December 16, 2018

Letter “K” Week!

We had a great letter “K” week in Pre-K!

During the week the students practiced the formation of “K” and “k.”

We did many different activities that involved letter “K.”

The students learned “K” is a consonant and what sound the letter “K” makes. We also discussed many different words that begin with the letter “K.”

We reviewed number 0-10 this week and I’m so impressed with how well the class knows their numbers!

On Monday, we lit the second candle on our Advent wreath and prayed to Jesus. We are all looking forward to the Christmas, but it is important to remember, Jesus is the reason, for the season!

With that being said, I can’t believe this is the last week of school before Christmas Break! Our classroom is getting excited (and crazy) for the holiday and we have been working hard on a lot of special surprises!! We cannot wait to celebrate the birth of Our Lord, Jesus Christ!

We spent a lot of time this week with our 7th grade "Buddies"

The students had so much fun getting to know the 7th graders and I can't thank the 7th grade enough for how wonderful they were with the kiddos! They are so lucky to have such great buddies.

The 7th grade read to them, helped them shop at the Christmas Village, and helped them write letters to Santa!

The Christmas Village was everyone's favorite event of the week! Shopping for gifts, seeing Santa, and eating treats... what could be better than that?!

I can't wait for parents and family members to see the wonderful gifts the students bought and made on Friday!

December 9, 2018

Letter "J" Week!

We had a fabulous week learning all about the letter “J,” the color black, the number “10,” and Saint Nicholas.

During the week the students practiced the formation of “J,” “j,” and “10,” many times!

The students learned “J” is a consonant and what sound the letter “J” makes. We also discussed many different words that begin with the letter “J” – one of them being, “Jesus.” The students love talking about Jesus, especially during the Advent Season.

On Monday, we lit the first candle on our Advent wreath and prayed to Jesus. We are all looking forward to Christmas, but it is important to remember, Jesus is the reason, for the season!

This week was also filled with many surprises and exciting news! Our classroom Elf came, Prayer Bear came back from another adventure, and we had a special visit from St. Nick!

On Monday, the students discovered we had a new friend join our classroom! We voted on a name and we decided “Buttercup” is the perfect fit! The students had so much fun searching for him everyday!

Our wonderful student, Maggie, took home our Prayer Bear for a fun adventure. Maggie told the class everything she did with Prayer Bear and shared the prayer she wrote with her family and Prayer Bear!

On Thursday, we celebrated St. Nicholas Day. The students put their shoes in the hallway and St. Nicholas came and left them a little treat! The students were so happy!

Christmas will soon be here, and I am so lucky to have so many amazing artists to help decorate my classroom and hallway! The students helped create Christmas lights, stockings, presents, and a tree!

Our school is having a “door decorating contest” and we had a blast making ours! Pre-K 4 hopes you have a very “Handy Dandy” Christmas!

December 2, 2018

“I” Have the Best Students! 💛

We had a wonderful week learning all about the letter “i,” the color white, the number “9,” hexagons, and Saint Ignatius!

The students learned that the letter “i” is a vowel and the long and short sound of “i.” We shared words we knew began with “i” and practiced writing “i” in upper- and lower-case. Our week was full of fun "i" activities!

My favorite “i” activity from this week was making ice cream cones! The students helped mix shaving cream and glue together to create “ice cream” and then added sprinkles!

In math, the students were able to use previous week’s information and explain different ways to show a number. By using tallies, the tens-frame, the word, symbols, and the number “9,” you are able to represent the number “9.” I love how well they are able to explain their thinking.

In religion, we discussed how God made water. We talked about the different ways water is used and why it is so important for us, animals, and plants.

After thanking God for water, we painted with water. The children had so much fun bringing their coloring pages to life by just using water!

We also discussed Saint Ignatius, our Saint of the Week. The students learned Saint Ignatius is the patron saint of soldiers, teachers, and education. Saint Ignatius worked hard to defend his belief in God and in school! We loved praying to him this week.

