ASB Newsletter December 2014 | Page 3

Journal Club December 2015 EARLY CHILDHOOD Halloween   The  Early  Childhood  classes  celebrated   Halloween  this  year  with  some  really  fun   activities  that  developed  their  learning  and   creativity.  Ms.  Becky  brought  in  lots  of   pumpkins  for  the  kids  to  decorate  in  any  way   they  wanted;  they  used  pompoms,  glitter,   stickers  and  many  other  items,  showing  just   how  creative  they  are!  In  the  end,  the  class   produced  a  group  of  beautiful,  unique  works  of   art.  Ms.  Becky’s  Experts  also  read  the  book   “One  Witch”  by  Laura  Leuck.  To  improve  their   reading,  writing,  and  phonics  skills,  they   practiced  making  all  of  the  different  sounds  the   characters  made.  The  Experts  then  performed   for  Ms.  Beth’s  class  outside,  putting  on  a   wonderful  show.  At  the  Halloween  Party,  Ms.   Becky,  Ms.  Beth  and  Ms.  Jessica  created  some   spooky  activities  for  the  children  outside  such   as  mixing  potions.  All  in  all,  the  Early   Childhood  classes  learned  a  lot  this  Halloween   while  having  a  great  time  in  the  process.     -­‐Nolan  Young  (Grade  11)     Storytelling   Mr.  Laurent  has  been  storytelling  since   September  to  the  Early  Childhood,  who  are   loving  the  excitement  of  listening  to  these   adventures.  The  children  especially  enjoy   the  books  written  by  Mo  Willems,  which  are   a  series  of  stories  in  which  the  adventures   of  the  characters  Piggy  and  the  elephant   Gerald  are  narrated.  What  is  especially  fun   about  these  stories  is  that  they  can  be  acted   out,  which  makes  the  children  more   involved  and  interested  in  the  activity.  A   particular  book  of  this  series  they  have   enjoyed  is  called  “We  are  in  a  Book”,  in   which  Gerald  and  Piggy  Wind  themselves  in  a   book,  and  Gerald  does  not  want  the  book  to   end  so  he  wishes  for  the  reader  to  continue   reading  about  him  and  Piggy.  As  the  book   Winishes,  Gerald  suggests  that  the  reader   start  reading  the  book  from  the  beginning   again  so  that  they  are  read  about  forever.   Additionally,  the  books  the  Early  Childhood   love  are  the  famous  Cat  in  the  Hat,  by  Dr.   Seuss,  about  a  talking  cat  and  two  children   Making Marks Nursery  daily  practices  “Making  Marks.”  This   consists  in  experimenting  with  different   shaped  scribbles  and  patterns,  such  as  circles.   They  use  a  variety  of  painting  techniques,  such   as  crayons,  markers,  and  shaving  foam  on  a   table,  as  well  as  using  chalk  and  rubbing  it   away  with  water  and  paint  brushes.  These   experiments  help  the  children  begin  to  convey   their  thoughts  and  feelings  and  start  their   journey  towards  writing.  During  the  process,   the  children  are  able  to  guide  themselves  with   what  they  imagine,  take  the  steps  to  create  this   and  practice  asking  for  materials.  Sometimes   they  work  together  in  groups,  or  they  may   work  on  a  project  and  leave  it  for  some  time,   and  then  go  back  to  it.  Also,  the  teachers  get   involved  and  ask  the