June 25, 2019
Yesterday we had such a beautiful day for our Teddy Bear picnic! What a great turnout! Thank you to all who came and joined us for a fun afternoon!
Yesterday we had such a beautiful day for our Teddy Bear picnic! What a great turnout! Thank you to all who came and joined us for a fun afternoon!
June 13, 2019
We got to release our beautiful "papillons"! With the rain in the forecast for Thursday, we thought we would release them a day earlier so yesterday, they got to fly free. The other classes did the same. It was wonderful to see them fly! Some of them did not want to leave. :-)
June 10, 2019
Someone found this beautiful butterfly in our parking lot this morning! We were very excited to have a closer look at it. We got to observe it for a little while before releasing it. We later found out that it is called a Cercropia Moth.
May 31, 2019
Here is a short video of our caterpillars. You can see "une chenille" getting ready to turn into a chrysalis. We can also see a chrysalis moving as it senses another caterpillar close by. The wonders of nature!
May 29, 2019
This morning we baked some rhubarb/banana with chocolate chip muffins! We had many volunteers to help us with the baking. They did a fantastic job in chopping the rhubarb in small pieces and mixing all the ingredients together!
Have a look!
There were some leftover rhubarb pieces so we ate them. Some friends liked them while others found them a bit sour! There were some funny faces. :-)
May 24, 2019
We are very excited to finally get our "chenilles" (caterpillars)!!! The children wanted to have a closer look at them so we got some magnifying glasses. One child suggested that we name them. Next week, we will decide on names so tune in and see what we come up with!
Have a look!
May 23, 2019
We were very excited to get some tadpoles this morning! A big "Merci" to the family of a former student who brought them in for us. We can't wait to see them turn into some "grenouilles"!
We will watch them as they grow bigger and bigger!
May 22, 2019
What a beautiful day today to be outdoors! We brought out our discovery wagon filled with many activities for them to choose from. We had some writing material, gym equipment, some science exploration with water and our sand bags and also some building blocks. We even had our snack outside too! From math, literacy, science and social development, there is a lot of learning that can be done outdoors. We came in for lunch and headed back outside after we were done eating. The children got to put up the tent and enjoyed bringing books inside the tent. They found it more interesting to read outdoors than on our classroom carpet! :-)
Have a look!
Sweeping the tent, reading books, look how tall the tent is!, playing a board game and drawing, building and flying paper airplanes. Great outdoor afternoon!
May 14, 2019
We were very lucky yesterday that we got no rain so we took advantage of this and worked in our kinder garden. We had many helpers helping in preparing the soil so we could plant some seeds. We planted radishes and beans in the garden. Some of the perennial flowers have begun to sprout.
Once we got inside, a few friends wanted to plant their seeds that had been sprouting in the CD cases. Some of the kids decorated their flower pots before planting their seeds. We will see if the beans will keep growing now that they are in the soil.
May 9, 2019
This morning we had a fun presentation by Junkyard Symphony! While it was a lot of fun, they made sure that we realized the importance of recycling and the responsibility we each have to take care our planet.
One of our little friend was chosen as a volunteer to come up!
May 6, 2019
What a beautiful day! Since it was so nice, we decided to spend more time outdoors a little longer. We even had our snack outside. It was such a nice treat! Some boys and girls said their snack tasted better because it was outdoors. :-)
When we came back in, some friends worked together in creating a pond habitat. They even created a beaver dam. They remembered the video we watched on "les castors" last week. They used some brown beads to represent the beavers. They remembered that they come into their "maison" from the bottom. They also had some "grenouilles" (frogs) to add to their habitat.
May 1, 2019
Yesterday we had a discussion about the flood waters in Ottawa. The children shared what they knew about them. Some knew that they had closed the Chaudière Bridge. Many said they saw it on the news. Mme Pat brought in a photo she took at Andrew Haydon Park on Saturday. It was a picture of a small bridge. This morning, we showed a photo of the same bridge but that was taken last night. The water was now covering the entrance to the bridge. The children noticed the pylons that were put at the entrance of the bridge. One child said, "It's to keep people away."
Today we talked about what we can do to help. Some children said we can use sand bags. One child said his dad had gone to help fill sand bags. We experimented with small bags and filled them up with sands. The children tried placing the bags like they would do around a house and see if they would hold off the water. They built a small house with Lego and placed it inside our container. We tried placing them in different positions to see how well it would work. Have a look!
