Christmas

I hope that everyone has enjoyed seeing all of the projects coming home that our students have been making for the last two weeks! They had a lot of fun creating them and were really excited to wrap up your gifts for Christmas. 

Thank you to everyone who came to our Christmas programs! The kids have been practicing very hard on their songs since the start of November. I think they did an amazing job for their first big performance of their school years ahead of them. 

I want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and hope that you enjoy the holiday break with your family and friends. 

REMINDERS
--School will resume on Thursday, Jan. 2nd.
--Please be sure that all of your student's winter clothing is labeled with their name.
--The next Families Being Involved event will be Friday Jan. 17th in the morning. More info to come.

Cookies and Christmas Trees

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! Last week there were several turkey and fall projects sent home. I hope you enjoyed seeing what your students are accomplishing while they are here!! 

This week our theme is "Cookies and Christmas Trees". We will be focusing on the letter Cc and the number 10. We talked about cookie decorating and read a story about a gingerbread bear. We decorated our very own gingerbread man with lots of sparkly things. We also made a book about cookies that were all sorts of shapes. 

The next two weeks will be the theme "Christmas". We will also focus on the letter Ii. We will be making special "secret" projects for the upcoming holiday. 

REMINDERS
--Our Christmas Program will be Wednesday, Dec. 18th and Thursday, Dec. 19th at 9:30. Refreshments to follow, be sure to stop by our classroom to pick up the special surprises we have been making for you! Please send back the slip to let us know if you are going to be taking your child home after the program or if they will remain for the whole day. 

--We will be having a $5 gift exchange in our classroom. Girls should by for a girl, boys should buy for a boy. Please label the gifts "To a girl from (your girl's name)" or "To a boy from (your boy's name)". You must bring a gift to get a gift. If this is going to be a hardship on your family this year to provide a gift, please let me know as soon as you can. Please send these gifts to school by Monday, Dec. 16th and Tuesday, Dec. 17th. 

--Please send your child with snow pants, boots, gloves/mittens, hat, and coat. If they do not have these items they will not be allowed to play at recess. Please label your child's belongings!!!

--There is no school from Dec. 23rd-Jan. 1st.

Scarecrows and Thanksgiving

Last week our theme was "Scarecrows." We made a colorful scarecrow and learned what scarecrows do. We also talked about the number 5 and 6 and the letter Hh. Please review these numbers and letter with your child to help them recognize them in the world around them. 

Thank you to all of the families that came to the Bowling FBI event last Friday. It was a lot of fun! The next FBI event will be cookie decorating on Dec. 6th at 1:45. If you have not signed up but still want to please let me know as soon as possible. 

This week and next week we will have the theme "Thanksgiving." We will be making several turkey projects and talking about what it means to be thankful. We will also be working with the numbers 7, 8, and 9. Our letter for these two weeks will be the letter Tt. 

Night time and Scarecrows

Last week we had the theme "Night time". We made owl and raccoon crafts and had a great pajama party day. We read to our stuffed animals that we brought in. We watched a movie and had a popcorn snack. The letter we learned about was Kk and practiced the numbers 3 and 4. We had a vision screening to check how well we could see distance, close-up, and colors. 

This week we are talking all about "Scarecrows." We will be making a big scarecrow and learning about the letter Hh and the numbers 5 and 6. For those students who were signed up, we will be having our first teeth varnishing. Report cards will be going home this week. 

Thank you to all of the families who have donated items to our classroom. They will be used to create all sorts of projects!!

Just a reminder: The weather is starting to get a lot colder than we have been used to. Please send your child with a warm jacket, hat, gloves or mittens. Some days it might be more comfortable for your child to have boots and snow pants too-even though we don't have snow hills to play on yet. 

Halloween

This week we finished up our "Halloween" theme and celebrated with our parties at the end of the week. Everyone had a great time getting dressed up and walking in our parade through the halls and classrooms. Trick-or-treating in the classroom was a big hit too! 

Next week our theme will be "Night time." We will be making raccoon and owl projects. We will be having our pajama day on Wednesday and Thursday. Please send your child in warm pajamas since we will still be going outside for recess. We will be talking all about the letter Kk and the numbers 3 and 4. Please take the time to count daily with your child and point out words beginning with the letter Kk. 

Reminders:

--Early Release on Tuesday Nov. 5th.
--Bowling slips/money for additional bowlers is due on the 4th and 5th of this week. 
--Turkey feather projects are due on the 6th and 7th of this week. 

Pumpkin Carving

     I just wanted to thank all of the parents who signed up and attended our first Families Being Involved event that was held last Friday morning. It was a lot of fun to see the students and parents working together to carve their pumpkins!!! Several people chose to take their pumpkin seeds with them. I hope they taste great once they are roasted or turn into huge pumpkins if you choose to plant them!

Hibernation & Migration

     This week our theme was "Hibernation & Migration". The class learned what it means to hibernate and migrate and all sorts of animals who do one or the other. We made turtle and geese projects and talked about bears. Our letter of the week was Mm, because this was a short week we will continue with the letter Mm as we move into our "Halloween" theme. 
     For the next two weeks we will have "Halloween" as our theme. We will be making some really neat crafts including: glitter bats, pumpkins prints, cookie cutter paintings, spider headbands, and spider hands. We will be celebrating Halloween on Oct 30th and 31st. Please send your child with their costume that day to change into for our party that afternoon. We will "trick-or-treat" in the classroom. You are welcome to send a store-wrapped treat if you like. There are 16 students in the Monday/Wednesday class and 16 in the Tuesday/Thursday class. We do have students with milk, egg, and nut allergies in our classes. 

REMINDERS:
--There is no school on Friday the 25th.
--The PBIS Fall Festival will be on Tuesday the 29th

Leaves & Fall

     This past week our theme was "Leaves & Fall." We made fall scenes with paper scraps, painted water color leaves, and painted acorns. We talked about why leaves change colors and about the changing weather. We practiced a bus evacuation and learned a new pumpkin song! This week we also had a school wide focus on Anti-Bullying and being "good friends" and wore orange to help support the cause.

     Next week we have NO school on Monday because of Parent/Teacher conferences and NO school on Thursday because of Child Development Day. Our theme will be "Hibernation & Migration." We will be making migrating geese and hibernating turtles.

REMINDERS:
-If you signed up, the first Families Being Involved event is taking place Friday, Oct. 18th at 8:30.
-Parent/Teacher conference times are set aside in 15 minute intervals, please arrive at your scheduled time to ensure everyone can be seen in a timely manner.

Fire Safety

     This week our theme was "Fire Safety." We had an amazing visit with Mr. Mike and Mr. Troy from the Medford Fire Department! Mr. Mike talked to us about how we need to be prepared by having our smoke detectors checked regularly, having child stickers on the windows of our bedroom so they can find us quickly if we are still inside, and how it is important to have a family meeting spot outside of our home so we know that everyone has made it out of the house. He showed us all of his gear that he would be wearing at a fire so that we would know he is a helper and not to be afraid of a firefighter if we see one. Mr. Troy showed us all of the important things on the new fire truck! We were able to climb in, sit in the seats, and even got to hear the loud siren and see the flashing lights!

     In class we made a fire scene, and painted a dalmatian "fire dog". We learned a new fire truck song. We read books about being safe around campfires and grills. Our letter of the week was Ff and we talked about all sorts of things that begin with that letter. 

     Next week our theme will be "Fall and Leaves." We will be making some neat art projects and talking about the changing weather. We will be making our first class book too! 

Reminders:
-Parent/ Teacher conference reminder slips have gone home this week. Please be sure to attend during the time scheduled because there are a lot of families to see in a short amount of time. Your child does not need to attend the conference with you!
-I will have a Giving Tree set up in the classroom. On the leaves there will be supplies that we will be using for various projects throughout the school year. If you would like please take one and send the needed item along with your child to school. THANKS!!
-Pumpkin Carving Event: Permission slips are due Oct. 7th and 8th. The event will be held on the 18th from 8:30-9:30
-Family Pumpkin Project: Due Oct. 9th and 10th. Please be creative and enjoy the time spent with your family to decorate the pumpkin that was sent in your child's folder this week. 
-There will be no Pre-K class being held on Mon. the 14th due to Parent/ Teacher conferences and no Pre-K classes held on the 17th due to Child Development Day

Five Senses

     This week our theme was the "Five Senses." We learned about each of our senses and how they help us throughout the day. We were able to go on a nature hike through the Kuse Nature Preserve near our school! We saw leaves that had changed colors, a deer trail, birds, and heard crickets and the wind blowing through the tall grass. We made a touch and feel book to help us describe textures of things around us. We also made a fruit scented book to help us test our nose's sniffing ability. Our letter of the week was the letter Yy. 

