Dear families,
I hope you are having a lovely weekend.
On December 1st your child brought home "Countdown to Santa" beads (unless s/he was absent, in which case they brought them home the day they were present). Their Reading Buddies helped them make this. Each night before your child goes to sleep, s/he moves one bead over. Green beads are for weekdays, red for weekends. When the last bead is moved over, that means it is December 25 and they ring the attached bell. You can also cross off the days on your calendar at home.
The children had a terrific time at the Robert Munsch play on Wednesday and it was terrific to hear them exclaim, "That's Mortimer!" or "That's Down the Drain" because they remembered the books we read before the production. Technically speaking, we are trying to teach the children to make connections from texts to themselves, to the world, to other texts, etc. Back in the classroom they wrote and drew about their favourite part of the play. Thank you so much to Izzie's, Martel's and Christopher's moms who accompanied us on our trip. Thank you as well to Elizabeth's mom who was our Mystery Reader this week.
At our upcoming Sharing Assembly on Friday, December 12, Adam, Lauren, and Matthew C. will be receiving certificates for demonstrating Kindness and Caring in our classroom.
During the next few weeks until the holidays, we will be doing a lot of holiday-themed inquiries. We have also started a mini inquiry on snowflakes, using three mirrors and various clear and blue materials. The children are enjoying our new Holiday Card Writing Centre. After the holidays are over and you have taken your decorations down, please send in your old card 1/2s (with the message side removed) so that the children can make new cards from them next year. Thank you! We are also learning new December-themed words, a list of which I am sending home. Our Reading Buddies are helping the children read and write a book about Santa Claus.
December 10th is Spirit Day to support Free the Children. Please read the LKS Bulletin for further information.
See you on Monday!
Saturday, December 6, 2014
Saturday, November 29, 2014
Week of December 1-5
Dear families,
December already! The children are doing an amazing job getting ready for outdoor play. A little rhyme is helping them remember how to do their own zipper: "Put the lady/man in the elevator, hold on to the lady/man so they don't fall out, and pull up the elevator."
We finished our unit on Colours and Eric Carle this week. The children did a terrific job and will enjoy reading and showing you their projects and work.
The homework for this weekend is to complete the "Grouchy/Happy" work about "The Grouchy Ladybug." To finish our Colour Unit, the children can complete the sentences I sent home ("An apple is ______, The sun is _______,
We watched a DLTK science video on primary colour mixing. I have sent home the experiment if you want to do it at home. All you need is food colouring, cream, and a drop of dish soap!
Thank you so much to Jack's mom who was our Mystery Reader. She brought Jack's favourite pop-up book on Super Heroes.
Thank you to our Parent Scientists Volunteers: Moms of Lauren, Matthew C., Matthew H., Sophie, and Stella. The day was a terrific success and the children were anthropologists, biologists, meteorologists, and overall terrific budding scientists. Thank you to Parent Council for providing the funds for this educational enrichment for the children.
The children completed their November calendars and their "This is me in November" writing and drawing. The Juniors are doing a good job learning their letter sounds, and the Seniors are feeling confident about their sight words and stretching words out.
The December Scholastic order is due on December 1st. Books make wonderful Holiday Gifts! I will put the order in on Monday and the books should arrive within a week.
At the next Holiday-themed Sharing Assembly on December 12, Adam, Lauren and Matthew C. will be receiving certificates for Kindness and Caring. They demonstrate kindness and caring to their classmates and adults on a daily basis. Well done!
Please note that the Spring Craft Party has been changed to Wednesday, April 1st and 1:30. Thank you.
This upcoming week is all about Robert Munsch! We'll focus on the five books that Wednesday's play will be about: Mortimer, Lighthouse, Down the Drain, We Share Everything, and Swamp Water. It will be so fun!
I hope you have a fun weekend!
December already! The children are doing an amazing job getting ready for outdoor play. A little rhyme is helping them remember how to do their own zipper: "Put the lady/man in the elevator, hold on to the lady/man so they don't fall out, and pull up the elevator."
We finished our unit on Colours and Eric Carle this week. The children did a terrific job and will enjoy reading and showing you their projects and work.
The homework for this weekend is to complete the "Grouchy/Happy" work about "The Grouchy Ladybug." To finish our Colour Unit, the children can complete the sentences I sent home ("An apple is ______, The sun is _______,
We watched a DLTK science video on primary colour mixing. I have sent home the experiment if you want to do it at home. All you need is food colouring, cream, and a drop of dish soap!
