Wow, I can’t believe Spring is finally here! I hope you all had a wonderful and happy Easter.
Throughout the past two months, we have seen lots of new friendships being formed and many new social interactions taking place between peers. The children are learning how to self advocate and use their problem-solving skills by using a variety of simple strategies to solve social problems (e.g., co-operating, helping skills, conflict resolution and social problem solving skills). They are also learning how to express and identify their own feelings by using our zones of regulation in our classroom.
The Puffins truly amaze us each and every day and we are very proud of their successes!
Here is a glimpse at some of the wonderful learning taking place in our room…
Throughout the past two months, we have seen lots of new friendships being formed and many new social interactions taking place between peers. The children are learning how to self advocate and use their problem-solving skills by using a variety of simple strategies to solve social problems (e.g., co-operating, helping skills, conflict resolution and social problem solving skills). They are also learning how to express and identify their own feelings by using our zones of regulation in our classroom.
The Puffins truly amaze us each and every day and we are very proud of their successes!
Here is a glimpse at some of the wonderful learning taking place in our room…
We are ALL wonderful readers!
Our Puffin friends are learning how to read! Every afternoon some of the children participate in guided reading activities with their peers and will often be seen reading a leveled book with me or Mrs. Gogo in a cozy area in our classroom.
We have been working on some reading strategies that I encourage you all to practice at home:
.Point to the word (use your finger tracker)
.Look at the picture
.Look at the beginning sound
.Get your mouth ready
.Ask yourself, does it make sense? Does it look right?
.Sound it out
Here is an excellent article that I also encourage you to read: http://www.scholastic.com/parents/resources/article/developing-reading-skills/reading-comprehension-and-decoding-strategies
Please remember that the overall expectations for reading in our 2 year program are:
.Demonstrates understanding and critical awareness of a variety of written materials that are read by and with the EL-K team
.Use reading strategies that are appropriate for beginning readers in order to make sense of a variety of written materials.
It is important for you and your child to understand that reading is not just about reading text from print. Here are a few curriculum links that are observed and used in our classroom every day:
2.1 Demonstrates an interest in reading
2.2 Identify personal preferences in reading materials in different contexts
2.3 Demonstrate an awareness of basic book conventions and concepts of print when a text is read aloud or when they are beginning to read print
2.5 Make predictions regarding an unfamiliar text that is read by and with the EL-K team, using prior experience, knowledge of familiar texts, and general knowledge of the world around them
2.7 Use illustrations to support comprehension to texts that are read by and with the EL-K team
2.9 Retells stories in proper sequence, that have been read by and with the EL-K team, using pictures in books and/or props
2.10 Begin to use reading strategies to make sense of unfamiliar texts in print
3.7 Enjoying literacy
3.10 Phonological awareness
3.11 Letter recognition
The children have also been busy learning how to label their beautiful art work, stories and pictures. Attached are two photos of some of the creativity taking place in our learning environment and outdoor learning spaces.
Curriculum links:
.Begin to label drawings with initial sounds represented by letters
.Demonstrate an interest in writing
.Demonstrate an awareness that writing can convey ideas or messages
.Write simple messages using a combination of pictures, symbols, knowledge of the correspondence between letters and sounds (phonics), and familiar words
The Puffins have also been learning about rhyming. Each week we have been introducing a new family of words. Ask your child if they can think of some words that rhyme with at.
We are even practicing our rhyming skills at the snack table!
Thanks Eden for all of your hard work!
Thanks Eden for all of your hard work!
Throughout the month of March, the Puffins have also been connecting with another kindergarten class from St. Isidore School. We discovered that they are also learning about Arctic animals and have been doing lots of research on polar bears. As a result, both classes have been sharing their knowledge and findings with one another through videos, google hangouts, emails and more!
We even used google maps and google earth to see what St. Isidore school looks like and where it is located. We learned that Georges Vanier and St. Isidore are within the same family of schools and are only a short distance away from each other!
We even used google maps and google earth to see what St. Isidore school looks like and where it is located. We learned that Georges Vanier and St. Isidore are within the same family of schools and are only a short distance away from each other!
Thank you again for all of your kind and generous donations. We not only raised enough money to adopt a polar bear, but we were also able to use the leftover donations from our polar bear fund to help support another kindergarten class at Assumption Catholic School. Throughout kindness week, the Puffins quickly learned that Assumption Catholic is also known as our our sister school. We decided that it would be a nice gesture to reach out to a fellow kinder class and see if we could provide them with some additional resources for their classroom. The Puffins were able to purchase some board games, books, art supplies and toys for our new kinder friends. They also got to decorate and sign a special card that we sent to them in the mail. As we say in our classroom ...a little act of kindness goes a very long way! Well done Puffins! |