Hello April!

 Hello! Hope you enjoyed the sunshine. Soo looking forward to the change! We got out and did a hike through Green Gables. If you haven't yet, give it a whirl, short trails and you get to see the house without the tourist! The homestead trail is also good in Cavendish! 

We will review feelings this week and start into our spring unit. Students will learn new spring vocabulary I will post the words to the google classroom for you to print off and go over.  We will also twin spring with Easter in the coming weeks. 

In French we have been really working on our sight words and French sounds. I will also attach those sounds and songs that go with the sounds to the classroom. Students are very motivated to learn their words and move up. Its great to see them succeed and so engaged in an activity. We are working also on the meaning of those words, seeing that they are great at recognizing the words but don't always remember the meaning. I will be starting guided reading in class during literacy centers. Working with small groups to develop their reading strategies and French comprehension, so this should help more. Once we read a book together I will be sending it home in their reading package to work on during the week. There is a sheet explaining what to do in the duo-tang that will be coming home. Dont worry about not know how to read the words or helping them out. As long as you sit with them and listen that is all the need, your support, your interest and encouragement. Do not make this any longer that 15 minutes and if its not working set it aside and come back to it at another time. If you have any questions feel free to ask away. Here is a link to the song we have been singing in class.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kq88XtHOEA

In Math, we continue to work on numbers 1-10 in French. Students are getting great at recognizing numbers in a 10 frame. We will start to look at simple addition and focus on how to use a number line. New vocabulary is apres (after), avant ( before) I have been showing them a number and asking what is after the number or before. I also point out that apres is 1 more (1 de plus) avant is 1 less (1 de moins). This is a concept they will learn more about in grade 1. We have been trying to play lots of card games and other counting games in class. Keep working on number formation and mastering those skills as we get higher counting sometimes students will reverse 12 into 21 so catching it now will help. Here is a link that I use from time to time to get ideas. 
https://www.kindergartenworksheetsandgames.com/free-kindergarten-math-games/

I also use this A LOT in the summer months with Winnie to keep us busy. They have some fun ideas and is simple click to print. It also has alot of different subject areas, no French though:(
https://www.123homeschool4me.com/home-school-free-printables/

Enjoy the week! 
LA

Update!

 Well the year was 1776 since I last posted. I hope you have all been keeping well these past months. Time is going fast and with each day we are learning so much in class. The students have started to show more confidence and their fun personalities. Looking forward to the next couple weeks when the weather changes and moods lift! 

In the next couple of weeks we will be really focusing on developing our reading skills, through play, games and lots of practice with our weekly sight words. Please review the paint chip sight words daily if you can and be sure to send them back in each day as we use them in class. Students also have colored sight word list in their reading packs that we read in class. With each colored list they master ( saying the sight words with no support) they get a prize and move up to the next level. This has really motivated them! They also get prizes for reading 6 paint chip cards at a time. They also have to master the words without support. These words are the ones that they will most frequently see in their reading books. 

I have added 4 colored list to the google classroom and recorded myself going over them for you. They can be printed off and put on a ring at home also. Here is the link. Let me know if you have any questions. 

https://classroom.google.com/w/MzIwOTQxMzQ2MzM4/tc/NDcxNjExMzk1NjY0

I hope to send home a nightly reading pack in the next couple of weeks. Once I have them all prepared I will let you know. 

For those wanting to get a head start on reading with your child I sent home Scholastics orders before March break with a couple of reading pack suggestions for their starting level. Here are the links to some of the collections if you wanted to search. My code is RC183490

https://classroomessentials.scholastic.ca/en/-collection-je-lis-mes-mots-outils---s%C3%A9rie-2-/2263515-cec-ca.html

https://classroomessentials.scholastic.ca/en/-collection-je-lis%21-sciences-%3A-animaux---s%C3%A9rie-1-/2555699-cec-ca.html?rrec=true 

https://classroomessentials.scholastic.ca/en/-bo%C3%AEte-%C3%A0-lecture-%3A-animaux-%C3%A9patants-/3571545-cec-ca.html#q=boite%2Ba%2Blecture&prefn1=itemType-cec-ca&prefv1=N&start=1

