Welcome to Mrs. Dignam's class!
Check out this page for the daily blog of activities in our pre-K world of fun, discovery, and friendship.
Thursday, June 2, 2022
We had such a nice day to end our year together. Our morning message revealed that we had a jam-packed day full of activities! We practiced on the stage one final time and we did a fantastic job. You are sure in for a special treat tomorrow :)
During our center time today, we each had the chance to take a good look at our memory books. Over the past few weeks we have been working hard on the pages for these books and now they are all bound together and ready to go. This special book is a beautiful reminder of some of our favorite things in Pre-K and all of our Pre-K friends.
Before lunch, we gathered on the rug and shared some special memories from the school year - our class trip, pajama day, 100th day, Easter Egg hunt, and our butterfly project were some of the favorites that were mentioned. We sure have had many fun and educational experiences this past year! We then sat back and enjoyed a video on our SMARTboard. This video was extra special because guess who starred in it? WE DID! That's right, we watched a 15 minute video capturing some of our most memorable Pre-K moments - from September to now. We loved it so much that we asked to watch it again. Don't worry moms and dads - you too will get the chance to watch it tomorrow at our closing ceremony.
After lunch and some free play, we played outside for a bit. We had a very relaxing rest of the day. Tables were moved from the center of the room, we laid down our blankets, and then we watched some of the "Finding Nemo" movie. Afterward, we finished up our last day together by enjoying some yummy ice cream sandwiches. Delicious!
I can't tell you how much I have enjoyed working with your children this year. They have made such tremendous progress and I am so proud of them. Thank you for sharing them with me - I will truly miss them.
I am so much looking forward to our show tomorrow and hope to see you there. All children should arrive at school by 8:30am. Our show will start promptly at 9:00am. Thanks for a great year and have a fantastic summer!!!! God Bless You.
Wednesday, June 1, 2022
Happy June! We are just 2 days away from our closing ceremony and we are super excited about it!
This morning we participated in our last scholastic lesson titled "Safe Around the Town"....all about summer safety. We talked about the many activities we can do in the summer and how best to stay safe while doing them - such as wearing sunblock when outdoors, wearing a helmet when riding our bikes or scooters, wearing a life vest or arm floaters in the pool or ocean, drinking water on hot days, keeping our distance from hot grills and fires, and always staying with a grown up. We watched the video for this lesson, then returned to our seats and completed our booklets together. Check our folders to see - and I encourge you to sit with your child to see if he/she can read some of the words for you.
During snack time, we enjoyed some cupcakes and sang "Happy Birthday" to our friend Olivia, who turns 5 on June 6th. Yummy!. She even brought in goodie bags for our class and Pre-K 2 - thanks Olivia :) Afterward, we located our name tags for center time. Unfortunately, Ms. Gorman wasn't in school today. We decided to draw a special picture for her thanking her for such a great year full of super fun gym classes. After it's bound together into a book, we will give it to her tomorrow.
Lunch time was yummy in our tummies, then some free play time followed. We went outside and enjoyed this beautiful day while getting lots of fresh air and exercise before settling in for rest time.
Tomorrow will be our last day in the classroom together!
REMINDERS:
Tomorrow we will have a pizza lunch. Please just send in a snack and 2 drinks. This Friday, 6/3, is our end of the year ceremony at 9:00am. All children should arrive at school by 8:30 am, and all guests should arrive no later than 8:50 am. Please message me if you have any questions. Please arrive at the Pre-K doors at 8:30 am with your child.
Tuesday, May 31, 2022
I hope everyone enjoyed the long weekend and the lovely weather.
Is it summer time?? We had to check to make sure we were in the right season this morning. Whew, it's a hot one!
Can you believe that it's the last week of Pre-K? Our countdown now shows the magic number of 3. Wow! Our morning message revealed that a busy day was in store for us. After going through our morning routine, we returned to our seats and began decorating our cereal boxes that we painted last week. We found out today that these boxes will be transformed into special picture frames. We glued on some words, then used foam stickers, jewels, feathers, and buttons to decorate them with. They are looking great! We just need to add a few finishing touches to them tomorrow.
After snack time, we located our name tags for center time. Before we knew it, we were on our way downstairs to the auditorium to practice on the stage for our show. Wow, we are just getting better and better. These kids sound awesome and you surely will be in for a treat on Friday!
Lunch time was yummy in our tummies, then some free play time followed. We went outside and enjoyed this beautiful day while getting lots of fresh air and exercise before settling in for rest time.
REMINDERS:
The aides will be providing a pizza lunch this Thursday, 6/2. Just send in a snack and 2 drinks on this day.
Friday is our last day/closing ceremony.
Wednesday, May 25, 2022
Well, what a busy morning we had!! After a quick morning meeting, we were off to the auditorium to practice for our show. And let me tell you, these kids are simply amazing!! We have some wonderful performers here in Pre-K! Afterwards we enjoyed our morning snacks and then we were off to gym class. We heard that Ms. Gorman had a surprise waiting for us in the gym, and we took some guesses as to what it could be. When we entered the gym, we couldn't believe our eyes. She had a large bouncy house!! We took off our shoes and had lots of fun :) It even had a slide on it. Thanks, Ms. Gorman for making our gym class so much fun!
When we returned to the classroom, we finished up our center activities for this week. The remaining group got busy painting their cereal boxes. Next week we will find out what these neat boxes will be changed into.
Lunch time was yummy, then we made our way outside with our Pre-K 2 friends on this beautiful day. Before resting we had many requests for another go at musical chairs, so we played. After relaxing our minds and bodies for bit, we prepared for dismissal and ended this short week with smiles.
IMPORTANT INFO
Please see the letter stapled to the front of your child's folder. There has been a time change for our Pre-K ceremony on Friday, June 3rd. The children should arrive at school at 8:30 am and the ceremony will begin promptly at 9:00am (not 9:30 am as previously announced).
We are closed tomorrow, 5/26, Friday, 5/27 and Monday, 5/30. We return on Tuesday, 5/31 and our last day/closing ceremony is Friday, 6/3.
Tuesday, May 24, 2022
We are busy little bees as we get closer and closer to our last day of Pre-K! Just 5 school days left, hard to believe!This morning we reviewed our numbers from 0-25. We participated in a game where the numbers were set up in order on the rug from 0-25, with several of them flipped over. On our turn we chose one that was flipped over and said what it was before seeing it. This required us to figure out which number comes next and we did a great job. When we returned to our seats we completed an activity page where our task was to write in the missing number. We completed this activity independently and did a wonderful job!!
We enjoyed our morning snacks and then got busy with our center time activities. Before lunch, we did some painting. We split into two groups. One table made beautiful waterpaint pictures, the other table started working on our cereal box project. Thanks moms and dads for sending them in. Anyone who hasn't done so, please send them in tomorrow. We learned that these boxes will be changed into something special. We took some guesses, but none proved to be correct.. We used several colors to paint up all the sides of our boxes. Step one completed! Tomorrow the rest of us will start working on these. Next week we will find out what they will be.
Lunch time was yummy in our tummies, then we went outdoors to get some exercise on this breezy day. Before settling down for rest time, we listened to the story "Look Out Kindergarten, Here I Come!" The first the day of kindergarten is finally here, and Henry can't wait to go paint pictures, sing songs, and practice counting. He gets a bit nervous when he arrives, but before long Henry discovers that the only thing he's not ready for is how much fun he's going to have at school! Of course this prompted a nice discussion about what we expect to do and learn in Kindergarten in September.
We rested and then gathered our belongings as we prepared for dismissal.
REMINDERS:
There is no school this Thursday, May 26th, Friday, May 27th, and Monday, May 30th.
Friday, June 3, is our closing ceremony
Monday, May 23, 2022
Even though we are getting ready to wrap up our year, there is still much to do and learn this week and next. Can you believe there's just 6 more days of Pre-K left???
Our morning message revealed that we were going to the stage in the auditorium to practice, practice, practice!! We did a great job. We also found out that we will be working on pages for a special memory book that we will all take home on the last day of Pre-K. Those activities, plus center time, made our morning fly on by.
After lunch and some free play time, we enjoyed the fresh air and got good exercise outside. It feels like Spring again!!! Once we returned to the classroom, we played a fun game of musical chairs. See if your little one can tell you who the winner was :)
We relaxed during rest time, then prepared for dismissal. We sang our goodbyes, prayed to our Blessed Mother, and ended this nice day together.
REMINDERS:
There is no school this Thursday, May 26th, Friday, May 27th, and Monday, May 30th.
Friday, June 3, is our closing ceremony
Friday, May 20, 2022
Happy Friday and Happy Zipper Day!! Every child remembered to bring something in with a zipper to show the class. Way to go, Pre-K!!
Today we took an imaginary trip to the zoo! We watched a zoo video clip by KidVision Pre-K where we saw kids at the zoo doing some neat things, such as riding a camel, feeding giraffes, and cleaning a rhino! When we returned to our seats we worked hard in our journals - first writing the words "A-t t-h-e z-o-o", then drawing some zoo animals. There were really neat drawings of elephants, monkeys, lions, snakes, and giraffes (just to name a few).
After enjoying our morning snacks, we finished up our center activities for this week. Before lunch we made our way downstairs for music class with Ms. McGrogan.
After lunch and some free play time, we joined our Pre-K 2 friends outside on this beautiful, sunny day. We enjoyed the fresh air and sunshine and got lots of exercise. We settled in for a peaceful rest time and then ended this wonderful day packing up backpacks, singing goodbyes, and praying to our Blessed Mother.
Our Phillies scoreboard now shows 18 wins and 20 losses....we sang "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" in the hopes that they tack on some wins over the weekend.
Have a great weekend and stay cool - looks like summer time temps are on the way.
REMINDERS:
Next week is a 3-day week. We are closed on Thursday, May 26th and Friday, May 27th.
We will be closed on Monday, May 30th in observance of the Memorial Day holiday. We return on Tuesday, May 31st and our last day/closing ceremony will be Friday, June 3rd.
Thursday, May 19, 2022
What a wonderful time we had at Smith Memorial Playground!! It was a such a beautiful day, the weather was perfect, and a great time was had by all. We had a nice discussion about what we liked best about our trip....and many of us agreed that the big slide was very cool!! A special thanks to the chaperones who were able to join us :)
Our Z table now has a zipper, a zebra and some ziplock bags on it. Love it!
Today we talked about a really fun place that begins with "Z"....the zoo! We talked about how lucky we are that we have a wonderful zoo right here in Philadelphia. Many of the children shared their personal zoo experiences and the many things we can see and do there. We brainstormed a list of zoo animals and picked our favorite one. When we returned to our seats, we got busy making a neat zoo craft. We started with a paper plate and colored some grass at the bottom. Next we made a tall tree on the left side of the plate. We each received an adorable zoo animal and glued it in the scene. Next we really put those fine motor skills to work as we carefully strung 4 long pieces of black yarn through the top hole down to the bottom hole. Once all the yarn pieces were strung, it looked like our animal was inside of a cage. Wow, they really look fantastic and are hanging in classroom for all to see!
We enjoyed our snacks, and then we were off to gym class, since we missed it yesterday. Thanks to Ms. Gorman for being so flexible!!
When we returned to the classroom, we participated in our center activities. Lunch time was de-licious, then free play time followed. We then gathered on the rug to listen to the story "Corduroy at the Zoo". We followed Corduroy and his friends around the zoo and they couldn't decide whether they should visit the lions first, or take a jungle walk to see the monkeys, or maybe the kangaroos and the koalas? We looked under the flaps to see what surprises were in store for everyone during their fun-filled day at the zoo. Next we got up and had fun moving around the classroom pretending to be various animals while listening to the song "Let's Go to the Zoo". We practiced a few songs for our upcoming show, then settled in for a relaxing rest time.
We wrapped up the day completing the rotation of of table-top activities. We packed our backpacks, prayed to the Blessed Mother, and ended another great day in Pre-K!
Reminder: Tomorrow is "Zipper Day". The children are encouraged to bring in an item from home that has a zipper on it.
Monday, May 16, 2022
Our Pre-K countdown is now down to 10....can you believe it?!?!
Zip-a-dee-doo-da! It's Z week and we have finally made it to the very last letter of the alphabet. Our Z table needs some items, so we hope to see some zebras, the number zero or maybe a zoo storybook by the end of the week. This Friday we will have "Zipper Day" in Pre-K! The children are encouraged to bring in any item from home that has a zipper on it to show the class.
We were introduced to the letter Z this morning, made the letter z sound, and learned how to sign it. We are so proud of the fact that we can sign the entire alphabet now! We practiced tracing and printing upper and lower case Zz's, found and identified the pictures with the initial /z/ sound, and read our "Z" sentences together - pointing to each word as we read them. Check our folders for our wonderful work!
We enjoyed our morning snacks, then got busy with our center activities for this week, which include: Making upper and lower case Zz's in our letter books, working on some pages for a special "Pre-K Memories" book, and i-pad practice. Before lunch we gathered for God's Time and our theme this week is about "Growing and Changing" - and how God is with us as we grow and change. We looked at our activity page and saw a picture of a boy - and we could see he was sad. After looking closely we were able to tell that his clothes were too small. We discussed how this happens as we grow - and many of the children have had their own experiences with clothes no longer fitting. We completed the first side of our activity page by giving the boy some new clothes that fit him properly. During this time we heard the fire alarm ring, and we knew exactly what to do. We quickly and quietly lined up, made our way out of the classroom, grabbed an 8th grade buddy's hand in the stairwell, and exited the building safely into the parking lot. Way to go, Pre-K!
After lunch and some free play time, we made our way outside on this beautiful day and got a good stretch of the legs while having some fun in the sun. We rested peacefully, then rounded out the day with some table-top activities.
REMINDERS:
Tomorrow is our class trip to Smith Memorial Playground. Please see the letter stapled to the front of your child's folder.
There are no classes this Wednesday, May 18th
Friday, May 20th is Zipper Day
Friday, May 13, 2022
Happy Friday! Even though we didn't go on our class trip today, we had a fun day in Pre-K (which incuded 2 fun y activities....yoga and yodeling!)
Our morning message revealed that we were going to participate in our first May Scholastic lesson titled "Hop, Climb, Fly!". We were reminded that all insects have 6 legs, 2 antennae, and 3 body parts. We looked at several creatures and moved around the classroom just like they would....we were hopping like grasshoppers, climbing like ladybugs, stretching like caterpillars, flying like bees, and posing like a praying mantis. We watched the informational video for this lesson, then returned to our seats and worked in our scholastic books. Check our folders to see! We also completed an activity page where we first colored the 6 creatures at the bottom of the page. Next we carefully cut them out. Our last task was to sort them by putting all of the insects on the "Insects" side, and the others on the "Not Insects" side. Nice work!!
After getting some exercise in the gym for a bit, we enjoyed our morning snacks. Next we finished up our center activities for this week. During this time we were each called to the Smartboard to participate in the interactive activity for our Scholastic lesson earlier. We had the chance to build our own insect by choosing a head, an abdomen, and a thorax, legs, antennae, wings, and we could even choose what food we wanted to feed it. What wonderful creations! I took each child's picture with their insect creation that i will send to you on class dojo.
Before lunch we watched a short video clip of a girl named Taylor who is really great at yodeling! We listened to her do it and thought it sounded really neat. When she was finished she broke it down and showed how to do it. First we sing A-ee, A-ee. O-oo, O-oo (we practiced that a few times) Then the next part sounded like "Little old lady who". We practiced that part then put the two parts together. Let me tell you - I think we have the best yodelers in Philadelphia! See if your child can teach you how to yodel tonight :)
After lunch and some free play time, it was time to settle down and do some yoga! We took off our shoes, grabbed our "yoga" mats (which were our nap mats) and were ready to begin. We watched a kids yoga youtube video called "Squish the Fish" and practiced many yoga poses. I posted a video of us doing yoga on our classroom story on class dojo. We did a great job :)
Nap time was quiet and relaxing, then we prepared for dismissal. Another great week in Pre-K comes to an end! Next week we move on to the last letter of the alphabet!! Enjoy the weekend :)
REMINDER:
Our class trip to Smith Memorial Playground is on Tuesday, 5/17!!
Thursday, May 12, 2022
Our Pre-K countdown is down to 13....we can't believe it!
During our morning lesson we reviewed our letters and letter sounds. We each received 2 pictures and our task was to listen to the beginning sound and identify the letter each picture started with. We did a great job. When we returned to our seats, we completed a similar activity where we had to match the letter to the picture with its' starting sound. We completed this activity independently and I am proud to say the children completed this with little or no assistance!! Kindergarten, here we come!!
We enjoyed our morning snacks, and then we completed our center time activities. The rest of the morning flew on by because we went to music class, then visited Mrs. Dunfee in the library.
Lunch time hit the spot, then we enjoyed some outdoor play with our Pre-K 2 friends. We settled in for a relaxing nap time and then ended our day completing the rotation of table-top activities.
As you should already know, our class trip unfortunately had to be re-scheduled for next Tuesday, May 17th due to the weather forecast. It's better to play it safe than have the possibility of rain ruin our day. Sorry for any inconvenience and we hope the chaperones are still available to join us next Tuesday.
Wednesday, May 11, 2022
I apologize for not doing my daily update yesterday.... I had to leave school early due to a dentist appt. I hope you had an enjoyable, long weekend and a wonderful and relaxing Mother's Day!
It's Y week and our Y table has on it some yogurt, a yo-yo, a magnet "Y" with yarn on it, and many yellow items (a yellow balloon, a yellow car, a yellow chair) Great job!
Our morning lesson focused on the #25. We counted from 1 to 25 and put the numbers in the correct order. We watched a #25 video on /our SMARTboard. When we returned to our seats we practiced writing the #25, then used our dot-a-dot stampers to stamp out 25 spots. We also connected the dots from 1 to 25 to make an animal for "y".....and even spelled out the word! Check our folders to see!
We nibbled on our morning snacks, then we were off to gym class. Upon returning to the classroom, we got busy with our center time activities. Lunch time soon followed, then the all-favorite free play time. We joined our Pre-K 2 friends for a bit to practice some songs for our upcoming show, then we settled in for a peaceful rest time.
We rounded out our day participating in our table-top activities for this week - filling up Y's with yarn, first and last name writing practice, and play-do. We packed up, prayed to the Blessed Mother, sang our Ballgame song and our goodbyes.
REMINDER:
Our class trip to Smith Memorial Playground is on Friday. Children should bring a brown bag lunch and any parent who will be joining us should meet us under the foyer at 8:45 am. The bus will be leaving promptly at 9am and we should be back at school no later than 1:30pm.
Friday, May 6, 2022
Our morning lesson focused on x-rays today. We learned that an x-ray is a special kind of a picture that shows the bones inside of our bodies that cannot be seen with our eyes or with regular cameras. We watched an informational video clip called "Getting an X-ray" and saw a little boy's experience of getting his chest x-rayed at the hospital. The x-ray machine looked like a giant camera and our job is to stay as still as we can. Some of us in this class have gotten x-rays or know someone who has had one. We talked about how they are nothing to be afraid of and that if we ever have to have an x-ray taken, we need to sit still and listen to directions. We viewed several animal x-rays and had to figure out from the x-ray which animal it was....some were easy and some were tricky. We also read the story "What Does the X-ray Say?"..... a book written and illustrated by 2nd grade students in Wisconsin. We saw some human and animal x-rays, and some of the animals x-ray's revealed that they swallowed some interesting things. In fact, one dog x-ray revealed that he had swallowed 33 golf balls! We laughed at that one!
Our X table turned out to be quite e"x"cellent this week - we have a t-rex, boxing gloves, a box, an x-ray, and some pictures of an exit sign, a taxi and the state of Texas!! Nicely done :)
Next we got busy making a neat x-ray craft. During the day yesterday we were each called to make white handprints on a piece of black construction paper. We changed them into x-ray hands by adding the bones with the use of q-tips. We even wrote out the words "X is for x-ray" on our papers. Great job! These are still a bit wet from the glue so they will be sent home next week.
After our morning snack, we had a pleasant surprise. Unfortunately, Ms. McGrogan wasn't in today for our music class. Fortunately, Ms. Gorman came to the rescue!! She had some time open in her gym and she invited all of Pre-K down to play a fun and energetic game of Pac-Man. We really enjoyed it :) You're the best, Ms. Gorman!
Before lunch we finished up our center activities for this week. After lunch we gathered on the rug to watch a short Mother's Day video on youtube starring Peter Rabbit.
We rested for a bit, then wrapped up our day with the Hail Mary prayer, which we are saying throughout the month of May, singing goodbyes and the good old ballgame song. Unfortunately the "L" column on our Phillies scoreboard is getting bigger with 11 wins and now 15 losses. Ugghh....
I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. Wishing all mommies and all who fill that role a very happy and relaxing Mother's Day!
**Please be sure to check your e-mail for an important message from Sr. John. This Monday, May 9, there will be a "Bishop's Holiday" so there are no classes on this day. See you Tuesday!
Thursday, May 5, 2022
Our morning message revealed that we were going to add some finishing touches to our Mother's Day cards that we have been working so hard on. First we listened to a story called "Mommy In My Pocket" about a little girl who is very nervous about leaving her mom on the first day of school. She lets her imagination run wild and imagines a day with a small version of her mommy in her pocket. We all enjoyed this one, and even though we all didn't agree whether we'd like to carry our mommies in our pockets - something we did all agree on is that our mommy is the best! We each had the chance to tell about what we think our mommy is the best at and the responses were so sweet :) When we returned to our seats, we added one last thing to our cards. Let me tell you, these cards look amazing and we hope you love them as much as we do!!
