Ducklings Are Here!

It has been awhile since my last post. Time just flew by and the next thing I knew it was May! So here is what we have been up to:

Our favourite part of the day:

On Monday the ducklings arrived and we wrote the number 4.

On Tuesday we watched the ducklings swim and we wrote about it.

On Wednesday we watched the ducklings swim and we learned about Victor Vampire.

On Thursday we went to the park and played addition bingo.

On Friday we did a Mother's Day craft and we watched the ducklings swim.

DUCKS ARE HERE!

I brought two ducklings in from the farm. The children were so excited! 

The first day we watched the ducklings and decided on their names. The children decided on Fluffy and Squeeky. Fluffy tends to sit and be cute while Squeeky always has to cheep and make himself known.

The rest of the week we let the ducklings swim every morning. At first they were a little apprehensive and didn't swim much but by the second day they were diving and racing each other. They loved to dive and splash. The children thought it was so funny and love to get splashed by the ducklings. 

We drew pictures of what we saw and the children tried writing on their own. I was so impressed with their creative spelling! 

The girls made some pictures to decorate their home. 

We had to say goodbye to the ducklings today but the children had fun and learned so much. This will be an experience that they will always remember. 

They liked to try and catch her hair. So cute!

Caterpillars

We also received caterpillars this week. They are growing before our eyes! Soon they will be forming chrysalis' and turning into butterflies. We will focus on them more next week and start our unit on butterflies.

Measurement:

We measured items with different units (popsicle sticks and cubes). Then we compared our answers and discussed why we thought the answers were different. We spend the rest of the time solving story problems. We are done our unit on measurement and will be starting a review of what we learned next week. This will mostly be done through problem solving. 

Animated Literacy:

We have learned many new characters.
Ike who rides his bike up high in the sky at night. His sound is the long i and it can be written "ie", "igh", "-y" and "i_e".
Grouchy Owl who tries to pounce on Brown Mouse. Their sound is "ow" and it can be written "ow" or "ou".
Abe the Hare who likes to race on skates. His sound is the long a and it can be written "ai", "a_e" and "ay".
Sheriff Shadrack who shaves with a sharks tooth in the shower and has a shaggy sheep. His sound is "sh".
Whirling Irving who rides his scooters in circles by jerking the wheel. His sound is "er" and it can be written "ir", "ur" and "er".
Victor Vampire who plays his violin outside of his van. His sound is "vvv".
Yakety Yak who eats yellow yams and plays with a yo-yo. His sound is "yuh".

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 Sheriff Shadrack we focus on the "sh" as seen in the words shirt and fish.

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

Handwriting Without Tears

We practiced writing the numbers 1-5. This has been a good review of numbers but is also a great help to the students who have been writing numbers backwards. When you have a moment practice writing numbers, 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). 

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). 

Duck, Duck, Fun!

Our favourite part of the day:

On Monday we played four corners and talked about ducks.

On Tuesday we measured worms and the kids.

On Wednesday we learned the parts of a duck and played seven up. 

On Thursday we had a letter writing centre and reviewed parts of a duck.

On Friday we do not have school.

Ducks!
We started a new unit on ducks this week. I asked the children what they already knew about ducks and they came up with quite a list.

After that we created a list of things that we wanted to learn about ducks.

As the unit continues I hope to answer all of their questions and more. To start off the unit we learned the parts of a duck. We played various games with the vocabulary words to help us remember.

tail, head, webbed feet, wing, eye, neck, breast and bill

We will be getting ducklings at the end of April. The children are very excited about this! It should be a fun adventure.

Measurement:
We continued to learn about length (long and short). We focussed on ordering items from shortest to longest. The children found this to be a difficult concept so we did many activities with this. We did ordering with worms, our names and ourselves. I told the children that I wanted to see a slanted line when we were all done not mountains or zigzags. By the end of the week they started to understand this. We will do some more activities with this next week as well.

Here are the completed worms. 

April Fools!

I read the book "April Foolishness" by Teresa Bateman on Monday to explain to the children what April Fool's day was. Then on Tuesday the children were in a tricking mood all morning and so was I. The calendar read April 1, 2012 and I wrote a note, our math facts and special helper's name backwards. It was a fun filled morning.

 

Animated Literacy:

This week we learned two new characters.  We learned about Chauncy Chipmunk who likes to chop chocolate chips and cheese into chowder and Ichabod Ichthyosaurus who is itchy from inchworms. After learning these new sounds we practiced reading some words.

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.

Handwriting Without Tears

This week we wrote a paragraph that had different punctuation and turned h's into b's creating new words (for example: hug turned into bug). When you have a moment practice writing the alphabet or simple words with your child. Please watch for size and spacing. 

Don't Forget:

On cold days please make sure to send hats and mittens. Also, on days where there is snow or it is slushy please send boots and snow pants. Thank you!

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). 

Leprechauns are Messy!

Our favourite part of the day:

On Monday we made traps to catch leprechauns and we ate cupcakes.

On Tuesday we did Lucky Charms graphs and we learned about length. 