In Math, we continue to learn about numbers 1-10. We have started to break numbers apart using vocabulary (part, part, whole) You can work on this at home by giving your child a number, having them represent the number with manipulatives then breaking it into two parts. (3 and 5 makes 8) This is getting them ready for addition problems. Another way to help them progress is to work on their number formation. Some students continue to have reversals, extra practice would help them. Working on number recognition through play is a great way to help them. Here is a link that you can skim over and play games using a deck of cards. 
https://kidpillar.com/easy-math-card-games-for-kids/

We have also started working on writing simple sentences using punctuation, proper letter sizing, following a line of print and spacing. Once we get the hang of this we will try to write little stories using repetitive text such as Je vois un oiseau. Je vois une fleur.....For those who are reading can add more details like colors, size, numbers. You can add this to a nightly practice activity using some sight words. 

We have library on Friday March 25th. 
I believe that is all for now. Take care and enjoy the week. 
Laurie Anne :)

Short Week

 Hi everyone,
I hope you all had a fabulous week and a productive week end. The weather has been amazing! I hope it keeps up into the weeks to come. 
Next week is a short week for us seeing that it is only 3 days. It will be a very busy one here at Spring Park. We will celebrate Diversity week starting the week off with wearing orange shirts on Monday to show our support. If your child does not have an orange shirt they are encouraged to wear anything they have that is orange to show their support. On Monday our class will participate in a drum circle happening in the afternoon. Friday we listened to a drum circle on youtube. Through out the week we will read stories and do activities to further our learning. 

Our school wide Terry Fox run will be happening through out the day on Wednesday. Our class cohort will take the last slot of the day before heading home. Please be sure to check the weather for the day and dress them accordingly. The school will be collecting 1$ donation for the Terry Fox foundation. If you wish to donate please send in money on or before Wednesday. Any donation is excepted! Terry Fox always sparks a lot of conversation, feelings and emotions. It would be great if you spoke with your child about him and his journey to get them ready for the special day. 
Here are a couple of links you can watch as a family to get ready for the day. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FaYghR63LI Terry Fox and Me
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BzyHYZgMz8&t=1s - Terry Fox, Anything is possible
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1HheJV-pNM - Never give up on a dream-Rod Stewart 

Wednesday September 29 is library. The librarian has asked that the books be
returned the day before library. Please return books on Tuesday September 28 if your child has not already returned them. 

Friday your child went home with a yellow song duo tang. They will share their songs with you. We aren't great lol but we are working on it! I will attach a link to the last song in the duo tang to help you out. Please be sure to return Monday as we will continue to practice together. 
https://youtu.be/gBhTOkGr6_c?list=PL2flOGWRc8bh1UbG6G_r0lkpq07qh1UuN

I will be sending home new Jolly phonic practice sheets on Monday (c,e,x,n,l) We will keep these letters for an extra week seeing that we only have 3 days to cover them. The dark blue duo tang can stay home. Please take it out of the blue bag if you have not yet. When checking the agenda also please be sure to sign it daily. This lets me know you are looking at it, just in case a message has been put in there. If you have not paid your school fees yet this is a friendly reminder to please do so. You can pay the office $45.00. 

We will be having two nursing students join us in class over the next couple of weeks to observe the students. A letter went home the other day from the Nursing department, you can find out more there. Please sign this form and return by September 29. Students are asked to bring a Teddy bear for October 7th. I will send a reminder closer to that date. Please do not forget to send your child with forks/spoons. I do not have any in the class to pass out so some have been creative lately trying to eat their lunches and snacks. 

We will be learning all about apples this week. One of our projects will be to make apple sauce in class if time is in our favor. Could you please send in a plastic bowl and spoon in a ziplock bag with your child's name on it for Monday. 

Thats all for now. Hope a great week! 

