Ms. Friedman
Preschool
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August 25th, 2023
Welcome To Blakely Developmental Preschool!
Our Team: Teacher Amy Friedman
Paraprofessionals: Tanya Agnew and Krista Friedman
Speech Therapist: Leticia Blacker
Physical Therapist and Preschool Coordinator: Mary-Beth Kobs
Occupational Therapist: Kelly Danielson
The first day of preschool is Tuesday, September 12th
Sessions are: Morning 7:45 - 10:15 and Afternoon 11:45 - 2:15
School Registration: Please remember to register your child at Blakely Developmental Preschool ASAP, if you haven’t done so already. Please contact Kyanne in the office with any questions regarding school registration. Registration must be completed prior to your child attending school. (https://www.bisd303.org/domain/38)
Conferences: I look forward to meeting in person with each family, including your child, prior to the start of the school year. Conferences will be September 6th and 7th. I will be in touch with you next week to set up a visit. Please review our Nuts and Bolts sheet and bring all school supplies with you to the conference.
Daily Snacks and water bottle: Please send your child each day with a healthy, nutritious snack and their own water bottle.
Communication between home and school: Each week you will receive an email with a preschool update on what we are learning in the classroom, books we are reading and songs we are singing.
If you are new, you will receive an invitation to our Ready Rosie App. Ready Rosie is an excellent tool that supports the home and school connection. It includes videos with scenarios for learning at home and everyday concerns.
Transportation: See Nuts and Bolts form for details about drop off and pick up. Peer models ARE NOT eligible for the bus but if your child is on an IEP they are eligible for transportation. If your child will be riding the small bus be sure to contact transportation prior to the start of the year (206- 842-4641).
Volunteer: We love having classroom volunteers. Please fill out the volunteer form on our website prior to your classroom visit. (https://www.bisd303.org/domain/1809).
Also, please refer to the Nuts and Bolts sheet for additional classroom needs.
If you have any questions or want to chat, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Our team is looking forward to an exciting year ahead!
Sincerely,
Amy Friedman and the Preschool Team
January 14, 2022
Hello Families,
Your children are learning so much about different games we play with balls.
We kicked a soccer ball and played catch with a football during recess. If it's nice next week, I will bring out our mini golf sets.
This weekend is a great opportunity to go outside and play catch or kickball with your child!
Some of your children shared that they have been to the bowling alley! How exciting.
Next week we will focus on pre-academic assessments.
We will be: writing the first initial or our first name, identifying letters/sounds and numbers 1-5, counting up to 10 with 1:1 correspondence, recognizing colors and shapes and making a person.
'Handwriting without Tears' is a wonderful curriculum that teaches young children how to write. Every year, I bring these resources out for our older students. I will share more about it in detail during our parent-teacher conferences in a couple of weeks.
Parent Teacher Conferences are Wednesday, January 26th - Friday, January 28th.
*If you have a specific request for a certain day and time frame, let me know soon so I can put a schedule together.
Thank you so much and have a wonderful weekend!
Welcome ~ 2022!
Hello Everyone,
I am so excited to see all of your children tomorrow!
I am sure they will have a lot of stories to share about their experiences in the snow!
This week we will begin our winter theme unit on bears and hibernation.
What is hibernation? What animals hibernate? We'll read the book, "Bear Snores On " By Karma Wilson. It's about a sleeping bear that gets woken up out of his sleep and becomes very upset because he feels like he missed all the fun. Students will get the opportunity to act out the different animals and retell the story.
Pre-academic - During circle time, students will start taking turns writing their first initial or name on the white board. If your child is interested, have them practice writing their first initial or name at home with finger paint, sidewalk chalk or shaving cream.
Next week, we will introduce the next Creative Curriculum unit on Spheres and Balls.
This will be a great segue into our planet unit the last two weeks in January.
January Parent/Teacher Conferences - There will be no school on January 26th, 27th and 28th. I will be in touch with you to schedule a winter conference.
Please Click below for this week's lessons:
Looking forward to tomorrow!
Week of November 30th - December 3rd.
Hello Families,
Hope you all had a very nice holiday!
I am looking forward to seeing your kiddos tomorrow.
We will wrap up our winter tree unit this week and learn more about owls.
Next week we will do a fun gingerbread unit and the week before break, we'll do our snowman unit!
It's hard to believe that it is almost December!
Tomorrow is our gross motor group so please do not forget to bring in a pair of sneakers for your child.
Click below for this week's lessons:
November 15th, 2021
Hello Everyone,
I first want to let you know how remarkably awesome your children were during last Tuesday's tornado drill! They have been processing it ever since (acting out pretend tornados during free choice, having discussions about it and asking questions). I told them we would learn more about what causes certain storms. We listened to "The Weather Song" from Have Fun Teaching.
Last week we started to talk about Thanksgiving and things that we are all thankful for. This is a good time for you to have a discussion with your child about things that you are both thankful for. We will make a "Thankful Tree" in our classroom and have everyone add to it.
Everyone does their own special thing on Thanksgiving. Some get together with cousins, aunts and uncles. Others may just celebrate with their family. Many people are vegetarian, some eat fish or ham instead of turkey. What does your family do?
Art with Ms. Bonanno
Your children got to work with clay last week. We are so lucky to have Katie as our art teacher!
This week we are going to bring out some board games during free choice. With the holidays coming up, many of you will be spending time together and may already enjoy playing games. We will talk about how we do not always get to win, but it's good to cheer on our friends and be supportive if they win. We will talk about being a team and working together.
Click below for this week's lessons:
Mary Beth will be back tomorrow for the gross motor group, so make sure your child wears sneakers.
*I also have more photos to share of your children and will send them in a separate email.
That is all for now.
November, 2, 2021
Hello Families,
Hope you all had an exciting Halloween! Feel free to share any photos you have of your children dressed up.
I really enjoyed meeting with all of you last week!
