DECEMBER

DECEMBER 2013 CALENDAR For the Online December calendar, please click on the link below then click 'visit'.Once you have opened Smilebox, using the arrow keys at the bottom of the page, scroll through until you come to December.

__ News and Events __

= December 5 - Check for the updates! New pictures have been added...and a calendar with holiday activities along with our gingerbread recipe are also available for viewing = = December 5 - Gingy the Gingerbread Woman will be visiting for a morning of fun and gingerbread!! = = December 12 - Kindergarten Holiday Activities (help needed!) = = December 19 - All of the kindergarten classes will join the rest of the school for a holiday concert. Please join us for some wonderful entertainment! The school will assemble at 11:15am. = = December 20 - PD Day - No school until January! = = January 6 - Back to school = DECEMBER 2013 NEWSLETTER  The December 2013 Newsletter is now available.

Looking for some activity ideas to do with your child over the Holidays? Here are some things to try. **December 2013 **


 * ** Sunday ** || ** Monday ** || **Tuesday ** || ** Wednesday ** || ** Thursday ** || ** Friday ** ||
 * **Dear Santa! **
 * Have your child write a letter to Santa. They can either copy words from magazines/flyers or cut the pictures out and label them. They can maybe write a list for you as well. It would be interesting to see what they select! ** || **Problem Solving **
 * Cut a piece of string about four inches long. Ask your child to name three items in the kitchen longer than the string and three items shorter. ** || **So Big **
 * Point out three objects in the house. Ask your child to tell which one is the largest, which one is the smallest and which one is in between. Repeat. ** || **Portaits **
 * Have some fun with drawing. Ask your child to draw a picture of you and to label it. You draw a picture of your child and label it too. ** || **<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">My Name **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;">Have your child write his/her first name. Then ask, “How many letters are in your name? are any letters repeated? What is the first letter? The last? ** || **<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">The Letter ‘T’ **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;">Write the letter T,t on a piece of paper. Ask your child to name the letters. Let him/her trace the shapes of the letters with their finger. Have them write the letters and say words that begin with the letter T,t. ** || **<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Room Count **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;">Ask your child to count the number of rooms in your house. Ask your child which room, other than the bathroom is the smallest and which one is the largest. Ask “how can we check?” ** ||
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Snip, Snip **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;">Show your child how to hold a pair of scissors correctly. Using a newspaper, colouring book or magazine, have your child practice cutting our large objects and staying on the lines. ** || **<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">What did you see? **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;">Put four or more objects in front of our child for a few seconds. Remove the objects. Ask your child to tell in order the objects they saw. ** || **<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Tra-La-La **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Sing a song or two with your child. Use movements, such as waving hands and other body motions to go with the song. Ask them to sing “One green jellybean” ** || **<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;"> Point to it **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;">Find a picture of a person in a magazine or newspaper. Have your child point to the body parts that you say. ex "Point to her arms. Point to her legs" ** || **<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;"> Shopping Aids **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;">Put your child to work when grocery shopping. Ask "How many bananas in that bunch?" Tell him/her to find the (cereal). Have him/her get three cans of (tomato soup) ** || **<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;"> How many steps? **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;">While walking to school or while out for a walk, have your child count how many steps from here to there. Alter the steps...how many big steps, how many small steps, how many baby steps? ** || **<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;"> Family favourite **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;">Together make a special family recipe to be enjoyed by the whole family. **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;">Bake something and take to a friend or relative. ** ||
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;"> Wood/Metal? **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;">Ask your child to name three things found in the kitchen that are made of wood. Then ask them to name three things found in the kitchen that are made of metal. ** || **<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;"> Even Count **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;">Place an even number (6, 8, 10) of buttons or beans on the table. Ask your child to put the buttons or beans into groups so that each group has the same number. ** || **<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;">Ready to Go **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;">Give your child an assortment of his/her clothing that has buttons and zippers. Have them practice putting on the clothes and buttoning or zipping them. Set the timer and time them. ** || **<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;"> Tie one on! **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;">Have your child practice tying laces on their shoes or your shoes. OR tie a large piece of fabric to the back of a chair. Have them practice tying a bow. ** || **<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;"> The Letter M, m **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;">Write the letters M, m on a piece of paper. Let them trace the shapes of the letters with their finger. Have them write the letters. Say words that begin with the letter M. ** || **<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;"> Sculpture **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;">Give your child some modeling dough or clay. Let your child experiment with forming different shapes and objects in the clay or dough. See below for a great sensory Christmas dough! ** || **<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;"> Library **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;">Take your child to the library. Help them pick out books about holiday customs in other countries. Read to your child about some of the customs in other countries. ** ||
