Mathematics

 

In the area of Mathematics during I will meet with some of the students that are ready and work on some problem solving questions. We will begin by listening to the question, figuring out what the question is asking us to do, what we need to find out and orally talking about what we would do. I will be working with approximately two students at a time.

 

During large group time the students will be practising subitizing with the dot plates, ten frames, and the large rekenrek.

 

           

There are 20 beads altogether. Five red and five white on the top row and five red and five white on the bottom row. I offer the students a number between 3 and 10 and they only use the top row at this time. They are asked to show their number and move the beads in one clean sweep, rather than counting the beads one by one. The students have had practise with this skill but require many more so they become proficient and confident with subitizing. There are also some small rekenreks that I have in the classroom. I think they will become a centre next week for the students.

 

 

Language

 

The jolly phonic sound for this week is the "p" sound. I will be making sentences using some of the following words: pit, pet, pat, pan, pant, put, pin, pot, pad, pal, pen, pig, pop, pup, pug, pick, pack, pest, puff.

 

The "By Heart Word" for this week is the word will. I apologize because I said that I would send home a list of the By Heart Words after March Break and I have not done that yet. I will send the list home some time this week with all the SK students.

 

I suggest that you write out on cards two copies of each word and then you and your child could play a memory game using about 5 or 6 of the words at a time. Your child chooses two words and if they match they keep them. Have your child read the words or you can read them with them. Playing this game for 5 minutes three times a week would be great.

 

Another idea is to place five or six of the words printed on cards on the fridge with magnets. Then while you are doing lunch or supper you could ask your child to find you the word here. Ask them to repeat what the word is and spell the word to you. This will reinforce their letter identification, spelling and reading of the word. Please remember this should be fun not drill and practise. So keep it fun, short and simple and be sure to praise your child's efforts.

 

Learning the word will, the students will gain practise reading other words such as: bill, dill, fill, mill, pill, sill, and till.

April Kindergarten Calendar

 

The April Kindergarten calendar is on the blog for you to download. On Friday, April 4th you will see there is a special event scheduled for the afternoon. There will be a note coming home from Mr. Hawkey on Monday, regarding the special event. The note mainly applies to the kindergarten students because of the two half day programs.

 

 

In the afternoon the whole school will be going by bus to see the Chinese acrobats perform. The performance will be paid for by the school with no cost to parents. You may ask, "How will this work for kindergarten students?"

 

The morning students will come to school as usual and then leave at 11:20. They will be invited back to school for 12:15 with the buses leaving at 12:30. The afternoon students will have to be to school by 12:15. If your child arrives at school by bus we may ask you to provide transportation for your child. We should be back to school by 2:45 and all the kindergarten students will be in the classroom and be dismissed at the regular time 3:20. We will be contacting the bus company to ask for them to pick up those students who take the bus home.

 

Unfortunately, we will not be able to take any parent volunteers due to the cost of busing and the performance. The letter that comes home on Monday, March 31st will explain everything in the same detail. You will be asked to complete the form to let me know whether your child will be attending or not attending. I will be assigned two staff to assist with the Kindergarten students. 

New Heading at the Right Side of Blog

 

Some of the Kindergarten parents are into baking healthy snacks for their children. The other day I shared a recipe a friend had given to me and the parents suggested that I add Healthy Recipes to the blog. So I have attached the first one which you can download under the new heading Healthy Recipes.

 

The idea of baking your snacks for both yourself and your children is that you are aware of all the ingredients that are inside the snack.

 

So if you have a healthy snack idea you wish to share just send it to me either through email or in your child's mailbag and I will attach it for all the parents to download and print off.

 

Hopefully by the end of the year everyone will have a great list of ideas to offer their child. Happy baking everyone and keep looking for the new ideas!

Mathematics

 

In the area of Mathematics the students will be given more opportunities to work with ten frames. The students will have two ten frames, shake 2 dice, count the dice and show that number on the first ten frame. Then they will shake the dice again and show the second number on the dice. Next they will be asked which number is larger/smaller and how do they know. JK's will work with one die and one ten frame.

 

The next day the students will work with the same game and show the number they rolled by adding the two dice and then tell the teacher how many more they need to make ten.

 

Practising these type of math games assist the students to increase their understanding of subitizing, stating the number, representing the number and stating what they know about the number. 

