Friday, December 8, 2017
Friday, December 1, 2017
Week of November 27 - December 1
Dear families,
December already! Christmas is in the air! The children are already asking when Alfie the Elf will come to the classroom. I'm pretty sure he'll be there on Monday!
Last week we read "Goldilocks and the Three Bears," first with the children not seeing the pictures and imagining the events. Then, they retold the story to me with the pictures. We also re-read "Corduroy" and the children did a dot-to-dot activity and a counting activity. We also read "Brown Bear, Brown Bear" again and the children sequenced the story with pictures, retold the story, and coloured the colour words in the story.
For the nature/non-fiction part of learning about bears, the SKs read several features about Polar, Grizzly, Black and Panda bears, and categorized them under the headings CAN, HAVE, EAT and ARE. The SKs also wrote several words they knew that started with the letter sounds B,E,A,R and S, and the JKs helped me spell them on chart paper. They also completed a mini read-and-write CAN booklet. We'll finish our inquiry on What Animals do in the Winter next week, and the children will bring their folders home to show you! We'll focus on more numeracy activities next week (counting bears, rolling dice and colouring according to the number, and using our ten-frames).
We practised adding and subtracting with a ten-frame. A laminated 10-frame will be sent home for your child to practise. The children also completed their November calendars and wrote and drew "This is me in November."
We now have designated gym time each week! Please provide your child with running shoes (that stay at school) so that s/he can run safely in the gym.
On the Smartboard, we read Bob Books (on YouTube) together, and the children read copies in class. We also got 4 brand new sets of non-fiction levelled readers from Scholastic which I'm very excited about!
On Monday the children will help decorate our classroom for the holidays, and we'll start doing lots of fun literacy and numeracy activities about Santa, elves, and the Polar Bear Express! It's such an exciting time of year for the little ones.
Thank you so much to Elea's grandmother and dad who were our Mystery Readers this week.
The next Sharing Assembly will be on December 15. The children will be singing two holiday songs, and should dress in RED, WHITE and/or GREEN. Thank you! Santa or Elf hats are ok, too!
That's the news for this week. I hope you have a lovely weekend.
December already! Christmas is in the air! The children are already asking when Alfie the Elf will come to the classroom. I'm pretty sure he'll be there on Monday!
Last week we read "Goldilocks and the Three Bears," first with the children not seeing the pictures and imagining the events. Then, they retold the story to me with the pictures. We also re-read "Corduroy" and the children did a dot-to-dot activity and a counting activity. We also read "Brown Bear, Brown Bear" again and the children sequenced the story with pictures, retold the story, and coloured the colour words in the story.
For the nature/non-fiction part of learning about bears, the SKs read several features about Polar, Grizzly, Black and Panda bears, and categorized them under the headings CAN, HAVE, EAT and ARE. The SKs also wrote several words they knew that started with the letter sounds B,E,A,R and S, and the JKs helped me spell them on chart paper. They also completed a mini read-and-write CAN booklet. We'll finish our inquiry on What Animals do in the Winter next week, and the children will bring their folders home to show you! We'll focus on more numeracy activities next week (counting bears, rolling dice and colouring according to the number, and using our ten-frames).
We practised adding and subtracting with a ten-frame. A laminated 10-frame will be sent home for your child to practise. The children also completed their November calendars and wrote and drew "This is me in November."
We now have designated gym time each week! Please provide your child with running shoes (that stay at school) so that s/he can run safely in the gym.
On the Smartboard, we read Bob Books (on YouTube) together, and the children read copies in class. We also got 4 brand new sets of non-fiction levelled readers from Scholastic which I'm very excited about!
On Monday the children will help decorate our classroom for the holidays, and we'll start doing lots of fun literacy and numeracy activities about Santa, elves, and the Polar Bear Express! It's such an exciting time of year for the little ones.
Thank you so much to Elea's grandmother and dad who were our Mystery Readers this week.
The next Sharing Assembly will be on December 15. The children will be singing two holiday songs, and should dress in RED, WHITE and/or GREEN. Thank you! Santa or Elf hats are ok, too!
