After the holidays...

After a relaxing winter break, it was so nice to see everyone's smiling faces again!  The classroom was a buzz with laughter and stories about all the fun we had with our loved ones over the holidays. To share some of the excitement, we each drew a detailed picture and wrote about one of our favourite holiday memories.

                                    The Morning Class

                          

The Afternoon Class

                        

Dancing along with GoNoodle, is one of our favourite times in kindergarten.  We know it is very important to keep our bodies moving and active so we are ready and able to learn.  Along with being physically fit, we also need to be emotionally fit. To help us learn and practise different mindfulness exercises, we quietly sit on the floor and listen to "Flow" on GoNoodle.

After trekking to school in a blizzard, "Flow - Weather the Storm" was just the thing we needed. "Weather the Storm" helped give us strategies to use when our day doesn't seem to be going quite right and are feeling sad or frustrated. Not only did this mindfulness exercise calm our minds, but it also inspired our wintery art project.

First, we painted a wintery sky with blues, purples and pinks.  To add some shine to our skies, we experimented with Ms. Dowd's special Interference paint. We were amazed that by using such a small amount of paint that it can make such a big difference!  (Interference or pearlescent paint are transparent paints that work by interfering with light waves to reflect and transmit light, causing a coloured, shiny look.)

Then we used our fine motor muscles to tear black construction paper into little pieces to create the silhouette of a tree.  Lastly, we used white paint with our finger to create falling snow and snow on the branches.