Building Ourselves A Book At A Time

You can find magic wherever you look.

Sit back and relax, all you need is a book!

~ Dr. Seuss ~

Each day, in the wonderful world of kindergarten, we all stop to read books.

Now, don't get us wrong. We read books all day, whenever we want. 

But right after lunch, with content bellies and bodies, we all read.

We read with friends.

We read in groups.

We read the story of pictures and find letters whose sounds we know.

We read on laps and beside each other.

We wait with anticipation for 'our book' to be next.

We discuss and ask our capable friends questions.

We relax and excitedly share new-found knowledge. 

 

We discover that all the pictures start with the same sound.

We have conversations and make plans to follow our interests.

We help each other and learn the important skill of listening.

We reach for our favourite book, discover more, and explain.

We learn the conventions of book reading.
Left to right.
Pictures match words.
The cover gives clues.

We gain confidence and view ourselves as readers.

We point out the silliness in our story.

We point out the silliness & the sounds.

We grab both copies of our favourite and invite a friend to join us.

We form rich relationships with reading buddies (and teachers and reading).

We re-tell stories.
Another convention of book reading.

We become familiar with font and print for different purposes.
More conventions of book reading.

We let book reading carry us into revisiting our day and connecting our memories.

We reach for our favourite book and listen to our friend's discovery.

We match our book with the one we wrote to match it.

The more we connect with books, 
the more we develop a rich relationship with reading,
the more we value the joy a book spreads,
then
we become lifelong book lovers,
then 
our vocabulary grows like a pumpkin gains speed rolling down a hill,
then 
the more words we know, the more words we will know and understand,
then 
emergent literacy will have led to early literacy and lead us confidently on the path to effective literacy.

But... for now, we'll just call it our after lunch book time.

How We Capture The Children's Learning

The children are invited to explore their documentation binders.

This is where we gather bits and pieces of the 'work' children do throughout the year.

There are drawings, progress in printing, self-portraits, photo's of the children in play, number fun and so much more!

Teachers comment on the children's work and record what the children say.

We learn so much about them.

They learn so much about themselves!

We love to see their faces when they realize how much they do and how much they know.

One of the parts about the documentation binders that we really enjoy is when the children pour through them.

So many, "Remember when we..."
"Hey! Look!"
"Teacher! Teacher! Can we do that again!"

When the children look at their binders, we talk about all the things they do and wonder about some things other friends do.

After all, kindergarten is a place where we get to try everything!
Each of the children are great at something, and know they can get better at anything just by trying.

So they make a goal.

Maybe their goal is to visit the block centre and build.

Or to visit the art studio and paint more often.

Their goal might be to turn their drawings into stories and write a book!

 

When the parents look through the binders with their child, won't they be so excited?!!!

It's the next best thing to being here...

in the wonderful world of kindergarten.

A note from The Kindergarten Team to the families...

We hope you enjoy seeing how much all the children learn as we engage with them when they play.

We are sure that you will be as amazed at your child as we are every day! 

We look forward to reading the notes you send us when the documentation binders come back.

Writing Happens Everywhere

In the wonderful world of kindergarten writing happens all day, everywhere. 

We know this way is best for children to make meaningful connections to the message they want to share with others.

We know that this is the best way for the children to learn letters and the sounds they make.

We know the importance of children inventing their spelling to develop literacy and confidence skills.

We know it's all about the play and freedom to come to their knowledge when it is relevant and purposeful.

Having print tools and materials available everywhere gives children the opportunity to show others what they know. 

They share ideas, inspiration and skills.

Drawing gives the children a chance to move their fingers and wrists and handle print tools.

This will help them learn how to make curved and straight letters.

 

Making plans before they build gives children the chance to think about the message they want to share before they share it.

   

  

Before we know it, they are prepared to print messages, labels and write stories about their creations.

 

 

From outdoor sketching to...

 

Indoor surveys...

 

  

 

From the Sharing Board to...

Sentence strips for sharing time...

From Message of the Day to...

Junior authors...

 

In the wonderful world of kindergarten...

Writing happens where it matters most.

Not just at the writing centre.

Writing happens everywhere!