October 30- November 3

 This was a very eventful week as we celebrated Halloween and moved into a new month.  We have started our classroom calendar and are learning how a calendar works.  We like to sing the "days of the week" song, count the numbers to the date and announce the weather.  We are noticing that the mornings are a lot darker when we come to school and we have been noticing the ice and snow outside melting when the sun comes out in the afternoon.

Our word of the week was "Investigate".  We know that to investigate means "stop, look, think and wait- that is how we INVESTIGATE!"  We had many opportunities to do our own investigations this week as we made predictions and observations about our classroom pumpkins.  We noticed how different our two pumpkins were- their size, how they felt, how much they weighed and even the way their stems grew.  We predicted what would be inside of our pumpkins, and we tried to predict whether our pumpkins would float or sink when put in a bucket of water.  Once we found that our heavy pumpkins would float to the top, we decided to continue to investigate what other things would float.  We tested different classroom items based on size, weight, and type of material.  It was fascinating to think and test student's different ideas.

In Literacy this week we made predictions about what was going to happen next in our story "The Big Pumpkin."  We were able to share our ideas and our writing with our classmates and then we heard the ending of the story to see if our ideas were similar or completely original.  We also did some journal writing about our Halloween costumes and worked on printing the letter Tt.  We are continuing to practice our letter and number formation on whiteboards and in our math and writing journals.  We read lots of new stories like "Room on the Broom", "What do you do with a tail like this" and "Pigs".  We are starting to notice the difference between stories and books that are fiction "from imagination" or non-fiction "facts".  

Both the AM class and the PM class were able to have fun with the Grade 4 Big Buddies creating spider crafts and learning how to play board games.  Playing board games is an excellent way to practice turn taking, subitizing (recognizing numbers on a dice), counting, following game rules, problem solving and building positive relationships.

In center times students played in our Kindergarten Doctor's Office making appointments, playing different "roles" and taking care of each other.  Students also created "fizzy potions" with baking soda, paint and vinegar and loved watching the bubbly reaction when the ingredients would mix.  Stepping stones, sand box play, lots of board games, building and and painting were all enjoyed throughout the week.

Next week it will be a shorter week as we head into a Fall Break.  The last students will be sharing their "Me Bags" as there are only a couple left to share.  We have been creating a class bulletin board with some of the beautiful photos, drawings and paintings that students brought in to share with their classmates.  We love seeing the people we love on the wall, and seeing all of the amazing things that make us unique and also connect us to one another. We will also be learning about our 5 Senses next week.  With the beautiful sunshine we're hoping to spend some time outside exploring nature using our 5 senses to interact with the world and share our observations.  Please continue to send your child dressed/prepared for the weather.  Our Kindergarten students are doing AMAZING at getting themselves ready in all of their gear- and helping one another as well.  They should be so proud of all of the hard work they are doing everyday!

Here are some pictures from our week:

😀