Welcome back!! It's so great to see everyone IN PERSON again this week. Spring is in the air, the kids are happy, healthy, and full of beans! We'll be getting outside as much as possible now that the weather is so nice. There's nothing better than outdoor investigations during springtime.

With a new season fast approaching, we took some time to reflect upon which season is our favourite. Children created beautiful watercolour trees to represent which season they like the best and did some writing to accompany their artwork.

Now that we're becoming such skilled writers, we spent some time this week talking about where authors get their ideas. We learned that authors write about what they know. Each child shared things they know A LOT about and then set to work creating a very detailed drawing about one topic they wanted to dive into. Our kinders are experts at topics ranging from gardening and rainbows to Power Rangers and ROCK and ROLL! I learned so much about them this week through this task. 

The following day, we looked at different writing samples and worked hard to advance our writing skills. We're learning that in order to communicate a detailed idea, we may need to write more than one sentence. We're also working hard to learn where the spaces go in our writing and are experimenting with periods at the end of our sentences. They worked SO HARD on these! This was the best writing I've seen all year. I'm so incredibly proud of our little writers!

Our letter focus this week was U. Check out the sentences at the bottom of their printing pages. Popcorn words are starting to appear in their writing! WOO HOO! Thank you so much for helping your child to practice reading and writing these words at home. It shows! This week's popcorn word is UP.

We even had our very first spelling test! Don't worry it was open book and we all helped each other out :) 

We've fallen in love with paint pens on rocks over here and have been creating some adorable Easter rocks during centre time. We're going through rocks at rapid speed! If you happen to see any smooth rocks in your travels this weekend, we'd love to use them for rock painting! 

We're also big into sticks at the craft centre these days...feel free to have your child bring in some of those as well! Magic wands are all the rage in our room right now ✨

We worked on a pretty spectacular collaborative drawing this week. Children tell the most wonderful stories as they draw. We're building up our oral storytelling skills!

Take a look at what the kiddos were up to with Mrs. Planden on Monday...so much fun!!

This week in math, we created our own personalized Recipe for Shamrock Stew. We used this as an opportunity to apply our knowledge of number formations, sequencing, and one-to-one number correspondence in a new and exciting way! Our friends got to pick how many of each ingredient they wished to include in their recipe, and then used centre time to actually “cook” their stew according to their recipes. We also explored some other fun concepts like chemic reactions and got to engage in some wonderful opportunities for dramatic play! I wish I could convey to you the squeals of delight as their stew went boiling over their cooking pots!!

Classroom Info and Reminders:

Next Friday, March 26 is our next round of parent teacher interviews. Traditionally, the interviews at this time in the year are referred to as student-led conferences and would be an opportunity for you to come into the classroom. Children would then show you the incredible work they have been doing and guide you through some of our classroom centres. 

In an attempt to replicate that the best way we can this year, I will be sending home your child's visual journal next week. We will include a reflection task for you to complete with your child after reviewing their wonderful work. Mrs. Planden will also be sending home a math game for you to play together.

Please note that the interview portion with Mrs. Planden and I is optional. If you feel happy with your child's progress after reviewing their journal and have no questions for Mrs. Planden or myself, please do not feel pressured to book an interview time. Having said that, we'd be more than happy to chat with all of you!

That's all for this week! Have a wonderful weekend everyone! 

Love,

Miss Roberts and Mrs. Planden

We'll leave you with some photos from centre time and gym this week...