Happy Monday! Welcome to another week of learning from home. I can't wait to see some happy faces on Wednesday and Thursday for our first Google Meets!! I'll send further info about these later today or first thing on Tuesday morning.

Check out these amazing letter experts, very deserving of their crowns! 

 

There was even a celebratory tea party!

Click HERE for the link to this week’s overview of activities 😀 

TUESDAY

A week in review...

Periodically throughout the year, I have the children complete an independent writing activity for me so I can see how their writing skills are developing. Today, your little one is going to do some INDEPENDENT drawing and writing (that means you get to enjoy a coffee or a break for 20 full minutes…no help).  

Does your child have a favourite notebook or journal that they like to draw in? Grab it and open it to a fresh page. If not, any paper will do. HERE's some journal writing paper that would also work. We always draw in class with black pens/markers. If possible, give them a thin black marker to use rather than a pencil.  Explain to your child that today, they get to draw a story about ANYTHING they want. They can draw about their feelings, their experiences, their friends, or something totally imaginary and out of this world. Maybe they draw about a special memory or something they wish they could be doing.  It’s their choice. 

Set a timer for 10 minutes. Tell your child that this is their drawing time. Only pictures. Their job is to keep drawing for the entire 10 minutes. When they think they’re done, tell them to think about more details or background they could add. If they get stuck, they can keep thinking about their picture/story, imagining it in their mind, and continuing to think of more information and detail they can be adding. 

Feel free to tell them, “Miss Roberts told me that this is how long you draw and write in class. When you’re at school, she expects you to do your work on your own. Today, Miss Roberts wants to see how smart you are! Let’s show her what a beautifully detailed picture you can draw and show her the amazing writing you can do ALL BY YOURSELF.” Then walk out of the room! Come back in 10 minutes and ask them if they have finished their drawing. They’re welcome to continue drawing if they would like more time. Then reset the timer for another 10 minutes and ask them to add letters and words to their drawing. If they need more space or a separate page with lines, feel free to give that to them. We always do our writing in pencil. Tell them that now is the time to add words that explain what is happening in their picture. Reset the timer to 10 minutes and walk away! Come back when the timer goes off and congratulate them for doing such amazing work all by themselves. Please scribe what they have written underneath their writing.

AFTER drawing and writing, use THIS rubric to gain some insight into how your child is doing. This rubric is for you, not for them. I want them to feel proud of what they accomplished. BUT, feel free to use this rubric to personalize and guide your writing instruction while at home and figure out next steps of what to work on with your child. Gradually add one element of challenge at a time.

Here are some independent writing examples from February. I would definitely offer your child some paper with lines to assist with their writing. 

WEDNESDAY

Rather than giving you new sight words this week, I would like to see how many of our current sight words your child has mastered. We’ve learned 20 words so far. How many of them is your child able to identify?  I’ve created a CHECKLIST for you to use if you like. If your child is confidently able to read/identify most of these words, that’s great. We’ll continue to add to this list with new words next week. If your child requires more practice to identify these words, please continue to practice the ones they do not know throughout the coming weeks. Do not add more new words until they have mastered these ones. If 5 new words a week is too many, try focusing on 1 or 2 new words each week instead.

 

WORD PLAY DAY

Now that we have officially learned the ENTIRE alphabet, I am challenging you to make your own set of letters to play with. This can be a big project that begins with collecting rocks, washing , designing and painting each one, OR you can simply print off one of the letter sets in our literacy folder, such as THIS one. IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE FANCY! 

Rocks, bottle caps, wooden letters, even Post-It’s will work. What matters is that you create something tangible that children can manipulate to make words. 

 @thisishowweplay

Any extra corks laying around…? I’m rather fond of this idea. Start collecting! 

Ok now it’s time to play! 

Have your child gather the following letters: A B R G U T H C (narrowing the options makes it easier. They’re welcome to use the entire alphabet for a challenge).

Start by asking your child if they can use 3 of the letters to spell the word RUG. Say the word slowly so they can hear each sound. Once they have collected 3 letters, sound out the word they have created to check-it. Say each letter sound slowly and then blend the letter sounds together to make a word. If the child has correctly spelled RUG, continue to the next word. If not, have them try again. 

Now ask them to change only one letter so that the word now says BUG. 

Proceed to have them spell the words BAG, BAT, RAT, HAT, CAT, CAR reminding them that they only need to change one letter each time.

