Merry Christmas!

Well, we survived the last week of Christmas excitement!  And what a fun week it was.  We had a balloon-style countdown.  Each day we popped one balloon that had a message hidden inside.  The messages were fun activities we could do that day.  The message in Wednesday's balloon was to enjoy a picnic snack!  Click here to see pictures of our picnic fun.  The students enjoyed making Christmas tree sensory bottles, gingerbread men, and of course, their gingerbread houses!  Click here to see pics of our gingerbread man craft.  

Our Christmas parties were a hit.  We had fun playing Christmas bingo, watching How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and decorating gingerbread houses.  A huge thank you goes out to Stacey May, Bill Harstad, and Jennifer White for volunteering to help out with house decorating.  Thanks also to Olivia's Grandma and Sobey's for donating all of the icing.  Click here to see pictures from our party fun.

The PreK staff was so spoiled, thank you for all of the wonderful gifts.  We will certainly be enjoying them over the Christmas holidays.  

MindUp Curriculum
This week in the MindUp Curriculum, we began talking about how other people are feeling.  The concept of considering things from someone else's point of view can be difficult for PreK.  I used the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears to bring in this concept.  We went through the story and chatted about the different characters and how they might have been feeling.  I asked questions like, "why do you think Goldilocks ate the bears porridge?  Maybe she was hungry?  How do you think that made the bears feel?  How do you think Goldilocks felt when she woke up?"  

I also introduced the students to the concept of being an optimistic or pessimistic thinker (using a happy or sad brain to think about things).  These are some big concepts for PreK, but I plan to review them continuously throughout the year to help reinforce the idea.  

In the Gym

Last week worked on our locomotor skills and body awareness while we had some hula hoop fun.  The students enjoyed turning hula hoops into cars while we played red light, green light.  We also used the hula hoops for a version of musical hoops while dancing to Christmas music and then finding a hoop to stand in when the music stopped.  

Coming Up

In the New Year our theme will be SPACE!  

Important dates:

• January 9th - classes resume 
• January 11th and 12th - early dismissal days
• the morning class will dismiss at 10:25am
• the afternoon class will dismiss at 2:15pm
• January 20th - Picky Eating FOP 
• 9:30 - 11:00am
• January 23rd - No PreK today 
• Black Gold ECS Teachers' Meeting Day

I would like to wish everyone has a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.  

See you in 2017!

It's Been a Cold Week!

I think we are all feeling a little stir crazy after being stuck inside for SO MANY days.  Hopefully the weather will smarten up soon so we can take the kids outside for some much needed fresh air!  We stayed warm this week by baking cookies for Santa.  The kids had a blast rolling, cutting, and decorating the cookies.  They were delighted to each take a couple home for Santa.  The true test will be if they can stop themselves from eating them before Christmas Eve!  Click here to see some pictures of our cookie fun: Cookies for Santa

Welcome Mrs. Watt!

We are thrilled to announce that our educational assistant Mrs. Watt is now working with the afternoon class as well as the morning class.  Welcome to the afternoons Mrs. Watt, we are so excited to have you working with both of our classes!

A Group Effort

We had fun strengthening our fine motor skills by working together to cut, draw, and glue to create snowmen with our classroom occupational therapist, Mrs. Sangster.  Each child had different tasks to complete to help make our snowmen a success!  Click here to see some of our teamwork in action: Group Snowmen

In the Gym

We were so excited to see "Pool Hall Games" set up in the gym this week.  The kids enjoyed learning about foosball, air hockey, shuffle board, and ping pong as we tried out the different games.  Click here to see some action shots of our game time: Pool Hall Games

Sensory Bags

I hope your children were able to communicate to you what the baggie with shave cream inside was all about.  That was a snowman sensory bag - we worked hard to draw the faces on those bags.  The students loved squishing the bags to move the carrot nose around.  

MindUp Curriculum

This week we began chatting about mindful movement.  How does your body feel when you exercise?  How does your body feel when you are relaxed?  What tools can we use to help our body relax?  We can use deep umbrella breathing to help calm our bodies down.  