April 30, 2019
We had the pleasure of welcoming the grade 4s in our class this morning. They talked to the children about the importance of taking care of the sources of water like lakes and rivers. They talked about the different pollutants and things we can do to avoid polluting our water system. The grade 4 students did a fabulous job and our kinders did a great job listening. Here are some photos of some of our presenters.
April 25, 2019
We hope everyone had a wonderful Easter weekend!
This morning we did the first step in preparing our garden. We got lots of help in turning the soil. A friend found a pumpkin seed from a pumpkin we had left last fall in our garden to decompose. We also saw a few sprouts from some of our perennials that were planted last year. We will continue to prepare our "jardin" until it is time to plant.
April 15, 2019
Today the children had the opportunity to go and explore a gigantic Canada map!!! It took half of the gym to display it! They found the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and realized that the white part on the map represented snow.
The map will be at school for the week so we will continue to explore it!
April 11, 2019
Today we had a closer look at our seeds and green onions. Last week, we placed some bean seeds in a clear CD case and have been keeping the paper towel wet. Today, we noticed that some seeds have begun to sprout! We will continue to watch the changes that will continue to happen over the next weeks.
We especially noticed the changes with the green onions!! The growth has been amazing in just a week and a half! Have a look!
A little friend send in some pictures of her pet hedgehog, Petunia. She talked about what was special about her and how she takes care of her "hérisson". The children enjoyed learning about Petunia!
April 8, 2019
Today we got the chance to see some rabbits up close! They were very beautiful and soft! Merci Mme Wyscup for bringing in your "lapins" for all the boys and girls to see.
April 5, 2019
Today was Mile of Coins for the OK Clean Water project. We had great helpers in placing all the coins along the wall in the hallway. We want to thank everyone who sent in coins for this great cause.
We will be accepting more non perishable foods this coming Tuesday.
Thank you very much for your generosity!
April 4, 2019
We are continuing our conversation about things that are "vivant" and "non vivant". We discussed what plants need to grow. The children said they need sun, water and soil. Some friends wanted to plant some seeds but we decided to not use soil and instead use paper towel inside an empty CD case. The children placed 2 seeds inside and we soaked the paper towel with water. The CD cases are now resting near our windows. With the clear CD cases, we will get to see the growth and changes happening to the seeds.
Some boys and girls were interested in making some flowers to decorate our class.
Here are some friends creating baskets with water and glue and strips of construction paper. There is a special technique to create them and the children did a fabulous job. They waited patiently for them to dry and were very happy with the final product! Their baskets looked beautiful!
April 2, 2019
After a couple weeks of running a pizza restaurant in the block area, the children got the chance to make their own real pizza today! There were lots of ingredients to choose from. They each decided what they wanted to put on their pizza. The boys and girls said they were very delicious! We had a little friend keeping track of whose pizza they belong to by writing the children's name in the order they came to make them.
Have a look at all the yummy pizzas!
April 1, 2019
This morning we went for a little walk in the back of the school to discuss signs of spring. We noticed that the snow is melting as we could now see some of our large stones from our outdoor classroom. We listened and heard some birds singing. We also noticed some changes on the branches where the buds will grow.
When we came back indoors, we talked about new life and what we see when it's "le printemps". A few friends mentioned that many baby animals are born in spring. We then began discussing what these animals need to live. This lead us to talk about things that are "vivant" and "non vivant", living and non living things. A little friend said, "They need to eat", while another said that living things need water to survive. We looked at many pictures and determined if they were living or non living things. We will continue to explore these through a variety of activities.
Please don't forget to check the April newsletter in the "Newsletter" section.
March 29, 2019
Today was a PJ Day for our Lenten project for OK Clean Water. We had some great pajamas! Thank you very much for all the donations that were sent in for this great cause!
Have a look at our great PJs!
March 27, 2019
Here are some pictures from this week. We have been learning the French words for some transportation vehicles and we have also been exploring how they move, "vole", "flotte" and "roule" (fly, float and roll). We've done some activities on these vehicles and how they travel.
Earlier this week, we began discussing city living and rural living (la ville et la campagne). The children talked about what they knew about the city and the country. A few said, "There are lots of building in the city." One child said, "You can see a farm in the country and there are forests there too." We will continue our talk about la ville and la campagne.
Some friends sorted some pictures that belong for "la ville" and some for "la campagne".
A fun game of scramble but in French! We are learning many new letters in French!