We enjoyed our morning snacks, then we participated in our center time activities. Afterward we made our way downstairs to the library where Mrs. Dunfee read to us.
After lunch and some free play time, we had some fun in the sun outside with our Pre-K 2 friends. Before resting our Pre-K 2 friends joined us once again to practice a few songs for our upcoming show. Rest time was peaceful, then we wrapped up our day finishing the rotation of table-top activities.
Tomorrow we look forward to learning all about x-rays! Have a great night.
Wednesday, May 4, 2022
Happy Wednesday!! Can you believe that our Pre-K countdown is down to 19?? Wow!
Well, our letter X table needs some items! Remember that anything with the letter x in it will work for our table this week....so maybe we will see a box? or a t-rex? some x-men? or possibly an x-box game?
Our morning message revealed that we were going to continue working on our Mother's Day cards that we started yesterday. First we listened to the story "I Love You, Mom". From mothers who work at home taking care of their families, to opera singer mothers in faraway lands, "I Love You, Mom!" describes the different kinds of jobs moms can have. After reading this story, the children were eager to tell about his/her mommy's job. Not all of the response were accurate, lol, but they were quite sweet :) When we returned to our seats we received the special cards we started yesterday. Today we worked on the inside of the card - and that's all that will be said about that. This card will be a sweet surprise for mom on Mother's Day.
Next we had a nice morning snack, then we were off to gym class. Today we used hula hoops to practice our jump-roping skills. We also participated in some t-ball - we practiced hitting a ball off of a tee and some of us even tried it without the use of the tee!! When we returned to the classroom, we located our name tags and participated in our center time activities.
After lunch and some free play time, we practiced a few songs for our upcoming show. We calmed our minds and bodies during rest time, then we got busy with our table-top activities. We ended our day by packing up, praying to our Blessed Mother, and singing goodbyes. We also sang a hearty rendition of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" in the hopes that the Phillies start winning some games....our scoreboard now shows 11 wins and 13 losses!
Tuesday, May 3, 2022
Our morning lesson focused on someone we hold very near and dear to our hearts - our amazing mommies! We listened to a story called "Mommy's Best Kisses". Every mommy knows knows that the sweetest way to say "I Love You" is with a kiss. This loving book shows that animals know all about a mother's love too. We all agreed that kisses from our mommies are the best kinds of kisses :) When we returned to our seats, we got busy working on a special Mother's Day card. These will take a few days to complete, but are guaranteed to warm your heart and make you smile!
We munched on our morning snacks, then we located our name tags and worked in small groups at our centers. Before lunch, we continued working on our Mother's Day cards. We plan on putting the finishing touches on them tomorrow!
After lunch and some free play time, we got lots of exercise outside on this lovely day with our Pre-K 2 friends. Before resting we were introduced to a few more songs that we will be singing at our end of the year show. After a nice, relaxing rest time, table activities were waiting for us and then we prepared for dismissal.
During this holy month of May, we will be learning and saying the "Hail Mary" prayer as we end each day. We also took the time to sing our Ballgame song - go Phillies!
Monday, May 2, 2022
Hooray for May! We said goodbye to April and gave a warm hello to May as we flipped over the #2 on our May calendar, and our Pre-K countdown is down to 21!! There are many exciting things in store for us this month, including Mother's Day, our class trip to Smith Memorial Playground, and preparing for our end of the year celebration. There will be a letter sent home this week with more details about this special event!
We are eXcited for X week! Since not too many things begin with X, anything that begins, eTnds, or has an x in it will work for our X table. So we could try for an x-ray, x-men or xylophone - but we can also bring in a box, fox, saxophone, etc.
After our morning routine of activities, we were introduced to our new letter (X) and new # (24). We watched the letter X bounce patrol video and practiced making that tricky /x/ sound. We learned that the x sound is like a /k/ and an /s/ put together. We returned to our seats and read our 4 "X" sentences. We also found, circled, and colored 10 x's that were hidden in the picture. eXcellent work!
We enjoyed our morning snack after a short bathroom break. Center activities followed as we split up into our small groups. This week we will be working on the following activities: tracing and printing upper and lower case Xx's in our letter books, using our dot-a-dot stampers to stamp out 24 spots, and going on an exit sign hunt! That's right - in small groups this week, we will be exit sign detectives and go thoughout the school searching for them. We will first make a prediction, then see how many we can find. During our morning meeting, we learned that exit signs are located above doorways and help us to find our way out of places.
During God's Time this week we will focus on God's wonderful gift of our mothers, in honor of Mother's Day this Sunday. Today we talked about the many special things our mothers do for us and how our mommies show us how much they love us every day.
Lunch time was yummy in our tummies, then we made our way outside on this cloudy day. After singing some songs for our end of the year show, we settled down for a nice, quiet rest time while the lights were off and the peaceful music played. Afterward, we were encouraged to make the letter "X" with our clay, then we prepared for dismissal. Our goodbye song and praying to our guardian angels ended our day with smiles!
Friday, April 29, 2022
Our morning lesson focused on something yummy and sweet that begins with W.....watermelons!! We learned that everyone in our class likes the taste of watermelon. We watched as a large, whole watermelon was sliced open. We learned that the green outside hard shell of the watermelon is the skin. Then the red, juicy part inside is the called the flesh. Of course there are the seeds, which can be brown, black or white and then there's that part in between the flesh and the skin called the rind. Our watermelon was a seedless one, so there were no dark seeds, just light ones. We learned that the small, white seeds are safe to swallow because they're so tiny. We listened to a funny story called "The Watermelon Seed" about a funny crocodile who LOVES watermelon. One day he accidentally swallowed a watermelon seed....see if your little one can tell you about it.
When we returned to our seats, we each received a small cup with pretend seeds inside of it. Our task was to carefully count out the seeds. We all had a different number between 10 and 20. Next we received a half of a paper plate and turned it into a watermelon slice by coloring it. Then we glued on our seeds. We also wrote out the word "watermelon" and the number of seeds that our watermelon had. Check our folders to see our great work and see if your child can read the words on the back. Nice watermelon work!!
Snack time was extra yummy because we finally had the chance to taste that watermelon. YUM! It was sweet and delicious. We all tasted it, and some of us even asked for more! We also enjoyed the gummy worms that Olivia brought in for the W table. In fact, many of us put those worms on our watermelon!!
We finished up our center time activities for this week and said bye to our worm friends that we had in our classroom. Before lunch, we had a nice music class with Ms. McGrogan - and she even gave us a sticker for being such good listeners in her class!
Lunch time hit the spot, then free play time followed. Next we exerted lots of energy in the gym with our Pre-K 2 friends. Once we returned to the classroom, we played our "Muffin Man" game, which we haven't played in a while. This game encourages us to change our voices as we sing to try and trick a friend who is hiding their eyes. There were 2 of us who actually did that because they really worked hard at changing their voices.
We rested while the soft music played and then we prepared for dismissal as another great week in Pre-K ends. Our Phillies scoreboard now shows 10 wins and 10 losses after another win yesterday - it's equal!! We hope to add more tally marks to that W column on Monday! Have a great weekend :)
Thursday, April 28, 2022
Our Pre-K countdown is down to 23 days - which happens to be our number of the week :) Time is moving so quickly! Our W table looks "W"onderful as we added two heart shaped waffles on there this morning. One more day left...
We re-told the "Where the Wild Things Are" story today. We are quite familiar with it now so we were able to help read it today. Afterward we went to our seats and worked hard in our journals. First we wrote some of the words in the title, then we drew some pictures from the story. There were some great drawings of wild things, Max, his boat, and lots of trees.
After munching on our morning snacks, we got busy with our center time activities. Before lunch we made a picture for Mrs. Towey, who hasn't been feeling well. We hope that she comes back soon and that our pictures help to make her smile!
After lunch and some free play time, we went down to the gym with our Pre-K 2 friends. Upon returning to the classroom, we sat and listened to the story "Whistle for Willie" and pointed out the "W" words in the title. This book is a sequel to the popular "A Snowy Day" story. A boy named Peter wants to learn to whistle so he can call his dog Willie. Peter tries so hard to whistle that his cheeks hurt, but he doesn't give up. His hard effort soon yeilds results, and Peter couldn't be more proud. He whistles all the way to the store and back!
We rested for a bit, and then finished up our table top activities for this week. We checked our Phillies scoreboard to see they won last night's game, so it looks like our "W" column is catching up to the "L" column with 9 wins and 10 losses. We ended our day with packing up, prayers, we we sang our Ballgame song before singing goodbyes.
Wednesday, April 27, 2022
What a Wacky Wednesday! Letter W could not be more fun with Wacky Wednesday surprises....
Upon arrival this morning it didn't take long for us to notice some wacky things going on in our classroom. There was a sneaker hanging from the ceiling, our name tags at our centers were upside-down, our weather frog was doing a handstand, our # days on our April calendar were dancing, our months of the year were all mixed up, the American flag was flipped around, and there was Christmas music playing as we entered the room! The children were surprised to see that their tables were all mixed up and not in the regular order. In addition, we sang our Goodbye Song at the beginning of the day. Waaaccckkkyyy!!!!!! When taking a look at each other we noticed some wacky hair, wacky socks, wacky clothes, and wacky shoes!
We tried to put some of that wackiness aside as we began our morning lesson, which focused on "Where the Wild Things Are". We recalled the events of the story, then we watched the e-book on our SMARTboard. Our morning message revealed that we were going to work on a page for our last class book of the year which will be our "Wild Thing" book. We used our imaginations to draw what we would look like as a wild thing, and then thought about a wild name for ourselves, 2 wild things we would eat, and a wild thing we would do....and I must say that we had some very interesting and even some wacky responses. We did a wonderful job!!!
We enjoyed our morning snacks and then we went down to gym glass. Ms. Gorman was laughing at our wacky outfits and hair!! Once we returned to the classroom, we got busy with center time activities. I am super impressed with how brave the kids are with the worms this week. Not only are they observing them, but they are handling them as well!! Lunch time hit the spot, then the all favorite free play time followed. Next we listened to a story very appropriate for today - the cat in the hat story "Wacky Wednesday". What would happen if we woke up and everything was really wacky? That's what happens to the little boy in this hilarious book. Everywhere he turns he finds that more and more things are wacky - and nobody else seems to notice. But we certainly noticed! There were so many wacky things happening on each page that we lost count!
Rest time on our mats was peaceful this afternoon, then we wrapped up the day participating in the rotation of table top activities. We packed up, prayed and then had a good end to this Wacky day by singing our "Hello" song. Hopefully your little ones won't be too wacky for you at home this evening!
Tuesday, April 26, 2022
Our W table now has another water bottle, a watermelon magnet, and a great drawing of a Warsnap character. Will a whistle or maybe a witch come in by the end of the week?
Today our morning lesson focused on interesting wiggly W creatures....worms! We learned that they have no arms or legs and use their bodies to crawl underground. They breathe through their skin and have tiny hairs on their bodies that help them move through the dirt. We are getting an up-close look at them this week since we have some real ones in our classroom to observe. When we returned to our seats, we had to find, circle, and color 23 worms in the picture. We also counted them and practiced writing the number 23.
We munched on our morning snacks, then got busy with our center time activities. Before lunch, we gathered on the rug for God's Time and listened to the story from our lesson called "What Can You Do?" - which prompted a nice discussion about what we should do when we're feeling angry, sad or scared. We discussed how we should stop, close our eyes, and take a deep breath. Next we should find a grown up who we trust and talk to them about how we're feeling. We also learned about the 3 colors associated with our feelings....yellow is happy, blue is sad, and red is angry. When we returned to our seats we drew pictures of something that makes us feel happy and something that makes us feel sad. We also made a "feeling" wand, using a popsicle stick and the color streamer that shows how we are feeling today. I'm happy to report we had all happy wands being made! Check our folders to see.
Before rest time, we finished the story we started yesterday called "Where the Wild Things Are". We will be revisiting this story again tomorrow.
After a peaceful rest time, we participated in our table top activities for this week - which include painting with water paints, filling up W's with worms, and lacing beads. We ended our day with prayers, our goodbye song, and our ballgame song. Our Phillies scoreboard indicates 7 wins and 10 losses so we are hoping for a win tonight.
Tomorrow we look forward to a Wacky Wednesday :)
Monday, April 25, 2022
We are looking forward to a "W"onderful W week. We were introduced to the letter W, sounded it out, signed it, and watched the letter W bounce patrol video. We listened for all of the words with that initial /w/ sound and listed them. We already have and Woody from Toy Story, a wallet, watermelon, a water bottle, and a wand on the W table. Wow!!!! We were also introduced to our new # - #23.
When we returned to our seats we practiced tracing and printing upper and lower case Ww's. We also read the W sentences, pointing to each word from left to right as we read it. We identified, circled, and colored only the w pictures, and crossed out the ones that didn't. I encourage you to review this activity sheet with your child and have them read the sentences to you.
Bathroom break was next, followed by our morning snack. We then located our name tags for center time. Our center time activities this week include the following in small groups: making upper and lower case Ww's in our letter books, drawing and counting out 23 balls for the wagon, i-pad practice, and worm exploration. Yes, we will have some hands-on learning fun with real, live worms. We will use a magnifying glass to get a good look at them and maybe even touch them. Each day a different group of us will have the chance to not only observe and touch them, but practice some math skills as we compare them to see which one is longer/shorter than the other - and even form the letter W with them!
Before lunch we gathered for God's Time. This week we are discussing how God gives us our feelings and always knows how we feel. We talked about the many ways we feel and what makes us feel those ways. We completed the first side of our activity page for this lesson by looking at each picture and gluing the appropriate emotion next to it. We will continue this lesson tomorrow.
After enjoying our lunches and some free play time, we went outside to get a good stretch of the legs with our friends in Pre-K 2. Before settling down for rest time, we read the story "Where the Wild Things Are" by Maurice Sendak (one of my personal favorites). Of course we pointed out the W words in the title on the cover and we followed a little boy named Max through an adventure one night after he was sent to his room. We got half-way through it and made some predictions about the end. We will finish this story tomorrow.
We relaxed our minds and bodies during rest time, then we wrapped up the day manipulating our clay and were encouraged to make upper and lower case Ww's.
Please see the following important papers in your child's folder:
"Wacky Wednesday" - which will take place this Wednesday, April 27th.
Class Trip to Smith Memorial Playground on Friday, 5/13/22.
Friday, April 22, 2022
Happy Earth Day!
Today we learned what Earth Day is all about. We discussed how everybody all over the country (and other countries too) tries to pitch in and do something that could help the planet we live in. We also learned some ways that we can we take care of the precious earth God gave us. We talked about recycling and that it means to use something again as a new product. I was happy to see that many of the children were familiar with that term. We discussed how we all should have blue recycling bins at our homes for plastic, glass, paper, and cans. Another thing we can do is re-use things instead of creating more trash. We also learned about littering and how we should never throw trash where it doesn't belong. We listened to a read-aloud book on our SMARTboard called "I Am Earth" - which was a beautiful story about how keeping our earth a happy, healthy place to live is important for everyone, big and small! When we returned to our seats we got busy making an Earth Day craft. First we colored the large circle shape of the Earth, then we used our scissors to carefully cut it out. Next we got our hands painted and put our hand prints on either side of the Earth. The caption reads "The Earth is in our Hands". We talked about how it is everyone's job to keep our wonderful planet clean!
We enjoyed our morning snacks, then we finished up our center activities for this week. Next, we were off to music class with Ms. McGrogan. Always fun! Lunch time hit the spot, then free play time with friends followed. Next we made our way outside on this perfect Spring day with our Pre-K 2 friends!
We were super excited and waited all day to make our own volcanoes erupt. We took some guesses as to what ingredients we may need to mix together to make our "lava" and we had some clever ones....water, glue, paint and spicy pepper to name a few. Good guesses! We soon found out the ingredients needed for our special potion are: baking soda, vinegar, dish soap, and food coloroing. Each table created their own volcano, so we had the chance to do this experiment 3 times. We all helped to carefully add the baking soda, dish soap, paint and water to the opening of our volcanoes. Next we counted down as Mrs. Dignam added the vinegar and then.....voila! The ingredients created a chemical reaction and our volcanoes erupted with "lava" oooooozing out of it! We took some video of this fun and exciting experiment. Very cool!!
We settled down to rest and then ended our busy Friday by saying prayers, singing goodbyes, and we couldn't forget about our "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" song. Go Phillies!! Have a great weekend :)
Thursday, April 21, 2022
It was nice to finally add a tally mark to the "W" side of our Phillies scoreboard. Let's hope those wins continue :) Our V table has many "V"isitors!! On it we have another van, lots of vegetables, a vest, and even some pretty purple violets!
Today we participated in our Scholastic lesson titled "Veggies That Hide". We talked about how healthy treats can be found just by looking underground! We looked at the several pictures in our booklets and identified the different vegetables growing underground. We learned that the root of a plant is the part that grows under the dirt. We watched the informational video for this lesson and learned the 4 different parts of a plant - the flower, stem, leaves, and roots. When we returned to our seats we worked in our booklets. Next we completed an activity page for this lesson by coloring the flower parts, cutting them out, then putting them together like a puzzle. Check our folders to see our great work!
Snack time was yummy in our tummies, then we got busy with our center time activities. Afterward we gathered on the rug for God's Time and continued our lesson from yesterday. Today we talked about how God gives us all wonderful imaginations that we use every day. We completed the activity page that we started yesterday. Check our folders to see how we used our imaginations to change a circle and a rectangle shape into something else. Very creative!
Before lunch we made our way downstairs to the library where Mrs. Dunfee read us a few entertaining stories. After lunch and some free play, we were happy to go outside on this lovely Spring day to enjoy the fresh air and sunshine. When we returned to the classroom, we enjoyed playing the interactive SMARTboard game that went with our scholastic lesson from earlier. We each had the chance to create our own beautiful plant, selecting our preference of roots, stems, leaves, and flowers. Very unique creations indeed!
We relaxed our minds and bodies for a bit, then we rounded out the day completing the rotation of table top activities. Tomorrow we look forward to making our volcanoes erupt!! Have a great night.
Wednesday, April 20, 2022
Our morning message revealed that we were going to an earlier than usual gym class. So we went through our morning routine quickly. Our Pre-K countdown is now down to 29 days!! And we unfortunately had to add another tally mark to the L column on our Phillies scoreboard...uggh!
After gym class, we enjoyed our morning snacks. Next we practiced our counting skills. We are getting better and better at counting by 10's and 5's. . We used our number line to count forward and backward from 1 to 22. We then practiced locating the number that was "one more than" or "one less than" another number. When we returned to our seats, we continued to practice our counting skills by counting the shapes inside each box and then writing the corresponding number underneath. These were higher numbers so it was a bit tricky, but we did well with it.
Before lunch we located our name tags and worked in small groups at our centers. After lunch and some free play time, we read a neat story about volcanoes. When we returned to our seats, we each received 2 balls of playdo, different colors. Our task to was to mix, mix, mix. We squished them both together, squeezed and pulled and twisted and continued to do so until all the colors were blended together. We had fun pulling it apart and packing it back together to mix up the colors. It was cool to see the colors blend together to make new colors. Next, our task was to use a rolling pin to flatten it like a pancake. Finally, we molded our pieces around a plastic cup on a tray. Step 1(mixing) and Step 2 (molding) completed! We look forward to steps 3 and 4 on Friday.
After relaxing during rest time, we rounded out the day participating in the rotation of table top of activities that we started yesterday. We packed up, prayed, sang our goodbyes and ended this nice day in Pre-K :)
Tuesday, April 19, 2022
Welcome back! I hope everyone had a beautiful Easter. It was wonderful to hear about all of the Easter adventures this morning.
It's V week and there are some exciting things in store for us. We will be voting for our favorite veggie and learning about volcanoes. We're even gonna make our own volcanoes !!!! Our V table is off to a good start....we already have a vacuum and a van. Might we see some vegetables, a vest, or maybe some vitamins on there this week?
V is for victory, and unfortunately, our Phillies have not been too victorious. We checked our Philles scoreboard and added not 1, not 2, not 3, not 4, but 5 tally marks to the "L"column and added just 1 tally mark to the "W" column. We counted them up to see that the Phillies now have 4 wins and 7 losses. We are hoping that W number increases!!!
During our morning lesson we talked about many things that begin with the /v/sound, then watched our bounce patrol video to get some more ideas. We were also introduced to our new # of the week - #22. We practiced reading some "V" sentences, looked at several pictures and listened for its' beginning sound, then wrote the corresponding letter underneath of it. Excellent work....check our folders to see!
After munching on our morning snacks, we got busy with our center activities for this week, which include: tracing and printing upper and lower case V's in our letter books, drawing and counting out 22 apples for the tree, voting in our own little voting booth for our favorite veggie, and i-pad practice.
Before lunch, we gathered on the rug for God's Time. Our lesson this week is "Learning and Discovering", which focuses on how much we have learned and continue to learn as we grow. We had a nice discussion about the many things they have learned and have gotten better at since their first day of Pre-K. Some of the responses included: drawing, sharing, praying, cutting, and singing. When we returned to our seats we completed the first side of the activity page for this lesson. We will continue it tomorrow.