We also began to learn about mindful balancing.  We worked together to see how tall of a tower we could build out of blocks.  We found out that we were able to make our tower even taller if we were mindful about our stacking and thought about our actions before adding a block to the tower.

Christmas Party

We will be having our Christmas Parties on Thursday, December 22nd.  The morning Monday/Wednesday students are welcome to join the Thursday morning class, and the afternoon Monday/Wednesday students are welcome to join the Thursday afternoon class.  

This day will be a wear your pajamas and bring a stuffed animal day!

We will also be making gingerbread houses on this day.  Thank you to Sobeys for generously donating ALL of the icing for our houses.  I will provide the houses.  I am asking each family to send a small bag of candy for decorating.  I will mix all of the candies together for the students to share, to ensure there is an assortment of candies for each student to use.  I am still looking for one more volunteer to help out with decorating from the morning class.  If you are interested in helping out, please let me know!

Important Dates

• December 22nd - Christmas Parties
• Wear your pajamas and bring a stuffed animal
• Bring a small bag of candy for gingerbread house making
• December 23rd - January 8th - Christmas holidays, no school
• January 9th - Classes resume 
• January 11th and 12th - early dismissal days
• the morning class will dismiss at 10:25am
• the afternoon class will dismiss at 2:15pm

Christmas Fun!

I was so proud of the great job our students did at the Christmas concert on Friday.  Thank you to all of the families who were able to come out and join the Christmas fun.  A HUGE thank you goes out to Tim Horton's for donating the hot chocolate and Timbits!  

Click here to see pictures from the Christmas activities: Christmas Fun

Mindful Curriculum

Last week I introduced the students to mindful smelling and mindful tasting.  They had fun trying to guess the different smells I brought in.  They also enjoyed using all of their senses to see, touch, smell, and taste some different foods: an orange, pretzel, marshmallow, and chocolate chip.

Getting Messy

We had fun getting messy this week.  The students enjoyed the sensory experience of painting with marshmallows.  We also worked together to make a Christmas tree by each painting one green plate that we later assembled into a beautiful work of art!  

Click here to see some of the fun we had over the past week.  

Christmas Party 

We will be having a Christmas Party for all of our students on Thursday, December 22nd.  The Monday/Wednesday students are invited to join our Tuesday/Thursday classes for the day!  The morning students will still attend their normal morning hours, and the afternoon class will come during their scheduled afternoon time.

We are going to decorate gingerbread houses during our party.  I am looking for one-two parents to volunteer for this day, and also for a couple of parents who are interested in making icing for us (I have a great recipe that I can share!)  I will supply the houses, if each family can send a bag of candy.  I will mix all the candy for the kids to share, so if each family sends one kind of candy that will be great.  Please let me know if you are interested in making icing or helping out with our gingerbread fun!  

A Week of Snowmen!

Last week we had fun learning with snowmen.  We painted with loofas to make snowman placemats.  The students enjoyed strengthening their fine motor and early literacy skills while they constructed name snowmen out of paper.  We also worked hard practicing our Christmas concert songs!

Winter Clothes

Fresh air and getting outside to play is so important.  I have been trying to take the kids outside daily.  With the exception of the days when it is too cold, I plan to continue heading outdoors as much as possible.  Please be sure to send snow pants, a toque, and mittens with your child everyday.  

Water Bottles Needed!

I am still looking for about ten more water bottles for an upcoming art project.  If you have any water bottles (with lids) that you are willing to donate, it would be greatly appreciated!

Christmas Concert

Our Christmas concert is coming up this Friday!  We have been working hard to learn our Christmas songs and we are looking forward to sharing some Christmas cheer with you on Friday at 1:30.  

Our concert will be held at 1:30pm at Riverview School in the Music Room.  We will open the doors at 1:20 to allow you time to get your child in and settled.  You can bring your child to the classroom, and then head to the music room to get a seat.  

