First Week of February

 

Yeah, it is the first week of February starting on Monday. This is the month of love, kindness and friendship, not that every month is not this, but February is the month of truly celebrating these attributes.

 

On Tuesday, February 4th both the morning and afternoon SK students will have their Graduation Photos done. The photographer will be at the school in the morning and then once again in the afternoon. So be sure to have your SK students not miss this day, because there is not another time they will be able to have these photos done.

 

Thursday, February 6th both the JK's and the SK's will be bringing home their report card. Be sure to celebrate this time with your child by telling them how proud you are of their accomplishments. This is also the date of Kindergarten Registration from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. If you are aware of any children who will be four years of age before December 31st this year be sure to tell them to bring their child for registration. 

Add and Cover

 

I have added a math game that the students have played in class. Many of the SK students know what to do for the game. They roll two dice and I ask them to subitize one of the dice and then count on for the second dice. This assists the students to prepare for addition. If your child needs to count the dots on each die that is okay because that is where they are at this time. However, the ultimate goal is to get them to subitze the biggest number of dots, put that number in their head and then count on. I thought I would attach it for you to download and print off for additional practise with this math game. You will find it on the right hand side of the blog under the heading For Parents.

 

Just a little tip. It is easier for the students if you use two different coloured dice. Second tip is to place the dice in a small clear container with a lid. The students are taught to hold the lid and the bottom of the container when shaking the dice. This helps stop the dice from going out of control. I hope you enjoy working with your child on the game.

 



Evidence of Real Life into Play Situations

 

 

This afternoon four boys were very busy building roads and bridges in the sandbox using a variety of materials found around the classroom. As they were chatting about their play, a couple of them started talking about how hungry they were and how they hoped it would be snack soon. I told them that snack was not for a long time and they complained a little.

 

Suddenly one of the SK boys told the others to wait at the sandbox for him, he had an idea. He went to the counter of the bakery shop and asked for help that he wanted to place an order. He told them he want 7 cakes, 6 cookies and 5 muffins. Then he asked them how long that would take to bake.

 

After that he went back to the sandbox and told the others, "if we wait about 10 minutes we can have pretend food and if we really, really pretend we might not get hungry again because I ordered us all lots of food from the bakery".

 

Great problem solving and implementing the real world into his play.  I had to share this wonderful experience with all those who take the time to read the blog. To those I thank you because it tells me you really appreciate your child's learning.

Reading Across Canada

 

Wow! It is amazing because in the Kindergarten class there was 98% of the Kindergarten students returned their Reading Across Canada folders today and everyone of those students moved. I want to thank all the parents for their dedication to this program. You are reinforcing to your child at a very early age that reading is very important and for that I thank you!

 

 

Speaking about reading. When I feel an SK child is ready for reading I choose a book that I feel is at an appropriate reading level for them. Once the SK child has read the book to book, then they are able to bring the book home to read to Mom, Dad, Grandma, Grandpa, the dog or anyone else who will listen to them read. The only thing I ask is, if your child brings home a book to read you please return the book back to school after they have read it to you. The books I am sending home are very expensive because they can only be ordered through an educational publisher. Once your child read this book to whoever in the family be sure to record the book in their Reading Across Canada folder. For example, if they read the book four times, then record it four times.

 



Sweet Treat Anyone!

 

Well the bakery is up and running. This is a huge success, with many of the students patiently waiting for a turn in the centre. One of the morning boys told me today, "I think you should make a list so the same kids don't go in every day." So this is what we have decided to do. I wish I could post pictures of the students, because they look adorable with their little aprons and hats on. They are taking orders from the customers.

 

One of the girls in the morning class, who loves to write decided to work with me this morning. First she made the sign "Yummy Yummy" that is the name of the morning shop. Then she created a list of the items sold and wrote the prices. She decided to do two copies one for the customers and one for the bakers. She went so far as to show me where to place them on the customer stand so the signs could be seen by both the customer and the bakers. This will be a great reading and writing tool for the bakers.

In the bake shop there are: rolling bins, play dough, little bowls, mixing spoons, measuring cups, measuring spoons, oven mitts and lifters. I had two aprons and two more were donated and I made some baker hats from sentence strips and tissue paper. The students painted two small boxes and one box became the microwave and the other became the oven.

The afternoon class voted to name their bake shop the Sweet Shop. Two girls created the sign for the afternoon shop. I have included a few photos for you to enjoy!

 

 

 



Reminders for this week!

 

 

Just a reminder Reading Across Canada folders are to be returned on every Wednesday morning or afternoon. If the folder is late, for example on Thursday it will not be able to be recorded until the following Wednesday. The two staff members who do all the calculating and moving of suitcases, have kindly given up some of their time to complete the movement of every class in the whole school each Wednesday.

 

 

SK Graduation Photo Day!

 

If your child is an SK be sure to mark the following date on your calendar. Tuesday, February 4th the morning and afternoon SK students will have their Kindergarten graduation photo's taken. You are under no obligation to purchase the photos. However, each SK will have a photo done on this date. 

Language

 

The "by heart words" for this week is my and are. I have decided to add two because some of the SK students are displaying a keen interest in reading. These two words occur most often in some of the easier to read books. Knowing these words will assist them to read more fluently and want to read more and more books. If your SK child brings home a book to read, this is because they have first read the book to me and are ready to read it at home. Please encourage your child to look at the beginning sound when they get to a word they don't know and look at the picture to help them with these words. Please don't automatically tell them the word, because then they will always expect someone to tell them the word.

Once your child reads the book to you at home, I ask that you return the book. When they have read another book to me they will then get another book to bring home. Thank you for helping and encouraging your child with their reading. The most important key is to practise the "by heart words" daily. I will be sending home this week a list of the words we have learned so far.

The jolly phonic sound is the "z" sound. The students will be introduced to words that start or end with the z sound. For example, buzz, jazz, fuzz, whiz, zoom, zoo, zag, zig, zip, zebra, zero, and zap.

The word family for this week is the use of the "by heart word" all. For example, ball, call, fall, gall, hall, mall, tall, wall, small.