This week we have been doing activities centered around the story, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?. We are all making our own Brown Bear books by decorating the characters from the story. We have had a lot of fun painting, gluing, and ripping the characters from the book this week! Check out our pictures in the slideshow to see what we did!
We are really working on using two words to describe the characters. Not just "bear" but "brown bear" and not just "cat" but "purple cat". It is a great skill to practice at home! Use those descriptive words this week!
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Friday, September 11, 2009
Work Time
An important part of the preschool classroom is Work Time (or Centers Time). The last 2 weeks we have spent Work Time learning about the various centers in our room.
These are our centers:
Pretend Play (kitchen, baby dolls, dress up)
Construction Zone (blocks, tools, animals, doll house, cars)
Library (books)
Small Toys (small manipulatives, puzzles, Mr. Potato Head, math manipulatives)
Creation Station (art)
Literacy Lane (writing instruments and paper)
Discovery Center (sensory table filled with various items, science table, magnets)
Computer (only occasionally open!)
The last two weeks we have been making our way around the room to learn about the various centers. We have learned the rules, where to put things away and how to play at each center. Miss Stephanie has pictures for everything! We learned very quickly that she expects everything to be put back where it was found and we did a great job of doing that!
Check out the slideshow of our fun and learning this week during Work Time.
These are our centers:
Pretend Play (kitchen, baby dolls, dress up)
Construction Zone (blocks, tools, animals, doll house, cars)
Library (books)
Small Toys (small manipulatives, puzzles, Mr. Potato Head, math manipulatives)
Creation Station (art)
Literacy Lane (writing instruments and paper)
Discovery Center (sensory table filled with various items, science table, magnets)
Computer (only occasionally open!)
The last two weeks we have been making our way around the room to learn about the various centers. We have learned the rules, where to put things away and how to play at each center. Miss Stephanie has pictures for everything! We learned very quickly that she expects everything to be put back where it was found and we did a great job of doing that!
Check out the slideshow of our fun and learning this week during Work Time.
Friday, September 4, 2009
First Day for T/TH Class
The T/TH class had a great first day as well! We learned about the centers and worked on some Back to School activities! Enjoy the slideshow!
Thursday, September 3, 2009
First Day of School M-F and MWF
We had a great first day of school today in the M-F and MWF classes. Luckily we had a beautiful day which put everyone in a great mood! Check out the slideshow of our pictures from today.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Helping Hands
Thank you to all of you who were able to help out our classroom by grabbing a "hand" at Open House from our Helping Hands bulletin board. I will also include a section for this in our newsletter and on the blog here in a list (look to the right!). When we receive the items, they will be removed. I will update the list as needs arise.
Thank you again for supporting our classroom!
Thank you again for supporting our classroom!
Monday, August 31, 2009
Scholastic Book Orders
Just a reminder... Here is the link to order from the Scholastic book orders online: www.scholastic.com/parentordering
User Name: MissStephanieInde
Password: MissStephanieInde
You can place your order online and use a credit card! You can also fill out the hard copies I gave you on our home visits and write a check to Scholastic if you prefer to do it that way. Orders are due by September 17.
Click here for step by step screen shot instructions for placing orders online:
http://stephatwell.googlepages.com/Blog-Scholasticbookordersscreenshots.pdf
User Name: MissStephanieInde
Password: MissStephanieInde
You can place your order online and use a credit card! You can also fill out the hard copies I gave you on our home visits and write a check to Scholastic if you prefer to do it that way. Orders are due by September 17.
Click here for step by step screen shot instructions for placing orders online:
http://stephatwell.googlepages.com/Blog-Scholasticbookordersscreenshots.pdf
Family of the Week Information
The Family of the Week letter and schedule are posted on the right. Please check it out and note your child's week. The Family of the Week bag will come home the week before it is your child's turn. Your child is Family of the Week either his/her birthday week or his/her half birthday week (if your child has a summer birthday). Please let me know if you have any questions!
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Open House!
Check our our first slideshow of the 2009-2010 school year!
We had 8 families come to see our classroom and meet each other at Open House last Thursday. We saw the room, played with toys, made an art project and ate some snacks. It was great to meet each other and see the room.
