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Page Last Updated Jun 07, 2010
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Pre-K 2 June 7, 2010 Dear Parents,
Happy Monday! I can’t believe this is our last week! After snack and stretches, we had circle time where we discussed how our last week is going to go. The kids are very excited – they’re finally going to get to play the popsicle stick games and take home all of the prizes that we have been using during lunch time. We did a fun review of our sight words, before checking calendar and weather. We ended with some white board work with our handwriting and last names. After our time in Big Room, we spent much of the rest of the day working on our class garden and Father’s Day gifts. The students were a BIG help getting the holes ready in the garden and making sure we had enough worms. J This is actually the kindergarten garden, so our class will get to take care of it during the summer. After our garden was planted, we came inside to work on the Father’s Day gifts, which are looking fantastic! Next, we went into the science room where we continued our work on our gifts, rotated through stations, and read a gardening story about a little girl who tried to feed her flower spaghetti, ice cream, cookies, dog biscuits…and more! Our class, of course, was too smart and knew that the foods would not work. Lucky for the girl in the story, her poor flower finally got rained on and bloomed into a beautiful flower. Next, we were off to lunch! Congratulations to Emma, Matthew, Tyler, and Emme for getting to go to our picnic today!
See you tomorrow!
Ms. Rachel Pre-K 2 June 4, 2010
Dear Parents,
Happy Friday! I hope everyone had a great end to the week! We had a fun day in Pre-K 2 and were very excited to welcome another new friend to our class, Carl. He will be with us in kindergarten this summer, and the children couldn’t wait to show him all of our fun stations, the big kid slide, and the forts! J We began our morning with snack, stretches, and circle time. We checked our calendar and weather. After today, we only have 4 days left in Pre-K! We were also very excited to mark a sunny day on our weather watcher. We then played a fun game of summer Pictionary as we took turns guessing each other’s favorite summer drawings. We counted the number of days we’ve been in school, reviewed our sight words, and headed off to computer lab! In computer lab, we took turns working on the computers. We also continued our work on our snail project from yesterday, and played a letter/sound puzzle matching game. We took our snail projects with us into Blocks to get them all finished. They turned out SO CUTE!! Today, we cut out their bodies, antennae, added faces, and attached them to the spirals we made yesterday. I’m still amazed at their excellent work on their spirals, and they turned into beautiful snails! While we finished the snails, we also rotated through a drawing/writing station and a bead station. At the bead station, the students enjoyed making shapes with their beads, as well as necklaces and bracelets. Afterward, we went outside to enjoy some time on Mulch and Blacktop, before coming in for lunch. Congratulations to Russell, Carl, Kendall, and Taylor for getting to go to the picnic today! (Today was Taylor’s last day before summer, so we made sure we gave him a big goodbye. Have a great summer Taylor!)
REMINDERS: - The end of the school year is QUICKLY approaching. I can’t believe it! We are looking forward to taking it a bit easier next week and working on our Father’s Day projects. Weather permitting, all classes will be spending the majority of next Wednesday and Thursday outside, as the center gets prepared for summer camp. - Bright Beginnings will be CLOSED next Friday, June 11, for summer preparation.
Have a great weekend!
Ms. Rachel Pre-K 2 June 3, 2010
Dear Parents,
Happy Thursday! We’re almost to the weekend. We had a fun day today, despite the rainy start! We began our morning with snack, stretches, and circle time. During calendar, we counted down the days we have left as Pre-K students…not too many left! One week from today will be our last day in Pre-K 2. After calendar and counting the days we’ve been in school, we checked our stormy weather – the kids were very excited about all the rain and thunder. Then, we played a sight word game to earn tickets. The students did an awesome job – they’re certainly ready for kindergarten! J Next, we went into the computer lab where we took turns working on the computers. During this time, I also worked one-on-one with students on their math and letter/sound identification. We ended by finishing our worm book from yesterday about the worms “Wiggle” and “Waggle”. We’re hoping we have a lot of worms in our garden next week to help our plants and vegetables grow. Our next stop was Blocks where I was very impressed with the kids’ hard work on our next art project. First, we practiced making “swirly” designs that we learned were called spirals. Their spirals were fantastic! We then took a look at the designs and tried to figure out what they looked like. We finally figured out that they looked like snails, so of course we made snails for our garden! First, we used marker to make the spiral design on paper plates. We then practiced our color mixing as combined different colors of paint to trace over our marker. We’re letting them dry, then tomorrow we will add their heads! Next, SO MANY children were earning tickets in Mr. Mailbox, that it was time to count them all up! We had quite a few friends earn at least three tickets today, so we took this time to get out our prize jar. After picking prizes, we saw the sunshine outside and went out to enjoy some time on Mulch before lunch. Congratulations to Matthew, Veronica, Emma, Emme, and Taylor for getting to go to the picnic today!
See you tomorrow!
Ms. Rachel Pre-K 2 June 2, 2010
Dear Parents,
Hello! We began our day with snack and circle time. During circle time, we checked our calendar and weather. The kids couldn’t decide if they thought it was going to rain or not. We also counted the days we’ve been in school – our count is at almost 160! The class can’t wait to take apart all of our bundles of 10 at the end of the year and build with the popsicle sticks. We then did stretches where we got to do some fun exercises as we counted to 100. The students are getting better and better at crossovers – matching the right arm to the left leg and the left arm to the right leg. We ended with some sight word work and some practice with the letter “y”. Next, we took a quick break outside because we wanted to make sure we got out there before it rained. Afterward, we came into the computer lab where everyone got a brief turn on the computer, before meeting for show-and-tell. We had several animal related show-and-tells, which are always fun to learn about, and Matthew’s bug book and spider were perfect since we had just been discussing insects last week! Next, we continued our discussion of our theme this week – Gardening. Next week, each class will be planting their class gardens. We will be planting the kindergarten garden and taking care of it over the summer. I told the class that the theme this year is Around the World and we have been assigned South America. This gave us the opportunity to practice naming our continents and finding them on a map. We will be planting tomatoes, peppers, corn, and petunias. With all the work we’ve been doing this week on gardening, we should be prepared to plant a real garden next week! We ended our garden discussion by reading several stories out of the book, Wiggle and Waggle – a book about two friendly worms. We learned all about the important role the worms play in getting the dirt ready for gardening. We also enjoyed the adventures they go on in the story. Then, after the rain came through, we enjoyed some extra time outside before heading to lunch!
Have a nice evening!