This Week:
Preschool Pals - This Friday, we will begin having second graders from Carrie Halloway's room come in to read to your children in our shared space and classroom. We will do this every Friday. In the past both the older kids and my preschoolers loved having reading buddies.
Art with Ms. Bonanno - We will have art this Friday. Ms. Bonanno is planning something cool for our art auction!
Circle Time - We are going to re-read 'Pumpkin Jack' By Will Hubbell and look at the stem of our pumpkin from last week. Is it rotting? What is mold?
New Songs - "Brush Your Teeth" Just in time/post Halloween and "I Smell The Turkey"
These past two weeks we have been targeting words and lessons with P,B and M sounds.
Click below for this week's lessons
That is all for now!
October 25, 2021
Hello,
Looking forward to connecting with all of you on zoom this week and sharing updates about
your children.
Last week we learned about pumpkins and how they grow. We read "Pumpkin Pumpkin" By Jeanne Titherington. Your children made a sequence flap book with seed, sprout, plant, flower, and pumpkin.
They also made a beautiful pumpkin placemat.
Interactive Stories: During our circle, we read, "The Little Old Lady Who was not Afraid of Anything." By Linda Williams. Each student got to be something in the book. "Two shoes went Clomp, Clomp, A shirt went shake shake and a pair of pants went wiggle wiggle!" We will read it again this week. We will also sing "The Five Little Pumpkins Sitting on a Gate."
Click below for this week's lessons
Tomorrow is Gross Motor group so please make sure you pack a pair of tennis shoes for your child.
If it is raining we will probably have an indoor slow start with puzzles and play dough.
That is all for now!
June 1, 2021
Hello Families,
What a beautiful week we are having! Hope you all had a relaxing 3 day weekend.
Our caterpillars have all transformed into chrysalises! The students loved seeing the change this morning when they arrived.
Gross Motor: This week we will do a fun parachute lesson outside with Mary Beth.
Books: Eric Carle's: "The Very Clumsy Click Beetle", "The Very Quiet Cricket", and ``The Very Lonely Firefly."
Click below for this week's plans.
This Thursday we have art with Ms. Bonanno outside!
We will also be celebrating our summer birthdays at the end of the day!
Our last official day of preschool is next Wednesday, June 9th.
Looking forward to our end of the conferences!
Please reach out if there is anything you need in the meantime.
May 14, 2021
Hello,
We had a super fun week learning and reading about birds. We even got to watch and observe birds make a nest near our playground. There is one on the roof near our garden.
Yesterday's highlight took place in the afternoon! A mother deer and her fawn walked right in front of our classroom windows!
Be sure to check your child's backpack for their wrapped up bird's nests.
They will deliver their pizzas to you next week:)
Next Week
I ordered live caterpillars and a habitat. We will get to watch our caterpillars grow and change into beautiful Pink Lady Butterflies before the end of the school year.
Click below for next week's lessons
Enjoy your weekend!
May, 10, 2021
Hello,
Hope you all had a fabulous Mother's Day! Your children were so excited to give you the birdhouses they painted along with their cards!
This week we will be finishing up our sea theme and moving into our bird unit.
How do they live? What do they eat? Who takes care of their babies? How are they different from fish?
Here are this week's lessons:
With the weather warming up, we are going to be spending more time outside.
Thank you for preparing your kids with sunscreen and a full water bottle:)
Thanks for all you do!
Preschool Update for April, 30th 2021
Hello,
April came and went so quickly!
It's hard to believe that we have just over one month left of preschool.
Our last official day of preschool will be on Wednesday, June 9th.
Please let me know if you would like to set up an end of the year conference for either June 10th or 11th.
We had a fun week learning about frogs and fish!
We talked about how frogs and fish are cold blooded and how humans are warm blooded.
Fish need water to live and they breath through their gills. Humans need air to live and breath through their lungs.
We learned about the life cycle of a frog.
Please be sure to check your child's backpack for:" 5 Green and Speckled Frogs" lesson,
their frogs booklets, painted frog rock, rainbow fish and fish bowl lesson.
Songs
Raffi's "Five Green and Speckled Frogs"
Books
"Rainbow Fish" By Marcus Pfister
"It's Mine!" By Leo Lionni
Elephant and Piggie book "I'm a Frog" By Mo Willems
We have been talking a lot about friendships and what makes a good friend.
Next week we will Spring into the Sea! Click below for the weekly lessons and activities:
That is all for now!
Have a wonderful weekend!
Preschool Update for April 23, 2021
Hello Families,
What a beautiful week it has been. Your children have spent a lot of time outdoors, bird watching, playing, planting, coloring with chalk and just enjoying the spring!
Sensory/Planting
For Earth Day, our afternoon group planted sunflower seeds on our raised bed outside. It is currently blooming with tulips. Next week, our morning class will get to plant their seeds.
Gross Motor
Mary-Beth introduced the parachute to both classes on Tuesday. We all held on and lifted it up high. Students took turns running under it and switched spots. Then we put a bunch of little rubber frogs on it and had to shake them off.
Next, we held on and walked in a big circle while shaking it and making bubbles. Finally, students took turns, one at a time and sat in the center while we wrapped them up into a flower. Then unwrapped it and watched them bloom.
Recycling Unit
Your children have been learning about items that we recycle and how they are reused. We watched a small video on how glass gets recycled, sorted and crushed finely into sand. We watched another small video on how the glass gets melted and made into new bottles.
Books we have read: 'Don't Lose It-Reuse it' By Nancy Noel Williams, 'Peter's Chair' By Ezra Jack Keats and 'The Carrot Seed' By Ruth Krauss
Academic Centers
Please check backpacks for your children's "I See Clean Earth" booklets and recycled binoculars and butterflies.
We also made a mixed media EARTH craft, tulip painting with recycled plastic forks and a mosaic rainbow. They are all beautiful and hanging up in our classroom!
Next Week
We will Learn about Frogs and Fish.
Click below for next week's lessons.
That is all for now. Have a great weekend!
