Math Fair
This week the students were able to spend the morning going to the different grades and engaging in various math games and problems. The projects had all different types of math problems, most were of problem solving nature and spatial reasoning. Some of the students have already started planning their math fair activity for when they are in Grade 1.
Music Monday
Music Monday was so much fun. Mrs. Sorensen arranged for a variety of performances for the students to watch. Below are some pictures of the performers.
Last week with my parents in town we had a special guest reader in our classroom. It was so great to hear my dad read a story to the class. Took me back to my childhood.
New Games
We have been working on adding numbers within 10 this week and have been having some fun with floor 10 frames. The students had to roll a die, make the number and then figure out what other number they needed to make 10. They then had to practice writing an addition sentence.
Letter match: we are really starting to focus on uppercase and lowercase letters in out writing. The students have been playing a game during center time where they have to match the letter they roll to the letter on their paper. It helps with letter recognition but also writing letters.
Yoga
Over the past few weeks we have had a yoga expert guiding us through some yoga poses. This was a great experience for myself and the students, as the instructor incorporated different animals and animal noises for breathing and yoga poses. The students especially enjoyed the cat cow pose where they could moo and meow. Yoga is a great tool to help students understand control in their body.
Earth Rangers
I am sure the Earth Rangers gained some new rangers after yesterdays presentation. We learned about a variety of animals that are in danger. One interesting fact about iguanas we learned is that when they lay their eggs, the gender of the iguana is determined by the heat of the sun. The eggs closest to the sun are females and the eggs farthest from the sun are males. With global warming, we are seeing more and more female iguanas. They have a wonderful website with lots of other information about endangered species https://www.earthrangers.com
Earth Day
We started talking about Earth Day this week, and the students were very interested in litter and pollution that we spent most of the week talking about ways to help the Earth. On Wednesday we spent some time outside picking up garbage off of our school yard and play ground. Take a peek at this photo! Can you believe this much garbage was on OUR school yard? Since we have such tiny hands, we talked about how we tried to get all the garbage but we probably missed a little bit.
Thursday we spent some time talking about the difference between garbage and recycling. We watched a quick informational video about garbage trucks and facilities. The students sketched as they watched, some of the important things they learned. We then had conversations about how you know something is garbage and how do you know something is recycling. We also learned that a lot of our garbage ends up in the rivers, streams and oceans.
Garbage: You use only 1 time (like diapers, kitty litter, straws etc.)
Recycling: You use more then one time (like paper, milk cartoons, egg cartoons, plastic containers, glass containers)
We will be spending some time next week talking about the different materials you can recycle, so the students have a better understanding about what goes in recycling, what is compost and what is garbage.
Leprechaun Traps
The students worked very hard this week on building and creating their leprechaun traps. I had a leprechaun store that was open for business and the students had to come to ask for certain materials like tape, glitter and plasticine. They had to know how much they needed and describe what they needed it for. We will have to find out on Monday if anyone caught a leprechaun.
Winter Animals
This week, with the help of a parent volunteer, the kids were able to all partake in an experiment. The questions asked was "How do winter animals stay warm in the Winter? Do they stay warm by just having skin, having feathers or having blubber?" Each student was given an opportunity to make a prediction and guess what they thought would keep animals the most warm. The majority of students predicted that blubber would work to help keep animals the warmest.
Materials needed:
- Metal bowl full of ice and cold water
- tape
- feathers
- crisco (acting as blubber)
- spoon
Experiment
1. Test 1: Just putting their index finger in the bowl of ice water
Students then had to record the temperature of the water with their finger alone- Cold or Not Cold
2. Test 2: Index finger with feathers taped around
Students then had to record the temperature of the water when they had feathers protecting their finger - Cold or Not Cold
3. Test 3: Index finger with crisco around it
Students then had to record the temperature of the water when they had crisco protecting their finger - Cold or Not Cold
Findings: Students discovered that blubber helps keep animals warm the most. As it acts like a really thick layer of fat.
