Mathematics

 

The students will continue to learn about graphs and to tell which category has the most or least. I have been challenging the students to tell me how they know one category has more. I am amazed at how many of the students (JK and SK) know that some numbers are higher, more than, bigger than other numbers and they also know that some numbers are less or smaller than some numbers. For example, 8 is a higher number than 6 I was told by a JK student the other day.

 

The Kindergarten curriculum is very specific in the area of numeration and math. 
NS1.2 The students investigate concepts of quantity through identifying and comparing sets with more, fewer, or the same number of objects.
NS1.5 recogngize some quantitites without having to count, using a variety of tools, ten frames, dot plates, dice (e.g. composing or decomposing numbrs, subitizing).
 So even though your child may be able to count way beyond 10, I assess the student's mathematical  understanding about numbers from 1 to ten. To be able to tell me which numbers are bigger than a specific number and which numbers are smaller. An SK student may be asked to explain if the number is 7, how many more do I need to have 10?

 

In order to ensure many of the students have a better understanding of which number is bigger or smaller I have started to have them show the two graphing categories on two separate ten frames. This way all the students have a visual aid to assist them to understand 8 is more than 6.

 

In this example the students are able to visualize that 8 has more squares filled then the 6 does. Another way to visualize it is 8 only has 2 empty squares and 6 has 4 empty squares. Using a ten frame in this way the students can also visualize how many dots are needed to be added to the number 8 to make 10 and how many dots are needed to be added to 6 to make 10.

Language

 

The jolly phonic sound for this week is the short "a" sound. Please practise the letter and the sound with your child on a weekly basis for about 5 minutes. This can happen when walking to school, in the car driving or while you are preparing supper. It does not have to be a long time. The vowels are very difficult for the students. Some of the words we will be working on are: cat, hat, can, man, cap, bad, ham, jam, ball, tall, fall, tap, lap, back, pack, sack, rag, mad, sad, had.

 

The comprehension strategy the students will be introduced to is: making a prediction. During teacher read aloud, I will stop at various parts of the story and ask the children to predict what might happen next in the story and why they predict that might happen. They are to use clues from what has been read so far, and some of their own experiences to help them with their predictions. 

March Items

 

The March Kindergarten Calendar is now on the blog for you to download. Also, the parent volunteer calendar for both the morning and afternoon Kindergarten are up in the hallway just outside of the Kindergarten classroom. I have also put the school March Newsletter and the school March Calendar on the blog so you will be able to download all the calendars.

 

The saying goes March can come in like a lion or a lamb. However, my Mom told me when I was young you want March to come in like a lion so that it will go out like a lamb and that would mean we will have a nice spring. I don't care if it comes in like a lion or out like a lamb or visa verso, just as long March is not as bitter and frigid as February was!

The Mitten

 

During teacher read aloud the students have listened to several versions of the story "The Mitten". They have talked about what happened in each story and what was the same in each of the versions and what was different. Today in the morning a boy and a girl were very busy using the link cubes. As I was watching and listening to their conversations, I learned they had made a huge mitten with the link cubes. Then another little girl came and joined into the play situation.

Next they came and asked me if they could use some of the puppets and other stuffed animals to put into the mitten. They went on to explain that the mitten was huge so lots of animals could fit into this mitten. After they organized the animals into the mitten the three of them reinacted the story using the various animals they had placed inside the link chain mitten.



Wonderful Imaginations

 

I am constantly thinking of new inventive ideas in order to stimulate the students oral communication skills, imaginations, role playing activities, and opportunties for teamwork and sharing. A while ago I took tongue depressors and hot glued velcro on the ends of the tongue despressors. Today I finally decided to put them out in order to see what the students would do with them.

 

A couple of girls in the morning class used them to create a variety of shapes. Due to the fact I took pictures of what they created for their learning stories and they are in the pictures I can not put them on the blog. They created houses, squares, picture frames, a church, triangles, rectangles and I named one of the shapes as a pentagon for the girls.

 

Then I put them out for the afternoon class. It took a few minutes but then finally two boys took the same activity and they created a maze with the tongue drepressors. Next they went and added some of the various community helper vehicles and some of the Lego people. This is where there was lots of problem solving going on, as well as roll playing. They decided that there was a police officer and they were helping people because there was a big accident on the highway and they needed to get the cars off the road and people to the hospital. What wonderful oral communication skills were exhibited during this centre.

 

 

 

The learning that took place at this particular centre was far more important than any worksheet or teacher directed activity. Whenever I enter a play situation, it is as a listener. Then we I feel there is a need to stimulate more conversation I do so by asking probing questions and to assist the students to take on various roles when they engaged in play situations. 



 

Science Experiment

 

It is wonderful to have parent volunteers in the Kindergarten classroom because then more learning opportunities can be explored by the children. So in the afternoon the children were offered with a big challenge. They were to use some materials to build something for a gingerbread cookie to float on so it would not get wet in the water. The materials on hand for them to use were: masking tape, pieces of Styrofoam, and tin foil. All the students who worked with Mrs. P. planned their ideas in the heads and thought carefully before they were ready for the big experiment. "What it work or would it not"? Many of the students were very hopeful that it would work because they did not want to eat a soggy cookie and they could hardly wait to get to eat the cookie. Some of the students told me "this is the best day ever".

I have included some of the photos of their creations. Everything worked and not one student had to eat a soggy cookie. The morning students will have an opportunity to complete the experiment tomorrow (Thursday).

 



Anti-Bullying Day

Wednesday, February 27 is set as Anti-Bullying Day. In order to show that we care about this huge issue of bullying, all the students and teachers are encouraged to wear pink in support of Anti-bullying day. If your child does not have a pink shirt, perhaps you could buy a cheap white T-shirt at a thrift store or Old Navy and dye it pink.

 

First thing in the morning there will be an assembly regarding Anti-bullying and what it means. The students will learn a bully is and what to do if someone bullies them. Let's try our very best to stamp ou bullying from all schools and all over the country of Canada!

 

Pink shirt day comes from two high school students in Nova Scotia who decided to take a stand against bullying.

 

Your child can support this special campaign to stamp out bullying by wearing a pink T-shirt, pink shirt or pink sweater. It would be wonderful during the assembly to see a gym filled with pink!