February Fun

February is flying by with all kinds of fun stuff taking place in the classroom!

     We are beginning to wrap up our clothing study.  Upcoming studies including buildings, construction, and recycling.  These studies will overlap somewhat.  I have a few ideas in mind for some big projects that include both building and recycling.  More information soon.  

     Thank you to Mae's mom and Eva's dad for helping the children with the string sculpture projects.  We read the book "The Things a String Can Be" and then made our own class book.  Each child used their imagination to think of something they could do with a piece of string.  the children really enjoyed getting messy and sticky with the glue and string to create their string sculptures.  We also had visits in the morning from Izzi's mom and Charlie's dad.  Izzi's mom is a dietitian and  talked to the class about her job and the children also learned about the food groups.  Charlie's dad is a fire fighter and paramedic.  He talked about his uniform, his job, and fire safety.  Lastly. Paige's mom came and read the book "Chocolatina" about a little girl who turns into chocolate.  Next week we will have a visit from a Norwood Police Officer.  Thank you to all the parents who support our classroom in various ways!

     The children enjoyed passing Valentines out to their friends this week. 

     We now have a tabletop light panel for the children to use and explore.  It has been very popular this week.  I am working on writing a grant to acquire additional materials to use with the light panel.
 

     I enjoyed meeting with several parents last night for parent-teacher conferences and I look forward to meeting with everyone else next week on Thursday and Friday.  


REGISTER FOR THE 2015-2016 SCHOOL YEAR
*Please make sure you fill out and turn in the bright orange form with your plans for your child for next school year.  If your child will be returning to preschool, this form secures a spot for him/her.  It also helps in the planning process so we know how many spots we will have available for new students next year.  
*If you are planning to send a sibling next year, you will need to fill out a new student registration form and turn it in on Parent Information Night (Thursday February 26th).  
*If you know other families in the community with preschool age children, please encourage them to attend the Parent Information Night to learn about programs available in Norwood and register their child for preschool.  

"Sew" Much Fun

     We had a very busy week this week.  On Tuesday both the morning and afternoon class had visitors to show them different ways to sew.  Claire's mom came to visit in the morning and helped each child stuff and sew their own pillow.  Then, several of the children decided they wanted to continue sewing.  Using scraps of fabric, they decided to make a doll.  The children and Claire's mom, worked together to sew a doll that is now in the book corner of our classroom.  In the afternoon, Jenna's grandma showed the children how to crochet.  The children watched her work on crocheting a blanket.  She also made a "book worm" for each of the children to take home.  A VERY big thank you to each of them for sharing their talents with our class.  The children are really enjoying learning about different ways clothes are made.  
  
     If you have a talent or skill you would like to share with the class, please let me know.  I'm also open to parents coming in to do a craft, activity, or experiment with the children.  If you have an idea for something you would like to do, please contact me.  I'm also looking for a parent to come in in the next week or so to work on a project with string and glue with each of the children.   Disclaimer: it will be messy and fun! 

    We read the book "Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons" this week.  This book has a great repetitive text.  The children enjoyed helping me read the book.  We also watched a video of another class telling the story, set to music.  The children glue buttons onto a paper shirt, counted the buttons, and recorded how many buttons they had.

     We've been singing an alphabet song called "Alphardy" by Dr. Jean.  The song is set to the Jeopardy theme song.  The song goes through the letters of the alphabet naming the letter, it's sound, and a word that begins with the sound.  There is also a book to go along with the song.  There are several printable resources available click here for printable Alphardy resources.  We are also using Visual Phonics when we sing the song (a set of hand cues to accompany each letter sound).  You can read about Visual Phonics by clicking here.  I participated in Visual Phonics training earlier this year and have been using the hand cues throughout the year.  I can see them working with the children as I go through letter sound assessments and the children are using the hand cues to help them remember the letter sounds! 

     Way to go Julian for his work with linear counting using the 8 and 9 square bead chains with labels.  Finn completed the hundred board this week.  Nice work!  All of the children are making great progress and have been working really hard!  

• Valentine's Day is coming up.  If your child would like to make Valentine's for the children in the class, please bring them in on Wednesday February 11th.  Cards and other non-food treats are preferred.  There are 19 children in AM class and 18 in the PM class.  If you want to send Valentines that include a treat, please follow the guidelines that were recently sent home or find them by clicking here.  

REMINDERS...

• Parent-teacher conferences- 2/12, 2/19, 2/20.  Conference confirmation forms will be sent home this week.  
• Progress reports will also be sent home this week.
• Preschool Parent Information Night - 2/26.  More information will be sent home soon.  Registration for new preschool students also takes place on this night.
• Please fill out and send in the orange form indicating your plans for the 2015-2016 school year.  If your child will be attending preschool again next year, you MUST send this form in to hold your spot.  

TREAT GUIDELINES

TREAT REMINDER…

        If you plan to send Birthday treats or treats for another occasion, please follow the guidelines below.  These guidelines are for the health and safety of all the children in our classroom.

•    Please make arrangements with me in advance regarding your plans to send in treats.

