Off to a Great Start!

Dear Preschool Families,
     The school year is off to a great start.  We have been very busy in the classroom the last 2 weeks.  The children have been working hard on learning the school routines including; the arrival routine (including good hand washing habits), learning to sign-in (practicing name recognition and name writing), and the procedures for serving and eating snack.  I have also been presenting lessons to the whole group and individual children.  We also discussed that school is a safe place.  We made a list of people that keep us safe.  We then talked about rules that keep us safe.  The children came up with many good rules to keep us safe.  At the start of each day, we are reviewing our classroom rules.  We also took a tour of the school including the office, auditorium, library, and cafeteria.  
     Some of the popular works in the classroom right now include: painting at the easel, snack, play-doh, art shelf, and the book corner.  There are limited works available on the shelves right now.  Each week, I will present more lessons and add new work to the shelves.  Next week we will begin "Letter of the Week."  Each day, the children will participate in various activities that support early literacy skills.  I'll talk more about "Letter of the Week" in upcoming newsletters.
     Our main theme right now is "Going to School."  Over the next few weeks we will study 5 Senses and All About Me.  In October we will do a Fall Study.
     Screening results will be sent home by the end of the month.  Next week I will begin working with students 1 on 1 for state mandated assessments.  The information collected on these assessments will also be used for progress reports.      I will begin posting classroom photos on a photo sharing site once I have photo permission forms from the office. 

THANK YOU to all the families that signed up for snack, play-doh, and flowers.  Also, a big thank you to families that provided wish list items!!!!
      


IMPORTANT INFO:
-No School 10/1 - teacher in service

OTHER INFO:
- Many of the girls in our class have been wearing beautiful dresses to school.  If your daughter wears a dress to school, you may want to consider encouraging her to wear shorts or leggings under her dress to ensure modesty.  A lot of the day is spent sitting on the floor.  Most little girls forget about keeping their legs and other areas covered while sitting on the floor.  Wearing shorts or leggings will help keep everything covered.  Thanks!  
- Birthdays... If you would like to send a treat for your child's birthday please follow these guidelines:
- Parent Volunteers: Opportunities for volunteering in the classroom will begin in October.  More information will be available in upcoming newsletters.

• Any food must  include the complete list of ingredients.  All foods must be NUT free.  (We have children with severe food allergies in our class.)
• Non-food treats such as stickers, play-doh, bubbles, or other small goodies are preferred.
• Consider donating a book to our classroom collection instead of individual treats.  

As always, feel free to contact me at any time with questions or concerns.
plunkett.k@norwoodschools.org
924-2529
   
     

May Memories

 Dear Preschool Families,

The month of May has been very busy for the preschoolers as the school year commences. The children have completed fun memory pages for their portfolio's and a self-portrait. They have put a lot of effort into these self-portraits and they look fantastic. During our story time and research about seahorse's, hermit crabs, and fish the children have enjoyed many new works in the classroom. Some of our lessons/activities have included: tying practice for the seahorse, cutting fish skeletons out of construction paper, and sorting, graphing, and counting Goldfish crackers. After reading the "Rainbow Fish" the children completed their very own rainbow fish with paper plates and a small piece of foil. We have been reviewing letter naming and letter sounds. The children have been making letters with playdoh and tracing letters in shaving cream.

Last week, the children continued working on their picture dictionaries. These books will be in their portfolio to complete over the summer if they choose. 

The morning class had the opportunity last week to visit with the Norwood Police department here at school. The afternoon class will be going to Williams Elementary Talent Show in the auditorium on Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. This event is open to all. 

 

Note from the Nurse:

The Norwood Health Department has graciously offered to give out 15 booster seats to preschool students that are in need. Children need to be properly restrained in booster seat until 8 years old. The Norwood Health Department is going to be at Williams Elementary on Wednesday May 28th at 11:10 A.M. This is a first come first serve basis. They will also be on hand to demonstrate a proper installation. For questions contact Kathy Strasser:  Strasser.K@norwoodschools.org  513-924-2882

Special Note of Thank You:

As the children look forward to their summer break, Miss Katie, Miss Karen and I would like to say thank you to all of the children and the families for a great Preschool year!  I personally enjoyed my time here at Williams Elementary. I loved getting to know all of the children, teaching them everyday and watching them grow.  I have so many good memories and feel blessed I had this great opportunity to share in their lives. Thank you and best wishes to a prosperous future. 

