Pumpkins!

5 Little Pumpkins

The Pre-K students worked on pre-literacy and pre-numeracy skills as we recited and acted out this Pumpkin poem. We practiced counting 1 to 5 as our five little pumpkins lined up. They did a terrific job saying their line when it was their turn. 

Fizzy Pumpkins

In this science/art activity, students observed what happens when we mixed baking soda and coloured vinager to make fun fizzing pumpkins. The Pre-K's painted the white mixture on the pumpkin then used a dropper (a great fine-motor task) to drop on the colours. Seeing our pumpkins fizz was so exciting!

Candy Corn Pumpkins

In another pumpkin art activity this week, we painted glue on candy corn and completed the pumpkin face design. This is another fabulous activity for developing fine-motor skills and eye-hand coordination.

Mission Impossible

An obstacle course was set up in the gym this week. The Pre-K's went under, over, and through to complete the course and save the world. It was a lot of fun! The Pre-K's were awesome ninjas as they worked on developing gross-motor skills and navigated the course.

See more pictures of our week here.

Upcoming!

October 31st: Halloween, all students will attend

• morning students will attend the morning party
• afternoon students will attend the afternoon party
• There is no need to pack your child snacks on the day (unless you think they will not want our party food). Please check your email to see if it is your turn to send a party snack!

• November 6 and 7th: Early dismissal days
• November 11-12 Midterm Break/ PD Day, No School

Leaf Man

This week we incorporated body awareness into our fall theme by introducing both Mat Man and Leaf Man to our students. After teaching our students the body awareness song Mat Man, we used pressed leaves to create a Leaf Man craft.

Leaf Man

Mat Man

Painting with Pine cones!

On Thursday we used pine cones to create some beautiful artwork. The smell of the pine cones added a sensory experience to this hand-eye coordination activity.

Unfortunately we were so busy having fun this week that we only managed to snap a few pictures. You can see the pictures we took by clicking here. 

Halloween Party

We will be having a Halloween party on Thursday, October 31st. All of our students are welcome to come to school in their costumes on this fun day! The morning students are welcome to attend the morning party (8:30 - 11:35 am) and the afternoon students are welcome to attend the afternoon party (12:10 - 3:15 pm).

Throughout the school year, we will ask families to send in special party snacks each time we have a party. This allows every family to have a turn to bring a snack in, and also prevents us from receiving more party food than we can eat! Please watch for the snack list to see if it is your turn to send a snack for our Halloween party. 

Coming Up!

• October 21st - PD Day No School
• October 22nd - 23rd - School Book Fair
• October 31st - Halloween Party Day for all students.
• morning students will attend the morning party
• afternoon students will attend the afternoon party
• There is no need to pack your child snacks on this day (unless you think they will not want our party food)
• November 6th & 7th - Early Dismissal Days
• November 11th - 12th - Midterm Break, No School
• November 12th - PD Day - No School

Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm a Little Turkey

We sang a cute turkey song this week to the tune of I'm a Little Teapot. It has a few actions to go with it. Our favourite action was hiding our faces at the end!

I'm a Little Turkey (hands on hips)

Look at Me (point to eyes)

I'm as Chubby as can be (make a big turkey belly)

You may think I'd be a tasty bite (eating action)

But I'll be hiding on Thanksgiving Night! (cover face to hide)

Turkey Painting

The Pre-K's practiced their fine-motor skills dabbing and gluing these adorable turkeys.

There was an Old Lady who Swallowed a Turkey

We read a silly story. The Pre-K's enjoyed feeding their item into the Old Lady as we read the story.

Turkey Centres!

We had a gobbling good time at our Thanksgiving centers this week! Gross-motor bowling, fine-motor painting, and some science exploration complete with a variety of tools.

Turkey Bowling

Corn Cob Painting

Squash Investigation

Mindful Moments and Read-In

We have so much busy fun in Pre-K sometimes we stop an enjoy some quiet time too. This week we practiced with Mindful colouring and Relaxation time with fidgets and soft music.

Mrs. Kloschinsky visited our class for Read-In Week and shared a very funny story about Boogers. Yes, boogers. We learned some etiquette on how to deal with boogers when we get one. 1) Use a finger ghost (kleenex wrapped on finger), go somewhere private, wash your hands after, and never ever eat them! :)

Upcoming!

