Reading Pete the Cat and Singing

One day during Reading Time, several of us wanted to be videotaped reading our favorite book, Pete the Cat. We love to read Pete the Cat every day! We have talked about it before here, here and here. It is a great book for colors, rhythm, cause and effect, and vocabulary!

Rereading favorite books can get old for the adults, but it helps young children develop important skills! They begin to understand the relationship of the pictures to the text, they develop better comprehension of the story, they begin to "retell" the story themselves, and they enjoy it! It is, however, important to expose your child to new books as well. If your child always wants to read the same book, you can do first/then. "FIRST we will read this new book. THEN we will read Pete the Cat" (or whatever the favorite book is!).

Enjoy our videos! 

JT

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DA

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ES

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GT

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MM

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 JTT wanted to be different and he sang Old MacDonald instead!

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Signing Time Halloween Signs

Check out the Signing Time video with Halloween signs here:

We use the third sign for Halloween around here!

The Very Busy Spider Day

Today to celebrate Halloween, we had a special celebration at school. We rotated around the school, participating in activities to go along with the book The Very Busy Spider  by Eric Carle.

Here is how you sign spider:

You can watch the story here:


You can see our pictures below!

What we did:
-Watched the story on the Smartboard
-Sang "Old MacDonald" and "Itsy Bitsy Spider"
-Did an obstacle course in the gym
-Made a spider snack with an apple
-Played Pin the Leg on the Spider
-Made a spider craft

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Watch the Itsy Bitsy Spider here:

The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything-Smartboard and Story

We have been enjoying reading the book The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything over the last few weeks.

We each took a turn using the Smartboard to retell the story! It is so neat! We each took a turn wearing the microphone and moving the pieces around the Smartboard while telling the story. We are still a little shy while using the microphone since it is the first time this year, but we will warm up to it!

DA

ES

GT

JT

JTT

MM

HG

JY

Miss Stephanie telling the story on the Smartboard

You can click on the pictures below to see signs that go along with our story!

You can see our post with the embedded videos here from last here!

Here are Miss Erin and Miss Stephanie reading the story:

Here is the performance at school last year:

Firefighter Visit, Safety Tips, and Fire Sign Language

Today we had a visit from the local firefighters.

Some important things we learned:

 If there is a fire or smoke, you should “get low and go”. (crawl outside)

Fire is hot and can hurt you, you shouldn’t go near it.

If there is a fire, you need to get OUT of the house. No going back for dogs, cats, pets, or toys.

You should have a meeting place to go outside if there is a fire.

Kids should not play with fire.

The smoke detector will make a loud nose if there is smoke, you should go outside. (Today-take some time to show your children the smoke detectors. Make sure they are working!)

Firemen are NOT scary even when they are dressed up! Firemen are nice even when they look scary (like in the pictures below)!

Click on this picture to see important signs about fire safety!

Other pictures of us walking around the fire truck:

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Our Friend the Bat

In the Pumpkin Patch post from last week, we gave you a sneak peak at our friend the bat! Here you can check our a slideshow with pictures of exploring the bat. We also read some books about bats.

We learned that different kinds of bats eat different things. Some of the things include:

-bugs

-fruit

-fish

-frogs

-blood (just vampire bats)

We learned that bats sleep hanging upside down by their feet. 

We learned that bats are usually awake at night and sleep during the day.

We learned that mommy bats carry their baby bats around until they learn to fly.

When we explored the bat, we used a magnifying glass to see it up close. We thought the feet were really cute!

Now the bat sits in our classroom in a glass mason jar that doesn't get opened and the jar keeps the bat safe from poking fingers. Don't worry, the bat is dead!

Click here to see pictures in sign language of how to sign bat.

You can watch the YouTube Video of the book Stellaluna right here (about a little bat).

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Pumpkin Carving

Last week when we went to the pumpkin patch at Ms. Stephanie's house, we picked one of the big pumpkins that had a hole made in it by a squirrel. We brought it back to school and the next day we carved it! We used the hole the squirrel made and turned it into a triangle eye!

Each of us helped carve the pumpkin and pull out the yucky insides! All of us did it, even if we were a little grossed out at first. Then we all talked about and decided on the shapes for the face.

It was fun and now the jack-o-lantern watches us from the bookshelf!

Sign for Pumpkin is here:


Our slideshow: 

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Fun at the Pumpkin Patch

We had a blast today visiting Miss Stephanie's pumpkin patch!

