March already! So hard to believe that Spring is around the corner (especially when it is -50 in the prairies...). This week we will finish our unit on Arctic Animals. We are learning about the arctic fox, the arctic hare, the various whales that live in the far north (beluga, right, orca, blue), the arctic and gray wolf, the pika, arctic char, arctic cod and many more. We made read and write books, did arctic animal art, put letters in order (upper and lower case), and the SKs made a drawing and wrote about if they were an arctic animal, what would they be... The children also wrote a booklet called "Snow is..." and we watched a short National Geographic Kids video on Arctic animals. The SKs also did and arctic word crossword puzzle.
After this week we will start several Spring-related units including a unit on Measurement.
We also honoured the TDSB Character Trait of Fairness at this week's Sharing Assembly.
Many thanks to our Mystery Readers and white bags helpers this week.
I hope you have a wonderful week!
Mrs. Tyndall
Sunday, March 2, 2014
Sunday, February 23, 2014
Week of February 24-28
Dear families,
I hope you will join us this Friday for our Sharing Assembly! We will recite a poem about the Olympics and celebrate Fairness.
This week the children read their Olympic booklets, made gold medals, completed a booklet called "Winter is..." and the JKs did upper and lower case match ups.
We also completed our February calendars and wrote and drew a picture about what we did on Family Day.
The homework for this weekend is to complete the Skating Equation picture and play the Roll the Dice game.
Thank you to Olivia's dad and Megan's mom who did the white bags and snuggle books this week. Thank you to Megan's mom and Matthew's mom who were the mystery readers.
This week we are finishing up our unit on the Olympics and starting a unit on Arctic Animals. With temperatures still well below zero it's hard to think about Spring just yet! Many thanks to Victoria's mom whose family friend who has travelled to the Arctic will be visiting the afternoon class and telling the children about his adventures and the animals he encountered.
I hope you have a wonderful week!
I hope you will join us this Friday for our Sharing Assembly! We will recite a poem about the Olympics and celebrate Fairness.
This week the children read their Olympic booklets, made gold medals, completed a booklet called "Winter is..." and the JKs did upper and lower case match ups.
We also completed our February calendars and wrote and drew a picture about what we did on Family Day.
The homework for this weekend is to complete the Skating Equation picture and play the Roll the Dice game.
Thank you to Olivia's dad and Megan's mom who did the white bags and snuggle books this week. Thank you to Megan's mom and Matthew's mom who were the mystery readers.
This week we are finishing up our unit on the Olympics and starting a unit on Arctic Animals. With temperatures still well below zero it's hard to think about Spring just yet! Many thanks to Victoria's mom whose family friend who has travelled to the Arctic will be visiting the afternoon class and telling the children about his adventures and the animals he encountered.
I hope you have a wonderful week!
Monday, February 17, 2014
Week of February 18-21
Dear families,
I hope everyone has had a wonderful Family Day!
Last week was action-packed: the 100th Day of School party on Monday and our Valentines Day party on Friday. Many thanks to the parents who volunteered their time and brought treats as well. Thank you Caroline's mom, Lily G.'s mom, Lexa's mom, Lauren's mom, Quentin's mom, Dexter's mom, Brady's mom, Lily M.'s mom, Cole's mom, Rhys' mom, and Olivia's dad! The kids had a lot of fun! At the Valentine party they made glitter art hearts, Valentine birds, a foam Valentine word heart, they counted (and ate!) 20 smarties and graphed and counted (and ate!) valentine word candy, played cinnamon heart number bingo, and decorated, cut and made a kite/mobile. At the 100th Day party the children did several crafts and activities based on the number 100. Our next classroom party will be the Spring/Easter party in April.
With our Reading Buddies this week we read and coloured a booklet called The Olympics, and did Valentine sorting. This week the JKs cut and coloured Valentines and the SKs did Valentine word rhymes and addition. The SKs also did a 100 chart activity in which they correctly sorted the numbers 1-100 by tens. Their homework this weekend was to think of, draw and label six things that are red. The SKs should also complete the sentences "I wish I could eat 100 _______, I wish I could buy 100 _________, I wish I could see 100 __________." I sent home suggestions as to how to reinforce the numbers 1-20 (JK) and 1-100 (SK) at home.
