We have been reviewing the math concept more than, fewer than and same as through many different activities. One activity we completed was reading a book called Mr. Gumpy's Outing. We followed up the reading by having students draw a picture of people or creatures they wanted to take with them in their own boat. They then used counters beside people/creatures to show more than, fewer than and the same. We encourage parents to reinforce this concept at home by using food such as smarties or fruit loops. Have children show more than, fewer than or same as the amount you have. We are now counting and creating sets of 1-3. Here is a link to a video that students can watch with you. Look for the sets of three objects in the  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llezjMibxp4&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Wednesday, December 5th, our kindergarten class will be visiting the Miramichi Hospital for a tour of various departments. We will leave the school promptly at 8:40 am and plan to return by our 11:30 lunch. Please do not have your child buy their lunch that day or have anything that requires heating as we may not return on time and then we will eat lunch in our classroom. Parents will not be able to accompany us on this trip as the hospital has guidelines as to the number of adults allowed on this tour. Thanks for understanding!

Last week we focused on two more letters. We practiced the two sounds that the letter Oo makes as well as the two sounds for the letter Cc.  For the letter Oo we did some octopus crafts and read a great non-fiction book about octopuses! Did you know that they can change color? They can grow a lost arm back? They squirt ink?  Have your child tell you all about this cool creature!  Listen for words that begin with Oo as well as words that have it in the middle!  We also learned about the letter Cc and it was a favorite because we saw a favorite character Cookie Monster!!  We even got to eat some chocolate chip cookies and see that when c is right beside a h it makes another sound (ch). The children have nearly mastered their letter names and letter sounds but please continue to review these so they become automatic! As we read and write more and more it will become necessary for the children to get faster at making the sounds and formations for each letter. To review letters in a fun way check out one of their favorite websites: www.starfall.com  

The weeks are just flying by in kindergarten! We are half way to our 100th day party which we are really looking forward to! Last week we worked on the letters Jj and Dd. Check these at home and if your child isn't sure of the name, sound or formation practice them a bit more.The Maritime Marionettes visited our school on Thursday with a great performance of Jack and the Beanstalk. It was a slightly different version of the classic tale. We discussed the many ways it was the same as other versions as well as ways it was different from other versions. Ask your child to tell you all about these differences. It is a great authentic chance for them to retell a story.

Ask your child to sing you the song "I'm a Pumpkin" - they are awesome at it! Open the word document below to see the words (although I doubt your child needs them).  

You will notice in the homework this week that the children have been practicing printing their names. We have been working on other fine motor skills as well, such as cutting. There are lots of fun activities that you can do with your child to help him/her develop the skills needed to make these activities easier. The occupational therapist that visits our school once a week has shared some great activities with us and has given permission for them to be posted on the website. The other kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Hendry, was kind enough to post the pictures along with a brief description. I will work some of these into our day but please choose some to try at home as well. You can find them on Mrs. Hendry's teacher page.