We got to walk around in the (muddy) field, pick a little pumpkin, sit on the old tractor and pretend to drive, look at the pumpkins on the hay wagon, watch Ms. Stephanie drive the John Deere, and see inside the barn. We were bummed to learn that there are no animals in the barn!

We are so excited that we get to bring a pumpkin home!

In the afternoon we went back and we were able to play in the leaves because they were dry! We also found a run away dog and were really happy to be able to return him to his owner who is a neighbor. 

Check out our pictures!

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We also had a really exciting afternoon because we saw a bat! Here is one picture for now...we will share more later! Ms. Stephanie's friend found it (dead) in her fireplace and we got to explore it with the magnifying glasses!

Pretend Play and More Bubble Wrap Fun

We had another busy week this week! Some of the things you will see in this slideshow:

-Pretending during Work Time
-Painting
-Play Dough
-Enjoying the sensory experience of jumping on bubble wrap-Miss Stephanie jumped too!
-Pretend Play

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We have had so much fun with the bubble wrap! You should try at home!

Some of the words we have been talking about this week:
-fall
-tree
-leaf
-rake
-pumpkin
-jack-o-lantern (a pumpkin with a face!)

This weekend you can talk about trees and leaves at home! Try going outside collecting different types of leaves and talk about how they are the same and different!

The most exciting news this week? We got our DonorsChoose.org project funded! We will be getting a classroom iPad in the next couple days! Miss Stephanie has already picked out and bought apps to use as communication tools, speech practice, and listening activities. We are so grateful to all the people that donated to help us get this tool just for us!

Classroom Fun and Bubble Wrap Fun!

Check out some of what we did this week!

You will see that we have bubble wrap in the science area this week. Why bubble wrap!?! Well, first, because Miss Stephanie LOVES bubble wrap. But second, because it is a great fine motor activity. We have been practicing popping the bubbles with just our 3 fingers instead of our whole hand. It helps us develop strength and dexterity in our fingers! You can read about some other fine motor activities to do at home here!

What else you will see in this video:
-playing in the centers
-matching letters of the alphabet
-drawing on the Smartboard
-making patterns

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I hope you have enjoyed the Deaf Awareness Week information! You can see them here as well! Feel free to share with your friends!

Pete the Cat-Rocking My School Shoes

Today we had a new visitor in our classroom!

Pete the Cat came to visit! We came in this morning and Pete the Cat was sitting right there on Miss Stephanie's chair! Not only did he visit us, but he brought us a new book! Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons. We got to read it during Circle Time!

In our class, we LOVE Pete the Cat. We love Pete the Cat I Love My White Shoes and Pete the Cat Rocking His School Shoes. We thought Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons was hilarious today! He found out he has a belly button! Miss Stephanie even told us that there is a new book coming out at the end of September! Pete the Cat Saves Christmas! We are so excited for it!

Miss Stephanie even just ordered a bunch of Pete the Cat books from Scholastic because we tend to love our Pete the Cat books to death around here!

Last year, Miss Erin and Miss Stephanie recorded Pete the Cat I Love My White Shoes and did a post about it here. We have another Pete the Cat post here. 

Here is our NEW Pete the Cat video:

You can also see some of our favorite videos with Eric Litwin, the author himself, reading the stories:

Pete the Cat I Love My White Shoes

  Pete the Cat Rocking In My School Shoes



AND you can download Eric Litwin reading the stories right here on the Harper Collins website. It can also help you learn how to sing the songs! Four Groovy Buttons has quite the beat! You can learn it on this site. 

Fun in the Class and Smartboard Team Work

Sorry this post is a little late! But here are our photos from last week! Here is some of what you will see in the video:
-making patterns with unifix cubes
-Sorting hot and cold weather clothes on the SmartBoard
-Playing during work time
-Helping Mr. Rich our audiologist set up equipment
-A video of H, J, and G working on the Smartboard together!

Check out our photos from last week!

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Important Links

Make sure to check out some important links on the "Links for Parents" section to the right. 

You can find: 

-U-46 Lunch menus to see what we will have for snack (breakfast) and/or lunch each day

-U-46 calendar

-Link to place Scholastic orders online with our class activation code (Don't forget, for every online order, you get a $5 for a free book and we get $3 for a free classroom book!)

You will also find some other great resources to browse at your leisure!