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;"> Show Me **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;">Using pennies ask your child to show you any number of pennies from 1 to 10. Ask them to name a coin that is equal to 5 cents and a coin that is equal to 10 cents. Name the coins in your pocket. Sort the coins in your pocket. ** || **<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;"> Reading Time **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;">Reread a story to your child. Shortly after reading aloud, stop and ask, "What is going to happen next?" Continue reading and repeat the question later. ** || **<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;"> Stencil Shapes **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;">From pieces of cardboard, make a stencil of a large triangle, a large circle, a large rectangle and a large square. Let your child use these stencils to trace the shapes and make designs. ** || **<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;"> Spirit of Giving **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;">Have your child think of something nice to make or do for someone who needs a little cheering up. Help your child follow through on his/her idea. ** || **<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;"> Real or Make-Believe? **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;">Read aloud to your child. Discuss together whether the events of the story could really happen. ** || **<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;"> Sing Together **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;">Teach your child some seasonal songs. Clap your hands and stamp your feet to the rhythm of each song. **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;">Make up your own songs together! ** || **<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;"> Holiday Hunt **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;">Hide an object in your home. Give your child clues to where the object can be found. Let them search for it. ** ||
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;"> Rhyming Fun **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;">See how many words you and your child can mane that rhyme with ball...cat...pig...wet. Make up a sentence using the rhyming words. ** || **<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;"> Sorting **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;">Have your child cut out some pictures of animals from old magazines. Then have them sort them into groups - four legs, two legs, live on land, live on water, feathers, fur... ** || **<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;"> Clean up Time **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;">Show your child how and where to put away their toys when they have finished playing. Sort the toys into 'clean up bins'. ** || **<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;"> Educational Watch **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;">Watch an educational TV program with your child. When the show is over, ask your child to retell the events of the program. Draw a picture of the show. ** || **<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;"> Hear It **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;">Clap and tap a rhythm pattern. Ask your child to repeat it. Then do a different pattern for your child to repeat. Have them make tap a rhythm for you to repeat. ** || **<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;"> Invite a Friend Over **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;">Plan an afternoon play date with a friend. Have your child decided the activities and then have them prepare things for the play date. Make an invitation for the friend and deliver it. ** || **<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;"> Child's Choice **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;">Allow your child to choose how today's time should be used. Have fun! ** ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;">Show your child how and where to put away their toys when they have finished playing. Sort the toys into 'clean up bins'. ** || **<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;"> Educational Watch **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;">Watch an educational TV program with your child. When the show is over, ask your child to retell the events of the program. Draw a picture of the show. ** || **<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;"> Hear It **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;">Clap and tap a rhythm pattern. Ask your child to repeat it. Then do a different pattern for your child to repeat. Have them make tap a rhythm for you to repeat. ** || **<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;"> Invite a Friend Over **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;">Plan an afternoon play date with a friend. Have your child decided the activities and then have them prepare things for the play date. Make an invitation for the friend and deliver it. ** || **<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;"> Child's Choice **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;">Allow your child to choose how today's time should be used. Have fun! ** ||