Lunch time was next, followed by free play time with friends. Afterward, we went downstairs to the gym to get some exercise with our Pre-K 2 friends. Before settling for rest time, we read a story called "Vegetables, Vegetables!". We looked at the many different varieties of vegetables and we learned that vegetables are parts of plants - and they come from different plant parts. When we eat lettuce, we are eating the leaves of a plant. When we eat peas, we are eating the seeds of a plant. When we eat broccoli, we are eating the flower part of the plant. And when we eat radishes, we are eating the roots of a plant. We also talked about how vegetables are used to make other things - like soup, bread, and even pies. We all had the chance to tell about our favorite and least favorite vegetable.
We rested peacefully, then participated in our table top activities for this week, which include: changing a "V" into a vase, drawing with markers, and first and last name writing practice. These activities will rotate until each table completes them. We packed up our belongings, prayed, and sang goodbyes. We also sang the "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" song in the hopes that the Phillies start a winning streak!
Wednesday, April 13, 2022
Well we came into the classroom all excited about the Easter fun today! It didn't take us long to see that we now have 5 beautiful butterflies flitting around our butterfly garden!!!
We started our day coloring and cutting out a cute Easter chick hatching from a decorative egg. Then we glued them to the front of a gift bag. Inside the gift bag is a special Easter craft that we made for you that we will be bringing home today! We hope you love them as much as we do!!
We went through our morning routine quickly, then we were off to gym class. Ms. Gorman had us using balloons (which looked like Easter eggs) and noodles for a fun game of Easter Egg tag.
After a short bathroom break, we were happy, ready, and eager to make our way outside. Rumor had it that the Easter bunny was seen outside of St. Matthew School. We each received our bunny bags and then we found out that "10" was our magic number. We were each allowed to find 10 eggs and place them in our bags. We hunted and carefully counted and did a fantastic job!! Sr. Constance from the Development Office came outside and took some pictures of us while we were looking for eggs. After we found 10, some of us were happy to help out others who still needed to find some. Such good helpers :) We also took the time to release our 5 beautiful butterflies. We joined our Pre-K 2 friends as they released theirs as well. We all sat in a large circle and said a special prayer, asking God to bless our butterflies as they make their way out into the world. We watched them all fly away - bye bye butterflies!!! What a perfect day it was for both of these fun activities.
Once we were back inside, we enjoyed our Easter celebration. As always, we started with a prayer, then munched on some delicious treats, which included cupcakes, munchkins, jellybeans, peeps, chips, and soft pretzels. Yummy in our tummies!! A special thank you to the parents who sent some treats in to share :)
We then watched a short Easter movie about Peter Cottontail with our Pre-K 2 friends. Before we knew it, we were packing up our belongings to go home. This half day just flew on by!
Wishing all of you a happy and Blessed Easter with your beautiful children and families!! Classes resume on Tuesday, 4/19/22.
Tuesday, April 12, 2022
Happy Tuesday! We were excited to see another butterfly flitting around our butterfly garden as we entered the classroom this morning. We wonder if any more will emerge before the day ends...
We were happy to add a tally mark to the "W" column on our Phillies scoreboard. 3 wins, 1 loss so far. Hopefully those wins keep comin'!
We participated in a Scholastic lesson this morning titled "Hello, Bunny!". This was a bunny-themed lesson and we learned some interesting things about them....they have babies called kits, they like to eat vegetables, grass, and plants, they are great hoppers and can run really fast, and they can build underground tunnels called warrens for protection. We also talked about how bunnies can make great pets. We watched the informational video for this lesson, then we read through and worked in our scholastic booklets. Check our folders to see!
After our morning snacks, we located our name tags for center time. Before lunch, we refined those fine motor skills as we worked on our "bunny bags". We colored and cut out a bunny's face and ears, then glued them together. Next we each received a bag and glued our bunny onto the front of it. These bunny bags will come in quite handy tomorrow when we go on our Easter egg hunt. We each had the chance to get a close up look at our butterflies and we noticed the pretty colors on their wings. We also could easily see their 6 legs and 2 antennae. Very cool!
Lunch time hit the spot, then some free play time followed. Next we made our way outside on this beautiful Spring day and had some fun in the sun with our Pre-K 2 friends. Before napping, we listened to two short Easter stories featuring Max and Ruby the rabbits and our favorite red dog Clifford.
We calmed our minds and bodies for a bit, then we prepared for dismissal. We took a last look at our butterfly garden and there were still just 2 butterflies. Hoping tomorrow we see some more.
REMINDERS: Tomorrow is a half day of school. Easter break begins at 12:00 dismissal - no need to send a snack, drinks, or a lunch. We will have snacks at our Easter party after our egg hunt.
Classes resume on Tuesday, 4/19/22.
Monday, April 11, 2022
Well we still have 7 chrysalides hanging in our butterfly garden. We each had the chance to spritz them with some room temperature water today. When will those butterflies emerge? We are anxiously waiting!
During our morning lesson, we reviewed the Bible stories starting from when Jesus entered the town of Jerusalem, the Last Supper, Jesus praying in the Garden and his capture by the soldiers, Jesus carrying his cross, Jesus dies on the cross, and ending with His Resurrection. We always admire the beautifully illustrated pictures from our children's Bible book. Afterward, we returned to our seats and cut out the small pictures that we colored last week. Next we each received a large purple cross, and we carefully wrote the #'s 1-6 on it. Our task was to put the pictures in the correct order in which they happened. This was a great way to review the Easter story and practice our sequencing skills. Check our folders to see. I encourage you to review this activity with your child and see if he/she can tell you about each picture. Of course we checked our Lent calendar and saw that today's good deed is to help someone do something.
We also noticed something new in our classroom this morning - our Phillies scoreboard. We will be keeping track of the Phillies wins and losses - which is a fun activity that will put our math skills to work as we count tally marks under both the "win" and the "loss" columns, use basic addition as we add a tally mark after each game played, and compare the columns to see which has more or less. Hopefully we will be adding more tally marks to the "W" side in the days/weeks to come! We were happy to find out that so far our Phillies have 2 wins and 1 loss - not a bad start to the baseball season :)
After our morning snacks, we got busy with our center time activities. During center time this week, each child will be making a beautiful Easter cross on a canvas - and they really do look beautiful! Before lunch we finished up the Easter cards we started last week.
After lunch and some free play time, we made our way outside on this bright and sunny day with our Pre-K 2 friends. Upon returning to the classroom, we gathered on the rug to listen to a story titled, "What is Easter?" In this short tale, the author (Michelle Adams) helps children understand that "Easter isn't all about bunnies, colored eggs, and jellybeans - Easter means much more than that, it's quite a special day, because Jesus our Savior rose again, Hooray, Hooray, Hooray!! So although the Easter Bunny is cool and Easter eggs are fun, Easter's not about that stuff, it's all about God's Son".
We relaxed while the soft music played, then we rounded out the day drawing on whiteboards with our dry-erase markers. We ended our day in the ususal way, and we didn't forget to sing our "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" song in the hopes that the Phillies win their game tonight. Before leaving, we peeked at our butterfly garden and much to our surprise....we have a butterfly!! Maybe tomorrow we will see some more!
REMINDERS:
Easter eggs were due today. Please send 5 plastic eggs with a small toy or candy inside if you haven't done so already.
Wednesday is a half day of school. Easter break begins at noon on Wednesday, 4/13/22. Classes resume on Tuesday, 4/19/22.
Friday, April 8, 2022
Happy Friday!! What a busy, busy day in Pre-K! It was so nice to see some of the children show their Phillies spirit today. In honor of the Phillies opening day, we learned a new song that is sung at every Phillies game...."Take Me Out to the Ballgame". Some of us were already familiar with it.
During circle time, we were excited to see an up-close view of our chrysalis's. We watched as Mrs. Dignam carefully removed the lid of the caterpillar cup. There were some webs attached to the chrysalis's that Ms. Denise carefully cut with scissors. Once it was completely removed we counted the 7 chrysalides and a few of them started shaking. We probaby woke them from their sleep! When describing what they look like we all agreed that they are a grayish/brown color and we noticed tiny golden spiky spots on them. We watched as they were placed into the butterfly garden and they were spritzed with some room temperature water to keep them slightly moistened. Now we will keep a close eye on them as we anxiously wait for butterflies to emerge.
Our morning lesson focused on the last part of the Easter story, which is definetly the best part. We read the Bible story "Jesus Rises From the Dead" - and we learned that this is what the word "Resurrection" means. We discussed how, after Jesus died on the cross, His body was placed in a tomb and a huge, heavy stone was rolled in front of the entrance. Three days after He died, the stone was found rolled away and the tomb was empty. An angel appeared saying that God has raised Jesus from the dead. He appeared to the Apostles, and when they saw that He was alive again, they were filled with joy, praising Him and rejoicing "Alleluia". When we returned to our seats, we colored the last picture on our page showing Jesus's Resurrection. Next week we will cut all of the pictures out and put them in the proper order.
Snack time was especially yummy because our friend Leonardo shared his chocolate bunnies with us. Yum!! Afterward we finished up our center activities for this week. Before we knew it, we were off to music class with Ms. McGrogan. We were so good during her class today that she let us each pick a sticker to wear on our shirts. Way to go Pre-K 1!
We enjoyed our lunches, then we had some fun outside with our Pre-K 2 friends. It was so nice to see and feel the sun after all of that rain! Upon returning to the classroom, we settled in for a quiet and restful nap time.
We ended the day singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" one more time in the hopes that the Phillies win their opening game today :) Go Phillies!
Please remember to check your child's Lent calendar over the weekend and encourage them to get their good deeds done. Next week our Easter theme will continue since it's a very short week. Please send in at least 5 plastic eggs filled with a toy or candy on Monday, April 11th (if you haven't already done so)
REMINDER: Monday and Tuesday next week are full days and Wednesday is a 12:00 dismissal. We will be closed from Thursday, April 14 to Monday, April 18th. We return on Tuesday, April 19th.
Enjoy the weekend :)
Thursday, April 7, 2022
Our Easter table is looking fabulous with some stuffed bunnies, eggs, chicks, and even some chocolate bunnies on there!!
Our morning message revealed that we were going to continue the story of Jesus, after the soldiers took Him from the garden. Today we learned that Jesus was arrested and sentenced to death, because many people didn't believe Him and were afraid of Him. We read the Bible stories "Jesus Carries His Cross" and "Jesus Dies on the Cross" - which are the saddest parts of the Easter story. We colored in the two pictures showing these 2 parts of the story. Tomorrow we will read the last part, which is a happy one!
After our morning snacks, we located our name tags and worked in small groups at our centers. Next we put our fine motor skills to work as we made an adorable Easter chick craft. Our hands were traced on a piece of yellow paper - our task was to carefully cut them out. Next we colored and cut out a large oval shape. We glued them together to make the chick's body and wings. Next we added some legs, eyes and a beak. Super cute chicks indeed! They are now hanging in the hallway.
Before lunch we made our way downstairs to the library with our Pre-K 2 friends where Mrs. Dunfee read us a nice Easter story. After lunch and some free play time, we let off some steam downstairs in the gym as we ran and played about.
We rested and relaxed for a bit on this dark, rainy day - then we rounded out the day manipulating some play-do. We packed up our belongings, said our prayers, and sang our goodbyes.
REMINDERS:
Tomorrow, in honor of the Phillies home opening game, the children are allowed to wear Phillies attire.
Please send in 5 plastic eggs filled with a small toy and/or candy by Monday, 4/11.
Wednesday, April 6, 2022
Well we now have 7 chrysalis's in our cup! On Friday, we will relocate them to our butterfuly garden as we anxiously wait for some beautiful butterflies to emerge!!
After completing our morning routine of activities, we had a very important "good touch/bad touch" discussion. Sr. John sent an e-mail to all parents with the details of this archdiocesan requirement for all elementary schools. We talked about how regular body parts can be seen, and private body parts are those covered by a bathing suit. We were reminded that if anyone touches us in a way that makes us feel bad or uncomfortable, we need to: 1) Yell "No!" 2) run away and 3) tell a grown up. We learned that a safe circle includes all of the people who we love and trust who help to keep us safe. We each had the chance to talk about who is in our safe circle. After watching a short video, we returned to our seats and drew a picture of someone in our safe circle. We completed the writing prompt "________ makes me feel safe". Take a look in our folders to see!
We enjoyed our morning snacks, then we were off to gym class. After some warm ups and stretches, we learned how to do burpees and mountain climbers. We had some relay fun with the use of noodles and beanbags, we practiced underhand and overhand throws, and we even had the chance to throw a ball and attempt to knock a basket off of Ms. Gorman's head!! Many of us were sucessful at it :)
Once we returned to the classroom, we got busy with our center time activities. Before we knew it, it was already lunch time. After some free play time, we gathered on the rug for God's Time. We reviewed the Bible stories we learned this week: Jesus enters the town of Jerusalem and the the Last Supper. Today we read the story about when Jesus prayed in the garden. We learned that he took 3 of his special friends with him to the garden - Peter, James, and John. He asked them to keep watch while He prayed to God, His Father. Three times Jesus stopped to check on His friends, but each time they had fallen asleep. We also learned that one of Jesus' special friends, named Judas, betrayed him. Judas told the soldiers where Jesus was and they came to the garden to take Him away. We returned to our seats and colored the next picture on our coloring page showing Jesus praying in the garden. When checking our Lent calendar, we saw that today's good deed is to tell our families about our day. I hope you take the time to sit with your child so he/she can tell you some of the many things they did in school today.
After resting peacefully, we drew a picture with markers. We were asked to draw some Easter things and there were some great drawings of bunnies, Easter eggs, jellybeans, and even some pretty flowers. We prepared for dismissal and ended another busy day in Pre-K :)
REMINDER:
Each child should send in at least 5 plastic eggs filled with a small toy or candy for our Easter Egg hunt next week. Please send them in by Monday, 4/11.
Tuesday, April 5, 2022
Upon arrival this morning we were curious about our caterpillars. We took a look and saw 3 chryalis's, 3 hanging upside down, and 1 on the lid.
During our morning lesson we reviewed the Bible story we read yesterday when Jesus entered the town of Jerusalem. Today we read the story of The Last Supper. We learned that this was when Jesus and his 12 special friends shared a special meal. We also learned that Jesus took bread in his hands, broke it and while giving it to His friends to eat He said "This is my body". He also took a cup of wine in His hands and said "This is by blood". We talked about this was the very first time Jesus celebrated Mass - and when we go to church on Sundays we hear the priest say those very same words. We received the paper we started yesterday and located the Last Supper picture and colored it.
After snack time, we got busy with our center time activities. We are really enjoying the Easter crafts we are making!! When checking our Lent calendar we saw that our good deed today is to help out at dinner time. We talked about the many things we can do at home to help out. I hope you have some happy helpers tonight!
Lunch time was yummy, then free play time soon followed. Afterward we exerted lots of energy outdoors as we played and ran about with our Pre-K 2 friends. Before resting, we gathered to listen to an Easter story titled "The Best Easter Eggs Ever".....a story of the Easter Bunny and his three helpers (Willa, Bella, and Jellybean) and an adventure-filled egg painting contest. They each go out into nature and paint thier own special design on their egg. And who's the winner? See if your little one can tell you.
After resting our minds and bodies for a bit, we rounded out the day with some first and last name-writing practice. Before preparing for dismissal, we peeked at our caterpillar cup and we couldn't believe it.....we counted 6 chrysalis's!!! That means that during the course of the day, 3 more of our caterpillars formed its' chrysalis. Just one more that's still a caterpillar! Wow!
Monday, April 4, 2022
Well, our caterpillars have been awfully busy!! They must have eaten A LOT over the weekend because, my oh my, have they grown! In fact, when we came in this morning one of them had already made its' chrysalis. We saw that one moving a lot today. A few more of them are hanging upside down like the letter "J" from the inside of the lid. And there's a few more that are still crawling around the cup. We observed the cup closely and noticed that the food is much messier and we even noticed some webs in there! Very cool.
We will not be moving on to the letter Vv this week. Instead we will be involved in many Easter themed activities. Our letter table is now an Easter table, so the children are encouraged to bring in anything Easter related for our table this week.
During our morning lesson we listened to the first part of the Easter story - when Jesus entered the town of Jersualem. We read this story from our children's Bible and found out that Jesus decided it was time for all of the people to know who He was. As He entered the town on a donkey, the people picked up palm branches and waved them as a sign of honor and praise. We returned to our seats and saw a coloring page with 6 different pictures of Jesus on it. Our task was to find the one showing Jesus entering the town of Jerusalem and color it. We will continue this tomorrow. We took the time to check our Lent calendar and discussed how today's good deed is to hug a friend. We took the time to hug the friend sitting next to us, and throughout the day I saw more hugs given. So sweet. I hope you get a good one tonight too.
We had a nice morning snack, then we got busy with our center time activities. This week we will review our letters from A-U, our numbers from 1-21 and make an adorable Easter craft with our footprint! This one will be a keeper for sure :)
We enjoyed our lunches and then went downstairs to the gym to get a good stretch of the legs. When we returned to the classroom, we finished a story we started last week titled "Monster and the Magic Umbrella". Last week we took some guesses as to why this umbrella could be magic. Today we found out!! Who would've guessed that monster's umbrella would grow so big that, when turned upside down, would be a huge swimming pool!!
We rested peacefully and then rounded out our day manipulating some clay. We were encouraged to pick 3 letters from the alphabet that we've worked on and make them with our clay. We did a great job :)
We checked on our caterpillars before we left and much to our surprise we saw that yet another caterpillar formed its' chrysalis! So we have 2 chrysalis's and 5 caterpillars. We wonder what it will look like in the morning.
Have a great night!
Thursday, March 31, 2022
Can you believe we added the very last day of March to our calendar this morning? And we also removed a vegetable from our garden as we continue our "Pre-K Countdown"....and our magic number is now 40. 40 more days of Pre-K!
We have one more day left for our letter U table. No new items today - might we see some utensils or maybe an undershirt tomorrow?
Our morning lesson focused on something very interesting that begins with U....UFO's!! and we learned that it stands for unidentified flying object. We talked about the planets and other things that are in outer space, and how people live only on the planet Earth. We talked about how an alien is something from another planet and we discussed how there's no proof that they exist. Some people believe in them and some people don't. We watched and listened to an entertaining story on our SMARTboard called "There's an Alien in My Book" (this is a good one and I encourage you to search it on youtube and re-watch with your child). We returned to our seats and created a very cool UFO picture. We each received a large piece of black construction paper to represent outer space. We colored and cut out the UFO parts and an alien. Next we assembled them and glued them on our papers. Finally we added the moon and some stars! Wow their pictures certainly look "out of this world!!"
We enjoyed our morning snacks and then got busy with our center time activities. Before lunch we joined our Pre-K 2 friends in the library where Mrs. Dunfee read us a story and let us look through some of her books.
After lunch and some free play time, we made our way outdoors on this windy, warm day. Upon returning to the classroom our "Star" Kaylee had the chance to tell us all about her family and what she likes to do with them. Before resting we took a look at one more USA map - our friend Noah's.
We also continued our "UFO" theme from earlier as we watched a short informational video titled "Are aliens real?"
Of course we took the time to check our Lent calendar and we discovered that today's good deed is to tell our family about our day. I hope your little one tells you all about his/her busy day at school.
We rested and relaxed for a bit, then we wrapped our day completing the rotation of table-top activities.
REMINDERS:
Tomorrow is our umbrella parade and we will also have a pizza lunch :)
Wednesday, March 30, 2022
Another unicorn made its' way to our U table this morning - this one was a large, stuffed one! Love it.
During our morning lesson we re-visited the very silly story "What Color Is Your Underwear?" that we first read on Monday. When we returned to our seats, we got busy making our own "What Color is Your Underwear?" lift-the-flap book. First we colored the animals, then we chose a color for each animal's underwear. Finally, we colored the flaps, then carefully cut them out. Next our task was to put the pages in order from 1 to 4, then we patiently waited while the pages were stapled together. Fantastic work! We took the time to read through our books together a few times, then we tried reading on our own. I encourage you to sit with your child and see if he/she can read it to you.
When checking our Lent calendar, we saw that today's good deed is to give someone a compliment. We reviewed what a compliment is and discussed several examples. I heard a few compliments given in the classroom today. I hope some compliments will be coming your way tonight at home as well!
We munched on our morning snacks, then we made our way downstairs for gym class. We warmed up and stretched, participated in relays, played a fun "put the eggs in the nest" game, and we also used noodles to play tag. Always a good workout and great fun!
Upon returning to the classroom, we located our name tags and got busy with our center time activities. During this time we got the chance to check on our caterpillars. We all noticed that they are definetly getting bigger. They are getting longer and fatter. We noticed that the food at the bottom of the cup is becoming a bit messy. Looking closely at their bodies we were asked to use words to describe what they look like. We came up with: brown, spiky, and wiggly.
After lunch and some free play time, we gathered to listen to our "star" Kaylee tell us all about her favorite food, her favorite place to play in the classroom and what she wants to be when she grows up. Nice job, Kaylee! Before resting we looked at Antonela, Anson, and Lavinia's USA maps. We are discovering that many of us have family/loved ones in the same states!
After resting peacefully, we participated in the rotation of table-top activities before packing up and preparing for dismissal.
REMINDERS:
The $5 gift basket contribution for our upcoming school fundraiser is now due, if you haven't already sent it in.
This Friday is our umbrella parade and a pizza lunch.