April 16th, 2021
Hello Families,
Your children did a fantastic job this week!
They loved the story "Duck Rabbit" and enjoyed the lesson that went with it.
Be sure to check backpacks for the daffodil craft they made yesterday.
Next Week
We will complete our recycling unit and celebrate Earth Week.
Click below to view next week's lessons and activities.
*If you are doing any gardening at your homes, please email me pictures and let me know what you are planting.
We will print them out and make a collage.
Sunscreen
Temperatures are climbing and there is minimal shade on our playground.
Be sure to put sunscreen on your children before they arrive at school.
Thanks for all you do!
April 12th, 2021
Hello,
Hope you all had a wonderful spring break! I have already heard about some of the adventures from our morning class. Some of the students got to go camping. Others got to spend time with their grandparents.
I enjoyed a few nights away in Bend, OR with my husband.
It's hard to believe that we only have a little less than two months left of school!
Your children are learning and growing up so quickly.
Recycling Unit and Earth Week
Over the next two weeks, we will continue learning about the 3 R's (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle).
Your children loved making buses, robots, cars and rocket ships out of used boxes and cardboard!
This week we will make binoculars!
Books:
'I Stink' By Kate and Jim McMullan
'Something from Nothing' By Phoebe Gilman
'Sam Helps Recycle' By Judith Bauer Stamper
For Earth Week next week, we will read about gardening and planting vegetables and flowers.
Students will get to plant their own flower and take care of it over the next several weeks too.
Here are this week's lessons:
I am going to be out this Thursday, April, 15th.
Carrie Sellers will be my sub again. The students loved having her before break!
That is all for now.
March 29, 2021
Hello,
Hope you all had a restful weekend.
We have one more week until spring break. The time has gone by so quickly!
For this week we will continue with our spring theme and introduce our recycling unit.
We'll learn about the 3 R's: Reduce, Re-use and Recycle.
Books: 'Goldilocks and The Three Bears', 'I Stink' and 'Something from Nothing.'
Songs:'Little Brown Seeds' and 'The Green Grass Grows All Around.'
Click below for this week's lessons:
Spring Break is April 3 -11th - There will be no School
I will be out this Thursday. Carrie Sellers will be my sub.
Looking forward to another fun week of learning!
Hello and Happy Spring!
Hope you all had a restful weekend.
Last week your children learned "The Rainbow Song" and "Let's Go Fly A Kite."
We practiced writing Rs for rainbows and K for kites.
*The highlight was making kites and flying them last Thursday!
This week: We will be reading and talking about spring. What is happening with some of the trees? What types of flowers do we see in the spring?
Many of our families are starting a vegetable garden. We'll talk about the stages of a seed to a plant.
Here are this week's lessons
Thanks again for all you do!
Update March 12, 2021
Hello,
We had a fantastic week with the sunshine! Your children had the opportunity to play a little golf every day when they arrived. We will continue with this next week. I bet your kids would love to play miniature golf this summer.
For Mary Beth's gross motor group, the students got to bowl and knock down pins in the OT room!
Planet Unit - The students learned about our solar system this week, gravity and what it's like on the other planets. During circle time, they took turns drawing a planet on the whiteboard and we had to guess which one it was.
Books Read - The Way Back Home, Toys in Space and Life on Mars.
Song - The Planet Song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLhqWE3kxgQ
Next Week -We will discuss how things are changing outside with spring around the corner ( Cherry Blossom Trees, warmer weather, longer days with more daylight).
We have some fun leprechaun and rainbow lessons too.
Here are next week's lessons:
If you have not done so already, please send in a pencil supply box for your child. We will fill them up with glue, scissors and crayons. This helps students become responsible for their own materials (a skill needed for kindergarten).
Have a wonderful weekend!
March 5th, 2021
Hello Everyone,
We had an exciting week with our new "Balls/Spheres Study" from the Creative Curriculum. Your children have been sharing what they know and learning about how the different balls are used for each sport. We had some pretty nice weather this week. We have been playing a lot of kickball with turn taking and "bounce and catch" with the basketball. Next week we are going to learn about golf and take turns hitting a golf ball with a club.
Circle Time - Students made predictions which balls (ping pong, golf, tennis, football and basketball) would bounce the highest and roll the farthest. Why do some balls bounce higher than others? The basketball won! We read "Ball and Balloon." By Rob Sanders. This is a story about a ball who wishes he could be like his friend balloon who gets to soar in the sky. Eventually the ball is kicked, bounced and dribbled. They both realize that they are special in their own way. Afterwards I asked the students if they would rather play with a ball or balloon and many said "both."
Gross Motor -On Tuesday, Mary Beth had the students do an obstacle course which involved walking on a balance beam, jumping on the trampoline with legs together and apart, then finishing with hopscotch (feet together and apart).
Academic and Fine Motor - Your children practiced writing the letters B, T, L and H this week. They colored a plate in a beach ball pattern and made a B for Bunny craft which is hanging up in the classroom.
Next week we will be doing a space unit!
Click below for the lessons:
Have a great weekend!
February 26, 2021
Hello,
We are wrapping up our building unit this week.
Your children loved building and problem solving in creating strong structures this week.
We learned that you need a foundation to make a building level and strong. You also need to put larger bricks and blocks on the bottom of a tall tower in order to make it stay up.
We also used masking tape to tape our buildings together so they could withstand a windstorm.
Next week - We will be starting The Balls Study Unit from The Creative Curriculum.
Many of your children already love playing soccer everyday outside at recess. We will introduce more types of balls next week (basketball, football, baseball, tennis ball, etc) and talk about what each one is used for.
We will also be using thinking skills to investigate, ask questions, make predictions and test our ideas.
What makes some balls bounce higher than others? Can all balls bounce? Which ball do you think will bounce the highest? Which one will roll the farthest?
Things to do at home:
Spend time with your child playing catch, taking turns bouncing and catching and kicking a ball. If you have a ping pong paddle or racket, practice hitting the ball back and forth.