Materials needed:
- Metal bowl full of ice and cold water
- tape
- feathers
- crisco (acting as blubber)
- spoon
Experiment
1. Test 1: Just putting their index finger in the bowl of ice water
Students then had to record the temperature of the water with their finger alone- Cold or Not Cold
2. Test 2: Index finger with feathers taped around
Students then had to record the temperature of the water when they had feathers protecting their finger - Cold or Not Cold
3. Test 3: Index finger with crisco around it
Students then had to record the temperature of the water when they had crisco protecting their finger - Cold or Not Cold
Findings: Students discovered that blubber helps keep animals warm the most. As it acts like a really thick layer of fat.
Below are some pictures of some fun winter/artic animal play that has been happening
Caring Majority
This week we spent some time talking about the silent majority and the caring majority.
The silent majority are people who stand by and do not intervene to help someone in need.
The caring majority are people who step in and help others in need.
The students were very eager to demonstrate how they were the caring majority. Students started caring in other peers backpacks and jackets at the end of the day. Students started helping others clean up, when they noticed that a friend was cleaning up all by themselves.
Over the weekend please have conversations about how they can be kind at home and in the community.
The silent majority are people who stand by and do not intervene to help someone in need.
The caring majority are people who step in and help others in need.
The students were very eager to demonstrate how they were the caring majority. Students started caring in other peers backpacks and jackets at the end of the day. Students started helping others clean up, when they noticed that a friend was cleaning up all by themselves.
Over the weekend please have conversations about how they can be kind at home and in the community.
Story Workshop
Story workshop is a designed activity where students engage in play with a purpose and specific goal. Since this was our first time there were not a lot of expectations for the students. I wanted them to freely engage in the activity but I did prompt them with a question. "Think of a time someone was nice to you? Who was it and what did they do?" Story Workshop is typically a multi-day activity. Here was what happened this week:
1. On Tuesday the students and I went outside to get a better sense of setting. Students used nature and food coloring mixed with water in spray bottles to create stories. All of their stories when told back to me, occurred outside. The the setting for those stories was outside.
1. On Tuesday the students and I went outside to get a better sense of setting. Students used nature and food coloring mixed with water in spray bottles to create stories. All of their stories when told back to me, occurred outside. The the setting for those stories was outside.
2. On Wednesday, we used loose parts to take what we learned about setting and apply it to the question of "Think of a time someone was nice to you? Who was it and what happened?" The students were excited to get started creating their stories using a variety of different items. Some took their stories in a different direction but that was okay this time because we were just experimenting with building with loose parts for the first time. Some students however, created beautiful stories about friendships.
3. On Thursday, the students had to then had to transfer the stories they created with loose parts onto paper. They had to create a beginning, a middle and an end to their story.
Science Fair
This week the students were able to spend some time at the Gr. 1-6 science fair. The students were encouraged to act as judges for the different science projects. They LOVED walking around and giving the projects either 1-4 happy faces (4 being the best). A lot of students have already started planning their science fair project for when they are in Grade 1.
During our Friendship day celebrations the students cycled through a variety of literacy and math stations.
1. Word Work Center - students worked on identifying, blending letter sounds and initial letter sound activities.
2. Math Patterns - students were encouraged to make patterns that weren't AB patterns using beads and pipecleaners
3. Word Hunt - I hide sight words around the classroom and students had to find and record the words
4. Heart Addition - students rolled 2 dice and had to use manipulative to show the numbers they rolled. They then added the two totals together to get a sum. They were encouraged to practice writing the addition sentence as well.
5. Technology - the students are learning how to use computers so at this center students were on star fall independently exploring the website.
1. Word Work Center - students worked on identifying, blending letter sounds and initial letter sound activities.
2. Math Patterns - students were encouraged to make patterns that weren't AB patterns using beads and pipecleaners
3. Word Hunt - I hide sight words around the classroom and students had to find and record the words
4. Heart Addition - students rolled 2 dice and had to use manipulative to show the numbers they rolled. They then added the two totals together to get a sum. They were encouraged to practice writing the addition sentence as well.
5. Technology - the students are learning how to use computers so at this center students were on star fall independently exploring the website.
