News for May

Visitors:

This month pre-kindergarten children are visiting our classroom during the mornings.  These will be short visits, to give our visitors a taste of the kindergarten program.  Our daily schedule will be altered from time to time to accommodate these very young guests, and we thank you in advance for your understanding.

Science and Math:

We have loaded the incubator!  Barring power failure or other catastrophes, the first eggs should hatch on May 16^th.  Hatching usually takes place over a 48-hour period.  As the chicks hatch, we remove them from the incubator (the “delivery room”) and place them under a heat lamp (the “maternity ward”).   

We counted all the eggs by ones, twos, fives and tens.  We sorted them according to colour, shape and size (and learned in the process that 8 hens had laid the eggs that we selected for the incubator).  We made patterns with them, examined the contents (there was some speculation that they looked as different on the inside as the outside), and finally selected the best ones for the incubator.

Last week we estimated and then counted out broccoli, alfalfa and mung bean seeds before putting them in the sprouter.  The sprouts were delicious!  This week we are starting pumpkin seeds, which we saved these seeds from our jack o’lantern last fall.  At some point these seedlings will be coming home with your child, to be planted in a sunny place in the garden where you’ll remember to water them. 

During all this, we are learning about living things:   about growth in baby animals, growth in baby plants, and how all these living things change according to the seasons. 

 We are also working on making addition sentences that correspond to sets of numbers, and on making number sets that correspond to addition sentences.  We are trying to apply strategies to guess how many groups of ten are in a given number.   We still practice counting by ones, twos, tens and fives.

Literacy: 

This term most of the seniors are reading  or sounding out high-frequency words of one or two syllables, and the juniors are working on letter sounds.  We are play games such as Bang! And Bingo with our sight words, and play blackboard games involving initial, middle and final sounds.  The children write on individual blackboards and on in their journals, and the seniors are beginning to work in small groups writing sentences. 

It is normal for children at this age to experience confusion about the “left to right” word order during reading and writing.  You can reinforce this skill at home by moving a finger or popsicle stick underneath the words as you read with your child.  You can also help your child by practicing correct letter formation at home. 

The most important way to help your child progress, however, is to read on a daily basis and to talk together about the stories you read.

Social Development: 

Our social discussions and stories are largely influenced by social problems that arise in the classroom.  Recent topics have been the right of everyone to choose for themselves who they will or will not play with; where it is safe to play; the importance of never going someplace without the knowledge of one’s parent, teacher or caregiver; and the importance of respecting others’ personal space.  We are also honouring the virtue of empathy this month. 

We are also discussing different jobs people do in the community.  You can help us by sending in photos of you at work, so that we can talk about the different jobs our parents perform and how they help others.

Thank you

·         For the newspapers you have already begun to send in for the chicks’ bedding

·         For volunteering your time to help small groups of children with their reading and counting

·         For sending in special books to share with the children

·         For taking the time to complete and comment on your children’s reading logs each night

·         For your enthusiasm and support of the kindergarten program!

News for April

Coming Events:

Easter:  In previous years some classes have had small celebrations for Easter.  This year the school is making a policy of asking parents who wish to send in treats to ensure that said treats are healthy and nutritious.  

Hatching chicks:

In mid-April, we are setting chicken eggs to incubate.  Incubation takes 21 days, and I will time the incubation so that the eggs should hatch over a 24-hour period mid-week.

Classroom Learning: 

Literacy:  We do most of our writing while seated at the carpet, using individual blackboards.  Our focus continues to be correct letter formation, predicting the letters in a word, and writing high-frequency words.  Children enjoy regular “book looks” where they choose their reading material, reading aloud together as a class, and reading individually or in small groups to the teacher.  At home you can help your child by encouraging him or her to point at the words while s/he is reading aloud, and to make a game out of identifying high-frequency words in different texts.  The children who use their word cards frequently at home are able to recognize many of these words at school now, so thank you for your hard work in these regard. 

Numeracy:  We count and compare sets of objects, read and write numbers, identify “mistakes” in the calendar, identify patterns and create our own, read and discuss simple graphs, and create pictures and structures with different shapes and solids.  We also continue to talk about units of time (days, weeks, months).  You can help your children by counting aloud with them, reviewing your household calendar for important events, and discussing numbers in terms of  “more than” and “less than”. 

Springtime:  We are learning about the changing season, with seeds, birds (especially robins) and animal babies playing a starring role.  Much of our artwork, poetry, songs, science investigations and games relate to this unit.  This week we are talking about how important it is to never touch or pick up baby animals, because the parents can be scared away and not return to care for their babies.  At home you can talk about the animals you see, sign books about spring out of the library, and discuss how different animals raise their babies.