Here are next week's plans
I am available tomorrow if you need to reach out.
Have a great weekend!
Hello Families,
I am excited to see your children tomorrow.
How did everyone enjoy the snow last week?
This week we will be learning about skyscrapers! What makes buildings sturdy?
Why is the foundation important? We will do a little STEM lesson as a class and create a sturdy building.
Here are this week's plans:
The weather looks warmer so we will get to spend time outside and eat our snacks too.
Pencil/supply box - Please have your child bring one in this week. It will remain at school. We are going to have students keep their own supply boxes in their cubby. This is a good independent skill to prepare them for PreK and K.
See you all tomorrow!
2/8/2021
Hello Families,
We will not be able to host a Valentine's Celebration this year.
However, we will get to make Valentines for our family members!
We will have a craft table out this Wednesday and Thursday with all kinds of stickers, ribbons, glitter and colored paper for students to use.
Be sure to check your child's backpack for their artwork. We are making houses and 'Three Little Pigs' booklets today
Mid-Winter Break is February 13th-21st.
Below are this week's lesson plans.
Hope you all had a nice weekend!
Hello Families,
Your children had an awesome first week back! There was a lot to learn and absorb!
We will continue with the same spot for drop off and pick up. You have all been doing a great job with this!
The students did some really nice lessons and they went home in backpacks. I will be giving you all folders so their work doesn't get crumpled.
We have wrapped up our Clothing Unit (Creative Curriculum) and will start our Building Unit on Monday.This is a super fun unit. We will learn about different types of buildings, how they are designed and developed, and what types of tools are needed to build them. We will also
learn about construction and construction workers.
See the attached link for next week's lesson plans.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Hello Preschool Families,
Here is a detailed description of what Monday will look like for your preschooler:
Your child will receive a swipe card that will attach to their backpack when they arrive. They need this every day, so please keep it safely attached.
After you drop your child off, we will walk around to the preschool playground. There will be a Covid Station there.
First we will swipe your child's card, then sanitize hands and take their temperature.
Please view the video below.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Bm11hSrJPqE-aBHbq3Tcm8CPJ8EBIXU6/view?usp=sharing
AM drop off is 7:50
AM pick up is 10:35
PM drop off is 12:25
PM pick up is 3:10
See you all Monday with smiles and masks on:)
Hello Families,
It is looking quite possible that we will be moving to in person hybrid learning on Monday, January 25th.
I am very excited to have your children here at school! They have really bonded with each other over our zoom sessions these past several months. It will be so nice to see everyone in person (with a mask on of course).
*Please note that anything can change and this will not be official till later next week.
Below are some important dates and information:
Monday, January 18th - No school/ Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday.
Tuesday, January 19th - This will be our last day for morning supplementary in person instruction and remote learning on zoom.
Wednesday, January 20th - Your child will have the opportunity to visit with me and see the Blakely preschool classroom. I will be contacting you to set up a visit between 10:00 AM - 2:30 PM. You will be paired up with one other student. We will begin visiting outside on the preschool playground, then take a short tour of the classroom.
* We can only have one parent inside the building at a time.
Our New Schedule Begins Monday, January, 25th
Our Team:
Maria Kuffel is our Preschool Coordinator and School Psychologist. She may be coming in for a visit or to do a social skills lesson with the class once a month.
Mary Beth Kobs is our Physical Therapist. She will be in once a week to lead gross motor groups with your children.
Leticia Blacker is our Speech Therapist who will be working with our morning students.
Cindy Wilkins is our Speech Therapist who will be working with our afternoon group.
Sharon Murphy is our Occupational Therapist and will be coming in once a week to assist with students as needed.
Krista Friedman and Tanya Agnew are the the Classroom Paraprofessionals
Preschool is Monday through Thursday.
AM Schedule: 7:50-10:35 a.m.
PM Schedule: 12:25-3:10 p.m.
Masks: Your child will be required to wear a mask the entire time they are at school, including on the bus (if they ride).
What to Bring to School: Your child will need to bring a backpack to school every day to carry home papers and projects from school. Please include an extra mask in the backpack.
*See Nuts and Bolts attachment
Daily Snacks: We will be having snack time this year, outside (rain or shine). Please send something small and easy! Please include a water bottle with a straw so they can drink with their mask on.
Don't hesitate to call or email me with any questions or concerns you may have.
You have all done an extraordinary job assisting and supporting your children remotely!
Looking forward to seeing you all soon!
Remote Learning Schedule for January 11th -14th
Monday, January 11th
12:00 PM - Circle Zoom
Talk about clothing accessories - Monday is mitten day
Dance Movement to letter S
12:30 PM Story "A Penguin Story" By Antoinette Portis
Learn about the different types of penguins
1:00 PM Monday Math -Roll and write game
You will need a dice and a marker
1:30 PM - Zoom visits
Tuesday, January 12th
12:00 PM Circle Zoom -Hat day
What type of hats do we wear when it is cold outside?
12:15 PM -Gross Motor with Mary Beth
12:30 PM -Story "Corduroy" By Don Freeman
Talk about clothing: Who is wearing buttons? What do you wear when it's warm? Cold?
1:00 PM - Preschool Pals! Wear your hat.
1:30 PM -Zoom Visits
Wednesday, January 13th
12:00 PM - Circle Zoom -Wardrobe of your choice:)
Dance movement to letter T
12:30 PM Story "Where is Home, Little Pip?" By Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman
1:00 PM - Paper Mosaic Penguin Craft (cut and glue pieces on your penguin outline).
1:30 PM - Zoom Visits
Thursday, January 14th
12:00 PM - Circle Zoom - Tie Day (Who is wearing a tie?)
Dance Movement to letter U
12:30 PM - Story " Penguin Chick" By Betty Tatham and "A Pocket for Corduroy" By Don Freeman
1:00 PM - Make a Rock hopper Penguin (glue and color)
1:30 PM - Zoom Visits
Hello Families,
Tomorrow, January 8th is material pick up day between 8:00 AM-3:00 PM.
