Spring

Spring has sprung in PreK!  We had fun last week with our Spring Theme. 

Earth Day

We talked about Earth Day and brainstormed ways we can help take care of our planet.  We planted grass in our sensory bin.  Then we strengthened our fine motor skills by using coffee filters, markers, and water to create Earth's of our own!  Click here to see more pictures of our PreK Earth Day.  

Zones of Regulation

This week we talked about how our behaviors and actions make other people feel.  I began to introduce the concept that when you behave in an unexpected way, it can make the people around you feel scared, sad, or uncomfortable.  We talked about different scenarios and behaviors, and then shared using colored popsicle sticks how each scenario would make us feel.  (Green sticks for good feelings and red sticks for sad or negative feelings).

A Unique Musical Experience

On Wednesday we had a special visit from Mr. Paul Bromley.  Mr. Paul is an occupational therapist who does music with preschool aged children.  We had so much fun with Mr. Paul.  He began his session by doing yoga with the class.  The students were very intrigued by his musical bowl.  After the yoga he did several songs with the students, and even let each student take a turn playing his mandolin!  Click here to see more pictures of our musical experience.  

Worms, Caterpillars, and Bugs!

We enjoyed playing some fun bug games in the gym this week.  The students really loved to play a running game called "Spiders and Flies."  We also read "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" and "We're Going on a Nature Hunt."  It was all giggles in the room when we used noodles to experience "worm painting."  Click here for more pictures of our worm fun. 

We made our own special bumblebee fidgets using balloons filled with sand.  The students loved their little bumblebee's dearly.  We used our bees to sing "I'm Bringing Home My Baby Bumblebee."  Maybe if you are lucky your child will sing it for you at home as well!

Coming Up

This week we will begin our farm unit.

• May 3rd and 4th - Early Dismissal days
• The morning class will dismiss at 10:25 am 
• The afternoon class will dismiss at 2:15 pm
• May 5th - Field Trip to Robina Baker FOP
• 10:00 - 11:30 am
• Please let me know if you plan on attending
• May 12th - Building Independence FOP - Riverview School
• 1:00 - 2:30 pm
• Please let me know if you plan on attending
• May 22nd - No School - PD Day

Another Short Week!

We managed to squeeze a whole lot of fun into our two days of school last week.  We painted flowers to begin our unit of spring.  Maybe our artwork will motivate spring to arrive for real!

Bubbly Bubbly Bubbly  

It was a messy one, but we certainly had fun strengthening our oral motor muscles by bubble painting to make new placemats this past week.  You can click here to see more pictures of our bubbly adventure.  

Jump Around!

In the gym we set up several stations for the students to rotate through that focused on JUMPING!  We practiced jumping down, hopping on one foot, two feet jumping, as well as jumping on the mini trampolines.  We also sang Five Green and Speckled Frogs to practice jumping down from the log (bench) when it was our turn.

Spring FOPS

Thank you to all of the families who attended the Spring Themed FOPS on Friday.  The students had a blast rotating through different spring stations with their family members while they worked on developing a wide variety of skills.

You can click here to see more pictures from the FOPS.

Rubber Boots!

Please send your child to school with rubber boots and splash pants this week.  All of this spring snow is making our playground and field very wet.  Please also make sure that your child has an extra change of clothes hanging on their hook (or in their backpack) incase they happen to get wet when we are outside.  Thank you!

A Field Trip to Robina Baker!

It is official - we are thrilled to announce that PreK will be moving back to Robina Baker for the upcoming school year.  

This means, that whether your child is moving on to kindergarten, or staying in PreK, we are ALL going to be going to Robina Baker School in September.

In order to help with this transition, I have planned a “Field Trip to Robina Baker FOPS (Family Orientated Programming Session).”

This FOPS is open to ALL of the students from our PreK program.  

It will be held on Friday, May 5th from 10:00 - 11:30 am

• We will meet at the front doors of the school

This FOPS is a chance for you and your child to come to Robina Baker and get to know our future school!  There will be a scavenger hunt set up for you and your child to do together, as well as the opportunity for some exploration in one of the kindergarten rooms.

Please let me know if you plan on attending.  

We will also be hosting a Kindergarten Information Night 

Wednesday, April 26 at 7 pm! 

This event is a great opportunity for families and children to tour the school, meet the teachers, and learn more about the program! If you have a child registered in Pre-Kindergarten or Kindergarten next year, please join us.  If you know of a family with children ready to come to school and have not registered yet, please let them know we still have room and they are welcome to come to the parent night too. All parents will receive class preference and payment information. If you are unable to attend: please contact the office for missed information.

You are more than welcome to attend the Field Trip to Robina Baker FOPS, the Pre-K and Kinder Night, or both if you wish!

