May 25-29

 Hello Families!

It was another sunny and bright week in Kindergarten.  We worked on a our giant hallway mural, hosted a 3D shape museum, acted out a fairytale story and the PM class visited the Farmyard!

 
We have continued to love having our ducklings and goose in the classroom- although we are noticing just how big they are getting- and how much room they are starting to need.  Our feathered friends enjoyed their first swimming lesson this week.  We watched the swim, dive and slide into their own little pool this week.  We watched how they can preen themselves and make themselves water-proof.  We observed how they use their webbed feet to paddle and how they have see-through eyelids- just like thier own built-in googles.  We also fed them lots of new foods- like spinach, bananas, peas and carrots.  We found out they like peas more than carrots- and Johnny Marshmallow REALLY doesn't like bananas.

This week we read the story and acted out the story "The Three Little Pigs" and talked about characters and events that happen in stories.  We also worked on our ability to sequence events.  We took on a building challenge with 3D shapes as well- attempting to build a "stable house" that would protect our own 3 Little Pigs from the big bad wolf (Mrs. Rupert's Blow Dryer).  We needed to work with a team and a bucket of shapes to plan, build, test and problem solve.  It was exciting to see how our houses held up to all of the "huffing and puffing".

We also hosted our own 3D shape museum this week in the big hallway of the school.  Thank you to families for helping thier Kindergartener to remember to bring in a 3D shape.  We sorted our items and labeled them correctly and then displayed them proudly.  We practiced our speaking skills and using our new math vocabulary to take other classes and students through our museum.  We had visitors from grade 1-3 come for tours with their teachers and we did an excellent job sharing our learning.

On Friday, we LOVED our day at the Farmyard.  There was lots of excitement about the bus (of course), petting animals, riding slides, bouncing on the bouncers, riding on the train and being together.  It was fantastic and I know the kids all returned very happy- and very tired from a great time.

Next week is our last time to choose a new book from the Library and then we will be returning all of the books for the year.  

Here are some pictures from our week:

May 19-22

 It was "Farm Week 1" in our classroom! All week we were in awe over our littlest hatchlings- 4 baby ducklings joined our crew this week.  They are so small - especially when compared to our goose and chicks. We did so many farm related activities and learned so much along the way.

We read lots of books about farms and farm animals- we heard a funny story called "Click Clack Moo- Cows that can type".  We also read "Giggle, Giggle Quack".  Both stories were fiction books and we made lots of predictions about what was going to happen with the silly animals and the poor farmer.  We spent a lot of time practicing rhyming this week as well- we made up silly farm sentences using rhyming words- like "The big pig wore a wig" and "the fat cat sat on a mat with a rat".  Making up silly rhymes together is an excellent way to practicing rhyming- and rhyming skills are so important when it comes to reading and writing.

We continued to learn about 3D shapes this week. We talked about what they are called and where we might see them in the classroom and at home.  We had a building challenge this week using 3D shapes.  The Kindergarteners were asked to work with a variety of shapes and materials to design and build their own farm.  Then we photographed and printed pictures of our designs.  The Kindergarten students then worked on their designs by labelling their pictures.  They had to problem solve, work together and think of things like "where should the barn go?" and "how will the animals stay on the farm? Do they need a fence? A shelter?"  They came up with some fantastic designs.

In the classroom we have continued to have lots of time interacting with our feathery friends.  We have been learning about how they change, what they eat, what features they have to help them adapt- like webbed feet or talons, beaks or bills.  We have been seeing a change in our chickens as they have been growing combs on their heads and can fly a little bit.  Our goose Johnny Marshmallow came outside to run around and we saw that he can follow us.  Our ducklings have been "preening" and we know they are using their bill to help make their bodies waterproof.  We love holding them, watching them and noticing all of the changes that are happening from day to day. We are so kind and gentle and caring towards the animals.

This week was especially exciting as the AM class went on their farm field trip.  In preparation for our trip we read stories about going to the farm, talked all about what we could do there and even pretended to take a bus ride together.  This helped us understand the activity and also learn some of the rules and expectations of the bus and farm.   We had a beautiful sunny day and lots of fun was had- although everyone looked very tired when we returned:) The PM class will have their field trip next Friday - and we are hoping for another beautiful day.  A huge thank you to all of the parents who volunteered to come along and help for the day.  We couldn't have done it without you.  You are so appreciated! 

Next week we will also be having a classroom "3D shape museum day"- the Kindergarten students will be asked to look around thier house to try to find and bring in a few 3D shapes to display for the day.  I'll send more information in the next few days.  