Thank you so much to Jack's mom who was our Mystery Reader. She brought Jack's favourite pop-up book on Super Heroes.
Thank you to our Parent Scientists Volunteers: Moms of Lauren, Matthew C., Matthew H., Sophie, and Stella. The day was a terrific success and the children were anthropologists, biologists, meteorologists, and overall terrific budding scientists. Thank you to Parent Council for providing the funds for this educational enrichment for the children.
The children completed their November calendars and their "This is me in November" writing and drawing. The Juniors are doing a good job learning their letter sounds, and the Seniors are feeling confident about their sight words and stretching words out.
The December Scholastic order is due on December 1st. Books make wonderful Holiday Gifts! I will put the order in on Monday and the books should arrive within a week.
At the next Holiday-themed Sharing Assembly on December 12, Adam, Lauren and Matthew C. will be receiving certificates for Kindness and Caring. They demonstrate kindness and caring to their classmates and adults on a daily basis. Well done!
Please note that the Spring Craft Party has been changed to Wednesday, April 1st and 1:30. Thank you.
This upcoming week is all about Robert Munsch! We'll focus on the five books that Wednesday's play will be about: Mortimer, Lighthouse, Down the Drain, We Share Everything, and Swamp Water. It will be so fun!
I hope you have a fun weekend!
Sunday, November 23, 2014
Week of November 24-28
Dear families,
Our inquiry-based learning last week focused on Primary Colours, the number 10, and how to make Tally Marks. We are learning poems and songs about these topics to reinforce the concepts (they will sent home in your child's Friday bag). For example:
1, 2, 3, 4,
Number 5 shuts the door.
6, 7, 8, 9,
Number 10 draws a line.
We did tallies and graphs this week about "Favourite Colours," "The Santa Claus Parade," and "Are You A Night Owl."
The Seniors finished their "I Can Be" booklet about colours, and the juniors finished their "Colourful Cats" booklet about colours.
If your (Senior) child received mixed-up sentences about Bats or Owls in their white bag, please remind them to cut them up, glue them in the correct order, and read them. If your child did not finish his/her "Owl Facts" booklet in class please provide time for them to finish it for homework.
Thank you so much to Megan's mom who was our Mystery Reader this week! She read a book by Robert Munsch and a book by Eric Carle, the authors we are focusing on over the next two weeks. Thank you!! Thank you as well to Anderson's mom who assisted with the Computer Lab!
Please encourage your child's independence by teaching them the Zipper Trick and by encouraging them to do their zippers by themselves. A trick I use that helps is "Put the man in the elevator, hold on to the man to make sure he doesn't fall out, and pull the elevator up!" The kids like it and it helps remind them to hold on to the other side of their jacket when pulling up the zipper pull. Children love to feel proud of themselves and independent so your assistance with this is much appreciated. We have been working a lot on the order in which to put winter clothes on:
1. Snow Pants
2. Boots
3. Scarf and Hat
4. Coat and Zip
5. Gloves or Mittens
Mittens are much easier for young children than gloves with fingers. They are also warmer. Please also ensure your child has indoor shoes that stay in their cubby room.
The kids brought home their "All About Bats and Owls" folder/work this weekend. Please ask them to show and read their work to you. This will reinforce their reading skills.
I was so pleased to read the journal entries of the Seniors who completed them last week. Wonderful! I have glued a list in the front of each journal that I would like you to complete. It is simply a list of things you would like your child to write about, such as a family trip, family pet, what they would like for Christmas or their birthday, their summer, anything that would be fun and relevant for them to write about. Thank you.
This week we will finish our unit on Primary Colours and our mini Author Study on Eric Carle. We will also start an Author Study on Robert Munsch in preparation for our field trip to see Mad About Munsch. Please remember that all the children will be eating lunch at school that day upon returning from the play. Thank you.
This Wednesday morning a Scientist in the School will present to the children about "I Can Be a Scientist." Thank you in advance to the parents who are volunteering for this. Friday is Pizza Lunch Day for those children who are participating.
I hope you have a terrific week!
Our inquiry-based learning last week focused on Primary Colours, the number 10, and how to make Tally Marks. We are learning poems and songs about these topics to reinforce the concepts (they will sent home in your child's Friday bag). For example:
1, 2, 3, 4,
Number 5 shuts the door.
