Sunday, September 26, 2010

Gnarly log


We're looking for a "gnarly log" or a large piece of driftwood like this to use in our classroom:
http://www.playbasedlearning.com.au/2010/09/a-gnarly-log-for-imaginative-play/

Does anyone have one that they can donate to us? (I'd say lend, but I can't guarantee that it won't get damaged.....)

Saturday, September 25, 2010

No David!

We read lots of David books. David gets in to lots of trouble -- but don't worry -- his mommy always loves him -- and so does his teacher :)

My camera was off visiting Colorado this week, so I'm a bit behind on my blog posting. We've been settling in well this year, and have been investigating all of the centres. We're going to start some bigger projects in the upcoming week!

Friday, September 24, 2010

Curriculum night -- Thursday September 30

Curriculum night at Earl Beatty will be held from 6:30-7:30 pm on Thursday September 30th. The Parent council will be having a BBQ in the back school yard at 5:15.

There will be a Scholastic Book Fair in the Library all of this week (Sept 27-30) -- please visit it if you can on Thursday evening.

I will be giving 2 presentations -- one from 6:30-7:00 and then next from 7:00-7:30. The actual presentation won't be a full half an hour! I like to start with a demonstration of our carpet time. If you bring your children to Room 9's presentation, that is fine with me -- but if you are going to other presentations for older students, I think that the school prefers that you use the free child care in the gym.

I will be going over our focus of learning this year, as well as giving out handouts about our timetable; the curriculum; student and parent responsibilities; field trips; and how parents can help in the classroom. If you can't be there on Curriculum night, I'll send a copy of the handouts in the Thursday folder the following week.

I will be able to answer general questions about what is happening in Room 9. Parent-Teacher interviews will be held later in the fall -- this will be the time to discuss the individual progress of your child!

See you Thursday!

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Environmental Print

We are going to make a special "book" out of our favourite box fronts. Please send in your child's favourite cereal box, cracker box, or cookie box. My favourite is Shreddies. Did you know that there aren't Shreddies in the USA? I lived there for a year and had to fill the trunk with them every time I came home!

The thinking behind the boxes is that the writing on them is "environmental print". Environmental Print is the print of everyday life: The symbols, signs, numbers, and colors found in McDonald's, Pizza Hut, 7-Up, and on Stop signs, for example. It gives an excellent entry point for young children to begin to learn to read and write. Children have a concrete connection to everyday print. They "read" it within the context of their everyday experiences--their interests and backgrounds. It bridges the gap between the functional print of school and the print outside.

Monday, September 13, 2010

The Kissing Hand

Today we read The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn. It is a story about a little raccoon who is feeling a bit scared to go to school on his first day. His mother comes up with an idea to help her little raccoon to remember that she loves him and is thinking about him even when she isn't with him.

We talked about our nervousness about coming to school and also about how our moms and dads might feel when we are away from them. We made some special kissing hands for our parents or loved ones!We are also working on retelling and acting out the story. This is lots of fun to do (and to watch!)

Jars

We are looking for some jars to use in the classroom. If you have any of these kind of jars, please send them in! We need them with lids -- I think that they are from Classico pasta sauce, and say Mason on the front. We can use any size.

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Welcome!

And welcome back. We have had a busy first week in Kindergarten. We almost made it through the first week with no tears -- and the few tears that fell were quickly quenched. All of the jks are "in" -- 8 new students in the AM class and 9 in the PM class. And we also welcomed 6 SK students in the afternoon who were in Ms. Wren's class last year. Ms. Wren and I teach in a very similar way, and grouped our classes together fairly often, so there shouldn't have been too much "culture shock" there!

Our new Educational Assistant, Ms. Jeya works a little bit with the morning class and a lot with the afternoon class.

The first week in a JK/SK class is a bit difficult logistically -- the SKs are ready to "investigate" and "work" but the JKs are needing to know where they "belong" and what they are supposed to be doing. The SKs are GREAT role models and did a fantastic job this week. I am SO PROUD of them all!

We read lots of books about kindergarten and school this week, and talked about some important rules of the classroom and the school. Some of the books that we read were : Ms. Bindergarten gets ready for Kindergarten and Froggy goes to School. In the Library, Mrs. Ling read a book called "The Library Book" (which caused me a lot of confusion when I was asking the students what the book was called .... "Yes, I know it was a Library book, but what was it called???"). Students will start taking out Library Books next week. In Kindergarten you can take out one book at a time -- and then return it on or before the following Library day. Please return the library books to Room 9. I take out the cards and keep track of them. The kindergarten students are the only students who use library cards in pockets in the backs of the book. If you return the book to the Library, the Library monitors will not think to take the card out of the book and then your child won't have a library card!

In the upcoming weeks I will post the covers on the blog of the books that we are reading to help jog some memories when you are talking with your children about what they are doing in Kindergarten.

p.s I usually have pictures in my blog posts -- they will start again soon!