I love this time of year in kindergarten! The children are so engaged, incredibly independent, recording their ideas in writing, and now learning to READ! It's so magical! We have learned to function as a team and have truly come together as a happy little kindergarten family.
Dino investigations are still going strong. I let the kids take the lead on when it's time to move on to something new and our investigation of dinosaurs definitely needed another week! They absolutely love looking through books, determining whether they are fact or fiction, and then using the pictures to gather information about their favourite kinds of dinosaurs. There are so many squeals of wonder, delight and intrigue as they flip through each page.
We created some pretty incredible plasticine sculptures this week that I just can't get enough of. I hope these made it home safely!
This week we learned the difference between a CARNIVORE and a HERBIVORE. We learned that carnivorous dinosaurs ate meat, often walked on 2 legs, had sharp teeth, sharp claws, and were faster than the plant-eaters. Herbivores move slower (because they have less energy from plants), usually walk on 4 legs and have some sort of adaptation to protect themselves, such as spikes, spines or horns. The children drew pictures of one meat-eating and one plant-eating dinosaur, and then added words to describe the characteristics of each. Check out this writing!
Our letter focus this week was V and we spent a lot of time talking about volcanoes. Given the fact that massive volcanic eruptions may have contributed to the extinction of the dinosaurs, the kids were extremely interested in this topic. Ask your child to tell you the difference between magma and lava .... and for bonus points, see if they can tell you how a volcano forms :)
We are officially ready to dive into the world of reading together! Each day at school, we've been doing a whole-group guided reading activity, where we navigate new text together, make guesses and check them with the letters on the page, search for high-frequency words, and begin to notice the use of capital letters and periods. They are SO PUMPED for this! Please note that learning to read is NOT an expectation in kindergarten. I do feel that many of our learners are ready to begin exploring this exciting next step in their learning, but please ensure that all reading experiences are enjoyable and completely pressure-free. Take your time with these reading experiences to ensure that your child is grasping the concepts at each level before rushing to the next one. If you have any questions about our online home reading program this year, please do not hesitate to let me know. I can see that many of you have already helped your child to log in to their Raz-Kids account! Well done!
In math this week, children were asked to show their understanding of measurement in their math notebooks. Take a peek at some of the students' complex understandings of this unit!
Dinos have crept into our measurement centre ...
Classroom Info and Reminders
1. Report Cards will be available for viewing online next week. On Feb. 1, parents can view the report card information through a list view only. While it will look different from a report card, the list of indicators and report card comments are all the same as what you will see on the online report card. Beginning Feb. 5, Briar Hill School families will have access to the fully formatted online report card documents. Please note that paper copies of report cards will not be sent home.
Instructions for accessing online report cards:
Parent Sign-in Page:
If you have any difficulties accessing the report card, please contact the main office for assistance.
2. Valentine's Day is fast approaching and we wanted to give you advanced notice that it will look a bit different this year. As a covid precaution, we will not be having children bring in valentines from home. Please know we will still celebrate this special day of love at school in new and unique ways.
Have a wonderful weekend everyone! I'll be in on Monday next week and Mrs. Planden will be in on Friday.
Miss Roberts :)