A very impressive K'nex construction! We had a lot of problem solving and cooperation for this project! We are still working to solve a problem with the car going up the ramp. We will continue to work together to find a solution.
March 19, 2019
Welcome back! We hope everyone had a great March Break!
What a beautiful day today! We decided to stay out a little longer this morning to enjoy the milder weather. Late in the afternoon yesterday, some friends helped build a small ramp in our kinder yard. Today they really enjoyed using the ramp with the sleds! We had a long line of friends waiting patiently for their turn.
Since it was so nice, we decided to have our snack outside. Earlier in the year, we made seat cushions so when we have outdoor classroom, we have something to sit on. We didn't think we would be using them so soon with all the snow still here but they worked great!
March 7, 2019
This morning, the children got to bake some pretzels. We had many volunteers who wanted to come to the baking table to help out. They love measuring and stirring all the ingredients together.
After making the dough, they got to roll it into long strips. They then twisted the strip of dough to make a shape. They all looked very unique!! After they were baked, we got the chance to eat the pretzels after our lunch, just before going outside for recess.
Have a look at all our little bakers and see the many thumbs up after taking a bite!
March 5, 2019
Today we talked about what it meant to "measure" something and why we measure. A little friend shared her thoughts and said, "You can see how long something is." We also talked about what we can use to measure. Many of them said a measuring stick or a measuring tape. They shared their knowledge about them. A few said they had numbers and lines on them. Some are long and some are shorter.
We then discussed what we could use instead of a measuring tape if we didn't have one. We found objects around our class to use to measure some of our friends. We used some of our wooden blocks as a measuring tool. We saw that some friends were 9 blocks tall while another friend was 7 blocks tall. We realized the more blocks we used, the taller they were.
During centres, some pictures of objects and small cubes were made available for them. They used the small cubes to measure the objects in the pictures and wrote down their answers.
Have a look!
February 28, 2019
A few photos from today.
Using our imagination to create a variety of things while using some building toys.
A friend doing a survey with children around the classroom. Learning to ask questions, take down information and share the results with his peers and adults.
Identifying shapes, colours and demonstrating very good observation skills to recreate patterns.
Identifying upper and lower case letters.
Finding the matching pairs.
Using our imagination to create with pieces of cardboard. Exploring angles and gravity. Amazing what we can do with cardboard!
Matching the English and French pictures together. We know many words!
Doing some breathing and stretching activities after rest time.
Here are some of the artwork the children did with the "couleurs primaires", primary colours.
February 26, 2019
Today we explored "les couleurs primaires", the primary colours. We first watched a video about primary colours. We discussed what they had noticed in the video and talked about the colours they saw and what happened to them when they were mixed together. The children noticed a new colour appear when 2 colours were mixed together. I asked them if they thought we would get the same colours if we tried mixing the colours. Some children thought that they might have added more colours and we didn't see it in the video. Other boys and girls thought we would get the same results as the video.
We decided to give it a try and see what we would get. We had some volunteers who came up to get their hand painted with a primary colour. With a friend who had their hand painted with a different primary colour, they shook hands and were surprised to see the colour that was left in their hand. They realized that we got the same colours as in the video.
At our painting centre, we had the primary colours available for them to use. Some of them realized that if we mix all three primary colours together, we get the colour brown. We had many great paintings using "les couleurs primaires."
February 22, 2019
Today we had a presentation on the 7 grandfather teachings. We gathered around a rug with 7 special animals and 7 important words.
Turtle - Truth
Buffalo or bison - Respect - Some children gave examples, "Say nice words", "Be kind", "No hurting". First Nations showed respect by not wasting anything, all parts were used from animals hunted.
Wolf - Humility - Being helpful, protecting the other animals - not show off or brag
Sabre or Bigfoot - Honesty - About who you are and what you can do, love who you are
Beaver - Wisdom - Make good choices - long teeth, big tail-2 gifts for the Creator - teeth to cut trees to make his home, tail to warn the other beavers if danger might be near
Bear - Courage - Be brave, not afraid to try if it is safe, don’t hurt others with words or physically
Eagle - Love - Chosen because he flies the highest in the sky, the closest to God the Creator
Showing respect by listening and raising our hands to answer questions.
Thumbs up to show we understand how to demonstrate the Grandfather teachings. We can also see The 7 animals with their babies.