You can pick up materials in the bus loop.
Next week, we will finish our penguin unit with stories, a craft and a math lesson.
During our zoom visits we'll talk about clothing accessories we wear in the winter months.
Monday will be mitten day.
Tuesday is hat day with our preschool pals.
Wednesday is "Winter wardrobe of your choice" day.
Thursday is tie day (hair or shirt tie).
Have a wonderful weekend!
Welcome Back and Happy January 2021!
Looking forward to diving into our next unit with Penguins and Polar Bears.
We will also continue with our clothing unit from The Creative Curriculum.
Here is what this week will look like on zoom:
Monday, January 4th
12:00 PM-Circle Zoom and Dance Movement to the letter Q
12:30 PM - Story "Bear Snores On" By Karma Wilson
1:00 PM - Bear Snores on Sequencing Lesson
1:30 PM - 2:00 PM - Zoom Visits
Tuesday, January 5th
12:00 PM Circle Zoom
12:15 PM - Gross Motor with Mary Beth
12:30 -Story "Swim Polar Bear Swim" By Joan Stimson
1:00 PM -Preschool Pals -Zoom Breakouts with our second grade buddies
1:30 PM -2:00 PM -Zoom Visits
Wednesday, January 6th
12:00 PM -Circle Zoom and Dance Movement to letter R
12:30 PM -Story "Polar Bear, Polar Bear What do you hear?"
1:00 PM -Polar Bear Sequencing Cards
Color them in and arrange from smallest to largest
1:30 PM-2:00 PM -Zoom Visits
Thursday, January 7th
12:00 PM Circle Zoom and a story
"A Penguin Story" By Antoinette Portis
1:00 PM - What Do Penguins Do? Color, cut and put the pages in order. Then read your booklet to a grown-up.
1:30 PM -2:00 PM - Zoom Visits
Hello Families,
I am truly amazed at the amount of hard work and performance your children have shown over these past several months!
They are counting with 1:1 correspondence past 20, spelling out their names, recognizing each other's names, identifying numerals past 10, using concepts of more or less and fewer and greater. They were even doing a little estimating. (Guess how many balls are in this jar?)
* This week, We are going discuss the difference between questions and statements.
Preschool Pals -We started this on Tuesday and your children did great! Our next preschool Pal visit will be Wednesday, December 16th at 1:00 PM.
Our zoom visits have been a nice opportunity for your children to share their toys and interests with each other. I started creating breakout groups with 1-3 students and it seems to work out really well. Students are able to open up and talk more when there are fewer people.
We have an exciting week ahead:
Monday, December 14th
12:00 PM Circle zoom and gross motor break
Have Fun Teaching letter O song
12:30 Story
We'll read "The Mitten" By Jan Brett
1:00 PM - The Mitten Lesson (coloring and story sequencing)
1:30 PM -Zoom Visits
Tuesday, December 15th
12:00 PM -Circle Zoom
12:15 PM -Gross Motor with Mary Beth
12:30 PM -Story
We'll read "The Biggest Snowman Ever" By Steven Kroll
1:00 PM -Work on Chubby Little Snowman Songbook
1:30 PM -Zoom Visits
Wednesday, December 16th
12:00 PM - Circle Zoom and gross motor break.
Have Fun Teaching Letter P Song
*We will Play "I spy" (something with words on it)
12:30 PM - Story
We'll read "A Visitor for Bear" By Bonny Becker
1:00 PM -Preschool Pals
1:30 PM Zoom Visits
Thursday, December 17th
12:00 PM -Circle Zoom and gross motor break
12:30 - Grab your hot chocolate, candy cane and snack. We'll watch The Snowman Storybook movie:)
1:30 -Zoom visits
*Have an awesome winter break!!!!!
Tomorrow, December 11th is material pick up day.
You can pick up next weeks prepped lessons between 7:30 AM-3:00 PM.
Next Week:
Your child will get to make their own "Little Snowman had a Carrot Nose" songbook.
There will also be a sequence lesson for "The Mitten" By, Jan Brett.
For Gross Motor, Mary Beth put in a fun dice game.
Have a fantastic weekend!
Preschool Remote Learning Update for December 7th -10th.
This week we will continue with Snowmen and Winter Lessons.
We'll start talking about how we need to dress warmer when it gets colder. What are some things you wear outside to keep warm?
Here is our schedule for the week:
Monday, 12/7/2020
12:00 PM -Circle Zoom and a story.
We'll read "Froggy Gets Dressed" By Johnathan London
12:30 PM - Matching lower case letters to their capital letters.
1:00 PM - Snowman Craft
1:30 PM - Zoom visits
Tuesday, 12/09/2020
12:00 PM - Circle Zoom
12:15 PM -Gross Motor with Mary Beth
12:30 PM -Story "Snow" By Uri Shulevitz
1:00 PM - Second Grade Reading Pals
1:15 PM - Color and cut out your own weather cards
1:30 PM - Zoom Visits
Wednesday, 12/09/2020
12:00 PM -Circle Zoom and a story
Read "Stranger in the Woods" By Carl R. Sams II and Jean Stoick
1:00 PM - Owl Craft
1:30 PM -Zoom Visits
Thursday, 12/10/2020
12:00 PM -Circle Zoom and a story
Read - "The Snowman Storybook" By Raymond Briggs
12:30- Winter Pictionary
1:00 PM - Candy Pattern Worksheet
1:30 PM - Zoom Visits
Happy December Already!
Hello Families,
Hope you all had a very nice break. This week, we'll talk about how the seasons are changing from fall to winter, create winter trees and read books about snowmen and the snow.
Preschool Pals -Beginning this week, your child will get introduced to their 2nd grade buddy. This buddy will read to them once a week.
Next week, we will be starting a new unit on Clothing from The Creative Curriculum.