Germs
Monday we had a bit of an impromptu lesson on germs. With so many kids getting sick in the school, I took the opportunity to teach and talk about germs and how they spread. We watched a quick video about germs and how they spread and what you can do to stop them from spreading. After the video I gave each child a little bit of glitter and then asked them to find some personal space in the classroom. They were told to pretend that the glitter was tiny microscopic bacteria's. They were then told that they were going to pretend to sneeze or cough and the glitter was going to act as their germs. We counted down and the kids threw their glitter pretending it was their germs from a cough. Words I heard instantly "wooo my germs went so far" "woo my germs are on .... shirt" "my germs are still on my hands" ".... germs are on my pants." Throughout the day the students were finding glitter in the hallways, on chairs, door handles and backpacks. It was a great visual for them to see what happens when they cough or sneeze. They have been very prompt this week with washing their hands and using Kleenex. We did a craft to represent sneezing into a Kleenex. Take a look below.
We also started learning about Winter animals this week. I had the students divided into small groups where they had to work together to sort through a variety of animal pictures. They had to decide together which animals liked the snow and which animals don't like the snow. They then presented their posters in front of the class and their classmates were given an opportunity to agree or disagree with how they had sorted their animals. It was interesting to hear some of their reasoning. E.g. "Well a dog likes to play in the snow but doesn't like to live in the outdoors." "Certain types of sharks like the cold water but not all." "Rabbits change color in the winter so they can play in the snow."
Skating
This week we were fortunate enough to take our physical education outside. Skating was such a blast and I could not be more proud of the students. They all showed perseverance and if they fell they would just get back up and try again. Monday we spent talking about what perseverance meant and the conversation was inspired by a video of a momma bear and her cub trying to climb a snowy mountain. After the video I asked the students what they thought perseverance meant. Check out this cute video below.
Note: all my pictures of skating had the students faces in them so unfortunately no photos this week.
Note: all my pictures of skating had the students faces in them so unfortunately no photos this week.
Nature Walk
Since we have been learning about winter, we were able to get outside this week and explore the season. On Wednesday morning, we went for a walk around the ridge and we explored using our 5 senses. We went when it was snowing and still a bit warm. The students used their sense of sight to view the wintery world. They saw the snow, some cool looking trees, snowflakes, some dogs, houses, people and cars. They used their sense of sound to hear the birds, trains, cars and wind blowing. They used their sense of touch to feel the cold. They used their sense of taste to taste the snowflakes. They used their sense of smell to smell the fresh air and smells of trees.
To help the students explore the snowflakes, they were given a piece of black construction paper to help them catch and look at snowflakes. A lot of the students thought it was neat to see that snowflakes looked like stars in real life.
To help the students explore the snowflakes, they were given a piece of black construction paper to help them catch and look at snowflakes. A lot of the students thought it was neat to see that snowflakes looked like stars in real life.
When we came back from our walk the students were given 10 minutes to sketch about their experience on the walk.
Math Games
This week the students were invited to work on their number sense of high and low numbers, but subtilizing numbers as well. They were given a deck of 10 frame cards. They had to get with a partner, and flip cards to see who flipped the higher number. They are still working on subtilizing numbers 1-10 but most are able too recognize 1-3 quickly.
Winter
This week we read the book "Winter Is" by Ann Dixon. The students were then asked "What is Winter?" They had a couple minutes to brainstorm with a partner and then we brainstormed some ideas together. The next day students were encouraged to pick 3 ideas from our brainstorm to use to write a poem. We talked about how sometimes in poems words repeat, so students had to repeat something 3 times at the end of their poems. Check out some of the poems below. But make sure to keep an eye on our bulletin board at school for our winter art and our poems.
This week in music students used hand drums to practice different rhythms. They did such a good job and were very excited to try to copy Mrs. Sorensens rhythm.
Welcome Back
I was very excited to be back into the swing of things this week. This week we dove write into some writing, art and new math concepts. Back in October I did an Expository writing assessment on the students. I wanted to see the progress, so this week we did another assessment. Below is a picture of the morning message, that had the writing prompt for the students.
