Halloween Eve…

Hello all!  Happy Halloween, as it is almost Monday.  We have an exciting day planned for tomorrow, and I am sure the children are excited about bringing their costume to school.  Please remember that children cannot wear a mask, make-up or bring accessories to go with their costume, and it would be a good idea to NOT wear the costume they plan to wear tomorrow evening for the real event.  We will be doing a sensory activity with our classroom pumpkin, and then sampling some roasted seeds.  There will also be a “haunted house” in the gym, but rest assured it is tamed down for the children in K-2 classes.  I will make sure it is a fun and stress-free experience for them!

Thank-you for participating in the family pumpkin project.  Each pumpkin came in looking so unique and original.  I can tell you put a lot of thought into your designs.  I hope it was a memorable experience for you as a family.  The children had a chance to show their pumpkins to the class on Friday, but as I was out with sickness, I am going to let them do a brief “show and tell” on Monday.

I have added a page to the blog that I hope you will enjoy, as it gives you a little glimpse into life inside the classroom.  As well, I have added a game link, as well as a pet!  My children have always wanted a dog, so I told them this was their dog.  I hope you like our family pet, and maybe you can suggest a name for him!

The two little cuties in this post are Brock and Alex.   I tried to add them to my page called Days in the Life…, but was unable to add any more pictures. This is a picture of them travelling on the bus to the apple orchard for our fall field trip.  The bus is an exciting part of a kindergartner’s day!

Travelling on the bus is a highlight of the day.

Happy trick-or-treating tomorrow evening!

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October 24, 2011….

It is hard to believe that we are beginning our 8th week of school!  Time sure goes by quickly.  Your children are settling in to school routines, and they are more and more comfortable in the school setting each and every week.  It is a good reminder to ourselves as adults that children adjust and react to new situations in much the same way we as adults do.  There is an initial period of stress as new situations are encountered and new obstacles are overcome. With time, understanding and patience, children, like adults, can become use to new routines and flourish in spite of unfamiliar circumstances. Your children are learning so much, not the least of which are ways in which they can be independent and self-sufficient, and all this means that they are growing into the wonderful kindergartner they were meant to be!  You should be very proud of them.  Many are buttoning buttons and zippering zippers, checking to make sure they have all their papers for home safely secured in their backpacks, as well as checking me on a few items or two that I might have forgotten in the course of the day!  They are great little helpers!  (Believe me, I need the reminders!!!!!)

The promised homework for the long weekend got overlooked in the busyness of the last day of school last week, and I do apologize.  It will be in their backpacks tomorrow.  The project is designed to bring families together in learning, as well as to accentuate speaking and listening skills in your Kindergartner.  I hope you all have fun doing it!

Thanks to you all who read this blog.  It truly is my pleasure to write this, and I appreciate each and every parent and applaud your involvement in your child’s life.  You are and forever will be your child’s greatest teacher!  I wish you all a wonderful week!

Sunday evening…

Just a quick peek at our week.  It is a short one, so don’t forget that students will not ride the school bus on Thursday and Friday, as teachers will be at Teacher’s Convention in Charlottetown both days.  Hope that students enjoy the extra long weekend!

We are getting really adept at printing our names, and any time your child can sign their signature to a birthday card or art project they make at home, by all means have them do so!

If you are wondering why I do not send home a lot of paperwork in your child’s backpack, the reason is,  I collect all the work they do in a portfolio which I will send home with you at Parent Teacher conference in November.  If, however, you wish to have a look at things before then, let me know via a note sent to school with your child, and I will put the portfolio in their back-pack for you to view for a night at home.  Otherwise,  all items will be yours to keep after the first interview is conducted.

I will also be sending home a homework project for you and your child to complete together over the long weekend with detailed instructions for completion and a deadline to be passed back in on the following Monday.  Please do not stress over this, as it is designed for you to spend time with your child and have fun learning together!  That will go home on Wednesday.

I hope you enjoy this short week, and please let me know if I can help you and your child out in any way!  It is my pleasure to be a part of your lives!

