It’s going to be a big week so here we go:

Monday – let’s get all the Library Books returned today because it’s going to be a lot to manage our costumes and to remember to bring back the books over the next few days.

Tuesday – Hallowe’en Costume Parade and K Mini Hallowe’en Celebration

Kindergarten will be leading the Hallowe’en Parade.  It starts promptly at 9 am so please be on time for class at 8:40 am.  The parking around the school will be extremely busy so please plan your leaving time from home accordingly.

Mrs. Campbell’s class (Division 15) will lead the parade.  Next, they will come by Mrs. Daudlin’s and Ms. Eng’s classroom to pick up Division 16 and then each primary class will join the back of the parade line.  We have asked our K room parents to be the “caboose” for each K class so we keep the Kinders all together.  After you have dropped off your child, all other parents should find a good outdoor location to watch us walk in and out of the Primary classes facing the playground.  

Please take photos only of your own child as we do not have media press releases for all students in our school, and photos should not be uploaded to social media sites.  We cannot really stop for photos so please keep this in mind if you are calling to your child to look at you for a picture.

Following the parade, please come down to your child’s classroom to help your child get out of their costume.  Your child should be dressed for school underneath their costume for everybody’s ease.  If you’re unable to make it, don’t worry as we always have lots of help.  Please send a bag large enough to hold the costume, particularly if your child is going to Camp Ridgeview afterschool.

We’d like to ask you to visit your child’s classroom for a few minutes to admire our beautiful rooms and artwork before you carry on with your day.

In the afternoon, we will be having some fun Hallowe’en themed centres for the children.  Then, we will get to eat our special snack (provided by each family for their own child) and watch a Hallowe’en movie.  It promises to be a very fun day and we will be carefully pacing ourselves throughout the day as you still have THE BIG NIGHT ahead of you!

We are often asked if the children can bring some of their treats in their school food bags.  We are comfortable with one or two small items a day for the remainder of the week.  We will ask them to eat their treats with their lunch, rather than the morning snack time.

Wednesday – We have a late start on November 1.  School will begin promptly at 10:30 am.  We will commence with opening routines and then gently ease into our daily schedule.  It’s also Universal Snack Day which we will eat with our lunch (at time of writing, we do not know what the snack will be but will let you know when we know).

Thursday and Friday – continue to ease the children through the latter part of the week until everyone is back on top of their sleeping schedules and activity levels

Happy Hallowe’en!

We’ve started the first book, “Thinking Thoughts and Feeling Feelings,” from We Thinkers by Ryan Hendrix, Kari Zweber Palmer, Nancy Tarshis and Marcia Garcia Winner, an outstanding educators’ resource for the social and emotional development of young children.  During these next few months, our children will learn and develop self-awareness of their emotions, an understanding of the perspectives of others and build social competencies, including social problem solving, to create and foster positive social relationships.

In “Thinking Thoughts and Feeling Feelings,” we follow the adventures of four friends who learn how their thoughts and feelings affect the social interactions of each other.  One of the most important lessons our children learn is that every time they interact with others, from their classmates to their teachers to their family members, everyone brings their own thoughts and feelings to every social situation; it’s not just the individual child’s thoughts and feelings. 

Our first lesson focused on what is a thought?  The children are learning that thoughts are made in the brain (thought maker), and that thoughts can be ideas, pictures or quiet words they hear in their brain.  A great visual is the thinking bubble above a person’s head to show what he or she is thinking about.  The application of this visual is important as it can appear as character thoughts in the books we read to enhance comprehension, or used in drawings to depict our thoughts to tell our own story.  Our discussion on thoughts ranged from a recent pumpkin patch visit, to fall gardening to a favourite activity with mom or dad and the children did a great job in expressing themselves with ever increasing detail.  We’ll start talking about our feelings next….

Rain was probably our watchword this week.  We experienced some atmospheric river situations and “soaked” was the best way to describe the Kindergarten following morning and lunch recess.  We cannot stress enough the need for all families to send in rainpants and extra socks for their children, and indoor shoes (preferably runners) to change into from rainboots.  The children need dry socks and shoes to maintain good foot health.

Well, no sooner did the turkeys fly away then we started pulling out the Hallowe’en activities.  The first thing we need to do to get ready for the Big Day is to start decorating our classrooms with the children’s artwork.  Our big project this week was a beautiful painted pumpkin from the art website, Deep Space Sparkle.  

We taught the children how to draw a pumpkin using white pastel to create the ribs.  Next,  colouring mixing using red, yellow and orange paint from a paint palette to create the orange of their choice for each pumpkin section.  Then, a few pieces of construction paper to make the facial features, a stem and leaves from the vine and before you could say, “Boo!” we had a painted pumpkin patch!