Ms. Rachel Pre-K 2 June 1, 2010
Dear Parents,
Welcome back from the long weekend! I hope everyone enjoyed it. From the sounds of the kids’ stories this morning – it sounds like everyone stayed very busy! The kids were so excited to tell me all about their vacations, camping, biking, swimming, and more! After snack and weekend story time, we met at the circle for calendar, weather, and sight word work. We had a big day on our calendar today since we had to take down all of the days in May and change our calendar over to June. The class did an excellent job identifying all of the days and telling the class the numbers as they took down the dates. We were very excited to say hello to June!! We ended by working on our new sight word of the week (the last one of the year!) – “you”. We will be doing activities during these last two weeks involving all of the sight words, but I told them that they now have gone through ALL of their words for kindergarten! J Next, we went into the computer lab where we took turns working on the computers. We also took this time to discuss our theme this week – Little Gardeners and read Care Bears Plant a Garden. The kids were able to make a huge list of all of the materials and work needed to keep a garden. We then did math activities using “flowers” (cupcake liners) and “seeds” (buttons). A number was written at the bottom of each cupcake liner, and the kids took turns putting the correct number of “seeds” into the “flowers”, and using them to write addition problems. We continued this activity into Blocks as we turned our math flower project into an art project! Once in Blocks, we “planted” our seeds at the bottoms of our papers, glued on stems (yarn), and glued on our numbered flowers at the top. In the middle, we ended by writing the addition problem in our garden. It was hard work, but the kids enjoyed working with buttons, and the gardens turned our beautifully. After all of this hard work, we enjoyed some time outside on Blacktop. Congratulations to Lincoln, Veronica, Emma, and Annabelle for getting to go to the picnic today!
See you tomorrow!
Ms. Rachel Pre-K 2 May 28, 2010
Dear Parents,
Happy Friday! I hope you had a wonderful end to your week! Thank you so much for all of your hard work at field day yesterday – thanks to you it was a great success! (Though I think we’re all ready to rest up this weekend!) We began our morning with snack, stretches, and circle time. During circle time, we checked our calendar and reviewed our months, since we will be returning to school in JUNE! We also talked about all we learned this week about insects, and worked on our sight words of the week. Working with “up” has given us great practice with the “u” sound, which has been a tough sound for us this year. Next, we went into the computer lab where we took turns working on the computers. We also read two fun bug books – Geez Louise! and The Bugliest Bug. These gave us great review of all of the insects, and Geez Louise! was also a great book about friendship, and we learned how to treat our friends equally. During this time, we also continued working on our frog faces that we painted earlier in the week. Today, we cut holes in the faces where the mouth would be, and inserted party blowers to make big silly tongues for the frogs. We then took the faces into Blocks and added big googly eyes. Next, we made Ants on a Log! The kids did a great job spreading the peanut butter on their own pretzels. We then had a contest to see how many ants (raisins) we could fit on our logs – which encouraged the kids to count higher and higher! We enjoyed this tasty snack, before singing a few fun songs and heading outside!
REMINDER: Bright Beginnings will be CLOSED Monday for Memorial Day.
I hope everyone has a nice long weekend! See you Tuesday!
Ms. Rachel Pre-K 2 May 26, 2010
REMINDER: Tomorrow is field day, 9:00-12:00. We will be having a cookout so you DO NOT need to pack a lunch for your child. Please remember to wear your tie-dye shirts! See you tomorrow!
Ms. Rachel
Pre-K 2 May 25, 2010
Dear Parents,
Hello! We began our day with snack, stretches, and circle time. We checked our calendar and weather, continued our discussion of our theme this week, and worked on our new sight words of the week (“up” and “we”). Not only was it excellent practice to work on our sight words, but we also got to work on the letters “u” and “w”, since these have more challenging letter sounds, and the “w” is often confused with “m”. We continued our letter and sight word work as we went into the computer lab. As the children took turns on the computers, I was able to work with each child one-on-one with their sight words, letters, and numbers. The kids also enjoyed reading books and working with a variety of manipulatives as they rotated through computers. Before going to Blocks, we also took a close look at the different kinds of spiders! Next, we went into Blocks and read two fun stories – The Very Ugly Bug and I Love Bugs! These were perfect for this week because they were fun and kept their attention, but also had great illustrations and information about the bugs. The kids’ favorites always seem to be the ant and the spider! We took an especially close look at the ant, before going to the tables to complete our ant projects from yesterday. We explored the ant’s body type, and knew we had to add six legs and two antennae to our ants. After adding them, we wrote our numbers 1-10 on them, and sang The Ants Go Marching! Our next stop was the field! The children and I were very excited to go outside and play a fun game of Mosquito Tag! We took turns being the mosquitoes and the people as we tagged each other with “mosquito bites” (circle stickers). We had a great time and the class showed excellent sportsmanship. We were then ready to come inside, cool down, drink some water, and head to lunch!
REMINDER: Thursday is Field Day, 9:00-12:00. Don’t forget to wear your tie-dye tiger shirts! J
See you tomorrow!
Ms. Rachel Pre-K 2 May 24, 2010
Dear Parents,
Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. We had a great start to our week today. We began this morning by doing stretches and sharing all of our weekend stories. Then, we enjoyed some morning snack before meeting for circle time. During circle time, we checked the calendar and weather. It was so nice to be able to put up the big sun on our weather checker today! No more rain! We also marked field day on our calendar (coming up this Thursday) and counted down how many days we have left in May. During this time, we also began discussing our theme this week – Insects, which the whole class is very excited about. Their favorite findings outside are always bugs! I wrote different bug names on the board for the class to sound out, and we took turns drawing the different kinds of bugs on the board and discussing them with the class. Next, we went into the computer lab where we took turns working on the computers. We also finished checking out our finished tie-dye shirts and putting them into our baggies. The children enjoyed seeing the variety of shirts and seeing how stripy they were! We’re the “teal tigers” so we did tie-dye stripes instead of spirals. I will be sending home the shirts today along with a note – Please have your child wear his/her tie-dye shirt to school on Thursday for field day. These shirts have NOT been washed, so be careful when washing them with other items during the first few washes. Our next stop was Blocks where we continued our insect discussion and read The Very Quiet Cricket. We explored all the different insects in the story, and tried to figure out why the cricket could not make noise. We were then delighted at the end of the story to hear the real cricket sound when he met another cricket. We then got to work on an ant project. Everyone made their own anthill out of brown construction paper. We then used our pinky fingerprints to make 10 ants on our anthill. Tomorrow, after the paint is dry, we will add legs, antennae, and numbers to our ants, as we sing The Ant Go Marching. After all of our hard work this morning, we were ready to enjoy some time outside. We stayed in the shade on Blacktop, before coming in for lunch. Congratulations to Connor, Matthew, Veronica, and Emma for getting to go to the picnic today!
See you tomorrow!
