This week in kindergarten, we read some great stories about developing self-confidence and self-appreciation. Students shared and reflected upon what they like most about themselves. 

"I like my arms because they give good hugs."

"I like my heart because it shares love with the world."

"I like my hands because they help me eat cookies."

"I like my legs because they help me run and play and jump."

Students were extremely excited to engage in our first science experiment of the year! In a discussion about what to do with my leftover pumpkin seeds, most students suggested I bake them. A few others thought it might be a good idea to put them into some dirt and see what happens. Students each planted their own pumpkin seeds and had fun making scientist predictions about what might happen to them. Some students predicted that our classroom would fill up with pumpkins overnight. Some wondered if an apple or a lemon tree may grow from one of our seeds. Stay tuned for our results!

We have continued to practice our number skills with dice games over the past couple of weeks. One of the things we do to warm-up our brains before a math activity is to roll a die a bunch of times and say the number that we see. When everyone is comfortable with that, students then say the number that comes after the number rolled on the die. For a super tricky challenge, we then say the number that comes before the number rolled. These warm-ups help to develop our number sense and build automaticity with number concepts. If your child enjoys a challenge, try asking them to say the number that is 2 more/less than the number rolled! 

In honour of Remembrance Day, students created beautiful poppies inspired by the artist, Georgia O'Keefe.  We created our poppies using black paper, chalk pastels and a little bit of paint. Students learned how to use shading and highlighting to give greater depth to their artwork. 

Thank you so much to those of you who were able to join us for the beautiful assembly today. 

Classroom Reminders:

1. Our first field trip is coming! Our entire school will be going to the theatre to see Cinderella! Please return forms and payment as soon as possible if you would like your child to participate in this exciting event. Thank you so much to those of you who quickly volunteered to come along with us. We have 3 volunteers who would like to come, but do not yet have their volunteer clearance. If their clearance does not come back in time, we will require 3 more volunteers. If you would like to be one of our back-up volunteers, please email me to let me know (taroberts@cbe.ab.ca). 

2. If you would like to order anything from Scholastic, order forms are due back on Monday.

3. Next week, we will be starting our gymnastics unit in gym. During our first week, we will be exploring different ways of moving our bodies on the floor mats. The second week will involve gymnastics equipment and the third week will be Mission Impossible (a fun obstacle course to work through on the gymnastics equipment). There are some important safety rules we must follow to ensure we have fun and keep everyone injury-free! Please be advised of the following safety rules we must follow in terms of student clothing:

*No dresses/skirts/tights. Students must be able to move freely in their bare feet. 

*Long hair must be pulled back (girls may want to bring a hair elastic if they don't want to have their hair up all day)

*No jewellery on ears, throat or wrists

We will go to the gym every day except for Tuesday next week. Please ensure your child is dressed appropriately to participate in gymnastics!

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to get to know your wonderful children. I feel so very fortunate to work with such an amazing group of little ones. 

Miss Roberts