Friday, 3 February 2012
Volunteers
I'm not sure whether it's my old age kicking in, or a quarter-life crisis, or the fact that I don't have planning time on Monday, Wednesday or Friday (when things are actually the busiest)... but this past week has been a very challenging one for me school-wise. I'm beginning to wake up to the fact that I could really use some regular parent volunteers in the classroom - especially during transitional times like before the kids head out for recess and at the end of the day as they are preparing to go home. :-S I am going to try to re-organize things and to get the students all into some better routines. If anyone has any good advice, strategies that they have noticed working well at home or daycare, please share them if you can. If you would like to come into the classroom and volunteer, you are by all means welcome to do so!!!! <3
Thursday, 19 January 2012
Some Interesting Readings
I'd like to share with you some interesting reading that I have been doing over the past week, just in case you - like me - would like to increase your knowledge of what it means to be a Kindergarten learner.
1. "A pedagogy of control: Worksheets and the special need child"
Mellinee Lesley; Labbo, Linda D. Language Arts
80. 6 (Jul 2003): 444. This article focuses on the importance of providing children with 'authentic' literacy experiences, and not simply making them sit and complete worksheets. Research presented in the paper shows that forcing young children to do worksheets can actually limit their potential for early literacy skill acquisition. Some 'authentic' literacy experiences that you can take part in with your child include: writing a letter together to a family member or friend, writing a list of things that you need from the grocery store (or, more exciting - a list of things that s/he would like to do to celebrate a special day), writing in a journal (please note that for best results they should be allowed to express themselves in the stage of writing that they are currently in - perfect letter formation shouldn't be a primary concern).
2. A rather thought-provoking sites to visit: www.oklahomahomeschool.com/3Rs.html - while this site shows a clear bias and I am in no way advocating for 'home-schooling,' I did find the discussion of "early versus late" starters in reading to be of interest. I agree with the fact that children often encounter pressure to perform in literacy very early in their lives. It is so essential that they do hands-on things as well!
3. "Early Years" http://www.changelearning.ca/~cl/get-informed/understanding-human-learning/born-learn/early-years? This is quite a shocking read - it really gets you thinking about just how important Early Childhood Education truly is... and how it is vital for parents to take an interest in their child's education and life in general: "Research on the predictors of success at 18, for instance, show the single most significant factor to be the quantity and quality of dialogue in the child’s home before the age of five" (3). This article also provides a great deal of information about child development and play, and the unfortunately low levels of government funding that are granted to most programs.
1. "A pedagogy of control: Worksheets and the special need child"
Mellinee Lesley; Labbo, Linda D. Language Arts
80. 6 (Jul 2003): 444. This article focuses on the importance of providing children with 'authentic' literacy experiences, and not simply making them sit and complete worksheets. Research presented in the paper shows that forcing young children to do worksheets can actually limit their potential for early literacy skill acquisition. Some 'authentic' literacy experiences that you can take part in with your child include: writing a letter together to a family member or friend, writing a list of things that you need from the grocery store (or, more exciting - a list of things that s/he would like to do to celebrate a special day), writing in a journal (please note that for best results they should be allowed to express themselves in the stage of writing that they are currently in - perfect letter formation shouldn't be a primary concern).2. A rather thought-provoking sites to visit: www.oklahomahomeschool.com/3Rs.html - while this site shows a clear bias and I am in no way advocating for 'home-schooling,' I did find the discussion of "early versus late" starters in reading to be of interest. I agree with the fact that children often encounter pressure to perform in literacy very early in their lives. It is so essential that they do hands-on things as well!
3. "Early Years" http://www.changelearning.ca/~cl/get-informed/understanding-human-learning/born-learn/early-years? This is quite a shocking read - it really gets you thinking about just how important Early Childhood Education truly is... and how it is vital for parents to take an interest in their child's education and life in general: "Research on the predictors of success at 18, for instance, show the single most significant factor to be the quantity and quality of dialogue in the child’s home before the age of five" (3). This article also provides a great deal of information about child development and play, and the unfortunately low levels of government funding that are granted to most programs.