6, 7, 8, 9,
Number 10 draws a line.
We did tallies and graphs this week about "Favourite Colours," "The Santa Claus Parade," and "Are You A Night Owl."
The Seniors finished their "I Can Be" booklet about colours, and the juniors finished their "Colourful Cats" booklet about colours.
If your (Senior) child received mixed-up sentences about Bats or Owls in their white bag, please remind them to cut them up, glue them in the correct order, and read them. If your child did not finish his/her "Owl Facts" booklet in class please provide time for them to finish it for homework.
Thank you so much to Megan's mom who was our Mystery Reader this week! She read a book by Robert Munsch and a book by Eric Carle, the authors we are focusing on over the next two weeks. Thank you!! Thank you as well to Anderson's mom who assisted with the Computer Lab!
Please encourage your child's independence by teaching them the Zipper Trick and by encouraging them to do their zippers by themselves. A trick I use that helps is "Put the man in the elevator, hold on to the man to make sure he doesn't fall out, and pull the elevator up!" The kids like it and it helps remind them to hold on to the other side of their jacket when pulling up the zipper pull. Children love to feel proud of themselves and independent so your assistance with this is much appreciated. We have been working a lot on the order in which to put winter clothes on:
1. Snow Pants
2. Boots
3. Scarf and Hat
4. Coat and Zip
5. Gloves or Mittens
Mittens are much easier for young children than gloves with fingers. They are also warmer. Please also ensure your child has indoor shoes that stay in their cubby room.
The kids brought home their "All About Bats and Owls" folder/work this weekend. Please ask them to show and read their work to you. This will reinforce their reading skills.
I was so pleased to read the journal entries of the Seniors who completed them last week. Wonderful! I have glued a list in the front of each journal that I would like you to complete. It is simply a list of things you would like your child to write about, such as a family trip, family pet, what they would like for Christmas or their birthday, their summer, anything that would be fun and relevant for them to write about. Thank you.
This week we will finish our unit on Primary Colours and our mini Author Study on Eric Carle. We will also start an Author Study on Robert Munsch in preparation for our field trip to see Mad About Munsch. Please remember that all the children will be eating lunch at school that day upon returning from the play. Thank you.
This Wednesday morning a Scientist in the School will present to the children about "I Can Be a Scientist." Thank you in advance to the parents who are volunteering for this. Friday is Pizza Lunch Day for those children who are participating.
I hope you have a terrific week!
Saturday, November 15, 2014
Week of November 17-21
Dear families,
It was really a pleasure meeting with you last week to discuss your child's progress! Please feel free to contact me at any time if your have any questions or concerns.
It snowed briefly last week and that means winter is coming! That also means the children need to be dressed warmly for outdoor play and that they need indoor shoes that stay in their cubbies. Crocs or slippers work really well since they're light weight and comfortable and easy for your child to put on.
We've almost finished our Science Unit on Owls. I think the children are learning a lot and are hardly aware of all the reading and math activities hidden in our lessons :). We talk about using our "eagle eyes" to help read using pictures, and "stretchy snake;" stretching words out to help us read them. We'll be talking about more ways to help literacy skills, so don't be surprised to hear your child mention them at home!
We also did a lot of practising with "-AT" words. I sent a list of them home to practise.
We also learned all about the numbers 3 and 4; how to make them, what they look like etc. For example the numeral "3" can be aaa, aba, aab, baa, bab, bba, abb, the word "three," horizontal, vertical, diagonal, three on a dice cube, "third," and so on. More difficult for a 3-5 year old than we appreciate!
This month's Character Trait is Empathy. The children did a very good job looking at various photos of people/animals and trying to imagine how they feel. Then they wrote how they thought they felt and about a time they felt that way too.
This week the Seniors brought home 4 mixed up sentence strips about owls. Their homework is to cut them up, glue the words in the correct order, and read the sentence.
Our next unit will be on Primary Colours. We'll start by reading Eric Carle's Classic pattern book "Brown Bear" and we'll go on from there to make a colour wheel, learn how colours react together in a science experiment, and we'll read more colour books such as the wonderful "Mouse Paint." We'll follow everything up with an Eric Carle Author Study.
We are also focusing throughout the year on "popcorn" aka sight words. I'll send some information home about them in Friday's mail bag.
