Outdoor Kindergarten

I hope everyone enjoyed their spring break – it was a relaxing and re-energizing one for me. I’m sure glad we’ve turned the corner from snow pants to t-shirt weather!

For Monday, we are learning at the school, and that’s no April Fool’s Day joke. :-] But starting next week, we’ll be outside at a park on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday again. We’ll start with teaching the new boundaries and safety considerations.

First day back, we’ll be checking out the growth of our daffodils, garlic and potatoes, and learning all about mason bees, as well as sharing stories of our break activities. Looking forward to seeing everyone!

• Monday – At FLE. Home Reading book exchange.
• Tuesday & Wednesday – At the new park location – 8th Ave at about 203rd St. Meeting location is the Old Orchard Picnic Shelter. It would be handy to have parents escort students to use the toilets before drop off as they are around the corner out of our sight.
• Thursday – At FLE.
• Friday – At FLE. Family Reading. Library book exchange.

 

 

Highlights:

We had a great time learning about bird nesting and building swallow houses.  Thank you to Langley Field Naturalists and Metro Parks for supporting our learning. Thanks to the parent helpers, too!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The weeks ahead at a glance: March 4-15

• Monday, March 4 – At FLE. Send in Fun Fair raffle ticket booklets sold or not. Home reading exchange.
• Tuesday, March 5 – At the park.
• Wednesday, March 6 – Cypress Mountain snowshoe trip. Arrive at FLE at 8:25 for a quick bathroom break and load the school bus. We will meet at the front of the school. Bring a lunch and dress in layers for snowy activities.
• Thursday, March 7 – FLE. Home reading exchange.
• Friday, March 8 – FLE. Family Reading. Library book exchange. Report cards issued.
• Monday, March 11 – At the park. Aboriginal Story telling and Bannock making with Fern Gabriel.
• Tuesday, March 12 – At the park.
• Wednesday & Thursday, March 13-14 – At FLE – early dismissal at 1:45 for Student-led Conferences
• Friday, March 15 – at FLE. Last day before Spring Break.

Highlights:

Last week we enjoyed two snowy days at the park. We stayed busy painting rocks, making hand warmers and tasting maple syrup snow cones. Students journaled about their experiences and kept warm playing in the snow.

 

 

 

 

 

 The week ahead at a glance: February 25-March 1

• Monday – At FLE. We’ll walk in the morning to the rainbow crosswalk in Fort Langley to learn about this community diversity project. Early Dismissal at 11:36 for Report Card Prep.
• Tuesday – At the park.
• Wednesday – At the park. Bird Nesting presentation in the AM and bird house building in the PM. Please send a labeled Robertson screwdriver and let me know if you are available to help. (It is also Pink Shirt Day but who knows what’s under the winter coat!)
• Thursday – At FLE. Making a ‘Project Heart’ tile for a school-wide art installation about diversity and respect.
• Friday – Canucks Place Cookie Sale and wear your Canuck colours (white, green and blue or vintage yellow, black and orange) for a school spirit day. Cookies are $1 each and will be sold at recess, lunch and after school.

 Coming Up:

• March 6 – Snowshoeing at Mount Seymour with our big buddies. Pay online, permission forms will go home on Monday, Feb. 25.
• March 8 – Term 2 Reports available
• March 13-14 – Student-led conferences. If you would prefer a private conference, please let me know.
• March 16-31 Spring Break

Highlights:

Last week was one to remember for the very rare double snow days, Valentine’s Day and it was a short week. Ms Harder and I learned some new activities to try outdoors at our workshop at Van Dusen Gardens. Brae Island parking lot has been cleared of snow and we are going to try outdoor days this week.

The week ahead at a glance: February 19-22

Themes for learning this week include friendship and matter. We’ll be making our own hand warmers using safe household chemicals (doesn’t replace the ones they need for personal use). We’ll also be learning about the Aboriginal traditions of cedar brushing, drumming and dancing.

• Tuesday, Feb. 19 – At the park.
• Wednesday, Feb. 20 – At the park.
• Thursday, Feb. 21 – At FLE
• Friday, Feb. 22 – At FLE. Book exchange for library and home reading.

Hi families,

If schools are open Wednesday, Feb. 13, we will stay at the school. It is just too snowy and parking lots and trails may not be cleared in the park. We will have snow play at the school instead, so send snow gear!

Valentine’s friendship salad is still on the menu for Thursday, Feb. 14. Whatever fruit your child wants to bring, all is welcome, just be sure to peel apples. If everyone brings a dish/container and a spoon or fork, that will be easiest and most eco-conscious.

Be safe and have fun in the snow.

Highlights:

Happy Chinese New Year! We learned about how other cultures celebrate a new year with food, traditions and decorations. We will continue this week.

