February is a short month but there is a lot going on so make sure you're paying attention to all of our signs and notices at pick up and drop off.
SAMOSA FUNDRAISER: Start Feb 6 - End Feb 26
And please let your friends and family members know that we are doing a Samosa Fundraiser. That way we will get more support and they will get yummy, yummy food!
REGISTRATION - SEPTEMBER 2023
Important Dates & School Closures
Please check out all the great things that happened in our classrooms in January... It's in our blog with pictures too!!
RAINBOW ROOM - Danielle, Susan, Vibha
With the weather being cold and grey we like to focus on the theme of winter. Luckily
TREEHOUSE ROOM - Carol, Gabi, Karen, Rose, Kamal
We all dread a dark, grey, cold, seemingly
uneventful January after all the holidays', happy, loud, colourful excitement in
December. In our world, I mean working
with young children, life goes on just as colourful (more glitter in your
carpets) just as loud, (maybe a little louder), when the children return after
the holidays. It is quite magical to see their growth - I don’t mean the
shorter pants or harder to zip up coats - but the way they interact with their
peers and with us, the confident stride in their steps as they head straight to
the right cubbies to start a day, by very independently changing footwear,
hanging up their coats and placing food containers and water bottles on the
shelves.
Their questions are more complex, never ending, and very clever. It’s hard to follow their game rules as they try to manipulate them to their own advantage, but thankfully they think of their closest friends' place in those games more often too. It’s heart warming and fun to watch them walking holding hands, attempting to save spots for their friends in line ups or on benches or speaking up for the ones who haven’t found their voices yet.
Their imaginations are amazing! A few days ago
we were watching the whole class playing with one box of colourful links. The
children found numerous ways to share them and some very creative ideas were
bouncing back and fourth. They started off by measuring, comparing sizes of
objects (future engineers), they created some impressive jewelry (future
designers), used them as collars for their ‘pet friends’, (future vets),
capturing their lured-in peers with them by connecting multiple chairs (politicians?), using them as ‘money’ to buy ‘better’ toys….
Besides their remarkably impressive communication and self- help skills, our Fours are working on Kindergarten Readiness. Our art projects have a few more steps requiring extra time spent focusing, completing tasks. We will also be spending more time working on numbers, letters, shapes and colour recognition, cutting, folding paper, puzzles. The children are all able to find their own names and they follow directions well (and they are more than happy to tell others what to do who don’t follow the rules ) .
In the past month we played with cardboard box
snowmen and cars that the class painted, we created some ‘cool’ snowy artwork,
learned about winter weather and activities.
We celebrated the Lunar New Year with music,
movement, dancing, rhymes and stories focused on the celebration.
We are very excited to start “Show and Share”.
It will be a great opportunity for the children to showcase some family
treasures ( photos, toys, artwork, books etc. ) and to prepare them for public
speaking. Thank you for sharing our enthusiasm,
the sign up sheet was filled the first day!
SUNFLOWER ROOM - Carol, Danielle, Rose
Gong Hey Fat Choy! What a wonderful year of
learning we have to look forward to and we have already started the new year
with a bang!
We began the new year learning about different Canadian Animals. We started with Polar Bears and Owls. We read ‘Owl Babies’ & ‘Polly the Polar Bear’. We listened to the felt rhymes 5 Owls & 5 Polar Bears. We played the action game ‘Animals in the Forrest’.
We
used pinecones, glue, and feathers to make our own owls. We also talked about
Moose & Wolves. We sang the action rhyme ‘You’re a Wolf & You Know it’
& ‘Wolfy Goofy’. We read ‘Duck, Duck Moose & ‘If you give a Moose a
Muffin’. We played the games ‘What’s the Time Mr. Wolf’ & ‘Duck, Duck,
Moose’. For art we painted with forks to make a polar bears face and decorate
the wolf’s body. We turned our home
corner into a veterinarians office for Canadian Wildlife.
We moved our theme of Canadian Animals into Healthy Eating = Healthy Bodies. We started with learning about our bodies and what they are made of. We read “Skeleton Hiccups", "The Bones you Own" & "Cold Crunch Colorful”. We played the action songs ‘Dem bones & Shake it’. For art we used cotton buds to make a skeleton and pink tissue paper to decorate lungs. We made a collage of our own bodies and used healthy bodies to decorate it.
In preparation for a trip to the grocery shop we painted with vehicles that
transport food and a plate of ‘healthy food’. We had a awesome tour of
Thrifty’s, they were so helpful, kind and generous. We also had time to buy the
ingredients for our healthy soup, which we made when we learned about Chefs. We
also explored healthy foods in the home corner by cooking with lots of yummy
fruits and vegetables.
In learning about Healthy Bodies, we explored the people who help us to stay healthy and safe. We started with Chefs. We talked about what Chefs do and who works with them. We read ‘Winter Soup’ and sang Pat-a-cake, Pat-a-cake & The Baker’s Shop. We cut up all our veggies to make our soup. It was yummy but not popular with many.
Next, we moved on to talking about Dentists and what they do. We talked about how we keep our teeth healthy. We read ‘Going to the Dentist’ and sang ‘5 Little Toothbrushes’ and ‘Going to the Dentist’. We played music instruments while we sang ‘We Brush, Brush, Brush our Teeth.’ On the science table we had ‘teeth’ and dental tools. We went on to talk about doctors. We read “Doctor” & “Checkups”. We sang ‘Miss Polly had a Dolly’ & ‘5 Monkey’s Jumping on the Bed’. The home corner was transformed into a hospital, and we had many doctors and patients. It was a very busy place.
We continued with our discussion on how there are a lot of people who keep us healthy, happy and safe. So, we had a very special visit from a member of the Police Department; one of our parents: Officer Rob. The children got to see the police car, see the flashing lights and hear the siren. We talked about how the Police are here to help us and keep us safe. We read the books “Police Officers & ‘Think Big, Little One”.
In the gym, we played
What’s the Time Police Officer? We also talked about Firefighters and how they
help us as well. We read “Pete the Cat
Firefighter” and had a safety recap of our fire procedures. We practiced ‘Stop,
Drop & Roll’ and crawled low under smoke. For art we made a firefighter
collage – following many instructions.
At the end of January, we explored the Lunar New Year! The Year of the Rabbit. Teacher Rose explained the traditions and shared a story about Chinese New Year and the 12 Chinese zodiac signs. She presented each of us with a red envelope called ‘Lai Si’. We read the books “Dragon Dance, Lion Dance", "Goldy Luck & The 3 Pandas" & "D is for Dragon". We listened to the felt rhyme ‘5 Red & Gold Dragons’.
We also welcomed some new friends into our
classroom for us to play and learn with: Alex, Arisha & Lachlan!
For February we will talk about Valentine’s
Day and Construction
RESOURCE ROOM - Marion
SOME DEVELOPMENTAL MILESTONES TO BE AWARE OF IN THE 3S:
Good vision is important for children's learning and development. All children should see an optometrist before kindergarten. B.C. Medical Service Plan covers vision check-ups once a year for children under the age of 19, however some clinics have charges associated with children's eye exams. It is a good idea to call eye clinics before scheduling an appointment to ask about costs and other services.