On Wednesday we made Mat Man and learned about Lou Lou Moose.

On Thursday we got special tooth bags and read a ninja story.

On Friday we learned about Woody Woodchuck and we measured our feet.

St. Patrick's Day:
We created leprechaun traps to see if we could trap a leprechaun and get his gold. The traps were quite creative with sticky patches, ladders, tasty treats and more.

The class left the traps and went outside for recess and when they returned the room was a mess! The leprechauns found the traps but they didn't work. The leprechauns didn't get trapped but left behind gold coins. They made the room messy and played tricks on us. Better luck next year.

The children also coloured, completed Lucky Charms graphs and ate cupcakes and green juice. It was a fun day!

Measurement:
This week we started learning about length (long and short). We measured how long we were with cubes. The children were able to use the cubes during centre time to measure each other and compare. We organized pencil crayons from shortest to longest. We used the carpet to hold the pencils in place so that they were even. Finally, on Friday we measured our feet. Next week we will cut these out and use them to measure things around the room.

We continued practicing capacity by playing at the sand and water table with different containers and practicing weight with the balance.

Teeth:

We finished our tooth unit this week. The children each got a goody bag that had flossers, toothpaste and a new toothbrush. They were very excited! I hope that they remember to brush their teeth two times a day for two minutes each time. 

Animated Literacy:

This week we learned three new characters.  We learned about Lou Lou Moose who has a loose tooth and Woody Woodchuck who shook the cookie tree. After learning these new sounds we practiced reading some words.

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 Arnie Aardvark we focus on the "ar" as seen in the words hard, arm and art.

Handwriting Without Tears

This week we labeled Mat Man and learned about punctuation. When you have a moment practice writing the alphabet or simple words with your child. Please watch for size and spacing. 

Don't Forget:

On cold days please make sure to send hats and mittens. Also, on days where there is snow or it is slushy please send boots and snow pants. Thank you!

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). 

Teeth and Weight

Our favourite part of the day:

On Monday we read a story about Dr DeSoto and we did an experiment with eggs. 

On Tuesday we used a balance and went to the park.

On Wednesday we learned the sound "th" and had centres. 

On Thursday we danced and looked at the egg experiment.

On Friday we made a teeth book and went to the park.

Measurement:
We continued learning about weight. We used a balance and learned that heavy things go down and light things go up, like a teeter-totter. We compared different objects to see what was heavy, light and the same. Another day we measured weight with cubes.

We continued practicing capacity by playing at the sand and water table with different containers.

Teeth:

We talked about how to take care of our teeth. We did an experiment with eggs and liquids this week. We put eggs in milk, water and pop to see the reaction. There was little reaction to the milk and water but the pop stained the egg and made it decay a little. The children learned that it is ok to have sugary drinks sometimes but not all the time.

 

We need to brush our teeth for 2 minutes two times a day to keep our teeth nice and clean. Flossing, eating healthy and seeing the dentist once or twice a year is also needed to have healthy teeth. 

St. Patrick's Day:
We have talked about St. Patrick's Day and leprechauns. We completed a couple of crafts to get ready for Monday. 

Animated Literacy:

This week we learned three new characters.  We learned about The Thick Thorny Thing who eats thistles, Edgar Elf who lives in an envelope and is friends with Ellie Elephant, and Nellie Newt who naps and nibbles. After learning these new sounds we practiced reading some words.

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 Arnie Aardvark we focus on the "ar" as seen in the words hard, arm and art.

This week was brought to you by: The letter z and the "Magic c"

This week we finished our lowercase letter practice. We wrote z and practiced writing more lowercase letters. When you have a moment practice writing "z" as well as what words start with "zzz" (for "zip"). Another activity could be finding different objects in the house that start with the letters/sounds that we have been learning. 

The magic c letters are c, o, a, q, g and d. They start out as a c and magically change into different letters. We make this into a listening game. "Can you change the magic c into the letter d?" Play it at home for extra practice. 

Don't Forget:

On cold days please make sure to send hats and mittens. Also, on days where there is snow or it is slushy please send boots and snow pants. Thank you!

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). 

Teeth and Measurement

Our favourite part of the day:

On Monday we wrote the letter "h" had the vet centre and we learned the "Magic" dance.

On Tuesday the librarian came and we weighed ourselves. 

On Wednesday we learned about Crazy Camel and about our teeth. 

On Thursday we learned about the tooth fairy and had centres.

On Friday we played the shark game and learned about Lizzy Lamb.

Measurement:
We continued playing with different capacities at the sand table. We also started learning about weight (heavy and light). Everyone was weighed and then we compared weights and sorted from heaviest to lightest. The children really enjoyed this activity.

Later in the week we did a cut and paste activity sorting objects that were light or heavy. I got the worksheet from kindergarten kindergarten.

We will continue looking into weight and review capacity next week.

Teeth:

We started our unit on teeth this week. The unit started with lessons on the parts of the tooth.