All PreK families are invited to join us after the concert until 3:00pm for a Christmas FOP.  There will be several Christmas centers set up around the Music Room for you to enjoy with your child. 

There is no special dress code for the Christmas concert.  Please feel free to dress your child in whatever you would like for this day! 

In the Gym

We had fun last week "skiing" both in the gym and in our classroom.  I also introduced the students to the game "red light - green light."  

Click here to see pictures of our skiing adventures!

Mind Up Curriculum

This past week we began to learn about mindful hearing and mindful seeing.  This is the concept of really taking the time to focus on hearing or seeing what's around you.  The students enjoyed trying to guess what was hiding in my sound bag when we were mindful listening.  We experimented with adding food colouring to water to engage in mindful seeing.  

Click here to see some of our mindful seeing.

Coming Up

This week will continue to be about winter, snowmen, and Christmas.  We will be working all week to get ready for our big concert on Friday - we hope to see you there!

Important Dates:

-December 7 and 8 - Early Dismissal Days

• the morning class will dismiss at 10:25am
• the afternoon class will dismiss at 2:15pm

-December 9 - Christmas Concert and Christmas FOP

• 1:30 - 3:00pm

Goldilocks and the Three Bears

This past week we dove into the wonderful world of Goldilocks and the Three Bears.  We had fun making porridge play dough together.  The kids liked to help measure, stir, and knead the oats into the dough!  

Click here to see the fun we had making the porridge play dough: Porridge Play Dough

The room was all laughter and excitement when we re-enacted Goldilocks and the Three Bears.  The children were delighted to take turns being the different characters from the book.  This was a wonderful speech and language activity which encouraged all of the children to take turns speaking in front of the class. 

Click here for a sneak peek of our acting fun: Goldilocks and the Three Bears

We strengthened our fine motor skills and engaged in some smelly sensory play painting cinnamon bears.  The children remarked that the bears "smelled like cookies!"  

Click here to see the pictures of our cinnamon painting: Cinnamon Bears

How Spoiled Are We!

The wonderful students at Riverview Middle School have impressed me yet again!  Our Wednesday classes were invited to join Mrs. Giles' health class for some bear art this past week.  Mrs. Giles' students planned and prepared the entire activity for our students.  We had fun creating polar bears and brown bears with our big friends - we also enjoyed the experience of getting to work in their classroom!  

FOPS!

Thank you to all of the families who have taken the time to attend the past two FOPS.  Bobs and Lolo put on a wonderful concert, and I am pretty sure that all of the kids had a great time singing and dancing along.  The messy play FOP was also a hit.  The kids had fun painting, exploring, and getting messy!

Click here to see pics from our FOP days: Bobs and Lolo, Messy Play FOP

In the Gym

We spent the week practicing our two handed throwing skills.  We used balloons to practice throwing "up" using two hands.  We also played a fun game called "Not in my Backyard" to practice overhand throwing.  The kids loved this game.  They were excited each day as we rolled out the "fence" to divide the gym in half, creating two backyards for the game.  The goal of the game is to try and get all the balls out of your backyard by throwing them over the fence, while yelling "Not in my backyard!"

Christmas Concert!

We have officially set the date!  Our PreK Christmas concert will be held on Friday, December 9th at 1:30 pm.  The concert will be held here at Riverview in the music room.  The morning and afternoon classes will be performing together!  

All of the PreK families are invited to stay after the concert for a special Christmas FOP.  We will be setting up different Christmas centers for you to enjoy with your child.  These centers will be designed to help your child practice different developmental skills while having a fun time!  The Christmas FOP will run from 2:00 - 3:00 pm.

Water Bottles Needed!

I have found another fun water bottle craft that I would love to do.  If anyone has any empty water bottles (with lids) that they are willing to donate that would be great.  We will be needing 25 of them!

Coming Up

Next week we will begin our theme of Snowmen!  Important dates coming up:

December 9th - 1:30 - PreK Christmas Concert and Christmas FOP

December 23rd - January 8th - Christmas Break, No School (classes resume January 9th)

Hibernation Week!

