Unit of Study: My Shadow and Me

Concept Words: 

Week 1- between, dark, light, shadow, sidewalk, wall

Week 2- close, follow, long, move, noon, short 

Amazing Words

Week 1- practice, pretend,whistle

Week 2- deep, ground, scare, wide

Question of the week:

Week 1: Why do we see shadows?

Week 2: What makes shadows change?

Social-emotional Learning:

Asking for help from a peer or adult and using safe

hands at school to say, "Hello".

Continue to work on sharing.

Centers:

Dramatic play: 

Week 1- Turned into a kitchen with fruits and

vegetables to sort based on their colors or sorting

fruits and vegetables.

Week 2- Slowly turning into a movie theatre. Students

will help to create a concession stand by making 

popcorn from yellow and white construction paper.

Play money and a cash register will be used.

Literacy center: 

Week 1- Working on sorting by different categories:

materials we use for gardening vs. materials we use

for baking.

Week 2- Repeat from the week prior.

Writing center:

Week 1-  Students will draw and write about their

favorite movie.

Week 2- Students will be learning how to write their

name if applicable or creating name art to learn the

letters in their name.

Math center:

Week 1-  We will be learning the shapes this trimester and words to

describe them: curved and straight. Our math theme is ROBOTS.

Week 2- Identifying numerals by playing games with shapes.

Science center: 

Week 1- Exploring flashlights under the science table!

Week 2- Creating shadow art.

Art center: 

Week 1- Recycling art

Week 2- Shape art

Challenge 12: 

We are learning about shadows this week! Take a photo after playing 

with yourshadows at home! Your children are listening to these songs 

at school this week: Cocomelon and My Shadow

Articles:

Exploring Shadows

Unit of Study: Weather and Seasons

Concept Words:

Week 1- lightening, rain, thunder, storm, weather, wind

Week 2-  cold, fall, spring, summer, warm, winter

Amazing Words:

Week 1-dash, dawn, prepare, protect, snuggle,

Week 2- bud, chilly, nest

Question of the week:

Week 1: What happens when the weather changes?

Week 2: What changes in each season?

Social-emotional Learning:

We will continue working on sharing and asking for help.

Here are the visuals we are using in the classroom. If you would

 like these visuals for your home, please let me know!

Centers:

Dramatic play: Creating a camping site. 

Week 1- Adding weather art to the camp site (clouds, rain, sun, stars, etc)

Week 2- Creating binoculars to play with in the play center.

Literacy center: 

Week 1- Matching the first sounds we hear with objects and continuing 

with rhyming games.

Week 2- Playing with letters and the sounds they make. 

Writing center:

Week 1-  Coloring and writing about the students favorite type of weather. 

I like the rain. We are going to be focusing on adding details to our drawings this trimester.

Week 2- Coloring and writing about the students favorite season. 

Math center:

Week 1- Working on identifying numbers and 1:1 correspondence. 

We will be playing games with dice while also working on taking 

turns.  

Week 2- Continuing this work through various games.

Science center: 

Week 1- Teaching the differences between day and night.

Week 2- Sorting the clothes we wear and the weather we see in 

the various seasons.

Art center: 

Week 1- Continuing our Black History Month art activities along 

with creating materials for our dramatic play centers. 

Week 2- "              "

Challenge:

Draw a picture of your favorite weather, sunny, cloudy, rainy, or 

snowing?  Here is the song we are listening to in the classroom!

Articles:

A Closer Look at the IEP

10 Things Parents Should Know About Play

Unit of Study: The desert

Concept Words:

Week 1-cactus, desert, dry, rocks, sand, sun

Week 2-   hide, lizard, snake, spider, turtle, under

Amazing Words:

Week 1-coyote, howl

Week 2- cowboy, gobble, herd, sniff, toss

Question of the week:

Week 1: What is a desert? 

Week 2: What are desert animals like?

Social-emotional Learning:

Sharing- The students are practicing sharing the easel and an alphabet puzzle in the classroom. This will help students at 

home, in other classrooms or in the ECSE classroom learn that they need to share across all school environments.

