We had a very busy week this week! We started off the week by tasting and graphing our favorite type of apples. We tasted Red Delicious, Granny Smith and Pink Lady apples. Most of the kids in both classes liked the Pink Lady apples the best. We also took a survey of different adults in the building and most people liked red and green apples the best. With our graphing and surveying, we got to practice "most" and "least" and were able to determine which apples are the most popular.
In the afternoon class, we had two surprise visitors with our Family of the Week! Two turtles came to visit and we got to see them and learn about them.
We all practiced patterning this week. This is a great and easy skill to practice at home. You can make all kinds of patterns! If you are eating dinner, you can pattern: carrot, green bean, corn, carrot, green bean corn, carrot, green bean corn. Or in the car you can pattern sounds: clap, snap, clap, snap, clap, snap.
Don't forget to spend some time as a family this weekend working on your take home packs. You have them until Wednesday and there are some fun and educational activities that your family will enjoy!
Check out the slideshow below to see the fun we had this week!
AM
PM
Friday, September 24, 2010
Sunday, September 19, 2010
September 17
We had a very busy and fun-filled week this week!
On Friday we spent our Small Group time thinking of names for our fish and then voting on them.
In the morning class, we picked out the name for our yellow fish. We decided on sunny.
In the afternoon class, we picked names for three fish. For our silver fish, the names the kids came up with were: Purple, Turtle, Fred, and Scooby Doo. Scooby Doo won! For our orange fish, the names the kids came up with were: Paula, Ballerina, Nemo, and Ariel. Nemo won! For our blue and orange fish, the names the kids came up with were: Brendan, Princess, Green, Soul Train. Soul Train won!
The kids voted by placing a post-it with their name on it on top of the name they liked best. Then we talked about more and less and counted all of the post-its to find the winners.
We also did several other fun activities this week! Check out the slideshow below to find out what we were up to!
On Friday we spent our Small Group time thinking of names for our fish and then voting on them.
In the morning class, we picked out the name for our yellow fish. We decided on sunny.
In the afternoon class, we picked names for three fish. For our silver fish, the names the kids came up with were: Purple, Turtle, Fred, and Scooby Doo. Scooby Doo won! For our orange fish, the names the kids came up with were: Paula, Ballerina, Nemo, and Ariel. Nemo won! For our blue and orange fish, the names the kids came up with were: Brendan, Princess, Green, Soul Train. Soul Train won!
The kids voted by placing a post-it with their name on it on top of the name they liked best. Then we talked about more and less and counted all of the post-its to find the winners.
We also did several other fun activities this week! Check out the slideshow below to find out what we were up to!
Monday, September 13, 2010
Second Week and Picture Walk
Sorry for the late post from last week! We had a very successful second week of school.
We participated in a picture walk on Thursday. We picked a book (Clifford) and looked at the cover and "walked" through the book without reading the words. While doing our walk, we talked about the pictures and what they could mean. We made predictions about what the book was about and what was happening on each page of the book based on what we saw. After that, we read the book and then looked back at our predictions to see if we were close. This is a great strategy to use at home before reading bed time stories!
PM
Below you will find the slideshow with other pictures of the fun we had this week!
We participated in a picture walk on Thursday. We picked a book (Clifford) and looked at the cover and "walked" through the book without reading the words. While doing our walk, we talked about the pictures and what they could mean. We made predictions about what the book was about and what was happening on each page of the book based on what we saw. After that, we read the book and then looked back at our predictions to see if we were close. This is a great strategy to use at home before reading bed time stories!
AM
PM
Below you will find the slideshow with other pictures of the fun we had this week!Friday, September 3, 2010
First Week
Here are the rest of the pictures of us learning about our classroom this week. We have learned a lot about the routine of the classroom and how to play at the different centers. We even learned how to clean up at each of the centers and we are doing a really good job looking at the pictures to see where everything goes!
We hope you enjoy the slideshows of pictures of what we have been up to this week!
AM
PM
We hope you enjoy the slideshows of pictures of what we have been up to this week!
AM
PM
Thursday, September 2, 2010
First Day of School
We had a wonderful first day of school on Wednesday! Unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate, but regardless of the rain, we enjoyed ourselves. We had circle time, learned about a few of the centers, read books, ate snack, danced and sang! We even drew pictures of ourselves to look back on at the end of the year.
Here are some slideshows of the first day of school!
I always encourage you to comment on the posts and let us know what you think!
Also, there is an updated Helping Hands list on the side of the page. Thank you to everyone who has helped with supplies for the classroom!