During Alphabet time, we worked on the letter d.  We’re using an integrated instructional method of teaching phonics and phonological awareness in a balanced approach to reading instruction so our children are not only learning that language is made up of sounds, syllables, rhymes and words) but that language and literacy is also acquired through their personal and shared experiences and interactions with literature. 

Upcoming Events and Reminders:

-please send in rainpants and boots to be left at school

-please return your Library Book for the next Library Book Exchange

-Shake Out BC:  our earthquake drill will be held on Wednesday, October 25 just before the morning recess.  We’ll be practising “Drop, Cover and Hold On” underneath the classroom tables.  We will then count to 60 but there will be no building evacuation.

-we’re still collecting for the We Scare Hunger food campaign in support of local families on the North Shore.  This week the Harvest Project will pick up your generous donations.  Thank you.

In December 2014, Christy and I started our blog and website, theselfregulatedteacher.com.  We had recently come through a long provincial teachers’ strike and creating the website and writing the blog became our therapy as we focused our attention on what was really important to us, and that is the connection between teacher and student. We wanted to write about what was happening in our classrooms, and to celebrate all of the joys and happy moments each school day brings.  We use the lens of self-regulation to guide us in our teaching practise for ourselves and how we view the children we are delighted to be teaching each year.

We continued to write weekly (mostly) about our classrooms and all of the wonderful magic and sparkle that is truly and uniquely Kindergarten for the next eight years.  We’ve written a lot about self-regulation, alphabet printing, art, good books, assemblies, Christmas Concerts, and what we’re doing in math, literacy and social studies; but mostly about the sweet, daily events that shape our lives as Kindergarten teachers and their students.  We took some much needed time away from our blog last year to rest and recharge and now we are back to share with you our journey in self-regulation in Kindergarten.  You can go back and see our newsletter from the past number of years.  If you decide to check out the Kindergarten Handbook and Resources we’ve got quite a few items we need to update and we’ll let you know each time we do.

Last school year we welcomed Ms. Erica Eng to our Kindergarten team and this year, Erica is teaching two days a week with me (Andrea) and Christy is teaching full-time.  With Erica, a recent UBC graduate, we have a fresh infusion of energy, knowledge and perspective for all things Kindergarten.  We’re so fortunate to be able to welcome Erica to Ridgeview, and especially to Division 16.

Before we talk about what happened this week, let’s take a moment to look back at Turkey Week.  Who doesn’t love a beautiful turkey, especially ones as cute as these wee birds made from torn paper.  While we love a good art project, we’re also mindful that these small tasks can help our students build their strength and stamina for printing with correct letter formation and speed.

Printing is hard work – you’ve got to think about your pencil grip, your writing hand, your helping hand (to hold down the paper so it doesn’t slip away) and your printing posture (feet on the floor, bottom on your chair) and then one eye on the teacher as well!  So tearing paper, colouring, cutting and gluing, Lego and building, buttoning buttons and zipping zippers all contribute to fine motor strength.

Speaking of printing, we’ve completed lowercase letters, a and b, and c in the past few weeks.  We’re making a craft for each letter of the alphabet so you can create your own alphabet wall at home!

This week the children drew and crafted together their October Self-Portraits.  We make one self-portrait a month and it’s a wonderful reminder about how the children see themselves and the world around them.  You’ll see a change in their drawing skills which is very satisfying for the Kinders as they love to see their own improvement.  We ask the class to make their artwork “Big, Bright and Beautiful” each time.  Big means fill you space, Bright means five colours or more and Beautiful means do your personal best.

In Social Studies, we’re focusing on our Personal Identity for Term One.  We’ve completed a couple of activities, including “My Heart Fills with Happiness.”  This week we talked about our personal features such as eye and hair colour and how each of us is unique in our own way.

Upcoming Events and Reminders

-we’re still looking to have rainboots for all the children stored in our cloakrooms for those sudden rain showers.  The Kindergarten goes outside two to three times a day so we want everyone to be properly attired for our west coast weather.  Please send the boots and rain gear as soon as you are able.

-the children wear indoor shoes in the classroom which means they must be able to change their shoes independently.  We do not teach students how to tie their shoes, nor are we able to tie their laces as it takes our attention away from the others.  If your child chooses to wear shoes with laces, please ensure you have taught them.

-we’ve been sending home sick children this week.  The children often tell us as soon as we sit down in the morning that they do not feel well but had to come to school.  We are not able to look after sick children so the school office will be calling you to come and pick up your child.

-Library Book Exchange – Tuesday for Division 16 and Wednesday for Division 15.  Please return your book for a new one.

-Provincial Professional Development Day on Friday, October 20 – students are not in session