Magnet Fun

The children have had a great time this past month working with magnets. Talk about exploring, discovering, and learning all at once! A bin of various magnetic and non-magnetic materials was set out with magnetic wands and for a few days the children could freely investigate the items within the bin. A couple of days later a paper and pencil activity was introduced where they had to find the pictured item from the bin and figure out if it was magnetic or not. So many kiddos loved this job! The table was full for days, and then suddenly, their interest waned. They had moved on. But...... by just leaving two empty baskets, two signs (magnetic/non-magnetic), and encouraging the kids to discover items around the classroom perked things up again! They found that part of the stapler was magnetic, that the cookie trays were magnetic, and even a tin lid was magnetic....they were so enthusiastic as they brought the items to the table and placed as much as they could into the appropriate basket!

Authentic learning and fun times!

Scholastic Book Order

Wow....a huge thanks for your February Scholastic book orders. With your purchases we continue to benefit by extending our book selection here in the classroom. I was able to pick out some fabulous penguin books that support our current learning, as well as, some space books that will be perfect for an upcoming unit of learning. Thank you ever so much.....we love books!!!

Interactive Valentine Poem

Last week our shared reading was a simple poem about hearts. The beauty of this particular poem is that it can be read on its own, easily memorized, and it can be interactive.

The numerals at the bottom were easily removed and could be placed over the printed word that it matched using velcro. In addition, we could use removable five-frames to show what that number looked like. A bit difficult to explain here in words, but the kids were able to confidently participate in this shared reading over and over again by either placing the pieces in the correct spot or "reading" the poem and tracking the print using a touch/tap method. An easy poem with multiple useful purposes.

Thanks to Miss Sarah for letting us borrow this!

And That Makes Three!

A week of birthday celebrations!

Another friend turns 5!

Happy Birthday Bridget!

I hope your day is filled with many special memories!

She's Five!!!

Happy, Happy, Happy Birthday to you Alana!

Hope you were treated like a princess!

I'm sorry I'm a day late with this post :(

Snakes Alive

Snakes alive! Dylan turns 5!!!

Have a wonderful day Dylan. 

Happy Birthday!

Mix-It Fix-It

This is a follow up to the winter scarf patterning activity. For a number of days we had a shared reading with the following sentence: I made an _(ABAB)__ pattern on my scarf. We talked at length about how many words there were in the sentence, what punctuation was used, what each word started with, sounded words out and identified sight words. After a few days the sentence was cut apart, mixed up, and needed to be fixed. As a whole group we rearranged the sentence which they then referred to when it was time to organize the sentence on their own scarf. Not an easy task, but WOW a lot of them could really do it on their own and some didn't even need to look at the example!

Are you on a long road trip this upcoming long weekend? Try saying silly mixed-up sentences (short and sweet ones) and invite your child to fix it for you. A great way to pass time, entertain, support learning, and develop good listening skills for your child!
A reminder that there is no school tomorrow or Monday. Have a wonderful weekend and enjoy Family Day!

Happy Valentine's Day

The children made a BIG heart to hold all of their wonderful Valentine's Day cards and goodies. First we painted one side, then folded along the line of symmetry, and finally, squished the paint all around. Beautiful art that is multi-functional!

Our Buddies came for a quick visit to deliver Valentine's! What a thoughtful group of kids; we are so lucky!

Don't Forget

A reminder that the program choice for Senior Kindergarten is to be returned by Monday February 13th.
Thanks!

A Beauty Of A Day

Well, we couldn't resist the beautiful day today and ended up sledding! The conditions were perfect out in the field and the kids had a blast! Could our day get any better? Sure can! Add a cup of hot chocolate and the day is complete!

Oh, and how can I forget...we also worked on the letter Vv. A tricky letter to print since the two diagonal lines need to meet in a point at the bottom. Some attempts look more like a Uu, but we try and that is important.

Winter Wonderland

I will be sending a few items home shortly and thought a quick explanation would be a great idea! Knowing the purpose behind an activity can be useful for you as a parent as it will allow you to support the learning that is taking place at school. Reviewing items brought home reinforces skills learned, shows an appreciation for their hard work, and encourages retelling skills.

Here is a picture of a snowflake that the children created. This beautiful piece was fabulous for their fine motor skills; pinching little beads and then threading them was very tricky! Notice too how every arm of the snowflake is identical! Great visual perception work and math as they created arms that contained a pattern.

The following is a picture of a matching activity where every snowman had to have the identical hat to match. This activity was great for scissor skills, age appropriate colouring, and the concept of matching. Quick and cute!

Our winter scarves were a multi-step activity that took quite some time to complete! Every scarf had to be traced from a template, cut out, fringed, and be decorated with a pattern. Creating patterns at home with household items (utensils, toothpicks, crackers etc.) would make for great practice and lots of fun. Have your child be creative as he/she gathers items to work with. Check in to see if they can tell you the pattern using letters (ie ABAB, or ABC pattern).

But that is not all that we did with our scarves! The next post here will include a description of a language activity that we completed and added to our scarf. Come back soon to read more about it!

Valentine's Day Classroom Party

It is never too soon to start those cards if this is an activity that you suspect your son/daughter will be participating in! It can be overwhelming and tedious. Instead of posting the names here I have sent home a class list today for proper spelling. I will assist with the distribution of cards, but to be quite honest the kids are very good at reading the names of the other students in the class and will likely be able to do this independently.

The classroom party for the children will be held on Tuesday February 14th. Below you will find a list of families that have so kindly signed up to provide snacks for that day! Please feel free to send the item in with your child or, if it is easier, pop into the classroom for delivery, or you can even drop the snack off in the office and I will pick it up there. Whatever is easiest for you!

Veggies & Dip:          Bridget's Family
Fruit:                         Grayden's Family
Cheese & Crackers:  Lauren's Family
Juice & Cups:            Hannah's Family
Cookies:                    Kieve's Family
Cupcakes:                 Romana's Family