•    Non-food treats are preferred.  Suggestions: note pads, pencils, stickers, play-doh, other goodie bag type items.

•    Food treats need to be store bought and pre-packaged with the FULL ingredient list included with the treats.  This is the only way to guarantee that foods are safe for everyone and to ensure there has not been any cross contamination.  When homemade treats are sent, children with food allergies are unable to eat these treats and this can cause them to feel left out or different.  Occasionally, special arrangements can be made for homemade treats, but this must be pre-arranged.  

•    Our classroom is a NUT FREE classroom.  All snacks and treats must be free of nuts and nut products.

If you have any questions about these guidelines, please contact me. 

Thank you!

Happy New Year!

***I apologize for the delay in getting the newsletter out.***

Dear Preschool Families,
  Welcome to 2015.  I hope everyone had a happy and healthy break.  
     This month, we are studying clothes.  Last week, we discussed what we know about clothes and listed different types of clothes.  We read the book "The Mitten" by Jan Brett.  The children are practicing their re-telling skills with story telling props and the book.  There is also a mitten painting and cutting work as well as mitten matching and clothes-pinning.  Other new and popular works available include; mopping the floor, and color mixing (using an eye dropper to mix colored water in an ice cube tray).  The children are also creating a class sewing collage.  The children are taking turns stitching with yarn on a plastic canvas.   
     I have been observing and assessing the children for 2nd quarter report cards over the last few weeks.  Everyone is making great progress!  Report cards will be sent home the first week of February.  We can discuss your child's progress at conferences in February.  See below for more information about conferences.       

I am looking for a few parents to come in and demonstrate different sewing type skills.  If you can knit, crochet, cross stitch, use a sewing machine, or other sewing skill, I would love for you to come show the class your skill.  You don't have to give a lesson or presentation or even make anything specific.  I'm just looking for a parent (or other family member) to come in and demonstrate their skill during work time.  The children will be able to watch you sewing and ask questions.  If you would like to do something more, I'm open to that too.  Please contact me if you are interested.   

     Thank you to everyone who sent in their mid-year school supplies and wish list items.  If you haven't sent your supplies in yet, please do so as soon as possible.  

Parent-Teacher Conferences

*2/12 and 2/19.  Please sign up via the Sign-up Genius link or return the paper sign up page.
Click here to sign up for conferences


Parent Information Night
*Thursday February 26th.  More information will be sent home soon. 

2015-2016 Preschool
*You will be receiving a form in the upcoming week regarding next school year.  When you receive the form, please fill it out and return it to school as soon as possible.  

Happy Holidays!

I hope everyone has a very Happy Holiday.  

Enjoy the time off from school!  

     I can't believe how fast the month of December has flown by.  This month the children were very busy working on the puzzle wreath gift and practicing for The Gingerbread Man performance.  I think the children did a fantastic job retelling and acting out the story of The Gingerbread Man during our party yesterday.  A BIG thank you to all the families that sent in supplies and attended the party.  The kids had a great time.  Today, we read The Polar Express, had chocolate milk and cookies, and the movie played during work time.  

     This month we practiced patterns while making bead wreaths and beaded candy canes.  The children also had a lesson with the hand drill this month.  They are enjoying making holes in a piece of wood.  I hope to introduce the use of other tools after the break.  Many of the children are very interested in writing and have been busy making books and other papers for their friends.    

     During our Gingerbread Man study we worked on many literacy skills including; making predictions, re-telling a story, sequencing a story, developing new vocabulary (butcher, sow), comparing different versions of the same story, and many other literacy skills.  Over the break, ask your child to tell you the Gingerbread story.  Hopefully they can recall and retell 3 or more parts of the story.  This month's writing journal prompt was "The Gingerbread Man ran away from..."  The children came up with their own idea about who/what the Gingerbread Man ran away from and then drew and wrote about it.  Each month, the children are improving in their ability to use drawing, symbols, letters, and words to portray meaning.  We will continue with writing journal throughout the year.

     The letters we have covered so far during letter of the week include: M, T, A, S, P, C, I, B, N, and R.  January's letters are: D, K, F, and O.  We continue to review the letter names and sounds we have previously learned.  

     In January, we will begin a clothing study.  We will learn all about types of clothes, where/why people wear types of clothes, how clothes are made, compare and describe different fabrics, and other topics related to clothing.   

REMINDERS...

• Bring in your mid-year supplies from the list that was sent home earlier this week.  If you need another supply list, please contact me.

Have a happy, healthy, wonderful Holiday and New Year!  See  you in 2015!

Run, Run as fast as you can...

     We started our Gingerbread Man theme this week and the children are really enjoying it so far.  We read our first Gingerbread Man book this week.  On Monday, we did a picture walk of the book - we looked at the pictures and talked about them but we didn't look at the end of the book.  Then, the children made predictions about what would happen to the Gingerbread Man.  We read the story on Tuesday, but didn't finish the story.  On Wednesday, we read the whole story.  Lastly, we read the story and the children helped re-tell the story and chanted the repetitive text.  We'll read several other versions and variations of the Gingerbread Man this month.  At the end of the month, we will compare the different stories we told.  