Coming Up

This upcoming week we will talk about Earth Day and continue with our theme of Spring.

• April 26th, 7:00 pm - Kindergarten and PreK Parent Information Night
• Robina Baker School
• May 3rd and 4th - Early Dismissal Days
• the morning class will dismiss at 10:25 am
• the afternoon class will dismiss at 2:15 pm
• May 5th, 10:00 - 11:30 am - Field trip to Robina Baker FOPS
• Please let me know if you plan on attending
• May 22nd - Victoria Day, no school

Happy Easter!

Well, this week has been busy, messy, and very exciting!  We enjoyed different Easter themed activities everyday.  On Wednesday, we dyed Easter eggs.

Easter Art!

We certainly strengthened our fine motor skills this week through several different art activities.  On Tuesday, we filled plastic eggs with a variety of materials, and then had fun rolling them around in paint.  You can click here to see more pictures of our egg rolling paint.

We didn't let the weather hold us back on Thursday.  We modified our messy outdoor art project and brought the fun inside!  The students were thrilled with this project.  We let their creativity shine as they threw paint filled eggs onto canvases.  They also had access to paint filled squeeze bottles, as well as bumpy rollers to finish off their masterpieces.  We used a LOT of paint.  Good thing those canvases have the long weekend to dry!  You can click here to see more pictures of our artistic creations.  

We made push pin egg art with Mrs. Mosher, our classroom occupational therapist this week.  The students enjoyed this activity which helped to strengthen their fine motor skills and pincer grasp. 

Egg Science

It was all giggles and screams while we did egg experiments.  We used water, eggs, and Alka Seltzer tablets to make egg rockets.  The students were shocked when the eggs popped open.  You can click here to see more pictures of our egg rocket adventures.  

Bunnies in the Gym

We played bunny tag, had egg relay races, and also balanced eggs on spoons in the gym this week.  The students were full of energy and very excited about the Easter games.  You can click here to see more pictures from the gym.

Egg Hunt

After working hard to make Easter baskets, the students were thrilled on Thursday when we surprised them with an Easter egg hunt.

  

You can click here to see more pictures of our egg hunting fun.

Coming Up

• April 14th - no school - Good Friday
• April 17th - no school - Easter Monday and semester break
• April 18th - no school - PD Day
• April 21st - Spring Themed FOP, 9:30 - 11:00 am 
• all PreK families are welcome to attend 

Enjoy your Easter weekend.  Next week we will begin our unit on Spring!

Easter Fun!

Last week was all about Easter.  We had fun painting with plastic Easter eggs, making egg maracas, as well as playing egg toss in the gym!  We also strengthened our fine motor skills by painting eggs with Q-tips.  Click here to see more pictures of our 'egg-citing' times.   

Our new classroom occupational therapist, Natasha Mosher was here on Thursday and played an Easter egg game with us that worked on fine motor, visual perception, and bilateral skills.  

Sports, Sports, Sports!

We worked on our hand-eye coordination skills while enjoying a little bit of friendly competition and playing some hockey in the gym.  We used pool noodle hockey sticks and plastic balls for our game.  














We also had fun "racing" through our school field one day.  The weather has been so beautiful, and the kids were delighted to be outside.  

You can click here to see more pictures of our hockey and outside fun.  

Coming Up

We will be having our Easter parties this Thursday, April 13th.  I will be asking some parents to send snacks for the party - please watch for a note if it is your turn!  The Monday/Wednesday students are invited to join either the morning or afternoon party during their normally scheduled time slot.  

I have a MESSY outdoor art project planned for this day.  This project will involve a lot of PAINT.  Please send your child to school in old clothes and shoes that you don't mind getting covered in paint.  You might also want to send an extra change of clothes in their backpack in case anyone needs to change when we are done. 

• April 13th - Easter Parties 
• April 14th - Good Friday, no school
• April 17th - Easter Monday/Mid term break - no school
• April 18th - PD Day - no school
• April 21st - Spring FOP 9:30 - 11:00 am - all PreK families are welcome to attend 

It's a Zoo in Here!

Well, we officially made it - spring break is finally here!  I hope everyone enjoys a nice, relaxing break from school.  

This past week we had fun finishing up our zoo theme.  We strengthened our fine motor skills by using popsicle sticks and plasticine to build our very own zoo cages!  

You can click here to see more pictures of our zoo cages in action.  

Lions and Tigers and Bears... 

Oh My!

The students were on high alert looking for zoo animals when we took a zoo safari hunt around the school.  This pre-literacy activity focused on hearing sounds in words, expanding vocabulary, and visual recognition.  You can click here to see more pictures of the safari hunt.  

Little Bakers

We made elephant bread on Wednesday.  The students were very excited for this project.  Some of them were quite shocked to find out that our school has an oven!  You can click here to see more pictures of our baking. 

