Christmas Cookies!

Yesterday, Mrs. B's classes headed over to the high school where we met our Big Baking Buddies who helped us make sugar cookies. The kindergarten students were very good at rolling out the dough and using the cookie cutters. We've had a lot of practice at the playdough center! A big thank you to Mrs. Rompain and Mrs. Stringam and the high school foods class for letting us come over.

Nutrition and Numbers

Today we are starting our new theme: Nutrition! We'll be talking about healthy choices and food groups.

We're also working on writing numbers 1-5. Many students are writing them backwards. If your child is writing them at home, please make sure they are moving left to right on the page.

Here is a link to the song, "I Can Write My Numbers" that we've been using in class. It's a fun way to remember how to write 0-9. If you're wanting to review at home, ask them to write the numbers on your back with their finger, in the air with their hand, or on paper! Good luck!

The Environment

We just finished up our theme unit on the environment. We ended last week with green tye die shirts which the students were very excited about! (Pictures to come tomorrow.)

They have all taken home a green Save the Earth club checklist. When they fill it in with 30 check marks, they can bring it back for their Save the Earth membership card and earth key chain.

We talked a lot about the 3 R's. Ask your child to show you with their hands what each of them looks like and means! We had some interesting analogies offered in class!

Also, a sheet went home called "Which Bin does it go in?" The students are supposed to share their new knowledge with someone at home.

The Halloween Party

We had a blast at our Kindergarten Halloween Party. One of the funniest moments was when we were nearing the end of the day and one student said, "So when is the party going to start?" Evidently, it's not a party unless there are balloons and cake!

The students all came dressed up in some very creative costumes- good job parents! We played some games- bat bowling, pin the broom on the witch, and ghost ball toss. We did a mini parade for some of the classes and had some very creatively themed snacks. Thanks to all parents who helped out with that. Mrs. B's class did a couple of dances we'd been working on: the Skeleton Dance, the Monster Mash and a simplified version of Thriller.

Our Halloween Snack: Alien Apples, Pumpkin Marshmallows and Bone Breadsticks. (The kids asked, "Are these real bones?")

Mrs. B's AM Class

Info on the Halloween Party

We have had a few phone calls about the Halloween Party so I thought that I would send out a quick bulletin before the next newsletter.  If you read your email and check the BLOG - you are LUCKY!

The school is celebrating Halloween on Friday, Oct. 29th.  The schedule is for both classes to come on that Friday. We will split the Friday into 2 hours per class.  

The morning class will attend 8:30 - 10:30 

The afternoon class will attend from 10:45 - 12:45.

We will NOT be participating in the Halloween Parade due to the limited time that we have with the afternoon class to celebrate. 

All children should come in costume.  We will be playing games, doing a Halloween craft and having a special Halloween snack that will be supplied by the mother volunteers and teachers.  I will be in touch with the parents who have signed up to help that day.

Also please send a shoe box with your child sometime this week. We will be decorating a literacy box in the near future so they have a place to store all their sound activities when they come home.

Thank you!

Community Helpers

We had quite a few memorable moments during our Community Helpers unit. We visited the Merc last Monday and Tuesday and saw Bill the Butcher and Valine the Baker. They showed us all the tools they use and gave us ham and chocolate chip cookies before we left. We also toured main street, pointing out many of the local businesses and naming the people who work there. My afternoon class also stopped by the flower shop to visit a very generous Grandma!

One of my favorite moments was when we stopped in front of the car dealership. I explained that this was a place where you can buy cars or get them fixed. I asked, "Does anyone know what you call someone who fixes cars?" One student excited shouted, "I do! I do! A Chemanic!" I told them they were close. (Unfortunately, I forgot to take the camera to the Merc!)

We also took the long trek to the Fire Station. After many, "Are we there yet?"'s we finally made it and  the students got to try on some fireman equipment and wander through the trucks. Some of my students spotted the names of relatives on the different lockers.

We also had a special visit from Fireman Stan who taught us about fire safety at home and who also showed all of his equipment.

