Snow and Snowmen

This week our theme was "Snow and Snowmen" and we made all sorts of different kinds with a variety of materials-paint, glitter, plates, labels, paper, and blocks. The kids really enjoyed getting outside for recess this week to play in the snow too! We also focused on the letter Ss and number 7. 

The end of 2nd quarter is coming up soon and we are rechecking skills for both 1st and 2nd quarter. If you have any questions about the grades you see on your child's report card, please ask! A skill that will be checked soon is knowing the letters in your child's name in a random order. Naming letters, as well as printing their name, are great skills to work on throughout the school year. 

Next week our theme will be "Arctic Animals".

Reminders:
--No school on Friday, Jan. 19th due to teacher inservice
--January's Families Being Involved event (ice skating) is Jan. 26th. Sign up slips are due next week! 
--Our first field trip is coming up Jan. 31st and Feb. 1st. We will be going to the movie theater, more info will be coming next week.

Winter Clothes

Welcome back! It was a very cold Christmas break, but I hope that you were able to still enjoy it with family and friends. This week we talked about "winter clothes" and how important it is to bundle up. We also focused on the letter Ww. 

Next week our theme will be "Snow and Snowmen". The end of 2nd Quarter is coming up soon, we are continuing to recheck skills from 1st quarter as well as the new skills for this quarter. One skill that is great to keep working on at home is writing your child's first name. It helps to have a proper pencil grip -using the thumb and pointer finger to pinch the pencil. Be sure to remind your child to start with a capital letter followed by all lowercase and beginning their letters in the sky/above the line rather than working from bottom/line up. 

Reminders:
--No school Friday, Jan. 19th due to teacher inservice
--January's Families Being Involved event is scheduled for Friday, Jan. 26th in the morning. We will be ice skating at the Simek Center. 
--Our first field trip will be Wednesday, Jan. 31st and Thursday, Feb. 1st. We will be going to the Broadway Theatre. 

Christmas

We are nearing the end of our month of Christmas activities and projects. There are a lot of fun decorations for our room that are all set to go up for our concerts next week. You might have been hearing some of the songs we will be singing as we have been practicing pretty hard on them. They are getting excited for the big day!

Thank you for working on building your child's independence for zipping their coats. We have almost our whole class in the "zipper club" now. I know it is a lot easier sometimes to pull their inside out snow pant legs the right way, fix their stuck sleeves, or to hold their jacket for them while they stick their arms in but these self help skills are ones they will use for many years to come. We have been trying to build those problem solving skills in our room and hopefully you are seeing some of that carry over at home.  

Cookies and Christmas Trees

This week we talked all about different kinds of cookies, read a few gingerbread stories, and even had the chance to decorate and enjoy a cookie in celebration of filling our big shield in the lunch room. We also have our class Christmas tree up in our classroom now and have begun starting to work on our holiday gifts and decorations. We are also hard at work learning our songs for the Christmas program. There was also a focus on the letter Cc and the number 4.

We are starting to display the trees that you are creating as a family project. Please send them back as you complete them so I can add them to our board. We are also filling up our zipper club board very quickly. I am so proud of these kids for their hard work on gaining independence with getting ready for recess and the end of the day.

Reminders:
--Please send back the bottom portion of the Christmas program invite to indicate whether your child will be going home following the concert or remaining at school for the day. This will not be an academic instructional day as most students do go home following the program.
--The December Families Being Involved event is on Dec. 8th at 2:00 in the Stetsonville Elementary gym for those families that signed up for cookie decorating.
--No school Friday, Dec. 22nd through Monday, Jan. 1st. School resumes Tuesday, Jan. 2nd.

Thanksgiving

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends. Whether you were out hunting in the woods or in stores looking for bargains, I hope you were successful. 

This week starts us off on our month long look at Christmas. We will be making a lot of holiday decorations, learning our songs for the upcoming concert, and reviewing the shapes, letters, and numbers we have done up to this point. 

There is a special presentation being held at the Taylor County Education Center on January 15th at 5:00 pm. Aspirus of Medford will be doing a Love and Logic Parenting presentation. Dinner will be served to those attending. Please see the attached flier.

Reminders:
--If you have not sent in a 4x6" photo of your child, please do so as we will be using this for a special craft. 
--Our next Families Being Involved event will be Dec. 8th at 2:00. Sign up slips are due today and tomorrow so we can be sure we have enough cookies for decorating!
--Christmas programs for Pre-K will be Dec. 20th and 21st starting at 9:30. Invites with more info have been sent home already, please be sure to send back the lower portion so we know if you intend to take your child home with you after the program. This is not an instructional day as most students go home following the program and visiting the room to get the special things we have been working on.

Scarecrows

This week our theme was "Scarecrows". We reviewed our shapes by making a large scarecrow and read stories about what scarecrows do to help gardeners and farmers. We had a visit from Mr. Joe this week too. He read us the story, "Little Fox's Surprise" and we were given a copy of the book to keep. We also reviewed the letter Hh and the number 2.

Next two weeks our theme will be "Thanksgiving".

There is a one question survey the district would like you to take regarding the school calendar for next year. There is an option for spring break or without. The link for info and the survey is https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/N8NB8ZX 

There are still tickets available for the special Polar Express event being held at the Broadway Theatre. 

Reminders:
--Please label all of your child's winter gear (boots, hats, gloves, jackets, and especially snow pants)
--Our Family event for Nov. is scheduled for Friday, Nov. 17th for those who signed up. M/W begins at 8 and T/Th begins at 9:30. 
--Early release on Tuesday, Nov. 21st-dismissal at 1:52
--No school Wednesday, Nov. 22nd-Friday, Nov. 24th for Thanksgiving break
--December's Family event will be Friday, Dec. 8th in the afternoon at Stetsonville Elementary-info coming next week!
--Pre-K Christmas programs will be Dec. 20th and 21st. starting at 9:30. 
--No school Friday Dec. 22nd - Monday, Jan. 1st for Christmas Break

Night Time

This week our theme was "Night Time" and we had a lot of fun with our Pajama Day where we had a special snack and movie time to see Monster's Inc. We learned about how some animals come out at night to find food or to stay out of the hot sun in the deserts. We also talked about all the fun things people can do at night like roast marshmallows, look at the stars, or watch fireworks. We made a raccoon and an owl and created another class book all about what we like to do at night. We also focused on the letter Kk and the number 1. 

Next week our theme is "Scarecrows". 

Reminders:
--Quarter 1 ends next week-report cards will come home soon. Please remember the goal is for our students to have "B's" (meeting benchmark) at the end of the school year. We still have a long way to go in our year to continue working on skills. 
--Please be sure to send snow pants, warm gloves/mittens, coats (thicker than sweatshirts), and boots with your child for recess. Also, please be sure each item is labeled with your child's name. 
--MAES is hosting a fall festival Thursday, Nov. 9th. There will be food, games, and prizes. RSVP slips should be sent as soon as possible to be sure we have enough food for everyone. 
--Our next Families Being Involved event (Bowling at The Sports Page) will be Nov. 17th in the morning. Information went home this week and the RSVP slips and money for extra bowlers is due next Mon/Tues. 
--Early Release on Tuesday, Nov. 21st-dismissal at 1:52
--No School Nov. 22-24th for Thanksgiving Break