This week was extra exciting with a birthday to celebrate, a Secret Reader coming in, and a new "Camper of the Week"!

On Wednesday we celebrated Gracie’s 5th birthday! On Friday Gracie’s Mom came in to be a Secret Reader! The students were so surprised and loved it! Thank you, Mrs. Corson!!

Our “Camper of the Week,” was Ally! We loved learning more about our amazing classmate this week!

November 17, 2018

Letter “H” Week!

We had a wonderful week learning all about the letter “H,” the color brown, the number “8,” hearts, and Saint Henry!

The students learned that the letter “H” is a consonant and what sound “H” makes. Our students shared SO many words they knew that began with H – I was impressed with how many they named! We also practiced writing “H” uppercase and lowercase, as well as our number “8.”

We did many activities surrounding the letter “H” this week.

Some of my favorite “H” activities from this week were painting houses and writing our home addresses!

We also made hearts using our ten little fingers to show how much we love our mommies and daddies 💛

"Even ten little fingers can't count, the way I love you with all my heart!"

In math, the students were able to use previous week’s information and explain different ways to show a number. By using tallies, the tens-frame, the word, symbols, and the number “8,” you are able to represent the number 8. I love how well they are able to explain their thinking.

In religion, we discussed how God made Earth and plants. We thanked him for everything he created and has given to us on Earth.

After talking about earth and everything God has made, we made an earth craft. We used coffee filters, markers, and water to create our beautiful earth craft! We sang “He’s got the whole world in His hands” and then put God’s hands around our earth craft to represent God having the whole world in His hands.

We also discussed Saint Henry, our Saint of the Week. Saint Henry was an emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and was known for always helping people who were in need. Saint Henry used his position to give the glory to God and promote happiness in all people. We loved learning about and praying to Saint Henry! He is a true role model!

On Friday we celebrated the end of letter “H” week by wearing “crazy hats!” The students had so much fun showing off and wearing their crazy hats during the school day. We also made our own hats and started our Thanksgiving celebrations!

November 11, 2018

A Great Letter “G” Week in Pre-K!!

We had a fabulous week learning all about the letter “G,” the color pink, the number “7,” stars, and Saint George.

The students learned the letter “G” is a consonant and what sound the letter “G” makes. Our students knew so many words that begin with letter “G” and as usual, it made me so happy! I love to hear all of the words they know!

We did many different crafts and activities involving the letter “G” this week.

The “Gum-ball Machine Pumpkin” our class made for the school pumpkin decorating contest last week, made us realize that “gum-ball” begins with “G!” On Wednesday, we had “Gum-ball Day!” The students were able to make their own gum-ball machines with letter “G” and “g” gum-balls!

They had so much fun making them, and I can’t believe how adorable they turned out!!!

The students also made their own guitars this week as well. We had so much fun making and playing with them before they were hung up to be displayed in our hallway!

In math this week, we focused on the number “7.” The students know exactly how to represent a number in different ways by using a ten-frame, tallies, the word “seven,” symbols and more.

We also worked on comparing numbers and graphing. As a class, we graphed gummy bears, to see which color gummy bear was in the bag, the most. The students had so much fun guessing which color would have the most, graphing the colors, and finding out the winner!

In religion, we thanked God for animals and discussed all that animals do for us! The students were excited to learn about the different things we get from animals.

We also discussed that “God” begins with the letter “G.” We made a foam finger to show how much we love God and that He is #1!

Our Saint of the week, this week, was Saint George. The students learned Saint George was a solider that fought a dragon to protect and save people. He is also known for standing up for his faith in Jesus, when others told him not to. We loved learning about and praying to Saint George!

This week, we celebrated Faith’s 5th birthday!

On Faith’s birthday, her mom surprised the class with delicious fruit for snack and read a great story! We couldn’t say thank you to her enough. It was so much fun!

