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)

Flying through February

     It's the end of February which means March and (hopefully) warmer weather are right around the corner.  This is my last week at work before maternity leave.  Ms. April Harbstreit will be the long term substitute taking my place while I am gone.  She has started observing and shadowing in the classroom this week.  The children will be calling her Ms. H.  I know that the children are in great hands with her and Ms. Karen while I am gone.  You can reach her by email at Harbstreit.a@norwoodschools.org.  She will be sending home newsletters and possibly updating the Shutterfly photo sharing site.  I will be checking in with her regularly and checking my email about once a week.  I also plan to come visit at the end of the year.
     I have thoroughly enjoyed working with every child this year and will miss everyone while I am gone.  Please feel free to email me updates about your child throughout the rest of this year and in the future.  
     Next week Williams Elementary will celebrate Read Across America Day on Monday March 3rd with a Dr. Seuss theme.  We will also be talking and learning about animals in March.  The children are really enjoying our new furniture in the reading corner as well as new story telling props.  The furniture and props were funded through grants from DonorsChoose.org and the Norwood Alumni Association.  We are thrilled to have these new materials.  
     Don't forget to register your child for Preschool or Kindergarten next year.  Kindergarten Parent meetings take place March 13, 18, and 20 at the Elementary Schools.  Please see the yellow flyer sent home today for more information on Kindergarten registration. EVERYONE who will be attending Preschool or Kindergarten in Norwood Schools next year must register and enroll for the 2014-2015 school year.  If you have questions about enrollment please call 924-2506.   
     

REMINDERS...
*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).

Wild Winter Weather

February already???!!!  Wow, January went quickly, probably due to all the snow days.  We are ready for some warmer weather so we can get out to the playground again.  The children ask me almost daily if we can go to the playground.

This week, Progress Reports were sent home.  I am really pleased with the great progress that the children are making and I know they will continue to learn more each day.  Keep up the good work!
This week we also have many new works related to Valentine's Day.  The children have been making heart pattern head bands, bead bracelets, and heart collages.  The children also REALLY enjoyed exploring flubber (made with glue, water, and Borax) this week.  Last week they also enjoyed snow dough (shaving cream and corn starch) in the touch table.  The children have also come up with some great extensions and creations using the red rods and number rods including building a helicopter and a sleigh.

Our group meeting time this year has included activities such as sign in, counting friends and reporting the number, letter of the week, alphabet exercises, lesson presentations, and other activities.  I will be adding in calendar, weather, and rhyming this month.    

REMINDERS...
*Parent-teacher conferences 2/13 and 2/20
*No School 2/17
*Scholastic Book Orders due 2/14.  This is the last chance to order books this year.
* I will be going on maternity leave at the end of the month.  As soon as I know details for the long term sub, I will let you know.  I will be periodically checking my email while I'm gone.  Feel free to contact me, but please understand that it may be a few days before I get back to you.  I will likely be back for the last week of school.

2014-2015 Preschool Enrollment -
*If your child will be returning to preschool for the 2014-2015 school year, you do not have to attend the Parent Info Night (but are encouraged to do so) to turn in the orange application form.  You can fill out the form and return it in your child's folder.
*Class preference of returning preschool students will be considered first when creating class lists for next school  year.
*You will need to re-enroll for next school year (enrollment appointments made through the central enrollment office @ 924-2506).
*You must be current with your tuition payments to re-enroll for next year.

Brrrr...

This week was a short week in preschool.  I didn't even see the morning class and saw the afternoon class only once!  We didn't get to a letter of the week this week.  Next week's letter will be N.  We have some new works out in our classroom including; cornmeal sifting, making a marshmallow snowflake, and mitten cutting.  We have snow dough (corn starch and shaving cream) in the touch table.  The afternoon class really enjoyed exploring the snow dough!   

Progress reports will not be sent home this week due to multiple snow days.  In order to ensure that I have an accurate picture of each student's progress, reports will be sent home February 3rd.  Thank you for your understanding.  

Reminders...
*No School on 1/27 - Teacher In-Service 
* We need hand soap and dish soap for various classroom works.  If you would like to donate, please send in at any time.    


Other News:
At the beginning of the year I intended to send out a newsletter on a weekly basis.  I realize I have missed some weeks due to scheduling and other responsibilities.  For the remainder of the year, I will try to send newsletters every other week and upload photos to the Shutterfly.com site monthly.  There will be limited photos available this month, because our camera was not working.  It seems to be working now and I will resume taking pictures next week.   

Check out www.donorschoose.org/katie.plunkett  to learn about our classroom grant project.  I have written a grant to request some classroom materials including reading furniture and storytelling props.