Science:

Bird Feeders: Intermediate students came to visit for the afternoon and helped the kindergartens implement their designs for bird feeders. We have discussed where we placed our feeders, and our observations of the animals that visit our feeders (not all of them have been birds), and compared our initial designs to our final plans. Our last step is to discuss how we might alter our designs if we were to redo the project.

Buoyancy: We are exploring the differences between things that sink and things that float. (The students have particularly enjoyed sorting themselves into float/sink categories.)

March Newsletter

Notes from Ms. Wright’s “Kinder-Surprises”

Soup Day:  Thank you all very much for making our Soup Day so successful!  Almost everybody tasted our soup, and many returned for seconds – and often thirds.  We predicted how many items were in a bowl or package, and then compared the actual quantity to our predictions.  A bowl of 100 grains of rice, at first glance, appeared to be a far smaller quantity of items than 25 carrots.  A plastic bag of noodles, which the children predicted would hold 100 noodles, astounded them by being just as full after 100 noodles had been teased out.  Who knew there was so much learning in soup?  The curriculum focus was estimating numbers in a set, and collecting and interpreting information while preparing the soup.

Bird Feeders:  The students are very involved in planning and designing their bird feeders.  They’ve been asked to consider what different birds eat, how they’ll keep the feed dry and contained; what the birds will perch on; and where they’ll hang or attach their feeder.  We’ve looked at examples of bird feeders made from recycled materials, and hope to begin building our own before March Break.  Thanks to everyone who has sent in materials for this project.  Our curriculum focus is building 3-D structures (Math); making and communicating predictions and observations (Science); and presenting findings to others using a variety of media (Language). 

Spare Clothes:  The weather has been so changeable that our children frequently come in from recess with snowpants and mittens soaking wet.  Sometimes I have spare mittens for the children to wear home, but not always.  Please pack extra socks and mittens for your child this month, and consider packing waterproof splash pants as a supplement to their snow pants.

 Safety:  Because of recent incidents in this part of the province, we have been talking about ways to stay safe.  I downplay potential threats, and emphasize instead that children’s parents need to know where they are at all times.  We discuss the principle of only going someplace – even our best friend’s house next door - with the knowledge of our parents or caregivers.  We’ve talked a bit about ways people might try to trick us into going with them and how we can avoid being tricked.  This is done in a very low-key and matter-of-fact manner to avoid causing anxiety and making the children afraid of all strangers, since every day they encounter strangers in public settings such as the grocery store.  Please get in touch with me if your child seems to be displaying an unusual level of anxiety in this regard.

Kindergrad:  It has become our  tradition to present a slide/video show in June to celebrate the graduation of our seniors.  As the production takes many, many hours, I am taking some time during March Break to select some preliminary material.  The video is played for the Toniata students and for the kindergarten families, but is not distributed in any form because of privacy issues.  Please send me a note if you do not want any images of your child used in this video.

Reading:  This year’s crop of seniors are, on average, reading at the highest level I have seen since I began teaching kindergarten.  This is a tribute to you, their families.  You have been not only conscientiously reading with your child, but have provided invaluable feedback about your child’s reading abilities, preferences and development.  I cannot over-stress the positive influence you have provided for your children.  You have given them a wonderful start in literacy.  Thank you!

Other Notes:  Besides the curriculum focus  described above, we are collecting and examining data regarding objects that sink or float.  The seniors are beginning to use small picture dictionaries and other resources to support their writing, and we are trying to find small words in big words to help us read unfamiliar texts.

 Enjoy your March Break!

February Newsletter

Happy Year of the Dragon! Happy Groundhog Day! Happy Valentine’s Day! 

The A class will celebrate Valentine’s Day on the 13^th, and the B class on the 14^th.  We will have a small party each afternoon.  If your child wishes to distribute Valentines, we will be setting aside time for this on Wednesday.  If your child brings Valentines and/or treats, please ensure that he or she does so for every child.  The names of the kindergarten children are coming home in their communication bags.

Math:  This month our focus is on measurement, and tools we use to measure our weight, the length of different objects, the temperature, etc..  As we explore these ideas, we also work on ordering objects according to their size, weight, etc.  We are continuing to work on number recognition, matching numbers to sets, and identifying missing numbers on a number line or hundreds chart. 

 Soup Day!  On February 28^th and 29^th, we will make Hundreds Soup to support our learning in measurement and numeracy (and, of course, literacy).  A week in advance of Soup Day, I will ask each child to bring in a particular item (pasta, carrot slices, etc.) for our soup. 

