We have received a few donations to assist us to get the winter wonderland centre ready. If other families come across a few items over the holidays that would be wonderful. Ensuring your child's name is on all items will ensure you receive the items returned.

 

 

Also some time in the new year I want to create a new centre called the take apart centre. I have two or three clocks that no longer work and a CD player. I will provide the students with some screw drivers for them to take things apart in order to see what is inside and try to figure out how the items work. If you have any old things around the house that you no longer care about that we can take apart that would be great. Some items are: alarm clock, answering machine, cell phone, telephone to name a few.

 

 

I also want to take this opportunity to wish all the families a very Merry Christmas and all the very best in 2014. I will look forward to seeing everyone on January 6th. I probably will not be working on the blog until January 4th or 5th.

SANTA

 

There was true magic and the biggest surprise ever  in the Kindergarten room this morning and in every classroom at Meadowvale School. Santa arrived in the morning and it was a surprise to all the children, teachers, the secretary and even our Principal.

 

This was not just any SANTA, this was the real Santa from the north pole. He was asked by the children, "are you the real Santa or the store Santa". To which Santa allowed the children to touch his beard and his hair. The children were in totally amazed and excited beyond words.

 

Santa showed the children how he had his special book with him, the one that included his nice list and announced that all the kindergarten children's names were on his list so they would be getting a present from him.

 

Just in case there are those who are reading this blog and think to yourself the real Santa how can that be, he is too busy to come to school. Not this year and I have the proof a picture of the real Santa. So you be the judge is this the real Santa or the store Santa?

 



Reading

 

I love to read. I read biographies, fiction and sometimes non-fiction. My Mother gave me many gifts (non-material gifts) in my life. However, I believe the greatest gift she gave me was the gift of reading. Every year for Christmas and my birthday she made sure I had the gift of a new book. It would be wrapped in the most elegant paper and always included ribbons and a big bow. When I was young the book always came from Santa. My mom explained that she wanted me to know that Santa saw reading as important too. As she handed me the gift she explained this is one of the most important gifts you will ever receive. An author took his/her time and wrote this book especially for you the reader. As the reader you have some important jobs associated with this book Karen. First,  is to take care of it and treasure each page as you turn it. Second, find a character and place yourself in the shoes of the character. Third, open your mind and imagination and paint the pictures from the book like you are hired to be the illustrator.

 

My Mom read her whole life, whenever she had time to do so. She always read for at least a half an hour before bed and after she retired if she had no plans for the afternoon she read in the day time. Also, after she retired she volunteered at a Nursery School and went in twice a week to work with the children, but also to read to them. She wanted to pass on the gift of reading.

 

The reason I tell you about this part of my life is, to this day I love to read. I love to hold the book and turn the pages. I know the new age is a digital type of reader but that is not for me. This is why I have a teacher read aloud for the Kindergarten students every day, so I can pass on to them the joy and love of reading. My hope is that Santa will remember to bring each child a book for Christmas. So the children can learn first hand that books are wonderful gifts to receive! It is best to find out what your child is most interested in and then to purchase a book about what interests them! Then they will truly treasure the gift and the book. Happy book shopping! 

Winter Wonderland Dramatic Play Centre

 

At the end of next week I want to start to set up the winter wonderland. So at this time I am asking for donations of little stuffies that are Arctic animals or winter type animals, various snowmen, snowflakes and any other materials or suggestions that you can think of to make the centre more interesting.

 

The students love the dramatic play centre and it generates plenty of oral communication, role playing, sharing, and leadership skills. I always let the students determine what the next theme of the dramatic play centre will be and after three of four suggestions a vote is completed. The suggestion with the most votes becomes the winner. We did not have a winter wonderland last year. So suggestions to make it an effective centre would be welcomed! 

The Last Week of School 2013

It is very hard to believe we are near the end of the school year of 2013. Where has the time gone, flown by in a flash that is where. It is a short week next week and an exciting one for the Kindergarten students and parents. Monday is the Christmas concert where the Kindergarten students show their parents all the hard work they have done in order to prepare for the performance. It is also a very proud moment for me, because when the students sing the songs I actually got goose bumps. It is a very proud moment for me. One that sometimes brings a tear to my eye because of all the the hard work and dedication on the part of each student. Be sure to compliment your child on their performance.