Sunday, 15 January 2012
New Year's Resolution #5: Keep up with this Blog!!!! :)
Happy New Year! :) It's so hard to believe that 2012 is upon us already. The past few months have flown by, and I have been feeling sad about neglecting this Blog. For this reason, I have added it to my list of New Year's Resolutions! [Some others include taking the Additional Qualification Course 'Kindergarten, Part 1' through Western - it starts tomorrow and I'm actually excited :) - and being more mindful of where things are in the classroom, and where they should go... so far, I've only got the craft closet sorted out, but at least it's a start!]
I'm happy to report that Monday was a relatively smooth transition back into the regular school routine. We began the day with a variety of centres relating to snow and winter. These included mittens with different numbers des flocons de neige on them (the students were invited to count the number of les flocons de neige on each mitten in French, and to match it up with the corresponding printed number); a little experiment with ice (I froze some plastic animals into plastic glasses, and the kids were encouraged to think of different ways to 'melt' la glace - by holding onto it, or by pouring warm water over it); practicing les mots de l'hiver by tracing them into Epsom salts with their fingers; painting 'la neige' (we used white paint, white crayons and bubble wrap... and it turned out to be quite a messy art activity! Oops!). During Language, I introduced the concept of rhyme, and the students seemed to enjoy the game we played - they were given a picture card and asked to 'find their rhyme partner,' by walking around the circle and asking their fellow students if they had a card whose picture rhymed with the one that was on their card. I then read the story "Jillian Jigs and the Great Big Snow." The kids had fun identifying rhyming words in the story. We talked about some strategies that they can use to make sure that they know the whereabouts of their mittens, scarves and hats (as Jillian actually lost ALL of them out in the snow and her Mother was less-than-impressed!). [Just as a sidebar, PLEASE do not hesitate to check our classroom Lost and Found area! We currently have two large tupperware containers that are full to the brim with childrens' hats, mittens, sweaters, etc. etc. etc.!]
In Math the students explored centres that relate to number sense. They were responsible for placing the correct number of manipulatives into cups labeled with a number, they played a game during which a dice was rolled and they had to count the number of dots and place the corresponding number of sea animals into a drawing of a fish bowl, they practiced their number-writing using cards and chalkboards, and the SKs completed a counting and number-writing assessment page.
On Wednesday our schedule was changed due to our visit from the Scientist in School. We spent the morning in Room #4 where the students were enthusiastic to play with a room full of new-to-them toys! I had activities set up with a focus on assessment for the SK students as report cards are quickly approaching! We reviewed the concept of rhyme and read a non-rhyming book. I was impressed by the students' ability to re-tell the story.
We spent the afternoon being awed and astounded by Scientist Jillian! :) She had a variety of fun exploration centres for the students to visit, all involving the five senses. The kids were involved in some very hands-on activities and discovered much about their senses, including the fact that the reason WHY we sense many things is because nerve messages are being constantly sent to our brains. Fantastique!
I'm happy to report that Monday was a relatively smooth transition back into the regular school routine. We began the day with a variety of centres relating to snow and winter. These included mittens with different numbers des flocons de neige on them (the students were invited to count the number of les flocons de neige on each mitten in French, and to match it up with the corresponding printed number); a little experiment with ice (I froze some plastic animals into plastic glasses, and the kids were encouraged to think of different ways to 'melt' la glace - by holding onto it, or by pouring warm water over it); practicing les mots de l'hiver by tracing them into Epsom salts with their fingers; painting 'la neige' (we used white paint, white crayons and bubble wrap... and it turned out to be quite a messy art activity! Oops!). During Language, I introduced the concept of rhyme, and the students seemed to enjoy the game we played - they were given a picture card and asked to 'find their rhyme partner,' by walking around the circle and asking their fellow students if they had a card whose picture rhymed with the one that was on their card. I then read the story "Jillian Jigs and the Great Big Snow." The kids had fun identifying rhyming words in the story. We talked about some strategies that they can use to make sure that they know the whereabouts of their mittens, scarves and hats (as Jillian actually lost ALL of them out in the snow and her Mother was less-than-impressed!). [Just as a sidebar, PLEASE do not hesitate to check our classroom Lost and Found area! We currently have two large tupperware containers that are full to the brim with childrens' hats, mittens, sweaters, etc. etc. etc.!]