First Two Days of School

We had a FABULOUS first two days of school. It was great to see new faces and reunite with returning ones. 

Some of the things we did over the last two days:
-draw our faces
-learn about the different areas of the room
-meet our speech teacher Ms. Kate
-the M-F kids met the auditory teacher, Ms. Bridget, and counselor, Ms. Dana
-played outside on Friday

Some of the things we will do next week:
-Learn more about the different parts of the room
-Start our therapies
-make handprints and write our name and draw a picture of ourselves to save and see how it compares to the end of the year

Check out our slideshow of some pictures from the last 2 days!

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Back to School 2012

Welcome Back and Welcome To Independence Center for Early Learning!

I am excited to begin another school year working with you and your family as part of your child's team. I use this blog as an opportunity to share with you what happens in our classroom. I will post weekly slideshows so you can see what we are up to. You can also share the address with your family members so they can see what your child is up to in preschool! In addition to the pictures, I will often post videos of songs and stories that relate to our unit. I often also post "homework" that you can do with your child that relates to our classroom theme. This gives you a chance to talk to your child about what he/she is doing in the classroom. This is great for developing language skills and making connections.

In addition to my posts, I also have links on the right side of the page. These are great resources for you. Some are websites for kids and others are resources for parents.

I look forward to sharing your child's preschool experience with you this year!

Sometimes the slideshow doesn't appear right away. If that happens, you can hit the F5 button on your keyboard and wait a few minutes. It should appear shortly. If you experience any difficulty, let me know!

Open House is Tuesday, August 28th 3:00-5:00. 

The first day of school is Thursday, August 30th!

**You can check out the district calendar on the right under "Links for Parents"

End of the Year Sing

Last Tuesday we had our annual all school End of the Year Sing. The kids did a fantastic job performing for all of the families that came to visit us. The gym was packed! We know some family members were not able to make it to the sing, so we hope you enjoy watching the videos on here.


AM Class

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PM Class

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Life Cycle of a Ladybug-We have ladybugs!

This week has been really crazy as we finish up end of the year stuff and worked on our super secret Mother's Day projects! But I do have video of our ladybugs to show you! We have spent a lot of time using the magnifying glasses to look at our ladybugs as most of them have come out of the pupas as ladybugs!

When they first come out of the pupa, they are orange-ish. After a little time they start to turn more red and you can see their spots.

The little ladybugs have been running all over their habitat. We will let them go this week. You will notice at the bottom of their habitat, there are raisins. Since we don't have access to aphids, ladybugs natural food, they like to eat rasisins.

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Check out a video of the Eric Carle story: The Grouchy Ladybug. Your child will love the retelling!

Lifecycle of Ladybugs-Larvae Update

Last week you read about our new classroom friends. Our larvae continue to grow! We have been surprised every day this week with how much bigger they look! Many adults around here (including Miss Stephanie) have been surprised that lady bugs look like this when they are babies. We've all probably seen this little bugs outside and had no idea they were going to turn into lady bugs one day!


You can watch a video about the lifecycle of a ladybug here by clicking this link.


When you watch the video, you will see what happens to lady bug spots as a lady bug gets older.


YOUR HOMEWORK
-Watch the video with your son/daughter and listen for what happens to lady bug spots as they get older.
-Draw a picture of what lady bugs look like before they get old and then what starts happening to them when they get older.
-Bring it in on Monday!


Check out what our larvae look like this week!

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Look at us cleaning!

We wanted you to see how hard we work in our room to clean up after ourselves. One day this week we had quite the mess of corn on the floor from the messy table. The boys had the idea (all on their own) to get the broom and "the black thing" to clean it up. They were hard workers and picked up (almost) every piece of corn! We like to have fun and get creative....but we also know it is important to put our classroom back the way we found it every day!

Ling Sounds Sound Check

Check out a new link on the right in the "Listening and Speaking" section for kids with hearing aids and cochlear implants.


You can print your own "Ling Sounds" information and sound check for at home. We use this at circle time at the beginning of the day to make sure everyone's equipment is working properly!


From the website:

The sounds ah, ee, oo, sh, s, and mm indicate a child’s ability to detect all aspects of speech as these six sounds encompass the frequency range of all phonemes {speech sounds}.


This check can be used to determine what sounds the student is able to detect, discriminate, and identify.  

These are the Ling Sounds

Click on this link to download your own listening check sheet!


Another printable activity: flashcards and activities to practice the Ling Sounds