On Friday, we celebrated Veteran’s Day. A very close friend of mine is stationed in Kuwait and as a class, we wrote, colored, and decorated thank you cards to send to him! The students had so much fun learning about veterans and I was shocked to hear how much they already knew about our country’s heroes!

November 3, 2018

Spook-tacular Week in Pre-K!!!

We had a wonderful week celebrating Halloween and All Saints Day in Pre-K!

A HUGE thank you goes to our two homeroom moms, Mrs. Petruccelli & Mrs. Mellides, for planning and setting up our classroom Halloween party, as well as our classroom parents for helping with supplies! Our party would not have been possible without everyone’s help, and I am so thankful for everyone’s support!

Our party was filled with yummy food, fun games, and of course, a super cute craft!

The students had a blast being wrapped up and "mummified" and then creating their own mummies!

This week the students decorated our class pumpkin for the school’s “No carve – Pumpkin Decorating” contest. As a class, the students voted, using tallies, on what they wanted our pumpkin to be. A “Gumball Machine” pumpkin won the vote and together, we created a beautiful Gumball Machine pumpkin!

Halloween Day this week was so much fun! I loved seeing the students dressed up in their Halloween costumes and it was great to see so many parents at the parade and sing along. The students were amazing and of course, adorable – as always!

After the parade, we had a wonderful time walking around the school, offices, and over to the Parish Life Center to go Trick-or-Treating.

We ended this week by talking about the different seasons. The students were able to explain different changes that happen during different seasons. We all agreed we are loving the fall weather and playing outside in it! The students then created their own “fall wreaths” to celebrate this beautiful season.

This week, our classroom Prayer Bear came back from another adventure. Our amazing student Mitchell had Prayer Bear and came back to school with a lot to share with his classmates! The students really love seeing pictures and hearing about the adventures Prayer Bear goes on!

This week we had 2 new friends join our classroom! Our students couldn’t be happier to have Dhanvine & Aneesh join our Pre-K family 💛

It was a wonderful reminder of how sweet our classmates are and how easily they can make friends!

October 27, 2018

Review Week!

We had a wonderful week reviewing everything we have learned in Pre-K so far!

I was very impressed with the students this week (nothing new there!). They showed how well they knew the information we have been learning and I am so proud. Throughout the week we did many fun activities involving all of the letters, colors, numbers, and shapes we were reviewing.

The students played “number and letter bingo” this week, and we had a blast! It was a great way to start off our "review" week! Congratulations to Emily and Faith for being our two winners! I love how the students are happy for their classmates when they win.

This week we were able to practice writing our upper-case and lower-case letters, “A,” “B,” “C,” “D,” “E,” and “F,” numbers 0-6, and our shapes using many different writing tools. The students loved using our new letter cards and our new floor whiteboard!

We made beautiful “scarecrows” out of many different shapes this week! They are now decorating our classroom, and I love how they turned out!

This week we had “color day” which was a day packed with colorful activities! In the afternoon, we even made our own colors. The students started with six colors, and with the help of eyedroppers, they were able to mix and create many more beautiful colors! The students had a blast discovering the different colors that can be made.

We also had a fabulous Secret Reader and the students loved the surprise! Mitchell’s Mom came in to read two books to us, and the students were very excited about it. Thank you, Mrs. Fox!

October 21, 2018

Fun Filled Letter “F” Week!

We had a wonderful week learning all about the letter “F,” the color purple, the number “6,” diamonds, and Saint Francis!

The students learned that the letter "F" is a consonant, as well as what sound the letter "F" makes. I was so impressed that each student had a different "F" word that they previously knew to share with the class on Monday! Throughout the week, we learned more words that begin with the letter "F," and practiced writing the letter in lower and uppercase. We also practiced writing the number "6."

In math, the students are truly experts at explaining different ways that numbers can be represented. They were also very quick to point out that our color of the week, purple, has six letters in it. I love when they make these connections!

This week the students created, cut, and made many different art projects involving the color purple, the letter “F,” and diamonds.