Ms. Rachel Pre-K 2 May 21, 2010
Dear Parents,
Happy Friday! I hope everyone had a nice end to the week. We had a fun and busy day. We began with snack. Then, the class did a great job doing stretches and counting to 100 at the same time! Afterward, we headed to the carpet for circle time. We checked our calendar and weather, before working on our sight words and numbers. The kids worked very hard on “to” and “the” this week, and did a great job sounding out other “T words” as well. Next, we went into the computer lab where we took turns working on the computers. We also played a VERY FUN game of Pictionary. I began by playing it with a small group, and before I knew it, the whole class was joining in. They loved it, and I was very impressed with the detail they added to their pictures. This, of course, also gave us great practice with our letter sounds, as we worked to spell the pictures. Our next stop was Blocks where we wrapped up our Pond week, and we discussed the animals found in/by the pond, and compared them to the animals that we learned about last week for Forest week. Again, I was so impressed with the amount of information the kids shared with me. I then began asking them about the different pond animals and which ones lay eggs – our favorites were the frog, turtle, fish, and duck. We then went back to our seats and drew a pond shape on our paper, with a variety of plants and animals in and around the pond. The kids then got to use blue water color to fill in their lake. These turned out so nicely! Be sure to search their pictures for the four main animals we discussed – they worked very hard on them! We ended our morning in the Science Room where we ate “eggs” and “lake water”. Of course the kids said, “EEWWWWW!!!!”, until they discovered that we were actually eating TRIX cereal and blue fruit punch. We used our cereal “eggs” as counters as we practiced some addition and subtraction. We then enjoyed eating them along with our “lake water”. J We were then off to lunch! Congratulations to Connor, Matthew, Veronica, and Olivia for getting to go to the picnic today! After lunch, we headed outside to enjoy some fun time on Mulch!
I hope everyone has a great weekend!
Ms. Rachel Pre-K 2 May 19, 2010
Dear Parents,
Happy Wednesday! We had a great start to our day! The students and I were very excited to meet the new student in our class, Veronica. Welcome to Pre-K 2 Veronica! The class was a great help showing Veronica all of our classroom routines, making sure to stop at the sticker charts! We began our morning with snack, stretches, and circle time. During circle time, we checked our calendar and yet another rainy weather day. We were happy to see that tomorrow is our fieldtrip to the Narrows Reserve! It’s also supposed to be our first sunny day this week – let’s hope so! We ended our circle time by working on our numbers and sight words of the week – “to” and “the”. Next, we went into the computer lab where we took turns working on the computers. During this time, the children requested that we play our Legos guessing game again today. I was thrilled because it gives us great practice on a variety of concepts – I asked the students sight words, letters, shapes, numbers…the more they answered correctly, the more Legos they earned! They then enjoyed building with their pile of Legos. Our next stop was Blocks where we checked on our “campfires” we made yesterday. We decided that our cotton ball “marshmallows” still didn’t look too appetizing, so it was time to make real smores! We got out our bag of real marshmallows, and first made predictions about how many marshmallows we thought were in the bag. The students’ estimations ranged from 10 – 1,000! There ended up being 40 marshmallows in the bag – plenty for us! We then had a great time getting sticky and gooey as we put together our graham crackers, melted chocolate, and warm marshmallows. Afterward, everyone needed a face wipe! J Next, we enjoyed some time outside in between the rain showers. We then came inside for Show-and-Tell.
REMINDER: Tomorrow is our fieldtrip to the Narrows Reserve, 9:00-11:30. Please arrive at school no later than 8:30. We will eat lunch when we return to Bright Beginnings.
See you tomorrow!
Ms. Rachel Pre-K 2 May 18, 2010
Dear Parents,
Hello! We began our day with snack, stretches, and circle time. During circle time, we checked our calendar, and yet another day of rainy weather. The kids are very anxious to say that we are in summer – we’re counting down the weeks! We also practiced writing our first names and last names, taking extra time on our handwriting today. We also continued our work on our sight words of the week – “to” and “the”. We marked 150 days we’ve been in school today, so we got to make a new bundle and review our numbers and place values. Next, the kids were very excited to get to go to the computer lab for the first time in a long time, due to conferences. We took turns on the computers. While the students took turns on the computers, the rest of the class wanted to play with Legos, so I made it into a game. I would show my white board to each student, with a letter, sight word, math problem, or number written on it, and if the student gave the correct answer, they earned a Lego. Everyone (of course) did such a great job, that by the end of the game, they all had a nice pile of Legos to build with. Our next stop was Blocks where we continued our work on our duck masks that we made yesterday. Today, we cut holes for the eyes, added our popsicle sticks to hold them up, and got to play our fun baby duck game. We practiced counting backward as we sang our little duck song with 8 little ducks today. We had a great time waddling around the room, as one at time I lost my baby ducks down the hill. Thank goodness, at the end of the song, all of my baby ducks came running back to me! J Afterward, we read two fun stories – a Going on a Bear Hunt pop-up book and The Rugrats Campout. These fun stories got us prepared for our next project in the Science Room – building our own campfires! Everyone got 7 different sized “logs” (paper) to begin their fire. First, they placed them in order from shortest to longest, then began stacking and gluing them. Then, they each counted out 8 pieces of “fire” (tissue paper) to glue on top of the logs. They then used cotton balls as marshmallows, glued them next to their campfire, and drew pictures of themselves holding the sticks and marshmallows. We took this opportunity to review what we learned about Smokey Bear, as well. Tomorrow, we will be making real smores in the microwave!
REMINDER: - Thursday is our fieldtrip to the Narrows Reserve, 9:00-11:30. Please arrive at school no later than 8:30.
See you tomorrow!
Ms. Rachel Pre-K 2 May 17, 2010
Dear Parents,
Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a great start to the week! We stayed very busy today and we were sure to do a few extra songs and gross motor activities, since we were cooped up inside all day! We began our morning with snack and circle time. Everyone had some fun weekend stories to share, many of which included Russell’s birthday party! I hope he gets to go down the big slide tomorrow! We then checked our calendar and dreary weather. We also worked on our new sight words this week – “to” and “the”. They did fantastic work on the “th” sound! Next, since conferences are still taking place in the computer lab, we got to enjoy some time in Library. The kids love the opportunity to go to new rooms and stations that they don’t normally get to go to. After everyone rotated through the stations, we met to discuss our theme this week – The Great Outdoors – Pond. We will continue to discuss our outdoors forest theme from last week, but also incorporate some pond activities this week. We then sang Down by the Bay, which the kids absolutely loved. They thought it was super silly, and had fun making up their own rhyming lyrics. Our next stop was Blocks where we got to make duck masks – all out of circle and ovals! I showed the children the shapes and had them try to figure out how we were going to turn these shapes into ducks – nobody guessed it! The children cut out yellow and orange circles that they ended up folding in half, and gluing onto a circular paper plate. This turned into the duck’s bill and head. Then, the students drew oval shaped eyes, and had a duck face! We ended by gluing some yarn on top. Tomorrow, we will be able to use them as masks as we sing and play a game, pretending to be baby ducks. After our masks were set to dry, we went into the science room where we practiced counting as I introduced the class to the little duck song that we will be singing and playing a game with tomorrow. They jumped right in with the song and began hiding around the classroom as I subtracted baby ducks in the song. We ended with some time at stations, before heading to lunch. Congratulations to Olivia, Emma, Emme, and Connor for getting to go to the picnic today!