Tuesday, March 29, 2022
We were happy to walk into a nice, warm classroom this morning :) Our U table welcomed yet another adorable unicorn.
Our morning lesson focused on the number 21. Many of us were getting this number confused with the number 12, so we spent some time on how to tell these two numbers apart. We practiced tracing and printing the number 21, then on the opposite side of our paper we connected the dots from 1 to 21. Before doing so we took some guesses as to what it might be, and there were many good guesses. Once we carefully connected the dots from 1 to 21 in the proper order, we could see it was an umbrella! This was a tricky one but we tried our best. We even wrote the word u-m-b-r-e-l-l-a next to it. Nice work!
We enjoyed our morning snacks, then we got busy with our center time activities. Afterward we gathered for "God's Time" and began a new lesson titled "Look What I Can Do" and the focus is to recognize the wonderful abilities God gave us. We discussed many different things that we can do now that we were not able to do when we were younger. When we returned to our seats, we completed the first side of the activity sheet for this lesson and will complete side 2 next time.
After lunch and some free play time, we exerted some energy downstairs in the gym. When we returned to the classroom we welcomed Kaylee as our new "Star of the Week". She did a wonderful job on her poster and today we learned about her favorite color, animal, and song. We look forward to getting to know her better this week. We also took the time to look at a very large picture of a place that begins with the letter U....our country - the United States of America. We looked at the many states that make up our country and pointed out our state of Pennsylvania.. There was a map and note attached that was sent home on Friday explaining the details. All maps should have been returned today. Please send them in asap if you haven't already done so. Thanks in advance for your participation. Today our friends Olivia and Luna showed their maps and we talked about the states they colored and their family members who live there. Nice job! We will do a few more tomorrow :)
We rested a for a bit, then we wrapped up the day participating in some table-top activities.
REMINDERS:
If you haven't done so already, please send in $5 for Antonela's mom, who is preparing a Pre-K basket for an upcoming St. Matthew fundraising event.
This Friday we will have an umbrella parade and a pizza lunch
Monday, March 28, 2022
We were happy to welcome some new little friends to our classroom this morning. We have a cup of tiny, little live caterpillars. We took a close look at them and noticed their dark brown/black color. We counted 7 of them and most of them were busy moving all around inside the cup. We also saw that the bottom was filled with something that was a light brown color. We found out that this is their food. We look forward to watching them grow and change during the next few weeks!
It's U week and we are "up" to the challenge of finding u items for our letter table. This one may be tricky. So far we have not 1, not 2, not 3, but 4 unicorns on there - even a chocolate one! We also have a toy beach umbrella. We were introduced to the letter Uu and the # 21. We practiced the two sounds the letter u can make (long and short) and looked at several pictures of things that begin with those sounds. We viewed the letter U Bounce Patrol video clip, then practiced how to make upper and lower case U's on the SMARTboard.
We returned to our seats and practiced reading the letter U sentences on our papers. I am impressed with how well these little ones are doing with sounding out words. We also identified and colored in only the U pictures.
We munched on our morning snacks, then we got busy with our center time activities in small groups. This week we will be completing the following activities: tracing and printing upper and lower case Uu's in our letter books, drawing and counting out 21 raindrops under the umbrella, making colorful umbrellas using scissors, crayons, and dot-a-dot stampers, and i-pad practice to reinforce math and language skills.
When checking our Lent calendar, we discovered that our good deed for the day is to say and lead the "Grace before meals" prayer tonight before eating our dinner. We say this prayer every day before lunch so they should be very familiar with this prayer!
We munched on our morning snacks, then we had to re-locate because our classroom was chilly due to some heating problems. We moved to another classroom, then participated in our center time activities.
We ate our lunches, then our Pre-K 2 friends joined us to watch some of the "Despicable Me" movie since we were in a different location. Afterward, we listened to the funny story "What Color is Your Underwear?"...which is a hilarious lift-the-flap book featuring animals and the underwear they wear! We were laughing as we lifted the flaps to find red boxers on a horse, yellow furry undies on a crocodile, leafy green bloomers on a sheep, and more. The best was the final page where we saw Elephant John hiding behind a large leaf...for good reason because he forgot to put his on!!!
Since we weren't in the classroom, we didn't get to do our "star of the week" or USA maps, but we'll get to those tomorrow.
We rested peacefully, then we wrapped up our day with the use of clay. We were encouraged to first make a long snake with it, then form it into the letter U. Nicely done! We then ended our day together, with prayers, songs, and smiles :) See you tomorrow!
REMINDER: Please see the note in your child;s folder. This Friday the Pre-K students will have an umbrella parade and a pizza lunch
Friday, March 25, 2022
Happy Friday!
This morning we participated in a Scholastic lesson titled "Eggs, Eggs, Everywhere!" We learned about the many different creatures that hatch from eggs - such as turtles, snakes, birds, ladybugs, fish, and crocodiles. We watched the informational video for this lesson, then worked in our booklets. We are getting so good at identifying basic sight words! See if your little one can read some of the words for you. We completed the activity in the book by matching the hatchling to its' mommy. Next we colored 4 pictures of a chick in different stages, then we cut them out. Our next task was to put them in the proper order from egg to adult. "Eggs"ellent work!!
Our morning snack was especially yummy because our "star of the week" Antonela brought in some Snickers candy bars to share with us. Thanks, Antonela for that delicious treat! Afterwards we finished up our center activities for this week. We then made our way downstairs for a fun-filled music class with Ms. McGrogan.
We munched on our lunches, then free play time soon followed. We were happy to get outdoors after all of the rain yesterday. We played and ran about with our Pre-K 2 friends. Upon returning to the classroom, Antonela finished up her time as "star of the week" by sharing her "show and tell" item with us. She also used our special microphone to answer some questions about herself. Next week our friend Kaylee will be our "star".
We settled in for a quiet and relaxing rest time, then we prepared for dismissal as another great week in Pre-K ends.
Please check your child's folder for a special USA activity that we will be doing next week in honor of the letter "U". Feel free to message me on class dojo if you have any questions. Enjoy the weekend!
Thursday, March 24, 2022
"This is my turtle, he lives in a shell, he likes his home very well,
He pokes his head out when he wants to eat, and pulls it back when he likes to sleep"
We learned this poem this morning since today our focus was on turtles. We learned that all turtles have shells on their back that help protect them. Some live in the water (sea turtles) and some live on land. We also learned that all turtles lay eggs. We watched a funny video of a turtle eating and we could see him eating lots of leaves, fruits and vegetables. When we returned to our seats, we got busy working on an adorable turtle craft. First we cut out the large shell shape. Next we colored the body parts green, then carefully cut them out. After assembling them together, we glued everything into place. Next we used dot-a-dot stampers to make the scales on the shell. Last, we added facial features and cute little bow tie. They look turtle-riffic!!! They will be added to our Spring hallway display.
We had a nice morning snack, then we got busy with our center time activities. We checked our Lent calendar to see that our good deed today is to share a book with someone. Two friends actually brought in a book from their home to share with a friend. So sweet :) I hope your child takes the time to share a book with you tonight!
Before lunch we visited Mrs. Dunfee in the library where she read us a story and let us look through some of her books. After lunch and some free play time, we got a good stretch of the legs in the gym with our Pre-K 2 friends. Next we listened to our friend Antonela tell us about her family and what she likes to do with them. Great job, Antonela!!
We settled in for a relaxing rest time on this dark, rainy day and then rounded out our day with table-top activities. We packed up our backpacks, prayed, sang goodbyes, and ended this nice day together :) See you tomorrow!
Wednesday, March 23, 2022
T is for Totally awesome - which is how our T table looks. Today we added a tiger, a towel, a t-rex, and a tic-tac-toe game (that's a triple T!)
During our morning lesson we were listening carefully for beginning sounds. A group of pictures were on the rug and we identified each one. Next, we each received a letter and our task was to identify it, sound it out, sign it, and then place it under the corresponding picture. A bit tricky, but we did a great job! When we returned to our seats we completed a similar activity where we had to first color the pictures, then cut out some letters. Our last task was to place the letter next to the picture that begins with that letter. Great work!
We munched on our morning snacks, then we were off to gym class. Today Ms. Gorman had us practicing our eye-hand coordination skills and we participated in some relays. When checking our Lent calendar, we saw that today's good deed is to hug a friend. We took the time to hug the friend next to us. Hopefully more hugs will be given throughout the day and night.
When we returned to the classroom, we got busy with our center activities. After lunch and some free play time, we gathered on the rug as our "star" Antonela told us about what she wants to be when she grows up. It's fun learning new things about our friends! Before resting we listened to a delightful story called "Tiger Trouble" about a boy named Jack and his pet tiger. They live happily together in an apartment building, until a grumpy new landlord with a dog (Fifi) takes over and orders Lily to leave. The problem is Mr. Mud and Fifi hate cats - especially big ones like Lily. But it's a stroke of bad luck that gives Lily a chance to win over Mr. Mud - and Fifi too! See if your child can tell you how Lily saved the day.
Rest time was quiet and relaxing, then we wrapped up our day finishing the rotation of table-top activities. We offered prayers, sang goodbyes and went on our merry way, but not before being a part of a giant group hug - since that is our good deed today :)
Tuesday, March 22, 2022
T is for Twenty, and we really practiced our counting skills today. We counted forward and backward from 1-20, worked in teams to make a number line in the correct order, then had the chance to figure out which # was missing. We viewed a short #20 video clip, hosted by the Count from Sesame Street. We then got busy at our tables as we practiced tracing and printing the #20, then found, colored, and counted 20 hidden butterflies in the picture. On the opposite side, we carefully connected the dots from 1 - 20. Before doing so we took some guesses as to what it might be. We were given a clue that it was an animal. We took many guesses, but none proved to be correct. Once completed, we could easily see it was a whale! Check our folders to see :)
We enjoyed our morning snacks, then got busy with our center time activities. When checking our Lent calendar we saw that our good deed today is to help someone. We discussed the many ways we can do this at school and at home. Our letter T table had the additions of a tie, another truck, and another teapot. Keep those T items comin'!
Before lunch we gathered for God's Time. We recalled that out of all of God's amazing creations, we are the most wonderful. We talked about how God made us and loves each one of us just the way we are. We took the time to look at ourselves in the mirror to see how special we are. When we returned to our seats we drew ourselves in the mirror's reflection.
After lunch and some free play time, we had the chance to enjoy the fresh air and sunshine outside with our Pre-K 2 friends. Next we listened to Antonela tell us about her favorite food and favorite place to play in the classroom. We are discovering that most of us really love pizza! We then listened to the entertaining tale of "The Tortoise and the Hare". We discussed how a tortoise is a turtle and a hare is a rabbit. In this classic story, the hare and the tortoise are having a race. The rabbit is extremely confident and is bragging about how far ahead he is. He decides to pause for a snack and a short rest. He wakes up to find out that the tortoise is now in the lead so he takes off with a last-minute sprint, but the tortoise (who moved slowly but without stopping) reached the finish line first. We cheered for that tortoise as the story ended and we talked about how we should never give up, even if we think we cannot do something - and how most times it's best to do things slowly and steadily rather than quickly and carelessly.
After a relaxing rest time, we rounded out our day participating in our table-top activities for this week, which include: Filling up the T with triangles, drawing on whiteboards with dry-erase markers, and stringing beads. We ended our day with prayers and singing goodbyes.
Monday, March 21, 2022
Happy Birthday Wesson! And Happy Spring! Today we said goodbye to winter and hello to the beautiful Springtime season. This morning we noticed that the snowflakes in our attendance tree have been replaced with pretty butterflies.
What a Terrific-looking T table to start off the week! So far we have a train, a tomato, a teddy bear, a turtle, Princess Tiana, two toilets, a truck, a tooth, two toothbrushes, two toothpastes, a teapot and a teacup, a tongue depressor, and a tiger. WOW! During our morning lesson, we looked at several pictures of things that begin with the initial /t/ sound. We learned how to sign it, then watched and sang along to the letter T Bounce Patrol video on the SMARTboard. When we returned to our seats, we practiced reading the letter T sentences together, practiced tracing and printing upper and lower case Tt's, then identified and circled only the pictures that began with T. We even knew what the non-t pictures began with!
During our morning snack time, we took the time to sing "Happy Birthday" to our friend Wesson who turned 5 yesterday. He brought in some cupcakes to share with us...yum! Thanks to Wesson for that nice treat! Next we participated in our center time activities. This week we will work on the following skills in small groups: tracing and printing upper and lower case Tt's in our letter books, stamping 20 spots on the turtles' shell, making a neat-o T-rex craft, and practicing skills on the i-pads.
During God' Time, we began a new unit called "God's Gift of Ourselves" . Today's lesson focused on how, of all God's creation, people are the most wonderful! We looked at the very first story in the Bible and recalled that it's the "Creation" story. We identified all of the amazing things that God created. When we returned to our seats, we completed the activity page for this lesson by drawing ourselves in the Creation picture. When checking our Lent calendar, we saw that today's good deed is to make someone smile. We discussed the many way we could do this. I'm pleased to say that there were many smiling faces in the classroom throughout the day. I hope your little one finds a way to make you smile tonight :)
After lunch and some free play time, we exerted lots of energy and got some good exercise outside on this nice day. Once we returned to the classroom, we welcomed Antonela as our new "star of the week". She did a great job on her poster over the weekend. Today we learned about her favorite color, animal, story and song. We look forward to getting to know her better this week.
Before resting we listened to a funny story called "Tacky the Penguin". We noticed that Tacky's name starts with "T", and we soon discovered Tacky wasn't like all the other penguins. This story showed us that are advantages to being different!
We rested peacefully and then rounded out our day making some Spring headbands.
See you tomorrow!
Friday, March 18, 2022
This morning we participated in our first March Scholastic lesson all about the weather. We talked about how we make decisions about what we wear and where we go, depending on the weather. We learned that the weather changes a lot in the Spring. We recalled how last weekend it snowed, and today is quite warm. We thought about the sounds we can hear when we listen to the weather, like rain, thunder, lightning, and wind. We also learned that there are different types of clouds. We watched the informational video for this lesson, then we returned to our seats and worked in our booklets. I encourage you to review the booklet at home with your child and see if he/she can read some of the words for you.
During our morning snack time, our "star" Luna shared some crackers with us. Thanks, Luna! Afterward we finished up our center time activities for this week. Before we knew it, we were off to music class. Today Ms. McGrogan had us create a petting zoo with the use of musical instruments! Lots of fun! See if your little one can tell you the instruments he/she played.
Lunch time was delicious, then free play time followed. Next we enjoyed this beautiful day as we stretched our legs outdoors with our Pre-K 2 friends. Upon returning to the classroom, Luna finished up her time as "star of the week" with the use of our special microphone as she answered more questions about herself. Way to go, Luna!
Before resting we were eager to listen to the rest of the "Snow White" story that we started yesterday. We were sad that the wicked queen tricked Snow White into biting the apple, but as we continued to read we found out that this classic story has a very happy ending.
We rested peacefully and then prepared for dismissal. Another great week in Pre-K has come to an end!
Enjoy the weekend :) And please don't forget to check the Lent calendar!!
Thursday, March 17, 2022
Top of the mornin' to ya!! We learned this Irish greeting today in honor of St. Patrick's Day. We greeted many people using these words today. We looked great coming into the classroom sporting lots and lots of green - there were green hats, bows, shirts, headbands, and even glasses!! We even heard some Irish music as we were entering the room today. Our morning lesson included the use of something yummy...Lucky Charms marshmallows! We began this activity yesterday by completing the coloring portion. Today we used those marshmallows to practice some math skills. We each received a cup full and our first task was to sort them according to their shape. We received the papers we colored yesterday and carefully placed the matching marshmallows on the appropriate pictures. Next, it was time to count and write the corresponding number in the box next to the picture. Finally, it was time to compare. We were asked to find which shape had the most, which shape had the least, if any had an equal amount, and then pick our favorite shape. We even wrote out the words at the bottom of our activity pages. We are definitely getting ready to be kindergarteners!! Our favorite part was when we ate them up....yum :) Check our folders to see!
When we looked at our vegetable garden this morning during our circle time routine, we noticed many of the vegetables were missing! If you remember, we used this garden to count up to our 100th day. Since that day has come and gone, we will now be using our garden for our "Pre-K Countdown"! We will be removing a vegetable each day until we get to our very last day of Pre-K and we began the countdown today. In case you are wondering, the magic number is 50! 50 school days left of Pre-K....time is moving quickly. When checking Lent calendar we saw that our good deed for today is to try extra hard to remember those magic words "Please" and "Thank you". We talked about how we should always use the word "please" when we ask for something and how we should say "thank you" when someone does something for us or says something nice to us. I heard some good manners in school today, and I hope you hear those magic words at your home tonight too.
We were also very excited about setting our leprechaun trap today. But how could we lure him in there? Well, we decorated it with things leprechauns love....lucky charms cereal, golden coins, sparkles, a rainbow, and shamrocks. It had a trap door and we were sure to add some steps so the little guy could get up there. We set it in the morning and kept a close watch! Alas! When we returned from the library we found the window open, quite a mess, and some leprechaun footprints. The lucky charms and golden coins were gone! We checked the trap and guess what we found? A fake leprechaun! That tricky little fellow put a fake one inside the trap. We followed his footsteps to find that he ran across the kitchen table, up the cabinet, onto the windowsill and out the window he must have gone. He was a good little leprechaun though because he left us many coins - chocolate ones . Yum! We were chatting all about that tricky leprechaun during lunch time.
Afterward we went downstairs to the gym to exert some energy and get some exercise. Once we returned to the classroom we listened to our "star" Luna tell us all about her family and where she likes to go with them. Nice job, Luna! Next we listened to one of my favorite Disney stories "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs". We learned that the 7 dwarfs and Snow White became good friends, but her step-mother (the queen) is very jealous and wants to hurt Snow White. We got to the part where the 7 dwarfs leave for work and Snow White is home alone in the cottage. We took some guesses as to what will happen next.....we look forward to finishing the story tomorrow.
Rest time was relaxing, then we finished up the rotation of table top activities for this week. After preparing for dismissal, we ended the day with prayers and singing goodbyes.
Whew, it was busy, busy day in Pre-K!! Have a great night!
Wednesday, March 16, 2022
Our S table had the "S"uper additions of 2 spoons, a strawberry, and Spiderman today!
Well just one more day until St. Patrick's Day and we are quite excited about it. We have learned about St. Patrick and about many of the St. Patrick's Day symbols, such as shamrocks, rainbows, pots of gold, and of course....Leprechauns!! Yesterday we brainstormed some things we could use on our very own leprechaun trap, and today we began working on it. So far it has on it some glitter and shamrocks. We will add some finishing touches to it tomorrow before we set it! Our morning lesson focused on a very popular cereal that leprechauns love.....Lucky Charms! We identified the 8 marshmallow shapes found in the cereal and took notice to their color. Next, we received an activity sheet where we colored each marshmallow the appropriate color(s). Tomorrow we will complete part 2 of this fun activity.
We had a nice morning snack, then we made our way downstairs to gym class. We had lots of relay fun today with Ms. Gorman. Once we returned to the classroom we participated in our center activities. When checking our Lent calendar, we saw that today's good deed is to tell our family we love them. We talked about how we can not only tell our family in our house, but also extended family on the phone or facetime.
After lunch and some free play time, we had the chance to enjoy this beautiful weather as we played and had some fun in the sun outdoors. Next we listened to our "star" Luna tell us about what she wants to be she grows up. Before settling for rest time, we listened to the delightful story "The Night Before St. Patrick's Day"...about two kids who can't fall asleep so they decide to set leprechaun traps all over the house, hoping to catch one. But they don't realize how tricky leprechauns can be!
We rested peacefully, then rounded out the day with the rotation of table top activities.
REMINDER:
Tomorrow the children are encouraged to wear green in honor of St. Patrick's Day :)
Tuesday, March 15, 2022
Our S table had just one addition today...some scissors. This letter has so many possibilities so hopefully we'll see some more tomorrow. Maybe a spoon, a scarf, a can of soup, or Spider-man?
We were introduced to the # 19 during our morning lesson. We each received a # and we worked together to put them in order from 1-19. We counted forward and backward and watched a Sesame Street video clip all about the #19. We then put our fine motor skills to work as we traced and printed the #19, then connected the dots from 1 to 19 to make a beautiful butterfly. When checking our Lent calendar we discussed how today's good deed is to hug someone special. We took the time to hug a friend at school. Hopefully some hugs are coming your way too :)
After our morning snacks, we got busy with our center time activities. During God's Time we reviewed what we have learned about St. Patrick and why he was such a special man. Today we learned that Patrick used the shamrock plant to teach about the Holy Trinity - one God in three divine beings: The Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. Just like there are three leaf parts on one shamrock plant, there are 3 parts of the Holy Trinity. We recalled how around Halloween time the candy corn reminded us of the Trinity (3 colors in one candy corn) We returned to our seats and started coloring, then cutting out 3 heart shapes. We assembled the 3 heart shapes to form a shamrock. We glued the special words on each leaf and then the poem underneath which reads "Just like the leaves on the shamrock I see, there are 3 divine persons in the Trinity". Check our folders to see our wonderful work!
