Name writing - JKs have come a long way in the course of recognizing their names and the letters in their names since the beginning of September.
SKs are working on their spatial sense when writing their names, attempting to do their best to write their name on a line using a capital letter for their first letter and lowercase letters for the rest. They are also now exploring the letters in their last name.
Both groups work on these concepts in a variety of ways - play, centres, circle time and explicit one to one instruction with one of their educators.
Parents can assist their child in consolidating their skills by providing authentic ways for them to explore and practice these skills at home. For example, signing their own name in cards to friends and family, spelling their name with letter magnets on the fridge, writing their name on artwork they create at home.
Letter Recognition - Uppercase and lowercase letters in the alphabet. Identifying, sorting, matching, naming - these are some of the ways we work on these skills in the classroom. Noticing letters in the world around them is a great way to reinforce these skills.
1 to 1 correspondence/Counting skills - Both JKs and SKs work on their counting skills daily in play and centres in the classroom. These skills are easily integrated into real life contexts for parents looking to assist their child in their learning. Children naturally love to collect and sort objects. Counting them is a great concrete way for them to work on 1 to 1 correspondence skills.
Subitizing - The ability to see a small amount of objects and know how many there are without counting. This is a skill that is explored through a variety of manipulatives and visuals in the classroom. For example, dice, ten frames, dominos, holding up fingers and tally marks. These skills can be reinforced in a number of ways at home through games.
How to make 10 - SKs have been working on their addition skills by asking the question "What makes ten?" Through a variety of circle time activities and tabletop activities, they have been connecting numbers in pairs to make 10.
Cutting- How to hold a pair of scissors and cut free shapes and cut along lines.
Upcoming Special events and Important dates
Halloween at school - Kinder students will be participating in a costume parade this year on Monday, Oct.31st at 9:30am. The Kinder team will send out more details next week about Halloween in Kinderland to help parents know what to expect and help them manage the Halloween excitement.
Scholactics Book Fair - The parent council will be hosting their annual fundraising event from Thurs.Oct.27th - Sat.Oct.29th. This is a great yearly event that helps in augmenting the resources in our school and classroom libraries. Look in Note Totes for more information as the dates approach.
Thurs. Oct.27- Fri.Oct.28th - Scholastics Book Fair during school hours
Saturday, Oct. 29th - Saturday Book Fair/Family Event
Monday, Oct.31st - Halloween
Sunday, Nov.6th - Daylight Saving Time - Fall back
Tues. Nov.8th - School Parent Council meeting - 6:30pm-8:30pm Hilson library
Wed. Nov.9th - Nepean High School presents...11:45am Hilson's gym
Fri. Nov.11th - Remembrance Day Ceremony
Thurs. Nov.17th - Hilson Movie Night
Fri. Nov.18th - PD Day