We have reached the mid-way point in the school year. Half the year is behind us and the other half awaits ahead. At this point in the year, I am reflecting on the growth and changes I am noticing in your children.
It gives me great joy and pride to tell you what a beautiful community your children have helped to build in the classroom. Everyone is working toward the common goal of being a part of a group where people help and encourage each other to do their best. Every day I see acts of kindness and your children helping each other to be successful at school. They are learning to be more mindful of their behaviour, taking the time to think before acting. The result is that we are all able to think clearly and make good decisions. I am excited to see where the second half of the year takes us!
We are getting ready to celebrate the 100th Day of School on Friday, February 6. Some students have already begun to bring in their collections of 100 items to school. If your child's collection is ready, please have them bring it to school in a bag and we will keep it here until we share the collections on the 100th Day.
Please ensure that the items are small and that they are grouped by 1s, 2s, 5s or 10s. It will be exciting to see what the children bring to show their friends! All items will be returned to you after your child has had an opportunity to tell their classmates about his/her collection.
In math, we continue to develop our understanding of Number. We use dice to learn our number facts to 12.
We use number lines to 30 to help us order, compare, add and subtract numbers.
We use the Learning Carpet to help our bodies understand 100.
We have been learning about 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional shapes. We know some of their properties and we look for them in our world.
In language, we continue to read daily and write a few times a week. We know that we get better at both reading and writing by doing them often. Please encourage your child to read the words they see on the street, the subway and the grocery store. Wherever you are, there are words. Ask your child to try to read the words. There are clues all around us. Encourage your child to look for clues.
We are using iPads weekly to make posters using the PicCollage application. We are learning about the many features of the App and sending messages to others in this fun way.
Through the Roots of Empathy program, Baby Emma continues to visit our class and we learn a lot about emotions and how to care for a baby from her and her mom, Heather.
Some parents have been curious when their children have been coming home from school with little prizes at the end of the day. The children are very proud of earning this prizes for listening, following the rules and using good work habits. Everyone is motivated to earn a prize and all the children have been working hard to earn one and being good sports when they don't!
We are looking forward to a new month. February has much to offer us!
Best,
Ms. Gladman