Language

 

The jolly phonic sound for this week is the short i sound. The students experience difficulty with many of the vowel sounds so practising three of four letter words with the sound is very beneficial. Some of the words the students will learn to blend together are:

big, dig, dip, hip, lip, sip, tip, rip, ill, pill, sill, fill, till, will, fish, dish, wish, bid, hid, lid, rid.

 

The By Heart word for this week is the "have". Some of the SK parents have asked for me to provide them with a small package of the words we have learned so far. I will be photocopying the words and sending them home with the SK students near the end of next week.

 

 

In the area of writing, many of the SK students are showing a keen interest in the area of writing. The students are not made to work with me in their journal but they are offered an opportunity to do so. Whenever they are asked if they will come and work with me they are very eager to do so. I only ask the SK and JK students to work with me for a very short period of time and only on days where they do not have gym or library. 

Excitment about Painting

 

It is only the second day of school after March Break and there was lots of excitement this morning at the Creation Table. The students were told they would be able to choose to have whatever colour of paints they wanted on their paper. I would be giving them 4 blobs of paint on their paper. Their mission was to create something using one or two toy cars and drive the paint all over their paper. This proved to be a huge success because every student had a turn this morning. The afternoon class will have an opportunity to do so tomorrow.

 

The samples below prove my philosophy about creative experiences and art to be true. If you give students a variety of materials and different materials and ask them to use their creative minds and their artistic abilities it is amazing what they will create. I have provided some samples of their Car Track Painting.

 

 

 

 

If you get an opportunity to come into the school to see the finished products. The wonderful designs and artistic creations are hanging up in the hallway for all to see. I am so proud of their Creative Abilities and so are they!



Language

 

For this week the jolly phonic sound is the Tt sound. Some of the words the students will be stretching out the sounds for are: tap, tip, ten, tent, tin, tan, ton, tack, tank, tell, tall, tip, tar, tag and Ted.

 

The students are offered an opportunity to find Tt words in two sentences that I write on a daily basis. This strategy assist the students to find the letter, identify the letter and the sound.

 

The word family for this week is the ip family. Some of the words are: chip, dip, flip, sip, tip, rip, nip, hip, lip, grip.

 

 

 

In the area of comprehension the students will be asked to identify the problem that occurred in the story and the solution to the problem. The students are asked to do this orally and to give evidence from the story to support their thinking. For this week, the focus will be on many of the Franklin stories since the problem and the solution are very clear and easier for the students to identify.

 

When reading aloud to your child at home, it would be beneficial for you to stop at various parts of the story and ask your child to tell you what the problem was in the story and later how the problem was solved. Further their thinking by asking them what they would do to solve the problem.

Welcome Back

 

 

Welcome back to the blog and back to school. I hope everyone had a wonderful March Break filled with lots of family time and relaxation. My husband and I had a great time and did some fun things together. However, shovelling on Wednesday about five or six times, I must admit was not my highlight, however, it was great exercise so I did not have to work out on this day. We came home early from the cottage because we were afraid of the storm warnings, especially for the Niagara area. But we survived and even though it has been chilly the sun has been a bonus. 

Jewelry Store

 

A big thank you for all the wonderful donations to the Jewelry Store. The students are going to love it. They will be able to make bracelets, rings and necklaces for a very long time. I am overwhelmed by the donations and generosity of so many parents.

 

Whenever the dramatic play centre changes to something else the students are lining up for a chance to participate in the new centre.

 

The students helped me make a list of some of the other things they would like to centre to be before the end of the school year. Some of their ideas include: a beauty salon, (which I have the manikin heads to use), pizza shop, doctors office, and a restuarant to name a few. As soon as there are pictures of the jewels the students have made or sold I will be sure to add them to the blog. 

Reminder about Week of March 3rd

Just a reminder that there are only four days of school next week from March 3rd to March 6th. Friday, March 7th is a PA day for the students and the beginning of March break for the students. I hope everyone enjoys their time off with their children and hopefully the weather will be better so everyone can get out and do some little family day trips. I am sure one of the Sugar Bushes will be open, so the family could go there and do pancakes for breakfast.

 

The library should have some activites happening during the week for the children. Last of all the whole family could go skating for a couple of hours. I hope everyone enjoys the time to relax and have fun as a family.