Centers:

Dramatic play: Jungle/Zoo animals/Desert

Week 1- Students will be making frogs to add to the jungle

Week 2- Students will be making a desert area in the dramatic play center (desert habitat and vocabulary: hot, sun, cactus, 

snakes, coyotes, etc...)  

Literacy center: 

Week 1- Letters, rhymes and learning the letters in our names

Week 2- Letters, rhymes and learning the letters in our names

Writing center:

Week 1-  Drawing about our favorite animals in the desert.

Week 2- What do you know about a desert? (hot, cactus, coyotes, snakes etc...)

Math center:

Week 1-  patterns and counting out numbers 1-6

Week 2- patterns and counting out numbers 1-6

Science center: 

Week 1- learning about desert and arctic habitats

Week 2- learning about arctic habitats and the animals that live there 

Art center: 

Week 1- creating animals for our desert scene and using water colors

Week 2-  coloring a chameleon or water color art

Articles: Autism and Picky Eating

Increasing Cooperation in Kids with Autism

January 9th  -December 22nd

Unit of Study: The jungle

Question of the week:

Week 1: What are jungle animals like?

Week 2: What is a desert?

Concept Words:

Week 1- What are jungle animals like?elephant, frog, lion, monkey parrot, zebra

Week 2-  What is a desert? cactus, desert, dry, rocks, sand, sun

Amazing Words:

Week 1-chase, collect, complain, mistake, pattern, splash

Week 2- coyote, howl, invite, mountain, quick, tumble

Social-emotional Learning: Asking for help and sharing

Centers:

Dramatic play: 

Week 1- We are creating jungle animals in our art center to add to the dramatic play center: see picture in "pictures"

Week 2-  We will continue to create jungle animals to add to our dramatic play center and teach students how to play

with puppets.

Literacy center: 

Week 1- Playing "eye spy" with first sounds and with vocabulary words and sorting animals: farm or jungle

Week 2-  Playing with letters and learning the letters in the students' names and playing with uppercase and

 lowercase letters using manipulatives and games. 

Writing center:

Week 1-  Stamping and labeling our pictures with scribbles and/or letters.

Week 2- Writing at the teacher table in journals about the student's favorite jungle animals.

Math center:

Week 1- Working on quantities: rolling a dice and adding bugs to a cactus, number puzzles, shape puzzles

Week 2- Creating ABAB patterns with sounds and objects and extending patterns.

Science center: 

Week 1- Sorting animals that have 2, 4, and no legs.

Week 2- Sorting habitats

Easel: 

Week 1- Teaching sharing of materials and space.

Week 2-  "    " Drawing animals in the jungle from a model using paint sticks.

Challenge:

Pattern Work- I sent home paterns. ***Students do not have to master this skill until they are in their last year in our 

program and going into kindergarten. 

I am sending home pattern work for fun! You can choose to work on OT with using a glue stick and putting on, asking 

which one comes next, or just do with your child and say the pattern. When completed, you may send back and your

 child will get a prize for doing the family challenge! If this is not engaging, you can skip and try to make a pattern with 

food items or toys! Have fun!!! (See email for directions)

Articles: Helping Young Children Learn: What Parents Can Do

Make Life Easier with These Tips for Bedtime!

December 2nd -December 16th

Unit of Study: The Farm

Concept Words:

Week 1- cow, egg, hen, milk, pig, sheep

Week 2-  apple, buy, pick, sell, tree, truck

Amazing Words:

Week 1-daily, deal, electric, impatient, exchange, furious

Week 2- deliver, refrigerate, ripe, sort, stand

Question of the week:

Week 1: Why Why do farmers have animals?

Week 2: How does food get from a farm to your house?

Social-emotional Learning:

Asking a peer to play with them and taking turns.