We are so excited about this school year!
Also, don't forget to pass this on to family and friends and feel free to leave a comment!
We had 8 families come to see our classroom and meet each other at Open House last Thursday. We saw the room, played with toys, made an art project and ate some snacks. It was great to meet each other and see the room.
We are so excited about this school year!
Also, don't forget to pass this on to family and friends and feel free to leave a comment!
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Welcome Back!
Welcome back families! Or just welcome in the first place if you are new!
First Day of School
The first day of school for M-F and MWF students is Wednesday, September 2.
The first day of school for T/TH students is Thursday, September 3.
Check out our school website for more info:
Back to School Afternoon
Our classroom will be having its Back to School Afternoon on Thursday, August 27th from 2:30-4:00. This is an opportunity for you to drop in, see the school, see the room and meet the staff. You can also drop off school supplies in a marked bag at that time! It is an informal meet and greet, no need to stay the whole time!
Misc.
If you are new to my classroom, please feel free to view older posts on our classroom blog to get an idea of what we did last year. We are in for a lot more fun and learning this year!
If you are new to my classroom, please feel free to view older posts on our classroom blog to get an idea of what we did last year. We are in for a lot more fun and learning this year!
Check out our school supply list here:
This year I am encouraging families to leave comments when you view posts. I would love to know what you think about the posts and it is a great opportunity for families to share with one another. It can be a simple "I love those pictures" or "How did you make that?". It is a great way to stay in touch!
Sunday, June 7, 2009
End of the Year Sing
Here are the videos from our End-of-the-Year sing. The kids all have this video on the DVDs I sent home along with all of the photographs from the entire school year. Enjoy!
AM Class
MWF Class
TTH Class
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Goldilocks and the Three Bears Movies
Here are the compressed versions of our "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" videos. Each child brought home a higher quality DVD with the movie, however, this can be easily shared! Enjoy watching my budding actors and actresses perform!
MWF
AM
T/TH
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
AM and TTH Last Day
Today was the last day of school for the Morning M-F class and and the T/TH afternoon classes! In the morning, we were unable to go to the park due to rainy weather, however, we had a lot of fun in the gym and then watched a movie. The rain stopped and in the afternoon we were able to head to the park! I hope everyone has a fabulous summer! I will miss you!
TTH Class
AM Class
TTH Class
AM Class
Monday, June 1, 2009
Goodbye MWF Kids!
Today was the last day of school for the Monday, Wednesday, Friday kids. We watched our DVD of the "3 Bears" and the "End-of-the-Year" sing, opened our bags with our goodies and then enjoyed the rest of the afternoon at the park. I hope everyone has an enjoyable summer and I will miss you all! Enjoy the slideshow.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Goodbye Butterflies
This week we had to say "goodbye" to our class butterflies. We let 3 go in each class. We went outside and unzipped the garden and let them fly away. However, we did have some exciting news! We found lots of teeny tiny green eggs in our butterfly garden. And then.....a TON of tiny caterpillars hatched (there is a video in the slideshow). We decided to hang on to them a little while and see them grow! Miss Stephanie is a little worried because the caterpillars are smaller than the holes in the side of the butterfly garden and she doesn't want them to get out!
This week we also had our End-of-the-Year sing with several other classes. We did a great job singing and using the sign language we learned. Miss Stephanie is hoping to post video soon, so please check back over the next few weeks!
This week we also had our End-of-the-Year sing with several other classes. We did a great job singing and using the sign language we learned. Miss Stephanie is hoping to post video soon, so please check back over the next few weeks!
Friday, May 22, 2009
Almost the End
As the school year winds down, we continue to do fun activities in our classroom. We have had several May birthday celebrations as well as summer birthday celebrations. We are finishing up our The Very Hungry Caterpillar unit and getting ready to let our butterflies go out in the world. Don't forget to join us for our End-of-the-Year sing on Wednesday and Thursday (when you are sitting on the bleachers, we are the last class on the left).
In addition, the morning class went this week to visit Horizon Elementary School where the deaf and hard of hearing elementary school classes are. We got to visit with other big kids who wear hearing aids and use sign language as well as tour the school and even eat lunch!
