June Activities

Wednesday, June 27th, starting at 10:30am, we will be hosting an open house in our classroom.  Parents are invited to come in and see all the wonderful things we have done this year, as well as enjoy a small presentation that we are preparing.  

We are hoping to have a shared lunch that day, and I will have a sign up in our classroom for items to bring.  After lunch, we will be joining Mrs. Ludeman's and Ms. Dawson's classes at Maple Ridge Park to play at the playground and the water park.  We will need parents to come with us to help supervise.  

Please let me know if you are able to join us for this special day.

Lexia Reading

Most students have brought home a notice explaining a new computer program that we will be starting next week.  (I ran out of notices, so if you didn't receive one today, you will on Wednesday).  We will be learning how to use Lexia at school, but it is also available to you at home.  You will find the second page gives the web address, ID number, username, and password.  If you cannot log on, please let me know.  (I think I might have made a mistake with the usernames when I wrote them down).  

If you do try out Lexia on the weekend, I would love to hear about it.  I have not used this particular program before, but I have heard great things about it and wanted to give your children the opportunity to work with it.  

Thank you.

Enjoy your weekend!

Thank you

I would like to thank Pam (Kiana's mom), Marie (Danielle's mom), Dana (Lily's mom), and Veronica (Julia's mom) for coming in to read a story to the class.  The children really enjoyed hearing your stories.  And they are looking forward to hearing more.

It is not too late to sign up for a time to come in to read to us.  Please just send me a note with a day and time that works for you.  We will make time to hear your story. 

Children's Book Week

To celebrate Children's Book Week,

Would you,

Could you,

Read to us?

There's no need to make a fuss!

Pick a day and time that work for you;

That is all you need to do.

Don't forget to bring a book!

(Or you can get one from our library nook.)

We hope you'll come to spend some time

And maybe read us a great rhyme!

We are inviting volunteers to come to our classroom to share their favourite books.  I am sending home invitations today.  If you wish to read to us, please fill out the bottom of the invitation and return it in your child's folder.  

We look forward to hearing some wonderful stories!

We know a lot about snails

They are slimy and sticky. (Kiana)

Their eyes are on stalks (Lauren) and they poke up and can down and up (Devon).  They tuck them in and out (Cadance).

They have a foot (Jackson).

They move very slowly (Breanna).

They come out of eggs (Thomas).

Snails have polka-dotted trails of slime.  And they like to stay in their shells (Syanne).

They have patterns on their shells and they are cute (Cadance).

They eat leaves (Teague).

They have shells and they are scared of foxes because they eat them (Thomas).

They are scared of birds (Lily).

They are very pretty, even though they have a shell that's swirly (Danielle).

They can put their bodies into their shells (Breanna).

And they like to stay in their shells (Syanne).

Baby snails are little (Jackson) and their mamas are big (Taylor).

They like to be wet (Julia).

They like to climb up stuff because I saw one climbing up the wall (Lily).

They like smooth rocks, not with pointy edges (Cadance).

They need lettuce and carrots (Taylor).

They like to be in dark places and they can climb trees (Syanne).

If someone steps on them, their shells will crack and they die (Benjamin).

You can't let them drop because they'll get hurt (Cadance).

They like to sleep in moss (Kiana).

 Cadance, Jackson, Devon, and Teague were exploring the snails today during Projects time.  They decided that the two largest snails are the grandparents, the smaller one is the mother and the three small ones are the babies.

 Today we also made snails with pipecleaners and with modelling clay.  Then we examined a paper that had a drawing of the parts of the snail.

Check back tomorrow for more snail adventures.

The project begins

We made a home with ivy, wet dirt and moss (Kiana), and we put it in a fish tank (Syanne) called a terrarium.  

We put snails in it (Julia).  We found them at the side of the back field (Syanne).  We brought in five snails (Benjamin), and Allendra (Mrs. Paton's daughter) added another one.  

Check back tomorrow for more...

Slugs and Snails

Today the children found snails and slugs at school on the back field at Recess.  They wanted to collect and take care of them.  

We got lots (Thomas).  

They eat lettuce and carrots.  The slugs leave a straight trail of slime, and the snails leave a circly trail of slime.  And they like rain. (Syanne)

Snails are really cute, except for the tiny one is cuter than the rest. And the tiny one is really tiny.  It's so cute that when everybody sees it then they won't believe their eyes. (Danielle)

They have patterns on their shells.  They are slimy.  One time it climbed up to my elbow. (Cadance)

It was slimy.  Birds want to eat snails.  (Breanna)

There was a whole bunch.  (Julia)

The snail likes rain outside. (Teague)

The snails are sticky like slugs.  (Colby)

We have decided to try to create a snail terrarium.  We will keep you posted...