Centers:

Dramatic play: 

Week 1- Farm- market, cash register, grocery list writing (sand and pigs to play in)

Week 2-Farm-apples, cash register and pond (water sensory bin with fish and frogs-matching letters) 

Literacy center: 

Week 1- Mary Had a Little Lamb- integrated into art and circle time. Learning vocabulary "top" and "bottom"-the way we 

read and phonemes (the first sound: r and s) playing with our sound bins.

Week 2- Mary had a Little Lamb continued and working on syllables (ra/coon, pop/corn, etc...)

Writing center:

Week 1-  Letter stamps (uppercase and lowercase- ABC) Tracing pages, stickers, fall coloring books.

Week 2- Letter stamps continued, tracing pages and mini-books.

Math center:

Week 1- Counting out sets of 3 and 5 with farm animals and dice, counting objects to 5 and 1:1 correspondence with farm

 animals

Week 2- Counting out sets of animals and adding them together into our pens.

Science center: 

Week 1- How a seed grows and learning about the weather.

Week 2- Plants that grow on a farm and sorting out winter and summer clothes.

Art center: 

Week 1- Continuing to make animals for our dramatic play center and creating foods that grow on a farm. Students will 

then be buying these at dramatic play. Easel: learning how to draw various animals on a farm through a step by step visual.

Week 2- Painting still life art (apples) and continuing easel animals.

November 14th- December 1st

Unit of Study: The Farm

Concept Words:

Week 1- animal, barn, farmer, plant, crops

Week 2-  field, row, seed, soil, tool, tractor

Amazing Words:

Week 1-crowd, parade, fair, fancy, pond, startle

Week 2- pen , turkey, gate, 

Question of the week:

Week 1:What is a farm?

Week 2: How do machines help farmers?

Social-emotional Learning:

Practicing helping our peers in the classroom with spills, opening

snack, zipping coats, etc...

Centers:

Dramatic play: 

Week 1- Farm- corn, pig sty, market, cash register

Week 2-Farm-plants, market, cash register

Literacy center: 

Week 1- The sounds we hear in language will be taught through: Humpty Dumpty

Week 2- Mary had a Little Lamb. Continuing with rhyme boxes and introducing syllables.

Writing center:

Week 1-  Using stamps to create a farm and label our pictures

 and coloring.

Week 2- Continuing to use stamps, coloring pages with stickers and creating a farm map.

Math center:

Week 1- Counting out sets of 3 and 5 with farm animals, shape

 matching and chain link counting.

Week 2-Working on counting out set of 3 and 5 with Legos. 

Science center: 

Week 1- Healthy and unhealthy food game with farmer Joe.

Week 2- Plant study (seed to harvest)

Art center: 

Week 1- Making crops for our dramatic play.

Week 2- Making farm animals for our wall at dramatic play.

October 31-November 11th

Unit of Study:Our Community

Concept Words:

Week 1- mall, movie theatre, restaurant, supermarket, zoo

Week 2- city, country, farm, neighbor, people, town

Amazing Words:

Week 1-delicious, dough, stir, lovely, sip, ingredient

Week 2- bloom, breeze, garden, sprinkle, stem, vine

Question of the week:

Week 1:What can we do in our community?

Week 2: What kind of communities do people live in?

Social-emotional Learning:

Practicing how to cough into our arm and blow our nose with a tissue, deposit it into the garbage can, and wash hands. 

Saying hello with hugs, wave and high-five. Saying goodbye with "bye bye butterfly" and "see you later alligator".

Centers:

Dramatic play: 

Week 1- Grocery store and pizzeria

Week 2-Students continue to write up a grocery list and shop with various grocery items

Literacy center: 

Week 1-  Matching rhymes and sorting firefighter tools and doctor tools

Week 2- Exposure to environmental print continued, new rhymes (Humpty Dumpty)

Writing center:

Week 1- Practicing starting at the top of our lines when we write, writing about who we want to be in our community

Week 2- Coloring and writing about Halloween. 

Math center:

Week 1-Playing "Where's the Bear?" Positional words, geometric solids/3d and 2d shapes with puzzles and hands on

 materials.

Week 2-Continue to play and sort 3d shapes.

Science center: 

Week 1- Pumpkin drawing.