What a fun week we had in PreK.  Our hibernation days were so exciting!  We had fun coming to school in our pajamas with our favorite stuffed animals.  It was all giggles and squeals when we came in from playing outside to find out our "napping" bears had actually been playing in the room while we were gone!!  The students worked on their matching and fine motor skills when we went on a Brown Bear hunt through the school hallways.

We worked on our language skills retelling Brown Bear Brown Bear What do you See? using strips of paper to recall the different colors of each animal.  We also had fun with the book We're Going on a Bear Hunt and singing the song Hibernating Bear.  We strengthened our fine motor skills by making bear ear head bands to wear.  

Click here to see pictures of our hibernating fun: Hibernation Day

Mind Up Curriculum 

We talked this week about making mindful decisions.  This is thinking before you act.  We compared different behaviors and discussed if they were mindful or unmindful decisions.  This is a big concept for PreK to understand.  Over the next several weeks I plan to help the students begin to understand this concept by pointing out their mindful behaviors to them as they are happening!

Our classroom occupational therapist, Mrs. Sangster was in working with the students on "umbrella breathing."  I will be adding this concept to our deep breathing strategies as another tool for calming down and self-regulating.  

In the Gym

Monday and Tuesday were all about jumping.  The students had fun rotating through different jumping stations.  They practiced jumping down with two feet, hopping across 'lily pads,' jumping with two feet through hula hoops, and jumping over a skipping rope!

We had fun playing bear games in the gym this week.  On hibernation day we played games with our stuffed animals.  The students loved trying to "bounce" the bears off of our blue blanket.  We really had to work as a team to get all of the bears off!  We also worked on underhand throwing by tossing all of the bears into a hamper.  

Click here to get a peak at some of our bear fun in the gym: Bears in the Gym

Christmas Concert

We have begun practicing for our Christmas concert.  I am planning to have our PreK Christmas concert, as well as a Christmas FOP here at Riverview School on Friday, December 9th.  Stay tuned for the exact times - to be announced soon!

Coming Up

Next week we will be diving into the world of Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

It's Been a Short Week!

We had a wonderful three day week.  The kids had fun with our bear theme this week.  They have been enjoying the "Bear Cave" that Mrs. Forchuk made for our classroom!  We have also been having fun with the book "Brown Bear Brown Bear, What Do You See?"  

Click here to see some pictures of our bear fun: Bears

We strengthened our fine motor skills this week by making some name art using dried pasta and chick peas.  We also created paper poppies for Remembrance Day.

Emergency Evacuation

I was so proud of the morning class, they were calm and followed protocol during the Riverview emergency evacuation practice on Tuesday morning.  Our class was so well behaved and quiet - we were stellar role models for our fellow Riverview students!

Remembrance Day Ceremony

Riverview put on a very nice Remembrance Day ceremony.  Our morning PreK's did a fantastic job sitting through the presentation!  I chatted with both classes about Remembrance Day and started to touch on the basics about what Remembrance Day stands for.  

We were lucky enough to have a visit from Mrs. Forchuk's son before the ceremony began.  He showed the class his uniform and talked about his badges.  Click here to see the pic: Remembrance Day

Hibernation Day!

Next week our little bears will enjoy a PreK hibernation day!!  

We will do hibernation day twice, so that all of our students have a chance to be involved.  We will "hibernate" on both Wednesday and Thursday next week.  

On hibernation day your child is invited to wear their pajamas and bring their favourite bear to school so that we can "hibernate!"

Coming Up

Next week we will continue with our bears unit.  We will also begin practicing for our PreK Christmas concert - stay tuned for more details regarding a date and time!  We will also continue with the MindUp Curriculum.  We will be learning about the difference between mindful vs. unmindful behaviours.  

Important Dates:

• November 10th - No School - midterm break
• November 11th - No School - Remembrance Day
• November 14th - deadline to register for Bobs and Lolo Production
• November 16th and 17th- hibernation day - wear your pajamas and bring your favourite bear!
• November 18th - 1:30 - 2:30pm - Bobs and Lolo Production in Leduc at Ecole Corinthia Park School

I hope everyone has a safe and wonderful long weekend - see you next week!

