Welcome June

 

It is hard to believe tomorrow will be the first day of June. However, when I see the growth the students have made I know it is June. This is a very busy month because the SK students will be having their Farewell to Kindergarten, on June 11th. Then there is the Kindergarten end of the year trip on June 12th. The students will be bringing home a permission letter regarding the trip on Monday.

 

As for the Kindergarten Farewell, I am planning on having the same procedure as I did for the Mother's Day Celebration. The morning JK and SK student will have their morning centres and then they will eat snack at about 10:10. Then at 10:30 the afternoon SK students are invited to come to the classroom to get ready for the presentations that will take place in the gym. Parents are invited to go straight to the gym at 10:30. Both the morning JK, SK and afternoon SK students will sing a couple of songs and do a poem. The morning JK will sit down on chairs at this time.Then I will read both the morning and afternoon SK students answers to their interviewed questions. Some of the questions were: What do you dream of being when you grow up? If I could give you one wish what would you wish for? There were a few other questions.

Next the students will receive a little diploma. This is the time where parents are welcomed to take pictures of their child. Then the ceremony will be over. The whole ceremony should take no more than 20 minutes. Younger siblings and grandparents are invited to come as well.  

 

Due to the fact the gym is very popular in June I have decided there will be no refreshments this time. This will eliminate any mess in the gym for the next class at 11:10. The students have had their snack already.

 

There will be class for the afternoon children at the regular time.

Construction Area

 

I love this time of year because a teacher can see the academic growth of the students, but also the way they use the various materials in the classroom. This is the case with the construction area of the classroom. The students are becoming more knowledgable of how to incorporate a variety of the materials in order to create some amazing activities. This may just seem like building to some, however, there is lots of planning, creating, redesigning and then they bring their prior knowledge into the each of the play situations. Look at the some of the wonderful creations, using a race track and other building materials.

 



Have you ever passed an aisle in the dollar store and asked yourself, "I wonder what I can use that for"? Well the other day when I was in the dollar store (a teacher's dream place) I saw this plastic silver trays and bought them and I pondered the same question.

The other day I placed the two silver trays at a table with a huge container of different coloured beads and made a sign. This was a invitation for the students to examine and create something that they desired and then after they finished their creation we would talk about what they made and what they noticed.

The students created wonderful things. They talked about the patterns they saw and the various designs they created. I have included just a few samples for you to see how creative the young students are when offered with a very simple invitation.

 

This was the invitation that was at the table for the students.

 

Here are some of their designs, patterns and creations

 

 

 

 

 

Language

 

 

The jolly phonic sound for this week is the "d" sound. Many of the students often confuse the "b" and "d" letter and sound. It is very important to practise the letter and sounds with your child on a regular basis. There continues to be a number of students who still experience difficulty identifying the letters and sounds. The only way to assist your child to learn this concept is practise, practise, and more practise. If your child is an SK this practise and practising the "By Heart Words" will assist them in the area of reading and writing for grade 1.

 

The Comprehension Strategy will continue to be to identify the problem in the story and the solution. The students are then asked what they would do if they had that problem. When adults read we automatically practise this strategy. However, young children have to learn to do this orally and in later years they will be asked to write their thinking down on paper. 

Events for Next Week

 

Just a reminder that Friday, May 30th is a very busy and exciting day for the students and the families. First in the Kindergarten classroom we will have Scientist in the Classroom for both the morning and afternoon groups. Due to this special event the students will not be going out to play. A very special thank you to our Parent Involvement Committee for covering the cost of this for all the students. This is a wonderful experience and fabulous learning with hands on experiences. The students will be learning about 'Bugs'. Also I want to thank all the parent volunteers for sharing their precious time with the students.

 

May 30th is also the celebration of Meadowvale's 60th Anniversary. The time of the event is from 4:00 to 7:00. It will be wonderful to see everyone and especially parents and students who attended the school years ago or a few years ago. It will be wonderful to share the treasured memories. 

Dramatic Play Centre

 

The students have decided to change the dramatic play centre from the Vet Shop to the birthday centre. The students in the centre wear party hats and make birthday cards for the customers. The cards are decorated with stickers, stamps and illustrations. This centre promotes writing in many ways. So if your child comes home with a birthday card and you think, "it's not my child's birthday". It is their special day to someone in the Birthday Centre because they have taken the time to make a card for someone and to celebrate a birthday. The students are very excited about this centre.

Special Events for the Week

 

Tuesday, May 20th the Art Gallery will be coming into the Kindergarten Classroom both for the morning group of students and the afternoon students. Although the students have been offered many opportunities to paint in the classroom, I felt that they should have the experience of learning with a professional. Therefore, I have chosen a painting experience for the students and since we had the Vet Shop, I chose for them to paint a picture of a fish. I also felt every student would be more successful if the pet was an easy one for them. There will be no cost to the parents at this time since the Parent Involvement Committee has graciously volunteered to cover the cost of the Art Gallery for the whole school. A very special THANK YOU to the Committee!

Math

 

I have little cards that are ten frames with some of the squares in the ten frame coloured in. The students sit in a large circle and I give each student two or three little cards faced down in front of them. When I call the students name they turn over one card and then subitize the number on the card. All the students love the game and often request we play it. This little game has assisted all the children to develop their subitizing skills.