The enamel is the outer layer of our tooth. It protects our teeth and is what makes our teeth white. The crown is the top part of the tooth that we see. It looks like the crown of a king or queen. The dentin is yellow and it supports the enamel. It is softer and yellow and lets us know when something is wrong with our tooth. The pulp is pink and soft. It contains blood and nerves. The nerves tell our brain when our tooth hurts. The roots are inside of our gums and they hold our teeth in place. The gums are the pink part in our mouths that hold our teeth. 

I showed the children the nomenclature and later we labeled a tooth. 

The children learned that they have baby teeth and that they will be losing these when their adult or "grown up" teeth start to come in and make the root loose. They thought it was interesting that we don't have more teeth after that so when an adult loses a tooth they have to get a false one. 

After parts of the tooth I taught the children about the different teeth that we have what their purpose is. Incisors are to cut our food (for biting). Canines are for tearing or biting tough things like meat. The premolars are for chewing and grinding food. The molars are bigger than the premolars and are also for chewing and grinding food.

We did a creative writing/drawing assignment about what the tooth fairy does with all of our teeth. The children had some interesting theories from making necklaces to potion making to organizing them on a shelf. We are starting to do more independent writing. Some of the children are ready for this and try to sound out the words and write while others struggle and write words or letters they know. We will be doing more writing in the next term and hopefully they will all become comfortable with inventive spelling and independent writing. 

I got the nomenclature cards from Montessori Print Shop and I got the handouts from Stephanie Trapp.

Happy Smile:

We have been learning a new poem "Happy Smile". Before we read it for the first time I had the children find words that they knew or tell me about strategies that we could use. They are starting to remember sight words and remember decoding strategies. I am excited to see what they know in June. 

We started preparing for St. Patrick's Day. The children made these rainbow chains with pots of gold this week. It is great practice for fine motor skills (cutting, gluing and colouring).

Animated Literacy:

This week we learned two new characters.  We learned about Griselda Green who giggles and glides with ghosts, Crazy Camel who catches and eats candies, cakes and cookies, and Lizzy Lamb who lays down on lemon leaves. The children reviewed the few ways to write the "cuh" sound: "c", "ck" and "k". After learning these new sounds we practiced reading some words. I almost tricked them with words containing "c", "k" and "ck".

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 Arnie Aardvark we focus on the "ar" as seen in the words hard, arm and art.

This week was brought to you by: The letters h, b, f,q and x

This week we practiced writing more lowercase letters. When you have a moment practice writing "h", "b", "f", q" and "x" as well as what words start with "huh" (for "hat"), "buh" (for "bat"), "fff" (for "fan"), "kwah" (for "queen) and "ks" (for "box"). Another activity could be finding different objects in the house that start with the letters/sounds that we have been learning. 

Don't Forget:

On cold days please make sure to send hats and mittens. Also, on days where there is snow or it is slushy please send boots and snow pants. Thank you!

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). 

Community Helpers

Our favourite part of the day:

On Monday we had the vet centre and we learned the "Magic" dance.

On Tuesday we learned what holds more and we read.

On Wednesday we learned about Farley Fox and wrote the letter "r".

On Thursday we went to the park and made a book.

On Friday we learned how to write the letter "m" and we danced to the song "Friday".

Measurement:
We started our measurement unit this week. We will learn about capacity (how much a container can hold), length (how long something is) and weight (how heavy something is). We began with capacity. I showed the children a slideshow called "Will an Elephant Fit in a Bathtub?" Then we thought about what are things that will hold more water than our water bottle. They were quite creative: buckets, bathtubs and lakes were the most popular.

I got this idea from Kindergarten...Kindergarten. This blog has so many great ideas for math in Kindergarten.

Community Helpers:

The children already had a good idea of community helpers so my main objective of this unit was to learn our phone numbers and have a fire escape plan to help keep up safe. The children enjoyed this unit, especially th pretend play that came with it. 

Here is a list of centres that we had:

Cover the Cavities (adding and subtracting)

Trash or Treasure? (reading real and nonsense words)

Police Car Patterns (extending patterns)

Vet/Doctor Dramatic Play

Animated Literacy:

This week we learned two new characters.  We learned about Kimmy Kangaroo who likes to blow kisses and fly kites, Baby Barnaby who likes to play the banjo and bow. The children learned that there are a few ways to write the "kuh" sound: "c", "ck" and "k". After learning these new sounds we practiced reading some words. I almost tricked them with words containing "c", "k" and "ck".

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 Arnie Aardvark we focus on the "ar" as seen in the words hard, arm and art.

This week was brought to you by: The letter p, r, n and m

This week we practiced writing more lowercase letters. When you have a moment practice writing "p", "r", "n" and "m" as well as what words start with "puh" (for "pet"), "rrr" (for "rut"), "nnn" (for "not"), and "mmm" (for "met") . Another activity could be finding different objects in the house that start with the letters/sounds that we have been learning. 

Don't Forget:

On cold days please make sure to send hats and mittens. Also, on days where there is snow or it is slushy please send boots and snow pants. Thank you!

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).