Literacy:  We have been reading and discussing Chinese New Year, and are branching out now into Groundhog Day and Valentine’s Day.   The children are encouraged to share their predictions about the stories we read, and to retell the stories in the drama centre, at the sand table, or through their art.

These conversations about books are an important component of emergent literacy, and one which you support at home whenever you read with your child.

Thank you all so much for your Christmas gifts of Indigo/ Chapters cards.  I bought a variety of storybooks and non-fiction books for the classroom, which were all huge hits with the children.  I also bought some high-quality model animals for the sand table, to encourage the children to re-tell their favourite stories with relevant props.  They also invent their own stories using these animals; these days I love eavesdropping at the sand table.

Science:  We are planning and designing bird feeders from found materials, and talking about our observations.  Please encourage your child to choose some items that he or she thinks would be suitable for making a bird feeder, talk about how they might be used and assembled, and bring them to school.

Fitness:

In the gym we are exploring stamina and cardio-fitness with such games as noodle hockey, scooter races, cooperative games and variations on tag.  We are also reviewing  safety and teamwork.  In the classroom, we do a variety of dances and exercises through the course of the day.  This keeps us fit, energizes us, and provides the body breaks so badly needed at this age.

The Seven C's of Resilience

Resilience is our ability to bounce back, undefeated, from challenging and stressful situations.  We all face many challenges during our lives (and in my life, at least, challenges seem to come in clusters).  Our children are dealing with divorce, job insecurity, illness and death in the extended family, moving to new schools, and a myriad of other stressful situations.  We can't shield them from many of these situations - but we can give them coping skills and the ability to move on. 
Alyson Sklar, an education consultant, says that according to The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), there are seven C's of resilience.  If you're interested in reading the entire article from the Toronto Star, click here.  Otherwise, here's her quick outline:

Competence Everyone needs to have something they’re good at, which is why competence is the first pillar of resilience. “It could be anything from helping your baby brother to stop crying or being good at playing hockey,” says Sklar. Parents can help cultivate competence by letting little kids get dressed on their own, for instance, and by spending time on the activities that children truly enjoy and can master.


Confidence The next step is having confidence in one's abilities. It’s not enough just to be good at something; you have to get a chance to prove to yourself what you can do. For Sklar’s oldest daughter, that meant being allowed to take her little sister to the playground at the end of the street. For others, it could be having the opportunity to work out a problem with a friend before Mom or Dad swoops in.


Connection Close ties to family, friends, school and community provide kids with an important sense of security and shared values. Those go a long way down the road to reduce the chance that kids will seek choices that are self-destructive, says Sklar.


Character A fundamental sense of right and wrong helps children make wise choices, contribute to the world and become stable adults. Teaching your kids about character can start young with the lessons from storybooks and progress from there, says Sklar. Being kind to an animal, making sure no one feels left out on the playground and speaking up when a friend’s being bullied are all good opportunities demonstrate character.


Contribution Children who have the opportunity to make a connection between their actions and the betterment of others are more likely to make altruistic choices. Plus, the sense of purpose that brings is like money in the bank kids can draw upon in harder times. Your child doesn’t need to start his own charitable foundation, but could you work together to collect some canned goods this year? Or have your child select a toy for a toy drive?


Coping Let’s be real. Adult life throws us all kinds of hurdles from everyday annoyances like flat tires to big life events like the loss of a parent. Children who learn to problem solve and manage stress will be better prepared to face these on their own. Here’s the rub – kids can’t learn coping skills unless we demonstrate some at home. So if we lose our cool when the plumber is late, for instance, our kids will be sure to bring the histrionics when Luke’s lightsaber goes AWOL. The good news is that kids are perfectly willing to accept that none of us are perfect. What’s more, knowing how to acknowledge mistakes and start fresh is a decent coping skill itself.


Control It’s important to teach kids impulse control, because they don’t often arrive on this earth with a keen sense of delayed gratification. Think of the famous marshmallow experiment in the 1960s, says Sklar. Hundreds of 4-year-olds were offered one marshmallow now or two marshmallows if they could wait a few minutes. The kids who could wait for the bigger pay off did better in school, attended better universities and were considered more dependable by parents and teachers. So how do you bring these lessons into everyday life? Teach your kids to try some deep breaths when they’re frustrated. Set a maximum amount of TV time and let them decide whether or not to save a half hour for their favourite show. “When they realize they are in control of their own decision making, they’re more likely to make the right decisions down the road,” says Sklar.