Lunch time was yummy in our tummies, then free play time soon followed. Afterward we enjoyed the fresh air and sunshine on this beautiful day as we played and ran about outside. Once we returned to the classroom, we listened to our "star" Luna present the next section of her poster. Today she told us about her favorite thing to do at home, favorite song and book. Before resting we listened to the story "Leprechaun on the Loose" about a leprechaun who is loose in the classroom and one little boy Sydney is the only one who can see him. He made a pretty cool leprechaun trap - and it actually worked, but that tricky leprechaun talked Sydney into letting him out!! We will be creating one in this classroom too and we brainstormed some things we can put on our trap to attract that pesky leprechaun. We thought of: gold pieces, shamrocks, stars, rainbows, lucky charms cereal, and glitter. Great suggestions!! We will work on this tomorrow :)
Rest time was relaxing, then we got busy with our table-top activities. This week we will be filling up our upper case S's with stars, painting with water paints, and play-do. After preparing for dismissal, we ended the day with prayers and singing goodbyes.
Monday, March 14, 2022
It's S week and our S table is already looking "S"ensational!! So far we have: sunglasses, socks, a snow leopard, seashells, sugar, salt, a starfish, sneakers, and some soap. Keep those S items comin'! We sounded out the letter S, signed it, and looked at many pictures of things with the initial /s/ sound. We viewed and sang along to the bounce patrol "S" video clip, then practiced tracing and printing upper and lower case Ss's on our papers - a little tricky, but we are getting the hang of it. We also practiced reading our "S" sentences, pointing to each word from left to right...Super!!
After enjoying our morning class, we got busy with our center time activities for this week, which include: tracing and printing the letter Ss, drawing and counting out 19 acorns for the squirrel, working on an adorable leprechaun craft, and educational games on the i-pad.
During God's Time this week we will be focusing on St. Patrick's Day. Today we learned about the life of St. Patrick. We saw pictures of him as a child and learned that he was taken from his home as a young boy against his will and brought to Ireland where he was forced to herd sheep. He had a strong faith in God and prayed that he could escape. After several years, he finally did and returned to his home. He later became a priest, then a bishop - and returned to Ireland to teach the people about God. We learned that he was a kind and loving man, loved by many people, and even helped build schools and churches. We will be revisiting this story throughout the week and learn more about St. Patrick. We returned to our seats and colored a picture of St. Patrick.
We checked our Lent calendar and discovered that today's good deed is to give someone a compliment. We talked about what a compliment is and I gave them several examples. We took the time to give a friend sitting next to us a compliment, and it was so sweet to hear! I hope some compliments will be heard at your house this evening as well!
After lunch and some free play time we had some fun in the sun outdoors with our Pre-K 2 friends. Before resting we gathered to welcome Luna as our new "star of the week". She worked hard on her poster over the weekend today we found out about her favorite color, animal and food. We look forward to learning more about her this week.
We rested peacefully and then rounded our Monday manipulating some clay. We were encouraged to make upper and lower case Ss's and we did a great job.
REMINDER:
This Thursday, in honor of St. Patrick's Day, the children may wear green clothes and/or accessories!
Friday, March 11, 2022
Happy Friday!
We had one last addition to our R table this morning....a rainbow!
During our morning lesson, we revisited the story "What Makes a Rainbow?", which we read for the first time yesterday. Today we watched and listened on our Smartboard. When we returned to our seats, we received our journal books and there were some fantastic drawings of rabbits, butterflies, foxes, ladybugs, birds, suns, and of course rainbows- all of which were in the story. Our drawing and coloring skills are really improving!!!
Our morning snack was extra delicious because our "star of the week" Noah brought in some yummy cupcakes to share with us. Thanks to Noah for that nice treat. We were sad to find out that Ms. McGrogan wasn't in school today.....but, we were so lucky because Ms. Gorman came to the rescue. She had a free period so she said she would be happy to let us use the gym. When we went down we were surprised to see that she had some musical fun waiting for us. We used rhythm sticks on different objects and made music while also getting a bit of exercise. Lots of fun. Thanks, Ms. Gorman, you're the best!
When we returned we finished up our center time activities for this week. We worked up quite an appetite after our busy morning, so we were ready and eager to eat our lunches. After some free play time, we enjoyed the fresh air and sunshine outside with our Pre-K 2 friends. Once we returned to the classroom, our friend Noah finished up his time as "star of the week" by using our special microphone to answer some questions about himself. He chose a friend to be our "star" next week and it looks like it will be....Luna!!!
We rested peacefully and then prepared for dismissal as another great week in Pre-K comes to a close.
Have a great weekend :)
Thursday, March 10, 2022
Today we added a rubber band, another ring, and a ruler to our R table. One more day....can we squeeze anything else on there? Maybe a rock or some raisins?
We took a moment to check our Lent calendar for today. It seems like the same few children come in eager and ready to tell me what it is, which means that they looked at the calendar with a parent before coming to school. I do encourage all parents to do this. Today's good deed is to open the door for someone. One little one mentioned that she already did her good deed once this morning! Wonderful....i hope a few doors will be opened for you before the day ends.
Our morning lesson focused on something beautiful in the sky that begins with R. Yep, you guessed it - rainbows!! We watched the famous youtuber whose name begins with R (Ryan) and his mom give us lots of information about rainbows. We learned about all the colors of the rainbow, and they are always in the same order. When we returned to our seats, we put our fine motor skills to work as we created colorful rainbows. First we used the 6 colors that make up a rainbow to color in each part - being sure to keep them in the proper order (red on top, then orange, yellow, green, blue and then purple at the bottom. Next was the fun part. We used glue and some Fruit Loops cereal to fill our rainbows with. We used glue bottles for the first time (instead of glue sticks) and we carefully squeezed out a large dot of glue and then chose the appropriate fruit loop color to glue inside each part. Beautiful!! Of course our favorite part was when we were done because we got the chance to eat lots of Fruit Loops cereal pieces. Yum!! These rainbows will be added to our Spring themed hallway display.
After snack time we participated in our center time activities, then we made our way downstairs to the library where Mrs. Dunfee read to us. Lunch time hit the spot, then free play time with friends soon followed. Afterward, we got a good stretch of the legs downstairs in the gym with our friends in Pre-K 2. Next we listened to our friend Noah finish up his star of the week poster. Today we learned about his family, his favorite place to go with them and what he wants to be when he grows up. We've learned many new things about our friend Noah this week! Our rainbow theme continued as we listened to the story "What Makes A Rainbow?" about a curious little rabbit who finds out by the end of the story that three things are needed to make a rainbow.....rain, colors, and sunshine!
After rest time, we rotated table-top activities, and then prepared for dismissal. See you tomorrow :)
Wednesday, March 9, 2022
Happy "mask-optional" day!! Today is the first day in a very long time that we had the choice to wear or not wear a mask to school. It was so nice to see so many maskless, smiling faces as they entered the classroom this morning.
Our morning lesson today focused on something that begins with "R" and moves fast. It didn't take us too long to guess "rockets". We discussed how rocket ships are also called space shuttles and they are used to take things and people from Earth to outer space. We watched a real rocket launch into space on our Smartboard, we even did the countdown. It was cool to see. Many of the children agreed that it would be a neat experience to travel in rocket. When we returned to seats, we made a rocket craft with the use of some triangle, square, and star shapes. The rockets differ in length according to how many letters are in our names. So some are tall and some are short. We assembled our rocket pieces together, added some stars to the sky, and then carefully wrote a letter on each square to spell out our names. Lastly, we added some fire to the engine. Wow, our rockets are rockin'! They are hanging in our classroom :)
We checked our Lent calendar for today's good deed - which is to share a book with someone. We talked about how we can do this at school with a friend or teacher, and at home with a family member. I hope you take the time to let your child share a book with you this evening :)
We had a nice morning snack, then we were off to gym class. After warm-ups and stretches, we worked up a sweat playing a fun game called "Hungy, Hungry Hippos".
Once we returned to the classroom, we got busy with our center time activities before lunch.
After lunch and some free play time, we gathered on the rug to listen to the story of "The Little Red Hen". In this classic tale, the little red hen asks her friends to help her - first to collect the wheat, then grind it, they carry it, then bake it into bread. Each time she asked her friends, their response was "Not I". So when it was finally time to eat the bread, her friends were suddenly interested. But the little red hen said "no", just as they did to her. We discussed the lesson of this story, which is that working hard pays off and that helping one another is important. If we all help each other, we all enjoy the benefits. Before resting, we got up, spread out, and did participated in a fun "Encanto" themed freeze dance.
After resting and relaxing, we finished up our day with the rotation of table top activities. Our day ended in the usual way - packing up, prayers, and singing goodbyes!
Tuesday, March 8, 2022
Part of our morning routine now includes the singing of our our National Anthem, and we are getting good at it. We are still using our vegetable garden, even though we are well past our 100th day! But next week we will begin our Pre-K countdown...we will be counting down the days until our final day of Pre-K!
We checked our Lent calendar for today's good deed, which is to help out at dinner time tonight. We talked about the many different things we can do (help set the table, help prepare the food, distribute utensils and napkins, clean up afterward, etc).
The R table now has on it a robot, a rat, some rice, a ring, another pair of rain boots, a few more red items, a rhino car, and 2 rabbits! Amazing!
Our lesson today focused on our # of the week - #18. We counted from 1-18, forward and backward and watched a short Sesame Street #18 video clip. We practiced tracing and printing the #18, then we found, circled and counted the 18 mice that were hidden in the picture. Nicely done!
We had a nice morning snack, then participated in our center time activities in small groups. Before lunch we gathered on the rug for God's Time, and we continued our lesson on "The Bible". We quickly talked about all of the Bible stories we've already read (the story of creation, Noah's Arc, when Angel Gabriel appeared to Mary, the birth of Jesus, and the Three Kings. Today we read two more "Jesus chooses his Apostles and said Come Follow Me" and Jesus on the Mountain teaching the people to "love one another". We colored the pictures for these stories on our activity page.
After lunch and some free play time, we exerted some energy in the gym with our Pre-K 2 friends. Next we gathered to listen to our "star" Noah tell us about his favorite animal, favorite activity at school, and his favorite book. Good job, Noah!
We rested our minds and bodies for a bit. Afterward, we participated in our table-top activities for this week - which include: filling up R's with rectangles, drawing with markers, and first and last name writing practice. We rounded out the day with prayers, sang our goodbyes and ended our nice day together.
Monday, March 7, 2022
We are "R"eally "R"eady for R week....and our "R" table is "R"eally "R"ockin'! On it sits a rainbow jacket, a pair of rain boots, a red tomato, and an R magnet with a rocket on it. Wow!! This letter is definitely easier than Q, so I hope to see many more "R" items before Friday.
Of course we checked our Lent calendar, but first we reviewed what Lent means and that it lasts for about 40 days. We talked about how Lent started on Ash Wednesday and ends on Easter Sunday and that it's a time for us to show Jesus how much we love Him by being extra kind and good toward others. I hope you took the time to check the calendar with your child over the weekend. Today's good deed is to help clean up at home. We discussed the many ways we can do this, so I hope you have some happy helpers this evening :)
We were introduced to our new # of the week (18) and upper case and lower case Rr. We sounded it out, signed it, and looked at several pictures whose names begin with the initial /r/ sound. We viewed the letter R bounce patrol video as we sang along with it. When we returned to our seats we practiced reading the "R" sentences together - while pointing to each word from left to right as we read them. We also found and circled all of the "R" items on our papers - we were even able to determine what the non-R pictures began with - Nice work!
After enjoying our morning snacks, we got busy with our center time activities. This week they include: tracing and printing upper and lower case Rr's in our letter books, counting and gluing 18 carrots for the rabbit, making robot with various size rectangles, and i-pad practice. Before lunch we got the chance to go outdoors and enjoyed some fresh air and sunshine on this unusually warm day!
After lunch, we gathered on the rug for God's Time. This week we will be finishing up our unit on "God's Gift of Our World" and the theme is "The Bible". Today we talked about how the Bible tells us how how much God loves us and that the Bible is our holy book about God. We discussed how the Bible tells us that God made us and loves us all. We recalled how we made creation murals over the past few weeks, which included water, earth and plants, birds and fish, animals, and light. We learned that these murals were from the first story in the Bible, the story of creation. We looked at our classroom children's Bible and read together the story of creation. Next we took the time to welcome our new "star of the week" Noah. He worked hard on his poster over the weekend and we learned about his favorite color and food. We look forward to learning more about him this week.
We relaxed our minds and bodies for a bit, then we rounded out our day manipulating some clay. We were encouraged to make upper and lower case Rr's and did a great job. We prepared for dismissal and then ended our day with prayers and sang our goodbyes.
March 4, 2022
Happy Friday!!
During our morning lesson, we re-visited the story "The Very Quiet Cricket" by Eric Carle. We first talked about what it means to be quiet and brainstormed some places where we should use our quiet voices - such as church, the library, and the movie theater. We also took the time to do many actions "quietly", like clapping, talking, and walking. We watched the animated version of this story on our SMARTboard. When we returned to our seats, we opened our journal books to the next empty page and were encouraged to draw pictures from the story - and I must say there were some impressive drawings of crickets, dragonflies, bumblebees and even spittlebugs! Nicely done.
We took the time to check our Lent calendar to find out today's good deed - which is to go to bed on time. I was happy to see that many of the children already looked at the calendar before coming to school and already knew. We will all make an extra effort to go to bed on time tonight - no "buts" about it! Moms and Dads - don't forget to refer to the Lent calendar over the weekend. Your cooperation with this Lenten activity is very much appreciated!
After our morning snacks, we finished up our center activities for this week. Before lunch, we participated in a Scholastic lesson titled "Animal Teeth". First we talked about ways we use our own teeth (for eating, chewing, drinking). Then we looked at different animals and learned about they use their teeth for many other things, such as digging, carrying, cleaning, and even chopping down trees! We watched the informational video for this lesson, then worked in our booklets. Check our folders to see!
After some lunch and free play time, we joined our friends in Pre-K 2 for some exercise in the gym. Once we returned to the classroom, our friend Wesson finished up his time as "star of the week" by using our special microphone to answer some questions about himself. We learned many new things about him this week. He chose Noah to be our "star" next week.
We rested and relaxed for a bit, then we prepared for dismissal and ended another great week in Pre-K!
REMINDERS:
Please remember to refer to our Lent calendar over the weekend and encourage your child to do their good deeds :)
Blankets were sent home. Please wash and return on Monday.
Enjoy the weekend!! Rumor has it we may have some warm temps on Sunday.
Thursday, March 3, 2022
We took the time this morning to check our Lent calendar, which was sent home in each child's folder yesterday. Every day during Lent we will refer to our calendar to see what each days' good deed is. I was so proud of our friend Antonela, who was able to tell all her friends that today our good deed is to use many kjnd words. We talked about many examples of what kind words are and we were encouraged to use them throughout the day at school and at home this evening.
During our morning lesson we talked about our new # - 17. We identified it within a group of numbers and we counted forward and backward. We sat in a circle and someone started with the #1 and moving clockwise we each said the next number in the correct order - eager to see who was going to be #17. We watched a short Sesame Street #17 video clip before working on our activity page where we practiced printing the #17 and connected the dots in the proper order from 1-17 to complete a picture of a truck. Nice work!
Our morning message revealed that we were not only going to the library, but music class as well since Ms. McGrogan won't be available tomorrow. So we had quite the busy morning. We had our snack time, center time, music, then library.
Lunch time certainly hit the spot, then we gathered on the rug and listened to our "star" Wesson" finish up his poster. Today we learned about his family, what he likes to do with them, and what he wants to be when he grows up. Way to go, Wesson! We also took the time to review what we learned about Dr. Seuss yesterday and some of the many characters he created. We listened to the story "There's a Wocket in my Pocket".
We settled in for a peaceful rest time, then we wrapped up our day with the completion of table-top activities for this week.
Wednesday, March 2, 2022
Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!!
Upon arrival this morning, we enjoyed completing a Dr. Seuss coloring page. During our morning lesson we looked at many Dr. Seuss books and read together the titles of them. Many of us recognized some of them - I was so happy to find out that many of the children have the very same books at home. We talked about how Dr. Seuss is one of the most popular children's authors. We even looked at some pictures on our SMARTboard of Dr. Seuss himself, whose real name was Theodor Seuss Geisel. Part of our discussion included how he often uses rhyming words and made-up words in his stories. We also viewed pictures of some Dr. Seuss's well-known characters - like Thing 1 , Thing 2, Horton the elephant, the Grinch, the Lorax, Sam I Am, and of course the classic Cat in the Hat. We next had much fun coloring, cutting, and gluing to make our own Cat in the Hat masks - which include a hat, a bow tie, and long whiskers. What wonderful creations! We smiled our biggest smiles as we got our pictures taken wearing them. They looked just like Mr. Cat in the Hat! We looked at a very cool place on our SMARTboard called "Seussville" (www.seusville.com), but didn't have time to really explore it. I encourage you to check it out with your child at home.
We munched on our morning snacks, then we were off to gym class. Today Ms. Gorman gave us a great workout - after warming up, we practiced sit up and push ups, played noodle hockey and we even partcipated in some sack races.
We got busy at our centers once we returned to the classroom. During this time, Fr. Welsh came in to put the blessed ashes on our foreheads. Afterward, we gathered on the rug for an important Religion lesson. We discussed how today is Ash Wednesday, which starts a special time in the Church called Lent. We learned that Lent lasts for about 40 days, and during this time we should be trying our best to change - to become more like Jesus. We were told that the ashes that we received on our foreheads are a sign to show the world how proud we are to be a child of God. These ashes are meant to remind us how much Jesus loves us and how much He did for us - and that Lent is a time for us to show our love for Him. We were shown our Lent calendars (which is being sent home today in your child's folder) and how we will be doing one special good deed each day of Lent, starting tomorrow. PLEASE put this calendar in a special place at home where you and your child can look at it and discuss it each day during this beautiful season of Lent. We will discuss it each day at school, and if you are able to discuss it at home as well it would be greatly appreciated.
After lunch and some free play time, we gathered to read the Dr. Seuss book "The Cat in the Hat"...."We looked! And we saw him! The Cat in the Hat! And he said to us "Why do you sit there like that?" "I Know it is wet and the sun is not sunny. But we can have lots of good fun that is funny!" We enjoyed this classic tale!
After rest time, we finished up our day by coloring a picture about Ash Wednesday. We liked coloring the child on the page and making him/her look just like us (skin color, hair color, eye color). See you tomorrow!!
Tuesday, March 1, 2022
Today we said goodbye to February and welcomed the month of March. We have many things to learn and do this month :)
I would like to take the time to thank those of you who came out to support our drama club's production of "Into the Woods, Jr." this past weekend. It was so nice to see some of these little ones there and I hope you enjoyed the show :)
Our Q table has a few quarters and some q-tips on there so far. Q is a tough one, but hopefully we'll see a few more before the week ends.
During our morning lesson we looked at several pictures that begin with the /q/ sound. We sounded it out and signed it. We of course looked at our letter Qq bounce patrol video and sang along to the familiar tune. We were also introduced to our new number of the week - 17.
We then returned to our seats to practice reading our letter Q sentences. Every time we do this we are encouraged to point to each word as we read it, which helps us with simple sight word recognition and left to right progression. We also found and circled all of the pictures that begin with Q, and put an "X" on those that didn't. Nice work!
After our morning snacks, we got busy with our center time activities for this week, which include: tracing and printing upper and lower case Qq's in our letter books, drawing and counting 17 balloons in the sky, making a "queen" craft, and practicing many skills on the i-pads. Next we made our way downstairs to the gym to get a good stretch of the legs before lunchtime.
We enjoyed our lunches and free play time followed. Afterwards, we gathered on the rug for God's Time and talked about how tomorrow begins a special time in the church called Lent. We talked about how Lent is a time for us to show how much we love Jesus. Tomorrow we will be receiving ashes on our foreheads as we begin the Lenten season. There will also be an important letter/calendar regarding how we, in Pre-K, will be approaching the Lenten season. Please look for it, remove it, and keep it in a special place so you and your child can discuss it each day during Lent.
We also talked about how tomorrow is also a special day because it's Dr. Seuss's birthday. We read the Dr. Seuss classic "Green Eggs and Ham", which we really enjoyed. The message being that we shouldn't make our minds up about something without trying it, and that it's good to try new things. Our "star" this week is Wesson and he talked about the first section of his poster.
We settled in for a nice rest time, then we began the rotation of table-top activities for this week, which include: filling up Q's with q-tips, drawing with dry-erase erase markers on whiteboards, and manipulating wikki sticks to form letters, pictures, and shapes. We packed up our belongings and ended another great day in Pre-K!
Friday, February 25, 2022
Happy 100th Day!! We cannot believe that we have been in Pre-K for 100 days. The children looked absolutely adorable coming into the room dressed like 100 year olds. It was so cute to see little old ladies and little old gentlemen walking down the hallway and into our classroom. We paraded around the school so everyone could see us.... We were definitely a hit :) Moms and Dads - you did a fabulous job with the clothes and accessories! Of course I took some pictures so I will post them soon.
We had a quick morning meeting, and we were excited to find out that we were going to the auditorium for a special event. We saw a preview of the "Into the Woods, Jr." production which will be taking place in our school auditorium this weekend. We saw many fairy tale characters, such as Tinkerbelle, Cinderella, the witch, and Rapunzel. We really enjoyed it. Moms and Dads - please support our drama program and bring your little one to see it tonight at 7:00 pm, tomorrow at 2pm or 7pm, and Sunday at 2pm. My husband and I run the program and we are so proud of the cast and crew for all of their hard work!!