Week 2- 3 Pumpkin study continued.

Art center: 

Week 1- Community clothes match.

Week 2- Fall leaves- painting with a stencil.

Block center: 

Week 1- Closed

Week 2- Using Dramatic Play instead

Reading Center: Teaching students how to read a book with an adult or independently, and finishing rhymes.

***At home, you can also work on this skill....Weekly Challenge!

October 12th-October 26th

Unit of Study:Our Community

Concept Words:

Week 1- hospital, house, library, park, post office, street

Week 2- bus driver, doctor, job, mail carrier, police officer, teacher

Amazing Words:

Week 1-bridge, entrance, fountain, gift, statue, traffic

Week 2-alarm, emergency, equipment, firefighter, report, train

Question of the week:

Week 1:What is in our community?

Week 2: What do workers do in our community?

Social-emotional Learning:

Reviewing how to ask for help with snack items and teaching other ways to INDEPENDENTLY open 

snacks (pulling open using scissors while sitting)

and opening markers. Students practicing saying "Help, please." and "Thank you." 

The class took turns with staff and each other! We will continue to work on this skill over the next 

couple weeks within multiple areas of the classroom.  

Centers:

Dramatic play: 

Week 1- Taco and ice cream stand. Dress up clothes -fire-fighter, doctor, grocer etc...

Week 2- Doctor's office with dress up clothes.

Literacy center: 

Week 1-  compound words matching and introduction to rhymes with various games.

Week 2- exposure to environmental print (Target, McDonalds, Stop signs, Restroom signs, etc...)

Writing center:

Week 1- Our writing center has been turned into a post office with a mail carrier outfit, mailbox and envelopes. Students are writing letters to Ollie that is 

currently on vacation ( Our OWL curriculum mascot).

Week 2- Creating and coloring environmental print signs for our classroom (EXIT, ENTER, RESTROOM, STOP, etc...)

Math center:

Week 1-Pumpkin math adding and subtracting game. Positional word and shapes games.

Week 2-

Science center: 

Week 1- Fire fighter center with dress up and sorting what jobs and materials our community helpers do.

Week 2- 3 Little Pigs and how to build a sturdy home/shelter.

Art center: 

Week 1- Commnity helper hand print art.

Week 2- Community helper cutting, pasting, and coloring activities.

Block center: 

Week 1- Building a community with blocks, signs, cars and trains.

Week 2- 

iPad: Using QR codes to listen to books on Autumn/Fall. Students are working on our current standard, 2.B.ECa With teacher assistance, ask and answer 

questions about books read aloud. Students are given visuals or asked what character did you see in our book? Did you enjoy the book, yes or no?

***At home, you can also work on this skill....Weekly Challenge!

September 26th- October 12th:

Unit of Study: Continuation of Family and the start of a new unit, Our Community

Concept Words:

Week 1- guest, music, party, picnic, playground, trip

Week 2-hospital, house, library, park, post office, street

Amazing Words:

Week 1-celebrate, decorate, enjoy, instrument, musician, slice

Week 2-bridge, entrance, fountain, gift, statue, traffic

Question of the week:

Week 1:What do families do together for fun?

Week 2: What is in our community?

Social-emotional Learning:

Reviewing how to ask for help with snack items and opening markers. Students practicing saying "Help, please," and 

The class took turns with staff and each other! We will continue to work on this skill over the next couple weeks within

multiple areas of the classroom.  

We are also reviewing happy, sad, mad, and silly.

Centers:

Dramatic play: 

Week 1- Playing with a baby, washing dishes, singing songs to a baby, reading nursery rhymes to a baby etc...

Week 2-Dress up clothes -fire-fighter, doctor, grocer etc...

Literacy center: 

Week 1- letter M and matching letters to sounds

Week 2- compound words matching

Writing center:

Week 1-creating a thank you card

Week 2-journal writing about who you want to be when you grow up

Math center:

Week 1-apple tree math

Week 2- playing with a variety of solid shapes (cylinder, sphere, cone, and cube) and building and matching shapes

Science center: 

Week 1- continuing with our apple investigation (using our 5 senses cont.) 

