We’ve had a fun-filled January with snow, Winter art and crafts, the start of our Math rotations for numeracy and a few treasured days of sunshine.

It was very exciting to be working on the letter “m” this week as we are now officially halfway through the alphabet.  We can see the growth in the children’s printing as they work diligently on correction with attention to size, shape and space.  

This week we made the adorable “m is a mouse.” We’ve begun a new Math unit in numeracy.  Our focus now is on exploring number, creating number sets, matching numerals to sets, counting with one-to-one correspondence and where do we see sets of 0-9 in our environment.  The children are working in small groups of 4 at different Math centres.  Sharing, speaking kindly, cooperating and turn-taking are the pro-social skills they continue to develop and practise and what we are reinforcing in class.

We have created so much beautiful Art this month.  From our January self-portraits to our whimsical snowglobes, the children love to draw, cut and glue, and use fun embellishments like Sparkle Mod Podge, punched out snowflakes, buttons and pompoms to decorate their work.  

For the upcoming RPAC Fundraiser, “theCardProject,” the Kindergarten classes are making Happy Penguins, a delightful mixed-media penguin posed against a colourful, rainbow background.  These projects will be photographed and turned into cards and journal covers, available to purchase later this year.

Upcoming Events and Reminders:

We’ve got A LOT happening for February.

Mondays:  It’s our Library Book Exchange Day but we encourage you to return your book on Friday so you have an extra day in case you forget.  The children are very disappointed when they do not get to take home a book.  We have to be strict regarding book borrowing from our Library collection as you know books are very expensive to replace.

Tuesday, February 1:  Lunar New Year at Ridgeview.  Children are welcome to dress up in red and gold, or wear traditional Asian clothing.  We are going to make some special crafts at school this week to decorate our classroom.

Friday, February 11:  Crazy Hair Day.  The children are welcome to colour their hair, wear a fun hat or hair decoration.  If your child decides to participate, and based on our previous experience, please choose an idea that your child can manage throughout the day.  

Monday, February 14:  Valentine’s Day.  In Kindergarten, we encourage our classes to participate in a Valentine’s Day card exchange.  It’s fun and a nice opportunity to share a card and show some kindness to others.  We’re providing this information early so you have lots of time to prepare.

We realise this may be the first Valentine’s card exchange for quite a few children in our class.  We will send home a list of all the children’s names in our Divisions later this week.  Please write a card for either ALL of the girls, ALL of the boys or EVERYONE.  We want everyone to be included in the receiving of cards.  We will see Mrs. Kennedy for a Valentine story on Monday so the children can also write a card for her and deliver it in person.

Over the past few years, more of the children have made and addressed their Valentine cards with their family, and the Kindergarten have signed their names which is meaningful practise.

We will make Valentine cardholder bags with our classes.  During the week of February 7-11, the children can bring their cards to school and we will help them to place the cards into their classmates’ bags.  We prefer for the cards to come in earlier than the 14th, otherwise it’s very rushed to get the cards into the bags.

We are always asked if candy can be included with the cards.  Yes, candy and small non-edible treats can be included but please remember no nuts of any kind.  All candy must be pre-packed and individually wrapped; unfortunately, we are unable to have anything homemade to eat at this time.

On Valentine’s Day the children are welcome to wear pink, red, or white to celebrate the day!