AM Class
PM Class
Here are some slideshows of the first day of school!
I always encourage you to comment on the posts and let us know what you think!
Also, there is an updated Helping Hands list on the side of the page. Thank you to everyone who has helped with supplies for the classroom!
AM Class
PM Class
Open House
Thank you to everyone who came to visit for Open House. I enjoyed seeing kids and families and I'm glad you had the opportunity to see the classroom!
Check out the slideshow below to see some of the fun we had!
Check out the slideshow below to see some of the fun we had!
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
School Supply List
School Supply List
1 box thick Crayola Markers-Classic Colors
Backpack (please no wheels, and it needs to be big enough to fit a folder)
1 Snack to feed entire class
1 box of 5 oz cups
1 package Antibacterial Wipes
1 box of Kleenex
Change of clothes labeled with your child’s name (all children)
Diapers/Wipes (if your child uses them)
*If you are interested in purchasing other materials for the classroom, a donation of a $5 or $10 gift card to Target or Staples, is always a great help! I can use those to purchase copy paper, crayons, markers, scissors, etc, as we need them.
There will also be a “Helping Hands” poster available for other classroom items that we need. Items at the beginning of the year are:
110 pound cardstock (can be found at Staples)
HP ink #15
HP ink #17
blue gel bottles of Elmer’s glue
gallon sized Ziploc bags (no easy zip zipper please!)
roll of paper towels
waterless hand sanitizer (at least 60% alcohol)
dry erase markers
1 box thick Crayola Markers-Classic Colors
Backpack (please no wheels, and it needs to be big enough to fit a folder)
1 Snack to feed entire class
1 box of 5 oz cups
1 package Antibacterial Wipes
1 box of Kleenex
Change of clothes labeled with your child’s name (all children)
Diapers/Wipes (if your child uses them)
*If you are interested in purchasing other materials for the classroom, a donation of a $5 or $10 gift card to Target or Staples, is always a great help! I can use those to purchase copy paper, crayons, markers, scissors, etc, as we need them.
There will also be a “Helping Hands” poster available for other classroom items that we need. Items at the beginning of the year are:
110 pound cardstock (can be found at Staples)
HP ink #15
HP ink #17
blue gel bottles of Elmer’s glue
gallon sized Ziploc bags (no easy zip zipper please!)
roll of paper towels
waterless hand sanitizer (at least 60% alcohol)
dry erase markers
Welcome Back 2010-2011
Welcome back to school for the 2010 or 2011 school year! I am excited for another school year with some returning students and some students that I can't wait to get to know!
Open House
Open House
Monday, August 30
5:00-7:00
First Day of School
Wednesday, September 1
8:00 AM or 11:30 AM
I look forward to seeing all of you in the next week! Please contact me if you should have any questions!
*You can also click on the Google calendar on the right to see other important dates that are coming up!
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Last Day!
Our last day of school was spent enjoying sunshine and friendship at the park near the school. We played and ate yummy snacks. On Thursday we even got to walk through a path in the "woods" near our school. It was fun!
Have a great summer!
Enjoy the pictures below.
Have a great summer!
Enjoy the pictures below.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Young Athletes Celebration
On Friday, we spent the day celebrating with our Young Athletes finale. We had a day full of fun rotating around the stations: playing with the parachute, kicking and throwing, going through an obstacle course, eating a snack and dancing. We felt very special during our opening and closing ceremonies. Thank you to all of the parents who joined us and helped us!
The pictures from AM and PM are in different slideshows because Miss Stephanie took SO MANY pictures. She just loves to take pictures!
AM Class
PM Class
The pictures from AM and PM are in different slideshows because Miss Stephanie took SO MANY pictures. She just loves to take pictures!
AM Class
PM Class
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Update in our Class
Last week we were working hard on counting and story retelling activities. We each had a chance to sit with Miss Stephanie and show her our skills!
You can check out our slideshow below!
You can check out our slideshow below!
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Farm and Turtles!
This week we continued to work on farm activities. We finished up painting with various vegetables and began painting farm animals.
We painted with green peppers, potatoes, carrots, and broccoli.
We painted "mud" on pigs (shaving cream, glue, and paint).
We marble painted on cows.
We painted with a feather on a duck.