February 21, 2019
Today we discussed about different community helpers we can find around us. It began with a friend talking about going to the doctor"s for a needle. We discussed why it was important to go visit the doctor and how they can help us. We looked at other people we can find in our community who can help us too. We watched a short video about who our community helpers are and their roles. We looked at many different jobs, "les métiers". We gave examples of problems we could have and discussed who we would call to come help us.
During centres, the children could choose activities about community helpers like matching their tools to their jobs to decorating community helper puppets.
Have a look! (Today was "Hat Day". Lots of great hats!)
Today we discussed about different community helpers we can find around us. It began with a friend talking about going to the doctor"s for a needle. We discussed why it was important to go visit the doctor and how they can help us. We looked at other people we can find in our community who can help us too. We watched a short video about who our community helpers are and their roles. We looked at many different jobs, "les métiers". We gave examples of problems we could have and discussed who we would call to come help us.
During centres, the children could choose activities about community helpers like matching their tools to their jobs to decorating community helper puppets.
Have a look! (Today was "Hat Day". Lots of great hats!)
February 19, 2019
This morning we had the pleasure of welcoming Scientist Paula from Scientists in the Schools. A big Thank You also to all the parent volunteers who came to help! We had a lot of interest for parent volunteers. We really appreciate your willingness to help out!
The boys and girls were very excited to explore each centre. They were great little scientists! From meteorologist, chemist, paleontologist, water physicist to astronomer, the children learned many new things! They got the chance to do numerous hands on experiences and got to bring some of their work home.
Have a look at all our little scientists!
February 14, 2019
We had a short week but a busy one! We celebrated the 100th Day of school on Tuesday. We had many activities around the number 100 for our little friends to do. From building structures with 100 cups to Dot to Dot from 1-100 and much more! The boys and girls loved seeing all the photos of themselves looking 100 years old! They thought it was very funny to see themselves with all those wrinkles. You will find the picture in your child's message bag.
Today we got to celebrate Valentine's Day. We first stayed outdoors a little longer to enjoy the fresh snow we got these last couple of days. It was a nice change from the ice we've had in our yard. We then went indoors and the children enjoyed handing out their Valentine cards to all their friends! We also enjoyed a Valentine Day cookie with our lunch today. Mmmmmmm!
February 4, 2019
We had the pleasure of welcoming a parent from our class to our classroom today. He came to talk to the children about Chinese New Year which is tomorrow. He showed us some photos of traditions that Chinese people have during the Chinese New Year. We learned how to wish someone a happy new year in Chinese, Xīn Nián Kuài Lè! 新年快乐! We also learned about the tradition of giving red envelopes with money. Mr. Tao had red envelopes for everyone in the classroom. The children were very happy! They had a special chocolate coins inside! He offered beautiful couplets (Chunlian) for our classroom door! He explained why people put them on their door and their meaning. They look beautiful on our door! He also brought in materials for the children to make a little pig bookmark for the Year of the Pig.
Thank you again for coming in to talk about Chinese New Year! "Xièxie!" (Thank You!)
February 1, 2019
Tomorrow is Groundhog Day, la Journée de la marmotte. We first discussed what they thought this was. We then talked about what this special day is all about and what it means. At our craft table, the children could make "une marmotte" coming out of its burrow and we also had some pictures they could colour. We listened and watched a short video on Groundhog Day. We also listened to a story about it as well. Here are the links to the video and the cute story.
January 31, 2019
A group of students have demonstrated a great deal of perseverance in this K'nex project! They have work on this structure for several weeks. There is a lot of learning happening through these kinds of tasks. We can easily see the Global Competencies like Critical Thinking, Collaboration, Communication and as they work together, the competency of Citizenship as they learn to accept and deal with differing opinions and learn to work together to attain a common goal.
January 30, 2019
We have been talking about number lines; "une ligne numérique". We have learned that when we go up on the number line, the numbers get bigger. When we go down, the numbers get smaller. Using the SMARTboard, we looked at how we can add numbers together using a number line. The children have been invited to explore with number lines. All around the classroom, the children can find cards with additions that they can solve using their number line. We will continue to explore additions and we will also be looking at subtraction.
Here are some students sorting the names of the children by how many syllables they have in their name. We have been clapping words to see how many syllables we hear. We sometimes do this with the words from our morning messages.
January 22, 2019
Here are some photos from yesterday. With the cold weather, we stayed indoors and all went to the gym for some gross motor activities. We had a lot of fun going through our obstacle courses. The children said they could feel their heart beating fast as they went through each stations. Have a look!
