Concordia Preschool Classroom notes page

Readiness Newsletter

January 20, 2012

We are anxiously awaiting our first snowfall outside, but we have lots of snow themed projects and books in our classroom! Once we hear there are snowflakes falling, we’ll be sure to go out and catch some on black paper so we can see how different all of the flakes are! In the

meantime, we made our own snowflakes (out of glue and glitter) that are hanging out in the hallway! We also cut our own snowflakes out of coffee filters that will be hung inside our classroom as soon as I can get them hung. We created our own snowman glyph based on various questions. The children picked their nose, mouth, and hat if they liked it when it was cold, ever built snowman, and if they play inside or out in the winter. Even the number of snowballs tells us if the student is a boy or a girl. They are coming home today so we could make room for our Puffy Snowmen!!! Each child was given some “puffy paint” (2 parts shaving cream – non menthol and 1 part glue) and they created their snowman. Then they dressed the snowman and finished them by adding snow and a hat. The paint takes a while to dry so if you try it at home, please be patient! Once they are dry, it’s pretty cool how the paint feels (but please be careful not to poke the snowman as they are delicate!

In addition to making snow projects, we also celebrated N week with our Newspaper hats and our class newsletter. We had some unique hats (in addition to the usual princess hats) this year. The children were very specific with their design and I think it was first time I was able to get all 15 done in just 2 days! Thanks to the kids for their patience! Our geodesic dome was fun to make as well. The kids have been enjoying playing with it…yesterday the barbies and horses were using it as a jungle gym! We’ll be using it for our art fair, so we decided to put it up high so that it will last until then.

As for the art fair, we are busy preparing for it as well. Currently, we are finishing up our human letters for our alphabet quilt. We still have to draw our quilt pictures and create our original works of art so don’t be surprised if it looks like that’s all that’s on the board. We hope you can come to the art fair…it’s always a lot of fun. As in the past, we will have tattoos and face painting as well as a make and take area for our young artists.

MLK – On Tuesday, we learned about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Once we started the topic, it was great to hear the children discussing the topic. We showed them what it must have felt like back in the days of segregation. Those children (and teacher) who didn’t have brown eyes like me were asked to leave our circle area so we could do something fun. The children all agreed it was unfair and wanted everyone to be treated equally. It’s so important that our children learn this at a young age and what better time to do it than when we celebrate MLK’s birthday!

It’s not all arts and crafts in our classroom. We have also been working on our academics. Some of the things we work on will not come home as I do save some for our Spring Conference. We sorted and graphed motorcars and worked on beginning consonant matching during M week. Last week, we worked on numbers. So far this week, we learned “which has more” and “greater than and less than” with our Math. It’s so cool when the children grasp these concepts at such a young age! We also worked on rhyming and alphabet cups this week. It’s great when the kids are waiting to work on centers with us. Then they like to stay close by to see what their friends are able to do. They are all encouraging each other to want to learn!

Please be sure to pack gloves and hats for your children every day just in case we want to play outside! We did get to go out one day this week and the kids had a lot of fun…it was the teachers who were cold! Please check your child’s “change of clothes” bag. There’s always a chance we will need to change clothes. We tend to spill juice occasionally.

Here’s a look at what’s coming up:

• P week – January 23 – 27 – We will be working on Art fair and will be creating our own Phone book. Please be sure to continue practicing your child’s phone number with them. If you don’t use your home phone number, please let me know the number you would like them to know. We will also have our own post office set up in the classroom.

• Chinese New Year – On Monday, January 23rd, we will celebrate Chinese New Year. We’ll have a special snack that we’ll eat with chopsticks. Ty will be bringing in some items to share with our class that his parents brought back from China.

• Have you Filled a Bucket today – On Tuesday, January 24, we will celebrate “National Compliment Day.” This will mark the beginning of a different type of story bag coming home. After reading the book, “Have you Filled a Bucket Today?” in class, the children will bring the book home to share with their families. I’m not going to tell you too much about the story, but I’m sure you will enjoy reading it with your family. Read it a few times and then we need you to observe your child filling someone’s bucket. Write what the child did on the cutouts included in the story bag and bring the bag back to school so we can

add it to our bulletin board. The directions will be included in the bag.

• Grottos – We will be going to Grottos on Wednesday, January 25th. We need drivers to help transport the children to Grottos. It’s a fun field trip where the children actually go in the back and make their own pizzas and then get to eat it! They won’t be needing lunch that day! If you can drive, please let me know as soon as possible.

• Q week – January 30-February 3rd We will be finishing up our Art Fair projects including our Alphabet Quilt. We’ll also celebrate Ground Hog’s day and make predictions about the ground hog.

• Clifford – The threes and fours will all be going to the Grand to see Clifford the Big Red Dog on Monday, January 30th. It’s sure to be a fun time! We will be going by bus and will need to leave Concordia by 8:50. Please plan to arrive a little early on that day.

• Childfind testing will take place on Thursday, February 2nd. This only pertains to Delaware residents.

Looking ahead….

Valentine’s day is just a month away. Below, please find the list of our student’s names for the children to use when writing out their valentines. We know it may take longer for them to write their name and their friends, but it is a great literacy activity. We will have off on Friday, February 17th and Monday, February 20th for Teacher In Service and President’s day.

We are also counting down the days until our 100th day of school…we can’t wait for the celebration!

I’m in the process of putting together the February calendar and will send it out as soon as it’s complete. Please remember that a copy of our newsletter and calendar can always be found on Concordia’s website!

Stay warm!

Susan and Beth Ann

Names for Valentines

Ava

Julianna

Elliot

Ella

Casey

Joel

Lindsay

Hillary

Matthew

Jake

Luke R.

Luke S.

Elisa

Finn