Much of the work we do in kindergarten is geared toward developing self-regulation (a.k.a. impulse control) and resilience in our children.  We give them opportunities to identify and resolve problems independently, to develop close friendships with their classmates, and to deal with frustration in a positive matter.  At this age our children are still discovering their skills, interests and connections to the world.  The independent play and exploration that occurs in kindergarten helps form the patterns of behaviour that allow a child to persevere in the face of setbacks and disappointments.  We can't build a bubble around our children - but we can give them the tools to weather the storms that life tosses at them.

The importance of play-based learning

A few weeks ago I took my son to CHEO for an appointment with a specialist.  The waiting room was stuffed with children and parents.  I would have expected a certain amount of ambient noise in such a setting, but the room was eerily quiet.  With only one exception, the parents were tapping away on their laptops and cell phones.  When the children tried to interact with their parents, the parents only lifted their gazes briefly from the flickering screens.  This left the children to either watch The Wiggles or to do some colouring.  One very young child, who was still developing his fine motor skills, tried to show his father his picture.  His father looked over his laptop and told his small son to start over again - and this time to colour evenly and inside the lines.

There is evidence that as toys in Canada become more digital and less mechanical, and as art becomes perceived as colouring inside the lines rather than creating one's own drawing, they present an obstacle to a child's intellectual and motor development.  According to McLean's magazine in the article "Why Your Teen Can't Use a Hammer, "Occupational therapist Stacy Kramer, clinical director at Toronto’s Hand Skills for Children, offers one explanation for what’s happening. It begins with babies who don’t get put on the ground as much, which means less crawling, less hand development. Then comes the litany of push-button toy gadgets, which don’t exercise the whole hand. That leads to difficulty developing skills that require a more intricate coordination between the hand and brain, like holding a pencil or using scissors, which kindergarten teachers complain more students can’t do. “We see 13-year-olds who can’t do up buttons or tie laces,” she says. “Parents just avoid it by buying Velcro and T-shirts.” Items that—not incidentally—chimpanzees could put on." 

Most of the social and problem-solving skills we master are developed and honed through early play.  A play-based kindergarten classroom offers rich opportunities to improve fine motor skills, solve problems, and develop social skills.  Children frequently return to the same books, games, or equipment again and again as they master particular concepts.  They need to create and activate their own games and imaginative play as part of their development.  Adults can introduce games and activities, but children must have a certain amount of free choice and free play to have opportunities to develop and to construct their own meaning. 

Perhaps the best demonstration of this comes from an afternoon in early November.  I had put out a variety of 3-D shapes in different areas of the classroom.  As an afterthought, I put out some hula hoops for the children to sort their shapes before sitting down to read with a child.  When I returned to the hula hoops, the children had discovered that they could make spheres roll around the perimeter of the hoops, tight against the inner wall.  They were now deeply engrossed in discovering what other solids could perform the same behaviour.  On their own terms, they were building a far deeper understanding of the properties of shapes than would have been the case if I had simply made them follow a set of rules.

If you ever feel guilty about a messy, toy-strewn house (which was certainly my case when my children were young), you may enjoy the article Bringing Imagination Back, which looks at how parents and teachers are restoring play and play-based learning to the lives of children.  In the meantime, when your children come home and can't wait to tell you about something they did during playtime - they're also telling you, if you "read between the lines", what they learned today and how they built on what they learned yesterday.  Step by step, block tower by block tower, their minds and skills are developing as they make sense of the world around them.

November newsletters from Toniata kindergarten

Notes from Ms. Wright’s Kindergarten

November 2011

Thank you! 

·         for making our applesauce project so successful.  Every student was able to follow the recipe, talk about the sequence of steps involved, and have a literally hands-on cooking experience.

·         to everybody who sent in treats and who helped out during our Hallowe’en activities

Upcoming events:

Our Remembrance Day ceremony will take place at 10:30 on November 11^th.  You are very welcome to join us on this occasion.  Other important events are:

November 7– Parent Council 7:00 pm

November 7–Reports Go Home

November 16– Family Literacy Night 6:00-7:00

November 16– MacMillians Pick Up 3:30-5:30

November 16 & 17– School Book Fair

November 21-25– Food Drive

November 22– Hot Lunch Orders Due

November 23– Milk Orders Due

Progress Reports and Interviews

Students Progress Reports will go home on November 7^th, along with an appointment for you to come in and chat about your child’s progress.  If you have a conflict with the scheduled meeting time, please let me know and we will reschedule.

