Just some cute playground pics

Performance

We had the opportunity to see Brazilian dance, instruments, and ceremonial/ritualistic mixed martial arts,  as well as hear Brazilian music yesterday!  It was really fantastic.  Here are some pics.

Student-Led Conferences

Student led conferences are coming up next week.  The sign up sheet is in the hall by the dismissal door.  Here is what this conference will look like:

As many as 5 families at a time can be present, however, there is lots of choice and most slots will only have 2-3 families present.
Your child will lead the way and show you their daily routines like the calendar.
Activities will be set up so that your child can show you what they know and do in class.
Your child will have the opportunity to show you their favourite play-based learning centre.  If your time is best spent playing lego with your child at this time, reading a story together, or completing a puzzle...go for it!  Sometimes these opportunities are hard to find and this is a great chance.
I will be there and happy to chat or answer questions, but will take a backseat so that your child can take charge.
There will be a portfolio of work/art that you can take home.  Journals will be available to look at, but should NOT come home. 

Please note that if I have concerns about your child, I will have already discussed this with you and would request a private meeting.

If you wish to meet with me one-on-one, I am more than happy to do so.  Please email me and we will set up an appointment.

Visit from the North Shore Black Bear Society

We had a very fun and informative presentation from Christine Miller today.  The children learned about the Black Bear habitat, hibernation, diet, and how they mark their territory.  They also learned bear safety tips like make noise when walking on trails, back away from bears slowly (don't scream and run), and keep garbage locked away at home.

Christine will be back in the Spring for a refresher and for information about Black Bear behavior in Spring.

Grade 3 buddy reading part II

The groups switched rooms today so, as promised, here are the pics from the half I was not able to capture last time.  Looking at these pics with your child at home would be a great opportunity to get them to open up about their day.

Sight Word Booklets

We have started utilizing some sight word booklets in class.  These will be coming home once I have had a chance to look at it with each individual child.  Some are coming home today.  They are very excited to be "reading."
Here is what you need to know about these books:

They each contain a sight word of focus.  That sight word is shown on the front of the book.
The story always follows a predictable pattern.
Pictures support the words.
We are not concerned with whether or not they can READ the words in the book - the important thing is that they remember the pattern/recite the story, and track well.
As we progress through this stage, we will concern ourselves with other aspects of "reading."

I have taught the children to "track" the words they are reading with their finger.  Their finger is to jump from one word to the next as they read, not slide.  This shows us that they understand how words on a page are organized.  Many of them are inclined (naturally so) to move their fingers according to syllables.  For example, "newspaper" has 3 syllables and so they want to jump their finger across 3 words when reading it.  Our job is to slow them down at those points and remind them that newspaper is just one word, thus one jump.  I hope this makes sense!?
They have been told that the act of tracking is the most important thing right now.  This relaxes them because when they hear, let's learn to "read" all sorts of anxieties arise.  Please reinforce this, as they read their books to you at home.

Kindergarten curriculum supports pre-reading skills such as left-to-right movement, difference between letters and words, using picture clues, etc. (see previous post on curriculum for more info.).

I hope you have fun reading with your little ones!

New Math game

We learned a new math game today...one you could easily play at home.  It starts with a small grid.  With a partner, children take turns rolling a die.  Once they roll, they quickly determine their number (recognizing familiar arrangements of dots) without counting, and colour in (fine motor) the corresponding number (one-to-one correspondence) of squares on the grid.  How's that for covering curriculum?!  First one to colour in their entire grid gets a "great job" from their partner and the compliment is returned.

They LOVED it, of course.