Language

 

 

For this week the "By Heart Word" is: in. The word in will be a wonderful opportunity to offer the children with the word family "in". Using the word "in" children learn how to chunk sounds together. For example, "in" is the chunk and if you add a "b" to the beginning the word is "bin". We will follow the same procedure for other words:  chin, fin, grin, pin, tin, skin, thin, spin, win.

 

 

During teacher read aloud for the next two weeks, I want to reinforce the importance of using the pictures to assist with figuring out a word and how the pictures help us to understand what is happening in the story. In order to reinforce this skill with the children, periodically I will cover up the text in some of the stories and have the children use the pictures to assist them to tell the story. Using the pictures to assist with reading is a very important skill for beginner readers. Please reinforce the use of this skill when your child is reading to you at home. 

Mathematics

 

For the next two weeks the children will be offered additional opportunities to work at various math stations in order to represent a set of objects in a variety of ways. Many of the children continue to require additional practise with subitizing. Subitizing is very important to assist with addition of various numbers. The children will have opportunities to create number books. JK's will be responsible to create a number book from 1 to 5, and SK's 1 to 10. They will print the number and show the number with pictures. 

Dramatic Play -  Grocery Store

 

Well the first week back after an enjoyable week off from school the children will be offered mini lessons on how to write lists and when people write lists. The grocery store is a wonderful area where writing of lists becomes a meaningful and useful experience for the children. I have been collecting a few grocery store flyers and receipts for groceries. If parents have some extra copies of old receipts and flyers from grocery stores that would be wonderful.

 

When you are getting ready to go grocery shopping, a suggestion is to have your child sit with you and create the list together. If your child is JK, they can make pictures of items you want and then write the beginning and ending sound of the item beside it. This is a way to reinforce the learning in a meaningful and fun manner. If your child is SK, they too can make the picture but have them stretch and write the sounds that they hear for the particular item. This may take longer to create the list, but it will be a great learning experience for the two of you!

Dramatic Play Centre

 

The post office has been a tremendous success and has provided the children with many opportunities to write letters to each other or to their parents. They have learned things need to go into an envelope and a name on the envelope is also needed as well as  a stamp. However, after March Break there will be a new experience for the children. When we brainstormed what to change it to, it was voted to have a grocery store.

 

 

The children brainstormed things that are needed for the grocery store. I have included a list and perhaps during March break parents will be kind enough to save a variety of empty packages and cans for us.

 

Things needed:

 

fruit and vegetables (plastic)

a variety of cans with labels on them ( please make sure there are no rough edges, I have a special can opener that ensures all edges are smooth).

empty boxes, cereal, crackers, salt, pepper containers, empty yogurt containers, empty egg cartons, empty margarine containers, empty milk and cream containers, and any frozen food containers.

paper bags

little aprons

old receipts

 

 

I have one shopping cart, a cash register, and play money.

 

The children will be responsible to make price tags and signs for the various items, as well as organizing the various foods in a neat manner, so the shoppers can find what they wish to purchase.  Any thing else you can think of would be greatly appreciated. If you wish you may start to send in the materials Thursday and Friday. Then Friday, I can start to set things up before March Break.

 



 



I wonder...

 

The other day we were reading a book called "My Friend Rabbit." This is an excellent book about friendship and there is very little text and the pictures are excellent to tell a story and the illustrations are hilarious. The children were laughing the real belly type of laugh.The day we were reading this story it was raining outside.

 

So after the story I had the children look out the window to watch the rain and tell me what they noticed. There was wonderful discussion, but then one of the children asked why there were not any worms outside in the rain? This one question caused a frenzy of "I wonders..." from many of the children. I have decided to share these with all the parents.

 

I wonder where worms go in the winter?

I wonder if worms have ears? If not how do they hear things?

I wonder if worms have eyes? How do they see if they don't have eyes?

I wonder if a worm breaks in to can it go back together?

I wonder what worms eat?

I wonder how many babies worms have?

I wonder how if worms come from mommies or eggs?

I wonder what worms houses look like?

I wonder if worms have houses?

I wonder how worm babies are born? 

 

 

So I have decided some time in the very near future I will have to buy some worms and bring them into the class so we can investigate and make observations about worms.

Language

 

The jolly phonic sound for this week is the short vowel "i". Some of the words for the children to practise are: pin, sit, ink, pig, tin, dip, tip, hip, fit, fill, bit, fin, and ring.

 

 

The "by heart words" for this week is: fun and to. Many of  the children are using the word fun in their writing so I have decided to add to the list.

 

 

We are continuing with reading books about friendships and discussing what type of friend the character was and giving evidence from the story. This is only taking place orally, there is not written component.

 

 

The reading strategy for the children will be continuing to use the beginning and ending sound to figure out the word, and stretching out the sounds.

Paint Easel

 

Great news! The school bought the Kindergarten class a paint easel. Now the children will have an opportunity to paint each and every day. There was excitement in the class last week and painting was a big hit. I am sure we have many artists in the class. Please remember to praise your child's efforts when they bring home any artistic endeavours, whether it be in painting, pastels, or some of their own creations. I believe in free expression, so each day a put out a variety of stickers, foam shapes and scrap pieces of paper for the children to use to create something they are very interested in.

 

Next I will encourage the children to write some words about what they have created, or write about who their creation is for, or perhaps the steps to make one just like it. I encourage to have the children write in a variety of the centres they visit.