Zoom Schedule for his week:
Monday, November 30th
12:00 PM -Circle zoom and story
12:30 - Zoom Breakout Rooms (Letters T through Z)
1:00 PM - Winter Tree Craft
1:30 PM - Zoom visits
Tuesday, December 1st
12:00 PM - Circle zoom
12:15 PM - Gross Motor with Mary Beth
12:30 PM - Story "Giggle, Giggle, Quack" By Doreen Cronin
1:00 PM -Animal Pattern Matching Lesson
1:30 PM - Zoom Visits
Wednesday, December 2nd
12:00 PM -Circle Zoom and a story
12:30 PM Letters T through Z packets
1:00 PM Snowy Fun Winter Animal Counting Lesson
1:30 PM -Zoom Visits
Thursday, December 3rd
12:00 PM - Circle Zoom and a story
"Snow" By Roy McKie and P.D. Eastman
1:00 PM - Candy Counting Sequencing Booklets
1:30 PM -Zoom Visits
Friday, December 4th is Material pick-up day between 8:00 AM- 3:00 PM.
Hello Families~There is no material pick up today, November 20th.
You have materials for next week's lessons.
Monday we will create our shape turkeys.
Tuesday we'll work on our "I Smell the Turkey" song booklets.
Wednesday is our virtual Thanksgiving Feast!
Have a wonderful weekend!
Preschool Update - Week of November 16th-19th
Hope you all had a restful weekend!
*I absolutely love how excited your children are when we are on zoom. It's nice for them to have the opportunity to tell their teachers and friends what they are doing and share things. To keep the flow going, have your child ready with an item he or she would like to share before our zoom starts. When their name card is help up, they will spell out their name and get a turn to share an item or talk about something with the class.
Here is our schedule for this week:
Monday
12:00 PM - Circle Zoom and a story
We will read "The Gingerbread Baby" By Jan Brett
12:30 PM -Zoom Breakout sessions/Letters M-S packets
1:00 PM - Leaf Pattern Lesson Worksheet
1:30 PM -Zoom Visits
Tuesday
12:00 PM - Circle Zoom
12:15 PM - Gross Motor with Mary Beth
12:30 PM -Watch and listen to Amy read another Gingerbread Story
1:00 PM - Color your Gingerbread Man and and outfit.
1:30 PM - Zoom Visits
Wednesday
12:00 PM Circle Zoom and a Story
"I know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie." By Alison Jackson/Judith B. Schachner
12:30 PM - Zoom Breakout Sessions/M-S Packets
1:00 PM - Color and cut out outfits for your Gingerbread Man
1:30 PM - Zoom Visits
Thursday
12:00 PM -Circle Zoom and a story from the week
Motor Break
12:30 PM - Play Pictionary with Teacher Amy
1:00 PM - Color and decorate your Gingerbread House
1:30 PM - Zoom Visits.
Hello Families,
I have two things to celebrate:
My in person kiddos are doing a fantastic job learning and following the preschool routine!
I am also impressed at the attending and hard work our zoom group has been doing!
Give your children high fives from me:)
Next Week -We'll work on Letters and Counting with Chicka Chicka Books
Books: Chicka Chicka 1.2.3, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, Boom Chicka Rock and I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie.
Songs:"I Smell the Turkey"
Zoom Schedule
Monday
12:00 PM - Circle Zoom and Story
"Boom, Chicka Rock" By John Archambault
12:30 PM -Zoom Breakout Sessions - Letters M through S Packets
1:00 PM - Roll and count with 10 squares
1:30 PM - Zoom Visits
Tuesday
12:00 PM -Circle Zoom and Story
"Chicka Chicka Boom Boom" By Bill Martin Jr.
12:15 PM - Gross Motor with MaryBeth
12:30 PM -Play Rhyming Bingo
1:00 PM - Chicka Chicka Name Tree Lesson
1:30 PM -Zoom Visits
Wednesday - NO SCHOOL/VETERAN'S DAY
Thursday
12:00 PM -Circle Zoom and Story
"I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie" By Allison Jackson
12:30 PM -Zoom Breakout Sessions -Letters M through S Packets
1:00 PM - Story Recall Lesson with pictures and sequencing.
1:30 PM - Zoom Visits
Friday, November 6th is material pick up day!
Come between 8:00 AM and 3:00 PM to pick up next weeks lessons!
Have a great weekend!
Hello November!
Enjoy that extra hour of sleep.
Here is our remote schedule for the week of November 2-5th
Monday, November 2nd
12:00 PM - Circle Zoom and a Story
We will review all the different types of animals that live in trees and play True or False.
Story -'Stellaluna' By Janell Cannon
Discussion -Would you rather be a bird or a bat? Why?
12:25 -Movement break
12:30 - Zoom Breakout Sessions
We will play "Name Bingo"
Have your name card in front of you.
1:00 PM - Fine Motor and Math - Plenty of Pies worksheet
1:30 PM - Zoom visits
Tuesday, November 3rd
12:00 PM - Circle Zoom
12:15 PM -Gross Motor with Mary Beth
12:30 PM - Story and discussion/We will read "Charlie Anderson"
Discussion -What do we do during the day and what do we do at night?
1:00 PM -Color, cut, sequence and staple a pumpkin booklet.
1:30 PM - Zoom visits
Wednesday, November 4th
12:00 PM - Circle Zoom and a Story
Read "Alphabet" By Mary Novick and Sybel Harlin
12:30 PM -Play "Pictionary" Whose name is it?
Amy will draw a picture of the letters of someones name in order. Example AMY (apple, mitten and yoyo)
1:00 PM - School Bus Shapes Lesson -Sing the shape song
1:30 PM - Zoom visits
Thursday, November 5th
12:00 PM -Circle Zoom
12:20 PM - Movement Break
12:30 PM - Story from the week.
1:00 PM -Students can read their Pumpkin Booklets to me one at a time
1:30 PM -Zoom Visits
Friday, November 6th will be material pick up day!
10/26 -10/27 Short Week
Hello Families,
Hope you all got out and enjoyed some fresh air and sunshine over the weekend!
