Update from Ms. R

The cold weather is here! With that Room 101 has some notes for parents:

* Have velcro shoes for your child to wear at school. These are easy for your child to take on/off independently. These shoes can be kept in your child's cubbie for the duration of the cold weather.

* Please have mittens that your child can take off/on independently. Gloves are tricky as many students lack the dexerity to put gloves on, as are mittens with very tight elastic at the wrist.

* Mittens get lost very easily! Having mitten clips that attach to coat sleeves or mittens on a string that are threaded through the sleeves help keep the mittens with your child's coat.

* Please put your child's name on ALL clothing (mittens, coats, boots, hats). A permanent marker works very well. Even initials are helpful...

As I have said before, I am often alone helping children to get clothing on and off. With 21 children in the morning and 19 in the afternoon, I hope you can see that the above tips will not only make my job easier, but also help your child to feel more independent. Thanks for listening!

News for November 26

News for November 26

This week the students learned how to draw a person. They used what they know about printing capital letters (big line, little line, big curve, little curve) to create "Mat Man". They learned a song about body parts and what the parts are for. Using clipboards and singing the song, the class drew a whole group of "Mat Man" drawings. They also could use the pieces to make the Mat Man figure independently. The words to the song were sent home with students on Friday to practise reading the words at home. This exercise helps students develop their ability to draw people. A video of what the students did can be found at the end of this posting.

The students had an opportunity to write their own little books. Children love to take the little books and write and draw on the blank pages. This reinforces concepts of print and helping the students see themselves as writers and artists.

Students painted using tempera blocks this week. It was wonderful to hear the children talking about what they have learned about colours and colour mixing as they painted. They mixed two of the primary colours (red, yellow, blue) to get secondary colours (orange, green, purple). Some even used what they learned from the "Colour Kittens" book read aloud this week, the fact that when all the colours are mixed together, you get brown. These paintings are now decorating our classroom.

The students are enjoying using their personal clipboards to write and draw during centre time. I've included a photo this week of students using their clipboards in the big blocks centre to create an office.

The children experimented with bead stringing, new wooden puzzles, wood pieces and mixing white playdoh with coloured playdoh.

We learned the names, sounds, shapes and songs for the letters U and V.

Update from Ms. R

A great big THANK YOU to all the families that came by Room 101 this week to meet with me. I had a wonderful time talking about all the great things that your daughters and sons do in our classroom.

Multicultural Night will be held on November 25 from 5:30 to 7:00. It is a potluck dinner, where families each bring a food dish to share. A letter about this event was sent home this week.

News for November 18

News for November 18

We only had 4 days together this week but that never stops the students in Room 101!

We continue to talk about colours. The students worked with playdoh to review the primary colours: red, blue and yellow. They had the opportunity to make the secondary colours: orange, green and purple. It was wonderful to see the faces of the children as they each mixed together two colours to make a brand new colour. We learned:

red + yellow = orange

yellow + blue = green

blue + red = purple

The students put their colours on a piece of cardboard to dry.

The children used glue sticks to glue coloured squares on yellow paper. Some made pictures with the squares (e.g., a flower, a calendar) and some made repeating patterns.

We read two books about animals and colours. In one story an elephant (and in the other story, a chameleon) uses colour to change his appearance but learns that he is happier being just the way he is. Details of the books we read each week can be found on our class books blog at:

http://planet5books.blogspot.com/

The afternoon class said a heartfelt "good bye" to the special needs assistant, Denise. Denise was a great help to all the students in the class. We made a big thank you card for her and we will miss her.

The students learned the songs and sounds of the letters H and L. The children focused on alphabet puzzles to review letter names and matching capital and lower case letters.

The class talked about why it is important to brush your teeth twice a day. We learned a new song, "You Brush Your Teeth" which also reviews counting to 10 using your fingers.

...What did Ms. R hide in the container of playdoh?

Update from Ms. R

Report cards for the senior kindergarten students go home on Monday. Interviews for all parents are scheduled for this week. A confirmation of the date and time of your interview will be sent home on Monday. Please wait outside Room 101. I will try my best to stay on schedule!

