We’ve been hard at work for the past two weeks on a very special assignment.  For the past few years, our Ridgeview Parent Advisory Council has had as one of its fundraisers, The Card Project.  Our classes participate by creating unique art work which is then turned into cards, journals and sketchbooks.  Each child creates a piece; in a few weeks you will receive a sample card with your child’s artwork and from there, you can make purchases where the proceeds benefit our school.

Christy and I spend a lot of time pondering what we should choose as an art project for our classes.  The Kindergarten students have only attended school for a few weeks when we are called upon to create something that is not only wonderful and something you will want to purchase, but that is also manageable and appropriate skill-wise for their age:  four and five years old.

We were given theme of “Nature” so we looked at websites such as Deep Space Sparkle and Pinterest, and our own collection of art books and vast files from over the years for inspiration.  In the end, we choose an adorable owl, one of Christy’s favourite motifs, created with torn paper, from Pinterest.

We drew a pencil oval on the dark blue background paper and tore the construction paper strips of grey and two tones of brown ahead of time.  We demonstrated how to tear the paper, which still proved to be challenging for many children, as it does require a certain degree of fine motor strength in their fingers.

Although we suggested to the children that they start by creating a circle, all true artists, as our students certainly are, are motivated by their own desires, creativity and experiences.

 

To create the eyes, we taught the children how to fold

the rectangular shaped yellow and black papers in half.  Some children chose to draw a circle and cut both eyes at once; while others decided to free-hand cut out their eyes.

 

We decided, as the due date was rapidly approaching, to cut out the legs ourselves.

And the final presentation?

 

What could be sweeter than this?  Only our Kindergarten children!!

For more information, visit the http://www.TheCardProject.ca

This Week in Our Room:  October 12-16, 2015

We both a fire drill and earthquake drill this week.  The children are listening well and following teacher directions calmly as we practise these emergency procedures.

We finished the letter D and will send home the children “Diamond d” and some alphabet work next week.

We graphed our birthdays in our class during Math this week.

Upcoming Next Week:

Sharing and Special Helper.  The children have been taking turns being the Special Helper the past few weeks. The Special Helper gets to be first in line every time we line-up (which is frequent), take the attendance to the office with a friend and lead the class during the Math Their Way Calendar every morning.  It’s a tremendous privilege to be the Special Helper as the role carries many responsibilities throughout the day, and an opportunity for every child to take a leadership role and set a positive example for others.

It’s time now to add “Sharing” to the role of Special Helper.  Every 4-5 weeks we will post a theme for Sharing and a calendar so you and your child know which day is his or her Special Helper Day.  On your child’s Special Helper Day he or she will bring the “sharing” to school and tell the class about it.  You can support your child by helping them to organize their “sharing” by sending a note with a few key words or picture clues to remind them of what to say.  Of course we will be there encouraging your child, as well.

Our first Sharing and Special Helper begins on Monday in Division 16 and the following week in Division 15.  Our theme will be “I Like Me.”  Please assist your child to find three small objects that tells something about him or her.  These objects should fit into a small ziploc bag.

Some possibilities your child might bring include:

• a family photo, labelled with family member names
• a small toy representative of a favourite hobby or activity (eg., Lego, goggles for swimming)
• a small stuffed cat or dog to represent a pet
• a souvenir from a family holiday

For this first round of Sharing and Special Helper, we will be in alphabetical order by first name.  We have promised the children we will switch up the order every time (by last alphabetical name, birthday order) after this so children who are at the end of the alphabet by their first name might have an opportunity to be at the beginning or middle of the list for the next time.

Dates and Reminders:

Library.  With the Thanksgiving holiday and other changes to our schedule, some of our children have missed taking out a new library book because they did not return their previous book.  Please assist your child in planning to pack their library book to return to school a day or two ahead of Library Day.

Division 15’s (Mrs. Campbell and Mrs, Cantlie) Library Day is Monday.

Division 16’s (Mrs. Daudlin) Library Day is Tuesday.

Friday, October 23, is the Provincial Professional Day.  School is not in session.