Sunday, September 20, 2015
Will A Coconut Float?
We continued exploring the properties of coconuts. When we "wondered" about coconuts the day the coconut was introduced, there was lots of chatter about coconuts being heavy/light. We posed the question of whether a coconut would sink or float. This lead into an exciting experiment and we spent an additional day exploring the concept of sinking and floating with objects in our water table.
Fun With Coconuts!
We were working on the letter Cc and the children were also really enjoying the book Chicka Boom Boom. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to bring a coconut into our classroom! We encouraged the children to talk about this interesting object. Many children told us they already knew lots of facts about coconuts. The children were absolutely fascinated by the sound of liquid jostling around as they shook the coconut. We heard many great theories about this liquid and soon we had lots of requests to "smash open the coconut" and get the liquid out!
The next day we brainstormed how to do so and we were extremely curious about how to manage the very hard shell. We saw a brief video about opening coconuts and we tired the approach we had observed. It worked!
The children really wanted to see what the inside of a coconut looks like. We decided to continue using the hammer!
Looking For The "Magic Star" and Apple Prints
We kicked off our "Alphabet Bootcamp" on Monday and we followed up with some apple fun to reinforce the letter Aa. We read a book about apples and the children learned that there is a star shape inside of apples. We just had to explore that fascinating idea! And, as you will see in another post, we decided to make applesauce!
Tuesday, September 08, 2015
Our First Day Was A Big Success!
Mrs. Beselaere and I are just thrilled with how our first day went. It was a full day! The pictures below show just a few highlights.
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The children listened attentively to 2 stories today. |
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Everyone completed a "First Day Of JK or SK" memory page during our 2 centre times. |
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We went for a tour of the school and learning all about walking in the hallways. |
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We went to the "Big Gym". What a big space! |
Thursday, July 02, 2015
Special Certificates For Special Students!
We wanted to wrap up this wonderful year by awarding every child with a certificate. The certificates recognized something unique and special about each child. The students sure got a kick out of walking the red carpet, shaking our hands, receiving a special chocolate medal, and having photos taken with us. Mrs. Beselaere and I loved how the children sat patiently listening to the words we said about all 28 of the students and we really enjoyed hearing them break out into huge applause 28 times! It was a fantastic way to finish our last day!
The Glow Dance Was A Blast!
Thanks so much to Gino and family for sharing your glow necklaces and to Cohen's family for sharing the glow fingers.
Rhyming Fun
The children had a knack for rhyming all year long. In June, we spent some time enjoying the classic song "Down By The Bay". The children wrote their own rhymes to finish off "Did you ever see a ...?". One of their favourite creations was "Did you ever see a teacher, kissing a creature?". We celebrated the end of the home reading program with juicy slices of watermelon. Please check out Raffi's song on YouTube and encourage your child to keep rhyming this summer!
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
Pretty Peonies
Gino wanted to bring these beauties to school last week. He told his Mom that his classmates would enjoy painting them. He was right! Not only did a lovely painting opportunity come through these flowers, we also tied in some science! Gino taught his classmates about the connection between ants and budding peonies.
Happy Graduation Grade 8 Big Buddies!
Our FDK students develop strong friendships with their Big Buddies. From early on in September we see the grade seven and eight students every week. The Tropical Chill party was our final get together. The "Little Buddies" made paper plate versions of their Buddies (including special grad hats for the Gr. 8 students!) as a special surprise gift.
All About Snakes
Recently Harrison brought in a snake skin he and his Dad found in his backyard. This generated a lot of conversation! Snakes are very fascinating and the children have learned many interesting facts about these reptiles.
Thanks Evans Family For The Tropical Chill Treats!
We were lucky enough to be treated to some refreshing shaved ice this week. Lachlan's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Evans, parked their Tropical Chill vehicle right by the FDK classrooms. Our Big Buddies also took part in the yummy fun! It was so exciting selecting and pumping different flavours and covering the "snow". Mr. Evans gave us a demonstration of how the machine works and the children were able to use the foot pump and create shaved ice. What a great way to wrap-up an amazing year with our grade 7/8 Buddies. Thanks again Mr. and Mrs. Evans!
Farm Fun Continued!
The learning and exploration with farm materials continued for quite awhile. The children really enjoyed researching different farm animals using library books and they wrote reports about them listing 3 facts.
We Had An Incredible Time At Point Pelee!
Thanks to all of our wonderful family members for joining us for our year-end field trip. It was a day filled with lots of nature, fresh air, and fun!
Sunday, June 14, 2015
Monthly Library Storytime Sessions
One of our monthly highlights for the past school year has been Donńa's visits. She always brought the most exciting stories, props, and puppets. The students enjoyed all of her finger plays and songs. Donna also treated us to a new collection of library books every month. The children always looked forward to getting a new batch of books as they were able to pick 1 for their "book boxes" for independent reading time. In addition, Donna was always willing to locate books related to topics of interest in our classroom. What a wonderful service! We are hopeful that the children will visit Donna in the Children's Room at the Library this summer.
Saturday, May 30, 2015
Learning About Symmetry Through Butterfly Activities
Farm Fun!
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Our students became very interested in exploring farming after seeing the awesome barn and tractors above in the classroom next door. Mrs. Johnston and Mrs. O'Donohue were kind enough to share these items and they are a hit! We are having a wonderful time talking about farm animals and experiencing new and classic stories and songs such as "Old MacDonald Had A Farm"! |
Dandelion Growing Update
Our Show, Party and Bonus Butterfly Release
Monday, May 18, 2015
Caterpillar Update
We had an incredible time monitoring our caterpillars last week! This post will walk you through our week!
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DAY 1 |
DAY 2
Day 2 was extremely exciting as we took the lids off and found caterpillars!
DAY 4
DAY 5
We started Day 5 (Friday) with the excitement of finding that one of our caterpillars had already formed a chrysalis. We finished the day by taping the paper liner that the chrysalis was attached to on the screen for our aquarium. Mrs. Garrow took the rest of the cups home for the weekend to keep an eye on them! Two days later a visit was made to the school so all of the cocoons could be attached to the screen. Now the waiting begins!
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