Zones of Regulation

This week we continued to talk about expected and unexpected behaviours.  We reviewed how behaving in an expected way makes the people around you feel safe and happy.  The students had fun posing for pictures of expected circle time behaviour.  These behaviours include sitting on your bottom, eyes looking, ears listening, and mouth quiet:

They also enjoyed posing for some pictures of unexpected circle time behaviour:

 (Yikes!!)

I plan to hang these pictures in our classroom.  This will give the students a visual reference and reminder of what expected and unexpected behaviour looks like during circle time.  

Coming Up

• March 27 - 31st - spring break, no school
• April 3rd - classes resume
• April 5th and 6th - early dismissal
• the morning class will dismiss at 10:25 am
• the afternoon class will dismiss at 2:15 pm
• April 14th - no school - Good Friday
• April 17th - no school - Easter Monday/Semester Break
• April 18th - PD Day - no school 

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Even though we built and set Leprechaun traps, we were not lucky enough to catch one!  Those Leprechauns did however, visit our classroom - and they made quite the mess.  It was up to the students to figure out the seven jokes that were played on them, so they could go to the office to claim their gold!  You can click here for more of our St. Patrick's Day fun.

The students had fun building Leprechaun traps this week.  They worked together and demonstrated wonderful collaboration and team work skills to come up with one trap per table.  You can click here to see more pictures of our Leprechaun trap building.  

St. Patrick's Day Art

This week we enjoyed getting messy.  We painted shamrocks using marbles and marshmallows! 

We also strengthened our fine motor skills by making rainbow necklaces out of cereal.  You can click here to see more pictures of our messy fun.

Zones of Regulation

This week I introduced the students to the concept of expected and unexpected behaviours.  We talked about how when you behave in an expected way (for example, sitting quietly during learning time), your friends and the people around you feel comfortable and safe.  When you behave in an unexpected way (for example, screaming or sitting in someone else's personal space), you make your friends and the people around you feel uncomfortable or scared.  We brainstormed and discussed different expected and unexpected behaviours, and how they might make our friends feel.

Check out our Bulletin Boards

We were feeling the PreK Pride when we seen our finished bulletin boards in Riverview School.  Our lions are displayed near the office, and the birds are in the hallway near the gym.  Be sure to check them out if you get the chance!

Coming Up

• March 27th - 31st - Spring Break, no school
• April 5th and 6th - Early Dismissal Days
• The morning class will dismiss at 10:25 am
• The afternoon class will dismiss at 2:15 pm

We're Going on a Lion Hunt!

We were wild about the zoo theme last week!  The students had fun painting lions using forks and making lion masks out of paper plates.  It was all roars and screams when we used our finished masks to go on a "lion hunt!"  You can click here to see more pictures of our lion hunt.

We learned about different animals and their sounds by singing "The Animals at The Zoo."  The students also enjoyed painting some colourful birds for our classroom zoo!  We will be hanging our lions and birds in the front entry way of the school for the Riverview open house.  Be sure to check them out later next week if you have the chance.   

There were several zoo centres set up during play time.  The students enjoyed being zoo keepers and using the zoo keeper checklist to ensure the zoo animals had plenty of food, water, a clean cage, and were healthy.  We even had a couple of pretend veterinarians in the room!  We also painted a snowy winter zoo and enjoyed a zoo scavenger hunt in the sensory bin!  You can click here to see more pictures of our zoo centres.

This week we have been reviewing the zones of regulation.  We sorted different emotions into the coloured zones - blue, green, yellow, or red.  We also discussed the tools of quietly counting to ten and deep "umbrella" breathing to help calm us down if we are in the yellow or red zone.  The green zone is where you should be when you are ready to learn!

Developing Body Awareness 

Throughout the year we have been singing the "Mat Man" song to help develop body awareness.  The Mat Man song sings about the of parts of Mat Man's body.  This week we developed our fine motor skills by participating in a guided drawing activity as we all drew Mat Man while we sang the song together.  

If you want to see Mat Man in action, you should ask your child if they will draw Mat Man for you!  You can click here to see more pictures of our drawings.  

In the Gym

I introduced the students to two new tag games this past week.  We certainly had some good cardio exercise and got our hearts beating!  We had fun playing bridge tag and peacock tag.  It was a great way to burn some of that pent up energy from being stuck inside.

Coming Up

The forecast next week looks marvellous!  I am looking forward to getting the kids outside to connect with nature and for some much needed fresh air.  Please be sure to dress your child for the weather - wearing snow pants or splash pants will be important for staying dry if the warm temperatures actually arrive!

We will take a break from the zoo next week for some St. Patrick's Day fun!

• March 27th - 31st - spring break - no school