Family Literacy Day

Family Literacy Day

Wednesday, January 28^th @ 2:00 pm

Room 148

Family Literacy Day is a national awareness initiative held annually in January to raise awareness of the importance of reading and engaging in other literacy-related activities as a family.

Taking time every day to read or do a learning activity with children is crucial to a child’s development. Even just 15 minutes a day can improve a child’s literacy skills dramatically, and can help a parent improve their skills as well.

On Wednesday, January 28 we will be celebrating Family Literacy Day. We invite parents to come in and read their favorite children's story.  We'd appreciate if the story is around 5-10 minutes long. On this day, the children are encouraged to wear their pajamas and bring a stuffed animal from home.

If you are interested in volunteering your time and sharing your favorite story please fill out and return the form that was sent home with your child last week or send a note in your child's message book. 

Thank you!

15 Minutes of Fun

ABC Life Literacy Canada is encouraging Canadian families to have "15 Minutes of Fun" learning together. Learning can happen at any time. Practicing literacy together every day has tremendous benefits for both children and parents. Here are some great ways to get started:

• Read a “wake up” story in the morning (after reading your bedtime story the night before).
• Search online for fun places to go in your community. Pick out a spot for your next family day trip.
• Make up a new recipe together and post it online.
• Tell knock-knock jokes together while doing the dishes.
• Create a story with your family: take turns writing one sentence at a time, then read the whole story aloud when you’re done.
• Write a review of a book you read together as a family. Send it to the author through email or snail mail.
• Organize a book swap at your school or with your friends.
• Track your trip to school, the park, and the grocery store on a map. Find a different route to take to each place.
• Learn to play a musical instrument. What about the ukulele?
• Write a note to include in a grown-up’s lunch – ask them to write back!
• Make a popsicle stick model with your family.
• Write your names graffiti-style using chalk on your sidewalk – you may need to shovel first!
• Play a board game together.
• Look up the words to your favourite song online. Have a sing-off with your friends!
• Count how many steps it takes to get from your bedroom to your kitchen. Find out who in your family has the most steps to a snack!

Our fish inquiry

Seeing as we got some new pets, we decided to begin a class inquiry on fish.

We began by brainstorming a list of things we know about fish and things we are wondering; what we would like to know.

Students enjoyed looking through various books about fish. They drew pictures and even did some fabulous journal writing.

Learning about and labeling the parts of a fish. 

Self-regulation and the full day kindergarten program

A major component of the full day kindergarten program is teaching children to self-regulate. Self-regulation is the ability to control one's impulses; to stay calm and focused during any situation. Studies have shown that the better a child can self-regulate, the better he/she can master complex skills and concepts and develop academic readiness.

In the first few months of school, we spent a lot of time talking about the importance of feelings. We read The Feelings Book written by Todd Parr. We discussed how it is ok to have different feelings; if we are sad or upset it is important to talk to someone about those feelings. We conducted some "feelings circles" as a class. At the end of the day, students had the opportunity to share how they were feeling and why.

 

 

 

We have also been discussing strategies we could use to help ourselves feel better if we are sad or upset such as talk to a teacher, talk to a friend, read a quiet book, practice various breathing techniques, visit a safe place, etc..

 

We have a "safe place" in our classroom. It is a spot in our room where students can go to sit quietly to rest if they are feeling anxious, tired, sad, upset, etc. Please refer to the conscious discipline program for more information. 

Our new classroom pets

This week we were so excited to welcome three new fish and one new snail to our classroom! We are in the process of naming our new pets, stay tuned!

We had many questions and look forward to learning more about fish, snails, their habitats, what they eat, etc.

The votes are in. After a long list, we named our fish: sparkles, Mr. Peabody and Sherman. We named our snail marshmallow.  We have enjoyed observing our new pets and taking turns feeding them. We even got to help Mrs. K clean the tank! 

Math word problems

This week we were given some math addition word problems to solve. We discussed how to solve these problems and showed our thinking using pictures and numbers.

Snowflake counting

We practiced our counting and number recognition using the Smart Board this week.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, a Happy New Year and a restful holiday filled with family and friends.

We are looking forward to returning to school and starting off a brand new year full of laughter, learning and growth.

Please send all washed blankets and stuffies back to school with your child for quiet time.