Fossils and Friends

We learned a new vocabulary word this week: Paleontologist. A paleontologist studies fossils and are always on the look out for dinosaurs! Keep reading to find out how we were like paleontologists this week!

Watercolour Fossil Discovery

After watching a video clip of a real archeologist dig,  we got to work discovering fossils, and strengthening our fine-motor skills, by brushing watercolour paint over white paper that had a hidden white wax crayon rubbing on it. It was such a surprise to unveil the dinosaur fossil on our paper!

Hatching Baby Dinosaurs

We had so much fun building fine motor skills and hatching the baby dinosaurs out of eggs this week.  The icy eggs made for an excellent sensory experience. We used a variety of tools including hammers and eye droppers to try to get those baby dinos out! The Pre-K students worked so hard and were very persistent. They didn't stop until the dino was free!

Paleontologist Dinosaur Hunt 

This visual matching activity had us searching high and low, and even under, to find the special dinosaur pictures/words hidden around our school. The students were great paleontologists and found them all! They each had their own clipboard so they could stamp the pictures as they found them. This was a wonderful fine-motor and eye-hand coordination activity. Anyone who heard the shrieks of joy as we found each picture can attest to the fun we had as we made the very exciting discoveries in this dinosaur hunt.

Dinosaur Movement

We had a ton of gross-motor, body moving fun this week: doing dinosaur yoga, playing dinosaur games in the gym, and making dinosaur movements using our dino action dice.

Pink Shirt Day

This week we participated in Pink Shirt Day. We learned an important message about friendship though a story called Lila and the  Crow. It is a beautiful story and the students were very engaged in the book talk and discussion. They had so many wonderful thoughts and ideas to share. We recommend reading the story if you have the chance. In this book and on Pink Shirt Day we are reminded that colours don't matter. Friends are kind to each other. We sang a friendship song together.

For Mrs. Bowers and Baby-to-Be!

The Pre-K's have been working on a surprise for Mrs. Bowers and her baby. We gifted it to her this week as it was her last day in our classroom. We think she loved the book we made with our baby mat man drawings and predictions on the babies gender and name. The Pre-K's also added drawings to a baby blanket for the baby. We will miss you Mrs. Bowers but we are very happy for you and can't wait to see pictures of the baby!

Click here to see more pictures from our paleontologist week!

Upcoming

• March 4th and 5th Early Dismissal
• Morning class will dismiss at 10:45 am
• Afternoon class will dismiss at 2:25 pm
• March 17th and 18th Wear Green
• March 30-April 2 Spring Break

Dinos!

We went prehistoric in Pre-K this week! Here is a Dinosaur chant we learned:

How Big is a T-Rex foot?

We explored dinosaur size by watching a video on how big a T-Rex really was and comparing dinosaur feet. The T-Rex foot was WAY bigger than ours! We tried to predict how many of our feet would fit on one T-Rex foot. Can you guess?! (It was 20!)

Jurassic Park

We built gross motor skills and understanding of directional language while having fun crawling through, climbing over, and balancing on a variety of equipment in our very own Jurassic Park in the gym! We walked on dino feet up and down our hallway.

Show and Tell

The highlight this week was certainly Show & Tell! The students did a great job telling about the item they brought to show. They were very good listeners when their peers were sharing too! We will do Show & Tell again in the spring.

See more of our Dino fun here!

Upcoming:

February 26-27 Pink Shirt Day (wear a pink shirt)
March 4-5 Early Dismissal

Be my Valentine!

I Like Hearts

We had a wonderful week with all our PreK friends. We learned a new song about hearts. Not only was it great colour recognition practice but helped us build important listening skills too.  We all held a coloured heart in our hand and as we heard the name of our heart colour, we placed it in the middle of our circle. 

My Heart Fills with Happiness

We read this beautiful story about different things that make our heart happy. After we all shared something that makes our heart happy. We collected all the ideas on a big heart.

Drumming

In the story, My Heart Fills with Happiness, the author talked about drumming. We decided to try a drumming circle. The PreK's did a great job beating the drum fast and slow. We moved our bodies to the beat.

Valentine's Hunt

We went on a scavenger hunt throughout the whole school hunting for valentine-themed pictures. We stamped our paper as we found them!

Heart Art

We made 2 different, both very cool, hearts using different painting techniques. One was marbling using shave cream and paint. The other used baking soda and liquid water colour. It was exciting to see the colours fizz as we squeezed the paint onto the heart!  We practiced our scissor skills cutting our hearts before making our awesome art creations.

Valentine's Party!

We were so excited to celebrate Valentine's Day and meet new friends on our party day. We played party games and popped popcorn. Thanks so much to all the families who sent in snacks. The highlight of the day was definitely delivering valentines to all our PreK friends and teachers. 

Click here to see the rest of the pictures from our week.

 Upcoming

Monday, February 17 is Family Day, No School

Winter Walk Day

Our Wednesday classes participated in Devon's winter walk day. It was lovely to get outside and enjoy some fresh air!

Hot chocolate - yummy!

Valentine's Day is Coming!

We prepared for our Valentine's day parties by making bags to hold our beloved Valentine cards. The students worked hard with glitter, paint, stickers, and pictures to build their masterpieces!

Stamp Stamp!

We practiced our scissor skills on Tuesday by cutting out some Valentine's hearts. The students had fun using a clothespin with a cotton ball as their paintbrush!

I Love You, Stinky Face

We had fun reading this sweet little book. The students adored the fun storyline from I Love You, Stinky Face that displays a Mother's unconditional love for her child. If you are ever looking for a cute book to add to your collection, this one comes with our recommendation!

A Little Bit of Russia

One of our students shared a little piece of his Russian heritage this week. We had fun exploring these beautiful Russian dolls and experiencing a little bit of Russia right here in Canada! 

We are welcome to learning about other cultures as well! If you have something special you would like to share with our class please let us know. This can include special items, stories, or even little songs you might know.

As for regular show and tell, there will be times scheduled for that too. Watch for more information after Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day Party

We will be having our Valentine's Day Parties next week on Thursday, February 13th. Our Monday/Wednesday students are welcome to attend during their regularly scheduled time slot (the morning students will join the morning party and the afternoon students will join the afternoon party).

• Some parents have been asked to send snacks for this party, please check your email to see if it is your turn to send a snack this time!
• You are not required to send a snack for your child on this day as we will have party food to eat.
• Please check your email for class lists when making Valentine cards for your child to pass out. You are not required to make cards for the other class. For example, if your child is in the morning class, feel free to only send cards for the morning students.

Click here to see the rest of the pictures from our week. 

Coming Up

• Feb. 13 - Valentine's Party: All students welcome on this day
• Feb. 17 - No School, Family Day