Pre-K News!
January 24th, 2013
Dear Parents,
It was wonderful returning to school on Thursday, after being sick, to find a room of happy faces. I thank Sarah for covering on Tuesday despite feeling poorly herself, and Christy Reardon who coordinated substitutes for the two of us on Wednesday. Everyone pitched in and took good care of the children, while transitioning lesson plans and activities seamlessly! I should be sick more often!
On Tuesday, the children were introduced to author and illustrator, Kevin Henkes. In many of his books, Henkes addresses common issues (friendship, jealousy, adding a new sibling, giving away a favorite 'blankie', dealing with imaginary friends, etc.) through expressive mouse characters. The situations and illustrations capture feelings that everyone encounters at one time or another. During the week, children heard some of his classic tales. Chrysanthemum is about a mouse who loves her long name until friends begin to tease. As a follow up activity, the children wrote and graphed the letters in their names and found that the letter ‘N’ occurs most often in our class. After reading Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse, in which Mr. Slinger takes away Lilly's favorite possession at school, the children decorated purple 'purses' and added favorite items. The children also heard, Wemberly Worried, Julian, Baby of the World, Kitten's Full Moon, Little White Rabbit, A Weekend with Wendell, and Lilly’s Big Day. Unfortunately, with the short week and illness, we did not get through all of our favorites, so we will try to fit the rest in next week.
In addition we worked on the letter ‘P’ with pizza making, pattern work, counting pink pigs on P’s, and handwriting. The children wrote in journals and celebrated tonight’s possible snowfall with the creation of snow-friends for our hallways.
NOTES:
Sue and Sarah
It was wonderful returning to school on Thursday, after being sick, to find a room of happy faces. I thank Sarah for covering on Tuesday despite feeling poorly herself, and Christy Reardon who coordinated substitutes for the two of us on Wednesday. Everyone pitched in and took good care of the children, while transitioning lesson plans and activities seamlessly! I should be sick more often!
On Tuesday, the children were introduced to author and illustrator, Kevin Henkes. In many of his books, Henkes addresses common issues (friendship, jealousy, adding a new sibling, giving away a favorite 'blankie', dealing with imaginary friends, etc.) through expressive mouse characters. The situations and illustrations capture feelings that everyone encounters at one time or another. During the week, children heard some of his classic tales. Chrysanthemum is about a mouse who loves her long name until friends begin to tease. As a follow up activity, the children wrote and graphed the letters in their names and found that the letter ‘N’ occurs most often in our class. After reading Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse, in which Mr. Slinger takes away Lilly's favorite possession at school, the children decorated purple 'purses' and added favorite items. The children also heard, Wemberly Worried, Julian, Baby of the World, Kitten's Full Moon, Little White Rabbit, A Weekend with Wendell, and Lilly’s Big Day. Unfortunately, with the short week and illness, we did not get through all of our favorites, so we will try to fit the rest in next week.
In addition we worked on the letter ‘P’ with pizza making, pattern work, counting pink pigs on P’s, and handwriting. The children wrote in journals and celebrated tonight’s possible snowfall with the creation of snow-friends for our hallways.
NOTES:
- Next week's letter is 'B' with Show and Tell on Thursday or Friday. We will begin a sea life unit.
- Monday: Gathering and science
- Tuesday: PE and Art
- Wednesday: Spanish
- Thursday: Meeting for Worship, Music and PE
- Friday: Library and Music
- We are looking for empty baby food jars. If you have any, please send them in. Thanks!
- Thanks to Yoki and Rossana for their help coordinating the upcoming field trip to Camden. We have received a generous number of interested volunteers! Unfortunately, we are unable to take a large number. Some of you have asked whether it is OK to drive separately and join us at the aquarium. Thank you all for your support, but in this case we are limiting the number of volunteers to three. Sorry for any inconvenience! We are confident that everyone interested will be able to join us for at least one or two trips this year.
Sue and Sarah
Pre-K News!
January 18th, 2013
Dear Parents,
It was a pleasure working with your children this week as we explored diversity. Sarah began the week talking with the children about similarities and differences, and exploring peaceful ways to get along and work together despite our unique ideas and experiences. Mrs. Willie then told us a story about the unique gifts that each of us have to offer.
To honor Dr. Martin Luther King, we read two books, including Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King, by Jean Marzolo, and Martin’s Big Words, by Doreen Rappaport. We joined a silent Peace March on Thursday before Meeting for Worship. Kindergarten led the way with Peace Posters, banners, and the ringing of bells. We followed along to the Meeting Room where we listened to parts of Dr. King’s, I Have a Dream speech, sang songs, and had a quiet Meeting for Worship. Children illustrated and dictated ideas about their own dreams for the world that are hanging in the hallway.
The books, The Colors of Us, by Karen Katz, and All the Colors of the Earth, by Sheila Hamanaka celebrate beautiful skin tones. We matched our skin tones to paint color, paper and crayons, and compared them to foods we love. We read, My Head is Full of Colors, by Catherine Friend, which inspired us to think about and draw the things that are special to us. The book, The Sneeches, inspired a discussion about equality. Cracking open and exploring the insides of brown and white eggs led to the understanding that many things that are different on the outside are the same on the inside, including us!
A special treat this week was a visit from Cole’s dad, Joe Captain, who is a landscape architect. He brought in special tools and architectural plans from some of his projects! They were beautiful, and it was great to learn about the equipment he uses, and the many different jobs that go into the creation of a landscape! Thank you, Joe!
We wrote in journals, worked with ipads, and celebrated the letter ‘D’ with dot counting, donut making out of Playdough (rolling and pinching), listening for the ‘D’ sound in words, practicing ‘D’s in our handwriting journals, and dancing! Now, we are ready for a three-day weekend!
