Hello again KA families,

 This week we learned more about the brain and the five main sections and what they do (the amygdala, the hippocampus, the cerebellum, the cerebrum and the prefrontal cortex). The goal isn’t for students to memorize the names and their functions, but to become aware that the brain is a complex structure and that different areas have different functions and that we can work to strengthen those areas. We refer to these areas in class often to help develop that understanding. 

We used math (ordering and comparing objects based on length) to build Christmas Trees to accompany our Candy Canes in the hallway. We displayed them in an AB pattern on the wall to practice our patterning outcome. We also used our literacy and numeracy center time to practice fine motor skills, patterning skills, spatial awareness, love of reading, love of writing and rhyming. 

Today we began writing letters to Santa, but instead of writing to ask for something for ourselves, each student chose one person they love and asked for something for that person. Students had to reflect on their loved one and decide what is more important and valuable to that person before they were able to decide on what to ask for. It was very sweet listening to their decision making process. We will finish these on Monday.

Unfortunately with the high winds this afternoon, Wild Child had to cancel our session today for safety. They will reschedule in the new year, and I will be sure to share the date with you all once it has been chosen. 

A reminder to send extra hats, socks and mittens/gloves in your child’s backpack. Students often have wet mitts/socks/hats after recess and it can be quite uncomfortable to put on wet outdoor gear. A backup in the backpack can save a lot of stress. Thanks!

Next week is a big week at West Kent. There is a theme to each day if your child would like to participate in our Spirit Week (the schedule is listed below). We will visit the Holiday Shoppe on Monday (remember to send $2) and our Holiday Concert is on Thursday (storm date, Friday, December 19). Please let me know before 9am on Thursday if you are planning to take your child home with you after the concert. If we don’t know beforehand, it can cause quite a bit of disruption at the office to organize students leaving early for the day and will delay your departure. Thanks for helping with this. 

Make sure you check out the Overheard in KA tab at the top of the blog for some light-hearted moments overheard in our class. I’ll continue to add to this throughout the year. 

Next Week in KA:

Monday, December 15, Day 3: Music, PJ/Comfy Clothes Day & Holiday Shoppe

Tuesday, December 16, Day 4: Mrs. Mac, Phys. Ed & Dress in Holiday Colors Day

Wednesday, December 17, Day 5: Music & Holiday Sweaters Day

Thursday, December 18, Day 6: Holiday Socks Day & Concert

Friday, December 19, Day 1: Music & Holiday Hats/Headbands Day

Have a fantastic weekend,

Lisa 😊

Hi Team KA,

What an unexpectedly short week! Our K students experienced their first and second snow day in the same week. It is that time of year again, but hopefully we won’t miss too much time leading up to the Christmas break.

This week we made some candy cane art for our hallway. We used torn paper in order to strengthen fine motor muscles in students’ hands and used an AB pattern (that we’ve been learning about in Math) to create candy canes to hang in the hallway. Next week we will use non-standard units of measurement to create some Christmas Trees to hang alongside our candy canes.

We learned more about what ‘fair’ means this week. We participated in an activity where each student was assigned an imaginary injury or illness. It varied from small cuts, to feeling sleepy, coughs and upset bellies. Some students in this imaginary scenario were having totally normal days, and one even had an exciting event. As each student came up to get their scenario, they each got a band-aid on the same spot on their arm. They quickly realized that it didn’t make sense to have a band-aid on their arm to deal with a cough or belly problems. We were able to have a discussion about fair and that it doesn’t mean that everyone gets the same thing, rather that everyone gets what they need. We took a picture of all the band-aid arms and it will hang in our classroom as a reminder of what fair means.

We also started learning about how our brains work and how they learn. To do this, we began to read Your Fantastic, Elastic Brain. This book and lessons that go with will help your child lay a foundation of understanding about growth mindset. That although we all have our individual strengths, our brains can learn and grow with hard work. This attitude toward learning can help students achieve learning goals and can help lessen anxiety about tricky tasks. We just got started with it this week, but this will continue for the weeks to come.

A reminder to return the Wild Child permission forms that were sent home on Tuesday so that your child can participate in the fun activity on Friday.

Now that we have the first week of December behind us, heres’s a reminder of some of the important upcoming dates:

Friday, December 12: Wild Child activity – please return the permission form and send your child dressed for extra time outdoors.

Monday, December 15: Holiday Shoppe – please send $2 and students will shop for two gifts for parents/care-givers

Monday, December 15: PJ/Comfy Clothes Day

Tuesday, December 16: Dress in Holiday Colors Day

Wednesday, December 17: Holiday Sweaters Day

Thursday, December 18: Holiday Concert 12:15pm – please let me know in advance if you plan to take your child home with you after the concert

Thursday, December 18: Holiday Socks Day

Friday, December 19: Holiday Hats/Headbands Day

Next Week in KA:

Monday, December 8, Day 4 – Mrs. Mac & Phys. Ed.

Tuesday, December 9, Day 5 – Music

Wednesday, December 10, Day 6 – Mrs. Mac & Phys. Ed.

