Our busy October

We have been so busy in Room 8! There have been lots of firsts in October.

We've started dance classes with Mrs. Kaczmarz every Day 5. So far the kids have been learning some warm up moves and a few great dancing games and activities. They are really loving having that extra movement time in our day.

At centres we worked on learning letters through puzzles and creative making stations.  We also learned to play tic-tac-toe and talked about diagonal lines.  The class really loves playing tic-tac-toe now! Play a game at home with your child if you'd like to practice with them more! It's a great strategy game and teaches problem solving and turn taking.

     

This week our Discover Bins are focused on Halloween activities. So we have...
Fall still life drawing This is great for building fine motor muscles as well as being able to look at an object and copy it onto paper. Some students choose to match the colours and some choose to get creative with it!  After Discovery Bins, the kids have the opportunity to share their creation with the rest of the class in our sharing circle.









Roll and count Spider game  In this activity, students can play on their own or with a partner.  As they roll dice and count the number of dots, they add that many spiders to their web.  The partner with the most spiders wins. The class has taken this activity and evolved it into rolling dice and using the spiders to create that number shape. This teaches turn taking, subitizing, and number identification




















We also have letter sound matches and puzzles which are great fine motor work as well.

The leaves are falling...

In Room 8, we have been talking a lot about Fall and all the changes that are happening outside.
Of course one of the most noticeable is the changing leaves! So naturally is seemed like it was time to create some Fall artwork.

After collecting leaves outside as a classroom, the kids got to do leaf rubs using crayons and real leaves!
The results are beautiful!


To follow up with a bit of writing, I challenged the class to write a Fall poem.
First we brainstormed all the words and phrases we could think of to do with Fall.  Then one students had a great idea to put them into themes by using little symbols.
Then each student chose what part fit next into our poem.
I am so proud of these guys for their creativity and independence.  Besides standing up there with the marker, these kids did all the work!
We're going to type it up and put it out on our bulletin board with all our artwork!

Our brainstorm and theme organizing

Finished version!

Terry Fox Run

Thank you so much for all of your donations to the Terry Fox Foundation last week. The kids had an amazing time and really gave all their energy to running for Terry.

So far in Kindergarten....

We have really settled into our new classroom and new routines over the past month. The students have been learning to work together and problem solving techniques. We have also been working on our daily learning activities like letter and number identification, counting, the calendar, writing and reading.

We have also been joining our grade 2/3 friends in Miss Long's classroom to collaborate on some fun outdoor activities and even indoor ones like Reading Buddies.

Here are some fun snapshots of last week

We went outside with Room 11 to do some letter writing practice using whatever we could find around the playground. The kids were very creative with finding different ways to write with their surroundings. We saw everything from sand and rocks, to tires and grass. It was definitely a fun way to practice our letter shapes!


At our morning Discovery Bins, the students have a chance to use their imaginations with whatever supplies have been provided. Every week, new bins are set out on the tables with a variety of different objects or activities in them.  There is always a main goal in mind such as counting, making patterns, writing, or problem solving. But the students are welcome to get creative with them as well in order to further explore different concepts.

At this centre, the goal was to create a structure with a given number of building materials. It turned into an amazing conversation about balance and how to problem solve to improve their structure. Matteo and David are talking about how to make it taller without it falling over and Amber was seeing how many pieces she could balance on top of such a shaky base.


We've also had a few Library classes with Ms. Janzen. We get to listen to a story and then pick our own books to take home for the week!


Some more students presented their All about me bags. Amazing listeners in this room!



We've been writing in our journals and practicing counting on our magnet boards.

Our Room 11 Reading Buddies came to hang out with us last week! For one period, Kinder students have the chance to either read to or be read to by a Grade 2 or Grade 3 student. This is also a great opportunity to explore the books in both classrooms.

Reminders - Early Dismissal and Library day

Tomorrow, Tuesday October 4th is early dismissal. Students will be dismissed promptly at 3:10 PM.
It is also our Library Day. Please send your child's book to school with them tomorrow so they can choose a new one.

Miss Griffiths