Here are some additional pictures of our week:

May 11-14

 Hello Families,

Our room was hopping this week with lots of chicken and geese snuggles.  The Kindergarten students were so eager to come and see how their feathered friends had been changing each day.  We see that our chickens are getting their feathers- their wings are getting so big and they can flap them and glide off of our laps.  Their talons are growing, and one of them is getting quite a big comb on his head.  They are getting harder to hold on our laps- but they sure like to explore the classroom.  We built them a playground at the block centre and they had lots of fun playing on it.

Our little goose with the tired neck- we kept calling him "Pancake" because we needed to flip him over often- he is a wiggly guy- was so happy to get lots of pets and snuggles this week.  He went back to my farmer friend for extra care while his neck gets stronger.  Johnny Marshmallow has been keeping us so busy in the classroom.  He joined us for a class photo, went for a walk around the school with us and even came along to the Library with the AM class.  He was so helpful to Ms. McLean- checking out all of the books and sitting to look at books with us at the carpet.  Next week we'll see if our other eggs will hatch.  We need to have so much patience- but we are learning how to wait together:)

This week we learned about the Letter X.  We practiced making the letter X which can be tricky to make- and we can identify the sound "X" makes in the middle and ends of words. We know that there are not many words that begin with the letter X- so we decided to make it a Pirate week- "X marks the spot!"  We read silly Pirate stories this week and created our own alphabet letter maps- just like "Captain Seasalt" the Alphabet Pirate Guy from our alphabet videos.  We even crumpled and stained our maps to make them look real.  Next week we are going on a "Alphabet Treasure Hunt" in the school.

We continued to learn about 3D shapes and went on a shape hunt in the school.   We played in our Flower Shop, had a class picture, made paintings, built cool things with lego, made our own cool X-ray fish and practiced writing words on our whiteboards. 

Next week the AM class will go on their field trip to the Farmyard.  If you have not returned their paperwork- please do so as soon as possible.  I will be sending additional information home for field trip volunteers.  We're hoping for a sunny, beautiful day  - and I am sure we'll have a fantastic time.

May 4-8

 
Hello Families,

This has been a VERY egg-citing week! We began the week welcoming 2 baby chicks.  They had hatched over the weekend and were very fluffy and adorable- waiting for the students on Monday,

We learned about chicks, and made lots of observations about our new friends.  We have named them Oreo and Shadow.  As the week went on we noticed new things- like they are growing feathers- their talons are getting bigger and they are starting to have patterns on their wings.  We learned new facts about chickens and we even had time to hold them and cuddle them.

Later in the week 2 baby goslings hatched. Mrs. Rupert showed us the giant eggs they came out of.  We noticed that their feet are different from the chickens feet- they are webbed to help them swim.  One Goose is named "Johnny Marshmallow" and we were able to give him pets.  The other goose was born with a very weak neck and Mrs. Rupert is giving him lots of extra vitamins to help it get stronger- so we haven't been able to play with him yet.  She calls him "Sweet Pea".  We'll get to spend more time with them this week.  We are still waiting for a few more eggs to hatch.

This week we learned all about the letter Q.  We know that Q and U are best friends, and they are almost always in words together.  We went on a Q letter hunt and recorded words that began with Q.  We also made our own Quilts using fabric and fancy papers.  We practiced writing the letter Q and identifying Q's in words.  Some of us also spent sometime with Ms. Kathleen.  She is our Kindergarten occupational therapist assistant- she has come in a couple of times to work on some fine motor skills with the class,  This week we worked on drawing people using different shapes.
 

This week we began our math exploration on 3D shapes.  We reviewed 2D shapes and then went on a 3D shape hunt in the school- looking for cubes, cylinders, spheres, cones and pyramids.  We found so many cylinders- they are everywhere!  We will continue to learn about these shapes and solids next week.  Make sure to ask your child what 3D shapes they can see in your home.

We also worked really hard this week creating a special surprise for our Mothers.  We read "The Important Book" together and thought of all the ways our Mom's are important.  We created our own letter to give to our mom and even painted beautiful flowers to go along with it. 

In centres this week we continued to play 'Flower Shop", we crafted chickens, painted paintings, built obstacles, completed more 200 piece puzzles and built huge structures using different materials.  We also had lots of fun creating our own "playground" for our baby chicks to explore.  The PM class had a great time on our Buddy Picnic on Friday at the Pirate Park.  The AM class will do a Buddy Picnic in a couple of weeks- weather permitting.

Lastly- field trip forms will be going home this week- so more information is coming!

Here are some pictures from our week: