The Kindergarten Trip to Long Branch Public library

Ask your child to tell you all about The Legend of the Candy Cane!

~The Inspirational Story of Our Favourite Christmas Candy~

http://www.amazon.ca/Legend-Candy-Cane-Lori-Walburg/dp/0310212472/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386976954&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=The+Legend+of+the+candycane

Mrs. Lau & Mrs. Andrade's Class

Mrs. Lau & Mrs. Andrade's Class

A bit about inquiry in kindergarten

Both classes have started an inquiry based on the book, "Malcolm's Runaway Soap." This is a collaborative journey that will show how we can all work together, yet yield different results based on the children's natural curiosity. Asking a child what they want to learn honours their motivation and leads to higher engagement. Inquiry also encourages critical thinking and builds lifelong learning skills. Children develop the skills of reflecting and the process of accumulating various types of information. The next step is processing and interpreting that information. They will learn how to articulate their ideas clearly and effectively pose questions as well as respect the diverse contributions of others.

Note from Mrs. Lau & Mrs. Andrade's class

Dear Parents, for a special christmas craft we are asking all the children to bring in an empty, large glass mason jar. Please send it to school with your child by Monday Decemeber 9th. Thank you!

December Is All About Charity!

The Free The Children School Houses are slowly being filled with loose change. Each $20.00 raised will help build a school and provide access to education for developing countries. We all know how lucky we are in Canada to have access to education! The collection of shoe boxes is slowly growing in the front hall of our school. The children have been sharing the shoe boxes at circle time with the class. We have been talking about why we are collecting shoe boxes and what to put in them. Thank you to all the families who have already sent in their boxes. The deadline to send them in is on Wednesday December 4th, 2013. Candy cane-o-grams will be on sale for one dollar starting tomorrow at lunch.

We had a wonderful pattern party! We made lots of patterns, looked at different patterns, opened some pattern presents and went on a pattern hunt. It was patterntastic!!!

Reminder...Pattern Party in Mrs. Lau and Mrs. Andrade's class

This is just a reminder that the children will be having their PATTERN PARTY tomorrow! Everyone is encouraged to come dressed in a piece of clothing with a pattern on it...stripes, polka dots etc!

Fun Friday!! In Mrs.M and M.C's class

Today we made crayons to correspond with the book "The crayon box that talked" by Shane DeRolf, which is a book about inclusion. It is also Bullying Awareness Week. We talked about what makes a good friend and how we can stop bullying by being a good, positive friend. We also had a freeze dance party to shake all those indoor sillies out!!! Thank you for all your donations. We were able to buy two bricks for the school we are helping to build. We still have $8.00 in our box and are going on to brick number three! Keep those donations coming in! Have a great weekend!

Pattern Party in Mrs. Lau and Mrs. Andrade's Class!

Our class will be having a PATTERN PARTY on Tuesday November 26, 2013. The children have been busy getting ready for our party by creating patterns, extending patterns and finding patterns in our environment. The children are encourged to wear pattern clothing to school and to bring in items with patterns on it. We are all looking forward to this special day to celebrate our knowledge of patterns!!!

Ms. Campolieti & Mrs. Martins

What we're doing in math! Mrs.M and Ms. C

We are currently working on the use of non-standard measuring devices e.g., feet, hand spans, string or cubes to measure length. You can do this at home as well by asking your child what they think is bigger, taller, wider, etc. when comparing objects or toys. Use questions such as, "how many links, cubes, hand spans long is that structure, cupboard, chair." You can also compare using the words more and less.

Toonie Tuedsay For the Philippine Reflief

On Tuesday November 19th, CTK will be raising money for the Philippine relief. We will be having a civvies day and the cost to participate will be $2.00. All money collected will be going towards the fund to help support the victims of the devastating Typhoon. Thank you for your support!