October 14  Thanksgiving,  No School

October 21 - PD Day No School

October 22-23 - School Book Fair

October 31 - Halloween Party Day for all students

Thank you to the families who have sent Socks and/or Food Bank donations!

Pictures!!!

You will notice we finally got the green light to post photos on the blog. Here is the link to our previous week's pictures: Sept-Oct Photos  Enjoy!

All the Leaves are Falling Down!

Fall Action Song

We welcomed fall this week with this action song. Each student counted 2 leaves to hold and throw as we sang "all the leaves are falling down". Students loved reenacting making a leaf pile and jumping in! You can sing this song at home.

Orange Shirt Day

We observed Orange Shirt by wearing orange and discussing how important it is to be nice to everyone. We talked about times we've had our feelings hurt and how everyone's feelings matter. We listened to a friendship song, The More we get Together. 

Q-Tip Leaf Painting

The Pre-K's created lovely fall leaf art using a bundle of q-tips as a painting brush. This activity is great for building fine-motor skills.

Nature Walk and Leaf Collecting

This is a fun seasonal read. A couple of our classes went on a leaf walk to gather leaves for one of our centers this week.

Leaf Art

The Pre-Ks were so creative making art with fall leaves while building fine-motor skills.

Emergency Evacuation Drill

We practiced what to do if there was an emergency evacuation this week. "Stop and Line Up" was the message we practiced. The students did a great job following the directions and lining up quietly outside at our meeting spot.

Coming Up!

October 9 -  Picture Retake Day

• If your child missed picture day, or if you would like retakes done, you are welcome to bring your child in for retakes, even if it is not their regularly scheduled school day or time. Retakes will be happening first thing in the morning. 

October 14 - Thanksgiving No School

October 21 - PD Day No School

October 22-23 - School Book Fair

October 31 - Halloween Party Day for all students

Apple Week!

We continued to settle into the routines of prekindergarten while we had fun exploring apples this week. Unfortunately I am still waiting for the green light to post pictures on the weekly blog. But don't you worry, they are coming and I promise they will be worth the wait!

Apple Investigation

We opened an apple investigation station this week. Students had fun weighing, comparing, and examining apples with magnifying glasses.

Apple Painting

We used apples for painting! It was all smiles as the students strengthened their hand-eye coordination by rolling apples around in paint to create placemats that we will be using for snack time.

Apple Trouble!

The students enjoyed listening to Apple Trouble! this week. The cute story line of a hedgehog who gets an apple stuck to her back had them all wanting more.

Terry Fox Run

Being that the rest of our school had their Terry Fox Run on Friday, we decided to have our own little Terry Fox Run/Walk's on Wednesday and Thursday this week. After having a brief, pre-k style lesson on who Terry Fox was, and how he amazingly tried to run across Canada even though he was sick to raise money to help other sick people; we took the students for a quick run around the schoolyard in Terry Fox's memory.  

Orange Shirt Day

In pre-kindergarten we will be wearing orange shirts on Monday, September 30th as well as Tuesday, October 1st to recognize orange shirt day. (Even though orange shirt day is technically on September 30th, we will wear orange on October 1st as well so that our Tuesday/Thursday students can have the chance to participate). Orange shirt day was developed to raise awareness about the residential school system and its impact on Canada's Indigenous communities. Let's wear orange next week to show that every child matters!

Staffing Update

Our PK numbers have been growing, and so is our PK staff! We would like to welcome two new educational assistants to our team. Mrs. Amanda Moench who will be working with us full time, and Miss Geraldine Castellani who will be working with the morning class. 

We have also had a slight shuffle in Mrs. Kaluza's pre-kindergarten assignment. She will now be team teaching with Mrs. Porter in the afternoons instead of mornings.

Coming Up

Since fall is here, we might as well embrace it! Next week will be all about fall. Important upcoming dates:

• September 30th & October 1st - Orange Shirt Days
• Wear orange to show that every child matters 
• October 2nd & October 3rd - Early Dismissal Days
• the morning class will dismiss at 10:45 am
• the afternoon class will dismiss at 2:25 pm
• October 9th - Picture retakes
• If your child missed picture day, or if you would like retakes done, you are welcome to bring your child in for retakes, even if it is not their regularly scheduled school day.
• October 14th - Thanksgiving Day, no school
• October 21st - PD Day, no school

Strawberries, Blueberries, and Mud!

