March 20, 2012

Well I know it doesn't look like it outside but today is the first day of Spring!  We watched Peep and The Big World's Spring Thing.

In Language Arts today we created descriptive paragraphs about snowmen.  The kids first coloured their snowmen with their best "college" colouring.  Then they wrote 6 sentences all about their snowman. Here are a couple examples of their hard work:

We are starting the geometry unit in Math.  In this unit, your child will be learning more about three-dimensional objects and two-dimensional shapes

The learning goals for this unit are:

• Compare and sort objects or shapes according to one attribute, such as number of sides or whether they have curves.
• Describe objects and shapes.  For example, some objects can roll, some have points, some are curved and some can stack.
• Reproduce composite objects and shapes, such as towers.
• Identify shapes on objects, such as a circle on the bottom of a yogurt container.

In order to help your child reach these learning goals try some of the following learning activities at home:

• Go on a neighborhood walk.  Talk about objects you see in buildings and different settings.
• Gather a collection of different objects.  Ask your child to sort them into groups.  Have your child explain their sorting rule.
• Have your child experiment by building tall towers out of blocks, cans or other household objects.
• Choose a geometric attribute of a favourite toy – corners, straight sides, curves, dents – and ask your child to find other objects with the same attribute.
• Have your child look through old magazines, cut out pictures of shapes, and create composite shapes with the pieces.
• Pick an object from your home.  Have your child trace a shape on the object with his or her finger.  Ask: “Can you find a different object with a part similar to this shape?”
• Give your child a shape (e.g. a circle).  Have your child look for objects around the home that have parts similar to the given shape (e.g. the bottom of a mug).