The Play

We had our play today and it was great!  Mrs. Linde videotaped the show for us on my Flip cam, so I am able to make a dvd of the show for anyone who wishes a copy.  If you bring in a DVD-R, I will burn a copy for you.  

If you have any photos to share, please let me know.

Thank you.

Mrs. Paton's Kindergarten's present...

Our assembly is set for the morning of Monday, April 2nd.

That's less than a week away.  Please make sure that your child has his/her costume at school as soon as possible.  I would like to have the children leave their costumes at school and then take them home on Monday. 

Princesses: need to have a dress

Butterfly girl: has wings and antennae, but needs an outfit

Penguins: need black pants, and either a white shirt or a black shirt

Robots: costumes are done, but they need to wear snug-fitting clothes to allow the boxes and pipes to fit over top

I am hoping that someone (a parent) can videotape the show, so please let me know if you are able to do that.

Are you ready?

School starts again in a few days, and I am ready to go!  I feel great and I look forward to seeing everyone next week.  

Spring Break is here!

I would like to take this opportunity to welcome our new student, Devon.  I have only met Devon briefly and I look forward to getting to know him more after Spring Break.

And sadly, we have said goodbye to two of our students, Nola and Austin.  You will both be missed.   Keep in touch and don't forget to check our blog for updates.

Today I did send home Kindergarten Progress Reports.  As I've stated, if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me and we will set up a time to meet when I return (after Spring Break).  

Thank you for all of your support.  It has made my healing process much easier knowing that I have your support.

Have a great Spring Break!

We love rocks!

So lately, I've been noticing that many of the kids have been collecting rocks at Recess and Lunch, and during our Outside Playtime. They seem to really love the small white rocks from the playground, and any rock that's interesting in shape or colour. I remember doing this as a child. I collected rocks wherever I went - walking to school, at the park across the street from my house, or even the gravel from my driveway. And when we went to the beach...I wasn't really interested in the shells, although those were nice. It came as no surprise when I started taking geology courses in university. When I got married my dad brought out my childhood rock collection that he had kept for me. Today, after our Valentine desserts, we went out on a rock hunt and collected a whole bucket of rocks to examine and wonder about. We spent the whole afternoon searching for the best rocks. I have invited the children to bring a special rock to school on Thursday to share with the class. It can be a rock that they already have or one that they find. Or even just a photo of a special rock (although there is something soothing about holding a rock). I can't to see what they bring...

The 100th Day of School!!

On Thursday, February 23rd, we will be celebrating our 100th day of school.  The children each need to bring a ziplock bag filled with 100 objects to use in an art project (e.g. stickers, dried beans, macaroni, foam shapes, paper shapes, beads, etc.).  The objects need to be small and light to be glued to paper.  Please send the bag to school as soon as  possible.  Thank you.

Valentine's Celebration

On Tuesday, February 14th, we will be having a Friendship Lunch.  Each student will bring something to share at lunch time.  Please come in and sign up to bring something (or send me a note in your child's folder).  Keep in mind that our classroom needs to be nut free!  I am asking for sandwiches, crackers and cheese, cut vegetables, cut fruit, cookies, chips and cheezies.   I already have juice, cups, plates, etc. 

We will also be mailing Valentines to each other.  Each child will be decorating his/her own Valentine bag.  It would be helpful to have parent help in the morning to mail the cards.  I will send home a list of student names on Friday.  Thank you.

Backdrop and Props

We've started creating the backdrop for our show. I am hoping that we will be able to work on it more this week, with some parent help. We are painting a large handprint rainbow. We have been practicing our show every day. The songs are sounding good, the dancing is sweet, and our acting is coming along. The children do find it hard to keep doing the same thing each time, as their natural inclination is to use their imagination and creativity to change what they are pretending. And of course, with regular playtime that's exactly what we want to see. But not in a play for an audience, unless it is improv...maybe that's what we need to do next! Now I'm just rambling...time for a break. :)

Wiarton Willie has spoken...

This week we have been talking about Groundhog's Day.  We made our own predictions about whether or not Wiarton Willie (in Ontario) would see his shadow.  Most students thought that he would not see his shadow and that we would have an early spring.  

Today we looked online to find out Willie's prediction and we found out that we were right...he didn't see his shadow.  Now we will just have to wait to see if we do in fact have an early spring.

We went outside to see if we could see our own shadows.  But the clouds were too thick.  So we went inside and used our overhead projector to make shadows inside.

Monday Mayhem

Today we practiced our production in the classroom.  We've realized that it is difficult to remember where everyone is supposed to stand, and then remember what everyone is supposed to do.  But we will keep practicing.  

We have a date for our assembly - Friday, March 9th at 1:00pm.  We hope everyone will be able to come.  But keep in mind that it is still early and the date/time might have to be changed.  