That's the news for this week. I hope you have a lovely weekend.
Sunday, November 26, 2017
Week of November 20-24
Dear families,
Happy Sunday! I hope you are having a nice weekend.
Last week in room 166 we learned more about bears (real and teddy), hibernation, migration and adaptation. We read "Under and Over the Snow," "The Hibernation Station," "Brown Bear, Brown Bear" and "Don't Wake Up the Bear!" We watched a National Geographic video about what animals do in the winter. There is another kid video about this on www.makemeagenius.com. The children are enjoying playing in our Hibernation Station and Bear Cave (a tent and a big box), playing with various stuffies such as rabbits, chipmunks, squirrels, bears, turtles, frogs, snakes. We are learning several songs and poems about bears, circling the sight words: "Bear is Sleeping," "Are You Sleeping," and "Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear." We are also learning about what bears can do, eat, have and their features. The children practiced sequencing a story with Eric Carle's classic "Brown Bear, Brown Bear." The children also made a bear puzzle and we read and are sequencing the beloved story "Corduroy." The SKs learned how to do a word search on the Smartboard, and once they understood that the words could be backwards and diagonal, they had no problem finding BEAR words in two word searches. We also had a fun Teddy Bear Party! We counted gummy bears and danced to the Gummy Bear song! With our Grade 3 Reading Buddies, the children started making a non-fiction booklet about black bears. Next week we'll do more reading and writing about the book Corduroy and "We're Going on a Bear Hunt." We'll also try to write as many words as we can that start with the beginning sounds B E A and R.
Thank you so much to Ethan's mom who was our Mystery Reader this week. Chloe, a former student of mine who is in Grade 2 now, was also a Mystery Reader. She did such an amazing job! The words of the week were GO and TO. The children did an amazing job singing "Yellow Submarine" at the Sharing Assembly. Congratulations to Rielle, Everleigh and Hudson for receiving certificates for Empathy.
That's the news for this week. See you tomorrow!
Happy Sunday! I hope you are having a nice weekend.
Last week in room 166 we learned more about bears (real and teddy), hibernation, migration and adaptation. We read "Under and Over the Snow," "The Hibernation Station," "Brown Bear, Brown Bear" and "Don't Wake Up the Bear!" We watched a National Geographic video about what animals do in the winter. There is another kid video about this on www.makemeagenius.com. The children are enjoying playing in our Hibernation Station and Bear Cave (a tent and a big box), playing with various stuffies such as rabbits, chipmunks, squirrels, bears, turtles, frogs, snakes. We are learning several songs and poems about bears, circling the sight words: "Bear is Sleeping," "Are You Sleeping," and "Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear." We are also learning about what bears can do, eat, have and their features. The children practiced sequencing a story with Eric Carle's classic "Brown Bear, Brown Bear." The children also made a bear puzzle and we read and are sequencing the beloved story "Corduroy." The SKs learned how to do a word search on the Smartboard, and once they understood that the words could be backwards and diagonal, they had no problem finding BEAR words in two word searches. We also had a fun Teddy Bear Party! We counted gummy bears and danced to the Gummy Bear song! With our Grade 3 Reading Buddies, the children started making a non-fiction booklet about black bears. Next week we'll do more reading and writing about the book Corduroy and "We're Going on a Bear Hunt." We'll also try to write as many words as we can that start with the beginning sounds B E A and R.
Thank you so much to Ethan's mom who was our Mystery Reader this week. Chloe, a former student of mine who is in Grade 2 now, was also a Mystery Reader. She did such an amazing job! The words of the week were GO and TO. The children did an amazing job singing "Yellow Submarine" at the Sharing Assembly. Congratulations to Rielle, Everleigh and Hudson for receiving certificates for Empathy.
That's the news for this week. See you tomorrow!
Friday, November 17, 2017
Week of November 13-17
Dear families,
It was wonderful meeting with all of you this week to discuss your child's progress!
