On Tuesday the children were each given their photo from PJ day and asked to draw a picture of themselves.  We used our special drawing pens for this activity (they are very fine tip so the children can draw in detail).  

We drew the children's attention to the way they held their arms in the photo and asked them to portray this in their sketches.  We also had them look closely at the PJs and draw the details of their outfit.  I am amazed how how detailed some of the drawings are!  In the photos you will see each child's photo beside their drawing. 
 
Wow, were the kids ever excited about wearing their pjs yesterday!  What a fun-filled time we had together.  

We took turns showing our pajamas during our welcome meeting, and then read Audrey Wood's "The Napping House".  This repetitive story is great for retelling, so each child created their own visual representation of the Napping House.  Since the school year is coming to an end these will not be on display, but will be glued into your child's portfolio.

After centres, we had group time where we read the song-based picture book "8 Silly Monkeys".  We used monkeys from our beanie baby collection to model the numeracy concept of subtraction as we sang our way through the book.  The children then identified the characters in the story (monkeys, Mom, and doctor) and then we acted out the song (with many more silly monkeys so everyone could have a part if they wanted).  We were able to get great videos of this!  The videos have been posted in the "Protected Section" of the website, please check your email for the password. 
 
  • Just wanted to let everyone know that our classroom will become quite bare over the next week.  Jenn and I have started taking the children's work down to glue into their portfolios. 
 
Don't forget to wear your pajamas to school tomorrow! :)
 
On Monday we read the story "We're Going on A Nature Hunt" and discussed the signs of spring we might see in our playground.  We then went outside with our clipboards and nature hunt sheets looking for specific nature items.  We coloured each section of the turtle's shell as we found the items.  Your child's sheet has been glued into their portfolio.
 
Our afternoon class has begun a new inquiry project on camping (the children chose this as their topic of interest).  We have been reading books about camping and trees and have also changed our dramatic play area into a camping scene complete with trees, tents, and a fishing 'pond'.  

The children have been very creative with the natural materials - often spending a great deal of time creating 'campfires' - which are intricate designs using a variety of the materials available (and often using every last piece of these items!).  We have also observed them sliding the beads onto sticks to roast 'marshmallows' over their created campfire.  

Here are some photos of their creative work (these photos are from both the morning and the afternoon classes):
 
Welcome to Ryan, who joined our afternoon class!