Friday, October, 5 2012

            Another exciting week in the Pre-K class has passed.  Last Friday we had a great time making our apple prints and taste testing different kinds of apples.  This week was awareness week and we did many activities surrounding the issues of bullying.  Over the past few weeks we have been working with our grade 3 buddies to complete anti-bullying posters.  They are now on display in the library and next week will be downstairs on the bulletin board.  Please go take a look when you have the chance.  Today during the awareness week assembly we sang two songs about bullying.  I was so proud that the Pre-K’s were able to stand up in front of the entire school and sing!!!!!!

Thank you to everyone that dressed your child in blue last Wednesday.  Please remember to read the weekly newsletter from the school and check this blog often. 

The Pre-K family has grown and Caroline has a new baby brother, Memphis.  We are all excited by this news and cannot wait to see the newest member of the Wu’s family.

Next week we will continue investigating apples and in math we are now learning about sorting and classifying.  Below is this week reading tips.  Have a great weekend!

Reading Tips

How can I help my child?

As a parent, you are your child's first and most important teacher. When you help your child learn to read, you are opening the door to a world of books and learning.

Reading aloud to children is the best way to get them interested in reading. Before long they will grow to love stories and books. Eventually they will want to read on their own.

With the help of parents, children can learn how to read and can practice reading until they can read for their own enjoyment. Then they will have a whole world of information and knowledge at their fingertips!

Reading can be a family activity. Spending time with word games, stories, and books will help your child to:

·                       gather information and learn about the world

·                       learn how stories and books work – that they have beginnings, endings, characters,     and themes

·                       build a rich vocabulary by reading and talking about new words

·                       learn how to listen and how to think

·                       learn the sounds of language and language patterns

·                       fall in love with books

It's natural to want to compare your child's reading abilities with those of other children of the same age, but not all children develop reading skills at the same pace. What's important is that you are aware of your child's reading level so that you can choose books and activities that will help him or her improve.

What we did in our centres this week

Literacy Centres

1.      Computer bullying stories and songs

2.      ABC puzzles

3.      Making apple family trees

4.      Phonics book letter “E”

5.      Finishing All about me books

Math Centres

1.      Pasta sorting and classifying

2.      White board dice game

3.      Cards one to one correspondence game

4.      Sand table

Word of the week:  I

Student of the week

            The student of the week is Alyssa Smith.  She has been a great example during awareness week.  I have seen her use strategies to resolve conflict (paper, scissor, stone) and will help other students if they are in need of help.  Ms. Vicky and I are very proud of you!!!

Reminders and Notices

1.      Mini books that get sent home need to be brought back to school

2.      Remember to bring back library books by Tuesday

3.      October 8^th Canadian Thanksgiving

4.      October 10^th Double Ten Holiday (no school)

5.      October 26^th Monthly assembly

6.      October 31^st Fancy dress day (Halloween)

7.      November 1-2 Mid-semester break

8.      November 6-7 Parent teacher meeting

9.      November 14 Fun day

10. November 22  American Thanksgiving lunch at school

As always, if you have any questions or concern you can always write me an email at bsharp.his@gmail.com or come by and speak to me in person.

Cheers

Vicky and Braedon

We shouldn't teach great books; we should teach a love of reading. 
B. F. Skinner 

Just a friendly reminder to dress your son or daughter in blue tomorrow for awareness week.

Cheers
Braedon

Apple Prints and Painting Self Portraits

Friday, September, 28 2012

            Wow!  October is already here.  I am very pleased with how far the Pre-K’s have come in a very short time.  The students are already surprising me with how much they can do now. Our centres are working very well and every student is trying so hard!

 Every Friday we do “Writers Workshop” which is weekly writing activity about what we did that week.  It is posted on the wall in the classroom and you are more than welcome to come in and see what your child is writing about.  The students love showing their friends/family what they can do in class.

Every October I offer a homework pack for the month.  It involves various short activities (10 minute maximum) that shadow what is covered inside the classroom.  It goes out on Monday and can be returned so I can take a look at it on Friday.  If you would like your son or daughter to participate then could you please come and talk to me or write me an email so I will know how many I need to make.  There is also a letter explaining how it works.  If you are confused or need some clarification come by and we can discuss it.  As I mentioned it is voluntary and I will never grade it.  I will look at it and then write some tips or suggestions to help the student.

Since library books and the letter books are going home on a consistent basis I have decided to give some tips on how you can help your son or daughter with learning to read.

 How will my child learn to read?

Learning to read does not happen all at once. It involves a series of stages that lead, over time, to independent reading and to fluency.  The best time for children to start learning to read is when they are very young, usually at the preschool level. This is when they are best able to start developing basic reading skills.