Have a wonderful Summer,
Miss H.

 Important Dates

Monday, May 26th - No School (Memorial Day)
Tuesday, May 27th - Back to School
Wednesday, May 28th - K-6 Talent Show at 2:00 p.m.
Thursday, May 29th - Last Day for Preschool 
(Preschool will NOT make up snow days) 

May Flowers

 Dear Preschool Families,

 The month of May will focus on the Ocean, and the creatures that live in and near the ocean. Some of our lessons have included: exploring shells and sea stars, fishing for letters, creating ocean books, sorting animals by habitat, and counting fish. During our story time and research about the ocean the children have enjoyed sharing their beach stories from family trips.

     Last week, the children finished up their color butterflies to take home. This week we continue to review the life cycle of a butterfly. This work includes stamping out the sequence of the life cycle.

 The children continue to make geometric shapes with marshmallows and toothpicks (triangles, squares, and pentagons).  

     Our letter of the week was the letter "Y." This week we will focus on the letter "Q." This will be our last letter of the week! A popular work right now is stamping the alphabet.

Both the morning and afternoon class got to go on a little field trip last week to our school library. During our tour they learned about the different kinds of books in the library (fiction and non-fiction).Then we stayed for story time about "Percival The Plain Little Caterpillar."

 Important Dates

May 26 - No School (Memorial Day)

May 29 - Last Day for Preschool (Preschool will NOT make up snow days) 

Blooming Colors

Dear Preschool Families,

     During the month of April we continue to focus on art, famous artists, primary and secondary colors, and shapes. After a couple of weeks the children are now applying their color mixing skills. Some of the children have created their very own impressionistic paintings. They have learned about lighting, surface, and color. We talked about how from far away the paintings will appear more realistic. Close-up it will appear as splotches of paint. Here is a look at some of the "Bridge Over a Pond of Water Lillies" inspired by Claude Monet painting.

     We are also learning about what a plant needs to grow. (Water, Sun, Soil, Air, and Love) The children planted their seeds and have been caring for their personalized flower pots in the classroom. Ask them what a plant needs to grow! 

     The children have been putting their fine motor skills to work! They have created big colorful tissue paper eggs. In Math we continue to practice rote counting to 20 and build shape patterns.

     Our letter of the week was the letter "V." Next week we will focus on the letter "Z." More children are working in the movable alphabet. They are now starting to create personalized picture dictionaries. During picture dictionary work the child draws three pictures that start with the beginning letter sound. Some children are even writing the name of the picture!

Important Dates

May 26 - No School (Memorial Day)

May 29 - Last Day for        Preschool (Preschool will NOT make up snow days) 

Special Note:
Thank you to all of the families who donated the baby food jars. 

Full Spring Ahead

Dear Preschool Families,

It has been a great week back from Spring Break. The children are now starting to really see the season's change. They are noticing the tree's beginning to blossom, flowers blooming, birds chirping, and warmer temperatures with the occasional rain shower. Some children have even talked about gardening at home and outdoor sports beginning. Some of our crafts have included adding blossoms and leaves to our classroom tree, and making a beautiful spring pictures with various materials. 

The month of April will focus on art, famous artists, primary and secondary colors and shapes. The children have enjoyed mixing primary colors for one our our Science and Practical Living works. They also have mixed primary colored play-doh and took home secondary colored play-doh. We also recycled and mixed primary color crayons to create new crayons.

 During Math works children have been number matching, creating color patterns and challenging shape patterns . The children have been sorting and drawing geometric shapes. 

   

Our letter of the week was the letter "j." Next week we will focus on the letter "x." The children have been working really hard on letter names and sounds. They are now starting to create personalized picture dictionaries. During picture dictionary work the child draw three pictures that start with the beginning letter sound. Some children are even writing the name of the picture! A big work in language arts has been the moveable alphabet. Children are starting to see how easy it is to create words with the rhyming skills they have acquired.