On Friday morning we had an exciting morning on the playground. We found two baby turtles! We were so excited to find them and we brought them inside and put them in our empty aquarium. One of them was not moving so much, but within a few hours it really perked up! The two tiny adorable turtles were running around the aquarium and seemed to be enjoying the food we gave them. We kept them all day and had a lot of fun watching them. At the end of the day we decided to let them go and bring them back out to the swamp. Since we weren't going to keep them forever (Miss Stephanie wasn't sure what she would do with two grown turtles at some point) we didn't want to get them used to living inside. We didn't think it was fair to let them get used to living inside and then let them go in the wild, so we let them go on Friday. They were lots of fun though!
Enjoy lots of pictures from our activities this week and especially the turtles at the end!
We painted with green peppers, potatoes, carrots, and broccoli.
We painted "mud" on pigs (shaving cream, glue, and paint).
We marble painted on cows.
We painted with a feather on a duck.
On Friday morning we had an exciting morning on the playground. We found two baby turtles! We were so excited to find them and we brought them inside and put them in our empty aquarium. One of them was not moving so much, but within a few hours it really perked up! The two tiny adorable turtles were running around the aquarium and seemed to be enjoying the food we gave them. We kept them all day and had a lot of fun watching them. At the end of the day we decided to let them go and bring them back out to the swamp. Since we weren't going to keep them forever (Miss Stephanie wasn't sure what she would do with two grown turtles at some point) we didn't want to get them used to living inside. We didn't think it was fair to let them get used to living inside and then let them go in the wild, so we let them go on Friday. They were lots of fun though!
Enjoy lots of pictures from our activities this week and especially the turtles at the end!
Saturday, April 24, 2010
More fun on the Farm
We continued with our farm activities this week.
Don't forget to finish your family projects if you haven't done so yet!
Don't forget to finish your family projects if you haven't done so yet!
Sunday, April 18, 2010
More fun at the Farmer's Market
This week we added two new centers to our Farmer's Market theme.
We have onion bulbs in the sand table. We have practiced digging holes, planting the bulbs, and covering them back up. We are learning to be quite the gardeners!
We also have vocabulary cards in Literacy Lane with many of our vocabulary words for this unit. We have been practicing writing our words on different signs to place around the room.
We are getting really good at picking out our vegetables and purchasing them in the Pretend Play area.
Don't forget to turn in your Family Projects on Monday or Tuesday! Working on these projects as a family is a great opportunity to build vocabulary and work on creative and problem solving skills together.
Here are our pictures:
We have onion bulbs in the sand table. We have practiced digging holes, planting the bulbs, and covering them back up. We are learning to be quite the gardeners!
We also have vocabulary cards in Literacy Lane with many of our vocabulary words for this unit. We have been practicing writing our words on different signs to place around the room.
We are getting really good at picking out our vegetables and purchasing them in the Pretend Play area.
Don't forget to turn in your Family Projects on Monday or Tuesday! Working on these projects as a family is a great opportunity to build vocabulary and work on creative and problem solving skills together.
Here are our pictures:
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Shopping at the Farmer's Market
This week we began our Farm theme. We are talking about all of the things that come from a farm. We are learning that farmers not only take care of animals, but they also grow vegetables too. We learned that they eat some of what they grow, but that they also sell it.
We have a Farmer's Market set up in the pretend play area. We are practicing buying and selling fruits and vegetables when we are in there.
In the construction zone, we have a whole vegetable garden. We can pick the vegetables we want to harvest and take care of our garden. We also have some farm animals and we are building barns for them with the blocks.
In the small toys area we are playing with puzzles about farm animals and fruits and vegetables.
Stay tuned next for even more farm themed centers!
When you are out shopping this week, check out the produce section in the grocery store and talk about the different vegetables. You can also involve your child in the checkout process (adding up the total, giving money, receiving change...or paying with credit!) to help us understand how to work the cash register at our Farmer's Market.
Check out the slideshow of our farm fun this week:
We have a Farmer's Market set up in the pretend play area. We are practicing buying and selling fruits and vegetables when we are in there.
In the construction zone, we have a whole vegetable garden. We can pick the vegetables we want to harvest and take care of our garden. We also have some farm animals and we are building barns for them with the blocks.
In the small toys area we are playing with puzzles about farm animals and fruits and vegetables.
Stay tuned next for even more farm themed centers!
When you are out shopping this week, check out the produce section in the grocery store and talk about the different vegetables. You can also involve your child in the checkout process (adding up the total, giving money, receiving change...or paying with credit!) to help us understand how to work the cash register at our Farmer's Market.
Check out the slideshow of our farm fun this week:
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Goodbye Circus
When we got back from spring break this week, we said, "Goodbye" to the big top. It was sad to say goodbye to the animals and clowns, but most of us really enjoyed having our regular toys back!
Here are some pictures of our fun this week!