In Math the students explored centres that relate to number sense. They were responsible for placing the correct number of manipulatives into cups labeled with a number, they played a game during which a dice was rolled and they had to count the number of dots and place the corresponding number of sea animals into a drawing of a fish bowl, they practiced their number-writing using cards and chalkboards, and the SKs completed a counting and number-writing assessment page.
On Wednesday our schedule was changed due to our visit from the Scientist in School. We spent the morning in Room #4 where the students were enthusiastic to play with a room full of new-to-them toys! I had activities set up with a focus on assessment for the SK students as report cards are quickly approaching! We reviewed the concept of rhyme and read a non-rhyming book. I was impressed by the students' ability to re-tell the story.
We spent the afternoon being awed and astounded by Scientist Jillian! :) She had a variety of fun exploration centres for the students to visit, all involving the five senses. The kids were involved in some very hands-on activities and discovered much about their senses, including the fact that the reason WHY we sense many things is because nerve messages are being constantly sent to our brains. Fantastique!
Friday, 4 November 2011
vendredi le 4 novembre 2011
Bonjour, les amis!
My, what a semaine it's been. I can hardly believe that the weekend is upon us already, and that c'est novembre!!! Where has the time gone, I ask you?
This week was certainly jam-packed, with l'halloween on lundi - un gros merci to all of the parent volunteers who showed up to help with the kids' costumes for our parade! - picture day, and the beginning of a brand new theme, l'ours (bears). I have been really enjoying helping out with the Primary Choir, and rather wish that the Kindergarten class could be there to listen to them sing the song "There Will be Peace" on the 11th! I am sure that our trip to the Children's Museum will be a wonderful experience, though. :) If you are interested in supervising this trip, please let me know as soon as you can, as we are looking for some additional support.
On lundi, we began the day with a selection of craft centres that I designed for l'halloween. The children could choose to create les fantomes wind socks using decorated white paper and crepe paper; les citrouilles from styrofoam balls covered with pieces of orange et vert tissue paper and une chauve-souris from folded plates painted black and construction paper accents (which they cut very well themselves); along with paintings of their choice. It seems like some of these crafts did not quite make their way home... but the students seemed to enjoy making them at the time! :) During our party, interested students played a game of Halloween charades and completed a Halloween colouring page. We learned a little dance routine to "The Monster Mash," which I think that the kids performed almost as well as the Grade Ones to whom I taught the same dance during their Arts block. We paraded through the halls and visited all of the classrooms in the school, to whom we showed off our costumes. :) Following the parade each student got a chance to hit our dinosaur pinata, and we enjoyed some delightful snacks (including one special treat that consisted of oranges beautifully 'carved' to resemble jack-o-lanterns! Merci for all of your tasty donations!). I had a very amusant Halloween at school, and I hope that your child did, too! (I was a little sad that I didn't get time to change into my Tinkerbell costume though!!! Maybe it will have to make a reappearance in later days... :) )
On Tuesday we learned the song "I've got Peace in my Heart." I also introduced 4/4 time and associated beat patterns to the class. I was happy to note that most students can now differentiate between quarter notes (ta) and eighth notes (ti-ti), and are beginning to recognize half notes (one, two), dotted half notes (one, two, three) and whole notes (one, two, three, four). I am learning that even Grade One students need to have play time, and I am trying to develop some good play-based drama, music and dance centres that they can visit independently to be exposed to some important concepts, instead of more presentation-based teaching.
Wednesday saw our new theme (les ours) being introduced in the classroom. The students completed a number of simple crafts and worksheets designed to get them thinking about the life cycle and features of bears. All seemed to really relate to the story that I read, titled "L'ours oublié dans la nuit," and I used this as a springboard for conversation about how we react when we accidentally forget objects that are important to us. We discussed the differences between living and non-living bears, and the students were given a number of pictures to sort with a friend to demonstrate their concept of living and non-living. We continued with our sorting centres in math. I am hoping to gather some more assessment data on sorting in the next week while simultaneously moving forward to cover our patterning unit.