 

 

There are some SK students who are ready for math problem solving. Approximately twice a month I meet with those students independently and they work on the problem. Sometimes I scribe (write) their thinking for them when they orally tell me how they solved the problem. However, many of them are able to show their mathematical thinking by making pictures and writing number. It is very interesting to see how their little brains come up with the answer in so many different ways.



Language

 

The jolly phonic sound for this week is the "r" sound. Some of the words we will practise stretching out are: rad, rap, rat, ran, rib, rid, rim, rip, rub, run, rug, red. This is only a three minute mini lesson. The main objective is to give the students practise how seeing how words are formed and how we stretch out the sounds in order to make a word.

 

 

During the teacher read aloud the focus will be on the "problem" of the story and the "solution". As a group the students are asked to orally share what they believe is the problem in the story and how the problem was solved. Sometimes the students are asked to share what they would do to solve the problem.

 

 

All the By Heart Words are now on the board. Sometimes we play a game where a volunteer chooses a word they know and they are then asked to spell the word. All the students love this game. The JK's often ask an SK to help them by the game gives them practise to spell the word because many of the JK's are able to successfully identify most of the letters of the alphabet. 

Language

 

This week the jolly phonic sound is the 'Ff' sound. I wish to remind all the parents, especially the SK parents to have your child practise identifying the letter and the sound. Some of the words we will practise with the sound are: fish, fan, fun, fat, for, fill, fit, fed, fog, fox.

 

 

The By Heart words are: her and this. After next week we will be finished with all the By Heart Words. The students are really good at finding the word on the By Heart Chart. I want to thank the parents who practise these words with their child. These are the most common words the students come across in the reading and their writing.

 

In the area of comprehension the students will be asked to identify the problem in the story and the solution. This will mainly occur when I read a story aloud to the students. 

Dramatic Play Centre

 

The student's have voted to have the Dramatic Play Centre changed from the grocery store to the Vet Shop. Next week they will have an opportunity to make a sign for the shop. They are welcomed to bring one of their stuffies from home to have in the shop.

 

I placed some white shirts (so they can be the vet), a doctor's kit, with medicine, needle, thermometer, stethoscope and other materials. I was also able to place in the centre a stuffed turtle, fish, and dog.

 

On Friday we discussed why we have Vet's and the students had an opportunity to share all their background knowledge about Vets. Then the discussion reflected upon why people take their animals to a Vet and what happens when you take your animal to the Vet. It will be interesting to see if their are able to put what they know about a Vet Shop and implement that knowledge into their play. Accomplishing this skill reinforces the real learning for the students.

Mother's Day Celebration

 

The student's continue to work hard preparing for the Mother's Day Celebration. If your child attends Kindergarten in the afternoon, if you could drop them off in the Kindergarten room at about 10:25 and then you can go to the gym and find the spot where you are to sit. Due to the fact that I am having both classes together this year your younger child may have to sit on your knee.

 

Mr. Hawkey will not be available this year to take your photo with your child. However, Mrs. M has graciously offered to do so.

 

The snack this year will consist of homemade chocolate chip cookies and lemonade.

 

 

All the students will leave at about 11:20 and then the afternoon students will return for their regular instruction at 12:50. This will give me time to tidy up the gym, get the classroom ready for the afternoon students and hopefully have a few minutes to have a bit of lunch.

 

The students are very excited about the Mother's Day Celebration. The songs and dance that they will be performing are their choice. Only the poem and another little secret is related to Mother's Day. The songs and dance are their very favourite and their requests.

Rankin Cancer Run

 

Once again this year I plan to do the Rankin Cancer Run and hope many of my Kindergarten students and their families will join me. There is a bus that will pick us up at Meadowvale School so you won't have to worry about parking. The date for the Rankin Cancer Run is set for Saturday, May 24, 2014.

 

The Rankin Run is clearly focused on funding immediate cancer care, for all cancers, and all for the Niagara Region. The community joins together to raise funds while we honour and continue to be inspired by those whose lives are touched by cancer.

I encouraged you to walk or run, 1 km or 5 km. Together, we are making a difference!

 

You have a number of registration options. You may register online. Pre-register from 1-9 pm on Thursday, May 22 at the Grantham Lions Club on the corner of Niagara St. and Parnell Rd. Register by sending your completed form into the school with your child, or you may register the morning of the run. The registration table will open at 8 am at the Grantham Lions Club, 732 Niagara Street, St. Catharines. Come early as traffic will be heavy in the area. Let's have a huge number of participants since it will be Meadowvale's last year of participation!



Structures

 

What can structures look like in Kindergarten? First you require a variety of sizes and shapes of wooden blocks.Then you need to have some determined five and six year old's who work well as a team, share the materials well and listen to each other's ideas and suggestions. Next you need some students who have been focused and shared their thinking about various structures, stability and supports. Finally the students need to be risk takers, eager to try a number of ideas, and patient when the result does not work out well. Lastly, the students must be able to think, plan, follow through with the plan and attempt new ideas when things don't work out as planned. When you have all these elements in place the results are overwhelming!

 

 

 

 

All these were created in one afternoon by four boys. As you can see these structures are evidence of learning about shapes, design, supports, stability and lots of team work and rich language communication. All the learning will prepare these boys for the other learning opportunities. All this learning took place in a play based Kindergarten program.