Halloween Was Fun!

We had fun last week!  The kids had a blast on Halloween.  Our parade through the school was so cute - and the "big kids" loved having the chance to see our PreK's in their awesome costumes!  

Thank you to all of the parents who sent snacks for our party - the kids enjoyed having special treats for the day.  

It was surprisingly quiet in our room, as the students enjoyed the magic of a witches brew story I told them using the light table and common household ingredients for the "boiling brew."  We also had fun "trick or treating" to the office before we went home for an evening of more Halloween fun!  

Click here to see some pictures of our Halloween Fun: Halloween Party

The rest of our week was rather short with a PD Day, followed by two early dismissal days.

Bears

We began our unit on bears.  We have been reading the book "Big Smelly Bear" by Britta Teckentrup.  Everyone loved the itchy bear from this book who refused to take a bath!  The students had a fun sensory experience creating big fluffly bear from the book using puffy paint - made out of shaving cream, white glue, and paint.  

FOP

Thank you to the parents who attended the Drum Fit FOP - the kids had a blast!  Here are some pics of that fun day: Drum Fit FOP

Emergency Evacuation

We have been practicing for an emergency evacuation.  I have been trying to convey to the students that the alarm will sound and it will be very LOUD, but that it is only LOUD and NOT scary.  This week there will be a school wide emergency evacuation practice happening.  I think we are ready to show those "big kids" that PreK knows exactly what to do in the event of an emergency!  

Remembrance Day

PreKindergarten has been invited to watch the Remembrance Day ceremony at Riverview School.  It is on Wednesday, November 9th at 10:45am.  I will be taking the morning class to the ceremony.  

Parents are welcome to come and watch if they would like (please arrive at 10:30).  

The afternoon kids, as well as the Tuesday/Thursday kids and their parents are also welcome to join us for the assembly if they would like.  All of the PreK students will sit in the front row on the floor.  There will be chairs available for the parents farther back.

Each child will receive a poppy to wear.  If you would like to donate a loonie or toonie for the poppy fund please put it in your child's mail bag.  

Coming Up...

This week we will continue with our theme of bears.  We will also be focusing on the MindUp curriculum and beginning to learn about our brains.  

Important Dates this week:

• Christmas Card orders are due by Wednesday, November 9th
• Remembrance Day Assembly is on Wednesday, November 9th at 10:45am
• There is no school on Thursday, November 10th - midterm break
• There is no school on Friday, November 11th - Remembrance Day

Halloween Excitement

This past week has been all about Halloween.  We have been busy in our PreK world!  Thank you to all of the parents who donated water bottles, the kids had fun shaking paint inside them to make either a ghost or a pumpkin.  We spent the week acting out the finger play "One Little Ghost," the students enjoyed using the felt board to put the different characters from the story up when it was their turn.  We strengthened our fine motor skills and had a fun sensory experience painting spider webs with marbles as well.  

I added the pictures from last week into the Halloween pictures folder.  Click on the link here to see some of the fun we had:

Halloween Pictures

Pumpkin Carving! 

We had fun carving pumpkins this week.  I was surprised how long the children stayed focused and interested in this activity!  The morning class had some of the junior high students come down to give us a hand.  I was very proud of how well all of my students handled the "pumpkin draw" at the end of the week.  Sometimes it is hard to understand when not everyone can take a pumpkin home - but no one cried!  Good job everybody!!  Mrs. Watt baked up the pumpkin seeds, and we are going to sample them on Monday at our Halloween Party.

Click here to see the pictures of our pumpkin carving adventures:

Pumpkin Carving

In The Gym

Be sure to ask your child about Hungry Hungry Hippos we played in the gym.  It was all giggles playing this game.  The children had the task of "eating" up all the balls off of the gym floor by sorting them back into their correct coloured bins - and doing it all while riding on a scooter!  