Gingerbread Playdough

Ingredients Instructions
 * 1 cup all purpose flour
 * 1/2 cup salt
 * 2 tsp. cream of tartar
 * 1 tbsp. ground cinnamon
 * 2 tsp. ground ginger
 * 1 tsp. ground nutmeg
 * 1 tsp. ground cloves
 * 2 tbsp. vegetable oil
 * 1 cup water
 * 1 tsp orange extract {optional}
 * 1) In a medium saucepan whisk together dry ingredients. Next mix in the water, oil, and orange extract and stir until a thick batter is formed. Cook the mixture over low/medium heat until a thick dough forms. Turn out onto parchment paper and knead until smooth. Makes about 2 cups of dough.

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QUOTES OF THE MONTH: =// “If you want your children to improve, let them overhear the nice things you say about them to others.” //= =// “Children are not casual guests in our home. They have been loaned to us temporarily for the purpose of loving them and instilling a foundation of values on which their future lives will be built.” //= =// “Never worry about the size of your Christmas tree. In the eyes of children, they are all 30 feet tall.” //= **Through The Eyes Of A Child Poem**
 * - Dr. Haim Ginott **
 * - Dr. James C. Dobson **
 * - Larry Wilde **

The moon is so bright The stars are so shiny The rainbow is so pretty The rain is so sparkly Nature is perfect Through The Eyes Of A Child

The sky is so blue The butterfly is so yellow The flowers are so red The grass is so green We live in a colorful world Through The Eyes Of A Child

Mummy is so beautiful Daddy is so knowing Grandma is so cuddly Grandpa is such fun Family is lovely Through The Eyes Of A Child

Do you look at nature Do you notice the colours Do you love your family Through The Eyes Of A Child

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #0000ff; display: block; font-size: 27px; text-align: center;"> OUR DECEMBER STARS

Star of the Week -  Dec. 2 - Megan   Dec. 9 - Lily   Dec. 16 - Telsche

__<span style="color: #ef1515; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 280%;">Mrs. Claus has a problem! __ <span style="color: #ce1212; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 190%;">With Santa being so busy preparing for the big <span style="color: #ce1212; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 25px; line-height: 37px;">night, Mrs. Claus has been left to feed the reindeer. She sent a letter to the class asking for some help!



<span style="color: #ce1212; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 200%;">The class discussed the problem together and with partners. What information had Mrs. Claus given them? Rudolph, Prancer and Comet needed feeding - that meant there were 3 reindeer - and they need 5 carrots each. The children put down their solutions on paper so Mrs. Claus would know how many carrots she needed. Below are just 2 examples of the work they did. <span style="color: #ce1212; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 200%; line-height: 0px; overflow: hidden;"> <span style="color: #ce1212; font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Both solutions use the strategy of using pictures to work out the answer. Lina and Astrid put 3 reindeer on the paper, then stuck 5 carrots on for each reindeer. Colton used the same idea, but grouped his so it was clear that each individual reindeer got 5 carrots. In both solutions the children were then able to count up and say that Mrs. Claus would need 15 carrots. To extend this we wrote on chart paper what the solution would look like using numbers. They came up with the equation 5+5+5=15. And what about the P.S. that Mrs. Claus added? The children were quick to agree that she did not have enough carrots if she only had 10. Why? Because 5+5 makes 10, and she needed 5+5+5 so she needed another 5 carrots! <span style="color: #ce1212; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 200%;">Great work KC! Working with numbers in 'real' situations helps children to develop a sense of quantity and understanding how numbers are relevant to their lives.

__** GINGY VISITS KC - December 5, 2013 **__ Today Gingy the Gingerbread Man (Woman) came to visit our classroom. Gingy brought special gingerbread cookies for us to decorate and eat. We also played with gingerbread playdough and we listened to Reece's Mom read us books about the Gingerbread Man. We also made Gingerbread Man booklets and decorated a huge Gingerbread Man on the chart. We had lots of fun retelling the story using masks too! What great fun! Many thanks to Mrs. McGinnity, Mrs. Scrivens, Gramma Heather and Mrs. Key for their help today.

