This week in our Fairy Tales study, we focused on “The Three Little Pigs,” illustrated by Georgien Overwater.  We’ve read several versions now, as a few children brought this story in for Sharing, and their choice has been our daily read-aloud book.  Each time we have a different retelling of a fairy tale, it’s been a wonderful opportunity to compare and contrast the characterizations and plot lines of the individual books.  In “The Three Little Pigs,” we read how the pigs are either eaten by the wolf, or safely club together in the brick house; different ways in which the wolf meets his end (each of them gravely acknowledged by the children) and observed additional details provided by the illustrator to enhance that particular version.  We’ve also read The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig (Eugene Trivizas and Helen Oxenbury), a reversal of the characters’ roles, to enhance our knowledge of the original story.

For our class activity, we recalled the main story events, illustrated each one, then cut apart and sequenced the pages in our mini-books.  Everyone was able to share their drawings and read their book aloud (from memory) at the carpet.

We also each made a pig and hung them up with our wolves from “Little Red Riding Hood.”

All of these stories create a rich and diverse understanding of Fairy Tales, which we consider an essential building block in the foundation of a child’s knowledge of children’s literature.  In the ensuing years, many books the children will read will make references to fairy tales, and they need some basic knowledge of the stories to understand at a deeper, more complex level.  The universal themes of good versus evil; the triumph of courageous, valiant young people over older, wicked archetypes (wolves, foxes, witches, uncles wishing to take over the throne); patterns of 3 (The Three Pigs, Goldilocks and The Three Bears) and “home is best” are ones that occur repeatedly in books.

We have a few more fairy tales to read over the next few weeks, and look forward to sharing our love and knowledge of these timeless, classic stories with our students.

This Week in Our Room:  May 24-27, 2016

Always after the Victoria Day weekend, the days just start to fly by.

Our bean plants really took off while we were away, and some had reached significant proportions.  We sent home the beans earlier this week as they were definitely ready for transplanting.  The pots are compostable so can be planted directly into a garden bed.  The beans could also be planted into a larger container at home.  But regardless of location, the plants should be staked so the vine does not get twisted on itself.  Happy growing!

Sports Day is now just a week away.  We sent home an information letter for you on Thursday this week.  Division 15 is on the Red Team and their letter was on red paper; Division 16 is on the Blue Team and their letter was on blue.  Please note that dismissal for Kindergarten is at 12 pm.  If your child is going to Camp Ridgeview for 12 pm, we ask you to please notify them as soon as possible so arrangements can be made.

A special Hot Lunch can be ordered for Sports Day. The link for this was in the Ridgeview Bulletin last Thursday, May 19.   If you decide to order lunch for yourself and your Kindergarten child, you can pick up your lunches at the kitchen (near the gym).  Please feel free to picnic on our school grounds as our classrooms will be closed.  The children know the location of the waste sorting bins on the playground to sort your lunch packaging after you’ve finished eating.

As we informed you last week, today we sent the children home with their first Home Reading book to read aloud to you.  Your child may find the book is too difficult;  in that case, please read the book aloud to your child, focus on a few specific skills (eg., look for words that begin with the same letter as your child’s first name, what is the letter name and the letter sound?).  Your child can tell us on Monday if the book was too hard, too easy or just right, and we can adjust.  There is further information for you in a letter in your child’s Home Reading ziploc.