1.  The pre-reader and the beginning reader:

·                       likes to look at books and likes to be read to

·                       likes to behave like a reader – for example, holds books and pretends to read them 

·                       learns about words by looking at picture books and playing with blocks that have letters on them, magnetic letters, and so on

·                       learns about words from songs, rhymes, traffic signs, and logos on packages of food

·                       learns how text works – for example, where a story starts and finishes and which way the print proceeds

·                       begins to understand that his or her own thoughts can be put into print

·                       uses pictures and memory to tell and retell a story

What we did in our centres this week.

Literacy Centres

1.      Silent reading.

2.      Computer story “Big or Little” and “Clevor Trevor”

3.      Name puzzles

4.      Making names using plastic letters.

5.      Phonics book letter “D”

6.      All about me books

Math Centres

1.      Math one to one correspondence books.

2.      Computer counting fish game.

3.      Tracing and painting our bodies.

4.      Sand table.

Word of the week:  can

Student of the week

            The student of the week is Isabel.  She always raising her hand to answer questions and is a strong leader in the Pre-K class.  Ms. Vicky and I are very proud of you, keep up the great effort!!!

Reminders and Notices

1.      Mini books that get sent home need to be brought back to school

2.      Remember to bring back library books by Tuesday

3.      September 30^th mid-autumn festival

4.      October 1-5^th Awareness week

5.      October 8^th Canadian Thanksgiving

6.      October 10^th Double Ten Holiday

7.      October 26^th Monthly assembly

8.      October 31^st Fancy dress day (Halloween)

As always, if you have any questions or concern you can always write me an email at bsharp.his@gmail.com or come by and speak to me in person.

Cheers

Vicky and Braedon

You teach best what you most need to learn. 
Richard Bach 

A Chinese Article About Sleep and Students Performance at School

http://tw.myblog.yahoo.com/delightdetox/article?mid=18600

Friday, September, 21 2012

Last Friday I sent home some play dough that we made in class and I hope everyone had a chance to play with it.  It was a lot of fun to make and the students got learn about ingredients and how to follow a recipe.  If you have an opportunity this weekend could you please ask your child to spell their name with it?  We have done this many times at school and any time spent at home reinforcing what I do in the classroom will significantly benefit your child.  If you want to extend it even farther ask your child to spell the names of other students in the class.

 Over the past week I have begun my first assessments of the students.  My first assessment is a basic understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of each student.  This then allows to me see what we need to focus on in the coming months. 

Ms Vicky and I have noticed that many students are tired at school.  Like I mentioned at the curriculum night, all students need adequate sleep if they want to perform well at school.  Most experts state students between the ages of 4 and 5 need between 11-13 hours of sleep per night.  Below I have some links to some interesting articles about sleep and the relationship to performance at school. 

http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Childrenssleep/Pages/howmuchsleep.aspx

http://www.sleepforkids.org/html/sheet.html

http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2010-08-12-kidsleep12_ST_N.htm

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/11/051111103748.htm

Next week I will be starting “Treasure Bag,” this is my version of show and tell.  Every night a child will get an opportunity to take home the bag and put something in it.  You and your child can choose anything they want to put in it.  More instructions will be in the bag and this is the chance for the students to bring in a toy from home.  Could you please refrain from sending toys to school at other times because I would hate to see them get broken or lost.

What we did in our centres this week.

Literacy Centres

1.      Silent reading.

2.      Computer story “Big or Little”

3.      Colouring “Bb” book and guided reading.

4.      Making names using plastic letters.

5.      Phonics book letter “C”

Math Centres

1.      Math one to one correspondence books.

2.      Computer counting fish game.

3.      Counting letters in names.

4.      Sand table.

5.      Dice game with sand boards.

Word of the week:  is, a

Student of the week

            The student of the week is Irene.  She is always very polite and kind to others and will go out of her way to help others.  She will also raise her hand to be heard and refrain from shouting out her thoughts.  Keep up the great work Irene!!!!

Reminders and Notices

1.      Mini books that get sent home need to be brought back to school.

2.      Remember to bring back library books by Tuesday.

3.      Remember to send in two pictures of your son or daughter.

4.      September 28^th monthly assembly.

5.      September 30^th mid-autumn festival

6.      October 1-5^th Awareness week.

7.      October 8^th Canadian Thanksgiving.

8.      October 10^th Double Ten Holiday

As always, if you have any questions or concern you can always write me an email at bsharp.his@gmail.com or come by and speak to me in person.

Cheers

Vicky and Braedon

In seed time learn, in harvest teach, in winter enjoy. 
William Blake

Play dough fun, write the room and buddies