Welcome to our classroom website! The purpose of this website is to let families know what is going on inside and outside of our Kindergarten classroom. You will find many photos that highlight discovery and learning. I will try to update and inform you as often as possible. Thanks for visiting!

I celebrated Canada's 150th with my cousin Tim on the Fraser River in B.C. I caught several white sturgeon (prehistoric fish). I am not someone who typically fishes, but wanted to do something Canadian! What an experience. It was an eco-glamping experience and I absolutely loved every minute of it. My philosophy: Dare to do something out of the box! It can only help you grow as a person.

September's Highlights

Art, Outdoor Play, Data Collection and Graphing, Sorting Rules, plus an Inquiry about our red pepper plant!

The students were delighted to discover that the green pepper turned red, and that new baby peppers were sprouting. Did you see the new pepper growing?

Right before the Thanksgiving weekend, we harvested our big red pepper. Everyone enjoyed the sweet taste of the red bell pepper. Happy Thanksgiving!

We sort cards by colour, by number, by face, by suit. We sort buttons by colour, by shape, by size, and by number of holes. Math invites thinking and discussion. When asked how else could we sort these buttons, Alex observed that some are sparkly and some are not. It is also fun to play, "What's my sorting rule?" with our classroom puppets.

October News!

We are using ten frames to count!

Fine Motor Activities: printing, tracing, play-doh creating, painting, cutting. and more!

The students show their creativity with the kitchen/family centre, big blocks, lego, painting, sand play, play-doh, hot potato pass it on, and the tracks and bridges. Co-operation, turn-taking, and listening to the ideas of others take place as these students learn and play together.

The students are learning how to play Tic-Tac-Toe during activity time. The game teaches them to strategize, to take turns, to play fairly, and it helps to develop an agile brain. They may have a plan that no longer works, so they have to come up with a new one. A great life lesson!

What is a "peduncle"? Ask Alex, Kalden, or Matija. (It is the part of the stalk or stem that attaches the plant to the vine.)

Time for lunch! The students socialize and re-fuel with healthy lunches for an active afternoon. A special thanks to Jihyun's mom, Mrs. Kim, for helping with our Pizza lunches on Fridays.

Announcements

If you haven't already sent in your trip form, please do so. Our trip is on November 8th to the Harbourfront Centre. We have three parent volunteers coming. There is room for one more if you are interested.

Photo re-takes will take place on Friday October 26th.

The Hallowe'en Parade is coming! Get your child's costume ready. This Millwood tradition includes a Grandparents' Tea in the gym. Notices will be sent home. Stay tuned.

Hallowe'en Class Party: We will have a class party on Wed. Oct. 31st in the p.m. after the parade. I am looking for three or four families to contribute. Because there will be lots of sugary treats in the evening, I was thinking of items like: juice boxes, cheese and crackers, fruit and/or veggies. We could include cookies, brownie bites, or a bowl full of Smarties boxes. Nut-free! Let me know if you would like to contribute. Parents can take turns contributing. Other parties will be Christmas/Winter break, Valentine's Day, Easter and/or March Break, plus End of Year.

When students hang up their backpacks and coats, tuck their boots under the bench, put away their lunch bags, sweep up sand, put the Play-doh into a ziplock bag, recycle or put garbage into the garbage, they are being responsible. A huge part of our day is spent on self-regulation, taking care of our belongings, and tidying up after ourselves. Sometimes, these activities are done independently, and sometimes we work as a team. Here you see Kiki and Alex showing responsibility by cleaning up sand that spilled out of the sand table. They are communicating and co-operating. They are self-regulating and being responsible. All part of developing into a great citizen. Remember the saying: All I Really Need to Know, I Learned in Kindergarten!

Getting Ready for Hallowe'en

Hallowe'en Day!

A big thank you to the Boulos family, the Hlebarova family, the Mihelbergel family, and the Turtulli family for the delicious and festive party contributions!

Our Grade 4 helpers join the fun!

Remembrance Day is Coming!

Remembrance Day lesson: Let there be peace on Earth and let it begin with me!

Harbourfront Centre

Our Field Trip to the Harbourfront Centre on November 8th, 2018 was a great learning experience and a whole lot of fun. Special thanks go out to our volunteer parents: Mrs. Kim (Jihyun's mom), Mr. Mihelbergel (Caleb's dad), and Dr. Egier (Kalden's dad). The trip also marked the first bus trip for our JKs. Have a look...

We learned about landscapes, horizons, cold colours, warm colours, primary colours, and secondary colours. We used sponges, forks, and bubble wrap to create texture. Shapes created the sky (circles), the land (triangles), and the water (rectangles). Together, we created two colourful murals!

LUNCH BREAK!

Creative Movement with Martin!

Glass Blowing Studio

Happy faces on the bus ride home. Sometimes I think the bus ride is the best part. The students saw many streetcars, cement trucks, mounted police, the Exhibition grounds, the Rogers Centre, the CN Tower, Lake Ontario, dinosaurs in Gzowski Park, the bike park, BMO Field, and more. I was very proud of your children. And, to top it all off, the Harbourfront staff were very complimentary about our class, as well. Great ambassadors of Millwood, and of your families. The students are already asking about our next field trip!

Santa Claus Parade Floats

The students in Room 18 have been talking about the upcoming Santa Claus Parade in Toronto on Sunday November 18th. We decided to create our own parade floats as an art project. We looked at a photo album of Ms. Hartford's son Jim at the parade in 2013. We got lots of ideas for our floats. We had fun painting and decorating. We plan to add reindeer and clowns and possibly a marching band. Be sure to check out our art project when you come to Room 18 for the parent-teacher interviews. As part of our non-fiction focus this month, we also wrote facts about this world famous parade.