On Thursday, we played "Arts Review Jeopardy." There was a tie for 900 points between the boys and the girls (much to their displeasure!). Our tie-breaker involved reviewing the song "There will be Peace," and then performing this, American Idol-style for the "judges" (there are two co-op students currently working in the Grade One class and so I recruited them to act as J-Lo and Randy... while trying on my faux English accent to pose as a female version of Simon Cowell!). It was quite fun, and again resulted in a tie. We went on to discuss the importance of peace in our world, and I shared the story of Sudako and the Thousand Paper Cranes with the class. There were some corresponding comics that I provided that had blanks that the students could use to express their thoughts, and we spent a good amount of time working on colouring those and attempting to record our thoughts. There is a great interest in creating our own paper cranes, and I have promised the class that we will do this next week. As the students worked on their comics, I played the song "Just one Candle," and we discussed the mood and the ideas that were raised by this song. It is a piece that we will revisit, and I'm hoping to make it into a drama activity by incorporating some kind of little skit about peace along with the song.
Aujourd'hui was a bit of a "catch-up day" for our class. I had a lot of fun play centres out for the kids to visit, and worked with small groups of students throughout the day. As a whole class we read the book "Bonjour, Bonsoir" and talked about the meaning of what the main character (un ours!) said and did. We sang the "Bonjour" song accompanied by my guitar, and proceeded to pass a stuffed bear around the circle and answer the question: "Comment ça va?" See if your child can answer this question using gestures and corresponding words. I like to teach French vocabulary using gestures, but I sometimes find that they do more gesturing than actually talking when this is the norm!!! Oops!
We ventured outside again for gym, where we did some stretching and basic exercises and then played some games with the parachute. We started a game called "Scream and Run," but we ran into some difficulties with the logistics of the game (e.g., there was a slight slip on the tarmac that resulted in some tears!), and so headed inside for snack a little early. Overall, I would say that we had a pretty good day today! I forgot to give the students the 3 pompoms that they so deserve for helping to keep the classroom clean and friendly today! I will reward them on lundi for sure.
I hope that you all have un bon week-end! Please don't forget to read your November newsletter, as it contains some important forms for those of you who have not received a Field Trip permission form and a page of Parent/Guardian-Teacher conference dates and times. I have also included a volunteer grid... if I have missed you somehow and you would like to volunteer this month, please feel free to let me know via phone or through a note in your child's communication book. I have also sent home your child's 'Sons et lettres' book. We have covered up until la lettre Cc, and we will be beginning with la lettre Dd next week. If you have a few minutes, please review l'alphabet and particularly the three letters that we have studied with your child. There will be home reading books being sent home soon with the SK students!
Merci et a bientot,
Mlle Craig
My, what a semaine it's been. I can hardly believe that the weekend is upon us already, and that c'est novembre!!! Where has the time gone, I ask you?
This week was certainly jam-packed, with l'halloween on lundi - un gros merci to all of the parent volunteers who showed up to help with the kids' costumes for our parade! - picture day, and the beginning of a brand new theme, l'ours (bears). I have been really enjoying helping out with the Primary Choir, and rather wish that the Kindergarten class could be there to listen to them sing the song "There Will be Peace" on the 11th! I am sure that our trip to the Children's Museum will be a wonderful experience, though. :) If you are interested in supervising this trip, please let me know as soon as you can, as we are looking for some additional support.
