Pictures of the Year in JK

 I have some pictures of the year I would like to share. In order to respect privacy I would like to hear from parents about their wishes before sending out any pictures. Please let me know by email if you do NOT wish your child's picture included in an album that I can email to each parent. Please let me know by July 15th and I will proceed from there. If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know by then. Thank you!

Playday plans

The children will begin their day with a play day outside, so please send them with hats and water bottles and please cover them in sunscreen before they come to school. We will be having lots of watery, bubbly fun activities. The play day will be about 45 minutes long and then we will go indoors for snack and quiet play. I have some marshmallows for a little treat for them. Please let me know if you do not wish your child to have them. Thank you again for your help!

End of the Year Plans

Dear Parents:

   Here is the calendar for the rest of the year:

As Soon As Possible   Return all Library books!

June 13                  10 am  Visit dress rehearsal of primary musical, RATS.
June 17                   9:30, 1:15  Attend Talent Show
June 18, 19            I am away at Full Day Kindergarten Training, a supply teacher will be here
June 25th               10:30,  2:30   End of Year Celebration  Lemonade Party PARENTS INVITED!
June 26th               Outdoor Play Day
June 27th               Last Day of School!

Broadview Book Bonanza

Our class is going to the book bonanza this Thursday! Our times are 10:45 and 1:45 to go down to the gym and buy books. Please send a few dollars with your child if you would like them to get some books. Please put their money in a zip lock bag and write their name and the amount and how many books that buys on the front. The prices are .50 or 1.00 a book. I suggest they not buy too many as it is difficult for them to carry more than a few. You can always come back and browse together after school, in the evenings or Saturday morning. We are looking forward to a fun time choosing some books. Thank you for your help in making that simple for the children to do. 

 

 

 

We are visiting a healthy food display with the public health nurse next week in the school library! Ask your child what he or she saw and which food they might like to try after seeing the display. Please help them to plan what he or she would like to bring for our healthy snack time. We will be graphing the healthy foods for the Math Gallery display next week.

A Few Things

So much is going on at school these days! Tonight is the bike parade and family dance, which helps to raise money for a play structure for Severn school. I worked there years ago and am so happy that Broadview is helping them out. Book Bonanza is coming up very soon! Please let me know if you did not receive your newsletter about this great event. In the time before and during Book Bonanza we will be celebrating different authors and illustrators and the joy of books. Last year this was such a meaningful group of lessons that children went to the bookfair looking for their favourite authors. It was one of my favourite teaching moments ever. I hope you can take part in some of these upcoming events. As always, your help with school is very much appreciated.

Chicks and Spring

Here is a silkie chick like the ones we saw today: 



Now we have finished our study of Fairytales (and the weather seems to have started to cooperate) we will focus on Spring. We have been noting the changes around us and making a list of signs of spring. We will enhance that by starting a nature table. If you find anything of interest in your walks and at the park or in your gardens, we would love to have it for our table. It is such a lovely time of year and we will have fun doing nature studies, planting seeds, reading about farms and new baby animals and doing lots of fun crafts in great pastel colours. Welcome, Spring!

After the Ball

We had a lovely time being presented to the king and queen and waltzing around the ballroom today. Everyone looked wonderful in their crowns and jewels and special finery. We also had a surprise treat as Mrs. Frey invited us for a Chicken Visit. We got to see two chicks of the Silkie breed and some eggs in an incubator.
Thank you to all of you who helped make this day so special. I took lots of pictures and a little video of each class, so you will get to see how things went at our end of year get together and slide show.

Royal Ball Tomorrow!

I hope you have your carriages booked and your capes and gowns pressed for tomorrow's glittering Ball. We will be choosing a King and Queen, being announced at the ball, being presented to the King and Queen and doing our very best waltzes. We will be reading about The Twelve Dancing Princesses and wearing our paper crowns. It will be a fun way to use our imaginations and celebrate all the great fairytales we have read. Your child can wear a suit, a nice white shirt and tie, a prince or princess costume if they would like to dress up for our special day. It should be an exciting event!

More Dancing

Today the classes are enjoying a special dance workshop sponsored by the Parent Council. Annemarie Cabri is leading us in some fun dances for 45 minutes. Thank you to the Parent Council for this enriching activity!

The Royal Ball

The children are most cordially invited to a Royal Masked Ball at the palace, to be held Friday, April 19th. Dress in costumes, princess gowns or formal wear. There will be dance classes held in preparation to this glittering event so that the children may brush up on their waltzes.

Wear Pink Tomorrow!

Wednesday is Pink Day across Canada, an Anti-Bullying project. We will be reading a few stories about the subject and having a short discussion. If the children have anything pink they would like to wear that is another way to participate in the day. Anything pink will do! We will also make a pink craft so that everyone can have some pink to wear in case some don't get this note in time.

Felt Project

Dear Parents;

   We are doing an exciting project. We are learning to sew and are making little gnomes of felt. We will make them, play with them here, display them in the glass case in the hall and then finally let them come to live at your houses. I am making a little gnome home for them to play in here in the classroom. If you have a little extra felt you can spare, either in earth colours or otherwise, we would appreciate it. We  have used up almost all the felt for the gnomes. I will post a few pictures of our new friends when they are finished. Also, since we work carefully and safely on this with one adult per child it could take a while. If you have a bit of time to volunteer to help us sew that would be most appreciated. Thank you!
 

