We Are Learning!

Our favourite part of the day:

On Monday we wrote the poem in Handwriting Without Tears and learned about Old Joe Crow.

On Tuesday we measured with cubes and labeled the parts of a duck.

On Wednesday we labeled the duck life cycle and learned about Leaping Eve.

On Thursday we measured toys and went to the park.

On Friday we drew a bee and had snack.

Ducks!
We labeled parts of a duck:

We discussed the duck life cycle and labeled a picture:

The children learned that ducks have waterproof feathers and so the water and rain just falls off of them without making them wet. Next week we are going to discuss how to take care of ducks because we will be getting duck eggs after Easter.

Measurement:
We continued learning about length (long and short). The children started to learn about estimation/prediction because they had to predict how long the object would be in cubes and then write down the exact measurement after. The children are doing well with using cubes for measurement so next week we will practice measuring with different types of units (popsicle sticks, paper clips, hands, feet, etc).

Measuring Our Toys:

Spring/Easter:

We have started making crafts for Spring and Easter. They really brighten up the room. 

Brain Gym:
Last week I attended a workshop about Brain Gym and Dance. I left with many good ideas. I incorporated this into  our day. The children enjoy the exercises. Here is a look at the routine/activities:
1: Tactile: touch all body parts in various ways (tap from our heads down to our toes).
2: Breathing: take in deep breaths and breath out in different ways (ie: let all the air out while hissing like a kettle). 
3: Core-Distal: stretch away from center and back in (ie: create a starfish and a ball)
4: Head-Tail: move the head and the tail and arch forwards and backwards (ie: cat and cow)
5: Upper-Lower: move the upper body while stabilizing with lower body and vice versa
6: Body-Side: Move the right side while stabilizing the left and vice versa (ie: puppet string attached to your knee and hand)
7: Cross-Lateral: move or connect opposite arm and leg 
8: Vestibular: swing, tip, rock and roll

Animated Literacy:

This week we learned three new characters.  Two of these characters have easy phonemes but the graphemes are tough because there are many ways to write them. We learned about Leaping Eve who dreams of leaping over tall trees and buildings. Her sound is the long e and it can be written "ee", "ea", "ie", "e-e" and "-y". Next we learned about Old Joe Crow who likes to row his boat. His sound is the long o and it can be written "oa", "-o", "o-e", and "ow". Finally we learned about Winkie Walrus who likes to waddle to the wishing well and eat wiggly worms.

Please go over the handouts that have been sent home with your child to review the sounds and letters. They can colour the picture and then circle the special sound within the song at the bottom. Remember that Animated Literacy focuses on the sound (phonics) and the writing (graphemes) so for Chauncy Chipmunk we focus on the "ch" as seen in the words chin and itch.

We also drew a picture and wrote a sentence to go with our animated literacy program. This week we drew a bee. A couple examples are shown below. 

Handwriting Without Tears

This week we wrote a poem and practiced writing sentences. We only have numbers 1-10 left and will be practicing what we have learned for the remainder of the year. When you have a moment practice writing the alphabet or simple words with your child. Please watch for size and spacing. 

Don't Forget:

Feel free to contact me anytime with any questions or concerns. I can be reached at the school, by email or just drop in (I am usually around before school).