Monday, May 18, 2009
9 Butterflies!
We have 9 beautiful butterflies in our classroom! Check out the slideshow below to see them all!
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
And out came a beautiful butterfly!
We have 3 butterflies!
On Tuesday at lunch time our first butterfly emerged from its chrysalis! We sat down for circle time and Miss Stephanie looked over and noticed a butterfly moving around! After all of the kids left at the end of the day, Miss Stephanie came back in the room and saw another one! The butterflies were quiet all night and then during music time in the morning another one emerged. We anxiously watched all day hoping to see one come out of the chrysalis, but they must have stage fright, because they just won't do it in front of us!
The first butterfly that came out. He is letting his wings dry and harden. It takes about 1-2 hours. It stretches and strengthens its wings by forcing blood into its veins.
The first butterfly after he opened his wings (about 2 hours later)
The first butterfly likes to hang out at the top of the butterfly garden!
The empty chrysalides.
One of our beautiful butterflies.
On Tuesday at lunch time our first butterfly emerged from its chrysalis! We sat down for circle time and Miss Stephanie looked over and noticed a butterfly moving around! After all of the kids left at the end of the day, Miss Stephanie came back in the room and saw another one! The butterflies were quiet all night and then during music time in the morning another one emerged. We anxiously watched all day hoping to see one come out of the chrysalis, but they must have stage fright, because they just won't do it in front of us!
The first butterfly that came out. He is letting his wings dry and harden. It takes about 1-2 hours. It stretches and strengthens its wings by forcing blood into its veins.
The first butterfly after he opened his wings (about 2 hours later)
The first butterfly likes to hang out at the top of the butterfly garden!
The empty chrysalides.The red stuff is called Meconium.
It is waste product left over from the butterfly's metamorphosis.
One of our beautiful butterflies. They are starting to fly all over the butterfly garden.
Now we just wait for the others!
Sunday, May 10, 2009
On Monday He Ate Through One Apple
This week our caterpillars finished eating and eating. Then they crawled to the top of the cups, hung upside down in a J shape, and their bodies began to change. We learned after they are changed it is called a "chrysalis". Although, in the book The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle, the caterpillar builds a cocoon, we learned that butterflies change into chrysalides (the proper plural form of the word). Moths build cocoons around themselves. A butterfly caterpillar's body changes and hardens and it is called a chrysalis. After they had changed for 24 hours, Miss Stephanie carefully lifted them out and hung the disks they are hanging from to the side of the butterfly garden. Now we wait about a week for our butterflies to come out!
Tuesday:
Thursday:
Monday:
Tuesday:
Thursday:
Friday, May 1, 2009
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
We have new visitors in our classroom! They arrived after school on Friday last week and Miss Stephanie explained to us they were so teeny tiny she could barely see them! She is bummed that she forgot to take a picture. By the time we arrived at school on Monday, they had grown a great deal! Those caterpillars were very hungry!
Wednesday:
Thursday:
We have to wait until the caterpillars crawl to the top of the cup and turn into chrysalis. Then Miss Stephanie will lift them out and put them in the butterfly garden. We are going to start reading the book "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" next week. We finished up our 3 Bears unit and are very excited to learn more about caterpillars!
Monday:
Wednesday:
Thursday:
We have to wait until the caterpillars crawl to the top of the cup and turn into chrysalis. Then Miss Stephanie will lift them out and put them in the butterfly garden. We are going to start reading the book "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" next week. We finished up our 3 Bears unit and are very excited to learn more about caterpillars!
Here are some other pictures of us looking at the caterpillars:
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
This porridge is too hot!
Here are some pictures from the last 2 weeks. We have had a lot of fun with our "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" activities. We are super excited for our plays this week and next!
In addition, stay tuned for pictures of the new additions to our classroom....caterpillars for our "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" unit!
In addition, stay tuned for pictures of the new additions to our classroom....caterpillars for our "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" unit!
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Fun at Centers Time
Sorry for the lack of posts the last two weekends! But here they are...pictures from the last two weeks! We have been having a lot of fun in centers time and we had several March birthday so you will see some yummy cupcake pictures!