When we came back to class, we worked on our letters and numbers. We played cooperatively together a game of Candy Land. It was a nice reinforcement for our colours in French. We also worked on our shapes, practised printing our numbers and experimented with the paper-cut stamps.
January 18, 2019
We had a group of children with iPads and Chromebooks so they could work with Zorbits Math. A letter went home last week regarding Zorbits Maths. It is a great program that is being offered by the Board. The children learn and develop many math concepts. We encourage you to explore Zorbits with your child at home. If you have any problems or questions, please don't hesitate to send us a note.
Here are just a few of the children who were working on Zorbits Math today.
January 15, 2019
Today we began our day talking about shapes, not just any kind of shapes but about 3D shapes. We did have a look at the more familiar shapes, "le cercle", "le carré", "le triangle" and "le rectangle". We then made comparison between the 2D and 3D shapes and discussed what made each of them different and their similarities. We did an activity on the SMARTboard where the boys and girls got to sort objects that resemble a 3D shape.
After our discussion, we had some friends come build with marshmallows and toothpicks. They were encouraged to build 3D structures using their imagination. All week, this centre will be open for them to come create, problem solve and communicate what they have built.
Have a look at all the creations!
January 9, 2019
Today we had a group of children go outside with some snowshoes. For some of the children it was their first time snowshoeing. Some of them found it challenging to walk around with big shoes with such little feet! They had a lot of fun! The children who stayed in worked on many different fun activities! Another day, the other group of children will get a chance to go snowshoeing too.
January 8, 2019
Welcome back and Happy New Year! We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas with friends and family. The children came back yesterday with lots of smiles and lots to share about their time at home. We are very excited to see what the next few months will bring!
With all the fresh snow, we decided to spend more time outside and take advantage of the mild weather and enjoy the new snow. We saw a lot of cooperation while the children were using the sleds and shovels. They were very good at waiting for their turn riding on the sleds and were also helpful in pulling friends around the yard.
All this snow brought a lot of creativity indoors as well. They created beautiful works of art, using paint, glue and salt. They enjoyed it so much that many of them asked to do it again!
Have a look!
December 21, 2018
We want to take a moment to wish you a very Merry Christmas with family and friends! We wish you all a wonderful New Year!
Here is a message from our little owls!
December 19, 2018
Here is a video of the children singing our song "Quand le Père Noël vient nous visiter".
December 11, 2018
We welcomed a parent from our class who came to talk to us about Russian Christmas. We learned that it is celebrated on December 31 and Father Frost, who is their Santa, hides the presents for the children to find. Father Frost also has a helper, a snow princess called Snegurochka. He also talked about the special feast they have.
After, we had a look at some pictures of Father Frost and Snegurochka and also looked at some buildings from Russia and noticed how different they look from ours.
Thank you very much, Mr. Samarets for coming to visit us! We learned a lot!
December 10, 2018
This morning we welcomed the children from the Otter class to join us for our 2nd week of Advent liturgy. This week we lit up the second candle, the candle of peace. We discussed what peace looks like and things we can do to bring peace around us.
The children then decorated our class Christmas tree. They did a fabulous job in placing all the ornaments!
December 5, 2018
Here are a few pictures from today. This week is Technology Week and the children worked with various apps on the iPad. Some were for letters, math and recreating pictures with shapes with the OSMO.
Some other children worked with 3D shapes to recreate patterns from a picture. We also had some boys and girls decorating some "sapin de Noël". We also had a "crêche" (stable) playset and a few friends recreated the story of Jesus. We had writing, math and lots of problem-solving and cooperation while working at our centres.
November 30, 2018
We divided the class into 2 groups. One group when to the gym and the other group stayed in class to explore the Beebots.
The first group went to the gym and explored the many equipment available to them. From badminton to scooters and much more. They were on the move!
Here are some pictures and videos of the children coding with the Beebots. The children program the trajectory of the Beebots on their whiteboards by drawing arrows for where they would like them to go. They then program the Beetbots by pressing the buttons on top and then watch it go! They can see if they programmed it correctly. This was the first time for many of the children and they did an amazing job! The other group of children got the chance to work with the Beebots as well.
November 27, 2018
Yesterday some boys and girls used a scale to weigh their K'nex cars. The spring scales measure in grams so the children thought the numbers were big! They got to compare which car weighed more and less.
Today, we used spring scales and had little bags for the children to put objects in so they could measure and then record the weight.
Here are some more photos from this morning.