On lundi, we began the day with a selection of craft centres that I designed for l'halloween. The children could choose to create les fantomes wind socks using decorated white paper and crepe paper; les citrouilles from styrofoam balls covered with pieces of orange et vert tissue paper and une chauve-souris from folded plates painted black and construction paper accents (which they cut very well themselves); along with paintings of their choice. It seems like some of these crafts did not quite make their way home... but the students seemed to enjoy making them at the time! :) During our party, interested students played a game of Halloween charades and completed a Halloween colouring page. We learned a little dance routine to "The Monster Mash," which I think that the kids performed almost as well as the Grade Ones to whom I taught the same dance during their Arts block. We paraded through the halls and visited all of the classrooms in the school, to whom we showed off our costumes. :) Following the parade each student got a chance to hit our dinosaur pinata, and we enjoyed some delightful snacks (including one special treat that consisted of oranges beautifully 'carved' to resemble jack-o-lanterns! Merci for all of your tasty donations!). I had a very amusant Halloween at school, and I hope that your child did, too! (I was a little sad that I didn't get time to change into my Tinkerbell costume though!!! Maybe it will have to make a reappearance in later days... :) )
On Tuesday we learned the song "I've got Peace in my Heart." I also introduced 4/4 time and associated beat patterns to the class. I was happy to note that most students can now differentiate between quarter notes (ta) and eighth notes (ti-ti), and are beginning to recognize half notes (one, two), dotted half notes (one, two, three) and whole notes (one, two, three, four). I am learning that even Grade One students need to have play time, and I am trying to develop some good play-based drama, music and dance centres that they can visit independently to be exposed to some important concepts, instead of more presentation-based teaching.
Wednesday saw our new theme (les ours) being introduced in the classroom. The students completed a number of simple crafts and worksheets designed to get them thinking about the life cycle and features of bears. All seemed to really relate to the story that I read, titled "L'ours oublié dans la nuit," and I used this as a springboard for conversation about how we react when we accidentally forget objects that are important to us. We discussed the differences between living and non-living bears, and the students were given a number of pictures to sort with a friend to demonstrate their concept of living and non-living. We continued with our sorting centres in math. I am hoping to gather some more assessment data on sorting in the next week while simultaneously moving forward to cover our patterning unit.
On Thursday, we played "Arts Review Jeopardy." There was a tie for 900 points between the boys and the girls (much to their displeasure!). Our tie-breaker involved reviewing the song "There will be Peace," and then performing this, American Idol-style for the "judges" (there are two co-op students currently working in the Grade One class and so I recruited them to act as J-Lo and Randy... while trying on my faux English accent to pose as a female version of Simon Cowell!). It was quite fun, and again resulted in a tie. We went on to discuss the importance of peace in our world, and I shared the story of Sudako and the Thousand Paper Cranes with the class. There were some corresponding comics that I provided that had blanks that the students could use to express their thoughts, and we spent a good amount of time working on colouring those and attempting to record our thoughts. There is a great interest in creating our own paper cranes, and I have promised the class that we will do this next week. As the students worked on their comics, I played the song "Just one Candle," and we discussed the mood and the ideas that were raised by this song. It is a piece that we will revisit, and I'm hoping to make it into a drama activity by incorporating some kind of little skit about peace along with the song.
Aujourd'hui was a bit of a "catch-up day" for our class. I had a lot of fun play centres out for the kids to visit, and worked with small groups of students throughout the day. As a whole class we read the book "Bonjour, Bonsoir" and talked about the meaning of what the main character (un ours!) said and did. We sang the "Bonjour" song accompanied by my guitar, and proceeded to pass a stuffed bear around the circle and answer the question: "Comment ça va?" See if your child can answer this question using gestures and corresponding words. I like to teach French vocabulary using gestures, but I sometimes find that they do more gesturing than actually talking when this is the norm!!! Oops!
We ventured outside again for gym, where we did some stretching and basic exercises and then played some games with the parachute. We started a game called "Scream and Run," but we ran into some difficulties with the logistics of the game (e.g., there was a slight slip on the tarmac that resulted in some tears!), and so headed inside for snack a little early. Overall, I would say that we had a pretty good day today! I forgot to give the students the 3 pompoms that they so deserve for helping to keep the classroom clean and friendly today! I will reward them on lundi for sure.