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Good-bye to the Ocean
This week we took down the ocean and turned our room back into a classroom. Although we were a little sad to see the jellyfish go, we were excited to have our trains and blocks back in the construction zone! We started off the week with Picture Day and everyone looked great! (Don't forget that orders are due April 1). We enjoyed some St. Patrick's day activities this week as well as some alphabet centers. We celebrated two birthdays in the T/Th class, so there there are some fun pictures of cupcake eating!
Have a great spring break!
Have a great spring break!
Monday, March 16, 2009
Our new rug!
You may have noticed it in pictures in the last few slideshows, but I want to officially announce that we got our new rug from DonorsChoose.org! Thanks to the generosity of some of the families of students in our classes and also donors who are strangers, we received a beautiful new rug for the circle time area. The kids were SO excited when the rug arrived. They love to have a fun and colorful new place to sit and we have had a great time practicing letters and sounds. It is great to hear them saying things like, "I'm on the rabbit. It makes the /r/ sound!" or "The letter of the week is W! I am sitting on the W!". Thanks again to those of you who donated!
Reminders
Don't forget that it is your last chance to order Independence Ducklings Spirit Wear! Order forms are due on Wednesday. The handprint logo is on the front left chest and the ducklings are on the back and it says "Ducklings". It is a great way to show school spirit for kids and parents!
Relaxing on the Beach
We continued to enjoy the ocean this week with a kick off to the week of finishing Finding Nemo. We had a lot of fun noticing the ocean animals that we have been learning about over the last several weeks. We also talked about St. Patrick's Day and played some St. Patrick's Day games!
Thursday, March 12, 2009
5 Cranky Crabs
Miss Stephanie says that she is sorry she didn't update the blog last weekend. But better late than never! Here are our pictures from last week. One of our favorite parts of the week was making cranky crabs to decorate our hallway-turned-ocean (we have been practicing the fingerplay "5 Cranky Crabs". We also enjoyed the beautiful weather on Friday! In the slideshow you will see pictures of the daffodils we planted in the fall that are starting to grow!
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Rainbow Fish
We continued to play under the ocean this week. One of our favorite activities of the week was mixing colors, reading the story The Rainbow Fish, and then painting rainbow fish with the new colors we made. We watched colors mix together to learn that:
red + yellow = orange
blue + red = purple
yellow + blue = green
red + yellow = orange
blue + red = purple
yellow + blue = green
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Ocean Fun
We continued our ocean fun this week. We painted jellyfish and they are hanging from our ceiling. Watch out for their tentacles when you walk in. They might get you!
Monday, February 16, 2009
Under the Sea and Valentine's Day
We had a VERY busy week this week enjoying our Ocean unit as well as preparing for and celebrating Valentine's Day. We painted large sheets of white paper blue to begin the transformation of our hallway into an ocean! We also decorated bags/boxes for Valentine's Day and had a lot of fun at our celebration. We made valentines for friends or family, graphed the colors of candy hearts, handed out cards to our friends, and ate yummy treats!
Monday, February 9, 2009
Independence Spirit Day!
Last Thursday was our first Independence Spirit Day! Some friends in the Tuesday/Thursday class came to school dressed in their Independence wear! The next spirit day is this Friday, February 13th. Hope to see everyone in their ducks or at least royal blue and yellow!
A Shopping We Will Go!
Last week we went on a shopping trip for pet supplies around the school. Each of us chose a pet and had a shopping list of supplies for that specific animal. We walked all around the school in search of the supplies we needed. Some of us matched the pictures while others of us read the words on our list. We had a LOT of fun!
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Did you miss us?
Miss Stephanie says that she is sorry for being a posting slacker the last two weeks, but we made sure she would go home and post today. Here is a slideshow of pictures from the last two weeks of us enjoying pet shop activities. One of our favorite activities was playing the game with the dog. We had to roll a die and count the dots on it. Then we had to find the part of the dog's face with the matching number. We have done some really fun activities this week and we cannot wait for you to see the pictures from "shopping" in a pet store. Miss Stephanie promises she will post them over the weekend!
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