The Wonderful World of Kindergarten

Welcome to our Reggio Emilia inspired classroom at Dr. David Suzuki School.
JoAnne Pizzuto, OCT & Jocelyne Brent, RECE, BASc (Hons)

Friday 27 February 2015

Helping The Birds

The children started having a discussion about the birds outside that they see flying by our classroom windows. The children wondered 'how do the birds find food when the ground is covered in snow and ice'? The teachers asked the children, "How do you think our friends can help the birds get through this long, cold and bitter winter?" The children discussed this amongst themselves and came up with the idea of making bird feeders in the art studio, filling the feeders up with bird seeds and hanging them outside on the trees for the birds to enjoy. That day we had Rose, an SK student, write a letter to go home to the parents asking for donations of materials that would assist them in building the bird feeders. The next day the donations of materials came pouring into our classroom and the student went straight to work.



































Thursday 26 February 2015

Guessing Jar Math

Mrs. St. Onge's guessing jar is no ordinary guessing jar. 
Mrs. St. Onge and her guessing jar are a mighty math marvel!

Throughout the day, children visit the guessing jar and estimate the amount of objects in the jar. They sign their name and write a guess on a piece of paper, adding it to a basket. A number line is handy and is a clue to help with guessing and printing numbers.

At the end of the day, she begins to get the children ready for math thinking with a familiar song, sung to the tune of 'Do You Know The Muffin Man?'

Do you know the Guessing Jar, 
The Guessing Jar,
The Guessing Jar?
Do you know the Guessing Jar?
How many in the Guessing Jar?

The familiarity of the song is a clue to start the thinking of estimation. 
And then she begins!
This day, there were 3-dimensional shapes in the guessing jar.
As the shapes were taken out of the jar, Mrs. St. Onge talked about them.
"How many faces on this shape?"
"This shape has a rectangle base and four triangle faces.  
It's called a triangular prism."
"Who knows what we call this shape? Who wants to guess?"
"What does this shape remind you of?"
Many of our children excitedly answered what they already knew about the shapes.
She sorts each shape as they finish talking about them.
A mighty mouthful of math!
 
Now the shapes were sorted into five groups.
The amount of shapes in each group were counted.
Then, the amount in each group was added to a final total.
"1, 2, 3. Three rectangular prisms added to two cubes equals five shapes. Now let's add on. Let's see, where were we? 5 shapes and 1, 2, 3 triangular prisms.  
How many shapes are there now?"
Mrs. St. Onge models strategies like counting each shape one by one and 
using fingers to add up totals.
A mighty mind full of math!
Finally, it's time to see who has the closest guess.
It has to be a guess! No counting the shapes in the jar and putting the answer down.
As each name is drawn, the children help to decide if the guess is too high (in a high-pitched voice) or too low (in a low-pitched voice). Talk of the direction of numbers and how a two digit number is printed (eg. 81 or 18) is mentioned. The children are thanked for visiting the guessing jar and encouraged for their effort.
Winners of the guessing jar get a trip to the prize box!
Marvelous, mighty math from Mrs. St. Onge!

More tips for a guessing jar.
Vary the sizes of the jars and the sizes of the objects.
Big jar, small objects.
Small jar, big objects.
Use object groupings (eg. all dominoes, all paper clips, all dinosaurs of varying sizes, etc...)
Use language like predict, more, less, up, volume,
 space, amount, estimate, total, similar, size

Tuesday 24 February 2015

Daily Moments

 
A rousing rendition of The Spotty Pig by Dick King-Smith and Mary Wormell 
is being told at the sensory bin.
With pudding for mud and a barnyard scene, 
this opportunity to retell a story 
was busy all day long!
 
Problem-solvers came together to make room for everyone.
Builders made a car repair shop and built some literacy skills.
 
Trial and error and perseverance pointed the way to a solution.


Sew Creative!

Our designers and sewers continue to be very busy as they create the latest fashions 
and make things for their homes.
 
It takes concentration to work out the details of creating with fabric.
 
Nancie inspired us all! She modeled the apron/skirt she sewed all by herself!
Leah continued to choose fabric after fabric, laying out her quilt/skirt and placing each new piece very carefully. She sewed along the edges, making sure the right sides were together, then opening the seam after she finished each one.
Isaac decided to make a pillow. Then everyone decided to make a pillow!
 
The fashion industry is just waiting for our kindergarten friends to hit the scene!
 
Another 'Creation by Nancie'. Her purse will be a wonderful accessory to the skirt.
Morgan just loved the purse she made! She worked for a long time to make sure she sewed the stitches close together and along the edges. She carefully chose the strap that her purse would have. All the teachers want one just like it!
 
So much to sew...
So little time!