See you tomorrow!
Ms. Rachel Pre-K 2 May 14, 2010
Dear Parents,
Next, since conferences were still going on in the computer lab, we got some bonus time outside on Blacktop. The class was very involved in building forts today, along with jump-roping and hula-hooping. We were very excited when we came in that it was time for our special Boonshoft Presentation. Today, “Ms. Mother Nature” visited us to tell us all about wild animals, including deer, raccoons, opossums, foxes, and squirrels. We got to explore their habitats, the foods they eat, their footprints, and even some real animal fur. Then, it was time to go to the science room. Here, we reviewed our favorite parts of the animal presentation and wrapped up our forest week. We then did a tasty activity with bananas, pretzels, and M&M’s. First, each child got pretzels to count and draw their letters with. Then, they used the pretzels to turn the banana (body) and M&M’s (eyes) into their own forest animal! There were lots of spiky porcupines and big-eared bunny rabbits! Then, we were off to lunch!
Have a great weekend!
Ms. Rachel Pre-K 2 May 13, 2010
Dear Parents,
I just wanted to give everyone a BIG THANK YOU for our great potluck today. The kids and I were very excited to see so many parents join us for our celebration, and the food was fantastic. Thank you so much for all of your hard work, and all that you’ve done for us this year. This year is coming to an end too soon, but the kids have worked so hard, and I can’t wait to hear about all of their success in kindergarten. Thanks again everyone! J
See you tomorrow!
Ms. Rachel Pre-K 2 May 12, 2010
Dear Parents,
Hello! We had a great day today! We had a surprise this morning when our rooms got shuffled around a bit due to conferences, so after snack, a quick circle time, and story, we got to go out to Blacktop! It was perfect timing, since we wanted to enjoy some time outside before the rain came. An extra bonus, was that we got to watch the mulch man continue putting down the new mulch with his big mulch blower. The kids think it’s the coolest thing! I even heard from one of the students say, “He’s the best man in the whole world,” referring to the mulch man. J After a lot of fun time on Blacktop watching the mulch, running, jump roping, and hula-hooping, we came inside to do a fun art project in Blocks. First, we imagined that we were laying in a forest and looking up, and the kids told me what they saw and what colors they were. Many saw green and brown (from the trees) and blue (from the sky). We then named our colors and what letter they started with. We then began experimenting with green paint – adding different colors to it to make it lighter, darker, or change color all together. We got to use these many shades of green to create beautiful forest pictures. The children used their fingerprints and handprints to fill the top half of their papers with green (from the trees). They then did a fantastic job drawing tree trunks under their green paint, and writing their names up their tree trunks. They turned out so nice! Next, after some time on carpet crawling through the bear cave, we went into the science room for show-and-tell. We also read two stories where we got to explore animal babies, and work on our letter sounds. Then, we were off to lunch!
REMINDER: Tomorrow is our end-of-the-year potluck! The kids can’t wait to show you our pictures, do art projects with you, and eat lunch with you! It begins at 11:00 and will go until about 12:30. Hope to see everyone there!
Ms. RachelPre-K 2 May 11, 2010
Dear Parents,
Hello! I hope everyone had a nice day, despite the rain! We stayed very busy inside today. We began our morning with snack and circle time. I was so proud of the students today during circle time. They worked SO HARD distinguishing the difference between the days of the week, the month, and the season. They also did a fantastic job writing their numbers, including the big 147, which is the number of days we’ve been in school. Along with writing their numbers, they were spelling their sight words of the week (“see” and “so”) all by themselves and writing them. Next, the preschool had a break in conferences, so we got to use the computer lab today. During this time, we took turns working on the computers and drawing on white boards. They love drawing pictures on the white board, and then transferring the pictures to a piece of paper. J We also took this time to sound out the words for the book pages we were working on yesterday – Pre-K, Pre-K, What Do You See? - similar to Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? The class, of course, saw a variety of wild things in their books, and did a nice job sounding out their words today. Our next stop was Blocks where we continued our discussion of our forest theme. We reviewed the bears that we discussed yesterday, and the birds we discussed today (mostly the chickadee and owl). We then read a Berenstain Bears book, before working on a bird project. We compared a picture of a chickadee and an owl, and discussed their similarities and differences. We discovered the many ways that birds can be different, but both of these birds had a beak, feathers, and two feet. We each then drew a bird in the center of a piece of paper. We then used feathers to paint the rest of the picture – the sky, tree, and grass. We ended by going to the science room where we got to enjoy the new stations there. The kids love them!!! Their favorite parts are the cars, ramps, and cardboard boxes. Nothing better than a box! J They turned these into houses, costumes, ramps, and more! We were then off to lunch! Congratulations to Emma, Matthew, Olivia, and Deven for getting to go to the picnic today!
REMINDER: - Thursday is our end-of-the-year potluck. I’m really looking forward to it – the preschool ones have gone very well so far. It starts at 11 and will go until about 12:30. You can bring in the food the same day. Hope to see everyone there!
Ms. Rachel Pre-K 2 May 7, 2010
Dear Parents,
Happy Friday! I hope everyone had a nice end to the week! We had a fun start to our morning. All of the classes stayed on Blacktop while the kids were eating breakfast with their mommies. I loved seeing them run out – so excited about giving their presents to their mommies and telling me all about it. You will have to fill me in on Monday about whether or not the kids really do all that they wrote on their flower stems! They definitely enjoyed all of the Mother’s Day projects and activities. They also enjoyed this bonus time on Blacktop this morning. J Once we came inside, we took a brief turn in the computer lab where we worked on the computers. We also worked on our handwriting and color words. Next, we went into Blocks where we continued our discussion about all of the life cycles we have discussed this week. We talked more today about the human life cycle, and more specifically – big birthdays! Today we talked about the Sweet 16! There was a question on the 5-year assessments about the driving age, and today, almost everyone knew what it was! We practiced writing the number 16, then began talking about what will be going on in our lives when we turn 16. They were excited that they would be getting close to high school graduation – it’s so hard to imagine…they’ll probably all be taller than me! We then began talking about learning how to drive and getting our first car, which they were super excited about! We then made our own key chains which I told them to save until they turn 16. Each child drew a picture on the key chain of them driving their first car! Next, we took a fun paper airplane break, before going into the science room to work with our 100’s jars. We worked with our groups of 10, addition, and subtraction. The class really enjoys math, and did an excellent job today! We then enjoyed some time on Mulch, before coming in for lunch. Once again, everyone earned the picnic today! J
REMINDER: Thursday, May 13, 11:00-12:30, is our end-of-the-year potluck. I can’t believe how quickly the year is winding down! Thank you so much to all that have signed up for it. We hope to see everyone there!