Thank you very much to Lily G.'s mom, Quentin's mom and Dexter's mom for doing the white bags and snuggle books this week.
This week we will continue our Olympic folder - graphing activities, writing and reading activities, art activities. Go Canada go! If there is time I would love to do a unit on Arctic Animals the following week as well. With no end in sight to this long and cold winter I think it would be a good theme!
I hope you have a wonderful week.
I hope everyone has had a wonderful Family Day!
Last week was action-packed: the 100th Day of School party on Monday and our Valentines Day party on Friday. Many thanks to the parents who volunteered their time and brought treats as well. Thank you Caroline's mom, Lily G.'s mom, Lexa's mom, Lauren's mom, Quentin's mom, Dexter's mom, Brady's mom, Lily M.'s mom, Cole's mom, Rhys' mom, and Olivia's dad! The kids had a lot of fun! At the Valentine party they made glitter art hearts, Valentine birds, a foam Valentine word heart, they counted (and ate!) 20 smarties and graphed and counted (and ate!) valentine word candy, played cinnamon heart number bingo, and decorated, cut and made a kite/mobile. At the 100th Day party the children did several crafts and activities based on the number 100. Our next classroom party will be the Spring/Easter party in April.
With our Reading Buddies this week we read and coloured a booklet called The Olympics, and did Valentine sorting. This week the JKs cut and coloured Valentines and the SKs did Valentine word rhymes and addition. The SKs also did a 100 chart activity in which they correctly sorted the numbers 1-100 by tens. Their homework this weekend was to think of, draw and label six things that are red. The SKs should also complete the sentences "I wish I could eat 100 _______, I wish I could buy 100 _________, I wish I could see 100 __________." I sent home suggestions as to how to reinforce the numbers 1-20 (JK) and 1-100 (SK) at home.
Thank you very much to Lily G.'s mom, Quentin's mom and Dexter's mom for doing the white bags and snuggle books this week.
This week we will continue our Olympic folder - graphing activities, writing and reading activities, art activities. Go Canada go! If there is time I would love to do a unit on Arctic Animals the following week as well. With no end in sight to this long and cold winter I think it would be a good theme!
I hope you have a wonderful week.
Sunday, February 9, 2014
Week of February 10-14
Dear families,
We finished our Jan Brett Author Study with the books The First Dog, and Annie and the Animals. The children's literature folders will go home on Friday.
The excitement of the Sochi Olympics is in our class too and the children made torches and the Olympic Rings.
This week and next we will be tracking medals and doing a literacy and numeracy-based unit on the Winter Olympic Games. Look for a new Winter Olympic folder in your child's white bags in a few weeks! Go Canada go!
The Senior Kindergarten homework this weekend is to write about their favourite Jan Brett book and to draw an accompanying picture. JKs, please continue your phonics folders.
Believe it or not, tomorrow is the 100th Day of School! The children will have fun counting to 100 in various ways and with various activities, snacks and crafts. Thank you for helping your children count and bring in their 100 items. They are on our Museum of 100 Things display on our hall bulletin board. If your child didn't bring them in yet, it's not too late!
It is Junior Kindergarten registration this week (I will be registering new children on Tuesday) and on Friday it is Valentine's day. If your child is writing valentines to his/her classmates, please send them in by Thursday at the latest since the children need time to sort them in their classmates' valentine bags. Thank you.
Thank you as well to our parent volunteers who are helping out in the classroom on Monday and Friday, and thank you to our Grade Parents for organizing our volunteers. Thank you to Sabrina's mom and Olivia's mom who did our snuggle books and white bags this week. Your time is always appreciated.
Last but not least, here are some tips to accelerate your SK child's reading progress as s/he has begun guided reading lessons with me in class:
. Take away the reading finger.
. Sounding unknown words out letter by letter is the last strategy a new reader should use and the most inefficient (slowing down the reading process and interfering with reading comprehension). Encourage your child to first use the meaning of the story (What makes sense?) or the picture , the structure of the sentence (What sounds right?), to re-read the sentence quickly and make the first sound of the unknown word and see if it pops out of their mouth, or if they see something they know inside the word (for example "is" inside "his") before trying to sound out the word. Tell your child,the word if it takes more than 3 seconds to sound it out.
