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

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.

5 senses

Hi everyone,

This week was all about our 5 senses. We were able to take a nice nature walk on Mon./Tues. We were able to hear birds, twigs snapping, kids playing soccer on the field, crickets, and the lawn tractors mowing. We saw deer tracks, flowers, bugs, birds, deer trails, a bird house, and a field. We felt the wind, hard rocks and squishy dirt under our feet. We also learned about the letter Yy and the different sounds it can make in words. Picture day was this week and as those come in I will be sending home the photo packets. 

Next week our theme is leaves and fall with a focus on the letter Ll. Monday is Packer day so wear your favorite jersey or green and gold. Wednesday is Rock and Roll day with fun music at lunch time. We will also have a Pep assembly in the afternoon as the high school band gears up for Friday. 

Fluoride varnish letters and forms went home this week. I ended up sending Monday's letter to the Tuesday group and vise versa. But, varnish will be given to those students who's forms are returned stating that you want it administered here at school. Please send the forms back as soon as possible. Our first varnish date will be November 9th and 10th. 

Reminders:

--No school for PreK Wed. Oct. 14th due to Child Development Day

--No school for all students Thurs. Oct. 15th and Fri. Oct. 16th

--Parent/Teacher conferences are Thurs. Oct. 15th(all students) and Fri. Oct. 23rd(for preK) reminder slips about the time you chose at open house will be coming soon. If you did not sign up for a time please contact me so I can give you the available time slots to choose from.

nature walk, pictures, book orders

Just a quick reminder: We have pictures scheduled right away in the morning at 8:30 on Tuesday and Wednesday. Even if you do not plan on ordering pictures, their pictures will be taken so your child will be included in our class photo for the year. Please send the picture envelope back with your photo selections completed and payment included if you intend on ordering pictures. Today we took our nature hike and will tomorrow as well-weather permitting around 10:20. If you want to send play tennis shoes or rain books for your child to wear on the walk we will have them switch prior to us walking. Also, for Tuesday because it is picture day as well, if you want to send a change of clothes we will have the students switch from picture outfit to regular school outfit. Book orders are due this coming Wed. or Thurs. so I can submit the order on Friday. If you choose to order, please send the form and a check made out to Scholastic by Wed./Thurs. You can also order online at scholastic.com/readingclub and use code MDBF8 so I can submit it with our class. 

Apples

This week we learned all about apples. We talked about the life cycle of an apple, what is inside an apple, who or what might eat apples, the different colors, shapes, and sizes they come in, and made a special applesauce treat. We also started our first letter of the week. This week's focus was the letter Aa.

I hope you are enjoying seeing the projects that we do here at school. It is important to encourage your student to try their best and take their time on their work. We will be doing a lot of coloring, cutting, gluing, and writing this year so their skills will improve by the end of this school year. Please continue to take time to have your student practice writing their name as we do this several times each day. If you feel that you would like some pre-writing practice sheets that focus on making straight, curved, and pointed lines I can send them home with your child. These pre-writing skills are essential for being able to form letters. 

Next week we will be learning about our 5 senses. Our letter of the week will be Yy. 

Updates and Reminders:
--Please have your child remain in the lunch room at our class table until 8:00. My assistant Ms. Jenn is there to help get the students situated and in a group to come down the hall together. 
--This coming Monday and Tuesday (weather permitting) we will be taking a nature walk to practice using our senses. Please be sure your child is dressed for the outdoors, rain boots are welcome!
--There will be no school for Pre-K students Wed., Oct. 14th due to Child Development Day.
--There will be no school for all grades Thurs., Oct. 15th and Fri., Oct. 16th.
--Parent Teacher Conferences will be Thurs., Oct. 15th and Fri.. Oct. 23rd. If you did not sign up for a time to meet with me, please contact me for available time slots. I will be sending a reminder notice of your time as the day gets closer. 

First Week!

Our first family project was sent home with your child this week. Please have everyone in your family help 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 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 and coloring 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. 9th or 10th
*When your child has a birthday or we celebrate a holiday it is fine to send a treat if you choose to. We currently have 15 children in the Mon./Wed. class and 16 in the Tues./Thurs. class. 

Mother's Day and Transportation

This past week we focused on Mother's Day and transportation. Some FFA students came by on Mon/Tues to help us make our special gift for the moms, aunts, and grandmas in our lives. On Wed/Thurs we had a field trip to the county highway shop and were able to see a few of the vehicles used to keep the roads in great shape. Some of these were: a ditch mower, salt truck with plow, a blacktop roller, grader, front end loader, and a dump truck.

Next week we will be focused on the farm. We will be making several animal projects on Mon/Tues and then Wed/Thurs we will be going to a working farm. Please be sure to dress your student in appropriate clothes for the weather. Rain/rubber boots are great for this trip!!!

Our next Families Being Involved event will be on May 22nd. The sign up slip went home this past Wed/Thurs. 

Reminders

This Wednesday, May 13th is an early release day. Students are dismissed at 1:52. Be sure to send a note if they will be going home differently than usual. 

There is no school Monday, May 25th due to Memorial Day.