January in Review

Belonging and Contributing
This month we have been using a new framework of French Vocabulary to communicate called “Je vois” (I see) “Je pense” (I think) and “Je me demande” (I wonder).  This has allowed us to begin to communicate our observations, thoughts and wonderings in French and has allowed us to hear the ideas of others, to respect them, and to add or discuss them as we see fit.  Several students have also continued to learn through dramatic play, at the block centre, at the science centre, at the house centre and more.  

Self-Regulation and Well Being
We have been learning how to take responsibility for our learning.  Before we go to play, we often discuss what we are interested in doing and how it will help us in our learning.  For example, some students have chosen to play with the puzzles because they like solving problems, while other students chose to see how many letters they could make using paper strips that they had found in the art centre.  We often discuss that everyone is a learner and that it is our job to make sure we are learning every day so that our brains can grow!

Demonstrating Literacy and Mathematics Behaviours 
In math we have been learning how to talk about our thinking.  We have shown our teachers how to represent different quantities by finding the corresponding number of objects in the room or by drawing pictures to represent that quantity.  Several students also chose to start writing number books that included pictures, numbers and words.  Other students also showed an interest in writing books.  Some students made books full of pictures, while others included symbols or best guess spelling words to represent their ideas.  As teachers we are very excited to see such an interest in writing!

Problem Solving and Innovating
Students often show an interest in problem solving in a variety of contexts.  Whether they are building at the block centre, creating at the art centre, or writing a story at the writing centre, they are always navigating their way through problems that arise.  Students are learning that they can solve problems with the help of an adult, with a peer or on their own and we applaud their efforts in every area.  This past month, several students incorporated literacy and problem solving while creating structures.  They used a piece of paper to plan their structure, drawing a picture and writing what they were making and what materials they would need.  Then they used their problem solving skills to build their structures, using different pieces, adding and taking away as needed until their structures resembled that of their picture.  This took a lot of persistence!  

December in Review

Here are some of the things we leaned last month.  

Belonging and Contributing:  This moth provided us the opportunity to see ourselves as performers!  We practised and prepared for our winter concert and when the time finally came we were very excited.  The students really enjoyed performing on the stage and they enjoyed watching as part of the audience too.  It was a great day!  Thanks again to everyone who attended. 

Self-Regulation and Well-Being: Independence is a big part of our Kindergarten curriculum.  Since this month brought many new activities to our classroom such as decorating gingerbread cookies with Marcus’ grandmother or playing the fun games that Mlle Oliver brought in for the students to play, it was important that students demonstrate independence by choosing activities that suited their learning needs and which they enjoyed.  Independence in dressing for the cold weather continues to be a push as well.  We are getting faster every day and almost everyone in the class can do up their own coat.  Bravo!

Literacy and Mathematics Behaviours: In math we learned about surveys.  The students participate regularly in daily surveys and sign in questions but this month we began to discuss why people conduct a survey.  We also learned how to collect data for our surveys in different ways such as using tally marks, using manipulatives or signing names to reflect a vote.  Some students even developed their own surveys and asked their friends to participate. 

Problem Solving and Innovating:  Our students problem solve every day, either when creating and building structures and creations using the various materials in our room or when solving social disagreements, both big and small with their peers.  This month we also participated in Maker Day (Check out our blog post on that).  One group of students became interested in building with cubes, after seeing a Santa creation made by the grade threes.  This lead to a three day effort where they collaborated to recreate the Santa they had seen, using a picture they had taken as a blueprint.  The final result was fantastic and lead to even more creations!  Several students were inspired to make creations of their very own, using cubes as well as other materials.  It is wonderful to watch students get inspired, learn and grow!