. Encourage your child to make their reading sound like talking (reading fluency) so that his/her strong oral language is used to solve unknown words. Word by word reading slows down reading progress and interferes with reading comprehension. After the first read of the book with you, have your child read it again so it sounds like talking with phrasing (words naturally grouped together like when you talk), with pauses at punctuation (period, exclamation mark, comma), and with intonation (some words louder or sounding like a question). Feel free to model reading the text with fluency to your child if needed. Re-reading books many times increases reading fluency and builds your child's reading vocabulary.
. Please see me if you have any questions.
I hope you have a wonderful week! Apparently on Thursday it will be seasonal temperatures rather than below normal! Amazing!
Mrs. Tyndall
We finished our Jan Brett Author Study with the books The First Dog, and Annie and the Animals. The children's literature folders will go home on Friday.
The excitement of the Sochi Olympics is in our class too and the children made torches and the Olympic Rings.
This week and next we will be tracking medals and doing a literacy and numeracy-based unit on the Winter Olympic Games. Look for a new Winter Olympic folder in your child's white bags in a few weeks! Go Canada go!
The Senior Kindergarten homework this weekend is to write about their favourite Jan Brett book and to draw an accompanying picture. JKs, please continue your phonics folders.
Believe it or not, tomorrow is the 100th Day of School! The children will have fun counting to 100 in various ways and with various activities, snacks and crafts. Thank you for helping your children count and bring in their 100 items. They are on our Museum of 100 Things display on our hall bulletin board. If your child didn't bring them in yet, it's not too late!
It is Junior Kindergarten registration this week (I will be registering new children on Tuesday) and on Friday it is Valentine's day. If your child is writing valentines to his/her classmates, please send them in by Thursday at the latest since the children need time to sort them in their classmates' valentine bags. Thank you.
Thank you as well to our parent volunteers who are helping out in the classroom on Monday and Friday, and thank you to our Grade Parents for organizing our volunteers. Thank you to Sabrina's mom and Olivia's mom who did our snuggle books and white bags this week. Your time is always appreciated.
Last but not least, here are some tips to accelerate your SK child's reading progress as s/he has begun guided reading lessons with me in class:
. Take away the reading finger.
. Sounding unknown words out letter by letter is the last strategy a new reader should use and the most inefficient (slowing down the reading process and interfering with reading comprehension). Encourage your child to first use the meaning of the story (What makes sense?) or the picture , the structure of the sentence (What sounds right?), to re-read the sentence quickly and make the first sound of the unknown word and see if it pops out of their mouth, or if they see something they know inside the word (for example "is" inside "his") before trying to sound out the word. Tell your child,the word if it takes more than 3 seconds to sound it out.
. Encourage your child to make their reading sound like talking (reading fluency) so that his/her strong oral language is used to solve unknown words. Word by word reading slows down reading progress and interferes with reading comprehension. After the first read of the book with you, have your child read it again so it sounds like talking with phrasing (words naturally grouped together like when you talk), with pauses at punctuation (period, exclamation mark, comma), and with intonation (some words louder or sounding like a question). Feel free to model reading the text with fluency to your child if needed. Re-reading books many times increases reading fluency and builds your child's reading vocabulary.
. Please see me if you have any questions.
I hope you have a wonderful week! Apparently on Thursday it will be seasonal temperatures rather than below normal! Amazing!
Mrs. Tyndall
Sunday, February 2, 2014
Week of February 3-7
Dear Parents,
Our 100th day of school will be on February 10th. We will be celebrating 100 days of school, 100 days of friends and 100 days of fun!
To celebrate, each student should bring in 100 of some wonderful, one-hundred-full thing.
Please help your child think of an idea/theme. Count and assemble 100 items that can fit in a clear zip-lock bag. Count by 1s, 5s, or 10s. They will be put on display on our hall bulletin board.
Examples:
- 100 paper chain links
- 100 grains of rice
- 100 stickers
- 100 pennies
- 100 beads on a string
- 100 popsicle sticks
- 100 cereal pieces
- 100 pasta
- 100 candies
- 100 buttons, etc.
I hope you enjoy this hands-on project with your child!
Bring your collection to class by February 7th so that we have the opportunity to view and discuss the collections before the 100th day.
Thank you!