I hope that you all have un bon week-end! Please don't forget to read your November newsletter, as it contains some important forms for those of you who have not received a Field Trip permission form and a page of Parent/Guardian-Teacher conference dates and times. I have also included a volunteer grid... if I have missed you somehow and you would like to volunteer this month, please feel free to let me know via phone or through a note in your child's communication book. I have also sent home your child's 'Sons et lettres' book. We have covered up until la lettre Cc, and we will be beginning with la lettre Dd next week. If you have a few minutes, please review l'alphabet and particularly the three letters that we have studied with your child. There will be home reading books being sent home soon with the SK students!
Merci et a bientot,
Mlle Craig
Thursday, 27 October 2011
jeudi le 27 octobre
I apologize for the lack of an update yesterday. It was a very busy day, and I somehow couldn't sit down at the end of it to write to you... it was one of those days where all you can seem to bring yourself to do is to crash! [[Hopefully you know what I'm talking about... although I'm sure that many of the parents out there have some pretty amazing strategies for holding onto energy (green tea with ginseng and honey works wonders, I'm told... :)). Feel free to share any of your helpful secrets with me!!!]]
We began yesterday with some quiet activities and a little exploration of the literacy centres that I had set up at the tables (Cc comme citrouille pages, Cc livres, C'est l'halloween livres, letter beading and playdoh). I have observed that a few of the SKs seem to require additional challenges, and that - although freedom of choice and time to play are very important - the students all seem more at ease when they are provided with a visual schedule of the day's events and a sense of structure in smaller group settings. Keeping these things in mind, as soon as all of the students had arrived, I had them meet me at the tapis, and we discussed what we were going to do today. I showed examples and went over the expectations for each centre before sending them off to explore the centres. I also made it clear that the students were to finish the activity that was set out at at least one of the tables before going on to select their own play activities. I was happy to see that most of the students stayed engaged in the centres, and I was particularly impressed with many of the SK girls' "c'est l'halloween" books! They turned out very well. :) I enjoyed the opportunity to interact with the students at each of the tables. I hope that you have a chance to read your child's "Cc" livre with him/her. Many of the vocabulary words happen to be in the first level Alphajeune reader, which is what we will be using to assess the progress that students have made in reading this June. Not every child chose to create a Cc book on mercredi, but I will do my best to ensure that they all take one home for extra practice.
At around 9:40 AM we met back at the tapis and talked about la lettre Cc, in addition to a review of Aa and Bb. We played a brief circle game with Monsieur Squelette (who was a white balloon with a skeletal face drawn on by yours truly). I then taught the class the basic steps to 'The Monster Mash.' (This was good for French counting practice, as we counted the number of steps that we were taking in each direction, etc.). The students then prepared for their first nutritional break.
When they returned from recess, I met briefly with the whole class to discuss 'sorting rules.' I used examples taken directly from the environment, by having different groups of students with one thing in common stand up (e.g., all girls; all wearing something black). It was up to the class to determine which "rule" I was using to sort the students in this way. I went on to provide another example using different shapes and colours of buttons, and asked them to guess what "rule" I was using to sort them a few different times. I then allowed the JKs to play at the sorting centres, and discussed les nombres un, deux, et trois with the SK students. I introduced a little bit of addition using seasonal objects (e.g., pictures of ghosts, pumpkins, etc.)and was happy to see how well they were catching on to "c'est combien?" Afterwards, I sent the SKs to play at the math centres, and had the JKs meet me at the tapis. I was rather amazed at how many different stages of development are represented in the classroom! Splitting up the class like this is really telling of that fact. With the JKs, we practiced un, deux et trois, and I had them count seasonal objects to tell me combien de choses etaient la, before returning to play.
As the students played, I called small groups over to create "les mains des monstres" (monster hands), by filling plastic gloves with 5 Smarties (pour les ongles - nails) and popped popcorn, all tied together with a ribbon. :) I think that these turned out very well, and if your child did not get the chance to make one on Wednesday, please inform him/her that they will have an opportunity to make one on Monday (Halloween Day!).
Maintenant... a little report on today...