The fruit baskets they made were my favorite! The students painted a banana, pineapple, grapes, apple, pear, and strawberries to complete their fruit basket. After they painted, they glued them together and they are now decorating our hallways, along with the donuts from letter “D” week.

In religion this week, we thanked God for our families. We were able to learn about our classmates’ families by sharing our family trees. The students did a fabulous job decorating the trees and sharing them with the class. The children loved learning about who is in their friends families and what makes them so special.

Friday morning, we had a visit from the Concordville Fire Company! They came to our school to talk to the students about fire safety and the students loved it. The children learned so much and really enjoyed going inside a real firetruck and ambulance.

After the fire company visited, the children practiced more fire safety in gym class Friday afternoon.

October 13, 2018

Eggcellent Letter "E" Week!

We had a great week learning all about the letter “E,” the color orange, the number “5,” ovals, and Saint Elizabeth.

This week the students learned that the letter “E” is a vowel and what sounds “E” makes. The letter “E” can make a long “e” sound such as “Eeyore,” OR a short “e” sound such as “egg.”

We did many activities surrounding the letter “E,” ovals, and the color orange.

My favorite activity from this week was reading a story about a special elephant named Elmer. After reading, the students each made their own “Elmer” by painting with Q-Tips and sponges. These colorful and beautiful elephants are now decorating our hallway and will be sent home soon!

In math, we are up to number 5 already. I can’t believe it! The students know you can represent different numbers by using a tens-frame, the word, symbols, and more. But, this week they learned when using tallies to represent the number “5,” they need to write the 5th line diagonally across the 4 tallies. The students picked up how to represent the number "5" using tallies super quick and I was very impressed.

We also added pretend “5-dollar bills” to our dramatic play center. The students had so much fun playing with their friends and the fake money.

In religion, we discussed how we are able to pray to God. The students shared different times throughout the day that they pray to God. We learned that when we pray to God, we are talking and listening to Him. The students know we can pray anytime!

Our saint of the week was Saint Elizabeth. The children learned that she is known for helping expectant mothers. The students shared names of their family and friends that are pregnant, and we prayed to Saint Elizabeth to keep them and their babies safe.

We had special readers visit our classroom this week. Our awesome third-grade friends from across the hall came in and read to our class!

It was so much fun, and we couldn’t thank the third-grade teacher, Mr. D enough for letting his students read to us.

Our “Camper of the Week” was our adorable student, Emily. The students had a wonderful time learning more about Emily and enjoyed reading her favorite book!

On Friday, the school finally had an Eagles win to celebrate! The students quickly pointed out Eagles begins with the letter "E," how exciting!

October 6, 2018

A Wonderful Letter “D” Week!

We had a wonderful week learning all about the letter “D,” the color green, the number “4,” rectangles, and Saint Dominic.

The students learned the letter “D” is a consonant and what sound the letter “D” makes. Our students knew so many words that begin with letter “D,” and as usual, I was very impressed and proud of them.

We did many different crafts and activities involving the letter “D.” On Wednesday we had a fun “Dinosaur Day” and learned about different types of dinosaurs, made our own dinosaurs, and went “digging” for dinosaurs! It was a super fun day and all of the students loved finding out their “dinosaur names.”

On Thursday we had “Donut Day.” We painted and decorated our donuts using real sprinkles! We later cut out our donuts and icing and I was impressed to see how well the students’ fine motor skills are improving with all of the cutting we have been doing.

We began writing in our October Journals and practiced some letter “D” words, after we spent time dressed up as doctors and dentists.

This week we had a two special visitors. A real dentist came into our classroom to teach us about our teeth and how we can take care of them. The students knew a lot about their teeth already, and our dentist Dr. Kelly said she was shocked what they already knew. I love when other people are able to see how fabulous my class is! ☺

Our second visitor was Monsignor Diamond. Our students realized Diamond began with a “D,” and Monsignor came into our classroom to meet and talk with the students. The class counted that Monsignor David Diamond, has “4” “Ds” in his name and instantly told Monsignor that “4” was our number of the week. What a coincidence!