Week 2- teaching growth and building a shelter out of blocks.

Art center: 

Week 1-create an apple tree

Week 2-3D art

Block center: 

Week 1- Dollhouse using family vocabulary words (mother, father, uncle, aunt, grandmother, grandfather etc...) 

Week 2- Building a community with blocks, signs, cars and trains. 

iPad: Using QR codes to listen to books and Starfall

August 12- September 25th:

Unit of Study: Family

Concept Words:

Week 1-mother, father, brother, sister, care, chore

Week 2-guest, music, party, picnic, playground, trip

Amazing Words:

Week 1-dust, pitch, scrub, slippery, squeeze, tidy

Week 2-celebrate, decorate, enjoy, instrument, musician, slice

Question of the week:

Week 1:How does everyone in a family help?  

Week 2: What do families do together for fun?

Social-emotional Learning

Asking for help (see picture of student at easel with Ms. K ). Students practicing saying "Help, please," and Ms. K

coming over to assist them. The class took turns with staff and each other! We will continue to work on this skill 

over the next couple weeks within multiple areas of the classroom.  

Centers:

Dramatic play- house with dress up clothes, cooking and cleaning materials

Literacy center:

Week 1-working on identifying uppercase and lowercase letters in students' names by using rainbow writing and magnetic letters. 

Week 2- Tracing letters and coloring.

Writing center:

Week 1-creating an all about me and my family book

Week 2-creating  birthday card

Math center:

Week 1-sorting manipulatives by color, shapes, and sizes and identifying how many in a set.

Week 2- combining sets of 4 and 5.

Science center: 

Week 1 learning more about our senses (touch, sight, hear, smell and taste (Apple investigation). 

Week 2- How I Grow

Art center: 

Week 1 Using paint to learn about the primary colors./House art with shapes.

Week 2- Painting friends and family.

Block center- Dollhouse using family vocabulary words (mother, father, uncle, aunt, grandmother, grandfather etc...) 

Dramatic Play: Cleaning pets and dishes in soapy water.

iPad: Using QR codes to listen to books.

August 29-September 9th:

Unit of Study: Welcome New Friends

Concept Words-  boy, girl, classroom

Amazing Words-  frown, grin

Question of the week-

Week 1: What Makes Everyone Special? Week 2: What is a Friend?

SEL- Asking for help.

Centers:

Dramatic play- house with dress up clothes, cooking and cleaning materials

Literacy center- exploring with letters

Writing center- exploring with writing utensils and creating their own mini-books

Math center- sorting by color, shapes, and sizes

Science center- Week 1 sand and shells Week 2 various clothes with different textures to feel and examine like 

a scientist

Art center- paint sticks/markers

Sensory table- Week 1 water and measuring cups Week 2 rainbow friend mix

Block center- blocks, cars, people

Week of August 22nd-26th

Last week we focused on learning the school routines. The students did a wonderful job on picking up on our new routines! I do need to give you guys a shout out for continuing to work on sharing at home with your child this summer. Many students were more open to sharing! YAY! This week our specials will begin, gym and library. I will set up an automated reminder for library book returns beginning next week. 

This weeks books are Pete the Cat: Rocking in my School Shoes and The Little School Bus.

We will continue to work on learning our routines and learning classroom rules.

Feel free to email or call me with any questions you have! 

Mrs. Sewell

Unit of Study: 

Concept Words:

Week 1- 

Week 2-  

Amazing Words:

Week 1-

Week 2- 

Question of the week:

Week 1: 

Week 2: 

Social-emotional Learning:

Centers:

Dramatic play: 

Week 1- 

Week 2- 

Literacy center: 

Week 1- 

Week 2- 

Writing center:

Week 1-  

Week 2- 

Math center:

Week 1-  

Week 2- 

Science center: 

Week 1- 

Week 2- 

Art center: 

Week 1-

Week 2- 

Challenge:

Articles: