It Has Been A Busy December

Winter break is finally here! The students have been very busy this month learning about penguins, completing projects, practicing for the winter concert and as always having fun. Here is what we did in December.

Penguins:

We finished our penguin books. It is always a big undertaking but the children love it and it is a great keepsake.

Christopher Cool:
Christopher Cool came to the centre and performed some very cool magic tricks. I highly recommend him! He does themed shows for schools/daycares as well as birthday parties. Check out his website here.

Winter Concert:
We performed our favourite songs of the year for our parents at the Winter Concert. It was worth all of the practice! They were very cute and super excited. I am very proud of their performance!

Polar Express/Pajama Day:
The day after the Winter Concert is always a lazy day because the children are up late the night before and we have a well deserved break from all of the work December brings. We watch the Polar Express in our pajamas and drink hot chocolate. At the end of the movie the children receive a ticket and a bell to remember the day.

Christmas Party:
We had a great last day of school by playing games and having yummy treats.

Frosty the Snowman Bowling

Pin the Nose on Rudolph

Decorating Gingerbread Cookies

Freeze Dance to Christmas Songs

Animated Literacy:

On Thursday we learned about Arnie Aardvark who says "ar" and hangs by his arm holding a sign for the art festival. Remember that Animated Literacy focuses on the sound (phonics) and the writing (graphemes) so for Arnie Aardvark we focus on the "ar" as seen in the words hard, arm and art.

On Tuesday we drew a star.

On Friday we learned about Jenny Jaguar who likes to juggle jars while jogging. The children discovered that the letters J and G both say the sound "juh" (jar and giraffe). After learning this new sound we practiced reading some words. I almost tricked them with words containing "ar".

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.

For more information on this program please visit http://www.animated-literacy.com/Animated_Literacy_Home.html

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).

Penguins Are Here!!

Our Favourite Part of the Day:

On Monday we did writing and practiced numbers. 

On Tuesday we learned about Hippy Hippo and played games.
On Wednesday we learned about penguins and had calendar.

On Thursday we danced and sang songs. 

On Friday we had centres and did a penguin craft. 

Penguins:
We started our unit on penguins this week by talking about what we already knew about penguins. 

We learned about the parts of a penguin. 

We learned about the life cycle of a penguin.
The penguin starts out as an egg. 

The mom and dad penguin carries the egg on their feet and keeps it warm with a brood pouch. 

The chick hatches from the egg.

The chick grows into an adult penguin and the cycle starts again. 

SNOW:
We have been having fun with the snow both outdoors and....

making snow angels

 indoors!!

 The snow was sticky and perfect for building blocks and snowmen. 

We added some food colouring to the snow and after a while the blue and yellow spots made the whole thing green. 

Numbers:
We have been learning about numbers 1 to 10. This week we learned numbers 8-10 and the different ways that we see them every day. Now we will learn how to write the numbers and complete activities that reinforce what we have learned. 

On Our Way to 100!
We had the 50th day of school and began the countdown to our 100 day of school party. The children have been counting every day. It is hard to believe that it has already been 50 days! The party will be sometime in February. 

Writing:
We have begun writing about a specific topic and adding more detail to our drawings. 

Animated Literacy:

On Tuesday we learned about Hippy Hippo who plays his harmonica.

On Thursday we drew a rat in a hat.

For more information on this program please visit http://www.animated-literacy.com/Animated_Literacy_Home.html

Handwriting Without Tears

This week we reviewed how to write all of the uppercase letters. We will begin learning the lowercase letters in January. 

At home you can practice writing all of the uppercase letters. For information on the teaching order and how to form the letters using the same language please go to their website

Winter Clothing:
Reminder to send following items for child so that he/she can go outside and fully enjoy outdoor activities.
* a warm hat that covers the ears
* warm waterproof mittens
* warm coat
* winter boots
* snow pants

* 1 or 2 complete changes of clothes to be kept at school. Please include underwear, pants, top and socks. ** Please clearly label all items with your child's name. **

** We do not have spare clothing and we do go outside daily.**

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).