School Song

As a new school, we are so lucky to be able to collaborate and create a school song that encompasses all the important messages that we value.  All classes were invited to share their ideas for the song by recording them in the song diary.  Our class engaged in a discussion on Anne Frank, character traits and what makes someone a good friend/role model.  

Below are some pictures of our contribution to the song diary.  We can't wait to hear what Glenn Marais (singer/songwriter) and some AFPS students come up with!  

Mathematical Learning - Let's Tally!

Within our daily classroom activities we continue to work on early number concepts with students.  These concepts refer to the foundational skills students need in order to understand and work with numbers successfully.  However, during our focused math lessons we have been exploring tally charts.  

We have rolled dice and recorded the number of times that it landed on a particular number. 

We have surveyed the class and recorded using a tally chart some of our favourites.  Here is  a tally chart of our favourite colours.  We even interpreted the data and recorded our findings below.


Can you think of things to tally at home?  Students continue to work on carefully counting tally marks.  

Using Nature to Inspire Mathematical Learning

In this invitation for learning, students took leaves that were collected from outside and practiced sorting.  They then built on their knowledge and began to learn about data management.  This learning opportunity went further than Ms. Chand and I expected and we were so proud of the students learning.  

Students were provided with a basket of leaves, some coloured paper, and sticky notes. Working together they decided to sort the leaves.

    

While sorting R. realized that there was a leaf that had many colours. “It reminds me of a rainbow” he announced. He decided the rainbow leaf needed its own pile. Using sticky notes the group labelled the piles of leaves which they sorted by colour.

This group of students gathered together the following day to organize their leaves in a different way. These students were introduced to graphing. At the bottom of the chart paper they placed their sticky note labels. C. suggested “don’t put the sticky notes too close or the leaves will go on top of each other”. Each student secured their leaves to the chart paper and created a line up of their coloured leaves. Once finished A.O. commented “Wow! That is a lot of red leaves. I wonder how many there are”. A.O. then proceeded to count the red leaves. O. suggested they count all the leaves and record the number for each colour on the sticky note. A.B. recounted each row of leaves to ensure the correct number was recorded.

While reflecting on their work the group was able to answer questions such as: How many green/yellow/rainbow leaves? Which colour has the most leaves? Which colour has the least amount of leaves?  R. was quick to assist a friend in understanding that least meant the “smallest amount”. 

Nexus Tablets - Documenting our Learning

Our class is so lucky to be part of a pilot project through the board.  We are piloting the use of Nexus Tablets within the classroom.  So far, we have been teaching the students to navigate the tablets, take pictures, and use Google for a simple research task.  Within the FDK program so much of student learning is documented through photos.  Many students are asking to take pictures of their own work and do so with such care and pride.  When the students ask to take a picture of their work, we know that this is a work sample that they are particularly proud of and want to preserve.  Here are just a few examples of of the integration of technology in our daily classroom life.  

Why not print pictures taken during a family outing and have your child write about what is happening in the picture.  These pictures can be compiled to make a special journal!   

Patterning

We hope that you are all enjoying our new blog.  Today the students were talking about the blog and asking what else we would be posting.  Ms. Chand and I are so thrilled that they are motivated and excited to see their work online and share it with you at home!

We were asked by the students to post these videos that were taken during our focused math lesson today.  Students were divided into smaller groups and two of our JK students co-created and named these patterns. 

What other patterns can you make at home? 

A Glimpse Into Our Learning

Kindergarten is a wonderful and busy place.  We are constantly asking questions, wondering and making new discoveries.  Below are some collages of us in action. Hopefully these pictures will help to start a conversation or inspire you to try something new at home.  

Reading occurs all the time!  We read aloud and to each other, draw something that we have read about, explore our shared reading folders, and read around the room!  Reading nightly with your child and discussing what was read is beneficial to developing our young readers confidence and skills.  

Do you and your child have a favourite book to read? 

The best writing often occurs when our students are writing about something meaningful to them.  Within our class, writing occurs throughout the day.  We label boxes that need to be moved, write comic books about our favourite super heroes or make a plan for a structure we are about to build.  Writing can include different things such as; labelling a picture, making a list, writing a letter to a friend or family member or simply adding a sentence to a picture.  

Numbers, numbers, numbers!  We have been counting, practicing our 1:1 correspondence, representing numbers in various ways, and some students eagerly created simple addition sentences!  Students have worked on sorting, creating AB and ABC patterns.  While exploring with pattern blocks, a few students created some beautiful geometric designs.  Can you find any patterns at home or while on a walk outside?  Do you have any household items that need sorting? 

Students have really enjoyed creating self portraits, outdoor scenes and creative designs using loose parts.  Imagination and creativity have blossomed when students are engaged in this type of an activity.  Oral language is further developed here when students share what they are creating with one another or an educator.  Often after creating and conversing about their work, students will draw what they made and then write about it.  Orally brainstorming with the children helps generate their ideas to make the writing process easier for them.  

Hope that you have enjoyed a glimpse into our learning!        

Welcome

Welcome to our class blog!  As I begin this first post I can't help but to begin with how excited and thankful I am to be part of the opening of Anne Frank P.S.  It truly has been a wonderful journey so far and I cannot wait to see how the year continues to unfold.  

Watching the school being built from the ground up has been an interesting experience for all - our school has turned out beautifully.  However, my favourite part of the school is our spacious FDK classrooms that are just magnificent!  We are so lucky to have such amazing learning spaces to share with our youngest learners.  

Within our class we share the view of the Reggio Emilia Approach that values each child as strong, capable and resilient. Children are filled with wonder and knowledge, and each child brings with them deep curiosity and potential. Their natural curiosity is what drives children to understand the world and how they fit within it.  When setting up our new classroom we set out with this in mind.  We hoped to create a space that offered students the freedom to explore their interests, engage in activities that would spark new interests, and the opportunity to access necessary materials independently as they were needed.  

We continue to reflect on our classroom and add/change things as we observe how the students flow through the learning environment.  

Thank you for joining us on this journey through kindergarten where we will continue to be curious as we jump into exciting inquiries and play-based learning.