Fruit and Vegetable Fun

     I can't believe it's November already!  The school year is flying by.  We have been so busy this year and before we know it, it will be time for Winter Break. 

     Last week we started our study of food and nutrition.  We read the book 'Eating the Alphabet" by Lois Ehlert.  The book depicts fruits and vegetables for every letter of the alphabet.  We also read the book "The Cake that Mack Ate."  The children made a list of all of the fruits and vegetables they knew.  I was impressed by some of the things they came up with.  You may be wondering why we are always making lists or recording the things we know or learned.  This helps children learn the purpose for writing and they are seeing writing being modeled for them.  The children are also learning answer questions and predict or recall.  All of this listing and chart making is related to our state standards and they are also skills the children will use later in school.  You can check out the state standards by clicking on the link: 
Ohio Early Learning Content Standards  
The afternoon class had a visit from a parent who is a Dietitian.  She helped the children sort fruits and vegetables and talk about healthy foods.  The children really enjoyed this and learned a lot.

     This week we are continuing our study of food.  We are reading the book "Gracias, The Thanksgiving Turkey."  The children have also been working on weaving place mats for our Thanksgiving Celebration next week.  We are hoping to complete a few more Thanksgiving crafts including a paper plate turkey if we have enough parent volunteers.  New works this week include; name tracing, food sorting, and food matching.  I will also be introducing the continent map as well as continent tracing.  

     Your child will be bringing home a paper feather to cut out, write what they are thankful for, and decorate.  We will put these feathers on a large turkey in the hall.  Feathers will be sent home on Monday next week.  

     New pictures will be posted to Shutterfly this Friday (11/15).


REMINDERS...
*Parent-teacher conferences finish up this week on 11/14.
*Thanksgiving Family Celebration on 11/21.  Please turn the form if you plan on attending and remember to be fingerprinted at the BOE.
*Please help your child dress appropriately for the weather.  The playground is mostly shady, so it's a little cool back there. 
*We need parent-volunteers to come in to help with special art projects.  The projects are all set up and ready to go, we just need an extra set of hands in the classroom to help the children put the projects together.  Please sign up on Shutterfly, call, email, or write a note if you would like to come in once or on a recurring basis. 
*This week we need food coloring and rigatoni noodles for some classroom works.  
*Thanksgiving Break: 11/27-11/29

Happy Halloween

     This week we finished up our study of Fall. We read the book "The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything" and used felt story props to help tell the story.  This book has a great predictable and repetitive text with motions to go along with it.  The felt story props and the book were put on the shelf for the children to use during work time.  Many of the children enjoyed retelling the story using the props.  
     We also started "Alphabet Exercises" this week.  This activity takes place during our group meeting.  The children review the letters we have covered during our letter of the week lessons.  The children look at a large picture card and say the letter name (arms up over head), letter sound (arms on shoulders or making the tactile cue for the sound), and name the picture (touch toes).  This gives children a change to practice letter names and sounds and associate them with a movement.  The state standard related to this activity is for preschool students to learn some letter names and sounds in addition to those in their first name by the end of their preschool experience. 
     The Get It, Got It, Go! assessment of early literacy skills was also given this past week by our itinerant preschool teacher, Ms. Alicia.  This state assessment looks at children's skills in the areas of picture naming, rhyming, and alliteration (words that begin with the same sounds).  This timed test is given in the Fall and Spring to all preschool students.  The children are asked to do rapid picture naming (1 minute), rhyming (2 minutes), and alliteration - words that begin with the same sound (2 minutes).  The number of correct responses is recorded.  I also use this information and information from the beginning of the year screening, baseline testing, and observations to complete your child's progress report.  I look forward to discussing your child's progress at conferences during the next 2 weeks.         
     In November we will be studying food, nutrition, cooking, and Thanksgiving. 

REMINDERS and UPCOMING EVENTS...
*Parent-teacher conferences 11/7 and 11/14.  Please arrive on time and wait in the hallway for your conference.  So that we can discuss your child's progress without any distractions, please make childcare arrangements.
*No School 11/5 and 11/11.
*Scholastic Book Orders due 11/8.  Order now to make sure the books arrive before the holidays.
*We'd love to have you volunteer to help in our classroom.  Sign up on our class Shutterfly site under the volunteer tab. https://williamsmontessoripreschool.shutterfly.com/
*Parents MUST wait with their child at drop off until the classroom door is opened.  Once the door is opened, please walk your child to the door and make eye contact or say hello to the teacher.  This is to ensure your child's safety. 
*Thanksgiving Celebration - Thursday 11/21.  Check your child's folder for more information.
*As the weather gets cooler, please make sure your child is dressed appropriately.  We will be playing outside on days when the temperature is about 32 degrees. 
*Thank you to all the parents who have been sending in supplies as we need them.  This week we need food coloring (classic colors).