Here are some pictures of our fun this week!
Monday, March 22, 2010
Circus Trains
This slideshow shows all of the Circus Trains that were made for our Family Project. The kids were SO excited to bring their trains in and show them off to their friends. Working as a family on these project not only creates family time, but it also encourages dialogue about the subject.
Have a wonderful week off!
Have a wonderful week off!
Monday, March 15, 2010
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Revised Family of the Week
Check out our new Family of the Week schedule if you are new to our class!
Click here or on the link at the right.
Click here or on the link at the right.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Welcome to the Big Top!
This week our classroom has been transformed into a Big Top Circus! We have been having a great time learning about all the pieces that make a circus happen. We are using mature play to interact at our centers. We are pretending to be clowns and ringmasters. We are selling and buying cotton candy and popcorn. We are building circuses with the blocks and the animals are putting on shows. We are using vocabulary and making signs to put around the room. The Big Top is ablaze with activity! The MWF and AM classes came home with clown hats. Check out the weekly newsletter to hear how we had to listen to a story to put them together. Check out the slideshow below to see some examples of our fun and our learning.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Feelings
As you know, we have been learning about feeling words recently in class. This week we played with some balls that have different faces on them. We took turns throwing them to each other and telling a time that we feel that way. It was fun to come up with different situations for the different emotions. This is a great skill to continue practicing at home. Use a variety of emotion words around your house. Knowing different feelings words allows kids to express themselves more clearly which often leads to less frustration!
Enjoy some pictures of our game!
Enjoy some pictures of our game!
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Washing our Hands
One of the things we have been focusing on in class recently is washing our hands correctly. Many of us just get some soap on our hands and immediately run them under the water. Miss Stephanie tells us that is not the right way to wash our hands! She says that is not actually getting them clean!
We have been working on the correct way to wash our hands:
-Turn on the water (it should be warm)
-Get your hands wet
-Get soap on your hands
-Rub your hands together all over (front, back, fingers, thumbs)
-Count to 10 while rubbing
-Rinse them under the water
-Dry your hands
(Hands should really be washed for longer than 10 seconds, but we are taking baby steps. 10 seconds is better than just running them under the water quickly and being done!)
Miss Stephanie really wants us to practice this at home and sat school to help keep us healthy!
Check out the video below!
Check out two videos of friends washing hands to help remind us what to do!
We have been working on the correct way to wash our hands:
-Turn on the water (it should be warm)
-Get your hands wet
-Get soap on your hands
-Rub your hands together all over (front, back, fingers, thumbs)
-Count to 10 while rubbing
-Rinse them under the water
-Dry your hands
(Hands should really be washed for longer than 10 seconds, but we are taking baby steps. 10 seconds is better than just running them under the water quickly and being done!)
Miss Stephanie really wants us to practice this at home and sat school to help keep us healthy!
Check out the video below!
Check out two videos of friends washing hands to help remind us what to do!
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Happy Valentine's Day!
This week we participated in many Valentine's Day activities. The most fun was the party! On Thursday afternoon and Friday we enjoyed passing out treats that we brought for our friends. We practiced recognizing our friends names while passed out the valentines we brought. We also practiced saying "thank you" to everyone who gave us a treat.
Thank you to everyone who brought in treats and juice for us to share at snack time. We enjoyed all the yumminess!
Enjoy the slideshow of pictures.
Thank you to everyone who brought in treats and juice for us to share at snack time. We enjoyed all the yumminess!
Enjoy the slideshow of pictures.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Feelings!
This week we have been talking about feelings. Each class brainstormed different emotions and we came up with examples of when you feel that emotion. We came up with some pretty creative responses! During the week we made sure to use emotion words as much as possible. This is something you can do at home.
For example:
"Oh. I see you are frustrated because you cannot keep playing with your toys right now."
"I get grumpy too when I don't get what I want."
"It looks like that boy on TV is scared because the lights went out."
Have fun talking about feelings!
For example:
"Oh. I see you are frustrated because you cannot keep playing with your toys right now."
"I get grumpy too when I don't get what I want."
"It looks like that boy on TV is scared because the lights went out."
Have fun talking about feelings!
Monday, January 25, 2010
Birthday Fun and Story Retelling
This month we have been celebrating a lot of birthdays! We have one January birthday in every class and at least one half birthday in every class! We have celebrated the July half birthdays this month so we have all been enjoying yummy treats.
Last week and this week we have been practicing retelling the story I Know An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly individually. We have the pictures and the book to help us retell the story. The MWF class will be practicing that this week. We have had a lot of fun reading this story and especially saying, "She swallowed the spider that wiggled and jiggled and tickled inside her"!
