January 22-26

 
Hello Families,

We have loved being able to get outside, soak up the sun and play in the snow this week! Hooray for mild days!

We had 2 words of the week this week.  "Fact" and "Fiction".  We learned the difference between the two words and understand that "Fact"" means that it is something real or true.  "Fiction" is from "imagination" or is "made-up or not real".  We spent time examining different texts this week- noting whether they were fact or fiction, and looking for clues to help us make this determination.  Our challenge this week was to tell Ms. McLean in the Library if the book we chose this week was a "fiction" or "non-fiction (fact)" book.  We did amazing! She told us we were "Smart Cookies!"  

For Literacy this week we learned about the letter /f/.  We practiced writing it, printing it and identifying words that begin with the letter Ff.  We also reviewed the other letters we have been practicing, and used our letter sound understanding to attempt to label our illustrations in our writing books this week.  We also spontaneously decided that we all want to practice printing the whole alphabet in order as neatly as we can, so we practiced that quite a bit this week too. In phonics we have been practicing identifying initial and end sounds, rhyming words and segmenting words together.  We have also practiced clapping out words to count how many syllables they have.  

We started talking all about "Facts" during our carpet times this week- specifically facts about animals in Winter.  We looked at non-fiction books to find new information about what animals do in the Winter, where they may live (their habitat) and how they move around.  We learned new words like "Hibernate, Migrate and Adapt" and we made different actions for each word to help us remember.  You can ask your Kindergartener to show you the actions and tell you about each word.  We looked at lots of pictures of animals and worked with partners to make a prediction about what a specific animal does to survive the cold months.  We sorted all of the animals together and recorded our predictions in our journals.  As we continue to research and explore this topic, we will be able to see if our prediction is correct.  It is always exciting to take a guess and then investigate and gather information to discover something new!

In Math, we continued learning about 2D shapes and used new vocabulary to describe different shapes.  We can count the sides and corners of shapes and can tell the difference between a rectangle and a square or an oval and a circle.  We played a fun game where we traced shapes on each others backs and had to try to guess what it was.  We couldn't stop giggling.  We were also Shape Chefs creating delicious paper "Shape Pizzas".  The students can't wait to bring home their pizza to share.  

In center times the students we able to build tracks to race cars, participated in bowling, played memory matching games and letter bingo, created shape art and made tie-dye snowflakes.  We also have a new "Vet Centre" where students have been eager to take care of animals, make appointments, and bring their stuffed pets. 

During Buddy time this week, the Kindergarten students were able to demonstrate their sequencing skills as they could retell the Mitten story we read last week using our story strips.  Our Grade 4 Buddies were impressed with how well we remembered the different events that happened.  We also decided to go outside for a Buddy Build Challenge.  Working together in the snow we created Animal Habitats.  We had to work together to brainstorm, problem-solve and cooperate.  They all looked incredible.

Some News:

Report cards will be accessible on Powerschool by the end of next week.  Please reach out if you have any questions.

Valentines Day:  Students are welcome to bring Valentine cards to hand out on Valentines Day (February 14th).  We will not be sending out or posting a list of names- please do not address cards to each child (you can leave "To:" blank).  Your child can sign thier name on them of course:). We cannot have  candy/food sharing- so please refrain from sending treats.  We have 21 students in the AM class, and 18 students in the PM class at this time.   

Thank you for continuing to support your student's learning!