We finished off with a visit to the police station where the children spent a few brief moments locked up in jail, belted in to the back of the police car and learning about all the tools a police person uses and what tools they keep on their "batman belt."

Reminders: September 20-24

Weekly Reminders:

• School pictures TOMORROW- Tuesday!
• Students must return permission slips in order to take part in the upcoming field trips. The first one is this THURSDAY, September 24 to the Firehall. Also, school fees must be paid or a payment plan must be arranged with the office prior to the child being allowed to participate.
• Firehall Field Trip on THURSDAY
• Favorite Funny Moment of the Day: A student was offering help to another who was struggling to put his coat on. Trying to be of assistance, he offered, "Sometimes I put my hood on first and then it's easier to the put arms on." The other student replied, "I can't put my hood because my hair is spiky today and I don't want it to fall down!"

In Kindergarten, we...

There are a few things we are learning about and do in Mrs. B's kindergarten class that you may have heard bits and pieces of from your child. Here's a quick summary so you can get an idea of some of the kindergarten routines:

We have 3 rules in Kindergarten: We always SHARE. We always CARE. We always LEAVE IT THERE. I've been reinforcing the last couple of weeks that everything in kindergarten belongs to everyone. Test your child's knowledge: I told them there is only 1 thing we don't want to share in kindergarten... See if they remember what it is!

Helping Hands: Each week the class has 5 new Helping Hands. By the end of the month, every child should have had at least one job. In kindergarten, we want them to learn independence and responsibility. Having these special jobs help the students take responsibility for their own class.

• Special Helper: This helping hand gets to be charge of calendar in the morning, the clean-up sign, holding open doors for the class and any other special jobs the teacher may need help with.
• Janitor: This helping hand in responsible to put away the toys on the three special shelves after free play and is in charge of making sure people push in their chairs and clean up after eating their snack.
• Hall Monitor: This helping hand is responsible to watch for students who might need help with their backpack, coat or snack as well as making sure their fellow classmates use only bubble voices and bubble feet when walking in the hall. 
• Engine: This helping hand is at the front of every line-up for the entire week.
• Caboose: This helping hand is bringing up the rear of every line and makes sure that the train stays together in the hallway. 

Kelso the Frog: I told my students that sometimes there are big problems and sometimes there are little problems. We are learning to be good little problem solvers in kindergarten. We have a poster in the classroom of Kelso who reminds the students of ways to solve little problems:

• Make a deal
• Apologize
• Tell them to stop
• Ignore it
• Walk away
• Talk it out
• Share and take turns
• Go to another game
• Wait and cool off

Monkey Money: You probably heard about this system by now! Monkey Money is for students who are caught doing something good. I've reminded the students that it's easier to get caught doing something good if you do it all the time and on your own, rather than just sometimes, or after they see someone else doing it. Each child has a monkey money wallet in their cubby. After they collect 5 coins, they trade in for a $1 which they can use to purchase incentives at the Money Money Store.

Onto Community Helpers

We will be starting our new unit on Community Helpers on Monday. The first few weeks have flown by as we have established our routines, practiced writing our names, learned our colors and shapes and the first two sound pictures.

In the next two weeks, we will be taking a few trips out into the community. We'll be visiting the Merc, the Firehall and the RCMP station and will also be having a special guest Stan the Fireman in to talk to the students.

Please remember school pictures are on TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21st.

We're On Our Way!

Hello Parents

Thanks for checking the blog. The new newsletter is posted. Make sure you keep checking back for continuous updates. We will be taking a few community field trips in the next couple weeks so watch for permission slips that will be sent home.

The last two weeks we've been learning about the sound pictures for "p" and "m," shapes and colors. Ask your child to tell you about the Pigs in the Pen by the Pepper Patch and Mandy Mae Moo!

First Day of School

The First Day of Kindergarten will be Wednesday, September 1, 2010 at 8:30 AM and 12:15 PM. We look forward to seeing you then!