We had a great time at High Park today! We made it back and forth safely. Our students followed instructions very quickly when getting on and off transit, and had their backs against the wall in a snap! They listened and participated very nicely at the Nature Centre, and were extremely good sports when it came to all the walking. It was a long day, but we had the most BEAUTIFUL weather, and did tons of fun stuff. Honestly, I'm not sure how it could have been better (short of the playground washrooms being open!!). Please join me in thanking the many many brave parents who volunteered to come on an outdoor field trip in the middle of winter. I can't thank you enough - you made my job today so easy, and you made our trip possible.
Below, I have posted many pictures from today, and a few words about what we did. Please ask your explorers about what they did and what their favourite part of the day was! But first... a couple other things...
I'd like to invite you one final time to the presentation about the new kindergarten curriculum. Wednesday, 6:30, library. Hope to see you there.
Another change to the calendar, I have no idea what became of our January Scholastic catalogues. They usually arrive before the start of the month, so I felt pretty safe putting it on the calendar... Anyway, it's no big deal, but obviously orders are not due Thursday. I have the February catalogues now, so I will send those home soon.
On Monday, I sent home a note about our next walk to the public library. It will be Monday the 29th in the PM. Please let me know if you can volunteer.
Exciting news! Tomorrow, Wednesday, each student will be bringing home their first borrow-a-book. A pink note is on the way, along with the book and reading log. The note explains everything from how to use the reading log to sign books out, to what you can do with your child to support his/her reading. This is an activity that we need your help with. We truly are counting on you to make borrow-a-book worthwhile and successful.
At first, you will be doing most of the reading, but I've given you some ideas of what the kids can do to start working with letters and words in French. Even if you don't feel able to read to your child in French, there are still plenty of ways you can work on the book with them. They have practiced working on a book with me, so they have a good idea of what is expected. It took us 5-10 minutes with our first book, to do the very basic read-through and discussion.
Here is a copy of the letter coming home:
How it works
Your child
now has a small reading log in their pochette. Each day, we will help students
select a book and sign it out by stamping the date and writing the title in
their log. We are beginning with the simplest books we have. They usually have
a pattern to them, making them easier for beginning readers to participate in
reading. Your child is responsible for returning their book the next day
(Friday books are returned on Monday).
Once you’ve
worked on a book at home (see suggestions
for reading), there are two additional tasks to do in the reading log.
First, help your child write down one new word that they learned, or would like
to learn, from the book. Second, have your child count the vowels in the text
(individually by letter) and note the number.
We hope
that this is a pleasant experience for both you and your child. It need only be
5-10 minutes per day, and there are plenty of ways to work on French reading
with your child, even if you don’t feel comfortable reading in French yourself (see
ideas below). The important thing is to be
consistent. Do it every day and, if possible, at the same time each day.
Work it into your routine, just like brushing your teeth. At this age, working
on reading for 5 minutes each day is much more valuable than working on reading
for a long stretch on the weekend.
Please help your child keep track of their
reading log and books. Everything should stay in their pochette when not in
use.
Suggestions for reading
Before
|
During
|
After
|
« Start by looking at the pictures
to make sense of what’s happening. Ask your child to predict what the book is
about. This will contribute greatly to your child’s understanding of the
text, and that’s very important since the words themselves may be new.
« Refer to the blog to review the
sounds we have learned and search for them (e.g., Can you find the letter
‘A’?), or other familiar words (such as the words of the week), in the text.
|
« You read
the first page as you point to each word. Then have your child repeat it and
continue, as you point. Help them notice the word pattern!
« Look at the pictures to help guess
a word that we do not recognize.
« Encourage your child to sound out
some simple words made up of sounds that they know (e.g., What do you think
the word “ma” sounds like?).
« Record (or video) your child
reading it, and then let him/her listen to the recording over and over!
« Read the book to your child and let them correct you (they love this!)
« Make it fun by having your child
read to their teddy in bed, or over the phone to grandma.
|
« After reading, ask questions like What patterns can you see in this book?,
What do you like/not like about the
book?, Does this remind you of
anything you did?, Does it make you
think of anything/another book?
« Make sure your child has
understood what the book was about – this is just as important as being able
to say the words correctly!
|
OK, here are the pictures from today!
At the start of our workshop, we met Houdini, the turtle. As us how old he is and why he lives at the Nature Centre instead of in the wild. We looked at a map of High Park and learned that it is as big as 400 soccer fields! Ask your student what animals live in High Park.
We learned the recipe for a pine cone bird feeder (lard + sunflower seeds)
We listened to a story about chickadees.
We hung our bird feeders outside.
We played a game pretending to be chickadees and doing the different things that they do to stay warm in the winter. Ask your chickadee what some of their strategies are!
We went on a hike with our Nature Guides and learned SO much. This tree died because insects were eating it. We could see the little paths they made in the bark.
We learned about other birds that can live in the park through the winter, for example cardinals and robins. We learned many different bird calls, and clearly heard a nuthatch chirping. Ask your birdwatcher about the different calls chickadees have ("chickadee dee dee", "cheeseburger"). My group saw a woodpecker at the end of our hike, but I didn't get a picture...
This cardinal makes a sound like a car alarm!
We hid some extra seeds in the bark of this tree.
After lunch, we walked down to the zoo.
Here we are looking like the buffalo (who were HUGE)!
One group found a duck hanging out on the river ice.
Next we walked over to the castle playground. Nobody could get the sword out of the stone.
Exhausted! We will sleep well tonight!
