Week 19 - Friday

Circle time:
As described in earlier circle time post
Letter of the week: X
Theme of the week: X Marks the Spot


Arts & crafts:
Today the kids made telescopes using old paper towel tubes, construction paper and skull and cross bone stickers.



Free play at stations:
None.

Story time:
Franklin Says Sorry by Bourgeois/Clark
To the Rescue by Lee
Ahoy, Captain Feathersword by Warren/Nunn

Cooperative game:
Today we played a game which taught the kids the basics of reading a map by using a 6x6 grid with various images in each section. First I called out various coordinates and asked what was in that section and then I asked where specific images were and the kids had to give me the coordinates.

Science experiment:
Today we finished our big review of all of the concepts we covered so far this year. We did this in a quiz show format with the kids yelling "Arrrrrr!" like pirates to buzz in. Each correct answer earned them a "jewel" for the team and with 10 jewels they are able to buy one piece of a treasure map that I made and cut into 5 pieces. Today they earned the last of the treasure map pieces and went go on a hunt for the treasure that was hidden somewhere in the house. Turns out there was a treasure chest filled with Reece's Pieces in the cabinet under the bathroom sink!




Physical activity:
Outdoor play at the park and gymnastics class at Le Petit Gym.





Outing/social time:
Outdoor play at the park and gymnastics class at Le Petit Gym.

Worksheets:
Finding words that begin with X, finding pictures that begin with X, colouring X word pictures, filling in the missing X, pirate maze, tracing pirate theme related words, easy addition.

Hands on math:
None.

Computers:
Pirate related games on the iPad: L'il Pirates, Treasure Story, My First Find the Differences Game: Pirates, Coin Pirates, Jewel Adventures, Pirate Treasure Hunt, Pirate Tales Books.

Music:
Danced and sang along to our X Marks the Spot theme compilation cd.

French:
French is emphasized throughout the entire day; especially theme related words. Today we practiced saying "Arrête, je n'aime pas ça!" to tell someone to stop bothering them (one of the first sentences Nicki's kindergarten teacher taught the class!) and also continued to reinforce all of the notions that we covered in previous weeks. We will continue to practice these sentences all week.

Week 19 - Thursday

Circle time:
As described in earlier circle time post
Letter of the week: X
Theme of the week: X Marks the Spot

Arts & crafts:
Today the kids made pirate hats using cardboard, feathers and Jolly Roger cutouts as well as eye patches using craft foam and elastic string.



Free play at stations:
As described in earlier free play post

Station 1: colouring pirate themed pictures, drawing and cutting
Station 2: various puzzles (various Dora heart shaped puzzles, alphabet boat puzzle)
Station 3: Mr Potato Head, Play Doh, Geoforme game
Station 4: free play with theme related toys: pirate dress up items (swords, hats, eye patches, telescopes, bandanas), pirate ship, compass, play money & jewels for treasure
Station 5: Imaginarium wooden blocks and Lego
Station 6: basket of theme related books



Story time:
Pirates by Clarke/Parker/McKenna
Captain and Matey Set Sail by Laurence/Munoz
Peter Pan Disney Movie Storybook by The Walt Disney Company

Cooperative game:
Today we played a game called "Pirate, Pirate Where's Your Gold?" where one child leaves the room and then one of the remaining children hides a gold coin in his hands and all the kids say the chant. When the first child returns at the end of the chant he has to guess who is hiding the gold!

Science experiment:
Today we continued our big review of all of the concepts we covered so far this year. We did this in a quiz show format with the kids yelling "Arrrrrr!" like pirates to buzz in. Each correct answer earned them a "jewel" for the team and with 10 jewels they are able to buy one piece of a treasure map that I made and cut into 5 pieces. By Friday they will have earned all of the treasure map pieces and will go on a hunt for the treasure that is hidden somewhere in the house!

Physical activity:
Outdoor play in the backyard, soccer and baseball.

Outing/social time:
Soccer and baseball.

Worksheets:
Coloring X word pictures, tracing and writing letter X, tracing X words, counting and finding numeral, writing numbers 2 and 3, pirate dot to dot, cutting zigzag lines.

Hands on math:
The kids practiced counting their "booty" using play money, first by counting out how much was given to them and later by gathering the proper amount of bills and coins to total the amount they were asked to find.


Computers:
Pirate related games on the iPad: L'il Pirates, Treasure Story, My First Find the Differences Game: Pirates, Coin Pirates, Jewel Adventures, Pirate Treasure Hunt, Pirate Tales Books.

Music:
Danced and sang along to our X Marks the Spot theme compilation cd.