Here are pictures from our activities:
Last week and this week we have been practicing retelling the story I Know An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly individually. We have the pictures and the book to help us retell the story. The MWF class will be practicing that this week. We have had a lot of fun reading this story and especially saying, "She swallowed the spider that wiggled and jiggled and tickled inside her"!
Here are pictures from our activities:
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Family of the Week Update
We have had many new friends join us in the last couple of weeks. I have updated the Family of the Week Schedule and it is posted on the right sidebar. Please check it out so you know when your turn for Family of the Week is coming up. Your child will bring home the Family of the Week bag with a note inside the week before his/her turn. There is also a note on the right sidebar for ways you can participate. I also list the upcoming Family of the Week in the weekly newsletter.
Don't forget to check it out!
Don't forget to check it out!
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Writing and Stories
This week we started a unit on "I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly". We had a lot of fun reading the story and talking about the different animals she swallowed. We also spent time listening to the story and helping Miss Stephanie put animals on the flannel board in order when the animal we were holding was read. On Thursday and Friday, Miss Stephanie became the old lady and we had to feed the old lady the animals!
Also on the slideshow are pictures of everyone practicing their daily message this week. Every day, we do daily message at circle time. Miss Stephanie says a message like "Today we will read a story". Then she writes one line for each word on the board. She points to the lines and reads it again. Then she writes the words on the lines as she says the message. Then we all read it again. Last, everyone gets their own dry erase board and marker to write the message. Some of us write the message letter for letter, some of us write with letter like symbols and others of us are still scribbling. When we are done, however, we all read back the message we have written.
Here are the pictures!
Also on the slideshow are pictures of everyone practicing their daily message this week. Every day, we do daily message at circle time. Miss Stephanie says a message like "Today we will read a story". Then she writes one line for each word on the board. She points to the lines and reads it again. Then she writes the words on the lines as she says the message. Then we all read it again. Last, everyone gets their own dry erase board and marker to write the message. Some of us write the message letter for letter, some of us write with letter like symbols and others of us are still scribbling. When we are done, however, we all read back the message we have written.
Here are the pictures!
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Thursday and Friday
There is no school for preschoolers on Wednesday January 13th.
On Thursday January 14 and Friday January 15 there are some changes with transportation.
AM-The morning classes will have busing into school but WILL NOT have busing home. Please be at school to pick up your child with your sign by 11:50.
PM-The afternoon classes WILL NOT have busing into school but will have busing home. If your child normally rides the bus home, we will plan to send him/her home on the bus unless we hear otherwise.
If your child is normally on the bus and you are either picking up or dropping off you will do that in the bus lane in the front of the school. If you participate in the parent pick-up and drop off you will continue to do what we always do.
If your child will not be riding the bus, please remember to call transportation.
If you have any questions please let me know!
On Thursday January 14 and Friday January 15 there are some changes with transportation.
AM-The morning classes will have busing into school but WILL NOT have busing home. Please be at school to pick up your child with your sign by 11:50.
PM-The afternoon classes WILL NOT have busing into school but will have busing home. If your child normally rides the bus home, we will plan to send him/her home on the bus unless we hear otherwise.
If your child is normally on the bus and you are either picking up or dropping off you will do that in the bus lane in the front of the school. If you participate in the parent pick-up and drop off you will continue to do what we always do.
If your child will not be riding the bus, please remember to call transportation.
If you have any questions please let me know!
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Donors Choose Link
Welcome back! You will notice on the right sidebar there is a link for a DonorsChoose.org proposal. DonorsChoose.org is a wonderful website for teachers to request materials for their classrooms. Anyone can view the proposal and make a donation of any size. We have been very lucky to receive materials for our classroom from DonorsChoose.org in the last several years. Our large rug, costumes, and construction toys all came from DonorsChoose.org. Our new proposal is for more materials for the block area.
Here is the link.
Thank you for taking the time to check it out!
Here is the link.
Thank you for taking the time to check it out!
Friday, December 18, 2009
Busy Week
This week we had a super busy week at school. Monday night we had our cookie decorating with families event. I didn't even take any pictures! I am sorry about the chair situation and not having enough chairs for everyone to sit and relax. We live and learn! I hope that you enjoyed coming out and decorating a cookie with your family.