November 23, 2018
Before school started this morning, we got a surprise visit from a fox! It was seen in the school's backyard. Out of the class window, Mme Pat and Mme Gallant saw it running down Abingdon Drive.
Ms. Kralik was able to get some great photos of the fox when it was in the backyard. Merci Ms. Kralik for sharing your photos!
Have a look!
For gym this morning, we decided to take the whole class at the same time since the children had to come in right off the bus because of the fox sighting. We took out the extra large parachute and played a few different games with it. The boys and girls enjoyed the parachute very much!
Have a look!
November 22, 2018
This morning we had the pleasure of welcoming a parent from our class. She is from South Africa and came to talk to the children about their Christmas traditions. We learned that there were many similarities between our Christmas traditions and the ones from South Africa. We learned that there is no snow and it doesn't get very cold in during winter. We also learned that they have 11 official languages in South Africa. The boys and girls said,"Dankie" which means Thank You in Afrikaans before she left.
November 20, 2018
This morning we had the pleasure of welcoming two grade six students in our class. Since it is Bullying Prevention Week, they came and read 2 great books about kindness. The children were very attentive and appreciated the visit! Each day this week, we will have more grade 6 students coming in to read stories that teaches about kindness to others.
November 19, 2018
What a beautiful morning! We decided to stay out a little longer so we could enjoy the new snow with our sleds and shovels. We began our morning routines outside so this means we sang our national anthem and did our class prayer outdoors today.
The boys and girls really enjoyed the fresh air and worked together in pulling each other in the sleds. They were great at waiting their turns. Lots of social learning happening!
Today we talked about the Inuit people and where they live. We discussed how they live and what could be different and the same with us. We watched a short video to learn more about the Inuits.
November 15, 2018
Today we baked some pumpkin cookies with Mme Pat. She had all the ingredients to make them. The children helped measure and stir all of the ingredients together. The children learn many concepts during these kind of activities like measuring, learning about solids and liquids and about hygiene too! We learned we need to wash our hands before we start baking to keep germs away. They did an amazing job! We really do have some future chefs in the making!
Have a look!
By lunch time, the cookies were baked and ready to eat!
Mme Gallant brought in some new building toys for the boys and girls to explore and build with. Many friends were excited to try them out and constructed some fabulous structures!
November 14, 2018
After library this morning, some boys and girls went with Mme Pat to collect some lettuce and basil from our garden tower. They brought it back to class where some friends helped prepare the salad. Some tomatoes were also added to the salad. Some boys and girls could also choose to add some garlic. A few friends found the taste very strong!
Have a look!
November 13, 2018
We had a special visitor this morning. Chris Nihmey spoke to our Kindergarten children about how special we all are and how we should treat each other. They were very good listeners!
November 7, 2018
This morning when we went to the Learning Commons, we looked up and noticed our plants on our garden tower had grown! We divided our class in two groups and took one group at a time upstairs to have a closer look at our growing plants. I think next week we'll be able to have a bite from our garden!
November 6, 2018
Yesterday and today we talked about the Métis people. We learned about who they are and discussed the beautiful artworks of Christi Belcourt, a Métis artist. We had a look at some of her artwork and the method she uses to create them. We explored dot painting too by using a special tool used for this kind of artwork. The boys and girls created beautiful masterpieces!
This morning we counted up to 10 in Michif, the Métis language. The children listened to two short stories about the Métis people. We discussed how people, a long time ago, got their food and their clothing. Some children were surprised to learn that there were no Walmarts back then! :-)
November 5, 2018
This morning we discussed about Remembrance Day. We talked about why we wear poppies and why November 11th is important to all of us. One child shared that their great grandfather had gone to war.
We watched a short video on Remembrance Day and listened to John McCrae's poem "In Flanders Fields".
You can find the video below. We also made artwork for this special day.
Here is the short video we watched this morning.
November 2, 2018
We were not sure if we were going to get rain today so this meant it could be an indoor recess at lunch time so this morning we decided to take the whole class to the gym for some exercise and get our little friends moving!
From bowling to hula hoops and balancing exercises, we had a lot of fun!
November 1, 2018
Today was International Outdoor Classroom Day. We registered our class so this morning we stayed outside to do some learning and exploring. We began our day by doing our regular daily routines like singing the national anthem and saying our class prayer. It was a little different today because we were doing it outdoors!