Thank you so much to Dylan's mom who was Mystery Reader this week and to Megan's dad who helped out in the Computer Lab.
This week the Grade 8s started their visits at the end of the day to read one-on-one with the children. What a nice opportunity to make a new friend and improve reading skills!
The children did a wonderful job at the Remembrance Day assembly. Thank you Freya for laying our classroom wreath. In this week's white bag is the book the children wrote called "A Poppy is to Remember" and the two songs we learned: "Little Poppy," and "Poppy, Poppy."
Please remember that your child needs two snacks each day. Quite a few only have one. I always have extra in the cupboard but please pack a little extra food with your childnjust in case. A good idea is to label the food items in their lunchbox: "Snack 1," "Lunch," "Snack 2." Or simply 1, 2, 3.
Thanks for bringing in your permission forms for the Munsch play. Thank you to our lucky parent volunteers Martel's mom, Christopher's mom, and Izzie's mom, for taking the time to assist that day. Thank you Matthew H. for picking the names out of a hat!
The Holiday Scholastic Order is due December 1st. It's due a bit early this time to ensure that the books are delivered before the holidays. If you would like your child's order to be a gift from "Santa" please write "GIFT" on your order form and I'll make sure to hand the order directly to you. Thank you!
The unit on Bats and Owls will go home on Friday. Please encourage your child to read and explain what they learned.
The Seniors and some of the Juniors have started journal writing. Please support your child in this important skill. I will write back to the children and put stickers on their work etc. Good practice for Grade 1 and beyond!
That's all our news for this week. I hope you have a lovely weekend.
It was really a pleasure meeting with you last week to discuss your child's progress! Please feel free to contact me at any time if your have any questions or concerns.
It snowed briefly last week and that means winter is coming! That also means the children need to be dressed warmly for outdoor play and that they need indoor shoes that stay in their cubbies. Crocs or slippers work really well since they're light weight and comfortable and easy for your child to put on.
We've almost finished our Science Unit on Owls. I think the children are learning a lot and are hardly aware of all the reading and math activities hidden in our lessons :). We talk about using our "eagle eyes" to help read using pictures, and "stretchy snake;" stretching words out to help us read them. We'll be talking about more ways to help literacy skills, so don't be surprised to hear your child mention them at home!
We also did a lot of practising with "-AT" words. I sent a list of them home to practise.
We also learned all about the numbers 3 and 4; how to make them, what they look like etc. For example the numeral "3" can be aaa, aba, aab, baa, bab, bba, abb, the word "three," horizontal, vertical, diagonal, three on a dice cube, "third," and so on. More difficult for a 3-5 year old than we appreciate!
This month's Character Trait is Empathy. The children did a very good job looking at various photos of people/animals and trying to imagine how they feel. Then they wrote how they thought they felt and about a time they felt that way too.
This week the Seniors brought home 4 mixed up sentence strips about owls. Their homework is to cut them up, glue the words in the correct order, and read the sentence.
Our next unit will be on Primary Colours. We'll start by reading Eric Carle's Classic pattern book "Brown Bear" and we'll go on from there to make a colour wheel, learn how colours react together in a science experiment, and we'll read more colour books such as the wonderful "Mouse Paint." We'll follow everything up with an Eric Carle Author Study.
We are also focusing throughout the year on "popcorn" aka sight words. I'll send some information home about them in Friday's mail bag.
Thank you so much to Dylan's mom who was Mystery Reader this week and to Megan's dad who helped out in the Computer Lab.
This week the Grade 8s started their visits at the end of the day to read one-on-one with the children. What a nice opportunity to make a new friend and improve reading skills!
The children did a wonderful job at the Remembrance Day assembly. Thank you Freya for laying our classroom wreath. In this week's white bag is the book the children wrote called "A Poppy is to Remember" and the two songs we learned: "Little Poppy," and "Poppy, Poppy."
Please remember that your child needs two snacks each day. Quite a few only have one. I always have extra in the cupboard but please pack a little extra food with your childnjust in case. A good idea is to label the food items in their lunchbox: "Snack 1," "Lunch," "Snack 2." Or simply 1, 2, 3.
Thanks for bringing in your permission forms for the Munsch play. Thank you to our lucky parent volunteers Martel's mom, Christopher's mom, and Izzie's mom, for taking the time to assist that day. Thank you Matthew H. for picking the names out of a hat!