Structures Inquiry Mrs. Martins and Ms. Campolieti's Class

The children have been building structures with a variety of blocks and have shown a strong interest in this area so we have started an inquiry based on our observations. We started with a web documenting what the children know about structures. We transformed our dramatic centre to a building centre with straws and connectors, large wood blocks and today crazy forts. The children have built many structures. On day two we read a book that talked more about what you actually need to build a tower. The children learned and wrote words such as superstructure, cement, skeleton, foundation. The children were encouraged to write these words on the pictures they drew. On day three they watched a movie about how buildings are built and what the role of engineers and architects are. On day four we asked the children what they would like to learn as we continue our inquiry. We also started to show how blueprints and plans are needed before a structure goes up. We will continue our project next week and will continue to follow the children's lead.

Our Scientist Day has been cancelled for Friday November 8th, 2013. It has been re-scheduled for Friday November 29th, 2013. Sorry for the late notice.

Fun Friday in Mrs. Lau and Mrs. Andrade`s Room

Happy Friday! 

Our class made pumpkin pie to celebrate Friday. The children read the recipe and helped measure the ingredients. Once the pie was complete, we put it into the oven to bake. 

We all tried a piece of the pie in the afternoon. Some of the children decided they didn't like the taste and others asked for a second piece!

Ingredients

2 9-inch pie crusts

4 eggs

1 can pumpkin puree

2 cups packed brown sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cups evaporated milk

Directions

1.Preheat oven to 425 degrees F
2. Beat eggs lightly in a medium bowl. Add pumpkin, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Blend thoroughly, then meat in milk. Pour into pastry-lined pie plates.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes. Reduce heat to 325 degrees F and bake until set, 20-30 minutes more. Chill before serving. 

Our New Class Pet ~ Mrs. Lau and Mrs. Andrade

We are very excited to announce the caterpillar that was introduced last week has spun a cocoon!!! We are eagerly awaiting to see what happens. Our wonder wall is full of wonders about caterpillars and butterflies, and we will be exploring more as the weeks progress. The children are having a blast exploring the book The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle and using the puppets and props in the reading centre to retell the story.    

Mrs.Martins and Ms. Campolieti's Class

Our class has been discussing Autumn and the changes of the season. We will be starting an inquiry. We will be documenting the children's observations and answering their questions about the world around them. This will correspond with our trip to Andrew's Scenic Acres in October. Please feel free to take nature walks with your children and pick up leaves, twigs, pine cones, etc to add to our collection. Thank you.

Reading Folders - Mrs. Lau and Mrs. Andrade

Dear Parents,  

We have started our home reading program and you will find either a blue or green folder in your child's mailbag with a poem or book to read. These folders will be sent home every Monday. We ask that you help your child practice reading each night and return the folder back to school on Friday. On Fridays, the children are encouraged to read their book or poem during our morning circle and they look forward to sharing their reading skills with us.

Thank you for your continued support and collaboration in your child's learning,

Mrs. Lau and Mrs. Andrade

Kindergarten Curriculum

Please follow the link below to familiarize yourself with the Full Day Kindergarten curriculum.

 

http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/elementary/kindergarten_english_june3.pdf

Our First Field Trip Is Booked!!!

We have booked our first field trip to Andrews' Scenic Acre for Friday October 18th!

A permission form and more information will be coming home with your child at the end of the month.  

Here is a link for you to cehck out in advance:

http://www.andrewsscenicacres.com/index.php

Inquiry in the Classroom - Mrs. Lau and Mrs. Andrade

Over the first two weeks, we have been observing and listening to the children during play. We have noticed an interest in bugs, boats and trains. To further the children's interest and wonder, we will be providing some material to provoke and extend their thinking. Stay tuned to see more about our inquiry in the classroom.

Welcome!

Hello and welcome to our very first blog and our very first post!

 We hope this blog will give a little peek into our classrooms and what we are discovering and wondering about in Kindergarten. Please check back regularly for posts, pictures and class information.