Some friends found natural materials like leaves and sticks and sorted them by size; "petit", "moyen" et "gros". While other friends made patterns using coloured cubes. Earlier in the week, we talked about patterns we can see around us and different types of patterns we can make using a variety of materials.
We also had a nature scavenger hunt. Many boys and girls explored the environment to find all the items on their card. They did a great job working cooperatively! We saw a lot of teamwork happening!
Have a look!
October 31, 2018
What a fun and busy day we had today! The boys and girls looked fantastic in their costumes! We danced to some Halloween songs, played some Halloween games and we also went to see Ms. Bingham at the Learning Commons. She read us a great Halloween story. Have a look at us!
Happy Halloween! Joyeuse Halloween! From all the little Owls!
October 30, 2018
Today was the Pumpkin Raffle for the United Way. The pumpkins looked amazing!!! The boys and girls did a great job painting our class pumpkin! Have a look at all the great pumpkins!
October 24, 2018
This morning we started our day with our IWALK. The whole school was outside walking. The kindergarten students stayed together in the primary yard. We enjoyed the music and also the fruits that were prepared for the children to have after their walk.
Once we came in, we got ready and sang Happy Birthday to our two little friends, Amelia and Sam! We then left to go see Ms. Bingham at the Learning Commons. Ms. Bingham read them a great Halloween story!
October 23, 2018
Working cooperatively with others, learning our letters through technology, exploring the arts through a variety of materials, learning French, problem solving through trial and error, learning social skills....
We have busy days in kindergarten! Have a look!
October 22, 2018
This morning we decided to bring our pumpkin outside since we could see that it was beginning to rot. It went in our kindergarten garden. The children were very curious and wanted to have a look at the rotting pieces. We will keep it out and see what will happen to it.
October 18, 2018
We had lots of superheroes helping the United Way today! Thanks to all for the donations that will go to help children and families in our Board.
October 16, 2018
We began our morning talking about "les citrouilles", pumpkins. We discussed what we knew about them. The children shared how they thought pumpkins grow and if they all look the same. We made predictions about what was inside the pumpkin. One child said, "There's some seeds inside. I know because my dad opened one up before."
We then made predictions of how the inside of the pumpkin would feel if we put our hand inside. Some children said, "It will feel slushy." Others said, "It will fell slimy."
Mme Gallant cut open the top of the pumpkin so we could all have a look inside. We had some volunteers come up and feel the inside of the pumpkin. Many said their predictions were right!!! We watched a short video on how pumpkins grow. Some children were surprised that we have yellow flowers before the pumpkins grow! Some were also surprised to learn that pumpkins are green before turning orange.
At one of our centres, we had our pumpkin and 2 squashes for the children to observe and some recorded their observations. With magnifying glasses, the children were able to have a closer look at them and noticed differences between them.
Have a look!
October 10, 2018
What a beautiful day today! We decided to move our outdoor classroom today instead of having it tomorrow since they're forecasting rain on Thursday.
When we first got together outside, we discussed what was different between the outdoor classroom and our class in the school. Some friends said, "Indoors we have chairs and a carpet to sit on but outside we have rocks." The children shared the many differences they were noticing between the two.
We brought out our Wonder Wagon with many activities for the children to choose from. We had some doing nature scavenger hunt, some working with letters, others building shapes with the geoboards and others "reading" books. Some boys and girls went exploring and recorded their findings on their clipboard.
Have a look!
October 2, 2018
Today, we got to make some apple sauce, "compote aux pommes"! We had many helpers with peeling the apples with our special tool. The boys and girls loved eating the strings of apple peels! When Mme Pat lifted the lid to the crock-pot, the class smelled so good!!!
In the afternoon we got to eat the apple sauce. It was delicious!!! Thank you to all the parents for sending in apples and bowls for your child.
Have a look at what we did!
October 1, 2018
This morning, the children came in to find many leaves stuck to our SMARTboard. After we were done doing the attendance with our special helper and read our daily message, Mme Gallant asked the children what they noticed about the leaves. Some said they were different colours. Another child noticed that some of the leaves didn't have pointy edges like other leaves. Others noticed that the leaves were not all the same size.
When asked, "How can we group our leaves?", one child said, "We can group them by colours." We then identified all the colours we had. We had "rouge", "jaune", "vert" and "brun". The children helped place all our leaves into our graph. Once done, we then looked at which colour we had the most without counting. It was interesting to listen to why they thought which colour had the most and explained why they thought this. We then counted to see if we were right. Have a look at all our colourful leaves!
