Welcome to Another Year in Kindergarten!

The first week of Kindergarten is done! We spent the week becoming used to rules and routines. We worked very hard.

Theme: All About Me

Our theme for this week was "All About Me". We worked on completing a flip book all week. I found the book from Reagen Tunstall. We completed a page every day and sent home the completed book on Friday.

I read the book "I Ain't Gonna Paint No More" by: Karen Beaumont.

Then we created our self-portraits that we could paint with many colours just like the boy in the story. I got the idea from Kelsey Lapin at The Artsy Fartsy Art Room. They look terrific! 

All week we practiced reading the poem "I See Me". We practiced sight words, repeating after me and body parts. I will use a different poem with each theme that we do to help work on many reading skills.

We measured the length of our names in 4 different ways. I found the idea in Deanna Jump's Names Unit. It was a lot of fun!

Measuring with paperclips

Measuring with bears

Measuring with hexagons

Measuring with squares.

Math

I am using Deanna Jump and Deedee Wills' resource called Guiding Kinders as part of my math program this year.

We began sorting this week by looking at what makes things same and different. We looked at shoes and attribute blocks. We talked about colours, shapes and size as ways of sorting. Once the children understand how to sort we can begin learning about patterns. 

At home practice sorting a variety of materials: laundry by type or colour, snacks by shape, toys by type, etc.  

Social Studies:
We read a story about a day in Kindergarten and talked about how we can participate. Participate means doing things together or being a part of a group. 

Animated Literacy:

We began our Animated Literacy program this week. It teaches letters and sounds (phonics) to the children as well as many language and reading concepts. Every sound has a character, gesture and song. 

On Friday, we learned about Polly Panda who likes to paint purple and pink P's on items. 

Please go over the handout that has been sent home with your child to review the sound and letter. They can colour the picture and then circle the special sound within the song at the bottom. Also, try to find the letter or sound all around you: in books, on signs, on clothes or toys. 

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

Handwriting Without Tears

We learned about Mat Man and practiced drawing people. 

We are focussing on correct pencil grip and encourage you to practice writing at home or completing fine motor activities. I have a variety of activities that you can do at home posted on pinterest  (follow the link on the side to see). Next week we will begin learning how to write letters. For information on the order that I will be teaching letters please go to their website: http://www.hwtears.com/hwt/why-it-works/teaching-order

Finger Gym:
One of the new centres that we will be having this year is called Finger Gym. It is a weekly activity that is meant to help strengthen fine motor skills. This week the children cut paper in different ways.

Don't Forget:

Send a healthy snack with your child. A list has been sent home or you can visit 100 Days of Real Food for some awesome ideas.

Each child needs to have indoor shoes, a backpack and appropriate clothing for the weather.

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). 

Apples and More!

Apples

Our theme for the rest of the month is "Apples". We have begun learning a poem called "Apples, Apples". On Tuesday I drew pictures to help the children learn the key words. On Wednesday I showed the sight word "the". On Thursday they had to point to words that they knew. On Friday I introduced them to the rhyming concept and showed them rhyming words found in the poem.

To start our unit we discussed what we already knew about apples.

At the end of the unit we will write down all that we have learned. It is a wonderful way to see their growth.

We learned about the parts of an apple:

Math

On Tuesday we learned about sorting by colour and type. The children loved this activity so much that they have requested to do it during centre time in the morning. Some have begun sorting by size as well.

On Wednesday and Thursday we played the game "match it" where the students had to match what I had. We practiced counting to make sure it was right. When we count we touch the object and say the number to make sure we don't miss any. This was also a quick introduction to patterns.

Our final lesson of the week was creating groups and then towers for numbers 1-5.  This is to teach one to one correspondence. Then we talked about length (longest and shortest). 

Animated Literacy:
On Wednesday we learned about Uncle Upton who hangs upside down from an umbrella tree while being a baseball umpire.

On Friday we drew a pup. The children follow step-by-step directions. I love this activity because each drawing is unique and it promotes writing and listening skills.

The Uncle Upton character page was sent home, please go over the handout with your child to review the sound and letter. 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

French:

We have begun learning French. The children have learned: "Bonjour" (hello)"Comment ça va" (how are you?)"ça va très bien." (I am very good)"ça va bien." (I am good)"ça va mal." (I am not good) "Comme ci, comme ça." (So-so)

Don't Forget:

Send a healthy snack with your child. A list has been sent home or you can visit 100 Days of Real Food for some awesome ideas.

Each child needs to have indoor shoes, a backpack and appropriate clothing for the weather.

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).