Halloween Party

Our Halloween party is scheduled for Monday, October 31st.  I have sent notes home with certain students asking if they can send a snack for this party.  If you did not see a note for this time, keep your eyes out for the next holiday!  

All of the students are invited to attend on Halloween Day.  The morning kids will still come in the morning, and the afternoon kids will come in the afternoon.  Please send your child in their costume!  Your child will not need to bring snacks this day (unless you want to send them an extra snack incase they do not like our party food).

We will be having a Halloween parade through our school with Mrs. Rudrud.  Parents are more than welcome to come join, watch, or snap a couple of pictures of our parade if they would like!  The morning class will be parading at 10:00am, and the afternoon class at 1:00pm.

Balloon Art Sharing

Have you been wondering about that ripped piece of painted paper your child brought home?  We took our balloon painting off of the wall and I challenged the students to find a solution that was fair because everyone wanted to take it home.  They came up with the idea that everyone could rip off a piece of the painting to keep.  The students were thrilled to be allowed to each rip a chunk off, and they were all very proud of the piece they decided to keep for taking home!  

Click on the following link to see the pictures from the day we made the balloon painting:

Balloon Painting

Remembrance Day 

PreKindergarten has been invited to watch the Remembrance Day ceremony at Riverview School.  It is on Wednesday, November 9th at 10:45am.  I will be taking the morning class to the ceremony.  

Parents are welcome to come and watch if they would like (please arrive at 10:30).  

The afternoon kids, as well as the Tuesday/Thursday kids and their parents are also welcome to join us for the assembly if they would like.  All of the PreK students will sit in the front row on the floor.  There will be chairs available for the parents farther back.

Each child will receive a poppy to wear.  If you would like to donate a loonie or toonie for the poppy fund please put it in your child's mail bag.  

This Week

Important dates for the upcoming week:

-Monday October 31st - Halloween Party - all students are invited

-Tuesday, November 1st is a PD Day, there will be no school on this day.

-Wednesday, November 2nd and Thursday, November 3rd are early dismissal days.  The morning class will dismiss at 10:25 on these days, and the afternoon class will dismiss at 2:15.

We will begin our unit on bears this week.  We will also be practicing emergency evacuation drills and talking about how to wash our hands!  

  

Christmas Cards!

Robina Baker is doing a Christmas card fundraiser.  You have the opportunity to purchase Christmas cards with your child's artwork on them.  The cards cost $10.00 for 10 cards (with envelopes).  Please click on the following link to see a preview of your child's artwork for their card:

Christmas Cards

If you would like to order the cards, you need to fill out the order form that was sent home in your child's mail bag.  If your child was not at school today, we will be making their cards tomorrow - I will add their pictures to the blog when they are ready!

The order forms are due back no later than November 4th.  

You are not required to order Christmas cards.  Please only order them if you are interested.

Let me know if you have any questions or require clarification!

Halloween has Arrived in our Classroom!

This last week was all about Halloween.  We had fun strengthening our fine motor skills making mummies out of masking tape, painting spiders with toilet paper rolls, and covering up our names with candy corns.  The PreK staff was quite shocked that the kids were not eating the candy corns.  In fact... I'm not sure if they even realized they were working with candy!  

A Little Bit of Halloween Science

It was all squeals and giggles in the room when we did some frankenstein science!  We put vinegar in the bottom of an empty water bottle, then put a frankenstein balloon that was filled with baking soda over the top of the bottle.  The kids were in awe as the bottles magically blew up the balloons.  We left the balloons attached to the bottles overnight to see what would happen, they all seemed to slowly deflate at different speeds.  

Halloween Songs

We have been enjoying strengthening our language and literacy skills by singing "Five Little Pumpkins Jumping on the Bed," as well as saying the finger play "Five Little Pumpkins Sitting on a Gate."   I have included the finger play incase you want to do it at home as well.  The kids especially love if you turn the lights off before they "roll" away!  

