Hello Parents,
This week was short and sweet! Our new letter was E and we spent A LOT of time learning to identify different EMOTIONS.
Can you spot the elephant and the egg?
Early in the week, I asked the children how many different emotions or feelings they could think of. We came up with happy, sad, angry and mad. My goal throughout the week was to help them develop a more rich vocabulary of different emotions (excited, frustrated, jealous, disappointed, etc). Learning to accurately identify how we are feeling in moments that feel uncomfortable is a big part of being able to work through them. We read many stories about worried, cranky, grumpy and irritable characters that worked through their big feelings! Stories are such great springboards for learning!
One of the stories we read was Ruby Finds a Worry. During centre time, children were invited to use pastels to represent what their worry looks like. Sharing about our worries helps us to release them. Learning that others have worries too helps us to know we're not alone.
We were introduced to a new form of writing this week...letters! Children were given the choice between writing a letter to Santa or writing a letter to someone else they wanted to connect with. Many of our kiddos chose to write to Santa and these letters are now headed to the North Pole! Those who wrote other letters brought them home. Can you please ensure their letters get delivered to the intended recipient? Thank you! It is important for children to see their writing and drawings used for real-world purposes, such as cards, letters, grocery lists, thank you notes, etc. The more your child sees and understands that writing is something we use in the "real world," the more excited they will be about developing their skills.
I was unexpectedly away on Thursday and missed the kiddos a great deal! They were in good hands with Ms. Sontag and drew about a time they felt grumpy. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of this work but I look forward to seeing these drawings when I'm back in class next week.
I'm sincerely looking forward to meeting with all of you (online) at our parent conferences next Thursday evening and Friday morning (Dec. 10 & 11). If you have any difficulty booking a time, please contact the main office and Miss Katie can assist you.
I'll be in on Monday next week! See you then :)
Miss Roberts 💖
Here’s what the kiddos were up to in math with Mrs. Planden…
As mentioned last week we have begun our explorations on the topic of measurement. We are working with informal units, which are measurements taken using non-standard units such as paperclips, cubes, counters, dominoes, etc. We have been talking about making sure that when we measure we start from the bottom of the object and don't leave any spaces in between our units. Our kinders were so excited to arrive in the morning to an activity that involved them taking their shoe off to trace onto a chalkboard, and then measure its length with blocks. We have been focusing on the words 'longer' and 'shorter' and would love for you to bring these words into your households as well!
In our centre time, students were asked to determine which line was longest from a number of different lines, many of which had the same beginning and the same ending point--however how curvy or zig-zagged the lines were, varied. They were provided various non-standard units to measure the lines and worked hard to determine the measurements of the lines. This again is a super simple activity that can be recreated and reinforced at home with masking tape on a kitchen floor, and a number of the same sized units.
Thank you so much for bringing sticks in this week. We worked on arranging them from shortest to longest, and have some more plans for these sticks as well! Have a wonderful weekend everyone. I won't be in on my usual Monday this week but will see you at interviews!
Mrs. Planden 😊