Important Dates:

November 15 - Report cards for senior kindergarten students go home.
November 16 to 19 - Parent/teacher interviews
November 19 - P. A. Day - no classes on this day
November 25 - Multicultural Night (details to follow)
November 30 - school photo re-takes
December 15 - Holiday Concert (Kindergarten, 6:00 to 6:45; Grades 1-6, 7:00 to 8:00)
December 20 to January 2 - Winter Holidays

News for November 12

News for November 12

This week the classes talked about peace as part of our discussion of Remembrance Day. The students learned about the poppy flower as a symbol for this day and how it says "peace" without using words. We read "The Peace Book" that reminded us that peace comes in many forms. Kindness to others, thinking about loved ones and sharing, are all ways of peaceful living. The children also learned a song called "Deep Peace" and practised the American sign language signs that go along with the lyrics:

Deep peace of the running waves to you,
Deep peace of the shining stars to you,
Deep peace of the flowing wind to you,
Deep peace of the quiet earth to you.

We started a unit on colours this week. The children used what they know about colour to help them practise the math concept of "sorting" as well as the words "same" and "different". The students sorted all different kinds of objects by colour. We also started to write our class book for November based on colours. Their favourite colours were written on chart paper and then each student practised "touch reading" (touching the words as he/she says them) his/her sentence.

The students practiced the capital letters M and N. Junior students used the magnet boards and the senior students wrote in their workbooks. We also started to talk about the capital letter H.

The classes worked hard to create new name cards. We use these name cards as an attendance activity at the beginning of the day. The children practised their capital letters and keeping the letters the same size.

As always, the details of the books we read together this week can be found at:

http://planet5books.blogspot.com




This is a photo of our gym teacher, Mr. Hinrichsen, helping students put gym equipment away.








Here is a video of students feeding our pet fish, Alpha, Beta and George:

Update from Ms. R

Parent/Teacher interview request forms were sent home this week. Please make your 1st, 2nd, 3rd choices and return the completed form as soon as possible.

Please read the "Grey Squirrel" poem/song with your child. This was sent home on Friday.

The Global TV date for PM students is now on Monday, November 8 from 6:00 to 7:00 PM.

Important Dates:

November 11 - Remembrance Day
November 15 - Report Cards go home (SK students only)
November 16, 17, 18, 19 - Parent/Teacher interviews (all students)
November 19 - P.A. Day - no school on this day
December 20 to January 2 - Winter Holidays

News for November 5

News for November 5

This week the classes talked a lot about squirrels and acorns.

The students learned the poem/song "Grey Squirrel". A copy of the words to this song were sent home on Friday. Please read this poem with your child and point to the words as your child sings them.

The read aloud books focussed on squirrels. We read two adventures of "Earl the Squirrel", read about animal homes and a funny book, "Scaredy Squirrel". As always, the details of these books can be found at our companion blog:
http://planet5books.blogspot.com/

In math, the children continued to talk about repeating patterns. The students made "trains" out of unifix cubes. We sorted them using the words "same" and "different". The class also used plastic animals and geometric pattern blocks to explore making patterns. We are working on understanding what is a pattern and answering the question, "What comes next?"

In science, we talked about the different types of squirrels: ground squirrels, flying squirrels and tree squirrels (these are the type we see in our neighbourhood). The students examined acorns and leaves from oak trees, using magnifying glasses. We talked about how squirrels gather and store acorns (they stuff them in their cheeks, and burying them to store them) and how they use their razor-sharp teeth to eat the acorns. Each student took home and acorn to keep as a treasure.

The children learned the songs for and how to write the capital letters, R and N.

The students had a chance to try finger-painting this week. We talked about using their hands and fingers as tools to spread and make pictures in the paint. These will be part of our new display in the hallway outside our classroom.

Global Update

I received an email today saying that the Global TV segment featuring students from the PM class will be aired on Monday, November 8 sometime between 6:00 and 7:00.