Zones of Regulation

We continued learning about the zones of regulation.  This week we focused on "what can I do if I am in the blue (tired/slow) or yellow (wiggly/excited) zones.  I introduced the students to the tool of using a 'fidget.'  A fidget is something you can play with quietly in your hands that helps keep your hands busy so that your brain can focus.  It can help keep a tired child aroused, and also give busy hands something to do to slow down a bit.  We practiced using "boink" fidgets while I read the students a story.  We will continue to learn different "tools" and strategies to help regulate our bodies and emotions throughout the school year.

In the Gym...

We had fun this week working on our kicking skills in the gym.  We began practicing a running kick while playing "1,2,3... Kick!"  The kids loved to kick their balls all at the same time, then run to get them and try again.  We also worked on our locomotor skills while trying to stay on the lines of the gym floor while we walking forwards, sideways, backwards, and on our tip toes!

Healthy Hearts

We are still learning deep breathing as a way to calm down and take care of our bodies.  We have also been enjoying "walking Wednesday's" every week, where we take a little walk around the school yard or the front of the school before we come inside from recess.  I introduced the students to yoga and they have enjoyed trying some different relaxing poses and stretches while they being to develop body awareness.  

Educational Assistants

It occurred to me this week that I never formally announced that we were lucky enough to welcome Mrs. Danielle Watt to our PreK team!  Mrs. Warrell is now working full time at Robina Baker School, so we have been very fortunate to welcome Mrs. Watt in her place.  Mrs. Watt works in our classroom in the mornings, and has been a fantastic addition to our team.  

Lucky Ms Sloan has been on a holiday this past week with her family!  We have been happy to have Mrs. Sue Faraschuk in our classroom as her substitute.  Mrs. Faraschuk will be with us until Ms Sloan returns on Thursday of this upcoming week.  

Pictures... At Last!

I finally have the consents (and the knowledge) to share our exciting PreK pictures with you!  Please click on the following link to enjoy a sneak peek into our last week of PreK: Halloween

We purchased a new sand table for our classroom.  The afternoon class helped me to put it together, check out the pictures of that exciting time here: Our New Sand Table.

I have also went back in my old blogs and added links to picture albums for you enjoy starting with our first day of school.  These links can be found by going back into my old blog entries and clicking on the appropriate links.  

Coming Up

The next week will continue to be all about Halloween!  

Our Halloween party is scheduled for Monday, October 31st.  I have sent notes home with certain students asking if they can send a snack for this party.  If you did not see a note for this time, keep your eyes out for the next holiday!  All of the students are invited to attend on Halloween Day.  The morning kids will still come in the morning, and the afternoon kids will come in the afternoon.  Please send your child in their costume!  Your child will not need to bring snacks this day (unless you want to send them an extra snack incase they do not like our party food).

-Tuesday, November 1st is a PD Day, there will be no school on this day.

-Wednesday, November 2nd and Thursday, November 3rd are early dismissal days.    

Fall Fun!

Last week we had fun learning with the fall theme.  We strengthened our literacy and speaking skills by singing the finger play song All The Leaves Are Falling Down.  We also enjoyed a nature walk through the field where the kids were very excited to find pine cones.  We brought some of these pine cones into our classroom and some of the students enjoyed painting them during their free choice centre time.  We talked about the weather, and made some "windy" fall pictures.  The students also had fun using q-tips as their paint brush when they painted fall trees. 

Click on the following link to see some pictures from our fall themed week: Fall Fun 

Buddy Reading

We have been lucky enough to have leadership students from Riverview School read with us twice a week!  The students have been thrilled to have the "big kids" join us in our classroom.  I was so proud of how quickly our little people welcomed these teenagers into our classroom with open arms.

Click on the following link to see some pictures of buddy reading: Buddy Reading

Physical Education

This week we worked on ball skills in the gym.  We played a ball rolling name game, which encouraged the children to both speak in front of the class, as well as learn the names of their peers, while strengthening their hand-eye coordination.  We also worked on rolling, bouncing, passing, and catching the ball with two hands.

