Our School's Facebook Page

Have you liked the Mother Teresa Facebook Page?

You'll find snapshots of school life, as well as are some great links for parents, such as this one below.

Go to: Mother Teresa Primary Facebook Page

Writing and Pencil Grip

Kindergarten love writing during our literacy block each morning. They show enthusiasm in tackling writing on their own and have shown that they are creative learners who are willing to have a go.

 

Correct pencil grip is essential, not only to improve the appearance of your child's handwriting but to also facilitate their comfort and fluidity when writing. Pencil grip is an important focus for us in the learning studio as it is imperative in building your child's confidence when writing independently.

Below are two links to websites with information from Occupational Therapists about pencil grip. They also include some tips to guide you in assisting your children to develop correct pencil grip, and strengthen their fine motor skills. There are also ideas for further practise in the second link. You may find these useful to try during the school holidays which are fast approaching!

Pencil Grip: An explanation

Royal Children's Hospital: Tips to strengthen pencil grip

A Worthy App

In our learning studio we regularly use this wonderful app to support the children in developing their letter-sound knowledge, as well as directionality when forming letters. 

abc PocketPhonics: letter sounds & writing + first words

We recommend that the children use a stylus when practising their letter formation using this app. This will allow them to also strengthen their pencil grip and fine motor skills as the stylus acts just like a pencil.

To find and download this app onto your devices at home, just click on the link below.

abc pocket phonics - itunes

I wonder...

This term for our Inquiry into Community, our big question is 'What is Belonging?' 

We began unpacking our question by exploring our school logo, our school rules, and the 5 learner qualities on our learner quality wheel. We quickly realised that we belong to our Mother Teresa School Community.

During inquiry, we need to be reflective learners who ask questions. We had to begin wondering last week when this appeared in our learning studio...

We have our ideas about what it could be. Some of us suggested perhaps it was an octopus. Other suggested it was a squid or a grasshopper. Others thought a ghost, or a wolf!

I wonder what you think it could be?

What would it have to do with belonging?

Leave us a comment below. We'd love to hear your wonderings!

Cutting Skills & Fine Motor Skills

Fine motor skills involve the use of the smaller muscle of the hands, such as when doing up buttons, opening lunch boxes or using pencils or scissors. 

Fine Motor skills include:

• Pencil skills (scribbling, colouring, drawing, writing),
• Construction skills (lego, duplo),
• Self care (tyng shoelaces, doing up buttons and zippers, opening lunch boxes),
• Scissors skills (cutting).

Fine motor skills are essential for performing everyday skills like cutting, self care tasks and pencil skills. Without the ability to complete these every day tasks, a child's confidence and feeling of independence can suffer.

To help build your child's confidence and efficiency with fine motor tasks, particularly cutting, we have attached some links for tasks and tips to use at home. We encourage you to read, print, and participate in these cutting activities with your children at home in order to model efficient cutting skills, encourage your children to persist to master this skill, and to assist your child in building their fine motor strength.

Scissor Skills (Ideas & Information about cutting success)

Printables for cutting at home activities

More cutting practice

Sight Words Tips for Learning@Home

Did you know that sight words make up more than 50% of texts we read?

Sight words are the most frequently used and repeated words in the English language. Being able to recognise sight words is an effective reading tool. Generally these words must be read only by sight as they are not easily sounded out or broken apart.

Cut up the sight words each week and keep them in a safe place. We suggest a shoe box, a gift box, or even a large zip lock bag. 

Some tips for learning sight words:

       -       Focus on 5-8 words at a time

       -       Once your child gets to know their sight words, remove the easiest 3 words and 
            add new 3 words

       -       Practice in short sessions (8 -10 minutes is sufficient)

There are many ways to practise sight words. You can use the cards for games such as memory, hop scotch, or snap. Create sentences with them, write them in a tray of sand or flour, paint them on the ground with water, hunt for them in magazines or the newspaper, even make them with play dough!

Sight words games can be fun for the whole family!

   

      Click the link below for some more creative ideas for practising sight words.
Sight Words Activity Ideas

Settling In...

We have spent our first weeks of Kindergarten learning about school life and getting to know our learning environment. We are settling in happily, making friends, and already loving our school days. 

Take a look at some snaps of our time spent getting to know our new friends.