French:
French is emphasized throughout the entire day; especially theme related words. Today we practiced saying "Arrête, je n'aime pas ça!" to tell someone to stop bothering them (one of the first sentences Nicki's kindergarten teacher taught the class!) and also continued to reinforce all of the notions that we covered in previous weeks. We will continue to practice these sentences all week.

Week 19 - Wednesday

Circle time:
As described in earlier circle time post
Letter of the week: X
Theme of the week: X Marks the Spot

Arts & crafts:
Due to a lack of materials today we did not do any arts and crafts. We will double up tomorrow instead after a trip to the $ store!

Free play at stations:
None.

Story time:
Captain and Matey Set Sail by Laurence/Munoz
Small Saul by Spires

Cooperative game:
Today we played a game where the kids were to close their eyes and pick a lowercase letter sticker from a bag and then race to the living room to match it to one of the pictures that were placed around the floor. Each item pictured began with a different letter and they were all in treasure chests to tie in with our theme. Once they found the correct match, they stuck the sticker on the picture and came back to choose a new letter. The person who made the most matches was the winner!

Science experiment:
Today we continued our big review of all of the concepts we covered so far this year. We did this in a quiz show format with the kids yelling "Arrrrrr!" like pirates to buzz in. Each correct answer earned them a "jewel" for the team and with 10 jewels they are able to buy one piece of a treasure map that I made and cut into 5 pieces. By Friday they will have earned all of the treasure map pieces and will go on a hunt for the treasure that is hidden somewhere in the house!

Physical activity:
Today we spent the afternoon at the splash park!





Outing/social time:
Today we spent the afternoon at the splash park!

Worksheets:
Coloring X word pictures, tracing letter X, tracing X words, counting and finding numeral, writing numbers 6 and 7, tracing numbers 1 to 20, cutting zigzag lines.

Hands on math:
None.

Computers:
Pirate related games on the iPad: L'il Pirates, Treasure Story, My First Find the Differences Game: Pirates, Coin Pirates, Jewel Adventures, Pirate Treasure Hunt, Pirate Tales Books.

Music:
Danced and sang along to our X Marks the Spot theme compilation cd.

French:
French is emphasized throughout the entire day; especially theme related words. Today we practiced saying "Arrête, je n'aime pas ça!" to tell someone to stop bothering them (one of the first sentences Nicki's kindergarten teacher taught the class!) and also continued to reinforce all of the notions that we covered in previous weeks. We will continue to practice these sentences all week.

Week 19 - Tuesday

Circle time:
As described in earlier circle time post
Letter of the week: X
Theme of the week: X Marks the Spot

Arts & crafts:
Today the kids coloured and put together pirate ships using various sized trapezoid shaped cutouts and 2 long rectangle cutouts for masts.




Free play at stations:
As described in earlier free play post

Station 1: colouring pirate themed pictures, drawing and cutting
Station 2: various puzzles (various Dora heart shaped puzzles, alphabet boat puzzle)
Station 3: Mr Potato Head, Play Doh, Geoforme game
Station 4: free play with theme related toys: pirate dress up items (swords, hats, eye patches, telescopes, bandanas), pirate ship, compass, play money & jewels for treasure
Station 5: Imaginarium wooden blocks and Lego
Station 6: basket of theme related books





Story time:
Eloise's Pirate Adventure by McClatchy/Lyon
Whatever You Do, Don't Go Near that Canoe! by Lawson/Zimmermann
Matthew and the Midnight Pirates by

Cooperative game:
Today we played a game where the kids were to roll a dice and then advance the number of squares indicated and follow the directions in the square (i.e. "Lost the map, go back 2 etc). The first one to make it to the final square which held the treasure was the winner! We also played "What time is it Mr. Pirate?" at the park.

Science experiment:
Today we continued our big review of all of the concepts we covered so far this year. We did this in a quiz show format with the kids yelling "Arrrrrr!" like pirates to buzz in. Each correct answer earned them a "jewel" for the team and with 10 jewels they are able to buy one piece of a treasure map that I made and cut into 5 pieces. By Friday they will have earned all of the treasure map pieces and will go on a hunt for the treasure that is hidden somewhere in the house!

Physical activity:
Outdoor play at the park, soccer and baseball.

Outing/social time:
Outdoor play at the park, soccer and baseball.

Worksheets:
Coloring X word pictures, tracing and writing letter X, tracing X words, counting and finding numeral, writing numbers 8 and 9, pirate dot to dot, pirate word to picture matching, cutting zigzag lines.

Hands on math:
None.

Computers:
Pirate related games on the iPad: L'il Pirates, Treasure Story, My First Find the Differences Game: Pirates, Coin Pirates, Jewel Adventures, Pirate Treasure Hunt, Pirate Tales Books.

Music:
None.