We also had pajama day at the end of this week. On Thursday afternoon we watched "Up" in our classroom with just our little group. Friday morning and Friday afternoon we watched "Surf's Up!" with Miss Jen and Miss Erin's classes in the room next door projected on the wall. It was like being at the movies. We all had fun in our pajamas and enjoyed seeing each other's pajamas! Friday afternoon we also celebrated Ella's birthday.
Make sure to read your newsletters and the attached schedule about changes to transportation on January 14th and 15th.
Have a safe and relaxing holiday break!
We also had pajama day at the end of this week. On Thursday afternoon we watched "Up" in our classroom with just our little group. Friday morning and Friday afternoon we watched "Surf's Up!" with Miss Jen and Miss Erin's classes in the room next door projected on the wall. It was like being at the movies. We all had fun in our pajamas and enjoyed seeing each other's pajamas! Friday afternoon we also celebrated Ella's birthday.
Make sure to read your newsletters and the attached schedule about changes to transportation on January 14th and 15th.
Have a safe and relaxing holiday break!
Friday, December 11, 2009
This week and last!
I just realized that I never posted pictures from last week! So you will get two slideshows this week. First, we have pictures from last week when the TTH class and M-F AM class made crayons and then used them. There are also some pictures of our stoplight activity.
This week we started the book If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. We did several fun activites to go along with the story. But before we did that, we went on a picture walk. I went through the book with the class and didn't read any of the words. We talked about the pictures and what we thought could be happening in the story and why. This is a great skill to develop because it will help with inferencing skills later.
For example:
-Me "What do you think is happening here?"
-Child "The mouse will eat a cookie."
-Me "Why do you think that?"
-Child "Because the boy is holding a cookie in his hand and the mouse is getting it".
-Me "Oh! I see that too. I also see that in this next picture there are crumbs on the ground. That must mean he ate it".
This is just an example of questioning skills to use when reading with your child. I took some dictation during our activity (one sentence per page) to allow each child to inference what could be happening in the picture.
Below is a slideshow of some pictures from work time this week. There are also some videos of our snack song! You will notice that before we sing the "Open Shut Them" song, we do the "Gobble Gobble Crunch Crunch" with "silly 3s"....holding up the thumb, first finger and middle finger. That is actually the number 3 in sign language.
Using those fingers is very important for hand stability when learning to write. Anything you can have your child do using those three fingers will help with writing. They can use them to pick up popcorn when you are having a snack or use them to pick up little toys when playing...you can make a game out of it...no body can eat snack without using only those fingers! We practice opening and closing them every day before snack.
This week we started the book If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. We did several fun activites to go along with the story. But before we did that, we went on a picture walk. I went through the book with the class and didn't read any of the words. We talked about the pictures and what we thought could be happening in the story and why. This is a great skill to develop because it will help with inferencing skills later.
For example:
-Me "What do you think is happening here?"
-Child "The mouse will eat a cookie."
-Me "Why do you think that?"
-Child "Because the boy is holding a cookie in his hand and the mouse is getting it".
-Me "Oh! I see that too. I also see that in this next picture there are crumbs on the ground. That must mean he ate it".
This is just an example of questioning skills to use when reading with your child. I took some dictation during our activity (one sentence per page) to allow each child to inference what could be happening in the picture.
Below is a slideshow of some pictures from work time this week. There are also some videos of our snack song! You will notice that before we sing the "Open Shut Them" song, we do the "Gobble Gobble Crunch Crunch" with "silly 3s"....holding up the thumb, first finger and middle finger. That is actually the number 3 in sign language.
Using those fingers is very important for hand stability when learning to write. Anything you can have your child do using those three fingers will help with writing. They can use them to pick up popcorn when you are having a snack or use them to pick up little toys when playing...you can make a game out of it...no body can eat snack without using only those fingers! We practice opening and closing them every day before snack.Saturday, November 21, 2009
Work time and Melting Crayons
This week we continued participating in Community Helper activities. On Monday afternoon the MWF class even got to see a policeman come visit the school and talk to us! Check out the weekly newsletter for details about our other Community Helper activities. On Friday afternoon the MWF class broke crayons and put them in a mold to make new crayons. We waited patiently while they melted in the oven and then cooled. Then we got to draw with our crayons and everyone got to bring home 2 in their backpacks.
Enjoy your week with no school!
Enjoy your week with no school!
Friday, November 13, 2009
Community Helpers
We kicked off our Community Helpers unit this week. We began by going on a search of the school to find out who works in a school. We each had a list of possible people and we searched the school. We found a teacher, a speech teacher, a secretary, a principal, a custodian and a nurse! At the end of this week, we talked about mail and the post office. We practiced writing and addressing letters. We learned about stamps and return address labels. We even took a walk to the mailbox in the neighborhood!