Thursday, December 11, Day 1 – Music

Friday, December 12, Day 2 – Mrs. Mac, Phys. Ed., Library & Wild Child activity

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend,

Lisa 😊

Good morning KA parents,

Today you will find a permission form for a special activity in your child’s homework bag. This is a general form that Wild Child uses for many of their programs and some of the information does not pertain to what we’ll be doing. On Friday, December 12, Wild Child will come to West Kent to do a special outdoor activity with the three Kindergarten classes. We will not be leaving school property for this activity. This should be an engaging time spent learning in and about the great outdoors, which is so important at this stage of child development. We are excited and grateful to Wild Child for providing us with this opportunity.

Please have these forms signed and returned to school by Friday, December 5. If you have any questions about the programming, please reach out via email to me.

Have a great Tuesday,

Lisa 🙂

Hello KA families,

We had a fantastic first week together here in KA. I am impressed with how quickly students are learning our new routines and procedures. One of those new routines you may have heard about is Star of the Day. Students take turns being the Star of the Day and have special tasks to help with around the classroom and lead some of our routines. If your child didn’t have a chance this week, they will next week, and the cycle will repeat.

We enjoyed reading the Jillian Jiggs Treasury by Phoebe Gillman as well as My New Teacher and Me by Al Yankovic. We also worked on reviewing letter names and sounds and proper letter formation. We learned new ways to represent numbers, how to estimate and became more familiar with the calendar. Students also became familiar with new literacy and numeracy centers that are becoming part of our learning. This is a combination of activities that focus on specific skills and are a mix of independent and guided practice.

We also held a class meeting to decide how we want KA to look and feel when we come to school every day. Together, we decided on five main points and we all signed it and hung it on our wall to remind ourselves to work towards that goal. We call it our Class Agreement.

On Monday during our library time we were able to meet some of the new chicks that have recently hatched. We saw some chicks that were able to walk around a small enclosure, some that were recently hatched and still in an incubator, and we were even lucky enough to see an egg start to hatch. It was a very exciting library visit.

With December beginning next week, there are some special holiday activities planned. Students have been working very hard with Mme. Morgan in Music class to prepare for our concert on December 8. Families are invited to come and watch this special performance at 12:15 in our school gym. *If you are planning on taking your child home with you after the concert, please let me know ahead of time. It can get very chaotic after a concert, and things go much more easily if we know in advance if a child will be leaving at the end of the concert. Thank you for help with this.

Also in December will be the Holiday Shoppe. This is a much-loved West Kent tradition where students pay $2 (which goes towards WK families in need) and get to shop for two gifts for their parents. The care and excitement that students show when picking out items for their loved ones is one of my favorite parts of the season. We will also end the year with a school-wide spirit week where students are invited to dress up each day of the week. More information can be found in the poster below.

Next Week in KA:

Monday, December 1, Day 1 – Music

Tuesday, December 2, Day 2 – Mrs. Mac, Phys. Ed. & Library

Wednesday, December 3, Day 3 – Music

Thursday, December 4, Day 4 – Mrs. Mac, Phys. Ed. & Library

Friday, December 5, Day 5 – Music

I hope you all have a fantastic weekend and I am excited to see everyone again on Monday,

Lisa 😊

Hello KA parents,

We had a wonderful first day together in class. I am so happy that I get to teach this fantastic group of students. They are so kind and helpful and really work well together as a team.

The students quickly realized this morning that Ms. Karen and I teach differently from each other, but they adapted well to the changes and were patient with me and each other when learning new ways to do things. I am so proud of them all.

A reminder that the Provincial School Lunch program does not provide cutlery for the meals, so students need to bring a fork or spoon from home to use each day that they order lunch.

I hope everyone has a great evening and I am excited to see the students again in the morning.

Lisa 🙂

Welcome to the KA class blog. This will be my primary form of communication through the school year. I will post an update each week with details of what we are learning, any upcoming activities or other announcements as needed. I will share pictures (without faces) so that you can enjoy a behind the scenes view of your child’s learning. Most parents find it easiest to subscribe to the blog (below). If you subscribe you will get an email each time I make a post which is much easier than remembering to check the blog regularly. If you need help subscribing, please let me know and I will help. You can always reach out to me via email with any questions, concerns or updates. Any communication that is specific to your child will be through phone calls or emails rather than the group blog.

I know that changing teachers mid-year can be anxiety provoking for both students and their grown-ups. If there is anything that could help with that transition for your family, please feel free to reach out (lmmacleod@edu.pe.ca) and I’ll do my best to support you.

Next Week in KA

Monday, November 24, Day 2 – Music

Tuesday, November 25, Day 3 – Phys. Ed & Ms. Mac

Wednesday, November 26, Day 4 – Music

Thursday, November 27, Day 5 – Phys. Ed & Ms. Mac

Friday, November 28, Day 6 – Music

I’m looking forward to seeing everyone on Monday.

Lisa 🙂