Mrs. Gurr Kindergarten/Grade One - Div 6 December 2016
Winter has arrived just in time for us to shift our learning focus from bears to animals in winter. Theme Digest December’s learning themes will be animals in winter, and a branch of that theme will be how the very social human animal spends time in winter, including celebrations and story-telling. The playhouse area will be transformed into Santa’s Workshop and our large cardboard box will continue to be transformed into a newly designed bear cave with fur lining and clips, blankets and scarves. Both areas will be popular places; one for busy toy building etc. and the other for hibernating.Social Skills SynopsisOur social skills focus will be on making choices. Steps to reinforce at home and school are as follows: Making Choices
Zoo Phonics and Language Arts In September we began learning the alphabet sounds through a program called Zoo Phonics. The children learn the sounds by identifying with animal characters. They learn a character’s name and a sound and an action for each letter of the alphabet. Alli Alligator, (Aa), Bubba Bear (Bb), Catina Cat (Cc) and so on. We learn the sounds first (rather than letter names) as the sounds are what help with early reading skills. See if your child can show you all the character names, sounds and actions. From here we began learning how to build words from the basic sound codes. Children are also being introduced to the advanced codes such as th, ch, sh, oo, oa etc. Reading Each day we have been practicing our reading skills in 4 different ways (read to self, read to others, listen to reading and guided reading) with books that are at each child’s “just right” reading level. We have spent time on learning;
Math Minutes During morning math bin time, we have been working on number knowledge 1 to 10 for K’s and 1 to 20 + for the 1’s. We have built sets for each number and now we are building multiple sets and matching sets. We also work with patterns and sorting collections in class, small things such as; buttons, small toys, counters, bread tags, beads, shapes….and big things like teddies, books, cars and building toys.We have also been creating spider counting books that reinforce many of the number concepts we are learning. When completed, these books will be coming home with an attached assessment summary sheet. It will include my thoughts and observations and your child’s own self-assessment. This important document will need to be signed and sent back to school along with the spider book to be included in your child’s learning portfolio. Science Up Date We have been using our 5 senses to make discoveries outdoors on our weekly nature walks and trips to the garden. We have established an outdoor classroom in the forest and have enjoyed searching for the turtle at the pond. We are learning about the changing seasons through direct observation of the changes around us including weather, temperature, clouds, wind, sun etc. We also did a mini-unit on the earth in space and the moon and solar system during the week of the Super-moon. Winter Wear Reminder As you are aware we go outside every day, so please be sure your child is dressed for the weather and has extra clothing to change into if need be. Hands, arms, and legs must be covered and hats, hoods, and waterproof boots are essential clothing items now. Thanks Social Studies Our focus in socials is on storytelling and learning from others in our community. We have been learning a lot through community members bringing their stories and expertise to us in the indoor and outdoor classroom. We have regular visits with: Mr. Cook and his dog Rudi to practice our reading; Susan Yates shares her love of books with us regularly; Mr. Eastick spent time in our classroom relating his stories of the War; Sasha shares her gardening knowledge with us in the community gardens each week; Ms. Ackerman gave us a one hour Hip Hop lesson to wrap up our dance unit; and, Amy at the Gabriola Library read us bear stories and taught us games and songs. She also gave a tour of the library including a peek at what happens in the back room! A grade one class from Departure Bay came for a visit and shared lunch with us and we made new friends. The children ask some very intelligent questions during all these special visits. Field Trip Corner Our next walking field trip builds on our Social Studies curriculum; on Wednesday, December 14, from 9:30 to 11:00 am we will be taking part in a program at the Gabriola Museum (leaving the school at 9:00 am). Joan Merrifield will teach the Stories of Our Community program. The children will be asked to bring their own small family artifact as a prop to tell a story about how their family came to live on Gabriola. Joan will share 3 or 4 stories and artifacts from Gabriola of long ago (farmers, boaters, indigenous peoples, brick workers) and there will be some hands-on activities as well. We will need 3 or 4 parent volunteers to come with us (sorry, no toddlers please).We will be back at the school by 11:30 am. Gym Journal In the gym, we have been doing creative movement and dance. This month we will be playing creative tag and parachute games. Show and Tell Bulletin This month we continue with Teddy’s sleepover visits. Some items have gone missing from Teddy’s backpack. Please help your child look around your house and return any items that Teddy may have left behind after his sleepover at your house. Birthday Broadcast We will be celebrating Ben M’s Birthday in December. Parent Volunteers Parent volunteer support has been great. Please don’t hesitate to come in and help, even at short notice as there’s always a list of things to do. I so appreciate the parents who come on field trips and those who regularly help in the classroom, prepping materials, cleaning, and putting up displays. Thank you, thank you! Gingerbread Houses On Tuesday, December 20, 10:30-11:30 am., we need parents/special adults to come to our classroom and join us in making gingerbread houses. For the gingerbread houses, each child will need to bring in a small 250ml milk/cream carton (empty and cleaned) and a small bag of candy for decorating. Send any extra 250ml milk/cream cartons if you have them. If you can make decorator icing for us please let me know, otherwise, I’ll make and bring from home. I’ll also provide the graham crackers that will be the “gingerbread” for our houses. Please join us! Winter Solstice Celebration On Wednesday, December 21st Families are invited to come in the evening for a school concert and sing along. We hope to see everyone out. Brain Research Quote “Brain development can be affected not only by bad stimulation coming in but also by insufficient good stimulation occurring.” Gabor Mate M.D. Limit screen and video game time Continue to limit and monitor your child’s screen time. A maximum of 20 minutes a day is recommended for young children. Instead, ensure plenty of time for interacting with others, playing imaginative games with toys or going outside for active play. Always encourage book time and creative play over any kind of screen time. Young children should never be exposed to violence; including playing or watching violent games with themes of shooting and killing. At this age, it’s challenging for children to distinguish clearly between reality and fiction. Learning Support at Home As stated earlier, in math time we have been sorting collections. Use your imagination and help your child start counting and sorting collections at home. When they sort, see if they can tell you their sorting rule and come up with new and interesting ways to sort the same collection?( Sort by colour, shape, size, function…)Practice counting and sorting all kinds of things at home and in the community whenever you see an opportunity. Continue reading with your child every day and encourage writing skills as well. I enjoy working with you and your child. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me or leave me a note in the back and forth folder or planner. Sincerely yours, Mrs. Kathy L. Gurr EXTRA! EXTRA! . . . DATES TO MARK ON YOUR CALENDAR Dec. 6 – Scholastic Book Order Due Dec. 7 – Hot lunch Dec. 14- Walking trip to museum Dec. 20 – Gingerbread houses Dec. 21 – Winter solstice celebration Dec. 21 – Hot lunch Dec. 23 – Last day of classes Jan. 9 – Back to school Walking Trip and Making Gingerbread Houses On Wednesday, December 14 we will need parent help for our walking trip to the museum from 9:00 until 11:30 am. On Tuesday, December 20, we will need parents from 10:30 until 11:30 helping with gingerbread houses. Please let me know if you can help out.
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AuthorI am a teacher with over 25 years of teaching experience including all grades from kindergarten to grade seven. I am a Primary Specialist with a diverse educational background in Individualization, Learning Support, Behaviour Support and Home-Learning Support. Archives
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