Wonderful Winter

     Welcome to 2014!  I hope everyone had a wonderful break and enjoyed the time off.  I know I did!  We are off and running in the New Year.  There are many new works out in the classroom.  Some popular works this week included: salt painting, liquid pouring with a funnel, cut and glue a snow man with small, medium, and large circles, and letter stamps.  Other works that the children have continued to show an interest in include; brown stairs with pink tower, free choice art, and science discovery shelf.  All of the children are also working hard on writing or tracing their name each day as part of our sign in procedure.  Some of the children are even starting to write their last name!
     We did not have a letter of the week this week, but reviewed the letters we have learned so far.  Letters we have learned so far: M, S, T, A, P, F, C, E, R, B, L.  The children are learning the letter names and sounds in preparation for reading.  Letter names and sounds are also taught through sandpaper letter and other works in the classroom.  The Ohio Early Learning and Development Standard in this area is for children by end of preschool to "Recognize and name some upper and lower case letters in addition to those in first name."  
     Another literacy skill we have been working on includes blending and  segmenting syllables in words (mostly the children's names).  You can practice this skill at home by clapping out the syllables in different words.  For example: You would clap 3 times when saying the word dinosaur.  Saying it in syllables "di-no-saur" and clapping for each syllable.  Then have your child try it.
     The Ohio Department of Education has some good resources available related to preschool and Early Childhood Education.  Check them out here:
ODE Early Learning
    
     This week we read the book "Snowmen at Night."  The children are doing very well with reading comprehension questions for books that have been read multiple times.  Reading comprehension is a crucial skill for school success and something that we work on each day.  Click the link for tips to develop reading comprehension.
5 Tips for Reading Comprehension

     This week, I will begin assessments for 2nd quarter progress reports.  3rd and 4th quarter progress will be reported by the substitute who will be here during my maternity leave.

*I hope to upload pictures to Shutterfly.com soon, but I'm currently having a technical problem with the camera. 

*We need a few bags of white mini marshmallows for a snowman project.  If you would like to provide a bag, please send them by 1/16.  Thanks!


REMINDERS...
*For the safety of the students, parents/adults need to walk their children to the classroom door and remain with them until the teacher arrives.  This is in the Preschool Handbook, page 6.  
     If you have misplaced your copy of the handbook or want to review it, you can find it online by clicking the link below or go to www.norwoodschools.org, then click Williams Elementary on the left, click "School Forms" on the left, then click Preschool Handbook. 
Preschool Handbook
     Thank you for taking the time to review the handbook!
*Sign up to volunteer in our classroom - we can always use an extra set of hands.
*No School 1/20 and 1/27.
*Progress Reports sent home 1/28.
*Parent-teacher conferences 2/13 and 2/20.  Sign up sheets sent home 1/13. 
* I am planning to go on Maternity leave at the beginning of March.  I hope to meet with parents at conferences to discuss your child's progress and also plans for next school year. 
*Coming Soon - Enrollment information for the 2014-2015 school year. 






Welcome Winter Weather

     November just flew by and we are already into December.  This year is flying by!  Last week, we began our study of winter holidays including Christmas and Hanukkah.  There are several holiday related works out in the classroom including decorating a Christmas tree, making a bead candy cane,  matching big and small ornaments, and numbers and counters with gifts.  There are also some other new works keeping the children busy including grating bar soap, making bubbles with an egg beater and smelling bottles.  Some of the children have also been very interested in writing and drawing lately.  I have put out some theme related vocabulary cards with pictures and words on them for the children to write and draw.  Paper punching continues to be a popular work as well.  After Winter Break, some of the children will start working on writing journals.  This past week we also started a special, secret project for our parents!  The children have been so busy all around the classroom.   Paper punching continues to be a popular work as well. This month we have candy cane punching. This work involves using an over sized push pin to poke holes around the outline of a picture. This work requires a great deal of concentration and coordination. It helps develop the fine motor control needed for writing tasks.  Another new work on the shelf is crayon peeling.  The children peel the paper off the crayon, break it into small pieces and then sort the crayons by color.  After we have peeled, broken, and sorted enough crayons, we will melt them into new crayons.  This lesson develops fine motor skills, visual discrimination, and we are also learning about recylcing and re-using. 

     We continue to build our letter name and letter sound awareness with sandpaper letters, letter of the week, and alphabet exercises.  We've also been playing some rhyming games and a new game called "Doggy, doggy, where's your bone."  We will continue to study Holidays this month.  In January we will be studying winter.     

HOLIDAY PARTY  
- We will have a casual Holiday Party on Thursday December 19th.  The party will include making a candy Christmas Tree.  Check your child's folder this week for more details.

REMINDERS...
*Cold and flu season is in full swing.  Please be courteous to members of our classroom and keep your child home when he/she is sick.
*Please help your child remember to wear a warm coat, hat, and gloves/mittens on cold weather days.   We try to get out side as often as possible when the weather is above 32 degrees. 
*During drop off time, please help your child remember that they need to wait quietly next to the building until the door opens.  This allows other parents and children to get to the back side of the building.  Please also remember that children need to be walked all the way to the classroom door by an ADULT.   
*Volunteers are always needed to help with special art and classroom projects.  Sign up for 1 day or a recurring day. 
*New pictures will be posted to Shutterfly.com this Friday.