I hope everyone has a nice Mother’s Day weekend!
Ms. Rachel Pre-K 2 May 6, 2010
Dear Parents,
Hello! I hope everyone enjoyed their day as much as we did! We were on a roll today – earning SO MANY tickets and prizes!! We had a great start to our morning in Big Room where we checked our calendar and weather. The kids were also talking a lot about horses this morning, so we had a horse drawing contest, though we agreed that they were all the best! We then practiced our sight words and sentence structure as everyone wrote a sentence on their white board with their picture – “Suzy is on the horse.” We then did some math work, before heading to the computer lab. Once in the computer lab, we had lots and lots of tickets to pass out. We then took turns working on the computers, and finally getting everyone’s Mother’s Day presents completely finished. They worked very hard on these, and can’t wait to show you! Next, we enjoyed some fun time on Mulch with the other preschool and Pre-K classes, before coming into the science room. In the science room, we checked on our sunflower seeds, which are definitely coming along. We then practiced making a life cycle on the board, and filling in different life stages for different living things – such as humans, plants, and butterflies. We then made our own life cycles on paper from the frog pictures we had cut out yesterday. I was super impressed by the hard work the students put into these projects. They were so careful when placing the different stages of the frog around their circle, and drawing their own arrows for the cycle. They look great! After working so hard and picking even more prizes out of the prize box, we were off to lunch! Congratulations to Taylor, Deven, Matthew, and Lincoln for getting to go to the picnic today!
REMINDER: Tomorrow is our Mother’s Day Bagel and Banana Breakfast, 7:00-8:30. Hope to see you there!
Ms. Rachel Pre-K 2 May 5, 2010
Dear Parents,
Next, we briefly stopped in the science room to discuss our Cinco de Mayo activities, before heading to the computer lab. In the computer lab, we took turns working on the computers. I also got to work on Mother’s Day projects with students who have not been here this week. We continued working on these as we went into Blocks. Afterward, we checked on our butterflies and sunflower seeds as we discussed the life cycles. We then reviewed the frog’s life cycles. The class did an excellent job describing each stage. They then got to cut out pictures of the frog at each stage – egg, tadpole, tadpole with legs, froglet, and frog. Tomorrow, we will glue these pictures onto paper to create our own cycle. Our next stop was the science room where we did Show-and-Tell. We had lots of fun games and cars today. We had a great time playing with our show-and-tells, before heading to lunch. The whole class got to enjoy another picnic today! J Afterward, we went outside to enjoy some time on Blacktop.
See you tomorrow!
Ms. Rachel Pre-K 2 April 30, 2010
Dear Parents,
Happy Friday! I hope everyone had a great day! We got a lot done today. We began with snack and circle time. After checking our calendar and weather, we did a lot of sight word work and letter/sound practice. That “Y” is still a tricky one! The kids are also doing an awesome job with their numbers! One glance at my numbers, and they’re noticing on their own when they have a number reversed, and they insist on going back and correcting it. Great work everyone! Next, we went into the computer lab where we took turns on the computers. I also worked with each child on his Mother’s Day card. The cards are very close to completion. J However, there was a delay in the shipment of our projects for our Mother’s Day presents, so we have still not been able to begin those. I’m hoping they will arrive Monday, and we will be working very hard to get them completed in time for our Mother’s Day breakfast on Friday! Next, we went into Blocks where we finished our butterfly hallway art projects. I am so proud of the students for their patience in cutting these out. We had to cut circles inside of the butterflies, so it was very challenging for them to do that inside cutting. They didn’t get frustrated, they took their time, and the butterflies turned out beautifully. After completing our butterflies, we filled up our watering cans with water and went outside. We will eventually use these watering cans to take care of our Pre-K 2 garden, but we thought we’d get some practice with them today as we worked with sunflower seeds. We went outside and used the watering cans to get our paper towels wet. We then folded the paper towels, placed our seeds inside, and put the whole thing into a baggie. We will hang these in the window, and closely watch to see what happens over the next several days. They will then be sent home, and I told the kids they could even try to plant them in the ground! Afterward, we enjoyed some time outside, before heading in for lunch. Congratulations to Tyler, Lincoln, Deven, and Connor for getting to go to our picnic today!
REMINDERS: - Wednesday, May 5, is our Cinco de Mayo Fiesta which is being sponsored by our class. I know there was a bit of confusion about the sign-up sheet - the celebration is on Wednesday, but please bring in the donated items by Monday, if possible. Thank you! :-) - Thursday, May 13, is our End-of-the-Year Potluck, 11-12:30. - Both sign up sheets are currently on our class bulletin board. Thank you so much for signing up! :-) - Next Friday, May 7, is our Mother’s Day Bagel and Banana Breakfast, 7-8:30. Hope to see you there!
I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!
Ms. Rachel Pre-K 2 April 29, 2010
Dear Parents,
Hello! What a busy day we had today. We have a couple big projects going on right now, that are very time consuming, and the kids are working super hard! I’m very proud of them. We got right to work on them this morning in Big Room. After snack, I met with small groups to work on their Mother’s Day cards. Then, we met at circle time and checked our calendar and weather. We were very excited to see that we were going to have nice weather to enjoy after all of our hard work! Next, we went into the computer lab where we took turns on the computers. We also continued our work on our Mother’s Day cards and began working on our May hallway art projects. We’re making butterflies! We’re making them out of construction paper, tissue paper, and pipe cleaners. The kids worked very hard on these. We took the time in computer lab to cut up tissue paper squares to go behind the holes in our butterflies. Then, we began tracing and cutting out our butterflies. We took our butterflies to Blocks to continue our hard work. After the children cut out their butterfly shapes, I poked holes in their butterflies for them to use to cut out their circles. This was a great work out for our fine motor skills! We then backed our circles with the tissue paper – making the butterflies very colorful. We ended by adding antennae with pipe cleaners. Tomorrow, we will finish these up with some glitter! Afterward, we went outside to take some pictures. We got a class picture for our end-of-the-year potluck, we also got individual pictures for a Mother’s Day surprise. J We then enjoyed some free time on Mulch, before heading into lunch. Congratulations to Dominic, Olivia, Madelynn, and Alaina for getting to go to the picnic today!
REMINDERS: - Next Wednesday, May 5, is our Cinco de Mayo Fiesta which is being sponsored by our class. I know there was a bit of confusion about the sign-up sheet - the celebration is on Wednesday, but please bring in the donated items by Monday, if possible. Thank you! :-) - Thursday, May 13, is our End-of-the-Year Potluck, 11-12:30. - Both sign up sheets are currently on our class bulletin board. Thank you so much for signing up! :-) - Next Friday, May 7, is our Mother’s Day Bagel and Banana Breakfast, 7-8:30. Hope to see you there!