Guelph Storm Hockey Player [|Steven Trojanovic] Visits KC to read a Brady Brady Hockey Story... (December 5, 2013)

__**WARNING: UNDER CONSTRUCTION!**__ This week KC has undergone major construction. On Tuesday Miss Brown brought in some big boxes. She asked us what the boxes could be used for. We made a chart with our ideas. We then voted on our favourite by standing in different parts of the room. We could choose from a cave, a castle and a gingerbread house. The group that voted for the gingerbread house won because they had the most people. We then got to work!! Miss Brown asked us to divide into two groups - the construction team and the design team. The design team made different pictures of what our house should look like...Colton even made a 3D model!! The construction team started to put together our house using coloured duct tape and the boxes and Reece made a sign for our door that said, "Under Construction". Take a peek at what our project looks like!

__** DECEMBER FUN IN KC! **__ OUR NEW COSTUMES!

__**MATH IN ACTION!**__  __**ONE GREEN JELLY BEAN....DOWN IN MY BELLY BEAN....GIVIN' ME A TUMMY ACHE...WHAT AM I GUNNA TAKE?**__   __**- a counting song**__ __**&**__  __**Learning about ordinal numbers....1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th...who is first, who is second etc.**__ The boys and girls are enjoying learning about numbers through song and dance. One of their favourite songs is "One Green Jelly Bean". This song has both counting and actions. Please watch our video to hear our song. In addition to this, we have been learning about ordinal numbers. The boys and girls enjoy lining up and figuring out who is 1st, 6th, 9th, 10th etc. in our line. [|click here to watch the video of our song]

[|December Math - Sorting Activities]

__** Patterning **__ Over the past weeks our class have been looking at __**"Patterns"**__in our world.

Objective: Recognize, describe, create, and extend patterns Different ways to pattern: Sound/Rhythm, Movement, Concrete objects, Color, Shape, Size

Patterning is categorized under the mathematics category of Algebra. Algebra is about seeing relationships and as children recognize and create patterns they begin to see and understand how things work together. Learning how to make and identify patterns is an important pre-math skill that children should master in kindergarten, as patterns can be seen in different math operations---such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and even in skip-counting.

Patterning skills - What do students need to know?
Once again skills lists vary, but generally students will work towards being able to: > red, blue, red, blue... > red, blue, yellow, repeat... > red, red, blue, red, red, blue.... > red, blue, yellow, yellow, yellow > daily experiences > to solve problems
 * create their own patterns at various difficulty levels such as:
 * copy patterns that others have made
 * extend patterns that others have started
 * tell what is missing if part of a pattern is hidden
 * compare and talk about patterns that arise from their
 * recognize patterns in the environment - e.g. fence posts: short, tall, short, tall...
 * use patterns to describe the world around them and
 * identify a pattern



__// Fun Ideas for 5 minute patterning activities //__

 * clap patterns - fast, fast, slow, fast, fast, slow
 * actions - hop, hop, clap, clap, hop, hop, clap, clap
 * drama activities - swirl arms like the wind, arms out like the sunshine as you say windy, windy, sunshine; windy, windy, sunshine
 * create color patterns with materials - red crayon, blue crayon, red crayon, blue crayon
 * diagrams - e.g. draw big apple, big apple, small apple; repeat
 * letters and words - put letters or words on a paper and read them. AA BB, AA BB or cat, cat, dog; cat, cat, dog
 * link to poetry e.g. Jack be Nimble - act out or draw on chalkboard -tall candle, short candle, short candle, tall candle, short candle...



This link [|Help Your Child :Learn About Patterns] takes you to a video that explains how to teach your child about patterns at home.

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR! PLEASE HAVE A SAFE AND FUN HOLIDAY!! SEE YOU IN 2014!!