The students were then given time to talk with a partner. After a few minutes I brought the students all back together and asked them to tell me how to get ready to go play in the snow. As they told me the steps I drew pictures to represent their thoughts. I then gave them a piece of paper to start representing their own thoughts. Lots of students even included numbers on their pictures to show me the order of the steps.
In art this week the students created paper snowflakes using ripped recycled paper.
The students thought they were just participating in some fun art until they came to school the next day to see....
The students asked why their snowflakes had letters, and what this meant. I then introduced the concept of estimation. I modeled for the students that estimation is a fancy math word for guess. I picked a random letter and I showed them how guessed how many pieces of white paper were used for the snowflake. I modeled that estimating isn't counting 1, 2, 3, 4... you have to look and think...hmmm how many does it look like? For example: "I am looking at letter a snowflake. I think that this snowflake has 43 pieces of white paper on it. That is my guess. That is my estimation." The students then started (didn't finish) making estimations of their own. Next week we will actually count the white pieces of paper to see if our estimations were correct.
Happy Holidays
Sorry for the lack of updates. The past few weeks have been very busy and full of music and dancing. I hope you all have a great winter break and have lots of time laughing and making memories with family and friends. Below is a picture of a winter community the students worked together to create. They all had to number their houses and put them in order, really helps with number sense and number writing practice.
Fire Station
Our 30 minute tour turned into an hour long engaging visit with the fire fighters at station #5. They had the rookie (Darren, who literally had just started his first shift ever) lead the students through the tour. They were able to see in all the different compartments of the truck, they were able to sit in the back and the driver seat, as well as see the golden fire pole and Darren get dressed in his protective gear. Something that the students enjoyed seeing was the "Jaws of life" which is a big heavy tool that helps fire fighters get people out of cars during accidents if they are unable to open the door. Below are some photos of our trip.
What to talk about at home:
- why are firefighters important?
- why are their trucks red?
- discuss what to do if there is a fire in your home.
- why do they wear uniforms?
What to talk about at home:
- why are firefighters important?
- why are their trucks red?
- discuss what to do if there is a fire in your home.
- why do they wear uniforms?
The students had so much fun and were feeling very inspired that they asked me if we could make the firefighters a book to show our appreciation. I ...of course... said ABSOLUTELY right away. On Tuesday the students got right to work. Below are their drawings of how these real life superheroes help our community.
Gym
Often the students don't realize but they are doing a variety of activities throughout their Kindergarten day that are helping to make them stronger. Gym is one of the favorite Kindergarten activities. This week I had set up gym centers for the students to move through to practice a variety of Gross Motor Skills. There was a skipping station, a soccer station, a catching station and a throwing station. They loved the station idea and all tried their very best. Right now they are working on control. Are they able to control a soccer ball through pylons? Are they able to bounce and catch a ball? How high can they throw before they lose control of the ball?
We also had Ms. Kristen our class occupational therapist in this week to work with the students on Whole Body Listening. She read them a story about listening Larry and then they had to do an activity based on what you need to use to show whole body listening.
Police Officer
We spent some time this week reading and learning about police officers. Knowing the Constable Hartmann was coming into the class, I read a book about police officers in our community. I then encouraged the students to draw a picture of how police officers help people in our community and or school community. I then took a photo of their drawings and (with the help of a parent volunteer) asked them to write a short sentence about their drawing for Constable Hartmann. I took all of their work and created a book that the students could give to Constable Hartmann as a thank you for coming into our classroom and keeping our community safe. Below are the original drawings that the students made for Constable Hartmann.
What did we learn?
- what the tools on the officers belt were for (my personal favorite comment he made was that handcuffs were for adults that needed a time out).
- officers use their bodies as tools to help people stay safe
- when and why to call 911.
- different types of keys he has to carry (i.e. one for traffic lights and one for handcuffs)
- he had to go to school to get a badge
- police dogs are official officers under the criminal code and have their own badges they need to wear
- all types of people can be and are officers in our community
- what the tools on the officers belt were for (my personal favorite comment he made was that handcuffs were for adults that needed a time out).
- officers use their bodies as tools to help people stay safe
- when and why to call 911.