On the 100th Day of School, I would love to have the kids dress up like they are 100 years old. Here are some ideas to help you get started planning what your child will wear:
Girls: Printed shirt, pearls, eyeglasses, sweater, wig or curled hairstyle, gray hair spray, knee high stockings, large purse, scarf
Boys: Button down shirt, flannel shirt, suspenders, tie, eyeglasses, drawn on moustache or beard, gray hair spray
We are going to doing lots of fun 100-based activities, including counting 100 snack items, making a gumball machine with 100 bingo dabber dots (10x10 different colours), stacking 100 cups, making things out of 100 pieces of Lego, making a 100s hat and necklace, and more!
This upcoming week we will be completing our unit on Jan Brett and at the same time keeping track of the Olympics. We will be graphing with our medals tracker and we will be doing a unit on Winter Olympic Games with numerous literacy and numeracy activities. Go Canada go!
Last week we compared Jan Brett's "The Three Snow Bears" and the traditional fable "Goldilocks and the Three Bears,' a version of which Brett also beautifully illustrated. We started making a little book on bears and did marble art of a polar bear in a snow storm. I think the kids loved it! This week we will read "Annie and the Animals" and will learn about all the animals Brett draws so beautifully, focusing on North American animals. We will learn about if these animals migrate, hibernate, are dormant, or are active in the winter. At the end of the week their Jan Brett Author Study Folder will go home.
We also read a book called "My First Chinese New Year" on January 31 and talked about why the horse is/was such an important animal. Please help your child complete the Chinese New Year sheet with their birthday information.
It is Goundhog Day today, February 2. We learned about the features of groundhogs (where they live, what they eat etc.) and are making a little booklet about them with our Reading Buddies.
Thank you to our Mystery Reader Olivia's dad who read "The Gruffalo" and "The Gruffalo's Child." Thank you as well to Melania's mom who did the white bags for the morning class. Please remember to empty your child's white bag and read the notes inside as well as all the wonderful work your child has done.
The homework for this weekend was to practice counting to 100 and for the SKs to complete a page about the 100 items they are collecting. This week and next we will be making books about "If I had 100 dollars", and about which 100 things one could fit into a recycling container, back pack, and school bus.
Last week the morning class welcomed Melania's family friend Nell, who spoke to the children about her recent trip to the Antartica. She shared all the amazing and interesting things she learned about penguins and gave each child photographs she had taken of penguins, including their stone nest, which was very interesting. If there is a particular topic we are discussing and you would like to enrich the children's learning and retention by speaking to them about it, please let me know. Guest Speakers are always welcome! Thank you again Nell for your wonderful presentation.
Valentine's Day is only a few weeks away, on Friday, February 14. Please encourage your child to make Valentines for his/her classmates as a writing activity. Please bring in the valentines by February 12 so that the children have time to sort them in their classmates' bags. If you are bringing treats in for the children, please ensure they are nut- and sesame-free. Thank you.
The children did a wonderful job reciting their poem "I Have a Cold" at the Sharing Assembly. We recognized the TDSB Character Trait of "Teamwork" and I am proud to say that my students all work very well together as a team.
We also reviewed and spelled the order in which to put on winter clothing (mittens/gloves last! boots after pants! :) )
There are several items in the lost and found bag in our cubby room. Please take a moment to look through the pink lost and found bag in the cubby room.
If you are bringing a fruit snack, I would ask that you please don't bring chocolate or caramel dip - it creates quite a sticky mess when 20 children are sharing it! Plain fruit is perfect. Thank you.
Please bring in a wallet-sized photo of your child's face for a little book we are making about mittens. Thank you. Please also fill in the order form for LKS Movie night along with payment if you are planning on going. The movie is "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2."
I'm sure with the sticky packing snow that fell this weekend the children will have fun outside making snowmen and forts. Please ensure they are dressed in snow pants.
I hope you have a wonderful week!
Mrs. Tyndall
Our 100th day of school will be on February 10th. We will be celebrating 100 days of school, 100 days of friends and 100 days of fun!
To celebrate, each student should bring in 100 of some wonderful, one-hundred-full thing.
Please help your child think of an idea/theme. Count and assemble 100 items that can fit in a clear zip-lock bag. Count by 1s, 5s, or 10s. They will be put on display on our hall bulletin board.
