January 10,
2020
Welcome Back to
School! We hope you had a restful and happy
break.
January is
going to be a fun month full of new learning experiences. Our focus will be on Winter! There are so many great songs and stories
about winter. We will be learning about
snowmen, arctic animals and fun activities people do in the snow.
Our first book is Sneezy
the Snowman by Maureen Wright. In
this story, Sneezy the Snowman keeps getting cold. He tries many different ways to warm up – but
“Oh no, he melted!”. All his friends
help him find great ways to be "not too cold and not too hot". This book is full of rhyming words that
support language development. It also
looks at cause and effect. You can find the read aloud on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOWKdqK6O9o
Our other book is
called Red Sled by Lita Judge.
This is a sweet story of some forest animals who find a sled. All the animals climb aboard for an exciting
ride down the big hill. This is a
wordless book, which gives the students the opportunity to create their own
story, helping them describe what is happening in the pictures. Take a look on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwV7GMLq84Y
Beginning this
month, we will be looking at some early literacy skills. An area of focus will be Mat Man, which is a
stick man drawing of a person. The
children will try their hand at making long and short lines and big and small
curved lines. These drawing shapes are
directly connected to the stokes they will need to print the letters and
numbers. Mat Man has a cute song that
will help us remember all the body parts to include.
Check it out below:
Mat Man has one head, one
head on head,
Mat man has one head so
that he can think!
Mat Man has two eyes
...... so that he can see!
Mat Man has two ears
...... so that he can hear!
Mat Man has one nose ......
so that he can smell!
Mat Man has one body
....... to keep what is inside! (lungs, heart, tummy, etc.)
Mat Man has two legs
....... so that he can stand!
Mat Man has two feet
........ so that he can run!
Mat Man has two arms
........ so that he can reach!
Mat Man has two hands
........ so that he can clap!
Add more verses if you
like:
Hair
Belly button
Gym:
Gymnastics Unit
Our school gym
has been set up for the gymnastics unit for the whole month of January! The students are really enjoying moving their
bodies on all types of equipment from big mats to jump on, balance beams to
walk on, trellis ladders to climb and bars to hang from. During this unit, it is recommended that
students wear clothing that will support their ability to move, run and
tumble. Please help us by having your
child dressed in comfortable clothes like yoga pants or sweat pants and a
t-shirt. As the weather is cold outside,
wearing layers that are easily removed allows us to help the kids stay cool
while they play with the equipment.
Outside Play:
The weather forecast
is predicting very cold temperatures for the next week or so. Keeping that in mind, please make sure your
child arrives to school wearing their outside clothing (i.e. warm winter boots,
snow pants, warm winter coat, hat and mittens).
When the temperature combined with the wind
chill is -20 degrees or colder, we will stay inside.
However, when the combined temperature is not below – 20 degrees, we
will still go outside to play for 15 to 30 minutes so the children get fresh
air and exercise. Having proper clothing
is essential so that all students (and staff) can join us outside. If children do not have the proper clothing
then they have to stay inside the school, which means one of the staff members
has to stay behind to supervise them. This impacts how the adults are able to support all the students.
Please
make sure your child’s name is written clearly on all their belongings. We have had a couple pairs of snow pants go
missing and it really helps us locate lost items when necessary. Thank you for
your help.
Up-coming
events: Please mark your calendar!
IPPs will be
sent home for review and signatures on Thursday, January 30th.
Teacher’s
Convention is on February, 13th and 14th. There is no school on those days.
Family Day is
on Monday, February, 17th.
There is no school on that day.
Parent Teacher
Conferences are on March 19th and 20th.
Spring Break
begins on March 21st and goes to March 29th.
School starts
again on Monday, March 30th.