- different types of keys he has to carry (i.e. one for traffic lights and one for handcuffs)
- he had to go to school to get a badge
- police dogs are official officers under the criminal code and have their own badges they need to wear
- all types of people can be and are officers in our community
Leighton Center
The students really enjoyed having Ms. Natalie from the Leighton Art Center lead them through some art activities. She had them do different types of sketches. She then led them through how to make an owl using a ball of clay. It was a very free and expressive art lesson and all the owls turned out so different. I currently have them in my classroom to dry but the students will get to bring them home once we are done with them at school.
Remembrance Day
This week we talked a lot about Remembrance Day. We talked about the significance of poppies and created a beautiful peace of art with texture which is displayed on the bulletin board. The students were given multi-step instructions, and then put to work. I was very impressed with their ability to re-create the art that I had modeled all while thinking of all the steps.
Tuesday I read the book "The Peace Book" by Todd Parr (there is a link under classroom stories). We then talked about what Peace is. The students were asked to represent their thoughts through drawings. My heart was full to see that the students have such big hearts and ideas for creating peace in the world. I have taken photocopies of all of their work and we made our own book called "The Kindergarten Peace Book" by Earl Grey Kindergarten class.
Tuesday I read the book "The Peace Book" by Todd Parr (there is a link under classroom stories). We then talked about what Peace is. The students were asked to represent their thoughts through drawings. My heart was full to see that the students have such big hearts and ideas for creating peace in the world. I have taken photocopies of all of their work and we made our own book called "The Kindergarten Peace Book" by Earl Grey Kindergarten class.
Remembrance day poppies: We spend a lot of time in Kindergarten working on our cutting stamina. However, the students were encouraged to tear red paper this week to create texture on their poppies. Once all their poppies were done we created a class wreath using the poppies for the remembrance day.
Math math and more math. The students have been engaged in a variety of math activities during transitions. This week after finishing library and waiting until music started, the students used loose parts to create different patterns and sort. They also have been looking at and observing 100s charts at the end of the day once they are dressed for outside but waiting for their friends to finish getting ready. Some students have notice that they can count to 100 on the charts. Some students have noticed that you can count by 10s on the charts and some just enjoy looking at all the numbers and seeing how high they can count before the day is done.
Pumpkin Heads
I must say this week was a busy but fun week in Kindergarten at Earl Grey. Monday the students were put into small groups to work together to carve pumpkin heads. I had first read the book Pumpkin Heads by Wendell Minor, and then the students worked together to empty the pumpkin and took turns carving important features in the face. Check out the pictures below for all the Kindergarten Pumpkin Heads. I have the book linked under classroom stories.
P.s. some of the pictures are really blurry, my apologies.
P.s. some of the pictures are really blurry, my apologies.
This week we talked about mouse problems and elephant problems. Mouse problems are small problems that you can solve all on your own. Elephant problems are emergencies where you need an adult to help. Please ask your child to tell you the difference between a mouse problem and an elephant problem and see if they can give you an example.
Halloween Party - The students had a blast doing the Halloween Parade and participating in their Halloween Party. After the parade and snacks, the students were divided up into small groups to go through a variety of Halloween inspired centers. One center was Halloween bingo, the second center was making witches hands with popcorn and candy for the red nails, and the third center was a find and match colored shapes to the appropriate witches hat game. I think I know which one the students favorite was but please ask them which center they found to be the most fun.
Shape Monsters
This week the students spent some time creating monsters using basic 2D shapes. We have read a couple stories about monsters so the students had lots of ideas for creating. They used squares, triangles, circles and rectangles to create their monsters. Once they were done each student was given a piece of paper to record their monsters name, and how many of each shape they used to create their monster. This was an assessment on identifying shapes, writing numbers, and counting. I love how each child created their own unique monster, even though they were all given the same supplies. Just goes to show how unique we all are. Some students are still working on their sheets, but I will post as they finish next week.