Reminder:
No school thursday or Friday.
Terry Fox Wednesday- Bring $1 donation
Drum Circle and Orange shirt day Monday- Wear orange.
Library book return tuesday-Library class wednesday. 
School Fees due
Teddy Bear Clinic forms due Wednesday
Return yellow song duo tang Monday. 

Welcome to Maternelle!

 Hello everyone! 
Welcome to the exciting world of Maternelle! It will be a fabulous year of learning together! This is my first year teaching kindergarten however, I have taught grade 1 French immersion for over 10 years. I love this age for so many reasons! I am looking forward to meeting you all and working along side you as we watch your child grow both socially and academically! 

Just in case you wanted to know a little about me. I am from PEI and went through the French Immersion program in Summerside. I taught at Greenfield Elementary for a couple of years before I moved to Calgary. I taught grade two then back to grade one until this past June, when we decided to move our little family home to this beautiful island. Our daughter Winnie loves being here and going to see her grandparents and the beach! You will hear a lot of stories am sure of our adventures! 

Here is a little break down of what we will be learning. This month in class we will focus on routine, following instructions, how to play in large and small groups along with new French vocabulary focusing on school supplies this month. This week in class we are learning letters sounds and names for "m","i","a", and "t". We covered "s" last week. Every Friday we will review the letter sounds. You can help your childs' progression by reviewing with them and going over the Jolly phonics duo tang that will be sent home. We have also been working on pencil grasp and following a line of print. This is something we will continue to work on over the months to come. In class we teach and cover many subjects cross-curricular our main focus is on literacy and numeracy. 

In math, students are learning about patterns. They must know how to make a pattern using different attributes (ab, ab, ab/ aab, aab, aab/ abc,abc,abc.....) We have talked about how a pattern can be different sizes, have different colors, shapes, objects but patterns must repeat 3 times to make it a pattern. In French, patterns are called, les regularites. We will also be counting to 10 in French. Students will be working in math centers also this week, focusing on representing numbers with objects, recreating patterns, and counting.

In Science, we are learning about colors. Students will learn the name of colors in French. So far we have talked about the primary colors (rouge, jaune et bleu). This week they will do some experiments mixing these colors to find out what will happen. (Making secondary colors) 

In health, we will be learning about germs and how to properly wash our hands! In social studies, students will be learning about the meaning of identity, what makes us unique and what talents do we all have.

Students will also have the opportunity to develop their fine motor skills by participating in cutting, hole punch, pin push, tweezer centers this week. 

The students will take home their song duo tang Friday.  They will take it home every Friday and return it on Monday as we will be adding new songs each week.  This week we will focused on two songs and am sure they will love to sing these to you! Here are some links to songs we are singing in class. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXn5BFye360&t=20s -Bonjour, comment ca va?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4kNeFGBAcw- Les couleurs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atNkI6QFZ50 -Bonjour, bonjour!

Students will have their first library day on Tuesday, day 5. They are to return their library book in a extra-large ziplock bag labelled with their name please. 

We are practicing in class Bonjour! Je m'appelle________. Hi! My name is _____. Comment ca va? How are you? Ca va bien. I am good. Ca va comme-ci, comme-ca. I am OK. Ca va mal. I am not good or I feel bad. It can mean many different feelings.  You can practice these at home with your child! 


I think that's all for now. 

Have a great week! Enjoy the sunshine! 
Mme Laurie-Anne

March sunshine!

 Happy March everyone! Looking forward to warmer weather and new possibilities in the weeks to come! I love the longer evening also. I hope you are all well and keeping busy. 

This month in class we are learning about modes of transportation in French. Students will learn to classify these methods of transport based on their ability to roll (roule), fly (vole) or float (flotte). We have been playing games using the French word wall, this is something you can also do at home with their sight words. You can have your child find words that have 1,2,3 or more syllables, find a word with 1,2,3 consonants, find a word that rhymes with.... find a word that has 1,2,3..vowels, find a word that has 2,3,4.... letters, find a word that starts with/ends with...these are just a few examples. This can also be done in both French and English. We will start to focus more on French rhyming words, paying closer attention to punctuation and reading with expression. 