I plan to have all of our costumes at school for our dress rehearsal on Thursday, March 8th.  If you can help in the classroom before then, please let me know.  We still need to finish the penguin costumes and the robot costumes.  

Again, thank you for your enthusiasm.

Friday's Costume Frenzy

We started making our costumes in class today.  

Our robots have started (thank you to Kelly for bringing some shoe boxes in and thank you to Tanya for helping start to create the boys' shoes).  

Our penguin costume pieces have been traced and cut out (again thank you to Tanya).  Each penguin has a visor which will be the head (with eyes and beaks), and we have large foam pieces for the tummy and wings.  I am looking for 5 hook-on bow ties, with adjustable straps.  If you find any or know where I can get some, please let me know.  The penguins will also need black pants and white or black shirts.  We will not need them until the dress rehearsal (TBA). 

I have bought matching tiaras for the princess sisters, but each girl will need her own dress.  This can be left at school, or sent to school for the dress rehearsal.  

Butterfly Girl now has a purple and pink furry headband with antennae and purple wings.  She will need a dress. 

And our orange cat still needs a costume.

I discovered that no one could comment on the blog, so I have changed the setting and it should now work.  

Thank you for your enthusiasm for our production.  The children are definitely excited. 

The script

Today we continued working on the script for our production.  We had a couple of cast changes, but we have agreed not to make any more changes once we start our costumes.

Once upon a time there was a penguin named Furry the Mother Penguin (Cadance). She had four boys named Peter the Penguin (Colby), Pablo the Penguin (Evan), Fluffy the Penguin (Thomas), and Flower the Penguin (Benjamin).  The penguin family was walking in the forest to get snow cones because they were too hot.  Furry the Mother Penguin said, “Let’s go!”  But the boys didn’t hear her so they got lost.  OH NO!

The princess sisters were also walking in the forest: Princess Pretty (Nola), Princess Prunella Ballerina (Julia), Princess Heart-Love-You (Danielle), Princess Tinkerbell (Breanna), Princess Grace (Lily), Princess Bella (Taylor), Princess Belle (Kiana), Princess Violet (Syanne), Princess Rose (Ava), and Princess Roseadell (Madison).  The princess sisters found the lost penguin boys and decided to take them to their castle to play with their Orange Cat (Teague) because he was sad and lonely.

The princess sisters wanted to entertain the penguins and cat. 

(musical number: Somewhere Over the Rainbow - everyone sings, princesses dance)

Then Robot Rex Silver (Jackson) and Robot Rex Gold (Austin) came to steal the penguins and the cat because they wanted to eat them.  So they trapped them and took them away.

Meanwhile, Furry the Mother Penguin was still looking for her boys.

Just then, Butterfly Girl the Superhero twirled in and led the princess sisters and Furry the Mother Penguin to rescue the penguin boys and the orange cat.  Butterfly Girl knew the secret to stopping the robots.  She pushed the “Off” button and the robots went to sleep.

Everyone went back to live at the castle where the Fairy Princess Belle made it snow every day for the penguins, so they wouldn’t be too hot.

They all lived happily ever after because Butterfly Girl took out the bugs from the robots and then they were nice.

The End

Finale: Put a Little Love in Your Heart (everyone sings)

Costume potential

This morning we talked about potential costumes for the different actors in our production.

We have: 

a number of princesses/ballerina princesses (Nola, Danielle, Kiana, Syanne, Taylor, Lily, Julia, Breanna, Madison, Ava)

robots (Thomas, Jackson, Austin) 

cat (Teague)

penguin mother (Cadance)

penguin boys (Evan, Colby)

Butterfly girl/superhero (Lauren)

(and we are waiting for Benjamin to feel better to let him decide his role)

We have some ideas about how to make our costumes, but we need some adult help.  If you are able to help with making costumes, or helping with supplies, please let me know. Thank you in advance.

The show is on!

Dear Parents,

With hope to keep you better informed about our classroom and your child's learning, I have created this blog: Mrs. Paton's Kindie Kids.  Please check back often.  As this is a new venture for me, I have a lot to learn about this process.  :)

 Tuesday, January 24th

Today in class we worked on planning what we would like to do for Yennadon's March assembly.  The children have been telling stories through dramatic play, puppet shows, and drawings and paintings.  Then during our "Share Learning" Time, they've been sharing their stories with the class.  

This morning I proposed that we create a class story to present in front of the school.  We brainstormed ideas about what we would need: costumes, props, backdrop, music, and a story.  Then we talked about what kind of characters might be in our story: princesses, penguins, robots, butterflies, ballerinas.  Then at the end of the day we started developing our storyline.

We will need some adult help with our costumes and backdrops.  Tomorrow we will continue to plan our show...

Welcome to my blog!