Once we returned to the classroom we enjoyed our snacks. Thanks to our "star of the week" Lavinia for bringing in airhead treats to share with us. Next we finished up our center activities for this week. Before lunch we used our markers to draw a picture of some of the things we saw at the preview this morning.
After lunch we watched a 100 day video on youtube hosted by a silly monster named Milo. We rested and then wrapped up this busy, busy day! After packing up, prayers, and goodbyes - we ended this fun day in Pre-K! These little old ladies and gentlemen should sleep well this evening!
Thursday, February 24, 2022
Happy Thursday!! 99 days of Pre-K in the books and we are so excited about our 100th day celebration tomorrow :)
Our morning message revealed that our day was going to be a busy one. After our morning meeting, we went to music class today! We normally go on Fridays, but since there are several activities planned for tomorrow, Ms. McGrogan was kind enough to switch our day. Once we got back, we enjoyed our morning snacks, then we gathered on the rug to look at some special pictures. Yesterday we got our picture taken and today we had the chance to see them - but we looked different. The aging app was used to make us all look very old!! We were laughing because we all looked like grandmas and grandpas. We glued our pictures onto a coloring page and they are now displayed in the hallway for all to see!!
We got busy with our center activities, then we visited the library where Mrs. Dunfee read us a story. After lunch and some free play time, we let off some steam in the gym with our Pre-K 2 friends. Before resting, our "star" Lavinia finished up her poster by telling us what she wants to be when she grows up and some things she's good at doing.
After a quiet and relaxing rest time, we prepared for dismissal by packing up backpacks, prayers and goodbyes to our friends and teachers.
REMINDER: Tomorrow is our 100th day of Pre-K!! Looking forward to a fun-filled day and I can;t wait to see little 100 year olds walking into the classroom.
Wednesday, February 23, 2022
We had to double check our calendar today to make sure it's not spring time! Even though it's not here to stay, we'll gladly take a warm day :)
Our morning message revealed that we were going to work on a page for our next class book. We were encouraged to use our imaginations and think about something we wish we had 100 of. We brainstormed lots of choices. We returned to our seats and completed the writing prompt "I wish I had 100...." (we even wrote the word to finish the prompt). We had some clever responses, such as ice cream cones, donuts, books, and strawberries! We drew a picture to go with it and we did a great job. These pages will be compiled to make our next class book that will be taken home to be shared with families.
After enjoying our morning snacks, we were off to gym class. First we did some warm ups and stretches, then we participated in some relays, used hula hoops to practice many skills, and played an energetic game of sharks and minnows.
Upon returning to the classroom, we got busy with our center time activities. Lunch time hit the spot, then we just had to get outdoors for a bit on this unusually warm day. Afterward our "star" Lavinia told us all about her family and some things she enjoys doing with them. Great job, Lavinia!
We settled ourselves for a peaceful rest time, then we rounded out the day with some name-writing practice. We are getting better at not only writing our first names, but our last names as well.
REMINDER: This Friday, 2/25, we will be celebrating our 100th Day of school. We hope to see all these Pre-K kids dressed like little 100 year olds :)
Tuesday, February 22, 2022
Well we added the the #97 to our vegetable garden this morning. Wow, we are so close to our 100th day of Pre-K and we are super excited about it!!
This morning we focused on the number 100. We are getting really good at counting by 10's from 10 to 100. Our morning message revealed that we were going to make a special craft in honor of our upcoming 100th day. We used our crayons, scissors, and some glue to make ourselves look 100 years old! We even added some wrinkles and some cotton balls for hair. They are hanging in the classroom for all to see :)
After munching on our morning snacks, we got busy with our center activities for this week. We will be filling up 10 rows with 10 different stamps to make a total of 100 stamps, making 100 day crowns and practicing how to make 10 piles of 10 to make 100. Before lunch we exerted lot of energy in the gym with our Pre-K 2 friends.
After lunch and some free play time, we welcomed our friend Lavinia as our new "star of the week". She showed us the top portion of her poster and we learned about her favorite food, book, and color. We like learning new things about our friends! Next we participated in a youtube movement video titled "100 Days of School with Grandma and Grandpa" where we did a total of 100 exercises while counting to 100!
We rested peacefully, then we rounded out our day manipulating some clay. Our task today was to make the number 100. Hooray, we all did it!
REMINDER: This Friday, 2/25, the children should come to school dressed like a 100 year old. A letter was sent home with some ideas/suggestions. Please feel free to message me if you have any questions.
Wednesday, February 16, 2022
Can you believe that we have been in Pre-K for 95 days? Our 100th day of school is quickly approaching and we are super excited about it!! After our morning prayers, salute to the flag, calendar and weather check, and singing some favorite songs, we identified and counted our numbers from 1 to 16 (forward and backward). We watched a short Sesame Street podcast about the # 16 and then returned to our seats and practiced tracing and printing the #16, then found and colored the 16 hidden socks in the picture on our page - nice counting!!
Our P table is quite "P"lentiful with the addition of 2 more puppies, another "Pop-it" game and a pod of peas. Love it! Our morning message revealed that we were going to have a Winter Olympic themed gym class today. We were split into teams and found out which country we were going to represent. Next, we colored the flag for that country so we could wear it to gym class. See if your little one can tell you his/her country.
After eating our snacks, we were sporting our flags as we made our way down to gym class. After warms ups and stretches, we joined our friends in Pre-K 2 for some winter olympic games. Ms. Gorman had us participate in 3 activities - skiing, ice skating, and bob-sledding. We had so much fun. I will post some pictures on class dojo.
Before lunch we participated in our center time activities. Afterward, we listened to our "star" Leonardo tell us about his family, what he wants to be when he grows up, and some things he's good at doing. Way to go, Leonardo!! We then listened to the story "Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?", which reminded us of the "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?" story. We discussed how both books were written and illustrated by the same people.
We rested peacefully, then we participated in the rotation of table top activities before preparing for dismissal.
REMINDERS: No classes this Friday, 2/18 due to a teacher in-service day and no classes on Monday 2/21 in honor of President's Day.
Tuesday, February 15, 2022
Our P table is just "P"opping with P items!! Today we added a "pop-it" game, Peppa pig, a paintbrush, a pillow, some peanut butter, a potato, a pirate, a puppy, a purple pencil, a panda bear, and several magnets with P things on them (pear, pineapple, penguin, peacock, peas, pumpkin and peach) Wow!! Amazing job so far!!
During our morning lesson we were introduced to the letter "P", the sound it makes, learned how to sign it, and looked at several "p" pictures. We also viewed the letter P bounce patrol video clip and were introduced to our new # of the week - #16. We returned to our seats and worked hard on our letter P papers as we read together the 4 "P" sentences. We also found and circled only the pictures with the initial /p/ sound. Our morning snacks were especially yummy because we had some extra treats leftover from yesterday. Yum :)
Afterward we got busy at our centers, then we made our way downstairs to the gym before lunch to get some exercise. We enjoyed our lunches and some free play time, then we welcomed Leonardo as our new "star of the week"....he put on our cool "star" glasses and talked about the first section of his poster. We learned about his favorite food and book and also some things he doesn't like. Nice job, Leonardo!!
After we relaxed during rest time, we started the rotation of table-top activities for this week, which include: filling up our upper case P's with pumpkins, puzzles, and painting with watercolor paints. We then ended this nice day together by packing up, praying and singing goodbyes.
REMINDER:
There are no classes for students this Friday, 2/18 due to a teacher in-service day
There are no classes on Monday, 2/21 in honor of the President's Day holiday.
Monday, February 14, 2022
Happy Valentine's Day!
Our day was certainly full of Valentine fun <3
After our morning circle time routine, we listened to "The Story of Valentine's Day".....which told the story of the beginning of Valentine's Day in Rome long ago. We learned that Valentine's Day is named after a special man (St. Valentine) who was very kind and loving and all the children loved him. All over the world, people send cards called "valentines" to celebrate this special day. Many of us were excited to share that we brought in treats and valentines today to share!
We were introduced to our new letter of the week, the letter Pp and the number 16. Our P table already has on it a pig, pizza, a pencil, some Pringles, and some pink and purple crayons!!
When we returned to our seats we made an adorable Valentine bumblebee craft! First we colored the stripes, then we cut out the head and body. Next we added the wings (which were made with our painted handprints) and glued everything into place. Finally we added some facial features and 2 antennae. They look bee-autiful <3 Check our folders to see!
We had a quick bathroom break, then we were excited about our Valentine's Day celebration. We had many delicious treats, such as munchkins, mini cupcakes, Pringles, M&M's, and Hershey kisses. Thank you, parents, for sending those goodies in - we loved them! There were also many Valentine cards and extra treats that were distributed :) Afterwards we located our name tags and worked in small groups at our centers. This week we will be: Tracing and printing upper and lower case Pp's in our letter books, printing the #16 - then counting and drawing 16 apples in the picnic basket, making a neat prickly porcupine craft with the use of crayons, paint, and forks, and playing educational games on the i-pads. After lunch and some free play time, we went downstairs to the gym to let off some steam and get some good exercise. Before resting, we practiced our patterning skills by completing the heart patterns on our activity sheets. Nice work!
We rested our minds and bodies, then we finished up the day making a Valentine for someone special. I hope you enjoy the remainder of your Valentine's Day with your little sweethearts!
REMINDER:
There are no classes this Friday, 2/18 due to a faculty in-service day
Friday, February 11, 2022
Happy Friday!!
Today we explored the Ocean in honor of the letter O! We brainstormed a list of ocean creatures and came up with 10. We watched a video on our Smartboard about ocean life and we saw many of the ones we listed. We each had the chance to pick our favorite ocean creature and then we returned to our seats to draw in our journal books. There were some fabulous drawings of fish, sharks, crabs, sea turtles, and jellyfish (just to name a few). Our drawing and coloring has come a long way since September!!
We especially enjoyed our morning snacks because our "star of the week" Anson had treats for us. There were various types of candy in a bag and we each picked what we wanted. Thanks Anson!! After snack time, we finished up our center activities for this week.
Before we knew it, we were lining up for music class with Ms. McGrogan, which is always filled with musical fun. We enjoyed our lunch and some free play time, then we made our way outdoors on this unusually warm day. We got a good stretch of the legs and had some fun in the sun. Upon returning to the classroom, Anson finished up his time as our "star" by using our microphone to answer some more questions about himself. He also had a show and tell to share. Great job, Anson! Next week our "star of the week" will be
We rested and relaxed for a bit, then we prepared for dismissal.
REMINDER: Monday is Valentine's Day. The children may wear red/pink or anything Valentine's Day themed. We will also have a celebration in the classroom and we are asking each child to send in one bag of candy for our party. Thanks in advance!
Have a great weekend!
Thursday, February 10, 2022
Well can you believe it's our 91st day of Pre-K? We are getting so close to our 100th day celebration and we are super excited about it! A letter was sent home in your child's folder earlier this week with all the details. Please message me if you have any questions.
We participated in our first February Scholastic lesson this morning which was titled "Friends have Feelings". We talked about the many feelings we experience and how we can handle different emotions. We also discussed how we should pay attention to our friends' feelings. Valentine's Day is just 4 days away and it's all about friendship and love - and we talked about the many ways we can be a good friend when someone feels sad, lonely, angry or afraid. We watched the video clip for this lesson and then returned to our seats and worked in our scholastic books. We also completed a heart matching activity - check our folders to see!
We had a nice morning snack and then got busy at our centers. During this time we each had the chance to go to the SMARTboard and play a connect the dots game where we had to make a toy by connecting the dots in the proper order from 1 -10....great work!
We visited the library where Mrs. Dunfee read us a Valentine's Day story, then we enjoyed our lunches. After some free play time, we were happy to make our way outside. It's been a while since we've been out there due to the cold weather, but today we really enjoyed the fresh air and sunshine.
Upon returning to the classroom, we listened as our "star" Anson finished up his poster. He told what he wants to be when he grows up and some things he's good at doing. Way to go, Anson! Before resting, we reviewed some of the wonderful gifts of God's creation that we've talked about over the last few weeks (water, earth, plants, birds, fish, and animals). We discussed how we should appreciate all the ways the animals make life better for us. Before resting, we added a few animals to the creation murals we've been working on.
After resting, we finished the rotation of table top activities for this week. We gathered our belongings, packed up, prayed, sang goodbyes and ended another great day in Pre-K!
Wednesday, February 9, 2022
Our O table welcomed another onion, another orange, another octopus, some oatmeal and an owl this morning. Love it! 2 days left....might we see an oreo or Olaf from Frozen before the week ends?
Today we learned about a very cool sea creature that begins with the O....yes, you guessed it - the amazing octopus! First we discussed some things we already know about them - how they have 8 arms, live in the ocean, and have little circles all over their arms. We then watched an interesting video clip and found out some interesting octopus facts. We learned that they have 3 hearts, blue blood and squirt ink to defend themselves. We also saw that some are small, some are large, and they can squeeze through very small spaces. We also learned that those little circle shapes on their arms are called suckers, which are like suction cups which help them swim and catch things to eat. They can camouflage themselves by changing colors and they are very smart - smart enough to open jars. Who knew?
When we returned to our seats, we made a neat octopus craft. First we wrote some words, then we colored and cut out an octopus and glued it onto a piece of construction paper. Our last task was to add those "suckers". We glued cheerios all over the arms - and then we ate some when we were done - yum!
After munching on our morning snacks, we were off to gym class. Today we did some relays and we even practiced how to use scooters. Fun, fun, fun!
Upon returning to the classroom we participated in our center time activities. Up next was lunch time, then some free play time with friends soon followed. Afterward we gathered on the rug as our "star" Anson told us about his family and some things he enjoys doing with them. Great job, Anson! We then listened to the story "The Amazing Octopus" , which had colorful photographs of real octopi. This book had much of the same information that we learned in the octopus video this morning - but we found out something else really cool about these creatures.....sometimes an octopus gets hurt and loses an arm - but no worries because the arm grows right back!
We relaxed during rest time, then participated in the rotation of table-top activities that we started yesterday. We rounded out our day with prayers, and singing farewells to our friends and teachers.
Tuesday, February 8, 2022
Our letter O table is simply "O"utstanding!!! We now have several oranges, an octopus, and even an onion! Our friend Olivia added her letter person on there as well.
Our morning lesson focused on the #15. First we played a # counting and identification game where we had to put the numbers in the correct order. We practiced counting from 1-15 forward and backward, then watched a Sesame Street #15 video clip. When we returned to our seats we practiced tracing and printing the #15. We then practiced our counting skills by finding the one necklace out of 3 that had 15 beads on it. Excellent counting! On the opposite side we had to find the 15 hearts hidden in the picture.
We enjoyed our morning snacks, then got busy with our center time activities. Before lunch, we continued our lesson on God's gift of animals. Today we took the time to appreciate what animals do for us and the ways they make life better for us. We discussed the many amazing gifts God has given us through animals - such as sweaters, milk, eggs, and meat. We completed the activity page for this lesson when we returned to our seats. We ended by thanking God for making animals for us to love, enjoy, and benefit from. After lunch and some free play time, we gathered on the rug and listened to our "star" Anson present the next section of her poster. Today he told us all about his favorite color and book and what he likes and doesn't like. It's fun to find new things out about our friends!! Before resting we listened to an entertaining story titled "Oliver". We found out pretty quickly that Oliver in this story is not a boy, but an elephant. Oliver has always wanted to be a dancing elephant in the circus, but what will he do when he is told that the circus already has enough elephants? We laughed as we followed Oliver's silly adventures and were happy to see how he finally achieves his dream at the end.
We rested peacefully, then started our table-top activities for this week, which include: filling up upper case O's with oranges, making valentine cards with tracers, writing tools, and stickers, and making valentine cookies with play-do.
Tomorrow we look forward to learning about an interesting sea creature that begins with O. Have a great night :)
Monday, February 7, 2022
Welcome to an "O"utstanding week in Pre-K as we present the letter "Oo". We practiced tracing and printing upper and lower case "Oo", just like a circle. We also practiced the two different /o/ sounds. We got up and moved and grooved as we sang and danced to the letter Oo Bounce Patrol video. We were also introduced to our new # of the week, the #15! Our letter O table already has an orange, some orange juice and an octopus magnet on it so far....
Together we read 4 "O" sentences on our papers, and we are getting better at pointing to each word as it is read. Please encourage your child to read their sentences to you. We also completed a dot-to-dot where we had to start at the letter A and connect the dots in the order of the alphabet until we ended at the letter O. When completed correctly, we were able to see a letter o sea creature with 8 legs....you guessed it, an octopus! Nice work :)
We enjoyed our morning snack, followed by our center/small group time. This week we will be practicing upper and lower case Oo's in our letter books, counting out and gluing 15 fish for the octopus, using dot-a-dot stampers to make a neat looking octopus, and practicing skills on the i-pads.
Before lunch we gathered on the rug for God's Time. We are continuing our unit on God's Gift of our World, this week focusing on God's gift of animals. We looked at pictures of some of the many wonderful creatures God has created and talked about the different places they live. We received our activity page for this lesson, which showed a jungle scene. We identified them, counted them, and found the biggest and the smallest. We will complete the opposite side tomorrow.
After munching on our lunches and some free play time, we welcomed our friend Anson as our new "star of the week". He did a fine job completing his poster over the weekend. He put on our cool "star" sunglasses as he presented the first section of his poster to us. Nice job, Anson!! We are looking forward to learning more things about him this week :)
We next had the chance to get some exercise in the gym as we jumped and ran about with friends. After all that movement, it was nice to relax a bit as we settled in for a peaceful rest time.
We rounded out the day manipulating some clay and trying our best to form upper and lower case Oo's. This was an easy task for most of us :) We prepared for dismissal, prayed and sang goodbyes, and ended this nice day together.
Thursday, February 3, 2022
What a busy day in Pre-K! After going through our morning routine of activities, we reviewed our letters from A to N. We played a game where several pictures were displayed on the rug. We each received an upper case letter and our task was to identify it, sign it, and then put our letter underneath the picture that begins with that letter. We did a great job. We played a second round where we picked a lower case letter and had to match it with the upper case. Nicely done! When we returned to our seats, we completed a similar activity where we identified each picture and wrote the corresponding letter underneath of it. Check our folders to see our wonderful work!
After a bathroom break and our morning snacks, we got busy with our center time activities. During this time Fr. McCabe (one of our wonderful priests here at St. Matthew Church) came to our classroom to talk to us. He told us about how today is the Feast Day of St. Blaise, who is the patron saint of sore throats. In honor of this day, Fr. McCabe blessed our throats while giving us a special blessing.
Before lunch we visited the library with our Pre-K 2 friends while Mrs. Dunfee read us a few stories. When we returned to our classroom we were happy to see our pastor, Fr. Welsh with his dog Vader! All of the Pre-K kids presented him with the special book that was filled with all of the drawings we made for him. We were sure to thank him for all he does to make our school great. Vader even posed for a picture with us!! Check out the class story on our class dojo to see :) After lunch we made our way downstairs to the gym to get a good stretch of the legs. Ms. Gorman even let us play with her hula hoops!
Before settling for rest time we listened to our friend Olivia finish up her "star of the week" poster. Today she told us all about her family and some fun things she likes to do with them. We also found out what she wants to be when she grows up and some things she's good at doing. Great job, Olivia! Before preparing for dismissal, we drew a picture about we love best about St. Matthew school - and I must say their responses and drawings were wonderful.
REMINDER: Tomorrow is a half day of school. 12:00 dismissal - no lunch, just a snack and drink.
Wednesday, February 2, 2022
Happy Groundhog Day! That pesky little groundhog popped out of his hole today and he did, indeed see his shadow. Looks like 6 more long weeks of winter are ahead of us!! Many of our predictions proved to be correct!!
Today, as we continue through this Catholic Schools Week, we took the time to make two more special "thank you" cards. One for Sr. Joe (our fabulous vice-principal) and one for Fr. Welsh (our fearless pastor). We talked about how they, in particular, work hard every day to help make our school a very special place to be. These pictures will be compiled together in a book to present to each of them.
We enjoyed our morning snacks and then were off to gym class with our friends in Pre-K 2. Ms. Gorman always has many fun activities planned. One of those today was a game of "Ga-Ga Ball" - see if your little one can tell you about it. Upon returning to the classroom, we got busy with our center activities.
After lunch we watched a short video clip on our Smartboard of Punxatawny Phil this morning when he made his prediction. We thought he was super cute and we couldn't believe how many people were there watching! Next Olivia, our star of the week, presented the next portion of her poster. Today we found out some things she likes and doesn't like. It's fun learning new things about our friends!
After a peaceful rest time, we put some finishing touches on the thank you cards we were working on earlier. Then we packed up and ended another great day in Pre-K!!
REMINDER:
This Friday, 2/4 is a half day of school. 12:00 dismissal - no lunch, just a snack and a drink
Tuesday, February 1, 2022
Happy February!! This month promises to be an eventful and exciting one. Groundhog Day, Valentine's Day, President's Day, our 100th day celebration, and a special preview day of our drama club's production of "Into the Woods".