Self Regulation

We have continued to have lessons around our feelings and understanding emotions.  We have been discussing the Zone's of Regulation, and how you can feel blue (tired, sick), green (calm, happy, ready to learn), yellow (excited, anxious), or red (angry and out of control).  I have begun introducing the students to the idea that we can use different strategies to help move ourselves from zone to zone.  We have talked about when you feel yourself getting in the red zone and things are out of control, that you need to STOP and try to pull yourself out of this zone by doing deep belly breathing.  I will be introducing the students to different strategies throughout the school year to help them learn self regulation.

Dress for the Weather

Whether we like it or not, the snow and cold weather seems to be settling in.  Please send your child to school each day with a toque, mitts, and snow pants (if it is snowy) so that we can play outside!  Fresh air is so important and I like to try to get the kids outside daily if possible.  

Water Bottles Needed

We are still looking for 500mL sized water bottles with lids.  I am hoping to do a Halloween art project using the bottles during the week of the 24th.  I still need 10 more if anyone has some empty bottles they are willing to donate.  

Pictures, Coming Soon!

I officially have all of the FOIP forms signed, and I am ready to start posting pictures on my blog page!  I am just in the process of learning how to post entire albums, so that everyone can enjoy the MANY pictures we have taken so far this school year.  I am hoping to have the albums linked to my blog by the end of the week.  Thank you for your patience as I continue to learn about the world of blogging!

Coming Up

The next two weeks will be all about Halloween!

Halloween Party!

I am planning to have a Halloween party on October 31st.  I will run one party in the morning for the morning students, and one party in the afternoon for the afternoon students (the Tuesday/Thursday kids will be invited to join us for this fun day).  I will be asking certain parents to send snacks for each party we will be having throughout the school year.  This will ensure we don't end up with more food than we can eat.  Each family will get a turn to send snacks throughout the school year.  If I ask you to send a snack and you are unable at this time, please let me know and I will find another family to help out.  

So Much to be Thankful For!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend.  I have so much to be thankful for this year.  One thing I am thankful for, is all of your wonderful children.  They bring innocence, joy, and laughter to our classroom everyday.  What an amazing opportunity to get to spend each week helping your children to learn and grow.

Turkey Fun!

Last week was all about Thanksgiving.  We had fun practicing our language skills while using a puppet to act out the song "I'm a Little Turkey."  We also sang "Five Little Turkey's Jumping on the Bed" several times, this song was a BIG hit with the pre-k students!  The classroom was full of cheers and excitement during our many games of turkey bowling. 

Click on the following link to see some pictures of our Thanksgiving week: Thanksgiving 

Physical Education

We began practicing our jumping skills in the gym last week.  We sang "five green and speckled frogs" to practice both two feet jumping, as well as counting backwards.  We also practiced jumping over pylon "candles" while learning the poem "Jack Be Nimble."  

Fine Motor Skills

We strengthened our fine motor skills this week by playing stuff the turkey.  The pre-kinders also participated in their first guided drawing activity where the students followed my directions step by step to add the details to their handprint turkey.    

My Name

I am beginning to work with the class on name recognition.  We will be doing name puzzles, name tracing, as well as encouraging the students to "print" their name on each project they create.  All children learn and develop at different rates.  Some kids will print their names quickly, and some will need more time and practice.  The first step is to help your child begin to make the connection that when people write on paper, it has meaning.  We have been encouraging the students to "try" and print their names.  Even if they just make some scribbles on the paper, this is the beginning of literacy.  We are helping the students to build an understanding that "I can put symbols on a piece of paper, and it will mean something."

Water Bottles Needed

I am looking for 500ml sized water bottles (with lids) for a Halloween craft that I would like to make.  If you have any empty water bottles that you are willing to donate, it would be greatly appreciated.  We need 24 in total.

Coming up in Pre-K

This upcoming week will be all about fall.  I am hoping that if we are learning about fall in our classroom, it will help bring fall weather back for another couple of weeks!

I am very close to having all of the FOIP forms signed for our pre-kindergarten classes.  I am hoping to be able to start posting pictures in my blog by the end of this week.