Monday, November 9, 2009
End of Recycling Unit
Last week we completed our recycling unit. We read the book "Michael Recycle" and then became recycling superheroes ourselves. We flew around the school like superheroes cleaning up parts of the town. Every place in the town we visited, we had to remove a picture. Then we decided if it was recycling or garbage. When we got back to the room, we reviewed everything we found! Please enjoy the pictures!
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Go Away Big Green Monster Party and the Week
This week we participated in a fun recycling/garbage clean up activity. We in extra room and saw that someone had left garbage and recycling all over the place! We picked it all up and sorted it into the garbage can and recycling bin.
The other exciting thing we did this week was go outside and find pumpkins! The pumpkin fairy left some pumpkins in the grass outside of the school. We each got to find a pumpkin and then bring it inside to decorate it.
Here is the slideshow of those two activities:
The other exciting thing we did this week was go outside and find pumpkins! The pumpkin fairy left some pumpkins in the grass outside of the school. We each got to find a pumpkin and then bring it inside to decorate it.
Here is the slideshow of those two activities:
Also this week we had a Go Away Big Green Monster party on Friday. We rotated around the school participating in different activities. Our class moved around the station with Mr. Keating's friends. It was fun to meet other friends! We read a story and used the Go Away Big Green Monster puppet, we played "Pin the Nose on the Big Green Monster", we did a monster obstacle course, we made Go Away Big Green Monster faces, we decorated monster cookies and moved with some gross motor activities to the Monster Mash. It was a fun day filled with learning and movement as well!
Enjoy the slideshow!
Monday, October 26, 2009
Family of the Week Schedule
The new family of the week schedule for new students has been added on the right sidebar!
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Fun with Recycling
This week we did several activities with the pieces of recycling everyone brought in. First, we counted and sorted the recycling by type. Then we graphed how much of each type we had (plastic, paper, glass, and metal). We had the most pieces of plastic!
Another day we weighed the recycling to figure out which pieces were heavier than others. We dictated sentences to Miss Stephanie about what we found out.
Check out our slideshow!
Another day we weighed the recycling to figure out which pieces were heavier than others. We dictated sentences to Miss Stephanie about what we found out.
Check out our slideshow!
Friday, October 16, 2009
Recycling and Fall
This week we participated in recycling activities and fall activities!
We have spent quite a bit of time discussing the difference between recycling and garbage. It is a great topic for home! When you are throwing something away, think outloud about whether it is recycling or garbage before you make your decision. This will help your child make the decision by himself/herself.
We also talked about reducing and reusing. The MWF/M-F classes learned that donut holes used to be just thrown away instead of sold and eaten! We learned about it by having leaves cut out of paper. We used the outside pieces as stencils to draw pictures of leaves and the inside leaf shapes to make patterns. Then we ate donut holes! We have been talking about using all parts of items and not wasting.
There are some videos included in the slideshow of the fun we have dancing at circle time. Please excuse the shakiness of the video....Miss Stephanie was dancing while recording!
We have spent quite a bit of time discussing the difference between recycling and garbage. It is a great topic for home! When you are throwing something away, think outloud about whether it is recycling or garbage before you make your decision. This will help your child make the decision by himself/herself.
We also talked about reducing and reusing. The MWF/M-F classes learned that donut holes used to be just thrown away instead of sold and eaten! We learned about it by having leaves cut out of paper. We used the outside pieces as stencils to draw pictures of leaves and the inside leaf shapes to make patterns. Then we ate donut holes! We have been talking about using all parts of items and not wasting.
There are some videos included in the slideshow of the fun we have dancing at circle time. Please excuse the shakiness of the video....Miss Stephanie was dancing while recording!
Monday, October 12, 2009
Playing Go Fish and Recycling
This week we started our recycling unit by reading several books that taught us what we can recycle and why we should recycle. We are looking forward to getting involved in more taking care of the earth activities!
This week we also played Go Fish with letter cards in the M-F and MWF classes. It was a lot of fun and Miss Stephanie was very impressed with how well we did. This would be a great game to continue playing at home.
Don't forget to that we will be recycling ink cartridges, batteries, and Elmer's glue bottles and glue sticks at school. Please send them in your child's backpack!
Also, don't forget to go to Miss Erin's page and leave a comment on her 3-a-day post. You could win a $25 gift certificate!!!!
Miss Stephanie realized that she didn't take a lot of pictures this week, but here ya go!
