This week was busy in Room 166 and the children completed several Halloween-themed activities. We read the wonderful book "Stellaluna" about a bat who grows up thinking he is a bird, and learned about the similarities and differences between them. There are a lot more differences than similarities! We talked about more than, less than, the same as in relation to bats and birds. The children also did a fantastic job drawing "Bats flying at night" on black paper.

We also compared the two pumpkins we carved. The children took turns putting the pumpkin seeds into groups of ten. The morning pumpkin had over 300 seeds and the afternoon pumpkin, which was slightly heavier, had about 50 less. The children's estimates were interesting - some guessed there would be 10, others over 200.

Thank you to the parents who helped out at our Halloween Craft Party. The children enjoyed making a cloth ghost, decorating a foam skull, making a Halloween theme pattern, making a bookmark, and making a witch and a spider.

Each morning our routine is to select and read a phonics book on the carpet before we start the day with the calendar. This week we changed the routine slightly so that the SKs are "Reading Buddies" to the JKs and read their little books to them. They really enjoyed this!

The homework this week for the SKs is to complete "A Halloween Story" by filling in the missing words. The JKs were to finish their "Halloween Word Book" by colouring and tracing the Halloween words in the booklet.

This week the SKs completed a Halloween Colours booklet in which they had to read the words and colour accordingly. The SKs also helped the JKs with a sequencing activity about the steps carving a pumpkin.

On Tuesday the morning class will be participating in the tricycle race in the gym as part of our Terry Fox fundraising efforts. We are on Team Orange so please dress your child in something orange. If your child is in the afternoon class and would like to watch the morning tricycle race they must be supervised by an adult. Thank you.

Here are some tips on How to be a Good Reader:

Touch each word.
Return to the beginning.
Look at the picture.
Stretch out the word.
Look for little words inside bigger words.
Look at the first letter of the words.

This week we will be starting our unit on Fairy Tales and will continue learning about patterns. We will also be preparing for the Remembrance Day Assembly on November 11.

I hope you have a wonderful week!

Week of October 28-November 1

Dear families,

The countdown to Halloween has begun! Last week the children made patterned bead countdown strings to count the sleeps until Halloween. We are learning a poem called "Witch, Witch" and painted a pumpkin with different shapes for the pumpkin patch in the gym. This week we will measure, estimate, carve and count the seeds in small pumpkins. Then we will compare our findings between the two classes. Sometimes small pumpkins have more seeds than large pumpkins!

Last week the JKs made booklets called The Pumpkin Seed in which they had to put pictures of a pumpkin from seed to jack-o-lantern in sequence. The JKs also completed a reading activity in which they matched Halloween words with pictures and cut and glued them. The SKs made two Halloween writing booklets about pumpkins and jack-o-lanterns. Their homework for the weekend was to work on a Halloween writing booklet.

I am still expecting more Scholastic books to arrive this week. I have contacted Scholastic and they have assured me that they are completing our orders as quickly as possible.

I have prepared bags for each of the children to take home after the Halloween Party. If you are sending in treats for your child's classmates, please do so by Wednesday so that the children have time to sort them. If possible, your child should write the names of his/her classmates. The children can also put their Halloween party crafts in them.

With our Grade 2/3 Reading Buddies we coloured and read a booklet called Pumpkins.

The children did a wonderful job singing "Mr. Pumpkin" at the Sharing Assembly. Congratulations to Jakob, Mason, Cole and Aria for earning a certificate for Responsibilty.

This week we will make more Halloween booklets, practice our Halloween words, sing spooky songs and read spooky stories.

Have a wonderful week!

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!

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

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!