Squishy Beads

These beads are a fan favourite right now!

 

The children enjoy running their fingers through the beads, scooping them into bowls, and squishing them in half! If you are looking for indoor play activities this is one that might be worth a try--beware though, they tend to escape and bounce around a bit from the "contained" area! I've seen Orbeeze at WalMart, and I have also found a selection of beads at Michael's in the flower arrangement area.

Interactive Poem

Check out this cool poem that Ms. Sarah (another Stonecrest teacher) has happily let us borrow!

This poem is so fantastic because it is interactive! With just a little velcro behind some five frames we were able to move them on and off the poem over and over again. This activity is great because the poem is easily remembered, the students only have a few words per line to touch/tap as they read, and it shows what a numerals quantity is when represented as a picture. Love it!
Thanks again Ms. Sarah!

B-I-N-G-O!

Alphabet Bingo has been an absolute favourite! Originally we were playing the game based on letter recognition for those needing practice, and quick retrieval for those who have mastered their letters. As we continue to play on, the game has become progressively harder as the children grow in confidence. For instance, one day I would say the letter sound without showing the actual letter. The children would name the letter that makes that sound and I would show them the letter card to see if they were on track. On another day I would say a word like "tickle" and they would have to identify the letter sound at the beginning of the word and then check to see if the "Tt" was on their BINGO card.

A really easy game to play, but with little twists it can still be challenging!

Snowmen

Hard to make snowmen right now with this weather! We brought the activity indoors as the children painted their own snowmen, decorated it with buttons, and then counted and printed the number. Love the little emergent reading page that we attached--just a few little sight words to touch as they read!

Happy Little Snow Family

 



Mmmmm....Hot Chocolate!

On these cold chilly days there is nothing better than a nice cup of hot chocolate! Ooops, one thing is better - hot chocolate with marshmallows! Below is an example of what was expected at the station; first roll the die, identify what number of dots there are, and then place the proper number of "marshmallows" in the cup.

 

Fun right? But wait, it doesn't stop there! Students then showed their roll by printing the numeral, drawing a picture of the correct number of marshmallows, and then represented the number using tally marks.

 

 

P.S.    Now that we work through stations each week, I find it much harder to take pictures of the students at work. Sorry :o(





New Buddies

Same great class but a new fabulous buddy to spend time with, learn from, and listen to when they are in visiting. As an ice-breaker the younger and older student sat together and created a Venn Diagram to indicate letters that they both shared in their name. A fantastic learning opportunity! Look at these child created Venn Diagrams:

 

 

 

 



 



 

Winter Blahs

Nothing gets in the way of our learning....not even the winter blahs!

The children explored measuring winter items with cubes. Not only did we measure but we recorded our information onto chart paper for all to see. Printing numbers can be frustrating. Try this link http://www.hubbardscupboard.org/Number_Poems.PDF or this version http://www.simplykinder.com/2012/07/number-poems-snap-cube-freebie.html and use the poems to help your child remember the process when trying to get numbers down on paper.

 

Supporting this learning from home could include measuring items (like a toothbrush or book) with marshmallows or pennies and then counting in an organized fashion so that each marshmallow or penny is touched and counted only once. Try printing the number together on fun teeny-tiny pieces of paper or bringing some snow in on a cookie sheet and practice printing the number with a stick.

Valentine's Day

Next week we will enjoy some extra special snacks for Valentine's Day. The following families have ever so kindly offered to provide snacks for Thursday February 14th:

Cupcakes- Grace's Family

Cookies- Leif's Family

Veggies & Dip- Samuel's Family

Juice & Cups- Jeremy's Family

 

 

 

If your child is interested in bringing Valentine's in for his/her friends we will happily distribute them on Thursday. I will send a class list home so that nobody is forgotten! It may be less stressful (and great practice) to just have your child independently write his/her name and not address the Valentine to anyone specific (i.e. To: _____  From: Ms. Kirby). 

 

Thanks!