 

 

The Jolly Phonic sound for next week is the l sound.

Some of the words are: let, lot, log, lap, leg, led, lid, lad, lip, lug, link, lock.

 

The By Heart words for this week are: like and my.

There are a few children are write letters to the elf or their parents and these two words are often needed.

 

The focus in the area of reading will be listening to stories related to Christmas.

 

 

 

Mathematics

 

The focus will continue to be measuring for the next four days and will also continue into part of January. Measurement encompasses measuring the length and width of items, capacity which is how much water or sand various containers can hold, and mass which is measuring various materials by weight. This is why measurement will take the majority of the month of January.  



January

 

I know January seems a long way off and parents are probably say, "January, let's get through Christmas before we talk about January. However, planning takes a long time, especially when I want to follow what the students want the Dramatic Play Centre to be. They have decided a Winter Wonderland, where they can make snowmen, mittens, gloves and other winter things. They also want to bring in their winter stuffies, such as polar bears, penquins, seals, and any others they can think of. Please remember to have your child's name on anything you let us borrow. If you can share some other ideas that would be wonderful.

 

 

Christmas Concert

 

Just a reminder the Christmas concert is on Monday, December 16th at 6:30 pm. There will be an afternoon performance at 1:40 and if as many of the morning students could attend the afternoon to assist with the voices that would be wonderful. The students have been doing a fabulous job. In fact many times their sweet and tender voices have given me goose bumps. I am so very proud of each and everyone of them. Hopefully they will perform for all the parents in the same manner as they practice. You will be blown away by their singing. It doesn't matter anyway because Kindergarten children are just so cute. If the students could wear some red or green or any Christmas clothing will be fine. 

It's Beginning to Look Like Christmas

 

It is beginning to look a lot like Christmas in the Kindergarten classroom, thanks to the hard work and dedication of many of the creative students. The classroom door is decorated like a cookie sheet with gingerbread boys and girls, good enough to eat!

 

The windows in the classroom include paper chains, wreaths, christmas trees, stockings, bells and glass stained creations. The wonderful creations will be sent home sometime next week for parents to enjoy.

 

 

 

 



Measurement

During the afternoon some of the students were busy working with the link cubes and creating a variety of patterns with the cubes. I approached the small group and asked them to use the cubes to measure some things. One of the boys used the cubes to measure the width of the table they were working on.

 

 

Then a girl decided to measure the play dough placemat to see if it took more or less cubes than the table. She said, "I think it will take less cubes because it is smaller than that part of the table". She was very excited to know that she was correct.

 

 

Next I asked the students how they could tell that one was longer than the other and the results were well thought out because one of the students placed the two links together to show one was longer than the other and the girl took the placement and put it on the table to show it was shorter. The students are encouraged to use the mathematical terms of longer, shorter, less, and more.

 

Both the students remember to make sure the objects were lined up together evenly. Great math was happening in the Kindergarten room this afternoon.







Building

 

The many areas of the classroom that include various construction materials are very popular learning experiences for many of the students. It doesn't matter if the student is JK, SK, boy or girl they all enjoy planning, designing, and building their creations. Many times they chose to then draw and write about what they have designed.

This is not just play, these experiences offer students opportunities to work as a team, problem solve, listen to others ideas and suggestions and an  opportunity for rich oral communication. I have included some of the various designs for parents to enjoy and marvel over.

 

 Designing something following a pattern card.This looks easy but it took a whole afternoon of problem solving and adjusting pieces to make it look just right.

 Three boys worked all morning on this design. They built the wall using the foam blocks and then decided to make it stronger by using the smaller blocks around both sides of the wall. The wall was to keep the dinosaurs safe so they would not be attacked by the enemy. This took a very long time to tidy up at the end of the morning.

This wonderful creation is a home for the dinosaurs and was created by three JK boys. They worked hard as a team, took turns and willingly shared the materials. Excellent team work boys.

This is the bridge, eater and grass for retelling the story of the Three Billy Goats Gruff. Thank you to a parent volunteer who worked diligently with the students as they created the design and then acted out the story. We did not have a troll so we used a dinosaur puppet.

 

This wonderful design is a walkway for the people so they can walk from their hotel room (the walkway is at the back of the photo) to the rest of the hotel, where there is a swimming pool and hot tub. This took the girls most of the morning to complete.