The Grade Ones were full of energy, as per usual. :) It was nice to see, and I was a little jealous today! We watched the video that I put together of them performing our dance to 'The Monster Mash,' and we came up with a short list of things that we liked and that we wanted to change about our performance before it was re-taped. (Some of the students seemed to find it difficult to come up with something they didn't like! :)). Following the nutritional break, we sang the "Purple People-eater" song (sans guitar, as I didn't realize it at the time, but some of the students who were playing with my guitar left it in a rather un-tuned way... and I didn't want to hold up the class as I re-tuned it!), and rehearsed our "new and improved" dance twice, before I recorded it. I had the kids make "The Monster Mash" headbands, and I was planning to make one more recording of the dance with everyone wearing their headband... but we ran out of time. :( Oh well! You have to be flexible with these ideas, I suppose. :)
I hope that everyone has a wonderful weekend, and that you're all getting ready for the best Halloween yet!
Mlle Craig
During second nutrition break, I assisted with the Primary Choir, who will be performing at our school's assembly on the 11th of November. Yesterday was their first practice and they are already sounding incredible! Mrs. Lehman and I selected a song called "Let There Be Peace," and I think it sounds like there are a bunch of little angels singing it so far! :) I am really looking forward to working with the choir on some winter/holiday music, as it is my favourite. :) There has been some mention of a possible holiday Drama, which is very exciting to me, and is definitely something that I would like to be a part of!
After the second nutrition break, the class enjoyed some quiet time with les livres de leur choix au tapis. We cleaned up the coat room and got everything ready to go home fairly early on so that the students could enjoy some free play time at the end of the day.
I am looking forward to our Halloween festivities on Monday! Our parade throughout the school will begin just after 12:00 PM, and the students could use your help with putting on costumes... so if you can make it, we would love to see you around 11:30 AM. :) Following our parade, there will be a party in the classroom with some special centres, games, treats, etc. Please feel free to bring in a treat as long as it is nut-free! There are 19 students in the class, now that the re-organization has occurred.
Tuesday, 25 October 2011
mardi le 25 octobre 2011
Bonjour tout le monde!
The weather was rainy, but that didn't seem to put a damper on the overall Grade One energy level this morning. :) We began by practicing our dance to "The Monster Mash" that we learned last week. I was pleasantly surprised by the number of students who remembered all of the dance moves! Maybe some have been practicing? We rehearsed the dance a total of 3 times before the first nutrition break, and after the students returned from recess, I videotaped the class performing together! We are going to begin Thursday's class by watching this video and discussing ways that we can improve how our dance looks to an audience. Following our rehearsal and taping, I introduced the song "Purple People-Eater," which I attempted to play on the guitar. :) The class caught on very quickly to the song, and was able to sing the whole first verse and chorus with actions faster than I had anticipated. Yay! We ended the class with a drama exercise in which students acted out various emotions and the class guessed what they were representing. It was quite funny to watch - especially the "excited" emotion, which many people mistook for "happy."
I will now proceed to blather on about yesterday's workshop! :) It was a really inspiring one for me. The presenters talked about how we can more effectively use guided reading in the classroom. They gave a bunch of wonderful examples of how read-alouds can be used as a springboard for showing students how to re-tell stories (which is an important skill to be learned in Kindergarten). They also talked quite extensively about assessment, and how the idea of assessment in Kindergarten is changing. They are now recommending 'at-a-glance' observation to be tracked throughout the day on corresponding sheets, as well as photos, videos, checklists and portfolios to be collected as evidence of student learning. I will have to revisit the papers that they gave us in this regard as it is all very interesting, and I hope that it can be applied within the classroom! A story that they read to us at the workshop that I would really love to read to the class was called "Big Al." It's sort of a character education book about acceptance... a great read!
Another thing that got me thinking yesterday was the lack of truly developmentally-appropriate French Immersion Kindergarten resources that seem to exist at the moment. It seems that books that you want to read in class, etc. just haven't been designed for beginning language learners. I think it would be great to have books and other materials that have been written so that children who are just beginning to learn French can understand them with the fluency intact (e.g., not always having to stop and translate from French back to English). Maybe this could be something of a side project?
:) Let me know if you're interested and maybe we could work on something together...
Enterprisingly dreamingly yours, ;)
Mlle Craig
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