Special Visitor: 

This month we are very happy to welcome Meaghan White to our classroom community.  Miss White is a teacher candidate from the University of Ottawa, and has already become a popular fixture in kindergarten.  Gradually she will assume responsibility for teaching across the kindergarten curriculum.  This is an excellent opportunity for your children to benefit from additional small-group instruction, and for Miss White to benefit from interacting with what I firmly believe is the World’s Best Kindergarten Class.

New programmes:

Word Work:  Shortly we will be sending home a bag of high-frequency word cards with the junior students and new senior students.  (Senior students who need new cards will receive them as well.)  These are to encourage sight recognition, and the concept of arranging words into short sentences.  A letter outlining tips and tricks for using this package will accompany your child’s word package.

What we’re learning:

In literacy, our focus is on initial and final sounds in words, and on finding rhyming words.

Word and letter recognition, along with printing skills, also continue to be a major focus.  Many of the children are now counting to twenty (or well beyond), and are learning to sort objects into different categories.  We are also working on ordering objects and on patterns this month.   In physical education we are working on our throwing and catching skills.  Because of the variety of flu and tummy bugs drifting around the school, we are very focused on hygiene (especially hand-washing) this month. 

We will also be starting to rehearse for our part in the annual Christmas concert.  While this may seem a little early, since the children are only in school on alternate days, we need to get a head start!

  

Kindergarten News  

Toniata Public School

____________________________________________

From Mrs. Charbonneau's Desk

I am happy to hear that all students and parents had a safe and Spooktacular Halloween night!  As we continue to focus on healthy eating and healthy food choices, I ask that Halloween treats be eaten at home.

Winter is definitely in the air and the cooler weather is upon us. Please ensure that students come to school with all the necessary outwear to keep them warm during recess times. When the snow arrives (hopefully not too soon), please make sure your child has an extra hat and pair of mittens packed in his or her backpack. Remember to LABEL, LABEL, LABEL!

Please remember that if at any time you need to contact me, I can be reached at the school (8am-4:30pm) or via email at johanna.charbonneau@ucdsb.on.ca

Some important Notes:

Toys at School– we have experienced a few minor conflicts around toys at school. I would prefer that toys from home stay at home.  If your child does bring toys please label them with student initials or name. Leaving toys at home is the best way to avoid conflicts and unnecessary tears.

Winter Clothing– winter is fast approaching and snow suits will soon be required. Getting in and out of snowsuits can be challenging and time consuming for many kindergarten students. Please help your child practice at home, including putting on gloves and mittens.

Scholastic Book Orders– Thinking about Christmas? Books are always a super gift. Many great stories can be ordered at great prices. Book Orders are due November 9, 2011.

Food Drive-We will be collecting non-perishable items for the food bank from Nov 21-25.

Remembrance Day– our school Remembrance Day assembly will be held at 10:30 on Nov. 11 in the school gym. This is NOT a school day for our class, however students and parents are invited to attend.

Family Literacy Night– On Nov. 16 all parents are invited to attend our Family Literacy Night from 6-7pm. The school book fair will also be open during this time.

Progress Reports and Parent-Teacher Meetings– Students Progress Reports will go home on November 7th. Included with this progress report will be your child results from the WBTT screening tool and a Parent– Teacher Meeting day and time. If you have a conflict with the meeting time sent home please let me know and we will reschedule.

Our Learning…

& Literacy– Letter knowledge and letter sounds will continue to have center stage this month. Students will also learn about making predictions while reading and rhyming words. Playing rhyme games and singing rhyme songs like “Down by the Bay” will support this learning.

Ê Mathematics– This month we will continue to look at  numbers to 30. Counting regularly and seizing opportunities to look at and identify numbers will help strengthen this knowledge.

K Science– Students will participate in explorations that involve simple machines. We will experiment with gears, ramps, levers and incline planes. We will generate hypothesis, test our ideas through hands on experiments and record our observations. 

‚ Social and Personal Development–  Our focus this month is on appropriate interactions with peers. We will be discussing and reinforcing how to positively communicate our feelings to each other in a variety of situations. We will also focus on listening to what others are telling us about our actions.

Some important Dates:

November 2 - Photo Retakes

November 7– Parent Council 7:00pm

November 7– Progress Reports Go Home

November 16– Family Literacy Night 6:00-7:00

November 16– MacMillians Pick Up 3:30-5:30

November 16 & 17– School Book Fair

November 21-25– Food Drive

November 22– Hot Lunch Orders Due

November 23– Milk Orders Due

Our School Fridays– November 4th and 18th