Examples:
- 100 paper chain links
- 100 grains of rice
- 100 stickers
- 100 pennies
- 100 beads on a string
- 100 popsicle sticks
- 100 cereal pieces
- 100 pasta
- 100 candies
- 100 buttons, etc.
I hope you enjoy this hands-on project with your child!
Bring your collection to class by February 7th so that we have the opportunity to view and discuss the collections before the 100th day.
Thank you!
On the 100th Day of School, I would love to have the kids dress up like they are 100 years old. Here are some ideas to help you get started planning what your child will wear:
Girls: Printed shirt, pearls, eyeglasses, sweater, wig or curled hairstyle, gray hair spray, knee high stockings, large purse, scarf
Boys: Button down shirt, flannel shirt, suspenders, tie, eyeglasses, drawn on moustache or beard, gray hair spray
We are going to doing lots of fun 100-based activities, including counting 100 snack items, making a gumball machine with 100 bingo dabber dots (10x10 different colours), stacking 100 cups, making things out of 100 pieces of Lego, making a 100s hat and necklace, and more!
This upcoming week we will be completing our unit on Jan Brett and at the same time keeping track of the Olympics. We will be graphing with our medals tracker and we will be doing a unit on Winter Olympic Games with numerous literacy and numeracy activities. Go Canada go!
Last week we compared Jan Brett's "The Three Snow Bears" and the traditional fable "Goldilocks and the Three Bears,' a version of which Brett also beautifully illustrated. We started making a little book on bears and did marble art of a polar bear in a snow storm. I think the kids loved it! This week we will read "Annie and the Animals" and will learn about all the animals Brett draws so beautifully, focusing on North American animals. We will learn about if these animals migrate, hibernate, are dormant, or are active in the winter. At the end of the week their Jan Brett Author Study Folder will go home.
We also read a book called "My First Chinese New Year" on January 31 and talked about why the horse is/was such an important animal. Please help your child complete the Chinese New Year sheet with their birthday information.
It is Goundhog Day today, February 2. We learned about the features of groundhogs (where they live, what they eat etc.) and are making a little booklet about them with our Reading Buddies.
Thank you to our Mystery Reader Olivia's dad who read "The Gruffalo" and "The Gruffalo's Child." Thank you as well to Melania's mom who did the white bags for the morning class. Please remember to empty your child's white bag and read the notes inside as well as all the wonderful work your child has done.
The homework for this weekend was to practice counting to 100 and for the SKs to complete a page about the 100 items they are collecting. This week and next we will be making books about "If I had 100 dollars", and about which 100 things one could fit into a recycling container, back pack, and school bus.
Last week the morning class welcomed Melania's family friend Nell, who spoke to the children about her recent trip to the Antartica. She shared all the amazing and interesting things she learned about penguins and gave each child photographs she had taken of penguins, including their stone nest, which was very interesting. If there is a particular topic we are discussing and you would like to enrich the children's learning and retention by speaking to them about it, please let me know. Guest Speakers are always welcome! Thank you again Nell for your wonderful presentation.
Valentine's Day is only a few weeks away, on Friday, February 14. Please encourage your child to make Valentines for his/her classmates as a writing activity. Please bring in the valentines by February 12 so that the children have time to sort them in their classmates' bags. If you are bringing treats in for the children, please ensure they are nut- and sesame-free. Thank you.
The children did a wonderful job reciting their poem "I Have a Cold" at the Sharing Assembly. We recognized the TDSB Character Trait of "Teamwork" and I am proud to say that my students all work very well together as a team.
We also reviewed and spelled the order in which to put on winter clothing (mittens/gloves last! boots after pants! :) )
There are several items in the lost and found bag in our cubby room. Please take a moment to look through the pink lost and found bag in the cubby room.
If you are bringing a fruit snack, I would ask that you please don't bring chocolate or caramel dip - it creates quite a sticky mess when 20 children are sharing it! Plain fruit is perfect. Thank you.
Please bring in a wallet-sized photo of your child's face for a little book we are making about mittens. Thank you. Please also fill in the order form for LKS Movie night along with payment if you are planning on going. The movie is "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2."
I'm sure with the sticky packing snow that fell this weekend the children will have fun outside making snowmen and forts. Please ensure they are dressed in snow pants.
I hope you have a wonderful week!
Mrs. Tyndall
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