Here’s another one. Collect this group of letters: F C J E T P A N 

Start with the word JET and then progress through the words PET, PAT, PAN, FAN, CAN, CAP

Feel free to progress to 4 letter words when these become too easy (CLAP, FLAP, FLAT, etc). Use these letters every day to make rhyming words, names, sight words. Not all “writing” requires a paper and pencil :) 

HERE’S THE WHY…

Letter play is one of the fundamental building blocks of learning how to read. Children need to know how words can be put together and broken apart in order to become competent readers and writers. These early building blocks build a child’s phonemic awareness, which includes 6 basic components that are summarized HERE. I would highly encourage you to check out this document. Even just read the first page! I promise I wouldn’t recommend something that isn’t worthy of your time.

THURSDAY

One of the most special parts about springtime is that birds are busy building their nests. If you look closely in the trees outside, you might even see one. Before the tree branches are filled with leaves, it’s easier to spot a nest in a tree. Take a look next time you’re out on a nature walk.

Today your challenge is to build a nest. But before you do, watch THIS silly story about 2 birds looking for the perfect place to build their nest. Pay particular attention to the man’s voice as he reads the story. He has great expression and even uses different voices as he reads. 

Do you think that is a real or an imaginary story? How can you tell? Now check out THIS short video clip. Do you think it is an imaginary story or an informational one that is going to teach us something? 

It’s challenge time! Today, your task is to build a nest! Just like birds have to gather materials and supplies from what they can find in nature, today you will do the same. Gather materials from outside, from your recycling bin or from your craft cupboard. Whatever you can find, you can use! 

@apinchofkinder

Optional extension ideas:

Test your nest’s strength by putting a hard-boiled egg, wooden egg or plastic egg filled with coins (for weight) on your nest. Can your nest hold up an egg? How many eggs can it hold?

Draw your nest and label the materials you used. 

Can you create a bird to live in your nest?  Can you act out a story about the bird and it’s nest?

 

FRIDAY

Today is a non-instructional day. It’s MY day to learn! Teachers are engaging in online PD and learning how we can be even better for YOU! Keep up with your passion projects, complete your nest drawing from yesterday, or take a day off! Feel free to send me pictures of your “off” days too. I love seeing what you’re up to!

Here's a LINK to Ms. Lecocq's music activities for the week, if you're interested.

I'll end this week with an amazing list of things to do from our very own Ms. Lawson. I personally believe that the world is a magical place with endless possibilities of things to explore and discover. Boredom is a springboard of possibility! But if you’re stuck, check out this wonderful list of ideas:

A List of Things to Do Instead of Saying “I’m Bored…”

1) Build a fort.

2) Go for a nature walk. Note how many different species of plants and animals you see. Draw them. Make notes and observations. Identify them.  

3) Research and execute a science experiment. Record your results.

4) Do an art project- paint, collage, draw, etc.

5) Learn how to make a new recipe.

6) Create a random challenge for yourself and work on filming yourself doing the challenge. (ex. bouncing a ping pong ball off a series of pots and pans into a bowl/ cup).

7) Call a friend or family member.

8) Get lost in a good book.

9) Start a video diary of your experience in isolation.

10) Visit an interactive museum.

11) Turn on some music and make a dance.

12) Plan a scavenger hunt for your family.

13) Write a gratitude letter to people you love and appreciate. Mail them. Wait and see how happy it makes them! ☺

14) Make up a secret handshake with someone in your family.

15) Learn a new skill- add it to our 100 Day Challenge. (Knitting? Coding? Cooking? Drawing? Hacky Sac? Handstand?)

16) Get a map and write down all the places in the world you dream of visiting.

17) Build an indoor obstacle course for you and your family.

18) Play mad libs. https://www.madtakes.com/

19) Learn a new card game.

20) Write a letter to your future self.

21) Rearrange your bedroom (with permission from your parents).

22) Plant or tend to a garden!

23) Learn a magic trick. Perform it for your family. Practice makes perfect.

24) Research popular constellations and try to identify them in the night sky!

25) Learn the alphabet in sign language.

26) Try to identify all the countries in the world. https://online.seterra.com/en/vgp/3069. Practice makes perfect.

27) Try to replicate a famous painting using only things in your house.

28) Make a song about your family. Perform it for them.

29) Plan an active activity for your family to get your bodies moving.

30) Draw murals and write positive messages on the sidewalk with chalk.