In math this week, we focused on the number “4,” and the students are experts at knowing how to represent a number in a variety of different ways. They even realized the word “four” has 4 letters.

In religion, we learned all about the sign of the cross and how the cross is a sign of God’s love. We then used tissue paper to make stained glass window crosses to decorate the classroom. They will be sent home soon.

We discussed our Saint of the Week St. Dominic Savio, and the boys in the class were happy to hear he is the Patron Saint of young boys. We talked about how much St. Dominic Savio loved his faith and even referred to Jesus and Mary as his “best friends.” The students agreed we should all love our faith, just as much as St. Dominic did. And on Friday, they showed they did- We attended our school mass and the students were AMAZING. I love how they continuously impress me by how wonderful they are, no matter the situation.

This week our classroom Prayer Bear came back from another adventure. Our awesome student Faith had Prayer Bear for a long weekend and came back to school with a lot to share with her classmates. She did a lot with Prayer Bear, and the students loved to see the adventure he went on!

September 29, 2018

Another Amazing Week in Pre-K!

We had a fabulous week learning all about the letter “C,” the color yellow, the number “3,” triangles, and Saint Cornelius.

During the week the students practiced the formation of “C,” “c,” “3,” and triangles by using shaving cream AND pretzels! Our snack this week was very fun once we discovered we could make the letter “C” and the number “3.”

Throughout the week, we did many different crafts and activities that involved the different letter “C”, the color yellow, and triangles.

This week the students learned “C” is a consonant and what sound the letter “C” makes. We also discussed many different words that begin with the letter “C” – some of them being “Cornelius,” “church,” and “catholic.” To celebrate our love for those three “C” words, we took a special trip over to our St. Cornelius Catholic Church and learned more about God’s home. I was very impressed with all of the students’ behavior while we were over there. They truly show God the love and respect he deserves!

After visiting church, we made our own Saint Cornelius Church out of paint, tissue paper, and ourselves. Look how amazing they turned out!

This week was also filled with many surprises and exciting news! We had our first Secret Reader, our first “Camper of the Week,” and our classroom Prayer Bear came back from his first adventure.

Our wonderful student, Gracie, was the first classmate to take home our Prayer Bear for a long weekend adventure. Gracie told the class everything she did with Prayer Bear and shared the prayer she wrote with her family and Prayer Bear!

Our camper of the week was our amazing student, Everett! On Monday the students decorated the “Camper of the Week” Folder and it was sent home with Everett to complete.

On Wednesday, Everett celebrated his 5^th birthday and his mom came in to surprise the class as our Secret Reader. It was a great day!

September 22, 2018

Miss Dougherty is Bananas About Her Students!

We had a wonderful week learning all about the letter “B,” the color blue, the number “2,” squares, and Saint Bernadette!

The students learned the letter “B” is a consonant and what sound “B” makes. Our students shared SO many words they knew that began with B – I was so surprised! We also practiced writing the letters “B” and “b” as well as our number “2.”

In math, the students were able to use last week’s information and explain different ways to show a number. By using tallies, the tens-frame, the word, symbols, and the number “2,” you are able to represent the number 2. I was very impressed they were using previous information to explain their thinking.

Our students did an art project using paint every single day this week and lot of our crafts involved fruit! We made yummy blueberries and silly bananas. While painting, we were able to use our fingers instead of paint brushes. We love washable paint!

Aside from using paint with our fingers, we also used bubble wrap to paint. This was so much fun, and I can’t wait to do it again. After painting, the students popped bubble wrap! This was a super fun way to strengthen their fine motor skills.

Besides playing with bubble wrap, we also made our own bubbles. The other Pre-K teacher Mrs. Anderson put on a science experiment for all the Pre-K students. By combining baking soda and vinegar, she created a chemical reaction which caused bubbles! Mrs. Anderson explained three new science words: “cylinder,” “eye dropper,” and “chemical reaction.”

