December News
December News
It is hard to believe it is already December!
During the month of December, the Kindergarten children will continue learning letters and their corresponding sounds in French. The grade ones are reviewing letter names and sounds and are learning more complex sounds. Both grades are continuing to work on segmenting words into their individual sounds and blending sounds to read simple words. As part of our Social Studies curriculum, we are discussing family traditions and how things have changed over time. In math, the Kindergarten students will continue to work on sorting, patterning, identifying numbers, and creating sets. With our daily Facts on Fire (math fluency program), we have been working on recognizing numbers (to 10 for K, and to 20 for Gr.1), subitizing (a prerequisite skill to addition and subtraction that involves recognizing an amount of objects without counting), and solving addition facts to 10 with increasing speed. We will also be creating more complex patterns including "growing" patterns. Throughout the month, we will also be doing a variety of fun, seasonal activities including learning Christmas vocabulary and songs, and doing Christmas/ Hanukkah/Winter crafts to continue to improve fine motor skill development. If you have any concerns or religious restrictions involving any of these activities, please let me know as soon as possible. If there are any other holidays that you celebrate at this or any other time of year, please let me know, and I would be happy to include those in our learning.
Report Cards: Written report cards are no longer sent home. Instead, report cards will be viewable online through Brightspace on December 18th. More information will follow from the office on this process. Student-led conferences will occur in the Spring; however if you have any questions or concerns about your child's progress throughout the year, please feel free to contact me.
Dramatic Play center: Our dramatic play center will become a "boulangerie" or bakery. The children will have fun playing with the yummy smelling (not tasting!) chocolate playdough and making delicious looking treats.
Fine Motor Practice: Now is a good time to encourage some authentic printing practice by having your child print their own name on Christmas cards that you may be sending out. You can refer to the show and tell schedule on the website that has all the children's names in case your child would like to send cards to his or her peers. Another good activity to strengthen the little muscles in little hands is to shred or tear paper into strips. If you are having any fires, have your child do the paper ripping.
Show and Tell: If you have not yet sent in a family photo, please do so as soon as possible. We will keep the photo in the class for the year, and return it to you in June. Our focus for December's show and tell is family traditions. This can be a photo or explanation of something that you do as a family every year. For example, decorating a Xmas tree, visiting Butchart Gardens, family movie night, going camping in the summer, etc. We will be discussing how all families are unique and special. Throughout the month, as part of our Social Studies unit on families, we will be discussing similarities and differences between families, drawing our families, and will make a class graph of our different family compositions.
Personal Responsibility and Independence: Please encourage your child to practice doing up their own zippers and snaps and putting on gloves/mittens independently. As the cold weather approaches, they will be needing these skills when getting themselves ready to go outside!
Important Dates
If you wish to volunteer for any of these activities please sign up HERE
Thursday, December 4th: Field trip to Craigdarroch Castle (9-12)
Friday, December 5th: Holiday Craft Morning. Parent helpers welcome!
Monday, December 8th: Rolling and baking gingerbread cookies. (Parent helpers needed!) If you are able to make gingerbread dough at home on December 6th or 7th, please let me know. I will supply the recipe! ******Please send in a small amount of candy to decorate the cookies the following morning.
Tuesday, December 9th: 8:50-9:30ish: Decorating gingerbread cookies
Monday, December 15 or Tuesday, December 16th: Please send in holly, cedar, and fir boughs or other greenery cut into small pieces please!
Tuesday, December 16th: Candy Cane run at 10:40. Children are encouraged to wear festive hats to do a school wide run.
Wednesday, December 17th at 8:50-9:20ish: Making table centerpieces (Parent helpers needed!) Volunteers please bring in a pair of pruning shears if you have them!
Friday, December 19th: Pyjama Day and a "casual performance" of some holiday songs we will have practiced this month. Parents are welcome to come to the classroom at 2:30 to listen to us sing 3-4 festive songs.