French:
French is emphasized throughout the entire day; especially theme related words. Today we practiced saying "Arrête, je n'aime pas ça!" to tell someone to stop bothering them (one of the first sentences Nicki's kindergarten teacher taught the class!) and also continued to reinforce all of the notions that we covered in previous weeks. We will continue to practice these sentences all week.

Week 19 - Monday

Circle time:
As described in earlier circle time post
Letter of the week: X
Theme of the week: X Marks the Spot

Arts & crafts:
Today the kids coloured and put together a pirate collage using cutouts of a blank pirate and all of his pirate clothes.



Free play at stations:
None.

Story time:
Little Einstein's Pirate's Treasure by Kelman/Mastrocinque
Peter Pan Disney Movie Storybook by The Walt Disney Company

Cooperative game:
Pirate themed Bingo game.

Science experiment:
Today we began a big review of all of the concepts we covered so far this year. We did this in a quiz show format with the kids yelling "Arrrrrr!" like pirates to buzz in. Each correct answer earned them a "jewel" for the team and with 10 jewels they are able to buy one piece of a treasure map that I made and cut into 5 pieces. By Friday they will have earned all of the treasure map pieces and will go on a hunt for the treasure that is hidden somewhere in the house!

Physical activity:
None.

Outing/social time:
Weekly library visit.
14 of our 15 selections were theme related books:

Scooby-Doo Pirates Ahoy! by McCann/Thomas/Elinoff
Pirates by Cavendish/Garofoli
Pirates by Clarke/Parker/McKenna
Eloise's Pirate Adventure by McClatchy/Lyon
Pirate Power Play by Becker/Sampar
Captain and Matey Set Sail by Laurence/Munoz
The Pigrates Clean Up by Kroll/Bassett
Dora in the Deep Sea by Ricci/Roper
Small Saul by Spires
Pirate Pete's Giant Adventure by Kennedy/Kennedy
Whatever You Do, Don't Go Near that Canoe! by Lawson/Zimmermann
Matthew and the Midnight Pirates by Morgan/Martchenko
Ooey Gooey by Farber/Sansevere
Pirate Girl by Funke/Meyer

Worksheets:
Coloring X word pictures, tracing letter X, tracing X words, writing name, counting and finding numeral, writing numbers 4 and 5, pirate dot to dot, finding different, cutting zigzag lines.

Hands on math:
Play with jewels - estimating, counting, sorting by shape, sorting by colour, easy addition and subtraction, patterns.


Computers:
Pirate related games on the iPad: L'il Pirates, Treasure Story, My First Find the Differences Game: Pirates, Coin Pirates, Jewel Adventures, Pirate Treasure Hunt, Pirate Tales Books.

Music:
Danced and sang along to our X Marks the Spot theme compilation cd.

French:
French is emphasized throughout the entire day; especially theme related words. Today we practiced saying "Arrête, je n'aime pas ça!" to tell someone to stop bothering them (one of the first sentences Nicki's kindergarten teacher taught the class!) and also continued to reinforce all of the notions that we covered in previous weeks. We will continue to practice these sentences all week.

X Marks the Spot theme compilation CD

Here are the tracks that I put on our Week 19 X Marks the Spot theme compilation CD:

1. I'm the Map! - Dora the Explorer
2. Captain Feathersword Fell Asleep on His Pirate Ship - The Wiggles (Shane's Faves)
3. Go Captain Feathersword, Ahoy - The Wiggles (Shane's Faves)
4. Ooh, It's Captain Feathersword - The Wiggles (Shane's Faves)
5. Captain's Magic Buttons - The Wiggles (Shane's Faves)
6. Sailing Around the World - The Wiggles (Shane's Faves)
7. Blow Me Down - The Wiggles (Shane's Faves)
8. Super Map! - Dora the Explorer

Week 18 - Friday

Circle time:
As described in earlier circle time post
Letter of the week: W
Theme of the week: Weather

Arts & crafts:
Today the kids got in the winter spirit and cut snowflakes using white paper.





Free play at stations:
None.

Story time:
Dora Saves the Snow Princess by Beinstein/Aikins
Geoffrey Groundhog Predicts the Weather by Koscielniak
Groundhog Weather School by Holub/Sorra

Cooperative game:
Today the kids requested that we again play the game where I gave each kid a theme related word on a sheet of paper which they were to read (I helped Roxy with this part) and then race to the living room to find a picture of that word that was on the coffee table. Whoever made the most matches was the winner. We also took some time to sit out on the patio and see what "cloud animals" we could see in the sky!

Science experiment:
After gathering data for our temperature chart all week long, today the kids plotted the results for the daily highs on a line graph. We then discussed how much easier it is to analyze results (i.e. "What was the hottest day of the week? What was the coldest day of the week?") by looking at a graph rather then the raw data.