This week we also played Go Fish with letter cards in the M-F and MWF classes. It was a lot of fun and Miss Stephanie was very impressed with how well we did. This would be a great game to continue playing at home.
Don't forget to that we will be recycling ink cartridges, batteries, and Elmer's glue bottles and glue sticks at school. Please send them in your child's backpack!
Also, don't forget to go to Miss Erin's page and leave a comment on her 3-a-day post. You could win a $25 gift certificate!!!!
Miss Stephanie realized that she didn't take a lot of pictures this week, but here ya go!
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
3-A-Day Dairy Giveaway
Miss Erin (one of the other teachers at our school) was given the opportunity to give away some free stuff on her classroom blog. She is opening it up to all of the classrooms with classroom blogs at our school!
Lucky us!
You can visit her website and read her post about nutrition for preschools students. There are directions at the end of the post to enter the giveaway! All you have to do is leave a comment on the post. Make sure to include your child's name and my name as well!
www.MissErinsClass.blogspot.com
Click here to visit the post directly!
Lucky us!
You can visit her website and read her post about nutrition for preschools students. There are directions at the end of the post to enter the giveaway! All you have to do is leave a comment on the post. Make sure to include your child's name and my name as well!
www.MissErinsClass.blogspot.com
Click here to visit the post directly!
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Brown Bear Videos and Pumpkin Patch
This week we took turns reading our Brown Bear books that we made. We were VERY excited to have our very own books to bring home and read to our families. Also this week we visited Miss Stephanie's Pumpkin Patch! It was so exciting! We saw these great big green things that looked like huge watermelon! But Miss Stephanie told us that they are pumpkins. We didn't know pumpkins were green before they were orange. There are so many pumpkins and cute little gourds! We can't wait to go back at the end of October and pick some pumpkins for ouselves.
Here are some videos of us reading at school.
T/TH
Here are some videos of us reading at school.
T/TH
MWF
Here is our slideshow of the visit to the pumpkin patch (and birthday fun!).
Thursday, October 1, 2009
School Library
We are very excited to announce that our Independence School Library is almost up and running! We cannot wait to be able to head there for story time and to check out books. Right now, we are looking for parent volunteers to help with running the library. We are hoping to get volunteers on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, for both the morning and afternoon sessions. Ideally, volunteers would need to be able to say for the entire 2.5 hour session. Please let me know if you are interested in helping out with the library on a regular basis!
Also, keep an eye out this weekend for a pictures post of our visit the pumpkin patch as well as some video of the classes reading Brown Bear!
Also, keep an eye out this weekend for a pictures post of our visit the pumpkin patch as well as some video of the classes reading Brown Bear!
Friday, September 25, 2009
Brown Bear Activities and Story Time
This week we continued to participate in Brown Bear activities. We also finished up making all of the pages for our very own Brown Bear books!
One of our favorite activities this week was making our Brown Bear crowns. We listened to Miss Stephanie telling the story and as she read about each of the animals, we placed them on our sentence strip. She said she was very proud of the way we listened carefully and followed along.
Another fun activity this week was with the /b/ sound pictures we brought from home (The T/TH class will do it next Tuesday). We talked about the pictures and the sound they start with. Then we put them on a poster, wrote the names of the words underneath and put the poster in the hallway to share with others in the school.
Enjoy the pictures in this slideshow!
Also, there is a video at the bottom of Miss Stephanie reading her own version of Brown Bear. It is a little like the books we made because each page is textured! We are excited to watch the story on the computer as Miss Stephanie reads it to us! Miss Stephanie would love to know if we look at it at home with our parents and what we thought!
Here is the slideshow:
Here is the story:
One of our favorite activities this week was making our Brown Bear crowns. We listened to Miss Stephanie telling the story and as she read about each of the animals, we placed them on our sentence strip. She said she was very proud of the way we listened carefully and followed along.
Another fun activity this week was with the /b/ sound pictures we brought from home (The T/TH class will do it next Tuesday). We talked about the pictures and the sound they start with. Then we put them on a poster, wrote the names of the words underneath and put the poster in the hallway to share with others in the school.
Enjoy the pictures in this slideshow!
Also, there is a video at the bottom of Miss Stephanie reading her own version of Brown Bear. It is a little like the books we made because each page is textured! We are excited to watch the story on the computer as Miss Stephanie reads it to us! Miss Stephanie would love to know if we look at it at home with our parents and what we thought!
Here is the slideshow:
Here is the story:
Untitled from Stephanie Atwell on Vimeo.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Brown Bear Painting
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!
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!
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!
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