FEBRUARY



**February 2014 **

MUSIC || DAY 2 5 || DAY 3 6
 * **Sun ** || **Mon ** || **Tue ** || **Wed ** || **Thu ** || **Fri ** || **Sat ** ||
 * ||  ||   ||   ||   ||   || 1 ||
 * || This month we will focus on ||  FRIENDSHIP, ||  SHARING, ||  and CARING! ||  ||   ||
 * 2 || DAY 5 3 || DAY 1 4

LIBRARY READING BUDDIES || DAY 4 7 || 8 || Put a sheet over a table and let your child play under it || FEED THE BIRDS Help your child make a bird feeder by covering a pinecone with peanut butter, cornmeal, raisins and birdseed || <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">LETS DRESS UP <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Create a dress up box of silky, sparkly or wild coloured clothes. Have a parade or fashion show. || <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; line-height: 1.5; text-align: center;">PIRATE BOOTIE <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; line-height: 1.5; text-align: center;">Go through your jewelry box. Let your child try some on. || <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">LET'S READ A BOOK <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Read a book together! || <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">HOME HAIRDRESSER <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Give your child a crazy hairstyle with shampoo foam – take a picture of your child. || ACTORS IN THE HOUSE <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Watch a TV program together and then act out a part of the show. ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">BEAR CAVE
 * 9 || DAY 5 10 || DAY 1 11

MUSIC || DAY 2 12 || DAY 3 13

LIBRARY READING BUDDIES || DAY 4 14

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

RICKSON DANCE-A-THON || 15 || <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Write out valentine cards for the students in the class – FROM only – no To names || <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">VALENTINE WEEK <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">- this week the students will participate in a variety of friendship activities. || <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">BREAKFAST PUZZLE <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Cut the front off your cereal box. Cut it into 6 pieces. Do this puzzle with your child. || <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">FAMILY CALENDAR <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Make a calendar with special holidays and family birthdays…don’t forget Valentine’s Day! || <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">VALENTINE'S DAY DINNER <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Plan a special meal for dinner tomorrow night. Heart shaped cookies or cake make a great desert! || VALENTINE'S DAY CARDS <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Create and then send a valentine to someone special to your family. || <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">LET'S GET PHYSICAL <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Skate, ski, or sled today! ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">I WROTE A LETTER TO MY LOVE...
 * 16 || FAMILY DAY - NO SCHOOL TODAY 17 || DAY 5 18 || DAY 1 19

MUSIC || DAY 2 20 || DAY 3 21

LIBRARY READING BUDDIES || 22 || <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Have a winter picnic. Have your child decide the menu and then have them prepare the picnic meal. || <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">CLEAN SNOW? <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Bring a jar of ‘clean’ snow into the house. Let it melt. Discuss the changes – draw a picture of the changes. || <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">FILL THE JAR <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Fill a small jar with objects. With your child, guess the number of items that are in the jar. <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">(marbles, lego, jelly beans) || <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">AN ARCHITECT IN THE HOUSE <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Have your child count the rooms in your house. Which is the biggest? Which is the smallest? || <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">LET'S DANCE <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Dance with your child in your arms or balanced on your feet. Take a video. || <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">HIDE AND SEEK <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Play hide and seek with your child. Take turns for ‘who is it’! || <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">SOUPER IDEA! <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Add ‘fun’ shaped crackers to a favourite soup or pasta dish. || PINK DAY - PLEASE WEAR PINK TODAY TO SUPPORT ANTI-BULLYING
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">WINTER PICNIC
 * 23 || DAY 4 24 || DAY 5 25 || DAY 1 26

MUSIC

KINDERGARTEN OUTDOOR MINI-OLYMPICS 9 am to 10:30 || DAY 2 27 || DAY 3 28

LIBRARY READING BUDDIES ||  || <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Give your child 10 peanuts or 10 pieces of popcorn. Have them show various amounts from 1 to 10. Tell them to write down the number that were shown. Eat the popcorn!! || <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">SHARE A STORY <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Tell your child a story that was told to you by your parents. If the story came from another country, talk about the story’s origin. || <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">SIMON SAYS <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">This time when you play, ask your child to be the leader as he/she hops on 1 foot, jumps, twists etc. || <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">RHYME TIME <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">See how many words you and your child can name that rhyme with ‘cap’. Make a sentence using the rhyming words. || <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">FEEL THE #s <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Give your child a piece of screen with the edges taped. Have them put a piece of paper on top of the screen. With a crayon, practice writing numbers. Feel the #s. || <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">NUMBER NAME <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Give your child the # cards 6, 7, 8, & 9. Draw 4 large circles on a large piece of paper. Have your child place a # card below each circle. Using buttons, put that many items in each circle. ||  ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">EAT ‘EM UP!


 * <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; text-decoration: none;">[|.] ||

** NOTICES & UPDATES: **
 * February 27 - Gemma's baby sister Devan comes to visit. (go right to the bottom of the page) Also, we have some additional updated photos of classroom activities...Pink Day...Puzzles!..and look out for 'QUICK SAND'...information about this change is coming soon! **

**F**ebruary 23 - The link for our mitten problem is now working. Click the picture to see our solutions to the mitten problem. Also, new pictures have been added to our February Fun section. ** February 19 - Please make sure you scroll to the bottom of the page...There are some great pictures of changes that are happening in our room! ** ** F ** ebruary 18 - Attention all JK parents! Please watch for a letter outlining interview times for all JK families. Please complete the form and return it to the school by Monday February 24th. Thanks! Rickson Ridge Public School Kindergarten ‘C’ Interviews

February 2014 Dear Parents, We will be inviting all JK parents to join us for second term JK student interviews on Thursday February 27th. At this interview we will discuss your child’s progress to date and review goals for your child. In order to accommodate your busy schedules within our time frame we are asking you to choose the time block which works best for you and then we will do our best to schedule your interview within that block. We will notify you on Monday February 24th of your specific interview time. Please complete the form below and return it in the Note Tote by Monday February 24tht. If you have any questions please send us a note or email us using the email link on the home page of the Wiki. Thank you for your cooperation and we look forward to meeting with you again.