Important Dates

May 26 - No School (Memorial Day)

May 29 - Last Day for        Preschool (Preschool will NOT make up snow days) 

Spring Is Here!

Hello Preschool families,

     We have been learning about the change of seasons. The children were super excited to run around outside last week and get some fresh air. Winter is finally ending and Spring is beginning. We have started creating a list of the “Signs of Spring.” How temperatures slowly rise and the days get longer. The children have been learning about how they will start seeing flowers and plants grow and bloom, and animals become active again. Many animals have their young in the Spring when food is plentiful. We also have been talking about how they may wear lighter coats, rain gear and even begin outdoor activities like sports and gardening.

Some of our read alouds have included:

"Little Swan"
"Leo The Late Bloomer"
"How Loud is a Lion?"
"That's What Leprechauns Do"
"The Lion and The Mouse"
"The Mixed Up Chameleon" and "Chameleon Colors"
"Brown Bear Bear Brown Bear"
"My Spring Robin"
"Old Bear" and other books about Spring

     Some of our special art projects have included making Swans and Lions out of paper plates. Also, sewing and decorating Shamrocks. All three required a great deal of concentration using fine motor skills. A leprechaun visited our classroom on Monday and left a pot of chocolate gold at the end of the rainbow. Next week we will be making monkey puppets out of paper bags and painting colorful chameleons.

     Lastly we used story props while reading the classic children’s book “Brown Bear Brown Bear” written by Bill Martin Jr. and illustrated by Eric Carle. Your child will have a take home activity they colored to retell the story.

     Our letter of the week was "O." Next week will be the letter "W." The children continue to work really hard on letter naming, letter sounds and beginning letter sounds. We have also been working on trying new works  in the classroom and working with a partner. We continue to practice counting from 1 to 10, and from 1 to 20 each day. Lastly we are grouping objects by color, shape, and by size.

Special Notes

We are collecting baby food jars for a special project. If you have any extra baby food jars please send them in with your child. We need approximately 40 jars. Thank you!

Also is a  Pre-Kindergarten Experience Survey coming home in your child's folder. Please send back this survey in your child's folder.

Thank you to all the Grandparents and special friends who stopped by on Wednesday for breakfast at school.

• March 31-April 4 - Spring Break
• April 18 - No School (Good Friday)
• May 26 - No School (Memorial Day)
• May 29th - Last Day for Preschool (Preschool will NOT make up snow days) 

 

 

 

 

Marching Along

Hello Preschool families,

In case you haven't heard...Miss Katie, her new baby Lila, and her family are doing great. Thank you for the warm welcome over the last couple of weeks.

Even though this week was short, it was super packed with a lot a fun activities. Tuesday started off with Williams Elementary celebrating "Read Across America" week with a Dr. Seuss theme. This gave us the opportunity to focus on rhyming and reading along with a fun theme. Your child may have also mentioned our tour of the decorated classroom doors at school. I got a kick when a couple of students asked me if we could go on another field trip again soon. We decorated our classroom door with personalized Thing 1's and Thing 2's.  Please check out the Shutterfly photo sharing site for fun pictures of this weeks festivities.

Wednesday was National Tornado Drill Day. The morning class was here for the drill. We talked about listening, following instructions, lining up, and safety procedures. A.M. Preschool did a great job following instructions.

We also have been talking and learning about animals. Some of the work lessons have included making a patchwork elephant from construction paper inspired from the story Elmer. Many students have been using props to retell the story of Elmer which celebrates individuality.

Our letter of the week was "D." Next week will be the letter "K." Students have been working really hard on letter naming and letter sounds. Please encourage and ask your child about the letter week at home.

It feels like spring is coming soon. Hopefully next week we can get outside to the playground!

• March 12 Picture Day
• March 31-April 4 - Spring Break
• March 7 - 3rd Quarter Report Cards
• April 18 - No School (Good Friday)
• May 26 - No School (Memorial Day)
• May 29th - Last Day for Preschool (Preschool will NOT make up snow days)