The children loved it and their reactions were priceless! We couldn't thank Mrs. Anderson enough, she's the best!

In religion, we discussed how God wants us to help each other and the different ways we can do so in Pre-K. The children know how much it means when someone helps them, and they should love helping others just as much! Everyone is able to help, big or small, and when we do, God is so happy!

We also discussed Saint Bernadette, our Saint of the Week. Saint Bernadette is known for her love of the Blessed Mother and for being the patron saint of the ill. At 14 years old, Saint Bernadette was visited by the Blessed Mother, but some people in her town did not believe her. Nevertheless, Saint Bernadette knew what she saw. Saint Bernadette did what The Blessed Mother told her, because of her love for God and Mary! We discussed, as a class, how we, too, should always have faith in God and never lose that faith. Though Saint Bernadette was very ill throughout her entire life, she believed in God and the Blessed Mother and knew she would be cared for. The children now know to pray to her if they are sick or someone they know is.

We had very yummy snacks this week, and I almost wish it were letter “B” week, every week. On Thursday, Mrs. Anderson brought in bananas for all the Pre-K students. On Friday I brought in homemade banana bread for everyone. We ate it with the other Pre-K class after our science experiment, and it was a great way to end our letter “B” week!

September 15, 2018

Appple-lutely Loving Pre-K!

We had our first full week of school, and it was FULL of the letter “A,” the color red, the number “1,” circles, Saint Anthony, and fun!

The students learned the letter “A” is a vowel and how the letter “A” sounds. They also practiced writing the letters “A” and “a.” By the end of the week, they showed amazing improvement. I am SO impressed!

During the week we did a variety of crafts and hands-on activities, many of which included apples. The students get along so well with each other and with the other Pre-K 4 class that we decided to combine the classes and make homemade apple pie play dough! The students were able to mix in real spices into red play dough to create that yummy apple pie smell. The students had so much fun, and I loved how my room smelled after we finished :)

After having our classroom smell like delicious apples, we were able to eat apples and taste test which color apples we liked the best! The students tried red, yellow, and green apples, and then made a picture graph on the whiteboard of their favorites. The most liked apple was the green, Granny Apple. We also learned apples come from seeds and about a man named Johnny Appleseed.

During the week, we discussed the number “1” and different ways to show the number “1.” We also discussed the significance of the number “1” in religion because God only made ONE of us. We talked about how special we are to Him and how He is our role model. God wants us to be kind to everyone, and my students show me every day they know just how to do that! We also learned a new prayer this week while we were learning about Saint Anthony. The students now know to pray to him if they ever misplace anything.

By the end of the week the children demonstrated they are Pre-K 4 experts! They know the expected classroom routines and rules. I am so pleased with the work they are doing so far, and look forward to a very fun and successful year!!

I hope you enjoyed the crafts that were sent home this week. Lucky for me, my classroom is full of amazing artists! If you have not already, feel free to send in an old t-shirt/smock for your child to wear when painting. I would hate for them to get paint on their beautiful school uniforms!

Even though letter “A” week is finished, I encourage you to continue to point out words with the letter “A” or ask your child what words they know that begin with “A.” I must say, I was very impressed by the words they already knew began with “A,” and I can’t wait to see and hear the other ones they discover in the future.

Thank you for all of your support, and I look forward to working with you throughout the year!!

September 8, 2018

A Wonderful First Week in Pre-K!!!

I couldn't have asked for better students in my class! We had a great week of learning, playing, sharing, and more! Throughout the week we got to know all about our classmates and make new friends!! We learned all about our school, the rules we will follow, the prayers we will say, and the songs we will sing!

I was SO happy to see the students showing how well they know how to use their manners and be kind to everyone – inside and outside of the classroom!

We created a lot of fun projects and ended the week celebrating the birthday of Our Blessed Mother Mary!