See you tomorrow!
Ms. Rachel Pre-K 2 April 28, 2010
Dear Parents,
Happy Wednesday! We began our day with snack and circle time. During circle time, we checked our calendar and weather. The kids are doing an amazing job counting the days we’ve been in school – all the way up to 140! Not only are they counting this high, but they’re continuing to do a great job identifying the 100’s place, 10’s place, and 1’s place. They knew exactly what to do when it was time to make our new bundle of 10 to make 140. We also reviewed the sight words we have worked on so far, and continued our work on our two sight words of the week – “me” and “my”. This also gave us a great opportunity to work on the individual letters that are often tricky for us - M/W and Y. The kids were talking about ships, so we also did some work with the “sh” sound! Next, we went into the computer lab where we took turns working on the computers. We also began working on our Mother’s Day cards. We continued working on our cards as we went into Blocks. We came a long way on them today – I was very proud of the class. Of course I can’t give away too much…but the kids are putting a lot of thought into the cards and getting great practice with their cutting skills! After our Mother’s Day work in Blocks, we went into the science room for Show-and-Tell. We had several new Show-and-Tells today which are always fun to see. We also had a story share time. Everyone was very anxious to hear from Dominic who just returned today from vacation! J Next, we ended our day outside with some fun time on Mulch. We also got to celebrate with Taylor as he went down the Big Kid Slide today for the first time! Happy Birthday Taylor!
Congratulations to Russell, Deven, Olivia, and Kendall for getting to go to the picnic today!
REMINDERS: - Next Wednesday, May 5, is our Cinco de Mayo Fiesta which is being sponsored by our class. - Thursday, May 13, is our End-of-the-Year Potluck, 11-12:30. - Both sign up sheets are currently on our class bulletin board. Thank you so much for signing up! :-) - Next Friday, May 7, is our Mother’s Day Bagel and Banana Breakfast, 7-8:30. Hope to see you there!
See you tomorrow!
Ms. Rachel Pre-K 2 April 27, 2010
Dear Parents,
Happy Tuesday! We had a busy day today. We began our morning with some station time in Big Room. The kids really enjoyed the drawing station today where they began cutting many neat designs out of paper – they even did a nice job cleaning up the huge cutting mess! J Afterward, we did our stretches, calendar, and weather. We’re almost to May! We then worked on writing our numbers and sight words of the week – “me” and “my”. Next, we went into the computer lab where we took turns on the computers. We also read some of the class’ favorite stories, including I’m a Little Teapot. During this time, we also had a visit from Mr. Mailbox who was so excited to see that we had made him so many neat drawing and cutting pictures. He also had some surprises for us…including some clues to a frog project we would get to do in Blocks! Once in Blocks, we continued our discussion of our theme this week, including some of the sounds we hear in the spring. We all made some frog sounds, then practiced counting backward as we sang the speckled frog song and “jumped” into the pond. Once we were all frogs in the pond, we hopped over to the tables for a tasty frog snack. First, each child got eight M&M’s to count and sort. We compared all of our piles, before eating all of the colors except for brown – the brown was going to be our frogs’ eyes! We then made frog floats out of Sprite, ice cream, and green food coloring. They loved watching all of the bubbles! We then finished it off with our two brown M&M eyes. Unfortunately, the kids didn’t like the taste of it too much, so many of them stirred it a bit, then ate some green ice cream! Next, we went into the science room where we played a fun spring picnic game, similar to Who’s Missing? We sang the The Ants Go Marching as our picnic "ants" carried our friends away, and the friends had to guess who was under our tablecloth. Then, it was time for lunch. Congratulations to Matthew, Olivia, Deven, and Emma for getting to go to the picnic today! Afterward, we headed out for some fun time on Mulch!
REMINDERS: - Next Wednesday, May 5, is our Cinco de Mayo Fiesta which is being sponsored by our class. - Thursday, May 13, is our End-of-the-Year Potluck, 11-12:30. - Both sign up sheets are currently on our class bulletin board. Thank you so much for signing up! :-) - Next Friday, May 7, is our Mother’s Day Bagel and Banana Breakfast, 7-8:30. Hope to see you there!
See you tomorrow!
Ms. Rachel Pre-K 2 April 26, 2010
Dear Parents,
Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a nice weekend. I think the kids were still wound up from all of their parties over the weekend! They were bursting with energy this morning, and couldn’t wait to tell me all of their exciting party stories. Sounds like they all went very well. Once we got settled, we had snack, stretches, and circle time. We checked our calendar and gloomy weather. We knew we’d keep a keep a close eye on that weather throughout the day in hopes of getting Emme down that Big Kid Slide! We also went over our theme this week (Springtime) and our new sight words of the week – “me” and “my”. I also let the children know that we had a few special projects to begin working on this week – our new May hallway art, and our Mother’s Day gifts! Next, we went into the computer lab where we took turns on the computers. The kids were so excited about our secret surprise Mother’s Day gifts, that they also began making cards and pictures for their mommies. But don’t worry, you have bigger Mother’s Day gifts coming soon! J We also decided that since it was Springtime we would also review our clocks and telling time. We drew a clock on our white board, and used the clock during the rest of the day to draw our minute and hour hands as we switched rooms. Our next stop was Blocks where we continued working on our Springtime theme this week. I told the kids that I had a clue in my hand that told me that they were almost in kindergarten! I had drawing paper in my hand, but it had writing lines on it too! I knew they could do it. I first demonstrated for them how I drew a picture which showed all my favorite things about spring. I then picked out the key words, and wrote them on my lines, with the class helping me sound out the words. It went very well, and I was so proud of the students as they worked on their own pictures. Many of the students enjoy playing in clubhouses, riding bikes, and seeing rainbows! Next, we had a little break from the rain, so we quickly enjoyed some time outside and cheered Emme on as she made her first trip down the Big Kid Slide. When we came inside, we got to eat some of her delicious cupcakes that she brought in for us. Thank you Emme! Happy 5th Birthday! When we were done, we had just enough time for a story, before heading to lunch.
See you tomorrow!
Ms. Rachel Pre-K 2 April 23, 2010
Dear Parents,
Happy Friday! We had a fantastic day! Our attendance was very low this morning, so I let the children take their time at the stations in Big Room and eat snack. Then, we came over to circle time where we checked calendar and weather. There are three birthday parties this weekend! The children and I were also very happy to have one last day of nice weather before all of the rain comes this weekend. We then worked on our sight words and math, before heading to the computer lab. In computer lab, the kids were excited that I gave them a tiny bit of bonus time on the computers, since we did not have a full class today. During this time, we also read stories, and worked on our letter sounds and sight words. Next, we went into Blocks where we reviewed our theme this week – Recycling/Earth Day. We discussed all that we did for our earth this week – cleaning up litter, recycling, and saving our trees! We also mentioned how important it is to continue doing these things, not just for this week. I told the children that each and every one of them had left an important mark on the earth, and we took a look at a picture of our earth. We identified the land, water, and named the continents and oceans. We then got to make our own. Since each one of us has left a mark on the earth, we used our fingerprints to fill our earth pictures with blue and green. They did a very nice job. We had such a nice morning, that Mr. Mailbox was getting very full of tickets! We went into the science room so that everyone could count their tickets, and every student had enough for a prize! J We then took our prizes outside for some fun time on Blacktop. Then, we came in to get ready for lunch, but I surprised the kids with a picnic outside! Everyone earned the picnic today!
I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. Enjoy all of the birthday parties!
Ms. Rachel Pre-K 2 April 22, 2010
Dear Parents,
Happy Earth Day! We had a great day today. We began with snack and circle time. We reviewed the concepts and activities we’ve done this week concerning recycling and Earth Day. The kids seem to truly care about our earth and have been very enthusiastic about recycling this week. During calendar, we marked Earth Day, looked at our upcoming birthdays, and checked the number of days we’ve been in school. We also checked our weather and were very happy to have another sunny morning! We then continued our work on our sight words of the week and our handwriting. Next, we went into the computer lab and worked on the computers. We also read a couple of stories, including one of the kids’ favorites – Jorge el Curioso. It’s Curious George in Spanish, and they follow along really well. It helps both the kids and me with our Spanish, and we pick up a few new words each time! Afterward, we went into Blocks where the kids were very excited to eat dirt and worms for Earth Day! First, they helped me measure and mix the ingredients for chocolate pudding. Then, we let out all of our frustrations on a big bag of Oreos – pounding them and squeezing them until they looked like a big bag of dirt. Then, came the worms! Each child got several different colored gummy worms, and before burying them in the dirt, we did some color activities with them, and used them to build letters. Then, it was finally time to eat our delicious snack! Our next stop was Mulch. The kids enjoyed some time with the other Preschool and Pre-K classes. They also got great exercise, as many of the students chose to play running games! We then went over to Blacktop and field where we took an Earth Day walk. The classes have been doing such a great job on their litter walks, that there was not much trash out there for us to pick up. But we talked about the trees, the flowers, and the ground, and the importance of taking care of them. Each child then picked their favorite tree and told us why they would not ever want the tree chopped down. After our walk, we were off to lunch! Congratulations to Matthew, Olivia, Emme, and Lincoln for getting to go to the picnic today. We continued recycling and adding to our foil ball. Each child who earned a sticker, also got to eat a bonus Oreo cookie after lunch. We then went outside to Blacktop to play in the forts and practice our jump roping.
See you tomorrow!
Ms. Rachel Pre-K 2 April 20, 2010
Dear Parents,
Hello! We began our morning with snack, morning song and stretches, and circle time. During circle time, we checked our weather and calendar. We have two more birthdays coming up very soon! We also worked on our numbers and sight words of the week. We did a chant as we spelled our sight words. Then, we practiced using them in sentences. The kids were very excited about our visit from Mr. Mailbox – he let us keep our tickets in there from yesterday so we had a jump start today! He also gave us clues to some exciting activities coming up this week! He showed us pictures of a kite – we’re going to get to fly kites at the park tomorrow! He also showed us a picture of dirt and worms…we’re going to get to eat some delicious dirt and worms on Thursday for Earth Day! (chocolate pudding, Oreos, and gummy worms) Next, we went into the computer lab where we took turns on the computers. I also worked with students on their letter sounds and counting, while children worked at blocks stations. Afterward, we headed outside to enjoy some time with the other Preschool and Pre-K classes. My class has quite the eye for litter now! They were sure to bring me any cup or bead they may have found on mulch. Great help everyone! We then got to come inside to the science room to continue our discussion on the effects of littering. I showed the children a rubber band, then pretended to clamp my mouth shut – they could see that I could not talk, but more importantly, could not eat or drink! We then compared this to people littering, and animals suffering from it. Especially if they were to get their mouths or heads stuck in plastic rings (such as the plastic rings around pop cans). We then did an experiment where we looped a rubber band over the backs over our hands, and tried to get it off without using the other hand. If not impossible, it was extremely difficult. This showed us how animals might feel if they were stuck in a plastic ring. Before throwing away our rubber bands, we were sure cut them so that they were no longer in a circle shape. Then, we were off to lunch! The class is continuing to do a great job sorting their lunch items into recyclable piles and trash. J
REMINDERS: - Fieldtrip tomorrow to Shoup Park, 9:00-11:00. Please arrive at school no later than 8:30. - Our Potluck Lunch Sign-Up sheet has now been posted on our class bulletin board. Thank you so much for your help! Hope to see everyone there!
Ms. Rachel Pre-K 2 April 19, 2010
Dear Parents,
Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a nice weekend. We began our morning with snack and a time to share all of our weekend stories. Many of the students saw the airplanes yesterday! We then rotated through the stations and met for circle time. During circle time, we checked our calendar and weather. We counted 134 days we have been in school! We also practiced writing our first names and our last names, as well as our new sight words of the week – “it” and “like”. They all agreed that “like” was a pretty big word, but they did an excellent job sounding it out and using it in sentences. Lastly, we discussed our theme this week – Recycling, and also Earth Day coming up this week. Each child went around the room and found paper and plastic items, and I showed them aluminum foil. We will have a bin this week to help us recycle our paper and plastic items from our lunchboxes. We will also be making a foil ball and measuring it throughout the week – in case you want to pack a couple extra things in foil this week. J Next, we went into the computer lab where we took turns on the computers. While the students worked on the computers, I took turns working with smaller groups playing a letter sound matching game. If the student made three matches, he/she earned a ticket in Mr. Mailbox! Afterward, we headed to Blocks where we talked about the importance of not wasting paper, and ways to save our trees. I was so proud of Alaina and Olivia – they wanted to draw pictures and they decided on their own to share a piece of paper and draw on the front and back, so that they did not waste any paper! We talked about the many uses for trees, and how important they are. The class came up with a great list: - Trees can be…used for food (fruit for animals or people). - Trees can be…used for shelter (protecting animals from the rain and cold). - Trees can be…a great place for a tree house! - Trees can be…a fun place to climb. The class then used this list to draw their own pictures of ways trees can be used if they are not chopped down to make paper. Their pictures are incredible and will soon be hung up at school. They even sounded our their own words to add to their drawings. Next, we went outside where we took a walk around the trees at school and looked at the different kinds. After getting a class picture in front of the trees, we enjoyed some time on Blacktop before coming in for lunch. We had so many friends earn tickets today that we had five students picked for the picnic today. Congratulations, Emma, Matthew, Emme, Deven, and Tyler! After lunch, the class got to help Ms. Melissa’s class pick up some litter on the playground. I only asked them to do it for a few minutes, but they wanted to keep going! They were great helpers for our earth!
