December 2014

Hello Parents,
It is hard to believe how quickly the time is flying by and that we are already into December.

Some very exciting things happened in November:

First, we began weekly Yoga in the class. We all look forward to unfurling the yoga mats and trying new poses that challenge us to use our bodies in new ways. We are working on balances, inversions and also using our breath to help us calm and focus our minds and bodies.

We also began Writer's Workshop. We began by connecting learning to write with what we know about learning to read. When we read, we read the pictures and the words, so when we write, we need to use pictures and words. Learning to write is a process, and this process takes time. The children are beginning to communicate their ideas through pictures and words. Some children are using words to label their drawings and some are starting to write sentences to communicate their ideas. Here are some samples of our writing:

We are also building a bank of words that we can write quickly and easily. These are the Weekly Words that your child has been writing in their Agendas and should be practicing as a part of their Homework Routine. In the classroom, we build these words using play dough, pipe cleaners, WikiStix, alphabet stamps and magnetic letters. Using these materials helps to deepen the children's understanding because using these materials requires that they engage multiple senses to build the words.

 

Finally, we welcomed Baby Emma and her mom Heather to our classroom. We are so blessed to be receiving the Roots of Empathy program this year. The program involves a baby coming to teach our students about empathy and emotions through monthly visits by a trained Roots of Empathy instructor. You can find out more about Roots of Empathy here: www.rootsofempathy.org .
Meet Baby Emma:

Some housekeeping notes:
-Your children are now bringing home agendas daily. Please sign them every day to indicate that you have seen the agenda and that your child is working on their homework (Raz Kids, Weekly Words and/or Homework Calendar Activities) for 10 minutes every day.
-The words of the week are found in the agenda on the right hand side. We are trying to add 5 new ones every week. We talked about 'Playing School' at home and having another person in the home be the teacher and practice having a spelling test together. Please try to make time for this so that we can continue to add words to our Word Wall. It is hard to move on when many children have not mastered the words.

Thanks for stopping by,
Ms. Gladman

Mindfulness

Yesterday our Grade Ones had a real treat! They were visited by Sensei Shri of Ki-Karate School. (www.yogawithshri.com) Sensei spent some time with each of our first grade classes, exploring yoga, mindfulness and some karate too. These pictures can give you a sense of how much everyone gained from this exciting experience.

Enjoy!

Best,

Ms. Gladman

Chair Pose and Downward Dog

Punch one

Horse Stance 

 Frog Jump

 Frog Jump 2

And Kick!

Kick!

Arm Balance

Arm Balance 2

Block

Block Part 2

Punch One

Kick

V-sit

Sitting Punches

Punching

More punches

Great form!

Namaste

November 2014- Special Focus on Learning to Read

Dear Parents,
Welcome to a new month! We have been very busy in the classroom building our growing our competencies in reading.

After Thanksgiving, we began to "Read to Self" in the classroom. In order to begin this process, we went "Book Shopping". Everyone had a chance to fill their book bags with 10 books that they were interested in reading. We have been reading these same books for over two weeks now and we will continue to enjoy them for a little while longer before we go "Book Shopping" again.

We learned two ways to read a book when we read to ourselves:

1. Reading the pictures
2. Reading the words

As a class, we have been working hard to build our stamina for reading to ourselves. We work against the time. So far, the longest we have all been able to read is 13 minutes. We have had good days and bad days. By the end of the year, we should be able to sustain engagement with books for 20 minutes. Ask your child to tell you about "Read to Self" time.

What does "Read to Self" look and sound like? It sounds like quiet, whisper voices and looks like this:

Now that the children are able to sustain engagement with books at school, I encourage you to provide a quiet space for them to read every night at home. In addition to reading library books from Oakridge, you are encouraged to visit the local library every week and allow your child to choose books that interest them to read at home.

Local Libraries:
Albert Campbell
http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/detail.jsp?Nr=p_cat_branch_name:Albert%20Campbell
Children's Programs at Albert Campbell:
http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/search.jsp?N=37867+37850+33092

Dawes Road
http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/detail.jsp?Nr=p_cat_branch_name:Dawes%20Road
Children's Programs at Dawes Road:
http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/search.jsp?N=37867+37850+33117

The Toronto Public library also has a Bookmobile that visits the Oakridge Community Centre on alternating Thursday evenings.
http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/detail.jsp?Entt=RDMLIB124&R=LIB124

Please consider these free community supports to help your family access quality children's literature and programming.

Reading the pictures is an essential part of learning to read, so even if the words are too difficult for your child to do alone, they can get very important information from the pictures. Please be available to help them answer some of the questions that they will have after reading the pictures. You can read the words to them to help them fill in the gaps that they may have from reading the pictures.

Reading to your child is another integral part of learning to read. Please set time every day after school to read to your child. You may choose to read English books or books in your home language. Either language is beneficial. Spending quiet times reading with your child builds their competencies in immeasurable ways.

Soon, we will be launching the At Home Reading Program. Stay tuned for details on this exciting addition to the program!

Best,
Ms. Gladman