 

There is a possibility we may have some engineers, planners, or builders in the future, and to think it all started in Kindergarten!  

Language

 

There are many SK students that are demonstrating a keen interest in writing. The students are encouraged to write in the construction area, dramatic play centre and the creation centre. Since there are a number who are wanting to write I decided to ask a few in the morning class what they thought the new By Heart Word should be and they want the word "you" and I have decided on the colour word pink. I think I will offer the students an opportunity to choose the By Heart Words on a weekly basis.

 

The jolly phonic sound for this week is the short vowel sound "o". The vowels are very tricky for the students and they often require additional practice with these. Some of the words we will attempt to read are: log, pot, lot, jog, hop, got, hog, dog, mop, doll, nod, sob, top, rot, fox, box.

 

The word family this week is: op family. Here are some of the words: bop, cop, chop, shop, hop, mop, stop, pop, stop.

 

Teacher read alouds for the next two weeks will be Christmas stories for the sheer pleasure of listening to stories. The students love to listen to stories and I have so many Christmas stories for the students to listen to and enjoy.

Elf on the Shelf

 

I am sure many of you have heard some of the tricks the classroom elf on the shelf has done this week. She moved the name tags and taped them under different cubbies, she placed an elf and candy cane on the wreath on the classroom door, she wrapped toilet paper around our Christmas trees. Today the children found her laying in a Kleenex box sleeping using a Kleenex as a blanket. One can never tell what the little elf will do next or where she will be found.

 

Some of the students wrote notes to her in the morning class the other day and were amazed that she wrote back to them. Parents if your little one brings home a note from the elf that may be something you will want to keep in your child's little memory box or somewhere.

 

Last year was the first year we had the elf and I can tell you, it has been the best $30.00 I have ever spent on anything for the children.Be sure to stayed tuned with other news about the elf in the last weeks to follow.

Wonderful Excitement in Kindergarten

 

Well today, the Elf on the shelf was delivered and the students were jumping with excitement. They all commented, "it came from the real Santa at the North Pole because it is freezing cold". Last year was the first year we had the elf in the classroom and the morning SK remembered her name was "Stella" and the afternoon children remembered her name was "Rainbow Bella", Bella for short. Just so you know three names were suggested and voted on in the morning and three different ones in the afternoon. Of course the same elves had to return today. Some of the children shared about some of the things their elf has done at their house. It will be interesting to see what our elves to. Just before the afternoon children left the classroom today one of the girls looked at Rainbow Bella very seriously and said, "please don't make a mess of our room tonight because we like our room nice".

 

The Christmas Centre is open and today was the first day. The morning class voted for the name Santa's House and the afternoon class voted for Gingerbread House. Tomorrow both classes will have an opportunity to print the name of the house and decorate the sign. Hopefully I will be able to attach some pictures later on this week. Some of the children choose to make notes for Santa. They will also be given opportunities to write notes to Stella and Bella. 

Language

 

The jolly phonic sound there for parents to download if you want. When the students do the jolly phonics daily it is a quick five minute little lesson. The sound is "g" sound. Some of the words are: go, get, got, gag, gas.

 

The word family for this week is the ad family. Some of the words are bad, dad, fad, had, lad, mad, pad, sad. The students are becoming very good at placing the beginning sound and then chuncking the ad to figure the word.

 

Just so everyone knows the Elf on the Shelf will be delivered on Monday morning and then again in the afternoon. The elf's name for the morning is Stella and the afternoon is Rainbow Bella, (Bella) for short. The students requested Santa send the same elf as last year so that is what is happening. Each day after school your child will probably tell you about something the elf did in the classroom. This is a magical and exciting time in Kindergarten! 

Mathematics

 

The new mathematics expectation for the month of December and part of January will be Measurement. The students will be offered opportunities to compare and order two or more objects according to an appropriate measure (e.g.g, length, mass, area, and capacity. and use measurement terms (small, medium and large for capacity, longer/shorter or thicker/thinner for length). They will also have opportunities to demonstrate, through investigations, an awareness of non-standard measuring devices (e.g., feet, hand spans, string, or cubes to measure length, scoops of water or sand to measure capacity).

 

The students will continue with subitizing experiences using the rekenreks and using the ten frames. Many of the students continue to require additional practice with this mathematical skill and at this age they love the experience. It is a game to them and we all love games, young and old.