Picture a Tree

Our students are keen observers. They are looking closely at the it environment and making comparisons and discoveries. Last week we read Picutre A Tree. The children used plasticine to create representations of the trees in our schoolyard. At home, we encourage you to discuss and take photos of signs of spring. Send in a photo or two for our class to discuss.

Building Challenge

Our learners are always up for a good challenge. Yesterday, we asked students to partner up and pick one challenge. Challenge one was to create something to hold the baby. Challenge two was to create the tallest structure. The materials provided were cardboard, tape, straws, glue, Popsicle sticks and and pipecleaners.

The students took on the challenges and worked very hard yesterday afternoon. They tested their creations and resdesigned when necessary. Not one student gave up. Some children taped the doll to the cardboard, others created chairs without legs and some worked hard on trying to get their structure to balance.

The students demonstrated their thinking about glue and tape. They debated which one to use and why. They discussed angles of the back of the chair. They debated over designs and they tried their best. We have a class of students who take on challenges and test and redesign and retest their objects. We were very proud of the learning the students demonstrated.

What challenges will give provide for your child over the summer?

Some suggestions for summer building; boat building, insect houses, something to hold water, the widest structure, or the tallest structure. Have fun creating!

A String of Beads

Today we read the story titled, A String of Beads by Margarette S. Reid. The children’s book response was a creative response. They beaded and made bracelets, chains and necklaces. They were very proud of their designs. Beading is a great activity to increase fine motor control. Try some lacing or beading activities this summer.

Reading over the summer

Nightly reading is now a habit in many households. Unfortunately the year is coming to an end and the reading materials are being inventoried and need to be returned. A few families have asked how they can continue to support nightly reading at home. I have created a reading resource for families. A live binder is a way to organize many links in a meaningful manner. You can have your child listen to online books, read leveled eBooks, view sound videos, or view online magazines. I have gathered links to assist families and out them together in this resource.

http://www.livebinders.com/play/play?id=119412

The Georgina Library has also created an online resource for home reading. Here is the link Georgina library

You can also visit the local library and join in with the TD Summer Reading Club or check out some of their other programs. Georgina library programs

There are many ways to continue to foster the love of reading throughout the summer. Happy reading!

Play Day Fun

We are sending home some very tired children today. We started the day with a plasticine response to the story The Subway Mouse. Students created 3D mice.

After recess we had play activities outdoors with all of the kindergarten classes.  Children were able to freely flow to the tasks that interested them. We had frozen juice pops as a treat. Some of the activities included frozen sidewalk chalk, scoops and balls, hula hoops, soccer, water play, paper airplanes, sand play and bubbles. The students were amazing!

This afternoon we had some helpers involved in face painting. It was truly a wonderful day.

Thank you to all of our parent volunteers, our high school volunteers and our grade four helpers. This type of day needs many hands.

Milkweeds

“We walked to the pond. We saw milkweeds. They were really little. They grew leaves. It started to flower. Now there are flowers on the milkweeds.”

-post by one of our junior kindergarten students

Capacity

We are exploring capacity. We are learning how to measure and compare the capacity of containers. Today we learned…

we have to fill up each scoop

we need to use the same size scoop when we are measuring

if it’s tall, it doesn’t mean it will hold more

if it’s wide it might hold more

we have to count as we add scoops of water into the container

In this beautiful weather, you could put out some buckets of water, scoops, cups and different sized containers. Talk with your child, as they measure and compare containers.

My Mind can be like a Glitter Jar

This week we are learned how our minds can be like a glitter jar. Thoughts and feelings can get jumbled and spin around in our heads. We have talked about strategies to calm our minds and let the glitter settled so we can be ready to learn and talk. We read stories about mindfulness, watched short video clips and today we made our own glitter jars to take home. Here is a link to  one of the videos we watched in class.

Mindfulness video

The students followed the procedure for making a glitter jar.

A month of discoveries

Our class participated in the 30 x 30 challenge in the month of May. We made a commitment to go outdoors more frequently and spend time in nature. We have always venturedaffodils d to the pond on a weekly basis. However, this daily adventure helped the students see changes immediately. They could remember how a there looked the previous day and they noticed and talked about the changes they saw. Our daily adventures always enabled us to see Blue Herons, Geese, goslings, mallards and ducklings. We saw beavers and we watched plant life grow and change.  Our students are watching the growth of milkweeds and predicting when they will flower. We are also watching the formation of pinecones.

This daily time outdoors made our students more keenly aware of the changes that were happening in their environment. Students brought things along to school with them such as leaves, flowers, pussy willows and other items they found along their way. Parents sent in photos of their changing gardens and together we discussed the changes and reasons behind the changes. The 30×30 nature challenge was a fabulous experience for our learners.

 

Advocating for Monarchs

A few weeks ago I shared an article about Mrs. Greenham’s class in Newmarket. Her students are asking the public to plant milkweeds in order to save the Monarch Butterflu species. The article was in the Era Banner on May 3.Article

We have been investigating the life cycle of Milkweeds over the past year. Each time we walk to the pond we look at the milkweeds and talk about the life cycle. This spring we have noticed new growth. We have also found milkweeds in our school garden by the front doors. We learned  that new flowers might be planted in our school garden, that caused some alarm. The students are thinking of waves to save the milkweeds. Today, one student wrote a letter to the teacher and discussed her views on why they shouldn’t weed out the milkweeds. As a class we made some signs and posted them in the garden. We hope students respect our signs and leave the milkweeds in place.

Our students are learning the importance of advocating and making a difference in their world.