a chance, take your child to a local apple farm and help your child understand that our food comes from farms.
It is getting chillier as Fall is officially here. Please remember to provide your child with a light jacket and appropriate foot wear. I hope your have a wonderful week!
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