A word on our field trip to the orchard….

We had a crisp, cool morning with which to make our trek around the Bloomfield orchard belonging to Dean and Tammy Rowan.  The sun was shining, and the trees were overflowing with shiny red, green, yellow and BROWN (!) apples.  We learned that brown is actually a desirable colour for some varieties of apples.  We started our tour in the Farmer’s Market shop where the apples are showcased each Saturday morning.  Tammy took us to the middle of the orchard where we learned there are 600 trees with various types of apples, plums and pears growing on them.  She showed us the various types of equipment that they use to harvest their crop, and then she handed out bags for the children to use in picking their own special apples to take home to their family.  I hope you all enjoyed them!

The children had a wonderful morning, and we ended our tour with pictures in front of the apple trees, as well as we played two fun, interactive games using apples.  All in all, it was a wonderful learning opportunity for the children, and we are grateful to Tammy for all the preparation she put into organizing the apple bags and coloring sheets, as well as preparing the informative tour of the apple orchard.  I took lots of pictures, so I will try and get some up this weekend for your viewing pleasure!

We have been talking last week as well as this week about our five senses, so you can keep this in mind as you go about your evening activities.  There are so many ways in which to show children how to recognize when they are using one or more of their senses.  Perhaps you could let them help you with supper preparations.  They might be able to use hearing when you select various dishes and utensils for setting the table, as well as when pouring the water in glasses, touch when putting food items in a bowl, smell when the aromas are wafting through the kitchen, taste as they try new and old favorites at meal time and sight as they pick out what colours are on their plate.  Just a few ideas to get you started!

Have a great rest of the week!

Mid-week check-in…

I hope you have all your outdoor toys safely tucked inside as it looks like some bad weather is headed our way.  The children will be disappointed they are not able to get outside tomorrow at recess in the event that the nasty weather predictions become a reality.

Just a quick update on the October newsletter….

We are planning a field trip with the French Kindergarten class to Tammy and Rowan Dean’s apple orchard, in Bloomfield, on Friday morning.  We will leave the school at 9:30, and we plan to be back before lunch.  In  the event that it is raining that day, we will cancel and possibly reschedule this event.  Please dress your child accordingly.

If your child has not mentioned snack time to you yet, ask them about Mrs. Wood and her delicious snacks.  Mrs. Donna Wood is the resource teacher in our school, and for the past 3 weeks, she has brought us a special treat to share as a class at snack time.  Mostly the snacks are healthy snacks, but once in a while she brings a treat.  We were spoiled today with waffle cones and ice cream!  If you have not met her yet, she has a classroom on the top floor in the far left corner.  She’d love it if you dropped by to say hello!

Enjoy the rest of your week!

October days…

Good evening all!  Where did September go?  Time flies when you are having fun, and we have loads of fun while we learn in Kindergarten!  Friday was an exciting day in our class for a few reasons.  We had our first show and tell in class, and the students were very excited to share their special toys with the class as well as answer questions their classmates posed to them.  I took pictures, so you will get to share this special moment with your child.  I hope to get pictures uploaded on this site, possible this week if I can get myself organized!

Friday was also our first Book Buddy day with the English Grade 3 class.  The 7 students in Grade 3 were paired with the students in Kindergarten to share reading together, and every one had a turn to read.  The Kindergarten students read a book they compiled and coloured on the numbers 1-5.  They did a wonderful job reading to their partners.  We hope to pair up again this Friday as Math Buddies.  Look for this little book in their backpacks tomorrow.

Friday was also our first trip to the library, and the children enjoyed picking out two books each to take home with them over the weekend.  I hope you all enjoyed some cuddle time over a good book this weekend!

Looking ahead to the coming week, we start the letter “Dd” tomorrow, so please remember your “Dd” pictures for homework! Also, we are hoping for a field trip to a local apple orchard at the end of the week, so please check your child’s back-pack for permission forms!

Enjoy this week, and by all means, do drop in to visit our little class some time!