September 27, 2018
This morning we had our Terry Fox Walk. It was a beautiful morning to go in our backyard and walk in our big field. Some of them wanted to run so Mme Gallant decided to lead the running group. They are fast runners! Mme had a hard time keeping up!
After our walk/run, we went around the corner of the school to gather up some leaves. The boys and girls were great at collecting so many leaves! We're letting them dry and tomorrow we will use our leaves for a variety of activities. We can use them for art, math and also literacy. Can't wait to see what the children will do with them!
September 26, 2018
With the new season "l'automne", we talked about the changes we have begun seeing and other changes we will see in the coming weeks. The children shared what they knew about l'automne, fall. One said, "The leaves change colours." Another child said, "They will fall to the ground too!" We looked at many fall pictures and discussed what we saw.
We wondered about why and how the leaves change colours. We watched a short video about it and learned that Chlorophyll gives the leaves their green colour. We also learned that in fall the leaves produces less Chlorophyll because the days are getting shorter. With less Chlorophyll, the green colour disapears to let the beautiful fall colours to come through.
We also listened to a nice song about "l'automne". Here is the song.
September 25, 2018
We welcomed the children back to school this morning after an eventful weekend. We hope everyone was safe these past few days. Our thoughts are with those who were affected by the tornadoes. The children had a lot to saw about their weekend.
A few photos from this morning's activities. We were very busy!
September 21, 2018
This morning we talked about who was Terry Fox and why we have the Terry Fox Walk. We listened to a short story about him and also listened to a beautiful song about Terry Fox.
September 17, 2018
Mme Pat brought in some photos that she took at the Gatineau air show from this weekend. The boys and girls observed the photos and shared their thoughts on what they were seeing. During centres, the K'nex were brought out and many children created airplanes by looking at some of the photos and models that Mme Pat had created with the K'nex. For many children, it was the first time using K'nex. They did a great job exploring how the pieces fit and work together. Have a look at all the great airplanes!
September 14, 2018
What a beautiful day today! We decided to stay out a little longer this morning so we could explore further with our friends. We use our imagination when we play in the sand box. We find amazing chefs in this area! There is a lot of cooperation when we build with the large tubes and we also develop our problem solving skills when we have to figure out how to put the pieces together so our wooden balls and cars will be able to come down. We also learn to share and use our communication skills to share our thoughts and ideas with our friends. We enjoyed doing all of this with the children from the Frog class who stayed out with us!
September 13, 2018
This morning we welcomed Ms. Falloon's class! Together, we planted some seeds for our garden tower. We will wait for the seeds to sprout and then transfer them to the tower. We first discussed what seeds need to grow and what we will have to do to take care of them. Both classes will be responsible for the tower. During the year, different classes will be responsible for the garden. A great learning experience to be shared with everyone at school!
September 10, 2018
This morning we baked some zucchini bread. We have many great little chefs in our class! They were wonderful at measuring and mixing all the ingredients together. They were very patient in waiting for their turn. When we bake, we learn many great skills like patience, sharing, math skills, cooperation... While the bread was baking, we had many people in the school ask what smelled so good! We made sure to let them know that our little friends from our Owl class were responsible for the great scent! :-)
Have a look at all our little chefs!
It was really yummy!!! Some of them had a second piece!
September 7, 2018
This morning we talked about what we need to do in case of a fire drill and we then practiced together how we need to line up and where we go once outside. The boys and girls did such a fantastic job! Since we were outside, we decided to take a little walk to our school garden and have a look at what we would find. We were all amazed to see the height of the sunflowers! They are so tall! There are also some zucchinis growing in the garden. The boys and girls got to touch the leaves and share how they felt. Some said, "They feel soft." Others said, "They feel prickly". We walked all around the garden observing the different shapes of the leaves and also the different colours we saw in the garden.
Have a look at our sunflowers!
September 6, 2018
Today was our first day with all of our little friends. We had a wonderful day together! Our new JKs quickly made friends and got to explore our classroom environment. Our SKs have been great role models for our younger students and have been very helpful in helping them learn their new routines. For the next week, we will be going over our classroom routines and discussing positive behaviours we should have to ensure harmony in our class.
Here are some pictures from today!
September 4, 2018
Welcome to our new school year! We are very excited to begin our journey with all our little friends! We had a great first day! We welcomed back some of our students from last year and some new students to SJA.
We had wonderful visits with our new JKs and we will have some more tomorrow.
Have a look at our friends today!