In Math, student have started their geometry unit, learning about 2D and 3D shapes. Students will learn how to group shapes together by similar characteristics. As we work on this unit we will continue to practice skip counting by 2, 5 and 10 up to 100 in French. It would be a benefit if your child continued practicing addition and subtraction facts. Their last unit will be on addition and subtraction up to 20. Here is a website if you wanted to print off some worksheets.
https://www.k5learning.com/free-math-worksheets/first-grade-1/addition

https://www.k5learning.com/free-math-worksheets/first-grade-1/subtraction

https://www.k5learning.com/free-math-worksheets/first-grade-1/number-charts  ** This one is great has skip counting, fill in the blanks.

Our Science unit this month is on building things. Students will learn about different building materials and we will have building different things in class. This is a short unit. Students will build a leprechaun trap at home and present it in class. On the google classroom you will find a link to vocabulary that they can use to present their project. It has to be done in French. They can write it out if they want to. They can use this structure....Voici mon piege de farfadet. Pour construire cet piège j'ai utilisé ......Le farfadet .....(grimper, sauter, tomber, jouer...) They can also use geometry vocabulary by describing the shapes of items used ( La boite est un carré.)  They are encouraged to use all the French vocabulary they know. (size, color, shape) All projects are due Monday march 15th. We will start to present monday. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9oysYLGXCY Bill Nye- Structures

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31eBdgnPsCo _Rosie Revere engineer read aloud

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdKTCtypLlw- How to catch a leprechaun read aloud
 
Social studies, we continue to learn about urban and rural living. Students are also starting to learn about Canada's 10 provinces and 3 territories. We will learn a little about cardinal direction (North, South, East, West). 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBQ5ZhHlkkY  Provinces and Territories song ( its unique lol)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NR7z9FbUf5k Urban/rural explanation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlW7W92YUZI Country mouse-City mouse in French

In English, we are working on writing simple sentences to tell a story or to answer questions being asked. We continue to work on blends and word families as well as different reading strategies such as when two vowels go walking the first one does the talking. We have also learned about bossy e or silent e. We have started to make story predictions, retelling the story with details and reviewing the 5 w's (who, what, when, where, why and how) to help with comprehension. This is something you can work on at home as well when reading bedtime stories or even asking them about their day! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fb3Pdt8kxg -When two vowels go walking

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdmcWQCbqY8 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBP-AW29YDk -Bossy e


On St. Patrick's day students can wear green or dress up as a leprechaun. We have no school on friday march 19th seeing that it is a PD day for teachers. 
Mme Teresa's grade one class is collecting no perishable food items for St.Vincent de Paul all month. If you have the ability to donate a little something they would be grateful for your help. 
Thank you for filling out the reading package dup tang with book titles and levels. I usually come in on a sunday and exchange them and having them filled out makes exchanging them so much smoother!
 If you find yourself at home depot near the paint sample department ;) feel free to grab our class some paint chips. 
I believe that's all i have for now.
Laurie Anne 

February is upon us, can you feel the love?

 Happy February everyone! This is a short month seeing that we have family day and teacher conference in the next couple of weeks. It was great meeting with you last week during parent teachers. Thank you for your on going support at home and in school. 

This month, the students will be learning about La maison, the house. They will learn the names of the rooms in a house and the items that are found in each room. We will also be learning more about the importance of friendship all month long (l'amitie). This ties in with our health as well as religion unit. Also the month of February brings valentine's day, carnival and the 100 day of school! 