Mittens and Socks

Now that we are at last entering Mud Season, please make sure your child has an extra pair of mittens and socks in her or his bag every day. For some reason the children think that their splash pants and boots make them impervious to water and we get a lot of wet toes and fingers. We go through a lot of extra clothes, so please keep your child comfy and up to date! Thank you so much.

Dear Parents;

 

    Just a reminder to parents who walk their children to school, that I meet the class at the centre line of the porch each morning and afternoon. Please bring your children to the line with their backpacks and say goodbye to them there. I will bring them in to the classroom. There is always a teacher on bus duty until classes begin (9:08 and 1:10) who can help the bus children line up. Often, other Kindergarten teachers have their classes playing in the yard, so it is much easier to know who is at school if we all begin on the porch. Thank you for your assistance.  

Peter and the Wolf

Yesterday we read the story of Peter and the Wolf and heard the sounds of the different instruments which represent the characters. The children really enjoyed the story. Here is a link to the music for them to hear again:  http://grooveshark.com/album/Peter+And+The+Wolf/324357

Library Visits and Reading Buddies

Our library day is Friday for both classes. The children will be carrying their books home in their note totes, if they fit. Please send the books in by Friday so the children can return them and take out a new book. There is a library basket in the classroom, so the books can come in another day if you wish.
We have also begun reading buddies. An older child is paired with your child and reads with her or him. Sometimes they will also write down your child's stories or do a special craft with them as well. It is a very lovely part of the week to see the children together. The morning class is paired with Mrs. Hill's class and the afternoon class with Mr. Brown's class. We are very glad to have this time each week.

What comes after Zed?

 We have finished our Letter A Day and now have begun our next unit, which is Fairytales!

We will be reading stories about castles,

                                                 enchanted animals,

and all your favourite characters.

So there's a lot that happens after the Zed!   

Happy Chinese New Year!

Happy Chinese New Year, Year of the Snake!

 

 

Here are some dragons from last year. The dragon symbolizes the coming spring.



The Chinese zodiac has 12 different animals. This year is the Year of the Snake. Since the date for New Year can be in January or February, if your child was born before February 7th, he or she is a Golden Pig.  In the Chinese culture, it is believed that the Golden Year comes once every 600 years. Pig individuals are patient, sometimes shy, but fun to be around. People born during the Year of the Pig know how to enjoy life when things are going good, but also know how to roll with the punches when life gets a bit rocky. Most of the class were born after the month of February, and so were born in the year of the Rat. They are ambitious, clever and devoted to their family, hard-working and imaginative. They are not always sure of themselves and do not always plan for the future. They will always stand by their friends. No wonder we have such nice classes!


Here is a sample of a Chinese New Year card that people would send to each other. You can see the lanterns, the fireworks and the lucky red colour everywhere. The children are wearing the new clothes they receive as part of the celebrations. They might also have had a haircut!

These are dumplings which would be part of the big family dinner that everyone would eat together. They come in many shapes. These look a little like purses full of money. One of the wishes for the new year is prosperity. We had some dumplings to sample today at school.

 Here is a dragon for the Dragon Dance. On New Year's Day there will be many dragon dances for people to see. We are having a little one here, with lots of noise- makers to scare away any bad luck.

Here is another great Chinese dragon, this one on the top of  a beautiful building. Happy New Year!

Valentine's Day Parties

Valentine's Day Parties

Dear Parents;

   For fun on Valentine's day we decided to wear Valentine colours if we have them. So check your closets and bring out all the red, white, pink and purple you can find. The more the merrier. We will deliver the Valentine cards to the children's mailboxes and send them home to be opened there so none get lost or mixed up. It will be lots of fun to see what the cards look like. Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

Valentine's Day is coming! If your child would like to bring in cards for their class they are welcome to do so. Since they are young and they are many, the easiest way to arrange things is for you or your child to just sign each card with their own name. There is no need to write their friends's names on too. If everyone does address the cards that's 1600 Valentines to sort! Whew!! We will make special bags for their mailboxes and do some lovely heart crafts to celebrate. It will be another great February day.

Thank you so much

Thank you, parents and children, for such a lovely welcome back to school. I am so glad that I am back and able to work with the children again. As you know, we are finishing up our unit on the Alphabet. We are also adding in a study of Chinese New Year and Valentine's Day. Monday was the letter S for Spring Festival and for the year of the Snake. Tuesday was T for tea and Wednesday was U for umbrella, the folding version of which the Chinese invented. We painted parasols. Friday will be V for Valentines. So they combine well!

Happy New Year and new unit!

 

I hope you had a wonderful holiday and a bit of a rest. We are beginning a new unit now on the Alphabet. Books and toys from home about ABCs are welcome for sharing time.  Please remember to label them with your child's name. Some children brought their indoor shoes home for the holidays and will need them as well. I am almost better and hope to be back to class very soon. Happy 2013!!!