Messy Fun!

What a fantastic week, I was so proud of all of your children this week. Everyone was so brave and had a fun time making new friends at school. It was nice to have all of our students in attendance and to begin establishing our school routine.

I am still waiting for the green light from the office staff before I can begin posting pictures on the blog. Hopefully by the end of next week all of the FOIP forms will be sorted out and I can share the cuteness overload that has been happening in here!

This week was all about our good friend Pete the cat! We read two different Pete books and engaged in some fun Pete themed adventures.

Pete's School Tour

After reading about Pete discovering his new school in Pete the Cat: Rocking in My School Shoes by Eric Litwin, we enjoyed a school scavenger hunt of our school where we challenged our students to find the places within our school that will be familiar to us this year: the library, the office, and the gym.

We also spent time reading Eric Litwin's book, Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes. In this story Pete steps in strawberries, blueberries, mud, and water! This motivated us to explore with these materials at school as well. 

Pete's Pizzas

We used strawberries, blueberries, and mud to build our very own Pete Pizzas! Okay, maybe we switched out the mud for Nutella, but this was a delicious activity none-the-less! Check out our recipe:

• Rice Cake
• Nutella
• Strawberries
• Blueberries
• Cool Whip
• Enjoy!

Pete's Sensory Walk

You might have noticed some dirty toes coming home last week - sorry about that! We re-enacted Pete's story by stepping in strawberries, blueberries, mud, and water ourselves! This was the ultimate sensory experience. Some of your children absolutely loved it, some were NOT going to go in! I can't wait to share the rest of the pictures from this messy activity.

Welcome Mrs. Kaluza!

We are thrilled to announce that Mrs. Kristen Kaluza will be joining our morning class. Mrs. Kaluza will be team teaching with Mrs. Porter in the mornings. This will likely begin the week of September 30th. 

Pre-Kindergarten Pick Up

In Pre-K we often end our day at the park. I have created signs to hang on the front door of the school that will help parents know where to find us at pick up time. The signs will designate which park we are at and have an arrow to point you in the right direction. Please try to get in the habit of checking the front doors for a sign when you are picking up your child. If there is no sign, that means we are inside and will come upstairs at home time like usual.  

Picture Day!

Picture day is coming up! The photographer will be here on Wednesday, September 25th and Thursday, September 26th to take everyone's pictures. 

• The PUF and M/M funded students will have their pictures taken on Wednesday
• The Monday/Wednesday students will have their pictures taken on Wednesday
• The Tuesday/Thursday students will have their pictures taken on Thursday

Coming Up

Our next theme is going to be apples. Important upcoming dates:

• September 25th & 26th - Picture day
• September 30th & October 1st - Orange shirt day
• October 2nd & 3rd - Early dismissal days
• the morning class will dismiss at 10:45 am
• the afternoon class will dismiss at 2:25 pm
• October 14th - Thanksgiving Day, no school
• October 21st - PD Day, no school

Welcome to Pre-Kindergarten!

We had a wonderful first week with our funded students. We spent the week working on the routine of school and we are looking forward to the rest of our students joining us next week! 

Our week was fairly relaxed with a lot of time devoted to playing, exploring the classroom, and getting to know each other. Visiting the gym and playing in the ball pit were two highlights for our students this week.

Our theme to start off the school year is Pete the Cat. If you are unfamiliar with this cool cat, I strongly recommend all of this books! This week we focused on the book Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes by Eric Litwin.

After reading Pete's story we chose our favorite shoe from the book and had fun painting Pete's shoes either red, blue, or brown.

Park Play

In Pre-K we often end our day at the park. I have created signs to hang on the front door of the school that will help parents know where to find us at pick up time. The signs will designate which park we are at and have an arrow to point you in the right direction. Please try to get in the habit of checking the front doors for a sign when you are picking up your child. If there is no sign, that means we are inside and will come upstairs at home time like usual.  

Coming Up

This week we will continue with our theme of Pete the Cat. 

Important upcoming dates:

• September 16th - First day for Monday/Wednesday students
• September 17th - First day for Tuesday/Thursday students
• September 30th & October 1st - Orange shirt day
• October 2nd & 3rd - Early dismissal days
• the morning class will dismiss at 10:45 am
• the afternoon class will dismiss at 2:25 pm
• October 14th - Thanksgiving Day, no school
• October 21st - PD Day, no school