Buddies
Every Friday the students get together with their Grade 5 buddies. This is a great opportunity for both Kindergarteners and older students, as they learn leadership and make strong connections with other students in the school.Typically the Grade 5s meet with their buddy and read a variety of stories to them. This week however, I had the grade 5's do a guided drawing with the Kindergarteners. We are diving into our pumpkin investigation next week to get ready for the pumpkin carvings coming up on October 29th. The grade 5's did a step by step drawing with their buddies and then helped them watercolor paint their pumpkin. Make sure to keep an eye out for their wonderful art next week on the bulletin board.
Letter sorting
We have been doing a lot of sorting activities with objects but this week I had the students sort images based on their initial letter sound. The students were given a variety of images and were asked to cut them out (cutting is great for fine motor) and glue into the appropriate space. The letter sounds were buzzing around the classroom, as students were trying to figure out if their pictures went with the "B, M, G or D."
Procedural Writing: This week the students did a procedural writing assessment. Procedural writing is when you write about steps that need to be taken to reach a certain goal. Common procedural writing language is "First...then..." "First...second...third..finally." With pumpkin carving coming up, I decided to ask the students "How to carve a pumpkin." I didn't just spring this on them however. I should them a picture, they were able to talk to a friend about their ideas and then we discussed as a whole group. I modeled for the students how I was going to draw my ideas and my steps using language like "First..I would...then I would...last I would." I then explained to the students that this was their work not mine, so I was not going to help them come up with their ideas because they have such great ones that they need to draw. Each student was given a piece of paper with 4 squares and were asked to draw "how they would carve a pumpkin."
How to help your child with procedural writing at home - Oral language is so important at this age. One thing you can do at home to help your child develop a strong basis for procedural writing, is to have conversations with them using language like "First...then." Everyday we have moments where we use language involving "first..then." Whether it be getting ready for bed "First you brush your teeth and then we can read a story." Baking together "First we have to get a bowl. Second we need to read the instructions. Third we add the flour." Ringing in groceries at the grocery store "First we have to scan the items. Then we have to bag the items. Next we have to pay for the items." You are probably already having these types of conversations, which are helping to better your childs oral language around procedural writing.
How to help your child with procedural writing at home - Oral language is so important at this age. One thing you can do at home to help your child develop a strong basis for procedural writing, is to have conversations with them using language like "First...then." Everyday we have moments where we use language involving "first..then." Whether it be getting ready for bed "First you brush your teeth and then we can read a story." Baking together "First we have to get a bowl. Second we need to read the instructions. Third we add the flour." Ringing in groceries at the grocery store "First we have to scan the items. Then we have to bag the items. Next we have to pay for the items." You are probably already having these types of conversations, which are helping to better your childs oral language around procedural writing.
Centers
I have set up a new math center that the students can freely use during center time this week. At this center there is a variety of Halloween themed loose parts and empty trays that have been divided into three sections. The students were invited to sort through the Halloween objects. As they were sorting I would ask questions like "How are you sorting your Halloween items?" "Which column has the most items?" "What other ways could you sort these?" A lot of the students would then change their thinking and sort their materials in a variety of ways. Take a peek below to see some of the students and see if you can guess how they were sorting. One of the students even began making an AB pattern as they were sorting.
An art center I set up this week introduced the concept of step by step drawings. Since we have fully immersed ourselves into Halloween, this step by step drawing was of a Haunted House. My classroom is currently covered with illustrations of Haunted Houses.
A couple other centers I have set up are the light boards where students were invited to create their own Jack-O-Lantern faces. In the blocks center I hung a picture of a haunted house where the students were encouraged to use a variety of blocks to create their own Haunted House.
Something I have to share: The students love sorting by color so much, a group of students were doing sorting during morning bin time. Take a look at the picture below. Pretty amazing what kids do during "play" time.
Something I have to share: The students love sorting by color so much, a group of students were doing sorting during morning bin time. Take a look at the picture below. Pretty amazing what kids do during "play" time.
Leaves
Thank you for spending some time collecting leaves last weekend! Monday the students spent some time sorting through their leaves and putting them with the appropriate color. There were lots of discussions between the kids about certain leaves that were a questionable color. But they decided what color to sort it by the color that showed up more on the leaf. After leaving them out on a table all week I asked the students what they thought. I asked "What do you think is the color we found the most of?" I then had a color graph where the students wrote their name on top of the color they think. We then added the leaves to our bulletin board for what color leaves we had the most of and the least of. Feel free to show this photo to your child and ask them what color we found the most of and what color we found the least of. Were there any colors that we didn't find?
