PK3.3 News
29th February - 4th March
HAPPY 4TH BIRTHDAY SOFIA!
OUR BUILDING STUDY
We have come to the end of our building unit. It has been a wonderful few weeks spent learning about the buildings around us; how they are built, what materials are used, who builds them, and what they are used for.
This week we focused on the question "what happens inside buildings?" During our morning circle time we looked at different building exteriors and discussed who might work there or what the building might be used for. We learnt that many building signs give us clues about what happens inside them. Using these clues the children identified supermarkets, fire stations, hospitals, cinemas and schools!
Encourage your child to notice environmental print when you are out and about, it's a great way to build literacy skills.
We can identify letters.
One of our circle time questions this week was "Do you see any letters that you recognize on this building sign?". The children took turns to come and identify letters they recognized and then wrote them on a big poster board to display in the classroom.
Using Environmental Print is very meaningful to young children. The logos and signs they see in their daily lives hold great meaning for them. Children get excited when they can “read” print they see around them. Environmental Print is another way to build confidence in young children and get them excited about reading. When children are excited about reading and print holds meaning for them they will learn much faster and begin to make connections to the world around them
VISIT TO THE PAC
On Tuesday we had the opportunity to visit our Performing Arts Centre (PAC) and learn more about what happens inside it from Mr Adam Hertzig and his team.
Earlier that morning we had shared pictures of the building, asking "what will we see on our visit to the PAC?" The children made great observations of 'windows', 'a circle' (the P&G sign), 'white blocks', 'bathrooms' and 'a ceiling on top of the building'. Sadly we didn't get to see a movie but we did see a colorful lightshow on the stage, count all the sound speakers in the theatre and ask lots of questions such as "how long did it take to build?", "are there bathrooms?", and "how many people sit here?" Great questions PK3.3.
BRINGING LITERATURE TO LIFE: TOO MUCH GLUE!
This week the children began decorating their t-shirts to bring Literature to Life and wear for our parade. If you have not already sent in a t-shirt please do so as soon as possible,
*These t-shirts will also be part of our Art Show in April
We have also been working on our own "Too much glue" suits which will be displayed outside our classroom on parade day- Wednesday 16th March . Mark your calendars for this wonderful literary event!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DR SEUSS!
To celebrate the birthday of Dr Seuss we all wore our craziest and silliest hats to school on Wednesday!
We had lots of fun and all sang "Happy Birthday" to the great story maker that is Dr Seuss.
“If you never did you should. These things are fun and fun is good" - Dr Seuss
'Ten apples up on top' is a fun, crazy tale of a dog, a lion and a tiger all showing off how many apples they can balance on their heads. We had lots of giggles as we read how the animals skip, walk a tightrope and roller skate with their apples balanced up on top.
Dr Seuss stories are so much fun to read. The nonsense rhymes and repetition rolls easily off the tongue in a wonderful rhythm. Young children love to hear this sort of language.
Sharing Dr Seuss books with your child will help develop their language skills and even lay the foundations for learning to read later on.
We continued enjoying Dr Seuss as we made and counted out "10 Apples" at our playdough table. We also identified, wrote and sequenced numbers 1 to 10 as we balanced them on our own heads. See how we did below!
G IS FOR GRAPES
Thank you to Emma and her family for the yummy grapes we tried on Thursday. The children gave them a big thumbs up!
We read a fable about a crafty fox who wants grapes, but they're too high for him to reach. This funny modern retelling of Aesop's fable "The Fox and the Grapes" had us laughing about his tricks to get those yummy grapes.
OUR FIRST MYSTERY READER WAS.........
.....Nahuel's dad! Thank you Mr Conzelman for taking the time to come and share a story on Thursday. Nahuel chose one of his favorite stories "There was an old lady who swallowed a trout" by Teri Sloat and we were all joining in by the end of the story as the "trout wanted out!"
WE ARE GETTING READY FOR OUR PK ART SHOW....
Can you guess what we are making?
This year our PK Art Show is based on OUR FIVE SENSES. Here we are using our sense of sight to make something we have been learning about recently. More to come.......
IMPORTANT DATES AND REMINDERS:
MARCH IS LITERATURE TO LIFE MONTH
During the month of March we will be “Bringing Literature to Life”. To celebrate our joy for books we will have different activities that will motivate children to enjoy the pleasure of reading. Activities will include mystery readers, book buddies and many more opportunities to bring literature to life.
We invite you to join our celebration of literature in these easy ways:
- Mystery Reader: If you wish to come and read a book to the class, let me know and we can set up a date and time. It can be in English or Spanish.
- Daily Reading: read a short story or book to your child before going to bed.
- Show and tell: Each Friday the children will have a chance to share their favorite book with the rest of the class.
If you have any questions, please drop me an email.
WELLNESS WEEK IS MARCH 7TH - 11TH
During this week we’ll have many activities that focus on many kinds of “wellness”- (physical, social, emotional & mental health). All students will have focused activities in P.E., Music and Art. For example in Art class students will get to listen to relaxing music and see how coloring patterns and designs can help with reducing stress!
And for parents there will be whole school workshops and presentations by experts in the PAC on topics such as mindfulness, nutrition and healthy choices.