     The children have also been busy working on a special holiday gift for their loved ones.  We have a Gingerbread Man paper punching work on the shelf.  After the children punch out the Gingerbread Man, they can decorate him with buttons, googly eyes, and glitter glue.  Paper punching involves using an over-sized push pin to poke holes in paper following an outline of a shape (pumpkin, Gingerbread Man, fish, etc...).  After the children punch all the way around the outline, the teacher tears out the shape for the child.  This work requires a lot of concentration and fine motor control.  The children were also recently introduced to the table scrubbing work.  They really enjoy scrubbing the tables in our classroom.  This work has a lot of steps!  Table scrubbing helps children develop their ability to sequence an activity.  The children have to think about and plan for what they need to do to clean the table.  

     There are several new works available on the math shelves now.  This week, we had our first student complete the 100 Board!  Way to go Mason Tyree.  This work involves putting number tiles from 1-100 in order. 
 
Other works include the teen and ten boards, the bead stair, and the decimal system layout (bank game).  During the next few weeks, I will be introducing these works to the children.  

SCHOLASTIC BOOK ORDERS...
There is still time to order books in time for Christmas delivery.  Orders are due 12/11.

BREAKFAST WITH SANTA...
-Sign ups for Breakfast with Santa were sent home recently.  This is a FREE event.  The "amount enclosed" line is a misprint.


MID-YEAR SUPPLY LIST
As stated at the beginning of the school year, a mid-year supply list will be sent home the week before winter break.  The list will include classroom supplies needed for the remainder of the school year.

PARENT VOLUNTEERS...
The Sign-Up Genius page has been updated with dates for January through March.

Holiday Party...
*You are invited to our Holiday Cookie Decorating Party on Wednesday December 17th.  Party details were sent home in your child's folder on Thursday and an email was sent with a link to Sign-up Genius to RSVP for the party (or a paper copy for parents who prefer).  A few important things about the party:
-Time: 10:30AM and 2:15PM
- 1 adult per student please (due to space limitations).
- Adults need to have fingerprints on file.
- You might want to bring your camera, we have a little surprise planned!
- Link to sign-up: Click here RSVP and sign up

Polar Express and Pajama Day...
*On Thursday December 18th, please have your child wear his/her pajamas to school.  We will read the Polar Express and the movie will also be playing during work time.  We will also have a special snack.  Please make sure your child's pajamas are appropriate for the weather (we may go outside) and appropriate for school and play.  Your child needs to wear regular shoes to school but you can send slippers in his/her backpack if you would like.  

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, We're so busy in our room...

     The last few weeks have been busy in our classroom (actually, every week is busy).  Parent -teachers conferences are finished and report cards are out.  I truly enjoyed meeting and talking to many parents during conferences.  We continue our study of trees through the rest of this month.  There are also some Thanksgiving related works in the classroom.

     The children have been very interested in the corn tweezing work (using tweezers to pluck corn from the cob).  The bubble making work (using a hand mixer to create soap bubbles) has also been popular.  Other new works include wood polishing and leaf polishing.  In the upcoming weeks I hope to introduce mopping and silver polishing.  These practical life works and many others help children develop skills for further learning as well as their self-help skills.  The corn tweezing work develops fine motor skills (it takes a lot of precise hand control to squeeze the tweezers, isolate 1 kernel of corn, pull it off, and drop it into a bowl) and also concentration.         

     The week of Halloween, the children made 2 special snacks; spooky spiders and witch hats.  The children had to follow a "recipe" to make their snack which included counting the correct number of spider legs and putting the spider together.  

     During our group meeting, we have been singing a "hello" song to help children learn the beginning sound in their names.  Here are the words to the song (to the tune of "The Farmer in the Dell")
   Katie starts with /k/ (make the sound of the the first letter in the child's name)
   Katie starts with/k/
   Hip, hip, hooray
   Katie starts with /k/
You can try the song at home with the names of the people in your family!

     We have also begun visiting the school library on Mondays.  Mrs. Genton, the librarian, reads a book related to our theme to the children and then discusses the book.  Beginning in Kindergarten, the children will visit the library and be able to check out their own books.  
   

     Next week we will be reading "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom" and I have several activities planned to go along with this book and also some variations of the book.  We will be making a "coconut tree" snack using graham crackers, apples, grapes, and alphabet cereal.
    




VOLUNTEER SIGN-UP
*If you are interested in signing up to volunteer in our classroom, please click the link or contact me directly.
Click here for SignUp Genius  

REMINDERS...
*The cold weather is here!  We will be going outside whenever the weather is above 30 degrees and the playground is dry.  PLEASE, send you child in a warm coat.  I also encourage you to send your child with a hat and gloves/mittens.  We will help them put them on if needed.  
*If your child is not feeling well, please keep him/her home to rest until he/she is healthy.  This is both for the comfort of your child and the health of the other members of the class.