Literacy
One area we focused on this week was 'Love'. What does it mean? What does it look like? Ask our child what they said when asked: "Love is..." Ask your child how they represented their idea in a drawing.
As a post-Glenbow Museum activity, we created our own mini-museum. Ask your child what the themes were for each of the four galleries. Ask your child what artwork they created for the walls of our museum and what artifact they designed and built for the gallery.
Math
We focused a lot on shapes this week and making predictions about what their shadows would look like and what would happen to certain towers with different shapes as bases. We are in the process of testing our predictions. When we talk about our wonders or our predictions, I ask them what they think will happen and why. The WHY is the most important part. We want our children to learn to justify their responses and reasonings using subject-specific vocabulary and prior knowledge. Ask your child what their predictions were and why they made those predictions. Ask your child what a shadow is and how it is made.
Kiwi
We had the opportunity to meet with Room 6 students who recently adopted a classroom pet hamster. Her name is Kiwi and she is 2 months old. Ask your child about their first meeting. What did they learn about hamsters?
Student Teacher
We are so lucky to have a student teacher join our classes from St. Mary's University. She met our PM Kinders this week and will meet our AM Kinders shortly. Our students will be calling her Mrs. R or Mrs. Richardson and she officially begins on Wednesday, February 19th. Here is a note from her:
Dear Proud Kindergarten Parents,
I would like to introduce myself. I am Megan
Richardson and I am a student teacher who has the pleasure of working AND
learning in your child's classroom along with Mrs. McKay. I will be
volunteering a few afternoons and will officially begin my practicum on Feb
19th, where I will be in the class every day until the end of April.
A little bit about me. I have been an
Educational Assistant with the CBE for over 10 years working mostly with
kindergarten students. I decided to pursue my education degree at St. Mary's
University and this will be my final practicum. I LOVE kindergarten and all
that comes along with these precious little ones.
I realize that it takes tremendous trust to hand
your children over to a new person and I welcome the opportunity to get to know
you, so please if you see me introduce yourselves!
I'm looking forward to a great few months of
getting to know your children, support their learning and natural curiosities
and become the best teacher I can be. Thank you in advance for your support.
Why is drawing important?
We watched this video on the importance of drawing and I wanted to share it with you. There are pieces that are more "teacher" things but also a good reminder for families, especially as kiddos get older and we tend to draw less.
Drawing Video
Valentine's Day Cards
OPTIONAL: If you would like to participate, please make/create/purchase cards at home, label with "friend" instead of a specific child's name and send them with your child on Wednesday, Feb 12. It is imperative that enough cards are made for each student in your child's class. We have 19 students in the AM class and 21 students in the PM class. We will distribute them on Wed. Feb 12 and we will make Valentine's bags in class that week. Please do not send treats/food.
Reminders
- We have seen an increase in children chewing gum or bringing gum to school. Please do not send gum with your child to school or on the bus.
- We are still looking for toilet paper rolls for an upcoming art project. Thank you!
- Children should only have one library book at home each day. If you have more than one, please send them back to school with your child. Children are welcome to change their books as often as they like.
- Please ensure snacks are Peanut and Nut-free. We want to ensure all students are safe.
- We have had an increase in "Home toys" coming to school. Please remind your child to leave toys and other accessories at home as they are distracting in the classroom.
Our Adventures this week:
