Friday, October 30, 2015

Halloween 2

This week we continued with the Halloween theme. We focused on the letter Jj and the number 1. We had a visit from Mrs. Eloranta, our counselor, who talked with us about staying safe around guns, water, dogs, and sharp objects like knives. She will continue to visit a few times throughout the year to focus on other safety topics-a letter was sent home this past week. We had a lot of fun having our Halloween parade, trick-or-treating in our classroom, playing a bingo game and watching a fun Halloween video while we ate our "witch's brew" snack. MAES also had their Fall Festival last night! It was great to see so many families attend this fun event. 





Next week we will be talking about night time. Wednesday and Thursday will be Pajama Day! Be sure to have your child in warm pajamas (or send a change of clothes) as we will still be going out to recess twice. Your child can also have a stuffed animal on this day too. 

Reminders:
--Families Being Involved event slips are due back Nov. 2nd and 3rd-the event will be bowling on Friday Nov. 20th
--PJ day Wed. the 4th and Thurs. the 5th
--report cards will come home Nov. 11th and 12th
--early release on Nov. 24th
--no school Nov. 25th-27th  

Friday, October 23, 2015

Halloween 1

This has been our first week of Halloween fun. We made jack-o-lanterns with our hand prints, glittery bats, talked about the inside of pumpkins, made collages using cookie cutters, and focused on the letter Mm. Next week we will be focusing on the letter Jj and starting our number of the week series with the number 1.


Halloween parties will be Wed. and Thurs. afternoon. Please do not send your child already wearing their costume we will be changing into them after rest time and switching out of them prior to coming home. If you choose to send a treat for our classroom trick-or-treating please be aware we have allergies including: red dye #40, honey, cherries, strawberries, apples, and tomatoes. Please send prepackaged goodies that would be fine being placed in a bag (sorry no cupcakes!) as their treats will be sent home in their backpacks and we do not want a squishy mess.

Next week is also Red Ribbon Week. Pre-K students will have the chance to wear red on Mon/Tues and green on Wed/Thurs to show their support.

Thank you to everyone who purchased books at the Scholastic book fair during conference night. Your purchases helped make it possible to have books donated to our classroom. Also, thank you to those who have individually donated books to our room. Parent-Teacher conferences was a success and I am happy that so many families were able to meet. If you were unable to attend your scheduled time and would like to still meet please contact me to set up a day and time.

Our first families being involved event was this morning and was a lot of fun! There were so many great looking jack-o-lanterns heading home today.


Reminders:
-picture retake days are Tuesday the 27th and Wednesday the 28th in the morning. If you are having your student retake their photo, please send back the original packet of pictures.
-the next Families being involved event will be Friday, November 20th in the morning. More information is being sent home next week.
-Pajama day is Wednesday, Nov. 4th and Thursday, Nov. 5th. Please send additional clothes to wear for recess if needed. You may also send a stuffed animal to school on these days.

Thursday, October 15, 2015

Hibernation and Migration

This week we talked about animals that migrate like birds and butterflies as well as those that hibernate like bear, squirrels, ladybugs, skunks, bees, and more!. We found out that there are some animals that are very hard to wake up and some that might wake up and eat a little during winter. This was a short week for the students so we did not have a letter to focus on but reviewed the ones that we have done so far. 

For the next two weeks we will be talking about Halloween and the letters Mm and Jj. 

With the colder weather, please be sure to send your child with a warm jacket, and possibly hat and gloves on those colder days. We are starting to work on zipping our coats by ourselves now too!

We have started working on the Reading Eggs and Math Seeds programs during our computer times. The login information I sent previously will work for both programs if you choose to utilize these at home. They are great game style programs that allow for the repetition of letters and numbers to help reinforce the sounds and appearance of them.

Reminders:
--Our first families being involved event will be Friday, Oct. 23rd at 9:00 for those families who have signed up.
--Picture retakes are Tuesday, Oct. 27th and Wednesday, Oct. 28th. If you want your child to have retakes done, please send in the original photo packet with them. Pictures will be taken right away in the morning. 
--Our Halloween parties will be on Wednesday, Oct. 28th and Thursday, Oct. 29th. Please do not have your child wear their costumes to school. We will be having our dress up and party time in the afternoon. If you choose to send a costume for your child to change into for the afternoon, please be sure it fits comfortably over their clothes. They will change out of the costume before going home. 
--There will be a pajama day on Wednesday, Nov. 4th and Thursday, Nov. 5th when we have our theme of "night time". They will be able to bring a stuffed animal this day if they choose to as well. 

Friday, October 9, 2015

Fire Safety

This week was all about fire safety. Our Monday/Wednesday group was able to see a Medford fire truck and meet two fire fighters who told them about the gear they wear, the equipment they use, and the importance of smoke detectors. Our Tuesday/Thursday group will be rescheduled due to work conflicts. I will post photos of the fire department visit after both groups have had a chance to experience it. We made some fun dalmatians and a scene of a fire truck putting out the flames. We also learned about what we need to do in case there is a fire in a building, as well as stop,drop, and roll. We focused on the letter Ff and the sounds it makes. 



Next week is a short week for preK as we only see our groups on Monday and Tuesday due to Child Development Day and Parent/Teacher conferences. Our theme will be Hibernation and Migration. 

Reminders:
--If the time scheduled for your child's conference time does not work, please let me know so it can be rescheduled. 
--Our first Families Being Involved event will be Friday, Oct. 23rd. If you did not sign up but want to attend please let me know as soon as possible so we can be sure there are enough pumpkins for everyone. 
--More information is coming home next week about our Halloween parties. 
--School pictures are in and will be sent home Monday and Tuesday, if you want to have retakes done, please send back the packet of photos so we can turn them in when the new photo is taken. Retakes are on Tuesday, Oct. 27th and Wednesday, Oct. 28th

Friday, October 2, 2015

Leaves and Fall

This week was all about leaves and fall. We made painted leaves and acorns, reviewed our colors with a leaf color book, made a keepsake thumbprint tree, and created a class book of our favorite fall activities. We also focused on the letter Ll and the sound it makes in words. 

Next week we will be focusing on fire safety and the letter Ff. 

Reminders:
--Parent/Teacher conferences are coming up. A note with a reminder of the time for your student's conference slot will be coming home at the start of next week. If this time does not work for you, please contact me so we can make other arrangements. 
--There is no school for pre-K on Wednesday, Oct. 14th.
--There is no school for all students Thursday, Oct. 15th and Friday, Oct. 16th
--Our first Families Being Involved event will be Friday, Oct. 23rd-more information will be sent home this coming week.