The Holiday Scholastic Order is due December 1st. It's due a bit early this time to ensure that the books are delivered before the holidays. If you would like your child's order to be a gift from "Santa" please write "GIFT" on your order form and I'll make sure to hand the order directly to you. Thank you!
The unit on Bats and Owls will go home on Friday. Please encourage your child to read and explain what they learned.
The Seniors and some of the Juniors have started journal writing. Please support your child in this important skill. I will write back to the children and put stickers on their work etc. Good practice for Grade 1 and beyond!
That's all our news for this week. I hope you have a lovely weekend.
Saturday, November 8, 2014
Great Educational Websites for Literacy and Numeracy Skills
Language Links:
Online Stories and More:
http://www.storyplace.org/preschool/other.asp
http://www.ipl.org/div/kidspace/browse/rzn2000/
http://www.beartime.com/children_stories.htm
http://www.sundhagen.com/babbooks/
http://wiredforbooks.org/kids.htm
http://www.sundhagen.com/babbooks/adlib.cgi
http://www.storylineonline.net
http://magickeys.com/books/index.html
http://www.kizclub.com/storylinks.htm
Tumble books (Free Trial) :
http://www.tumblebooks.com/library/asp/customer_login.asp?accessdenied=%2Flibrary%2Fasp%2Fhome%5Ftumblebooks%2Easp
Kids Space:
http://kidsspace.torontopubliclibrary.ca/
www.torontopubliclibrary.ca = reads stories online
– click on KIDSSPACE
– click on Books and Stories
– click on Tumble Books Library
www.starfall.com = primary literacy or ESL
www.writingfun.com = reviews various writing forms
BBC Typing Practice:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/typing/levels/level1.shtml
Math Magician:
http://www.oswego.org/ocsd-web/games/Mathmagician/cathymath.html
Math is fun:
http://www.mathsisfun.com/
MangaHigh:
http://www.mangahigh.com/en-us/games
Math Playground:
http://www.mathplayground.com/games.html
Learning Alberta Math Interactives:
http://www.learnalberta.ca/content/mejhm/index.html?l
National Library of Virtual Manipulatives:
http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/vlibrary.html
Math Frog:
http://cemc2.math.uwaterloo.ca/mathfrog/english/kidz/index.shtml
Brainpop
www.brainpop.com (junior)
www.brainpopjr.com (primary)
Science Kids:
http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/gamesactivities/gases.html
Nasa Kids' Club:
http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forkids/kidsclub/flash/index.html
National Geographic for Kids:
http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/
Online Stories and More:
http://www.storyplace.org/preschool/other.asp
http://www.ipl.org/div/kidspace/browse/rzn2000/
http://www.beartime.com/children_stories.htm
http://www.sundhagen.com/babbooks/
http://wiredforbooks.org/kids.htm
http://www.sundhagen.com/babbooks/adlib.cgi
http://www.storylineonline.net
http://magickeys.com/books/index.html
http://www.kizclub.com/storylinks.htm
Tumble books (Free Trial) :
http://www.tumblebooks.com/library/asp/customer_login.asp?accessdenied=%2Flibrary%2Fasp%2Fhome%5Ftumblebooks%2Easp
Kids Space:
http://kidsspace.torontopubliclibrary.ca/
www.torontopubliclibrary.ca = reads stories online
– click on KIDSSPACE
– click on Books and Stories
– click on Tumble Books Library
www.starfall.com = primary literacy or ESL
www.writingfun.com = reviews various writing forms
BBC Typing Practice:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/typing/levels/level1.shtml
Math Magician:
http://www.oswego.org/ocsd-web/games/Mathmagician/cathymath.html
Math is fun:
http://www.mathsisfun.com/
MangaHigh:
http://www.mangahigh.com/en-us/games
Math Playground:
http://www.mathplayground.com/games.html
Learning Alberta Math Interactives:
http://www.learnalberta.ca/content/mejhm/index.html?l
National Library of Virtual Manipulatives:
http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/vlibrary.html
Math Frog:
http://cemc2.math.uwaterloo.ca/mathfrog/english/kidz/index.shtml
Brainpop
www.brainpop.com (junior)
www.brainpopjr.com (primary)
Science Kids:
http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/gamesactivities/gases.html
Nasa Kids' Club:
http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forkids/kidsclub/flash/index.html
National Geographic for Kids:
http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/
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