Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Updates

There is an updated Family of the Week schedule in the Important Documents column for those who are new to my class.

The December family project/activity information is available here. Please make sure to turn in those recipes by December 3!

Scholastic orders are also due by December 3-either on paper or you can order online.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! Enjoy a few days off, eat some yummy meals, and have fun at those Black Friday sales!




P.S. M-F families....don't forget to check out the Inde Therapy kids blog (link on the right too) and see what we are doing in the Motor Room and Fine Motor Group every week!

Friday, November 21, 2008

Work Time

This week we talked a lot about foods and food groups, however, Miss Stephanie did not do a very good job taking pictures of those activities! She did take pictures of us working in the centers and also some videos so you can see a little of what we do during work time. She also wanted to remind you that next week there is no school for Parent-Teacher conferences and Thanksgiving break. She wanted to make sure to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving!

Monday, November 17, 2008

DonorsChoose.org

You may remember signing a permission form for Donorschoose.org at the beginning of the school year. DonorsChoose.org is a nonprofit website where public school teachers (like me!) submit proposals for materials or experiences their students need to learn. These ideas become a reality when concerned individuals choose projects to fund. Donors who complete project funding or give more than $100 receive photos and personal thank-you notes from the kids they helped.

I want my students to have as many great learning opportunities as possible, but sometimes the items I want are a little out of my price range! To address this issue, I turned to DonorsChoose.org. You have seen the firefighter, police officer, mail carrier and doctor costumes in our pretend play area. Those were items I received through people funding a proposal at DonorsChoose.org! I also recently received a video camera that was funded through DonorsChoose.org and I look forward to taping our school day to share with you!

My newest project proposal, Little Ones Need A Place To Sit, is now posted at DonorsChoose.org! Check it out at:
http://www.donorschoose.org/donors/proposal.html?id=206522

Take a look! This is a proposal for a large learning rug for our Circle Time. Also, please consider forwarding this link to friends and family who might be interested in making a donation to this wonderful wsebsite. Lots of companies and individuals make donations to charities every year, why not this one? The donations are all tax-deductible!

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Apple Week

Here are pictures from our learning this week. We painted with apples, made apple trees with our arms, and counted apples on trees with M&Ms and Trix and then put apples on those trees with our fingerprints.

Don't forget to click on the calendar and sign onto Google Calendar to see what is coming up!

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Picture Day Order Forms Update

On the Picture Day order forms, it states that they are due, Tuesday, November 11. We don't have school that day! They will be due Thursday, November 13.

Monday, November 3, 2008

Dates This Week

It is a busy week at Independence School!
We have several important dates coming up this week:

Picture Day for M-F and T/Th is Tuesday November 4
Picture Day for M/W/F is Wednesday November 5

The Jaxco Fundraiser is due Thursday, November 6
(You can use the magazine sent home or go to the Jaxco website www.4jaxco.com , register, and shop! You know I like anything I can do online!)

The Independence T-shirt order forms are due Friday, November 7 (I can't wait to see everyone sportin' some Independence wear!)

In addition, you may have noticed the new calendar on the right side of the page. I am going to be using this calendar to help keep you informed of important events. I will always send them home in a newsletter or note, but this way you have them all in one place. You can register for a free Google account to view the calendar.

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Farewell to the Castle

On Friday, we celebrated the end of our castle unit and Halloween. First, some people brought treats to pass out to their friends and we trick-or-treated in our room. Then we went trick-or-treating in the school. We got fun treats from the people who work in our school. After that, we attended the Pumpkin Ball. First, we sat to listen to the story of "The Little Old Lady Who Wasn't Afraid of Anything" that Miss Erin read and Miss Stephanie put the pieces on the flannel board. After that, we were able to make crowns, eat snacks and dance! We had a lot of fun participating in all of the activities and we loved having our families there to join us!



This week, we went on a treasure hunt. During work time, someone came in our room and mysteriously left a clue. We followed that clue and it led us to 8 other clues all around the school. We had to "read" the clues to figure out where to find the next one. For example, one had a picture of "girl, toilet paper, toilet, and paper towels" and we figured out we had to go to the girl's bathroom! The last clue showed us a picture of "Circle Time" and when we got back there, we found a fairy had left us treasure on our spots!



Enjoy pictures from our other fun this week. We played with "Mr. Pumpkin Head", put our hands in pumpkin goop, and made sand castles in the Creation Station!