Today our morning lesson focused on Groundhog Day. We watched an informational video and learned that this day happens every year on February 2. It's s day where a famous groundhog, called Punxatawny Phil, comes out and makes a weather prediction. We discussed how a prediction is just a fancy word for taking a guess about something. We learned that if Phil sees his shadow, that means 6 more weeks of winter. If he does not, that means an early spring. So next it was time to make our own predictions. Shadow or no shadow? We colored a picture of a groundhog and made our predictions. We answered the question "Will the groundhog see his shadow" with a "Yes" or No", which we wrote all by ourselves!! Check our folders to see our wonderful work and our predictions. Tomorrow we will find out whose prediction proves to be correct :) Next we made an adorable groundhog craft with various size heart shapes.
We enjoyed our morning snacks while chatting with friends. During this time, Sr. John called all of our students who celebrate the Chinese New Year to come to her office for a special picture! Next we got busy with our center activities.
During God's Time we had a nice discussion about Catholic Schools Week and the beauty of attending a Catholic School. We talked about how Jesus is an important part of every school day and that we, as Catholic school students, are reminded and encouraged to let Jesus's light shine through our hearts each and every day - by being kind and respectful and by being good friends and helpers. Next we made a special picture for Sr. John, for being such a fine leader of our wonderful school. These pictures will be bound together in a book, which we will give to her at the end of the week.
After lunch and some free play time, we had an early rest time because there were some fun activities planned for 1:30pm. Not only did we each receive an ice cream treat, but the whole school participated in a bingo game. Each class received their own bingo card and we listened carefully as every number was called over the loud speaker. These kids were great helpers in helping me find the numbers on our card! We enjoyed a few rounds of this game :)
REMINDER: This Friday, 2/4, is a half day of school. Please pack a snack and a drink only. There is no lunch or nap time, and the children will be dismissed at 12:00pm.
. Monday, January 31, 2022
Happy Catholic Schools Week! How wonderful to have a whole week dedicated to acknowledging how special Catholic Schools are and to celebrating especially how great our school is! Sister John sent an e-mail to all parents with details of the special events happening this week here at St. Matthew.
Today we talked about the beauty of living in the USA. We examined our American flag and noticed the stars and stripes and the three colors that make up our flag. Many of us remembered to wear our red, white, and blue today in honor of our wonderful nation. We listened to our National Anthem and talked about how we will hear this special song throughout our lives at many different events. We will be learning this song and singing it every day from now on after we recite our pledge to the flag each morning. We put our fine motor skills to work as we created a cool paper plate flag. First we colored half of a paper plate blue. Next we glued some stars on there. Then we added red and white streamers to represent the stripes, making sure to glue them in an "A-B" pattern across the bottom. Fantastic flags indeed!
After our morning snacks, we got busy with our center time activities. This week we will review our letters by playing a few rounds of alphabet bingo, making a beautiful Catholic Schools Week craft, name-writing practice and i-pad practice. After center time we gathered on the rug and welcomed Olivia as our first "star of the week". She put on our special glasses and showed us her cool poster - which she worked hard on over the weekend. She decorated it with lots of colors, stickers and even some jewels. Today she talked to us about the first part of her poster and we are looking forward to learning more things about her this week!
Lunch time hit the spot, then free play time followed. Next we settled in for an early rest time because of the 1:30 pm laser show. We made our way down to the gym and watched a very cool show with the rest of the school.
Once we returned to the classroom, it was time to say prayers and goodbyes and prepare for dismissal.
Friday, January 28, 2022
Happy Friday! What a cold and snowy morning it was was....but nice and warm inside of our classroom. Today's our last day that we're focusing on the letter N and we used our Noses this morning as we put our sense of smell to work. With our eyes covered, we each had the chance to smell several items and our task was to guess what it was just by its' scent. If we liked it, we gave it a big thumbs up. If we didn't like it, we gave it a thumbs down. Some of the items we smelled were: lemon juice, coffee, soap, barbecue sauce, mustard, and popcorn. See if your little one can tell you which ones he/she liked! When we returned to our seats, we drew pictures in our journal books of things we like to smell. Great work! We've added more noodles and some nuts....Neat-o!
After our morning snacks, we finished up our center activities for this week. Before we knew it, we made our way downstairs for music class with Ms. McGrogan.
After lunch and some free play time, we gathered on the rug and talked about something exciting. Starting next week, we will have a "star of the week". Every Friday a student's name will be chosen to bring the "star of the week" poster home, which should be completed and returned on Monday of the next week. This should be completed together, not just by the parent. The poster will be displayed in the classroom and each day the star student will have time to present a portion of their poster while wearing special "star" glasses and speaking into the "star" microphone. Everyone will have their turn and today the first name was chosen and it looks like next week's star will be......Olivia :) We look forward to learning some new things about her!
We settled in for a peaceful and relaxing rest time, then we prepared for dimissal and ended our day with prayers and singing goodbyes.
**Next week we will not be moving on the letter "Oo" and #15. We will be celebrating Catholic Schools Week and reviewing all letters and numbers learned so far. Monday 1/31 we will be celebrating our nation by having a "red, white, and blue" day. The kids are welcome to wear anything patrotic over their gym uniform. Sr. John will be sending an e-mail about some special events planned for next week.
Stay safe this weekend, looks like some snow is on its way!!
Wednesday, January 26, 2022
We had two new items on our N table today - a necktie and some noodles! Might we see a newspaper, or some nuts before the week ends?
Our morning lesson focused on some crime-fighting characters for the letter N.....Ninja turtles! We first discussed that a ninja is someone who is trained and skilled to fight in a special way. We then looked at a BIG picture of the 4 famous ninja turtles on our SMARTboard. We sure have some ninja turtle fans here in Pre-K. We talked about each one's name and the color it wears. We then were asked to vote for our favorite one....Donatello (purple), Michelangelo (orange), Raphael (red) or Leonardo (blue). We each placed our name under the one we liked the best and put our math skills to work as we tallied the results. We compared to see who had the most, least, and who had more/less than the other. See if your child can tell you who was the class favorite. We then returned to our seats and were super excited to make our own ninja turtle creations. First we cut a paper plate into the turtle head shape, then colored it green. Next we referred to our class graph and colored our mask the same color we voted for earlier. We cut out the mask and the mouth, and added some teeth with our black crayon. We glued everything into place, added some eyes and....voila! Ninja turtles were everywhere!
We enjoyed our morning snacks and then we were happy to make our way downstairs for gym class. Once we returned to the classroom, we got busy with our center time activities before lunch. After lunch and and some free play time, we listened to the story "The Ninjabread Man" - a fun spinoff of the the classic "Gingerbread Man" story. Sensei makes an age-old recipe for ninjabread. But the cookie escapes from the oven and runs loose! Can the Ninjabread Man outsmart Ninja Bear, Ninja Snake, Ninja Mouse, and Ninja Fox? We really liked this tale - and pointed out the similarities and differences from the traditional story. We then got up and showed off our best Ninja moves to the Ninja Turtle theme song.
Rest time was quite peaceful, then we continued the rotation of table top activities for this
week. After packing up backpacks, we gathered for prayer and goodbyes to end the day in a friendly way.
Tuesday, January 25, 2022
Happy Tuesday! Our letter N table is looking quite "N"ifty with the addition of a few more necklaces, 2 needles (the toy kind of course), Nemo from the Disney movie, more nail polish and a notebook. Wow!!
After completing our morning routine of activities, we participated in our morning lesson about the #14. We counted forward and backward, and identified all of our numbers from 1-14. We then played a number memory game. When we returned to our seats we practiced our number writing skills as we traced and printed the #14. We also looked at the different shaped candies on the bottom of the page and counted to see which one had 14. Great counting work!
We had a nice morning snack, then got busy with our center activities. The neckties this week are definitely a hit!!
Before lunch we gathered on the rug for God's Time. This week we are learning about a very special man whose name begins with N....Noah. Today we read the story from our children's Bible of "Noah's Ark" and we learned that an ark is an enormous boat. In this story, we learned that God made Noah a promise. We had a nice discussion about what a promise is and the importance of keeping promises. God promised to never flood the earth again and gave us a sign for us to remember his promise - a rainbow! We each received a rainbow sticker for our shirt at the end of the lesson. See if your little one can tell you about this special story.
We enjoyed our lunches while chatting with friends, then free play time followed. We were happy to make our way downstairs to get some good exercise. We returned to the classroom and settled in for a relaxing rest time. Next we got busy with the rotation of table-top activities that we started yesterday. We prepared for dismissal and ended another great day in Pre-K :)
Tomorrow we look forward to some Ninja turtle fun!!
Monday, January 24, 2022
We welcomed the letter N today - sounded it out, traced it, printed it, and learned how to sign it. We looked at several pictures of things that begin with the /n/ sound and of course watched the letter Nn bounce patrol video. We sound so nice singing along. We completed an activity page where we had to find and circle only the pictures that begin with n. On the opposite side we used our pointer finger to read the 4 sentences. These kids are getting really good at identifying simple sight words! We checked the N table and we already have a napkin, nailpolish, and a necklace. We have one friend whose name begins with N - Noah! And many of our names have the letter n in it. We were also introduced to our new # of the week - the #14.
We had a quick bathroom break and then sat down to enjoy our morning snacks. Afterwards, we were ready for our center-time activities .This week we will be tracing and printing upper and lower case Nn in our letter books, drawing 14 eggs for the bird's nest, making some "N"ifty neckties, and i-pad practice. These activities will rotate daily.
Before lunch we made our way downstairs to the gym to exert some energy. After lunch we gathered on the rug to listen to the delightful tale of "Nugget and Fang". In the deep ocean, tiny Nugget and bit, toothy Fang get along swimmingly - until Nugget's first day of fish school. There Nugget learns that fish are supposed to be afraid of sharks! To regain Nugget's trust, Fang does some pretty silly things and then winds up being a hero. Next we got up and spread out and participated in a fun, silly dance called "Tooty-Ta", and then had a go at "Freeze Dance".
We relaxed during nap time, then we got busy with our table-top activities for this week, which include: filling up upper case Nn's with pieces of newspaper, water painting, and using dry erase markers with whiteboards. We packed up backpacks, said our prayers to our Guardian Angels, and sang goodbyes.
Thursday, January 20, 2022
We used something yummy and delicious to practice many math skills today. They are small, circle shaped chocolate candies that have a lower case "m" printed on them. Yep, you guessed it....M&M's!!! We each received a cup filled with M&M's and a paper plate. We viewed our Smartboard and listened to the "The M&M's Counting Book"....and completed different tasks as we went through the book. We followed the directions as we first counted out a certain number of a particular color and put them on our plate. We then formed them into a slant line. We also used our m&m's to make shapes as well! We put all of our m&m's back into our cups and returned to our seats for more math fun. We each received an acitivity sheet and sorted our m&m's by color. Our next task was to count to see how many of each color we had and write down the corresponding number. We compared to see which color had more or less than another. We did some excellent math work. Check our folders to see :) Then came the best part.......eating them!! Yummy in our tummies!!
Our M table had the wonderful additions of another mermaid and a menu today!! One more day left, might we see a minion, a mitten or maybe a marshmallow?
We munched on our morning snacks, then we got busy with our center time activities. Before we knew it, lunch time was upon us. After lunch we had some fun in the gym as we put those large motor skills to work. Ms. Gorman was down there and let us use her hula hoops! Once we returned to the classroom, we enjoyed listening to the popular story "If You Give Mouse a Cookie". If a little mouse shows up at your house, you might want to give him a cookie. If you give him a cookie, he's going to ask for a glass of milk. Then he'll want to look in a mirror to make sure he doesn't have a milk mustache, and then he'll ask for a pair of scissors to give himself a trim.....We laughed at that silly mouse and all the things that happened all because of that cookie! We will revisit this story tomorrow.
We relaxed our minds and bodies during nap time, and then we rounded out the day finishing up our table-top activities for this week. We prepared for dismissal as we packed up our belongings, prayed, and sang our goodbyes :)
Wednesday, January 19, 2022
Well, today we definitely did some "monkeying" around! Yes, we focused on monkeys today and learned some new things about them. We first discussed what we already know about those silly "M" creatures....they swing, climb, have long tails, and like to eat bananas. We watched a short video and learned that they are very smart, they eat almost dayeverything - fruits, vegetables, meat, and even bugs! They like to keep each other clean by picking out bugs that are in their hair and they do not like to swim. When we returned to our seats, we refined our small motor skills as we made an adorable monkey craft. First we colored a large paper plate brown, then we carefully cut out the face and ears and glued them into place. Finally we added some eyes and a happy smile. They look fantastic!
These kids are doing quite "M"arvelous job with our letter M table - today we added Mickey Mouse (that's a double m), another magnet, some more milk, a mirror, another monkey, a man, and 2 mermaids, Impressive!!
After our morning snack, we lined up and made our way downstairs for gym class. Ms. Gorman had a few activities ready for us to engage in. We had much fun and got lots of exercise with our friends in Pre-K 2. Once we returned to the classroom, we got busy at our centers. The children are creating some really cool marble paintings this week!
We enjoyed our lunches and free play time soon followed. Afterward, the monkey theme continued as we listened to the story "I am a Little Monkey" - which showed us what life is like for a little monkey in the forest. The little monkey likes his life in the forest with his family most of the time- they stay together, clean each other, play together, etc. But sometimes he gets scared when large animals, like cheetahs, are around. It's a good thing monkeys are good climbers - it's a smart way to escape from danger. Next we got up, spread out, and did some funny monkey moves and sounds as we did the monkey dance.
We settled in for a nice, quiet rest time, then we participated in the rotation of table top activities. We packed up our belongings, said our prayers to bless the end of our day, and sang our friendly goodbyes :) Tomorrow we look forward to some M&M math fun :)
Tuesday, January 18, 2022
I hope everyone enjoyed the long weekend :)
Our letter M table is already looking quite "M"agnificent!!! On it sits 2 monkeys, Minnie Mouse (that's a double M), a letter M magnet, Mario from Super Mario Bros, a bag of muffins, and some milk. Yay!!
We were introduced to the letter M and our new number of the week, the #13. We listened for that initial /m/ sound as we looked at several m pictures, and then tested our memory skills when we tried to figure out which m picture was missing from the group. We got up and moved as we watched our letter m bounce patrol video - singing and dancing along to it. We also learned how to sign the letter m - that one is a bit tricky! We returned to our seats and practiced reading the 4 "M is for.." sentences together, then found and circled only the pictures with the initial /m/ sound on the opposite side. Great work!
Snack time was up next, then we got busy with our center time activities. This week we will be working on the following activities in small groups: Tracing and printing upper and lower case Mm's in our letter books, printing the #13 and counting out 13 pieces of cheese for the mouse, making some unique looking marble paintings, and i-pad practice.
We gathered on the rug for God's Time and we're continuing our unit on "God's Gift of our World", and today we focused on how God made the birds in our world to enjoy. We looked at many pictures of various kinds of birds and we could easily see that they come in all sizes and colors. We learned that the ostrich is the largest bird and can run very fast. When we returned to our seats, we completed the first side of the activity page for this lesson.
Lunch time was yummy in our tummies, and then some free play time followed. Next we were happy to make our way downstairs to the gym to stretch our legs and exert some energy. Before resting, we gathered on the rug to watch an important video. We learned that our school is participating in an on-line fundraiser called "Reading for Education". Your child will win a wild republic hugger mystery prize just for participating (no purchase necessary). Just read the info in the large envelope in your child's folder, then go to www.rfe.net to get signed up. Send e-mails to friends and family members to shop at the on-line store (this is how additional prizes are won). Fill in your child's prize code from the confirmation email you will receive on the front of the envelope and return it TOMORROW. Every student who returns the completed envelope tomorrow will receive a prize.
We rested peacefully, then participated in our table top activities for this week, which include: filling upper M's with macaroni, forming upper and lower case letters with clay, and first and last name-writing practice . These will rotate daily.
We wrapped up our day by packing up backpacks, singing goodbyes, and praying to our guardian angels. Have a great night.....and don't forget to review and complete the fundraising packet in your child's folder.
Friday, January 14, 2022
Happy Friday!!
Today we participated in our first January scholastic lesson titled "Do You Know About Snow?" We talked about some of things we know about snow (it's white, it falls from the sky, we can play in it, etc) We watched the informational video for this lesson and found it that snowflakes come from the clouds. They are little drops of water that freeze. We also learned that in some places in our world, where the weather doesn't get too cold, it doesn't snow. We all agreed that we're happy to live in a place where it does because snow is fun. We returned to our seats and read through our booklets together, then we completed the back page by identifying numbers and drawing the corresponding number of buttons on the snowmen's bellies. We also completed a sequencing activity where we had to cut out 5 snowman pictures and put them in the proper order. Take a look in our folders to see our great work!
We munched on our morning snacks, then we finished up our center time activities for this week. Next we gathered on the rug for a taste-testing activity. It was time to taste something for the letter L......lemons!! We each received a small piece and first we smelled it - and we all agreed that lemons have a very strong smell. We noticed that many of our pieces had seeds in them. We were reminded that lemons are one of the many wonderful things that grow from God's wonderful earth. Next it was time to taste and there were many predictions that it was going to be sour. Indeed they were!! We each had the chance to lick our lemon and we were able to capture their faces with a picture!! I will be sending them to you on classdojo. Some of us took a quick lick and were done. Others of us were licking away and really enjoyed them. See if your little one can tell you about it.
Ms. McGrogan wasn't in school today, but we were able to get downstairs to the gym and Ms. Gorman played a few games with us before lunch.
After lunch we listened to a beautifully-illustrated story titled "God's Dream" by Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Douglas Carlton Abrams. This story has a lovely message....that involves people who reach out and hold each other's hands, but sometimes they get angry and hurt each other - and say they're sorry and forgive. It's a wish that everyone will see they are brothers and sisters, no matter what language they speak, no matter the shade of their skin. This message sounded quite familiar to us, because it's the very same message Dr. Martin Luther King believed in and dreamed about. He had a dream that everyone could be friends. This prompted an important discussion about how we, too, can help to make God's dream and MLK's dream come true...and I must say that their responses were quite endearing (by being a good helper, by being kind to people, by being good listeners, by making people feel better if they're sad or hurt). Before rest time we just had to sing the song we learned about Martin Luther King one last time. Check it out on youtube if you get the chance!
Please remember that there is no school on Monday due to the observance of the Martin Luther King holiday. Have a happy and safe weekend!
Thursday, January 13, 2022
After our usual morning routine, we were engaged in many ladybug activities today! During our morning lesson, we played a game where we each received a ladybug with spots on it and our task was to find the leaf with the corresponding number on it. Next, we talked about what we already know about ladybugs, then we watched an interesting video clip on our SMARTboard to learn a bit more. We found out that ladybugs are usually red, but can also be brown, orange, yellow, black, grey, and even pink! We also learned that they have 6 legs, live in gardens and grassy areas, and can not hurt us. Afterwards we enjoyed making a cute little ladybug craft. We colored, cut, glued and counted carefully. We each counted out 6 legs and 12 spots to glue onto them. What Lovely Ladybugs!!! We used them to act out a song called "Ladybug, Ladybug" - where we had to make our ladybug land on different body parts and then fly away. They are hanging in the classroom and will be sent home tomorrow.
Guess what "l"eaped onto our L table? A ladder, some lollipops, legos, lipstick, another lemon and a lime! Love it :)
We enjoyed our morning snacks, then we located our name tags and worked in small groups at our centers. Afterward we gathered for "God's Time" and we recalled how God has given us some wonderful gifts to enjoy in our world, such as water, the earth, and plants. We continued to work on our creation pictures. Last week we started with water. Today we added a piece of land on the earth, and a few trees. We will add a few more things next week. Before lunch, we went downstairs with our friends in Pre-K 2 and listened to Mrs. Dunfee read us a few stories.
After lunch we stretched our legs in the gym for a bit, then we read another story about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. We learned that when he was a boy he grew up in a time when people weren't treated fairly just because of the color of their skin. We discussed how Dr. King helped people work together to make changes, how he helped to change the world without fighting. We talked about his message of peace, caring, and unity. We also learned a song called "Sing About Martin" - check it out on youtube if you get the chance, I'm sure your little one will sing it for you :)
We relaxed and rested for a bit, then we rounded out our day finishing up our table top activities for this week. We packed up backpacks, prayed, sang goodbyes and ended another great day in Pre-K!
*Tomorrow the children may wear Eagles shirts and/or accessories in the hopes that they win the game on Sunday.
Tuesday, January 11, 2022
During our morning lesson we focused on our # of the week, the # 12. We talked about how there are 12 months in a year, 12 numbers on a clock, and 12 eggs in a dozen. We watched a #12 Sesame Street podcast on our SMARTboard and got up and stamped 12 times. Next we looked at a group of dominoes to see if we could point out the one with 12 dots on it. We repeated this activity several times and it didn't take us long to realize that the domino with 6 on top and 6 on the bottom makes 12! Afterwards, we practiced how to trace and print the #12 and then had to find and circle the dominoes with 12 dots on it. Great counting, everyone :)
I am happy to report that our letter L table is "L"oading up with L items....this morning we welcomed another lamp, 2 more lemons, a leaf, two lions (and one of them was on a log...that's s double L), and Luigi from Mario Bros. Wow!!
After enjoying our morning snacks, we got busy with our center time activities. Afterward, we gathered for God's Time and continued our lesson on God's wonderful gifts of earth and plants. We reviewed some of the delicious foods we get from plants. We finished up the activity sheet that we started yesterday by helping the farmer find the hidden crops in the picture.