Sincerely, Mrs. Pipe, Mrs. Metcalf & Miss Brown
 * __ Please return bottom portion __**
 * Please indicate your 1st and 2nd choice for an interview time. ** (Children are invited to attend).


 * Child’s Name: **

Thurs. Feb. 27th : 7:45 - 8:45 am _

__ 3:45 - 5:00 pm ___

5:00 – 7:00 pm Please note: A telephone interview can be arranged if this date does not work with your schedule, however we would love to meet all of our parents in person if at all possible.

February 14 - updates - Dance-A-Thon; Making popcorn; Making Jello; The Mitten Problem; additional pictures have been added to February Fun! Scroll down to see what's new in KC.

**The February 2014 Newsletter is now available**
 * Click [[file:February 2014 Newsletter.pdf]]**

If you, or someone you know in the area, have a child due to start Kindergarten in September (born 2010) please make sure you register at the school as soon as possible. This will help us work out classes for next year. For more details visit the UGDSB website https://ugdsb.on.ca/index.aspx?id=44752&blogid=25591

Click on the picture to see Astrid, Kaya and Emma explain how many hats the class needs in this mathematical problem.

We have been making the most of the abundance of snow. Check out the video of the fun we had crazy carpeting on The Ridge! Snow Crazy!

<span style="color: #ff00b7; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 210%;">Mrs. Pipe, Mrs. Metcalf and Miss Brown give a huge THANK YOU to everyone for all the lovely Valentines gifts and cards. Enjoy the long weekend!

We will be having a friendship day on Friday February 14th. At this time, students will be playing some friendship games and drinking ‘red’ love potion. The students will also be distributing their friendship cards (Valentines) during this time. Valentine distribution is a completely personal choice, but if your child is sending Valentines to their friends, please makes sure that ALL students receive a Valentine. We will be discussing this with the students.
 * We have 26 children in our room. **

** If you would like your child to bring Valentine's Day cards to school, ** ** please put __"FROM" only__ on your child's Valentine's Day cards. ** **example:** ** From: Mrs. Pipe OR Love: Mrs. Metcalf ** ** Please __do not put "TO"__ on the cards because it makes it more difficult for the children to deliver their Valentine's Day cards. ** ** Therefore, we will not be sending a list of names of the children in our class home with your child. **  We would like to wish all of our families a very Happy Valentine’s Day and a very fitness filled heart month! ** THANK YOU! **

QUOTES OF THE MONTH: //"Too often students are given answers to remember, rather than problems to solve"// ~ Roger Lewin //“If you want your children to improve, let them overhear the nice things you say about them to others.”// ~ Dr. Haim Ginott//"The important thing is not so much that every child should be taught, as that every child should be given the wish to learn"// ~ John Lubbock

** FEBRUARY STARS **

Information about "GETTING READY TO WRITE" in Kindergarten. Simply click: ** [] **

** VALENTINE'S DAY IN KINDERGARTEN C ** ** Valentine's Day Dance a Thon ** ** - click the picture below to see pictures and videos of our dance! **

** Valentine's Day with our Reading Buddies ** ** click the picture below to view... **



FEBRUARY FUN

**__ PINK DAY in KC __** On February 26th we wore pink...this was to let everyone know that we DO NOT like bullying. We talked about being kind to everyone no matter what they look like. We all made a promise that we would not hurt our friend's feelings, we would not be unkind to anyone and that we would accept all people.

Bullying is abuse. Bullies use their power (real or perceived) to intentionally, repeatedly harm others perceived to be less powerful. But you can stop it. BULLYING IS: being mean to others, on purpose, to hurt them or their feelings - bullies hurt our bodies and our feelings  BULLYING BEHAVIOUR: is intended to hurt; is repeated; is unequal power and control



__** TIME FOR MATH! **__ __** SHAPES **__

__ ** PUZZLES ** __

__**HOW TO MAKE A BOLOGNA SANDWICH**__...click the picture to see!

__**SPINNING AROUND AND AROUND...the motion of spinners!**__ (click the picture to see what we are investigating)

__** THE MITTEN PROBLEM - **__ __** click the picture to see our solutions **__

__** OUR NEW INQUIRY...."CHANGES"! **__ The boys and girls are investigating __** changes that occur in everyday life **__. We have talked about how the seasons change (in particular how our season changed from fall (with coloured leaves on the trees) to winter (with snow, cold temperatures and ice), how popcorn changes from a kernel to fluffy white edible popcorn, how jello changes from a powder, to a liquid, to a solid (gel) that tastes very good and how we have changed from a little person to a bigger one that now goes to school. Click on the pictures below to see some of our investigations. __ ** MAKING POPCORN ** __

** MAKING JELLO **

** COLOUR CHANGES **

** HOW WE ARE CHANGING **

__ ** Looking at Changes...Baby Devinn Comes to Visit ** __

Today we had a very special visit from some very important people...Gemma's Mom and baby sister Devinn came to visit our classroom. We are going to watch the changes Devinn goes through in the next few months. Today the boys and girls marvelled at her tiny head, fingers, nose, and eyes. They also noted that she slept a lot and was so little in her car seat. Everyone was quite intrigued by her! Stay tuned for an update next month! See how cute Devinn is...