On Monday, you are invited to join us at school for a service project at 10:30. We will make lunches for Emmanuel Dining Room. Pre-k’s job is to decorate the lunch bags/
Have a wonderful three-day weekend!
Sue and Sarah
Notes:
It was a pleasure working with your children this week as we explored diversity. Sarah began the week talking with the children about similarities and differences, and exploring peaceful ways to get along and work together despite our unique ideas and experiences. Mrs. Willie then told us a story about the unique gifts that each of us have to offer.
To honor Dr. Martin Luther King, we read two books, including Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King, by Jean Marzolo, and Martin’s Big Words, by Doreen Rappaport. We joined a silent Peace March on Thursday before Meeting for Worship. Kindergarten led the way with Peace Posters, banners, and the ringing of bells. We followed along to the Meeting Room where we listened to parts of Dr. King’s, I Have a Dream speech, sang songs, and had a quiet Meeting for Worship. Children illustrated and dictated ideas about their own dreams for the world that are hanging in the hallway.
The books, The Colors of Us, by Karen Katz, and All the Colors of the Earth, by Sheila Hamanaka celebrate beautiful skin tones. We matched our skin tones to paint color, paper and crayons, and compared them to foods we love. We read, My Head is Full of Colors, by Catherine Friend, which inspired us to think about and draw the things that are special to us. The book, The Sneeches, inspired a discussion about equality. Cracking open and exploring the insides of brown and white eggs led to the understanding that many things that are different on the outside are the same on the inside, including us!
A special treat this week was a visit from Cole’s dad, Joe Captain, who is a landscape architect. He brought in special tools and architectural plans from some of his projects! They were beautiful, and it was great to learn about the equipment he uses, and the many different jobs that go into the creation of a landscape! Thank you, Joe!
We wrote in journals, worked with ipads, and celebrated the letter ‘D’ with dot counting, donut making out of Playdough (rolling and pinching), listening for the ‘D’ sound in words, practicing ‘D’s in our handwriting journals, and dancing! Now, we are ready for a three-day weekend!
On Monday, you are invited to join us at school for a service project at 10:30. We will make lunches for Emmanuel Dining Room. Pre-k’s job is to decorate the lunch bags/
Have a wonderful three-day weekend!
Sue and Sarah
Notes:
- If you would like to modify your child’s pizza or milk contract please call the front office (576-2950) to make the change during the month of January.
- Specials: Monday – no school, Tuesday – Gathering, Library and Music Wednesday – Spanish, Thursday - Meeting for Worship, art and PE Friday -Spanish
- Our letter of the week is ‘P’ with ‘P’ Show and Tell on Thursday or Friday.
- Please send in mittens and hats for cold weather. Thanks!
Pre-K News!
January 11th, 2012
Dear Parents,
Happy New Year! Sue and I hope you all had a happy, restful break with your families. It was wonderful to be reunited with your children and get back into our classroom routine.
We started off the new year with a building unit that inspired the students to use spatial reasoning, critical thinking, and fine motor skills. They learned about architects and made their very own blueprints. We teamed up with the other Pre-K class and determined which building materials were strongest and safe enough for the Three Little Pigs. At many times, our room became a mini-city with skyscrapers and the sound of real construction tools. Today, children had to think “outside the box” and build their very own dream house out of recycled materials. The open-ended and process-driven activities this week put your children in charge of their playful learning. We encourage you to continue challenging their creativity at home – it’s amazing what can happen with just some cardboard and tape!
On Wednesday, we jiggled, jumped, and jived to the letter J. Students did a sorting activity with jellybeans and graphed them by color. They crafted with jewels and completed puzzles that distinguished upper and lowercase J, as well as increased sound recognition. Show and tell was full of fabulous J words: jaguar, jewelry, and jam.
Happy New Year! Sue and I hope you all had a happy, restful break with your families. It was wonderful to be reunited with your children and get back into our classroom routine.
We started off the new year with a building unit that inspired the students to use spatial reasoning, critical thinking, and fine motor skills. They learned about architects and made their very own blueprints. We teamed up with the other Pre-K class and determined which building materials were strongest and safe enough for the Three Little Pigs. At many times, our room became a mini-city with skyscrapers and the sound of real construction tools. Today, children had to think “outside the box” and build their very own dream house out of recycled materials. The open-ended and process-driven activities this week put your children in charge of their playful learning. We encourage you to continue challenging their creativity at home – it’s amazing what can happen with just some cardboard and tape!
On Wednesday, we jiggled, jumped, and jived to the letter J. Students did a sorting activity with jellybeans and graphed them by color. They crafted with jewels and completed puzzles that distinguished upper and lowercase J, as well as increased sound recognition. Show and tell was full of fabulous J words: jaguar, jewelry, and jam.
Next Week:Next week we will celebrate diversity, and the letter of the week is ‘D’.
We will also begin the ME BOX! When the box comes home, please have your child choose three objects to place in the box that will teach us about him or her. We can't wait to see what your child chooses to share! Specials: Monday: Gathering, Art and PE Tuesday: Library and Science Wednesday: PE and Art Thursday: Peace March, Meeting for Worship and Spanish Friday: Music and PE Show and Tell: Thursday or Friday |
Three Kings Day!The Three Kings, after visiting so many households in Spain, Mexico, Puerto Rico etc on January 6, visited WFS on Friday. The children left straw, hay and water for their camels, and in return, the Kings left surprises in your children's shoes. Ask them about the visit!
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Have a great weekend,
Sarah and Sue
Sarah and Sue