Have a great long weekend!
Have a great long weekend!
Terry Fox
We spent some time this week learning about one of the real life superheroes in our world, Terry Fox. We discovered that Terry was very courageous and brave for running across Canada to help other sick kids like him. I have linked the video we watched as a class to learn more about Terry below. The students were very shocked to learn that we live with real life superheroes. Just like on TV real life superheroes try to save people.
Things to ask:
- what type of cancer did Terry have?
- who was he trying to help?
- where did he run?
- where did the cancer spread?
- how was he a real life super hero?
- who are some other real life super heroes in our community?
Things to ask:
- what type of cancer did Terry have?
- who was he trying to help?
- where did he run?
- where did the cancer spread?
- how was he a real life super hero?
- who are some other real life super heroes in our community?
To help connect themselves to Terry the students were asked to draw a picture of a time they were courageous. Check out the photos below to see some of the detailed drawings the students made.
Sorting: in kindergarten students learn how to sort based on one attribute. Tuesday we spent some time sorting real life superheroes and superheroes.
THANK YOU for all the toonies that we collected for Terry. As a glass we raised 101.55$. The students were very proud and excited to help save sick kids. They also were so eager to run for Terry. Together we ran a total of 31.60 kilometers!!! WOOOHOOOO
Orange Shirt Day
Mr. Hunters class did an amazing job at our first Assembly. They discussed Orange Shirt Day from a childs perspective and why it is important. After the assembly the students and I talked about how every child in the world, no matter where they are from, deserves to go to a safe and caring school. EVERY CHILD MATTERS. We also talked about how the past is the past, and we hope that by wearing something orange, we show that we never want any child to go to a school that is not fun. Below is a video that Mr. Hunters class introduced which is a really great child friendly video of residential schools and orange shirt day. Check out Class Stories to the link of the story I read to the class to introduce the topic "When I was Eight."
Leader in Me
As most of you know we are a Leader in Me school. We have a strong focus on instilling leadership habits at a young age, to further children into growing to be responsible citizens of their community. We started Habit number 1 (Be Proactive) this week and will really focus on this habit for the next month or so. By learning about how to be proactive students will:
What can you do? There is a wonderful site https://www.theleaderinme.org/parents/ that has lots of different activity ideas for parents based on the habit of focus.
- Develop motivation; take pride in work
- Act responsibly toward self, family, school, community, nation and world
- Show initiative and entrepreneurialism
- Use unique talents and abilities to their full potential
- Think about choices; be accountable and responsible for actions and results, and understand that choices affect others.
What can you do? There is a wonderful site https://www.theleaderinme.org/parents/ that has lots of different activity ideas for parents based on the habit of focus.
Patterns
The students have really been loving creating their own patterns, but this week we practiced finishing simple AB patterns. Take a peek below to see how some of the students did.
Sound Sock
Our letter this week was Ss. One of the students has been the designated V.I.P for the week and they had the job of taking home and filling the sound sock with items that start with an 'S' sound. Every student will be given an opportunity to do this throughout the year. Take a look below at some of the items that were in the sound sock this week.
Our First Full Week
Welcome to the 2018-2019 Earl Grey Kindergarten Blog. We have been very busy the past few weeks developing routines, and learning some important Social Skills. A BIG one we have been focusing on is Whole Body Listening. Please ask your child what it means to have whole body listening. Below are the visuals we use to help us remember what whole body listening looks like.
We also started learning about Patterns this week. I introduced how you can use colors to REPEAT to form a color pattern. I gave the students a variety of manipulative and asked them to come up with their own color patterns. A lot of students made and AB pattern like I had modeled. Some even experimented with more complex patterns.
While the students were building, one student came up to me with the pattern below and said "Look Ms. Goodine, a pattern." I twisted it and examined it and I really could not see a pattern, so I asked if he could tell me his pattern and he said "Look, inside." Do you see his pattern?