     Next week our theme will be "Fire Safety." During this week we will make a fire scene and decorate a Dalmatian. We will talk about what we need to do to be safe and prepared  in case of a fire. We will even have a visit with a real firefighter and get to see a fire truck up close! Our letter of the week will be the letter Ff. 

Reminders:
* Please wash and return your child's pillow and towel for rest time. Remember, full size Pillow Pets are too large for our cubby space. 
*With the weather getting colder please be sure to send your child with appropriate clothing to play outside each day. 
*Parent/ Teacher Conferences: Monday, Oct. 14th and Friday, Oct. 18th. Reminder slips with your specific time will be coming home soon!
*No School for PreK: Monday, Oct. 14th (Parent/Teacher Conferences), Thursday, Oct. 17th (Child Development Day), 
*No School for ALL STUDENTS: Friday, Oct. 25th
*Halloween Party: Wednesday, Oct. 30th or Thursday, Oct. 31st (More info will follow as we get closer to the date.)

Apples

     This week our theme was "Apples". We painted apple cores, worked on matching and sorting, and even got to make applesauce with FFA students! Our letter for the week was Aa. Please take the time to help your child discover words that begin with Aa and practice the sound /a/ as in apple. 

     Next week our theme will be "Five Senses". We will learn about each of the five senses and go on a Senses Nature Walk (weather permitting) on Mon/Tues. Please be sure to dress your child appropriately for the weather, it might be a little muddy! Our letter will be Yy. We will continue to work on colors, shapes, cutting, and matching. Just a reminder that Sept. 26th is an early release day! Please send a note if your child is to go somewhere other than their normal dismissal location. 

Reminders:
-Library: Please return your child's library book, along with their laminated book mark, so they will be able
     to check out a new one. 
-Book Orders: Due Sept. 23rd/24th

Shapes

     This week our theme was "Shapes". We did a lot of fun projects and games with shapes. I hope you enjoy seeing all of the projects your child made. I encourage you to ask them how they created them and what they worked on each day!

     Next week our theme will be "Apples".  We will be painting and creating sequences about the life cycle of an apple. We will also be making our very own applesauce! Please be sure to send an apple with your child by Wed./ Thurs. of this week. The letter we will be focusing on is the letter Aa. Please take time each week to review our letter and discuss things you find around you that begin with that letter's sound.

Reminders & Updates:

•      Picture Day is Sept. 17th or Sept. 18th
•      Homework: Anything that you find in your child's folder that is incomplete can be considered homework. It is not graded but it does offer your child the chance to practice the skills we have been working on at school.
•      Early Release Day is Thurs. Sept. 26th. If your child needs to go somewhere other than their normal destination please send a note.
•      Parent Teacher Conferences are coming up, Monday Oct. 14th there is NO SCHOOL, and also Friday Oct. 18th.

 

 

Our first family project was sent home with your child this week. Please have everyone in your family work to complete the Family Tree and please return it to school!

Our theme this week was “Welcome & Bus Safety”.  We learned about the rules for our school, classroom, and the bus. We read the book The Kissing Hand and created a special project just for you.  We also began working on our cutting skills, and started making new friends!

Next week our theme will be “Shapes”.  We will be working on shapes throughout the year but this coming week will be our big kick-off to the world of shapes! The children will be matching shapes, sorting colors and shapes, making a shape train, creating a noodle shape and singing/dancing to the shape hokey-pokey!  

REMINDERS

*Remember to place some money in your child’s lunch account if you have not done so yet.

*Family Tree Project due Sept. 11h or 12th

*When your child has a birthday or we celebrate a holiday it is fine to send wrapped treats to school in the original package to verify ingredients.  I ask that treats be store bought because we have 3 students with severe egg, milk, and nut allergies in our classroom.  We currently have 17 children in the Mon/Wed class & 16 in the Tues/Thurs class.

Welcome

Welcome to a new school year!

This is the space I will be using to update our classroom news. Be sure to look here for important information and dates of up-coming events. I am excited to be your child's teacher and was very glad to meet so many of you at Open House. If you were unable to attend, 10:00 and 1:00 are available on Sept. 3rd to stop by the classroom.

 

Enjoy the holiday weekend!