Making reindeer for the Santa float. Creating Christmas light patterns!

Patterns on candy canes, stockings, and a holiday paper chain!

During November, we have been reading non-fiction texts. Most recently, we have been reading about penguins. As a class, we decided to create a penguin and to paint a sea ice mural. Have a look at our beautiful mural!!

Each student had to state a penguin fact from our research. We used cling wrap to create the sea ice. We painted it white and placed it on our blue sea. When we lifted it off, the effect was really cool. It looked like an icy sea.

My son Jim volunteers at Millwood every morning. He is helping Mr. Panoussis in the gym. I call him, "Jim in the gym". Welcome to Millwood, Jim!

We welcome Keira and her family to Millwood. Keira is a JK in our classroom!

Today, December 12th, we started our inquiry into "Magnets". Here are a few photos that highlight what we are learning. Enjoy!

Centres that help your child explore "Magnets".

The students are mesmerized by the youtube video: 9 Amazing Magnetic Gadgets

They are watching a magnetic cylinder getting swallowed by magnetic clay.

Hello Parents! Next Tuesday December 18th, Room 18 will have a Chaos Dance in the gym. The students need to wear red and/or green, and are asked to bring a canned food item. After the dance, we will have our class party. I plan to make cookies with the class. If you would like to contribute a fruit, cheese and cracker treat, or sweet treat, you are very welcome to do so. I wish you all a very, merry Christmas, a Happy Chanukah, and holiday season for your child and your family. I look forward to celebrating the new year with your child. Best wishes! On Wednesday, the students will participate in a holiday craft. All of the kindergarten students will rotate among classes and create a lovely keepsake craft. I am preparing a holiday candle craft. Ms. Thomas will assist. Carol singing takes place in the gym on Friday from 9:15 to 10:15 a.m. See you in the new year! J.H.

Festive Fun sponsored by the Home and School. The children loved the experience and can't wait to eat the results.

Happy New Year 2019!!

Thank you to all of the parents that contributed to our year end party: Maria's family, Kiki's family, Kristi's family, Matija's family, Caleb's family, Una's family, Alex's family, Londiwe's family, Maya's family, Jihyhun's family, and Keira's family. It was such a fun time for all and we really enjoyed all of the food, drinks, and decorations. I want to take a quick moment to thank all families for their holiday wishes, cards, gifts, and donations to the CHUM CITY Wish. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I wish you all health and happiness to you and yours for 2019. Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year! On the first day back, I brought a large cardboard box to school. I told the students that it could be used for a variety of reasons. We brainstormed what we could do with the box. We came up with: a doll house, a boat, a rocket ship. We wrapped the box in white paper. The students decided to paint it. At first, they wanted to paint it blue, then gray, and finally, rainbow. It became a rainbow rocket.

Kalden brought a NASA helmet which added to the class's imaginative play. Every student wanted to shape the project into a rocket soon to dock on the International Space Station. I showed them youtube videos of Commander Chris Hadfield on the ISS. He, in turn, showed the students how astronauts eat, drink, use the washroom, and sleep on the ISS. Then, I showed them the clip of Hadfield singing Space Oddysey while aboard the space station. They loved seeing his guitar float in zero gravity.

I had the pleasure of attending a Chris Hadfield photo and video presentation, and I have an autographed copy of his book. His autograph shapes his name in the shape of a rocket. If I can find my copy, I will bring it to class to show the students.

The class is super pumped about rockets, planets, and outer space. The Kindergarten program allows for students to take an interest and just run with it. What a great way to learn!!

Another large box became a boat! This boat has become a great place to play and to read.

We are learning about 2D shapes!

Kalden counts to 100 using ten frames!

The students are learning dozens of sight words. They are printing their names, and they are reading Level A books while pointing at each word as they read. Beginning readers use picture cues, initial consonants, and sight word knowledge to help them read.

This is a hair salon where the client is also a hair dresser!

We are reading fairy tales. As a story response to The Three Little Pigs, the students created a construction paper house (straw, sticks, or brick) and a pig.

3D Geometry and Symmetry (with mira boards)

Millwood had a space-themed spirit day.

Our supply ECE, Mrs. W. made an astronaut photo card, moon sand, and paper rockets that blast off when air is blown through a straw.

With imagination and creative ideas, the students made musical instruments out of recycled materials with Mrs. Vetro-Futia.

We say "Good-bye" to Mrs. W. with fingers crossed that she will return!

We review our numbers to 30 by putting them in order, by counting by 5's using the lumberjack count, and by using groups of tens.

Fun in the Snow!!

Happy Valentine's Day to all. Thank you for for all the treats and cards. It was a great day to celebrate friendship.

Five Senses

We are starting a unit on the five senses. Today, February 19th, we talked about each of our five senses and the corresponding body part. With our eyes, we use our sense of sight; with our nose we use our sense of smell; with our tongue, we use our sense of taste; with our ears, we use our sense of hearing; and with our skin/hands/feet, we use our sense of touch. We decided to use our sense of sight when we went for a hike through the woods in search of animal tracks.

Our Sensory Walk

The students loved the sensory walk!

First, the children walked on blue spiky buttons. Then, they stepped into a bin of sand. Next, they put their feet on crunchy newspaper balls. Then, they jumped and walked across bubble wrap, slid across the smooth mat, and hopped on the giant bean bag. Finally, they placed their feet on icy snow, stepped into warm water, and walked across the drying towels. It was a fun way to explore the sense of touch using our feet.

Tasting Party

On March 1st, we had a tasting party in Room 18. We tested our taste buds for food that was sweet, salty, sour, or bitter.

Beach Day!

Our Smelling Party!