Our First Week of Kindergarten!!!

 

 

 

International Dot Day September 15

"The Dot" by Peter Reynolds is the story of a little girl named Vashti who is convinced she cannot draw. When Vashti explains her difficulty to her teacher, she says, "Make a mark and see where it takes you." Vashti draws a dot on her paper, and her teacher then says, "Now sign it." The next week she is surprised to see her dot framed and on display for others to see.  After seeing her dot, she says, "I can make a better dot than that." She then begins drawing dots of different sizes and colours and realizes that she is an artist.

Later on she meets a boy who can't draw a straight line, and this leads to a whole new adventure. This is a wonderful story to help children overcome their fear and hesitation of expressing themselves and inspiring them to realize their vision "and see where it takes you."
 

 

The students had a great time making dots by blowing paint bubbles of different colours
 

Some of us even had dots on our faces!!! 

They created their own unique dots on coffee filters by drawing

red, blue and yellow dots with markers. Then they sprayed

their dots with water allowing the primary colours to mix together

to make new colours!!!

 



Did you know that you can even find dots

on bubble wrap???

 

 

The students had so much fun mixing primary coloured paint to make new colours using bubble wrap wrapped around a rolling pin.

 

 

During circle, Mrs. Hurley placed one sticker dot on chart paper.  This beautiful creation was inspired by student suggestions and ideas on how to transform a single dot into a work of art.

 



 

Did you know that dots can be 3D too???

 

We mixed 2 parts glue to 1 part warm water.  We then wrapped balloons with yarn and dipped them into the glue/water solution and let them dry for 24 hours. 

The students were especially eager to pop their balloons after they had dried!!!



The Kissing Hand

In Audrey Penn's story "The Kissing Hand" Chester raccoon seeks love and reassurance from his mother as he ventures out into the world to attend his very first day of school.

When Chester the raccoon is hesitant to go to Kindergarten for the first time, his mother teaches him a secret way to carry her love with him. The name of the secret is the Kissing Hand. Chester is eager to know more, so his mother shows him the secret of the Kissing Hand.  After kissing Chester's palm, his mother tells him, "Whenever you feel lonely and need a little loving from home, just press your hand to your chest and think, 'Mommy loves you.'" Chester is reassured to know that his mother's love will be with him wherever he goes, even kindergarten. This is touching story about how we always hold the love of those closest to us, even when we cannot see them and is a wonderful teaching tool to help our youngest learners feel secure and comfortable in a new environment even when they feel a little unsure and scared. 

 

Our students were eager to use paints of

different colours to make prints of their

very own "Kissing Hand"

 

Our youngest learners were busy this morning baking their very own shortbread
"Kissing Hands"

Their favourite part was "adding the Hershey Kiss at the very end"

Welcome to Mrs. Hurley & Ms. Casey's Early Years Blog!!!

Welcome to our Early Years blog at Northwood Public School!!!  We have many new and exciting learning activities planned for your child.  

Inquiry Through the Eyes of a Child is an online documentation of the journey of inquiry-based learning as it unfolds in our Early Years classroom.  This is an exciting time in Ontario as we progress with full-day Kindergarten and play-based learning.  It is an honour and privilege to work collaboratively with fellow educators, families and our community to help establish the foundations of learning for our youngest learners!!!

For us, this blog not only provides a record of the journey of inquiry-based learning throughout the school year, it’s also an opportunity to connect and share ideas with families, and to promote communication between families and their children.  

We would like to welcome you to our blog and hope you enjoy your visit!!!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Hurley & Ms. Casey 

To learn more about inquiry and intentional play-based learning, please visit the following link http://curriculum.org/secretariat/kindergarten/files/KindergartenGuide.pdf