Ordering

This activity was about more than just making a pretty tree. It was all about ordering.

We had been discussing sizes and the terms that describe sizes: big, little,medium, larger, smaller, big, bigger, biggest, etc) . We talked about Goldilocks and the Three Bears. One bowl was big, one was medium sized, and one was tiny. We even acted it out!

Then I gave each student a sheet of blue construction paper with a star near the top. They were to place the 6 green strips under the star, starting with the smallest one, then continuing down. When they were finished, I asked them to check their work, and I asked each child if the smallest one was at the top (under the star) and the biggest one was at the bottom. If they said yes, then I handed them the glue bottle. When they were finished gluing, I gave them squares to be the tree trunk -- and then we emptied the hole punch and glued on some little circles to make the snow (we made dots of glue using a toothpick). This activity showed me who needs a little more help with ordering -- while we all had fun! My favourite part about this math activity was that even if the ordering was a bit off, the trees still looked great, and it gave the kids the confidence they need to just "have a go".

A big part of kindergarten is about taking risks and making mistakes, and knowing that it's okay to make mistakes. Doing it yourself is way more important than having it done "perfectly". "Perfect" in kindergarten looks far different than "perfect" in grade 2! That's why many students go home with shirts on inside out and backwards on pool day! (I don't think that I ever use the word perfect in class -- I say "doing your best")

The Zippity Do Da Club

Each student will be part of the Zippity Do Da club when they are able to put on and zip up their own coat. Almost everyone in the class could do it at the beginning of the winter break -- we're hoping for full class participation in January!

Our order for putting on our winter gear:
1. Snow Pants
2. Boots
3. Coat
4. Hat
5. Scarf
6. Backpack
7. Mittens
We always put our mittens on last so we can zip up our own zippers (and put on our backpacks at home time) -- I realize that at home you might want to put on mitten's first, but it is extremely difficult for Ms. Brown to help individual students when 19 other children are getting all hot and sweaty and impatient!

It appears that January will be COLD! Please send your child with full outdoor gear each day as we try to go outside for at least 15 minutes daily unless the TDSB tells us that it is too cold to play outside (i.e. if the wind chill is -20 to -28 C)

Welcome to 2010!

Please excuse the recent sparse postings. There have been some "technical difficulties" with the blog lately. I have recently dedicated a camera to the classroom (to be left at school). Problems arise when I am at home and the camera is at school. January will begin with many postings about our December activities!

Candy wrappers are Environmental Print

We made "candy books" with our wrappers after we counted and sorted them. Each student picked their favourite candy and then had to draw what came inside the wrapper. The write Their name and what they like! (I scribed for many of the Juniors). We love our books -- they are the first books that are taken off the shelf each day.

Environmental Print

Definition: Environmental Print is the print of everyday life: The symbols, signs, numbers, and colors found in McDonald's, Wal-Mart, Exxon, Pizza Hut, 7-Up, and on websites, for instance. They offer excellent entry points for young children to begin to learn to read, write, and do math.

Resources for environmental print are: Books, billboards, calendars, catalogs, comics, containers, coupons, flyers, greeting cards, grocery stores, journals, labels, magazines, menus, newspapers, office supply packaging, posters, recipes, road signs, snack bags, telephone books, and websites.

The reasons to use environmental print: It is everywhere and, because it is, it is a natural starting point to teach young children to read, write, and do math. Children have a concrete connection to everyday print. They "read" it within the context of their everyday experiences--their interests and backgrounds. It bridges the gap between the functional print of school and the print outside. It doesn't cost a lot of money to use.

(this information was from sharonmacdonald.com)

Candy Math

First we sorted. Then we talked about more and less. "Do you think that there are more salty snacks or chocolate snacks?" Then we estimated which group had the most. Then we counted each group. Chocolate won in both the morning and the afternoon! Sorting, understanding quantity and estimating are important math skills -- who knew that candy was so important?(Using the candy wrappers was a big hit, and really motivated the students too)(don't forget that you can click on any picture to look at it larger)

I'm wondering if the trick or treaters got mostly chocolate, or were our findings a bit skewed because they ate the chocolate first, so those were the wrappings that they brought in? Are there lots of those molasses taffy candies left at home still?
(we did another activity with the candy wrappers -- it will be on the blog later in the week)

Looking for something to do this weekend?

I'm passing along some information from the owner of Little Footprints -- who happens to have a child in our morning class...... and I am a big proponent of shopping locally and supporting stores that I have a connection to!

"The Children's Trunk Show is a shopping event featuring high-quality fashion, jewellery and art made by moms and geared exclusively towards kids and families. 50+ vendors are hand-selected to ensure a wide variety of goods—so you're sure to find unique and useful gifts for all the children in your life in one place. We're kid-friendly!"

Hours:

Friday November 6 9:30am-4:30pm

Saturday November 7 from 10 am -3pm

The Distillery
In the Fermenting Cellar
Buildings 6 & 7
55 Mill Street, Toronto
http://www.thedistillerydistrict.com/
http://www.fermentingcellar.ca/
Lots of parking available.

For more information click here

Our favourite (and local) planet-friendly kid's store, Little Footprints, will be there with a selection of their best Eco-Friendly toys and games for kids of all ages along with over 50 other wonderful businesses offering wonderful clothes, art and gear for kids and their families and some fabulous free indulgences too! Little Footprints will be bringing their Top 10 Eco Toys for The Season so come and get a head start of your gift list this year!

Tribes

Our school is on the Tribes path. You can read more about Tribes here: www.tribes.com/
We follow the 4 Tribes agreements in our class (and in the school)
1) Mutual Respect2) Attentive Listening3) The right to participate, and the right to "pass"
4) Appreciations only -- no put downs
We are learning how we can respect ourselves; each other; our own belongings; other people's belongings; our school; our outside environment, etc.

We have read the book The Golden Rule by Ilene Cooper
It is likely that the most basic everyday guideline for human behavior is to treat people as you would want to be treated if you were in the other's position. In the United States, this guideline has been known as the "Golden Rule" since the 1800s.

Many human troubles, conflicts and tragedies involve situations in which people could have acted according to the Golden Rule but, to their sorrow, they did not. Cultural examples of this in American history include the treatment of African-Americans, Native Americans, other minority groups, laborers and women. Most people can think of personal situations that would have been less stressful if the Golden Rule had been used. (from The Scarboro Missions website)