Physical activity:
Gymnastics class at Le Petit Gym.

Outing/social time:
Gymnastics class at Le Petit Gym.

Worksheets:
Finding words that begin with W, finding pictures that begin with W, colouring W word pictures, filling in the missing W, tracing weather related words, writing what they like best about each season.

Hands on math:
None.

Computers:
Weather themed games on the iPad: Kids Juke Box HD - Weather, Snow, Rain HD, Make It Snow, The North Wind and the Sun.

Music:
Danced and sang along to our Weather theme compilation cd.

French:
French is emphasized throughout the entire day; especially theme related words. Today we practiced saying "C'est amusant!" to describe when something is fun and also continued to reinforce all of the notions that we covered in previous weeks. We will continue to practice these sentences all week.

Week 18 - Thursday

Circle time:
As described in earlier circle time post
Letter of the week: W
Theme of the week: Weather

Arts & crafts:
Today the kids completed the wind chimes they began working on yesterday using Styrofoam cups, paint, string, beads, straws, buttons and bells. The end results were fabulous!




Free play at stations:
As described in earlier free play post

Station 1: colouring weather themed pictures, drawing and cutting
Station 2: various puzzles (various Dora heart shaped puzzles, Cars, Toy Story, Mickey Mouse, Princesses)
Station 3: Lite Brite, stringing beads, Code de Couleur game
Station 4: free play with theme related toys: dress-up clothes for all seasons!
Station 5: Imaginarium wooden blocks
Station 6: basket of theme related books




Story time:
Let's Look at Weather by Tuxworth
Dumpy and the Big Storm by Edwards/Hamilton/Walton
Groundhog Weather School by Holub/Sorra

Cooperative game:
Poker (at their request!)

Science experiment:
After exploring evaporation earlier in the week, we continued our investigation of the water cycle by recreating the condensation, precipitation and collection phases. To do this the kids first filled a cup with water that they then placed in the freezer. Once it was frozen they put it out in the sun on a rack used for cooling baked goods with a bowl underneath. A little while later we came back and the kids got to see how the cup had begun to "sweat" (condensation) and watched as the "sweat" rolled down the glass, dripped off the bottom (precipitation) and made a puddle in the bowl (collection). We also continued gathering data for the temperature chart we began working on at the beginning of the week.



Physical activity:
Walk on the bicycle path, soccer, and baseball.



Outing/social time:
Walk on the bicycle path, soccer, and baseball.





Worksheets:
Coloring W word pictures, tracing and writing letter W, tracing W words, tracing numeral 9, counting and finding numeral, weather picture matching, weather word to picture matching, matching tall and short shapes, cutting curved lines.

Hands on math:
None.

Computers:
Weather themed games on the iPad: Kids Juke Box HD - Weather, Snow, Rain HD, Make It Snow, The North Wind and the Sun.

Music:
Danced and sang along to our Weather theme compilation cd.

French:
French is emphasized throughout the entire day; especially theme related words. Today we practiced saying "C'est amusant!" to describe when something is fun and also continued to reinforce all of the notions that we covered in previous weeks. We will continue to practice these sentences all week.

Week 18 - Wednesday

Circle time:
As described in earlier circle time post
Letter of the week: W
Theme of the week: Weather





Arts & crafts:
Today the kids began working on making wind chimes, a 2-day project that they will complete tomorrow.



Free play at stations:
None.

Story time:
Where Does the Sun Go at Night? by Hutta/Devaney
Where Did the Rain Puddle Go? by Bentley/Devaney
Oh Say Can You Say What's the Weather Today? by Rabe/Ruiz

Cooperative game:
Today we played a matching game where the kids had to match pairs of snowflakes together - it was harder than it looked, some of the differences were so small!

Science experiment:
Today we continued gathering data for the temperature chart we began working on earlier in the week.

Physical activity:
Running, climbing, sliding and playing with balls in the YMCA gym with me.

Outing/social time:
1 hour in the YMCA daycare.

Worksheets:
Coloring W word pictures, tracing letter W, tracing W words, tracing numeral 8, counting and finding numeral, drawing weather, completing shape pattens, cutting curved lines.

Hands on math:
Addition and subtraction puzzle.


Computers:
Weather themed games on the iPad: Kids Juke Box HD - Weather, Snow, Rain HD, Make It Snow, The North Wind and the Sun.

Music:
Danced and sang along to our Weather theme compilation cd.

French:
French is emphasized throughout the entire day; especially theme related words. Today we practiced saying "C'est amusant!" to describe when something is fun and also continued to reinforce all of the notions that we covered in previous weeks. We will continue to practice these sentences all week.