Monday 18 April 2016

Retell
We have enjoyed reading lots of classic fables and practising our retells over the last few weeks. Ask your child what their favourite story was. Then have your child retell the story to you. Encourage them to use words such as "first, then, next, after, finally". 

Measurement

 Measuring length and height using non-standard (snap cubes, lego, 2D shapes, waterbottles) and standard units (ruler, measuring tape, meter stick).

Learning about capacity can be so much fun! We learned that capacity is the amount a container can hold without overflowing. We can fill containers using a variety of things such as water, sand, snap cubes, shells, teddy bears, and even macaroni!

Friday 1 April 2016

Math Learning

A peak at some of the amazing mathematical learning that has been happening in our class this March. We not only experimented with building large 3D structures (top left), but we are learned about symmetry and created these amazing designs with our friends! P.S. can you tell how much we love our new Magna Tiles? 

Remember those boxes we asked you to send in with your child? Take a lot at their amazing transformation. Each student identified a 3D structure in our community, drew and wrote up a plan (blueprint), and built it using a variety of materials. Can you identify the different buildings? 


Literacy Learning

A peak at some of the fun literacy activities we have been enjoying. Student reading and writing has come a long way this year! Ask your child about the above literacy activities, and which one they enjoyed the most.
 Snow, Winter, and Snowflakes!
We had so much fun enjoying and learning about the (limited) snow this winter. Our students had so many wonders that they got to investigate and learn from. Take a look at some of our learning below!

Investigating snow! If you look closely, you can see evidence of the water/snow cycle; 1. snow, 2. slush, 3. water, 4. ? *ask your child what would eventually happen to the water if we left it ouside.  
One of our students discovered the importance of wearing gloves when playing outside in the winter! 

Some more evidence of our learning! Ask your child what they learned about snow, winter and snowflakes.

Did you know that every different? Each one is unique just like us! Ask your child why the number 6 is important when learning about and building a snowflake. 

Friday 19 February 2016

Colour Inquiry
Our colour inquiry started when we discovered that a lot of our markers were dried out :( We decided to retest them and sort out the dried ones by colour. A few students then suggested placing the markers in some water to revive them. We made predictions about what we thought would happen to the markers if left in the water over night. 
 After discovering that the markers were not revived, but were instead drained entirely of their colour, we decided to come up with a new use for the coloured water.
 Using permanent markers, we used our own "perspective" (view point) to draw a bouquet of flowers that were placed in the middle of the classroom. We then used the coloured water to create beautiful water colour paintings! 

Math Learning
Some of the amazing Geometry activities we enjoyed. Can your child identify some of the 2D and 3D shapes in the above pictures?


Literacy Learning
Some of the literacy centres we have enjoyed. Can your child read some of the "popcorn" words pictured above? Magnet letters on a cookie sheet are a great way to practice spelling and letter/sound recognition. 

Thursday 14 January 2016

The Gingerbread Man Is Loose in Our School!

LATE POST FROM BEFORE THE HOLIDAY BREAK!



 Ms. Krastins delivered a mystery envelope to our classroom. Inside was a note from the Gingerbread Man who had escaped from the kitchen and was now loose in our school! Over a span of 2 weeks, this Gingerbread man left us some great read alouds, writing tasks, building activities, and even challenged us to a scavenger hunt to find him throughout the school! We were so close to catching him, but that trickster got away from us again this year! Ask your child to share what they enjoyed best about the Gingerbread Man's visits to our classroom :)


Literacy Learning - Popcorn words!

Working hard to learn our "popcorn" words. Thank you for your at-home support in helping your child learn their letters, sounds, and words. We have noticed an improvement in the reading, writing, and confidence of many of our kinder learners! 
Can your child read the popcorn words in the pictures? What other words do they know? Some words that they may be able to recognize and/or read include: a, and, day, have, I, is, love, me, we, with, you. Please continue to have your child read on a daily basis, and encourage them to write using pictures and words. Inventive spelling is encouraged, and an important stepping stone!


Math Learning - 2D Shapes

Busy learning about and playing with 2D shapes!

Our Shapes poem! Ask you child to recite the shapes poem to you. 

Our kinder learners worked hard to find and cut triangles, circles, rectangles, and squares out of flyers. What a great way to learn about 2D shapes and strengthen our hand muscles!