REMINDERS: - Beginning tomorrow, our Potluck sign-up sheet will be posted on our class bulletin board. - Wednesday is our Earth Day Clean-Up Fieldtrip to Shoup Park, 9:00-11:00. Please arrive at school no later than 8:30.
See you tomorrow!
Ms. Rachel Pre-K 2 April 12, 2010
Dear Parents,
Happy Monday! We had a great start to our week today! We began the morning with snack and dinosaur stretches. The kids were very excited to hear that our theme this week is dinosaurs, and they were even more excited to do stretching, running, and stomping like dinosaurs! We then sat down for circle time where the class did an exceptional job on calendar and sight words work. Our sight words of the week are “in” and “is”. The class seemed to have an extra amount of weekend stories to share with us today, and they all did a fantastic job locking their stories in their hands, and waiting until the end of circle time to open up their story books and share all of their fun weekend adventures with us. We had such a great start to our morning that everyone earned a ticket when we went into the computer lab. We also took turns on the computers, decorated Mr. Mailbox, and played a new Football Math game. The kids really enjoyed solving math problems as they worked to move their helmets down the football field to score a Touchdown. They were also excellent sports when they got sent backward when a teammate solved a subtraction problem correctly! Next, we went into Blocks where we continued our discussion on dinosaurs. We talked about the different kinds (the kids can name more of them than I can!) and we discussed carnivores and herbivores. Everyone then got to make their own Shoe-a-saurus! We traced our shoes, glued our footprints onto a piece of paper, then added legs, tails, wings, teeth, etc. to turn them into our own Shoe-a-sauruses! They were all very unique and the kids were very descriptive when talking about them. I then asked them what their Shoe-a-sauruses liked to eat and asked them to write it on their papers. Next, we got to celebrate Olivia’s 5th Birthday! Happy Birthday Olivia! Thank you for the delicious cupcakes and juice. We were all happy to celebrate with her, then join her outside as she took her first trip down the Big Kid Slide. We enjoyed some more time outside, before heading in for lunch. Except…I surprised the kids by taking them right back outside for a picnic! Everyone had such a great morning and earned tickets in Mr. Mailbox, that I thought we all deserved a fun picnic outside!
Have a nice evening!
Ms. Rachel Pre-K 2 April 9, 2010
Dear Parents,
Happy Friday! We began our morning with snack and circle time. During circle time we did our calendar and weather. Our school count is at 130 days today, so the kids were excited to make a new bundle of 10! They have been doing a great job identifying the 100’s group, the 10’s group, and the 1’s group. We also played a fun game using shapes and our sight words of the week. Everyone did a great job drawing their shapes, writing their sight words using lowercase D’Nealian handwriting, and sounding out the names of their shapes. Next, we went into the computer lab where we took turns on the computers. We also worked on spring stories that we will continue working on next week. By the time we were finished in the computer lab, everyone had already earned at least one ticket! The students were very excited to be filling up Mr. Mailbox, and they even got to decorate him today! Our next stop was Blocks where we read, Max Goes to the Doctor. We followed Max as he went through a very healthy check-up. Afterward, we reviewed the good foods and exercises we talked about yesterday, and I asked the students what we need to help us grow and make our bones and teeth strong. They knew the answer…milk! We talked about calcium, and named some other foods we can eat to get calcium, including cheese and yogurt. Everyone drew a picture of these items, before heading over to the table for a milk experiment! Each child got a cup of milk and was able to add food coloring to do some color experiments – mixing colors and predicting what they would be. Then, I asked them to mix colors in a new cup of milk to make chocolate milk. We got some pretty chocolaty looking milk, but of course none of them tasted like chocolate! Fortunately, I surprised them with some chocolate syrup so that they could create some real and tasty chocolate milk! Next, we went outside to enjoy some sunshine, though it was a bit chilly! Then, we came inside to play our second round of Healthy Land. The kids have absolutely mastered the healthy and non-healthy foods and activities, and they are doing a great job doing the addition to add up their numbers on their dice! We cheered on our friends and enjoyed the game until lunch. Congratulations to Matthew, Connor, Taylor, and Tyler for getting to go to the picnic today!
Have a great weekend!
Ms. Rachel Pre-K 2 April 8, 2010
Dear Parents,
Hello! We had a great day working on our theme this week. The kids told me all about germs and their visits to the doctor’s office and dentist’s office. But first, we had snack and circle time. During circle time, we did our calendar, sight words of the week (working extra hard on that lowercase “h” in “he”), counted the days we’ve been in school, and practiced writing our numbers. More and more students are starting to notice on their own when they have written a number backward. Next, we went into the computer lab where we took turns on the computers. We also played a beanbag game on the carpet where the children practiced taking turns tossing it to one another. Once a child had the beanbag, they then had to place it on a part of their body, tell us what that body part does, what it is used for, and if they have ever had to go to the doctor or dentist because of it. They really enjoyed telling all of their stories, and seeing what life would be like if we could not bend our arms and knees. We discovered that we would have a very hard time sitting down, feeding ourselves, or brushing our hair! Our next stop was Blocks where we read My Doctor, My Friend. Afterward we discussed our own doctors and began talking about germs. We pretended to sneeze and we talked about the best way to handle a sneeze without spreading germs. We also talked about how much healthier it is to get a tissue for your nose, rather than a finger! J We learned some new hand washing songs, and practiced washing our hands before working on our art project. Everyone made tissue buddies today. Each child made a face on a paper plate, complete with yarn hair. At the end, everyone glued a tissue over their tissue buddy’s nose. The kids thought this was pretty silly, but it’s always important to practice ways to stay healthy! Our last stop was the science room where I got to pass out lots of prizes. Mr. Mailbox has never been as full of prizes as he was today! Over half of the class received at least three tickets and turned them in for a prize! Then, we got to play Healthy Land. The kids were so excited to see this giant game which is similar to Candy Land. We sorted the game pieces by Friendly Foods, Monster Foods, Mr. Energy, and Mr. Lazy Bones. Then, we began moving around the board – we advanced spaces if we landed on a Friendly Food or Mr. Energy (good exercise), and went back spaces if we landed on a Monster Food or Mr. Lazy Bones activity. The kids loved this game and showed great sportsmanship. We ran out of time, so I told the kids we could definitely play again tomorrow! Since we had so many students earning tickets today, I drew an extra ticket during lunchtime. Congratulations to Madelynn, Taylor, Lincoln, Emma, and Matthew for getting to go to the picnic today!
Have a nice evening!
Ms. Rachel |