Valentines day this year will be done a little differently. Students have been asked to bring their valentines in on Friday Feb 5th. They do not have to be personalized, if you have already done so that is OK, as long as your child is able to read the name. The valentines will sit over the week end and be delivered the following week. We have 13 girls in our class and 7 boys. The students want to have a little celebration If you wish to send in a valentine treat ( individually packaged for 20 students) on Monday Feb 8th our class will have the celebration in the afternoon. 
Boys- Owen, Carter, Lincoln, Miles, Gerry, Richard, Leo
Girls- Corrie, Claire.B, Yohana, Emma-Lee, Isla, Itohan, Ella, Millie, Dahlia, Samara, Charlotte, Tenley, Claire.M, 

The week of Feb 8- 10 the school will be celebrating Quebec carnaval. There will be activities planned over the 3 days of school. The teachers will be dressing in plaid shirts all week, the students are welcome to join in. 

There will be no school Thursday Feb 11, Friday Feb 12 due to teacher convention. There is also no school on mon Feb 15 because it is family day. 

The 100th day of school this year falls on Wednesday February 24. We will have a day of activities in class. Our class has the choice to dress up as a 100 year old person or wear a t-shirt with 100 items attached. Pinterest has some great ideas if you are stuck. I attached 2 links below. 

    https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/36169603238415111/   t-shirt ideas

https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/36169603238415111/  100 year old costume ideas

I hope the reading packs have been going well. Please remember to fill out the yellow duo-tang with your child's first try at reading the book. You do not need to log it every time they read the book to you.  Please be sure to send the reading pack back on Thursday's. When returning the packs please check to make sure everything is in there. 2 white paper books (2 french, 2 english), yellow duo tang filled out, ziplock bag with 1 oui, oui, oui book, 1 CD, 1 pack of matching game (usually 24 pieces). All these items must be in the pack in order to get new books for the following week. If you have any questions please let me know. 

We continue to work on French phonemes. Your child will start to come home with colored lists focusing on specific French sounds. This week they went home with the sound "on". I also included a games bundle that you can keep at home and play with your child. If you want to make them reusable, put the pages into a page protector or even a Ziploc bag and use a dry erase marker to play.  If you do not speak French and are unsure of how to pronounce the words, please use the virtual classroom and listen to the recordings. 
In French, we are working on singular and plural words as well as identifying if a word is feminine or masculine by looking at the determinant. The students are starting to recognize that if a word has la, ma, sa, ta, une it is feminine and if it has le, ton, mon, son, un it is masculine. We have also been  working on writing sentences in the correct structure. This is something you can practice at home. For example: chat, un, grand, Je, vois, noir. Correct way Je vois un grand chat noir. They practice reading the words over again and start to pick up on how the French sentence structure sounds. 

Math, we are working on numbers 0-100 in French. We will continue this throughout the school year as well as counting by 2, 5 and 10. Here are some links to help practice skip counting in French.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKkA5MdULcA - Par 2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0oozeIkCHcI -Par 5

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqvgZIQ0zJo  Par 10

We have been working on identifying place value with a focus on tens and ones. Here are some helpful links to review- 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDO6KfvS-Bk unite/dizaine

Once we are finished this unit the students will be learning about geometry and measurement. Here is a link to practice the names of shapes in french, students will be learning about 2D and 3D shapes.
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qI4zdx8vGnw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XGEdRBzfM8

Science, we continue to learn about the seasons.
Social studies, we are finishing up learning about our rights and responsibilities and will be moving on to learning about the differences and similarities of urban and rural living. We will also learn more about Canada, the provinces and territories it is made up of.
Health, we are learning about what it means to be a good friend as well as how to keep our bodies healthy by eating right, getting enough rest, and staying active. 
English, we have started writing stories and will starting learning more about rhyming words. 

Our class has library this Thursday, please be sure to return their library books if they have not yet. 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjFUgrwzuqiiTEmCWnXkqwg Has a lot of useful information that applies to the students, he can be a little dry but its full of good stuff. 
Have a great week.

 

Countdown is on!