Last week, we also learned that sound is vibration, and sound can vary in volume and pitch. We made musical instruments that could show how sound can change.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This week at a glance: Feb. 4 – 8

This week we continue to explore Chinese New Year and pandas, sound and light, personal identity and story structure. If the weather gets too cold and windy to be outside, we will email parents to let everyone know by 7:30 AM on Tuesday. Current Environment Canada weather forecast looks favourable for outdoor days: sunny and high of -1.

• Monday – At FLE. Home Reading book exchange.
• Tuesday – At the park. Dress warmly! We will have a fire for warmth. Send a plastic or metal cup if your child likes to have a cup of warm herbal tea.
• Wednesday – At the park. Early Dismissal at 1:36 for Collaboration.
• Thursday – At FLE. Book Fair.
• Friday – At FLE. Friday Family Reading 8:50-9:10. Book Fair. No Library book exchange.
• Looking ahead: Valentine’s Day is Thursday, Feb. 14. We will make a Friendship Fruit Salad. Each student brings a cut-up fruit to add to the bowl. A class list will go home next week for those who wish to give out Valentine’s cards. No school on Feb. 15 and Feb. 18.

Highlights:

This week we had a very informative presentation about Animal Vision by Explore Science Club leader Nehal. She taught the students about the light spectrum, rods and cones, and the variety of ways that animals see things differently than humans. With a new appreciation for their sense of sight, the students looked for our daffodil bulbs growing shoots in the school garden.

 

 

 

 

 

The week ahead at a glance: January 28-Feb.1

Themes this week:

• Chinese culture through panda bears, Dim Sum and Chinese New Year traditions
• Learning, reflecting and creating about self and family
• Sound
• Story structure – with Robert Munsch as our examples

Monday – We will be starting an “All About Me” paper quilt project. Students may draw or bring in a printed photo of their family, or make a family tree. Special Helpers share their Book Reviews at circle time. Home Reading Book Exchange.

Tuesday & Wednesday – at the park, we’ll learn about sound waves, vibrations and pitch through various materials and experiments. Please collect and send one or two tin cans, plastic containers and bottles.

Thursday – Chinese culture through panda bears, Dim Sum and Chinese New Year traditions.

Friday – Library and Home Reading Book Exchange. Friday Family Reading from 8:50-9:15. Join us if you can!

Highlights of last week –

We explored ice formation on a frosty morning, made our own charcoal and drew winter trees. Back in class, we investigated worms and built a worm habitat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The week ahead at a glance: January 21-25

Monday – Literacy week begins. We’ll be adding in some extra fun reading and writing activities this week. Home Reading book exchange – send books back in the mailbags if your child is ready to exchange them.

Tuesday and Wednesday – at the park. On Tuesday, we have a special Explore Science Club presentation about animal eyes and sight. Outdoor Ed Program Info Session #2 is on Wednesday night at 6:30 in the library. Parents are welcome to attend if they are interested in helping to share info with other interested families, or if they have a younger sibling entering the program.

Thursday – Music.

Friday – Library and Home Reading book exchange.

Highlights:

Last week we enjoyed roasting marshmallows and apples over the fire. We also had a visit from Mr. Bramhall’s Gr. 6-7 class. They helped us make sand volcanoes. A good time was had by everyone and students learned through all their senses what happens to solids and liquids when there is a chemical or physical change. (For example, marshmallows in apples turn into caramel syrup when heated – yum!) We helped clean up from the winter wind storm by gathering fallen branches. It feels good to do purposeful physical work!

 

 

 

 

 

The week ahead at a glance: January 14-18

We’ll be starting our Home Reading program soon. Look for more info to be sent home in mailbags. Please contact me if you are able to help with book exchanges first thing Monday and Thursday mornings.

Monday: At FLE. Early Dismissal at 1:36 for Collaboration.
Tuesday and Wednesday: At the park. Light and shadows. Winter tree art.
Thursday: Music.
Friday: Library. Friday Family Reading 8:50 until 9:10. All are welcome! LEPS program: Worm’s World. We’ll welcome our new class pets – red wriggler worms who will eat our leftover veggies and fruit!

I hope everyone had a good break from schedules and enjoyed spending time with family.  The last day of school was cancelled due to power outage at the school, so we’ll try to pick up where we left off and enjoy a relaxed first day back. I look forward to hearing the stories of students’ favourite activities over the holidays. No need to send in food – we will postpone our shared lunch until Chinese New Year/Valentines’ Day in February.  I feel like we might all need a break from treats at this point!

We continue our outdoor days on Tuesday and Wednesday this week. Prepare for rainy weather. I’m sure we’ll enjoy the fresh air and discovering what the wind blew down.

Here are a few pictures of Christmas fun at school in December: reading our own versions of The Mitten folktale and enjoying Santa with pancakes in our PJs.