We will be reading some of my favorite stories over the next couple of days along with doing some neat activities.
Monday, October 26th
12:00 PM - Circle Zoom and a story
*We will read "The Little Old Lady Who was not Afraid of Anything" and sing "Five Little Pumpkins."
12:30 PM - Zoom Break Out rooms (Letters G through L))
1:00 PM - Story Recall Lesson
1:30 PM - Zoom visits
Tuesday, October 27th
12:00 PM - Circle Zoom
12:15 PM -Gross Motor with Mary Beth
12:30 PM - Story "The Biggest Pumpkin Ever."
1:00 PM - My Monster Craft
1:30 PM - Zoom Visits
Wednesday through Friday - Parent Teacher Conferences.
Friday, October 23rd is material pick up day between 8:00 AM and 3:00 PM.
You will receive prepped lessons for the next two weeks.
*Reminder -There will be no remote preschool next Wednesday, October 28th and Thursday, October 29th.
Have a great weekend!
Weekly Preschool Update for October 19th - 22nd.
We have another exciting week planned for your children. As we continue to study trees, we'll learn more about what types of animals live in them. We will read and learn about nocturnal animals such as: bats, raccoons and owls.
Stories this week: Stella Luna, The Kissing Hand, and Ssssh...We have a Plan.
Here is our remote schedule for the week:
Monday, October 19th
12:00 PM - Circle Zoom and Story
Take a motor break
12:30 PM - Zoom Breakouts. Letters G and H (see packets that were sent home)
1:00 PM - Matching and gluing pieces on your bird from "Sssh..We have a plan."
1:30 PM -Zoom visits
Tuesday, October 20th
12:00 PM - Circle Zoom
12:15 PM - Gross Motor with Mary Beth
12:30 PM - Story and discussion
1:00 PM - Painting Raccoons
1:30 PM - Zoom Visits
Wednesday, October 20th
12:00 PM - Circle Zoom and story
12:30 PM -Zoom Breakouts - Letters G through J
1:00 PM - Coloring Owls
1:30 PM - Zoom Visits
Thursday, October 21st
12:00 PM -Circle Zoom and Story
12:30 PM -Zoom Breakouts - Letters G through L
1:00 PM -Five Little Pumpkins Lesson
1:30 PM - Zoom Visits
IMPORTANT - We will not have any zoom sessions on October 28th or 29th since we will be conferencing with families.
Friday, October 16th is Material Pick up Day
You can pick up your child's folder with prepped lessons at the bus loop between 8:00 AM and 3:00 PM
Have a great weekend!
Amy
Weekly Update for Blakely Preschool. Week of October 12th-15th
Hello Families,
We will be continuing with our tree unit and sharing stories about autumn and pumpkins.
Monday, October 12th
12:00 PM - Circle Zoom and Story
12:30 PM - Zoom Breakout Sessions (A-F)
1:00 PM - Pumpkin Sequencing Lesson
1:30 PM - Zoom visits
Tuesday, October 13th
12:00 PM - Circle Zoom and Story
12:15 PM -Mary Beth's Gross Motor
12:30 PM - Zoom Breakout Sessions - Play Zoophonics Bingo
1:00 PM - Sensory Pumpkin Craft with tissue and glue
1:30 PM - Zoom visits
Wednesday, October 14th
12:00 PM - Circle Zoom and Story
12:30 PM - Zoom Breakout Sessions (A-F)
1:00 PM -Color and read 'Leaves on a Pumpkin' Booklets
1:30 PM - Zoom visits
Thursday, October 15th
12:00 PM - Circle Zoom and Story
12:15 PM -Mary Beth's Gross Motor
12:30 PM - Zoom Breakout Sessions - Play Zoophonics Bingo
1:00 PM - Complete Leaves on a Pumpkin booklet
1:30 PM - Zoom visits
Stories for the week: 'Pumpkin, Pumpkin', 'Trees Count', 'A Tree Is a Plant', and 'A Tree Called Steve.'
Songs: The Green Grass Grows All Around, Five Little Pumpkins and Apples and Bananas
Friday, October 9th is material pickup day.
You can pick up next week's lessons in the bus loop between 7:30 AM - 3:00 PM
Also, if you still have the blue plastic file folder from two weeks ago, please sanitize the outside and return that too.
Thanks so much!
Update for Week of October 5th-8th
Happy Monday Everyone!
Here is what we are planning for this week:
Monday 10/5/2020
12:00 PM -Today during circle Zoom -We will read "A Tree Called Steve"
12:30 - Zoophonics A -F
1:00 PM - Fine Motor: Cut, color and paste truck.
1:30 PM -Zoom visits
Tuesday 10/6/2020
12:oo PM -Circle Zoom.
Mary Beth's Gross Motor Lesson
12:30 PM We will read "The Apple Pie Tree."
1:00 PM Get Well Dinosaur Booklets
1:30 PM - Zoom visits
Wednesday 10/7/2020
12:00 PM Circle Zoom. We will read more about Trees
12:30 PM Zoophonics A-F
1:00 PM - Name Tree Craft
1:30 PM -Zoom Visits
Thursday 10/8/2020
12:00 PM - Circle Zoom. We will read "Little Tree."
12:30 PM -Zoophonics A-F
1:00 PM - Sensory -Parts of a Tree craft
1:30 PM -Zoom Visits
October 1, 2020
Hello,
We have started our Tree Unit from The Creative Curriculum.
Over the next two weeks, we'll be observing and comparing trees to learn about what lives in them, what they're made from, and who cares for them. This study will help your child explore and continue to appreciate nature.
Vocabulary:
limbs, branches, fruit, nuts, pine cones, evergreen sprigs, seeds, tree "cookies" (sections of trees that show rings), roots and bark.
Books this week: A Tree Called Steve, Little Tree, and The Apple Pie Tree
You can pick up next week's lessons tomorrow, between 8:00 AM-3:00 PM in the bus loop.
