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.