Thank you as always to our valued volunteers! Thanks also to everyone who has already sent in a donation for our Stonegate family basket. Our family has mom, dad, 6 month old boy and 3 year old girl. The basket is in our back entryway so you can easily pop in and put your donations inside, however, if you are sending giftcards could you let myself or Mrs. Mosun know. Because they are small and could be easily misplaced, I usually put them into a big clear baggie for safe keeping and wrap them together within the big basket once all the collecting is done. The children are always quite amazed to learn that not every family has what they have. I tell them stories of my first school where as a young mother I bought extras of the things my own children had to put in our classroom whether that be books ( you may have noticed I do have alot of books...) shoes, boots or outdoor clothes that my class could borrow to play warmly in. My mom actually knitted sooooooo many pairs of mittens over my 12 years there she can do it in her sleep! Helping others is a gift we can all give in our own way and to our own limits, nothing is ever too small.
This week the entire school took part in many different coding activities. Our class had fun doing it, especially when the idea of an algorithm turned into a quest or a mission within the game idea...with safe spots, obstacles and danger! (think crocodiles, lions, rivers, mountains or the fox who tricks the gingerbread man!). On Friday everyone brought home their own Gingerbread Man game. Each child cut and coloured their own pieces and we packaged them up with a dice (they were so excited to have their own!) Everyone has their own rules and ideas for how to play using the arrows and dice to move around. Please play and enjoy! Also great holiday gift idea for many of the kids - board games! I bought two Snakes and Ladders games for the class and they will be worn out by the end of the year they are used so much! Great for numbers, counting, taking turns and just fun!
Our amazing Reading Buddies helped us write letters to Santa this week! I can't tell you how good
the big kids were with our little ones, keeping the magic of the holiday alive even if they may not still
believe themselves at their age! We walked to the office where Mrs. Stefanowich has the magical
The Santa mailbox and dropped them in. We also spent a few minutes admiring her Christmas Village sets with moving skiiers, skaters and more! The letters are wonderful, asking about Santa, the reindeer, the elves, the weather, the sleigh, Mrs. Claus and on and on! In some cases the letters tell why our kindies believe they have been "good" and also get around to what they would like from
Santa...please read below...
Caesar - a golden ball
Rumaisa - a toy reindeer, dog, or cat and books
Daly - a sparkly nutcracker (one came out of the mystery bag this week, quite enchanting!)
Mateo - Kids Science Lab, craft bucket, Mickey Mouse duplo
Stuart - train, remote control car
Henry - Hot Wheels track, electric scooter, new green baseball bat
Paige - Pokemon, a skateboard, candy
Jameson - Paw Patrol set, Paw Patrol set for his NEW sister (in case you didn't hear baby Madeline
arrived this week!), a toy elf, a skateboard
Matthew - Buzz Lightyear costume, toy cars - a "jet" car, Rudolph toy
Ashlyn - a light up unicorn and snow!
Emmie - a Peppa Pig house, a crown, a toy ice cream truck
Sofia - an Elsa doll, Anna doll, Rapunzel doll, a gingerbread house
Liana - a candy maker
Dylan - train track pieces
Torin - who has been good because he "helped mommy" would like games
Preston - cars, superhero toys, Star Wars toys
Eros - a Jasmine doll, Rapunzel doll, Belle or Sleeping Beauty
Veronica - an Elsa doll, stuffed animals, and a cat!
Gray - who has been good because he helps his brother get things that are up high - a baseball target,
Connor McDavid jersey
Kristina - a cookie from Mrs. Claus, a barbie, candy
Hunter - who has been a good boy and got a certificate for sharing would like Lego sets, a science kit, and Star Wars action figures
Zoya - a remote control car, a doll, art supplies, hair elastics
Nolan - who has been very helpful and helps everyone "because he has a big heart" - a glowing, interactive Elsa doll with snowflakes
Alexandra - stacking cups and a candy construction set (Elfie gave one to our class this week the kids are absolutely loving)
Everett - interactive skeleton toy with a magical eye
Tabitha - Pokemon cards, Pokemon book, make up kit
"Santa" will be writing back to the kids to answer their questions and tell them about life at the North Pole. Santa's letter will come home the last week of school! We are using the Canada Post letters so
a heads up that friends in other Kindie classes may get a similar letter - because the elves and Santa
are so very busy right now - but I will be adding a personal message to each one about the child and their questions. I still have some of my children's letters to Santa...the love and magic in them still shines twenty years later, my guys are 22 and older!
The arrival of snowpants and boots was a little overwheling for some this week! If your child needs a significant amount of help dressing they will be very frustrated at school! While we always will guide and help with the tricky bits like the double zippers - yuck! boot liners that come out - Ick! and the second mitt, so tricky! The idea is that the children do it themselves. We rarely correct their efforts at first, just getting everything on is a huge accomplishment and backwards snowpants or boots on the wrong feet won't hurt anyone! Once they have mastered the overall "dressing up" skills we can refine by looking at boots or mitts or hats that ended up backwards. You have to remember, they are doing it themselves and that's what counts, there is no incentive to try if we are going to
correct all their efforts so cheer them on and be sure you and your caregivers, grandparents included! are all encouraging independence. They can do it!
This week looks like:
Monday - Music AM
Tuesday - Mailbags, Mystery Reader AM
Wednesday - We watch the Gr. 1-5 play AM, Lib/IT PM
Thursday - Reading Buddies AM, Mystery Reader PM
Friday - Mailbags, Lib/IT AM, Pizza Lunch, Mystery Reader PM
Have a great week,
Ms. I.
