The Hidden Alphabet

As a class, we read the book 'All Aboard- A Traveling Alphabet' with the intention of discussing different modes of transportation. But instead, the book inspired the students to search for letters of the alphabet hidden in our classroom! They ran all over searching the classroom, the excitement was overwhelming at times! Here are some of the letters they found:

The hidden alphabet from the book

See what letters you can find hidden around your house or outside! Send in pictures if you can, we will try to build an alphabet in the classroom with them!

Math in Kindergarten

I want to extend a big thank you to those of you that came out last week for our 'Kindergarten Parent Math Night'! It was great to get together and talk about math and have the opportunity to explore a variety of materials.

For those of you who were unable to attend, allow me to recap.

"Using real-life contexts for activities in the Full-Day Early Learning–Kindergarten program is a highly effective way of motivating young learners. Children grasp ideas more easily and more effectively and maintain their interest in school when they have an educational program that enables them to connect their learning to their own lives and the world around them"

We follow the Ontario curriculum which breaks math down into the following strands:

- Number Sense and Numeration
- Measurement
- Patterning
- Geometry
- Data Management & Probability

The curriculum states “Mathematics in the early years must be active, hands on, child-centred and problem based”. It is with this in mind that we plan our math program.

Our students learn math concepts through play. We intentionally set up our classroom to ensure there are math opportunities everywhere. We join the students while they play to challenge and extend their understanding of math concepts. Through play, the students have real life opportunities to explore mathematical concepts.

     They compare the size of the structures they build and explain why their tower is taller than
     their friend's tower.

     They use money in the drama centre to pay for their 'hair styles'.

     They find patterns in their clothing.

     They count the number of beads on the necklace they made.

      They write about how more kids in the class like chocolate ice cream than vanilla after taking a
      tally.

     They talk with their friends about how to find out who is taller.

     They compare the various sizes of containers in the sensory bin.

     They sort their markers and crayons when they are cleaning up.

This list could go on and on! But what I hope this shows you is math opportunities are everywhere, if you take the time to look for them!


For another part of our evening, we set up tables for each strand with materials and ideas you can use at home to encourage your child to "see math in everyday life"!

You can even pattern letters! (upper case, lower case, upper case, lower case)

Literacy is an important part of math! Many books can support your child's understanding of math concepts.

Most importantly talk to your child about math. You can prompt them to share their understanding...

     "Tell me more..."

      "Why do you think that..."

      "How do you know..."

     "What could happen if..."

I hope this evening (or this post) has inspired you to explore math concepts at home.

Picture A Tree

We read the book 'Picture a Tree' by Barbara Reid.

The story looks at trees throughout the seasons. Barbara Reid is known for her illustrations made out of plasticine (http://www.barbarareid.ca/plasticine.html). The students were amazed by the details in the pictures. After reading A.Ah said "Hey! If we had clay we could make our own pictures!" At this, I quickly ran to the cupboard and got out our plasticine to allow the students to create their own trees. I was amazed at how long the students focused on their work, adding lots of details to their representations. 

Some students used the book to help inspire their pictures

The pictures turned out beautifully!

R.H's winter tree

E.K's summer tree

P.D's fall tree

Bella's summer tree 

M.P's spring tree

N.M's tree

A.A's winter tree

D.S's summer tree

A.Ah's fall tree

M.W's winter tree

D.A's summer tree

A.R's winter/spring tree

H.W's winter tree



This is a perfect example of why I love the Kindergarten program. I did not have this activity planned. The students were inspired by the book we read and then through their own initiative they asked for the materials to create these masterpieces!