*Please let me know if you are not able to pick them up.
I'll post an update on Monday describing what lessons we'll be covering on zoom for the week.
Have a great weekend!
Amy
9/28/2020
Good Morning and Happy Monday!
Here is what we will be doing this week in zoom:
12:00 PM -Circle Zoom (Name card introductions and jobs)
12:15 PM - Stories on Zoom "Little Tree," "The Pout-Pout Fish," and "Oh No, George!"
12:30 PM - Zoom Breakout/ Zoophonics A through E and sharing items that begin with the letter E.
1:00 PM - Fine Motor Trace and Color Sailboat/house, summer and fall trees and a fall forest on Thursday
1:30 PM -Zoom play date visits
Looking forward to another great week!
Amy
Friday, September 25th will be Material pick up day in the bus loop.
Come by between 8:00 AM and 3:00 PM to collect prepped lessons for next week.
Have great weekend!
Amy
9/21/2020 Update
We have an exciting week planned. Here is what our schedule will look like:
Monday
Noon -Circle Zoom
12:30 pm Zoom Break outs- Zoophonics A-D. Prepare by having items a that begin with the letters a,b,c or d.
Story - The Color Monster
Song - "Apple is it's name-o"
1:00 PM Lesson -How are you feeling? Color your Monster and glue your emotions around it.
Tuesday
Noon -Zoom - Humpty Dumpty Eggsperiment!
Gross Motor - Do Mary Beth's activity on Seesaw
12:30 pm Play Shape Bingo
Story - Have you Filled a Bucket Today?
Song -"The Raindrop Song"..yay for rain!
1:00 PM Lesson - Humpty Dumpty Craft - Do this with Amy on zoom or Watch Shayna on Seesaw
Wednesday
Noon - Circle Zoom
12:30 PM Zoom Break outs- Zoophonics A-D. Prepare by having items a that begin with the letters a,b,c or d.
Song - "Put your square in the air way up high"
Story - The Perfect Square
1:00 PM Shapes Lesson - Cut, color and glue your traffic light.
Thursday
Noon - Circle Zoom
12:30 PM - Play Shape Bingo
1:00 PM Sensory - painting leaves
What was your favorite story this week?
Seesaw - Family Storytelling
We had a great second week of remote preschool! 9/17/2020
Thank you for all of your hard work in helping your child access Seesaw and participate in zoom.
Tomorrow, 9/18, you will be able to pick up materials and lessons for the next two weeks.
I will be uploading some of my stories to the announcements and some to activities on Seesaw.
Have your child listen to "Wemberly Worried" tomorrow or next Monday.
Have an awesome weekend! The weather finally looks less smokey!
Amy
Preschool Updates 9/16/2020
Today after circle time, we will play a game of number bingo with the entire group. Be sure to have your bingo card and marker pieces ready at 12:30.
New Material Pick UP - This Friday, 9/18 from 8:00 AM - 3:00 pm. Drive up in the bus loop like last week, and you will receive a new envelope with prepped lessons.
See you all at noon!
Welcome to our first full week of remote preschool!
I have some great new books on social distancing to share on Seesaw.
Stories and lessons for 9/14/2020 - 9/17/2020
This week we'll review 'The Kissing Hand' New books: 'No Calvin.' and 'If you Can't Bear Hug, Air Hug.'
Fine Motor and Math - I uploaded two videos: Apples to Go and Cookies and Milk. You have these worksheets in your packet.
Sensory - Take our your play dough and watch Shayna make a letter.
Pre-academic - Watch Amy do The Kissing hand Sequencing Lesson.
Craft - Your child will get to watch a video of one of us creating our special person.
Gross Motor - Mary Beth will upload a new activity for the week!
Zoom Break-out Rooms - These will begin at 12:30 PM on my personal zoom link.
Monday and Tuesday we will do Zoophonics A and B. Have your child think of words that begin with letters a and b ahead of time. If you have an item that begins with B, have it available for your child to share with the small group.
Wednesday and Thursday we will play a game.
Table Top Zoom Lessons-These will begin at 1:00 PM on my personal zoom link.
Monday - Cookies and Milk
Tuesday - Apples to Go
Wednesday - Kissing Hand
Thursday - Make our person
2:00 - Additional social skills and visiting on my personal zoom link.
See you all tomorrow!
Hello ,
Today was a great zoom day! I am so impressed with how well many your students independently muted and un-muted themselves! Wow!
IMPORTANT
Tomorrow, new lessons will be available for you to pick up in front of the school. Each folder will have your child's name on it and contain prepped lessons for the week. They will be available for you to pick up anytime between 9:00 AM -3:00 PM
I made some revisions with the schedule and I think this will be more simple as we start next week
Monday through Thursday - *Option to access Seesaw and schedule individual zoom visits if the zoom schedule is too much for your child.
12:00 PM - 12:20 PM
Circle Zoom with everyone/Introductions, spelling names and sharing something with group
End Meeting and Access Seesaw for Gross Motor Lesson
Go back to zoom link for breakout sessions
12:30 PM - 12:45 PM
Break out sessions/Jobs: Zoophonics, Math/Counting or Bingo
End Zoom Meeting
12:45 PM - Access Seesaw for the day’s story
1:00 PM - Go back to the zoom link for our lesson
OR
Access Seesaw to watch a recording of Amy, Shayna or Krista demonstrating our lesson.
*Each week, we will cover a lesson in each of the following areas:
Fine Motor - ( holding a crayon, cutting with scissors and gluing)
Sensory - (Finger Painting, play dough,gluing and gak)
Craft Lesson - These will be prepped for you ahead of time.
Pre-Academic Lesson - Letter identification, sounds writing, counting, math, story sequencing, shapes, and following 2-3 step directions.
2:00 - 2:30 - Additional Social Communication Skills Zoom for small groups of students.
Allie Alligator: Extend arms like alligator jaws. Open, close and clap as you give the short sound for "a."
