Concordia Preschool Classroom notes page

Mrs. Conner & Mrs. DeLuca

5 day 4's

February 2012 Newsletter

The weeks in January passed by perfectly peacefully with our preschool pals!

We began our 2012 school year with "m, n, o, p and this week, Q". Our units included snowmen, gingerbread men (both will be in our art fair this Friday). The children have been working on a gingerbread house (made from a huge box)…you can see it in our class (they love it!) & there are some photos on shutterfly! Hopefully we'll actually have SNOW this year so they can use their snowman measuring sticks! Luckily, we had "blizzard in a bucket" so we did measure snow levels in the classroom! We've been busy rolling dice for counting/matching, and rhyming, writing. Ask your child about our MLK Jr. snack. We had lesson in "acceptance" and segregation. In addition to our regular snack, children with "certain color' eyes were offered marshmallows, Hershey kiss, etc. Was that FAIR?!

During "P" week (last week) we were busy making projects for the art fair (remember, it's the process we're encouraging rather than just the product!) We spent much of the week playing pirates and walking the plank! We played with penguins & polar bears in the ice table and did a little "ice fishing!" Workshops included rhyming, sequencing and 1:1 counting correspondence. On Wednesday, we went to the Philly Pretzel Factory! I hope you all received my photos of the field trip via our class shutterfly account! Thank you to Abby's grandmother and Bo and Nicholas' moms for driving us! We had fun! Please flip through the photos with your child and encourage him/her to tell you about each picture! What a great way to prompt and reinforce "recalling events/sequencing of events", discussion, etc. Did you know that there are only 4 ingredients in their soft pretzel?! Flour, conditioner, yeast & water! Ask your child some open ended questions like: What was in the big refrigerator? How did they make the dough? (mixed flour, conditioner, yeast & water) What did they have to do after they made pretzels from the dough (put them in the refrigerator), what did they dip the pretzels in before baking (tub of Hot water & baking soda) then sprinkled with salt.

Tracing a snowman at the light table was a challenge many welcomed. The light table also provided a great way to overlap our see-through colored paddles to make different colors. Other centers included pegboards, patterning, the game perfection, puzzles, paper punch table, and playdoh fun. We played with polly pockets, Mr. Potato head, puppets and more. The estimation jar included pennies and paperclips. We read How I Became a Pirate and Shiver Me Letters., and Have You Filled a Bucket Today? The "bucket" story is a great story about kindness. Everyday we are reinforcing our kindergarten readiness skills!

We spent a lot of time during the past few weeks preparing for our ART FAIR which is this Friday…we hope to see you there ("open house" 6pm-7:30pm). It's been fun making crafts and watching the boys and girls creativity grow!

The next couple of weeks brings with it some of my favorite projects & activities, including groundhog/shadows, "teeth", and the 5 senses!

One of our favorites is "Dr. Seuss" week in March We will ask for some parent/grandparent/friends to come in and read us a story! I have attached a February calendar for your reference

Today I did my math (we do every day!!) and science.

I toasted bread, I halved and quartered, counted, measured, and used my eyes,

ears and hands.

I added and subtracted on the way.

I used magnets blocks and memory tray.

I learned about a rainbow and how to weigh.

So please don't say -

'ANYTHING IN YOUR BACKPACK TODAY?'

You see. I'm sharing as I play, to learn to listen and speak clearly when I talk

to wait my turn and when inside to walk.

To put my words into a phrase, to find my name and write it down.

To do it with a smile and not a frown,

to put my pasting brush away. So please, don't say -

'WHAT NOTHING IN YOUR BACKPACK TODAY?'

I learned about a snail and a worm.

Remembered how to take my turn.

Helped a friend when he was stuck.

Learned that water runs off a duck.

Looked at words from left to right.

Agreed to differ, not to fight.

So please don't say -

'DID YOU ONLY PLAY TODAY?'

Yes, I played the whole day through.

I played to learn the things I do.

I speak a problem, find clue and work out for myself just what to do.

My teacher's set the scene, and stay near-by to help me when I really try.

They are there to pose the problems, and to help me think.

I hope they will keep me floating and never let me sink.

All of this is in my head and not in my bag. It makes me sad to hear you say -

'HAVEN'T YOU DONE ANYTHING TODAY?'

When you attend your meeting today and do your work I will remember not to

say to you -

'WHAT? NOTHING IN YOUR BAG? WHAT DID YOU DO?