Last week the children practised their numeracy and literacy skills with several centres. They made patterns with various manipulatives, sequenced objects, practised their letter sounds with letter games, counted and sorted, played a "what number comes next?" guessing game (i.e. 2, 4, 6, 8, ??), and made shapes with elastic bands on peg boards. We also completed a Venn diagram, labelled a drawing, and started working on our Jolly Phonics Duotangs (which the kids will work on all year).
Thank you to Alex who shared his books on "Empathy" and "Respect" with the class. November is Empathy month at the TDSB and we have talked a lot about this in class. With our Grade 3 Reading Buddies, the children each had a picture of people and were asked to think about how they were feeling. Then they drew a picture and wrote about when they felt the same way. Alex also brought in a Monarch butterfly he found and we watched a video about their migration to Mexico each fall. We talked about how to attract butterflies to our homes and, with prompting, the kids came up with "plant flowers" which was terrific! Again, thinking about how we can help other things, creatures, nature, and so on. Wonderful! The children also did a symmetry exercise by drawing and colouring the right side of a monarch butterfly. Good work!
This ties in very well to the new nature inquiry we will be starting on Monday about Hibernation/Migration/Adaptation. This will be followed by a big inquiry on bears! This kids will love it. Fiction and non-fiction, lots of learning, terrific books... It will be fun! Look for a new bulletin board display in the hall in the upcoming weeks all about what animals do and where they live in the winter!
The Mystery Reader this week was Kate's mom - thank you Tara!!
A quick note regarding cold weather clothing - mittens are easier for your child to put on than knitted gloves. Tube scarves are safer than wrap scarves and are much easier for your child to put on. Also, please remind your child to not go on the monkey bars with mittens or gloves - they won't be able to grip it and could fall. With rain and freezing temperatures the wood chips and ground beneath make for a hard landing!
The words of the week were THIS and WILL. We are also finishing a LIKE Read and Write mini book. Next week we'll do CAN. An extra copy of this year's Popcorn Words was sent home in yesterday's mail bag. This is review for the SKs.
I hope you have a very nice weekend!
It was wonderful meeting with all of you this week to discuss your child's progress!
Last week the children practised their numeracy and literacy skills with several centres. They made patterns with various manipulatives, sequenced objects, practised their letter sounds with letter games, counted and sorted, played a "what number comes next?" guessing game (i.e. 2, 4, 6, 8, ??), and made shapes with elastic bands on peg boards. We also completed a Venn diagram, labelled a drawing, and started working on our Jolly Phonics Duotangs (which the kids will work on all year).
Thank you to Alex who shared his books on "Empathy" and "Respect" with the class. November is Empathy month at the TDSB and we have talked a lot about this in class. With our Grade 3 Reading Buddies, the children each had a picture of people and were asked to think about how they were feeling. Then they drew a picture and wrote about when they felt the same way. Alex also brought in a Monarch butterfly he found and we watched a video about their migration to Mexico each fall. We talked about how to attract butterflies to our homes and, with prompting, the kids came up with "plant flowers" which was terrific! Again, thinking about how we can help other things, creatures, nature, and so on. Wonderful! The children also did a symmetry exercise by drawing and colouring the right side of a monarch butterfly. Good work!
This ties in very well to the new nature inquiry we will be starting on Monday about Hibernation/Migration/Adaptation. This will be followed by a big inquiry on bears! This kids will love it. Fiction and non-fiction, lots of learning, terrific books... It will be fun! Look for a new bulletin board display in the hall in the upcoming weeks all about what animals do and where they live in the winter!
The Mystery Reader this week was Kate's mom - thank you Tara!!
A quick note regarding cold weather clothing - mittens are easier for your child to put on than knitted gloves. Tube scarves are safer than wrap scarves and are much easier for your child to put on. Also, please remind your child to not go on the monkey bars with mittens or gloves - they won't be able to grip it and could fall. With rain and freezing temperatures the wood chips and ground beneath make for a hard landing!
The words of the week were THIS and WILL. We are also finishing a LIKE Read and Write mini book. Next week we'll do CAN. An extra copy of this year's Popcorn Words was sent home in yesterday's mail bag. This is review for the SKs.
I hope you have a very nice weekend!
Sunday, November 12, 2017
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
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
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