 Count down is on until Christmas Holidays! The last week of school is sure to be a fast one but full of fun and excitement as well. As mentioned before we love to dress up the last week of school and students are encouraged to participate. Here is the schedule for the week. This is optional, please participate if you wish.
Monday December 14- Christmas elves
Tuesday December 15- Christmas presents
Wednesday December 16- Santa, Mrs. Claus or a reindeer
Thursday December 17- Christmas trees or Angels
Friday December 18 - NO SCHOOL

Our liturgy is on Thursday Dec 17th,I believe at 9 am. A link will be sent out if you wish to join. 
I usually have parents come in the last week of school to read the kids their favorite Christmas story. This year we cannot do this but I was thinking that we could try to do this over zoom. Would any of you be interested in doing this? If so let me know and we can arrange a time that works for us all. 
We missed library last week so it we will exchange our books this week. If you haven't sent in the books please do so before Thursday. 

We will have our Christmas celebration on Thursday afternoon. Feel free to send in a individually packaged treat to share with the class. 

Christmas Holidays start December 18- Jan 4. The first week back we will be learning from home. I will send home everything they need on Thursday for the week of online learning. If your child will not be here on that day please let me know in advance so that I can send home what they need. Closer to Jan 4th I will email you the schedule for our zoom meets and anything else you may need to know. 
Please be sure to sign into google classroom, if you have yet to do so. Also you have access to Je lis, Lalilo as well at all times if you are looking for extra French during the break. 

Candy cane sales now available online. Each year since I started teaching, I have sold candy oh grams and collected spare change with my class to raise money for those less fortunate. When in PEI, our class donated their money to the CBC turkey drive which was through the salvation army. They even got to sing on the local radio station, which was always a big hit. Since coming to Calgary, my class has continued the tradition and donated turkeys to the Calgary food bank and for the last 4 years have donated hundreds of turkeys to the Calgary drop in center given over 1000 people a Christmas dinner. In the past with some of the funds we also put together stocking with toothbrushes, shaving cream, shampoo and so on for those in need. We have bought transit passes as well seeing that most homeless are jailed because of these infractions. This year due to covid we wont be able to do the traditional turkey drive. Students usually get to load the truck for the organization that we donate to with the turkeys we buy. That wont stop us though from collecting money and donating to an organization in need. This year the funds collected will be donated to The Mustard seed. Sales are open online and will be closed Monday to allow us time to fill orders. We thank you for all your support. 

In Social studies, we are finishing up the last bit of our community and will start our unit on rights and responsibilities. These concepts are often difficult for students to understand. The more conversation we have about them the better. We will continue this in January when we get back. 

Math, we have started addition and subtraction up to 12. Students have started to learn how to find all the number facts to a number. (6- 0+6, 1+5, 2+4,3+3, 4+2, 5+1, 6+0) They are also starting to recognize that 0+6 is the opposite of 6+0 but the sum is still the same. Over the break it would be great practice to print them off some work sheets with simple addition up to 12. It would benefit them also if the problems were set up both horizontally and vertically. ( 4+4=8  or 4 )
                                                                                                       + 4
                                                                                                          8

Here is a table you can practice at home. Below table there is a link to a math website you can look at. 

https://www.k5learning.com/free-math-worksheets/first-grade-1/addition

In English, we continue to work on recognizing long and short vowel sounds. In the new year we will start to learn about word families and blends. To help your child with reading comprehension start to ask them the 5w's after reading them a story. Who? What? When? Where? Why? and we add in how?
Review sight words and if possible start having them write simple sentences with them. I will send home their explode the code black duo-tang as well as phonic fun to work on over the break. Most students are almost finished explode the code and ideally should be near page  45  in Phonics fun. 

In French, we will finish our Christmas unit and students will be starting to learn about clothing and winter activities in French. In their package there will be activities to work on and new vocabulary to practice.

I think that is all i have until the new year. I wont see most of you so Merry Christmas to you all. My wish for you all this season is that your homes are filled with laughter, love and new memories. Be safe and take the time to recharge and be present. It will be different for us all! Sending you all happiness, positivity and love. 
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. 2021 will bring new beginnings and many new adventures! 
Laurie- Anne :)