Lunch time hit the spot, then the all-favorite free play time followed. Afterward we enjoyed a good stretch of the legs in the gym, and then gathered on the rug for story time. We sat and listened to a wonderful story about Martin Luther King, Jr. We learned that Martin Luther King was a great man and how his words and peaceful actions changed the way people thought - and helped to change the world. We will be learning more about him throughout the week.
After a quiet rest time, we participated in the rotation of table-top activities that we started yesterday before preparing for dismissal. See you tomorrow!
Monday, January 10, 2022
Thanks to those of you who were able to send some snow pics from the snow day on Friday :)
It's L week, and so far our letter L table has on it a lamp and a lemon. There are many possibilities for this letter so we hope to see few more each day :) Of course our 3 "L" friends, Leonardo, Luna, and Lavinia all added their letter people on there as well.
During our morning lesson we were introduced to our new # (12) and our new letter (Ll). We sounded out, signed, and used our pointer fingers to make the letter L in the air. We enjoyed watching and singing along to the letter Ll Bounce Patrol video on our SMARTboard too. We looked at several pictures of things that begin with the initial /l/ sound, and then our memory skills were tested as we tried to figure out which L pictures were missing from the group. On our activity page, we read (as a group) the 4 "L" sentences on the page. When we practice reading these sentences, we are learning how to blend sounds together, identify basic sight words, and left to right progression while sliding our pointer finger across the line. Please encourage your child to read these sentences for you at home :)
We had a bathroom break and then enjoyed our morning snacks. We then made our way to our centers - in small groups this week we will be working on tracing and printing upper and lower case Ll's, counting items and writing the corresponding # , coloring and cutting out lions - and practicing our patterning skills as we glue on his mane, and refining many skills on the i-pads.
Afterward we gathered on the rug for God's Time. We are continuing our unit on "God's Gift of our World". We recalled how last week we discussed God's Gift of water. This week we will be focusing on God's Gifts of Earth and Plants. We talked about how our plants grow from seeds planted in the earth - and we recalled when we planted grass seeds in our cups full of soil. We talked about how farmers use God's gifts to grow good things for us. We looked at fruits and vegetables from our kitchen area, such as apples, oranges, lemons, corn and cucumbers. We discussed how farmers grow these foods in the earth from seeds to full-grown vegetables or fruits and then send them to the stores where we can buy them. When we returned to our seats, we worked on the activity sheet for this lesson. We saw our friend Carlos first planting seeds, then watering them. Next he was carrying the pumpkin and our task was to finish the story. We were encouraged to think about what Carlos was going to do with his pumpkin. Some of our ideas were make a pumpkin pie, carve a jack-o-lantern, and paint it. We will complete this activity sheet tomorrow.
After lunch and some free play time, we were happy to make our way downstairs to the gym to get a good stretch of the legs! Before rest time we listened to an enjoyable lift-the-flap guessing story called "Do Lions Like Lettuce?" Yes, we were able to quickly see all of those L's! Everyone knows that lions don't like lettuce, but can you guess who does? We were able to see by lifting the flaps to find the answer.
After rest time, we participated in our table top activities for this week, which include: painting with water paints, filling up a large upper case L with lollipops, and play-do. We packed up, prayed, sang our goodbyes and went on our merry way.
Thursday, January 6, 2022
Happy Thursday!
During circle time this morning, we talked about the winter season. We discussed some of the wonderful changes winter time brings, and learned a few winter songs as well. We took a look at our tree outside of our classroom and noticed that the branches are all empty. All of those colorful leaves that were there in the fall time have disappeared!
We listened to a delightful story called "The Snowman", by Raymond Briggs. In this story, me met a boy named James who builds a snowman, which, for one magical night, comes to life!!
We noticed that our hallway display is empty now that all of our elves have been taken down and sent home. We were asked to think about something new that we could make for winter....and it didn't take too long for us to guess "a snowman"! This was a fun craft and math activity rolled into one. We counted out the letters of our first names (some had 4,5,6,7, 8 and even 9!) The # of snowballs we used to make our snowmen matched the # of letters in our first names. As a result, some are short, some are tall, and all look fantastic! We added features and some snowflakes with our crayons. These wonderful winter creations will be displayed in our hallway for all to see :)
After a bathroom break and snack time, we located our name tags and worked in small groups at our centers. Lunch time was yummy in our tummies, then free play time followed. Before resting, we gathered on the rug and watched the movie version of the "The Snowman" story that we read earlier. This entertaining video has beautiful music and no dialogue. We really enjoyed it and I encourage you to re-watch it with your child if you get the chance. It's under 30 minutes on youtube.
We rested peacefully, then we got busy with the rotation of table top activities before packing up backpacks and ending this nice day together! I sent a message on class dojo - school will be closed tomorrow due to the expected snowfall. If you can, I would love to see a picture of your child playing in the snow. You can send it on class dojo or via email.
Have a nice weekend and be safe out there!
Wednesday, January 5, 2022
Can you believe that we added the #67 to our vegetable garden today? That's right, we have been in Pre-K for 67 days! We use the numbers on this chart to help us practice counting by 10's....and we are getting quite good at it.
Our "K" table now has a key, some ketchup, and some kiwi on it. 2 more days left....might we see a Hershey Kiss, a Kit-Kat, or a kitten before Friday?
Our morning lesson focused on a cute and interesting K creature....Koalas!! First we brainstormed what we already know about them and we agreed that they are gray, they like to climb trees and they eat leaves. We then watched an informational video all about koalas and learned some interesting new facts. Even though many people call them koala bears, they are not bears at all!! They are marsupials and have a pouch like a kangaroo. We learned that the word "koala" means "no drink". Believe it or not, they don't need to drink any water because the leaves they eat have enough water in them. We also learned that a baby koala is called a joey and clings to its mother's back until it's ready to be on its own. We returned to our seats and made an adorable koala craft. We put our fine motor skills to work as we cut out the body, head, ears, and arms. We each received a large piece of paper and glued the tree on first. Next we glued on the koala and made him hang onto the tree. We added facial features and leaves and they look spectacular!! We even wrote the word "k-o-a-l-a" on our papers. Excellent work! They are hanging in our classroom for all to see! We also took a look at a live camera recording of koalas at the San Diego Zoo on our Smartboard.
After a bathroom break and snack time, we located our name tags and worked in small groups at our centers. Lunch time was yummy in our tummies, then free play time followed. Afterward we were happy to make our way downstairs to the gym for some exercise.
We rested peacefully, then we got busy with the rotation of table top activities before packing up backpacks and ending this nice day together! See you tomorrow :)
Tuesday, January 4, 2022
"Old King Cole was a merry old soul
And a merry old soul was he,
He called for his pipe, he called for his bowl
And he called for his fiddler's three"
This morning we recited and sang the nursery rhyme "Old King Cole" for the letter K. We watched the nursery rhyme "come alive" when we viewed a short video on our SMARTboard about Old King Cole - and some other nursery rhyme characters were in it as well. It was an entertaining segment with props, singing, and dancing. We also practiced counting from 1-11. Once we returned to our seats, we each received an activity page with a king's crown on it. First, we colored it then we decorated it with jewels. But, we had to be good counters for this one.....we counted out and glued 11 jewels onto our crowns - Great counting was done by all!
We munched on our morning snacks while chatting with friends, then we got busy with our center time activities. Afterward, we gathered for God's time and continued our lesson on God's Gift of Water. Today we discussed how we can help keep the water God made fresh and clean. We talked about how God gives us water to enjoy and use, but it is our responsibility to take care of it and keep it clean. We then completed the activity page for this lesson by putting an "x" on all of the objects that should not be in the underwater scene. Check our folders to see. We also began a creation picture, which we will continue to work on throughout this unit. Today we added water to our picture.
Before lunch we went downstairs to the gym to stretch our legs and get some good exercise. After lunch and free play time, we continued our "king" theme from earlier and listened to an entertaining tale called "The Tiny King" - about a tiny king who lived in a great big, wonderful castle, but was sad and lonely all by himself - until one day he fell in love with a big princess and he asked her to be his queen. Soon the castle was filled with lots of children and now everything is fun and enjoyable. The message is a beautiful one - that life is better when you share it with the ones you love. Next we were all encouraged to think about what rule we would enforce if we were to be king for a day. We had the chance to stand in front of the class (wearing a king's crown) to announce our rule, complete with the royal trumpet fanfare! I must say that we had many interesting rules such as "Everyone must"......"swim in the pool, play, be nice and share, do a silly dance, play basketball, and ride a horse". Wow, what a happy and fun kingdom it would be indeed!!
Rest time was quiet and peaceful, then we got busy with our table-top activities for this week - which include: filling up the letter K with kites, play-do and making pictures with markers. We ended our day with smiles as we prayed and sang goodbye to our friends and teachers.
2022 is already off to a great start here in Pre-K!!
Monday, January 3, 2022
Hello and Happy New Year! I hope everyone had time to relax over the holidays. This morning we noticed some classroom changes....snowflakes now hang throughout the room, our attendance tree is now being filled up with snowflakes instead of leaves, and our calendar shows a brand new month and year! After completing our morning activities we were eager to share stories during circle time. It sounds like all of these kids made Santa's "nice" list after hearing all about their presents.
We "kicked" off K week with our letter K bounce patrol video on our SMARTboard- we know this tune so well now that we sing the entire thing. We sounded out, traced, printed, and signed the letter Kk. Our friend Kaylee made her letter person to add to our K table, but she stands alone. Hopefully we'll see some K items on there tomorrow. We were also introduced to our new # of the week, # 11.
After munching on our morning snacks, we got busy in small groups at our centers. This week we will be tracing and printing upper and lower case Kk's in our letter books, counting out and gluing 11 kites in the sky, making an adorable Hershey "K"iss craft, and i-pad practice.
Before lunch, we gathered on the rug for "God's Time". We are beginning a new unit called "God's Gift of our World". Today's lesson focused on God's precious gift of water. We discussed the many ways water helps us - we love to swim and play in water, we use water to quench our thirst, we use water to clean ourselves when we take a bath or shower, to brush our teeth, and water helps to make many things grow. We read the short story "Water is Everywhere" and then returned to our seats and completed the first side of the activity page for this lesson.
After lunch we gathered on the rug and listened to the story "How Kids Grow" - which was all about what kids can accomplish from birth to age 7. This prompted a nice discussion about the many things we have learned to do. We talked about how the more we grow, the more we can do! We also discussed some things we'd like to learn to do when we get a bit older and stronger....such as ride a skateboard, ride a bike with no training wheels, cartwheels, and even drive a car!.
We rested our minds and bodies while listening to some relaxing music, then we rounded out our day with the use of dry erase markers and whiteboards. Our task was to make upper and lower case Kk's and we all made a great effort! We prepared for dismissal and our day ended with prayers and singing goodbyes.
dnesday, December 22, 2021
Wow, we had a busy, fun-filled day - which included a Christmas themed gym class and our "Happy Birthday Baby Jesus" celebration!
Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and new year filled with love, peace, and happiness! I am so much looking forward to sharing new experiences with your little ones when we return.
Have a happy and safe holiday and see you in 2022!! Classes resume on Monday 1/3/22
Monday, December 20, 2021
Happy 4th week of Advent! We noticed that our classroom Advent wreath now has 4 flames up as we are getting super close to that special day. Just 5 more days till we celebrate Jesus' birthday.
After our morning meeting and singing some of our favorite Christmas tunes, we got busy working on a special Christmas ornament. Our task was to fill the branches with foam sticker ornaments. We put a bright, sparkly star at the top and even signed our name on it. We were told that our pictures will be added and they will be laminated to keep them from ripping. Lastly, a piece of yarn will be strung through a hole. These will be a beautiful keepsake ornament that can be hung on the tree for years to come!
We enjoyed our morning snacks and then located our name tags for center time. During this time, we were each called to add some finishing touches to the handprint trees we started last week. We used our thumbprints to make colorful lights all over the tree and we painted the bottom part brown. After adding a bright star at the top, our artwork was complete! Wait until you see how nice they look :) They will be sent home once all have dried.
Before lunch, we revisited the story of the first Christmas. We were even able to tell about it just by seeing the pages of the story. When we returned to our seats, we took the time to add the last flame to our Advent wreaths on our activity page. We talked about how we are now in the 4th and final week of Advent. We reviewed what the first three candles represent, then learned that the 4th purple candle represents "Love". We discussed how the best gift we can give baby Jesus for His birthday is to love one another - and we talked about several examples of how we can do this.
We were quite excited about our hot dog lunch!! We each received a hot dog and a bag of chips and it was delicious! Thanks to the Home and School Association for providing it for us. After some free free play time, we joined our friends in Pre-K 2 and got some good exercise in the gym. When we returned to the classroom, we did some singin' and dancin' to "Happy Birthday Baby Jesus", which we will be singing on Wednesday at our celebration.
We settled in for a relaxing rest time, then before we knew it we were preparing for dismissal!
Tomorrow we look forward to a pizza lunch provided by our wonderful classroom aides, Ms. Denise, Mrs. Sawyer, and Mrs. Towey.
Wednesday 12/22 is our last day before Christmas break and is a full day of school. We will have our "Happy Birthday Baby Jesus celebration" on this day. We return on Monday, 1/3/22!
Friday, December 17, 2021
The magic number is now down to 8....just 8 days till Christmas!!
During our morning lesson we played a letter game that had us practicing our letter identification and letter sounds skills. There was a very large picture of Santa with various upper case letters in his beard. Our first task was to place the appropriate lower case letter on top of the upper case. During the second round our task was to identify a picture and place it on top of the letter it begins with. Great work!
When we returned to our seats we finished up our Nativity scene projects that we have been working so hard on. We were each given a large piece of blue construction paper. We added 4 popsicle sticks to form the stable, then we found our pictures of the Holy Family and placed them inside the stable. Next we added the shepherds, the animals, the angel and big, bright star. What lovely scenes we created! Check our folders to see our beautiful work!
We had a nice morning snack, then we finished up our center activities for this week. We all are looking forward to sprinkling that reindeer food outside our homes on Christmas Eve! Before we knew it, we were on our way downstairs for music class with Ms. McGrogan.
After enjoying our lunches and some free play time, we went outside on this unusually warm day and got a good stretch of the legs with our friends in Pre-K 2. Before resting we gathered on the rug and listened to the delightful Christmas story called "Mooseltoe". A father moose prepares for Christmas by baking, decorating, sending cards, buying and wrapping presents - but when he forgets to get a Christmas tree and can't find one anywhere, he has to think of what else he can use instead! See if your little one can tell you about it.
We rested while listening to some peaceful Christmas music, then we prepared for dismissal and ended this busy day with prayers and goodbyes.
REMINDERS:
This Monday, 12/20 a hot dog lunch will be provided for the children by the Home and School Association. This includes 1 hot dog and a bag of chips.
On Tuesday, 12/21 our classroom assistants will be providing a pizza lunch for the Pre-K kids.
So no need to pack a lunch on Monday or Tuesday, unless your child won't eat the lunch being provided.
On Wednesday, 12/22 we will have our "Happy Birthday Baby Jesus" celebration. We are asking for some cupcake donations, party hats, juice boxes, and chips. Please let me know if you can contribute :)
Christmas vacation starts at the end of the school day on Wednesday 12/22. Classes resume on Monday, 1/3/22.
Have a great weekend!
Thursday, December 16, 2021
Happy Thursday!
We are as busy as Santa's elves as we have been working hard on many special Christmas projects. This morning we read the story "The Christmas Angel", about a little angel who is so excited to join the other angels in their journey to earth to see baby Jesus in the manger. He even thinks of a unique and special gift, a beautiful song, that he can sing to Him. How sad the little angel was when he found out his wings were too small and he couldn't go. He wound up falling off of a cloud while waiting for the other angels to return, and he landed near a tent. He was looking for warmth so he tiptoed inside the tent and found 3 men sleeping with a bag of crowns near them. The little angel soon discovered that these 3 men were the three kings, and when they discovered him they decided to take the little angel along on their journey to Bethlehem. When the little angel entered the stable, he walked right up to the newborn baby Jesus and sang his special song....and the baby smiled. The other angels were there too and the little angel joined them as they returned to Heaven. We enjoyed this story and then returned to our seats to finish our angel projects that we started yesterday. We added some facial features, the wings, and decorated the body. They are hanging in our classroom and look beautiful!
After our morning snack, we worked in small groups at our centers. Afterward we joined our Pre-K 2 friends for library time with Mrs. Dunfee. We chatted with friends as we munched on our lunches, then free play time followed. Afterward, we played outside and enjoyed the fresh air and sunshine.
After rest time, we rounded out our day with some play-do fun. We used some Christmas cookie cutters to make Christmas cookies!! See you tomorrow :)
Wednesday, December 15, 2021
Our Christmas countdown is now at 10....and we are certainly excited about it here in Pre-K!! Our Christmas table is filled with pretty ornaments, reindeer, a Santa hat and an elf hat, and even a few Santa's.
This morning we read a beautiful story called "The Story of Mary", which told how she met an angel named Gabriel, traveled to Bethlehem, and had her baby in a stable. This book had beautiful and brightly colored artwork and illustrations! When we returned to our seats we started working on a special "angel" project. We learned that the white handprints that we made yesterday will become our angel's wings. We plan on finishing these tomorrow.
We had a nice morning snack, then we traveled downstairs to see Ms. Gorman for gym class. We got lots of exercise while we participated in some relay games and also played a fun tag game called "Who let the dogs out".
Before lunch we were busy with our center time activities. Afterwards we went outside and enjoyed the fresh air and sunshine with our Pre-K 2 friends. Upon returning to the classroom, we finished coloring the pictures to our Nativity scene project while listening to the "Happy Birthday, Baby Jesus" song. Tomorrow we will cut them out!
We calmed our minds and bodies while we rested for a bit, then we wrapped up our day looking at some of our new Christmas books in our classroom library. Tomorrow we look forward to more Christmas activities :)
Tuesday, December 14, 2021
During our morning lesson, we reviewed our color words, and we are definitely getting better at sounding out letters to help us figure out words. When we returned to our seats, we completed a "Holiday Colors" worksheet where we had to practice those color recognition skills by coloring the ornaments the tree the appropriate color. The color word was inside each ornament. Check our folders to see our great work!
We munched on our morning snacks, then got busy with our center time activities. During this time, we were called to have our hands painted white for yet another special Christmas project we will be working on this week.
During God's Time, we re-told the Christmas story by looking at the pictures of this special book. We continued coloring a few more pictures from the Nativity scene that we started yesterday. Tomorrow we plan on finishing them, then cut them out. We also took the time to add the next flame on top of the pink candle on our Advent wreaths, which represents the candle of joy. We discussed how the word joy means happiness and excitement, and how our hearts are filled with joy during this beautiful Advent season as we await Jesus' birthday. We checked the calendar and our countdown is at 11 :)
After lunch and some free play time, we got a good stretch of the legs downstairs in the gym with our friends in Pre-K 2. Before resting, we listened to the entertaining tale of "Pete the Cat Saves Christmas" - when Santa falls ill he asks his friend Pete the Cat to help deliver presents to all the good boys and girls on his list. Although it was a tall task, Pete kept reminding himself "And although I am small, at Christmas we give, so I'll give it my all".
We rounded out our day with some first and last name writing practice. We packed up our backpacks, gathered our belongings, and ended another great day in Pre-K!
Monday, December 13, 2021
It was so nice meeting with you all on Friday! I am so proud of each and every one of these little ones and the progress they are making :)
Happy third week of Advent! During circle time this morning, we took a look at our classroom Advent wreath and noticed that there are now 3 candles lit. We learned that the pink candle's flame is up, the candle that represents "joy". Our Christmas countdown revealed just 12 more days till that special day....and we are super excited about it! Many of us are very eager to find our classroom elf "Jingle" upon arrival - and he always seems to find a good spot! We have been practicing how to use positional words to describe where he is hiding instead of just pointing to him (such as above, under, behind, inside, etc...) See if your little one can tell you where our silly elf was today!
During our morning lesson we reviewed our numbers from 1 to 10. We practiced counting from 1-10, then backwards from 10 -1. We tested our memory skills as we participated in a number memory game, where we had to flip over a card, identify the number, then try to find its match. When we returned to our seats our first task was to match a group of objects with the corresponding number, then on the opposite side our task was to count the objects in each row and write the number. Great work!!
After enjoying our morning snacks, we got busy with our center time activities for this week, which include: making some reindeer food to sprinkle outside our houses on Christmas Eve, a Christmas activity sheet that reinforces our shape recognition, and making a special hand print Christmas art project.
Before lunch, we gathered for God's Time and reviewed the Christmas story and what "Nativity" means. Our classroom Nativity set is now out in the classroom and we recalled the events of what happened on that special night so long ago. We started coloring a few pictures for our Nativity scene project that we will be working on this week.
After a relaxing rest time, we rounded out the day manipulating some clay. We were encouraged to pick any letter that we've worked on so far and make the upper and lower case form of it. Many of us did this with no assistance at all. Nicely done! We prepared for dismissal and sang our goodbyes to friends and teachers (and Jingle too!)
Thursday, December 9, 2021
We participated in a Scholastic lesson this morning titled "Where Are Winter Animals?" We learned that hibernation means deep winter sleep and this lesson focused on how some animals stay awake in the winter and some prepare for hibernation. We watched an informational video about the many types of animals/creatures that hibernate and the places they tend to do so. We even played a SMARTboard interactive game where we had to find the hidden hibernators! When we returned to our seats we read through our activity book together and completed the activity on the back page. We also completed a counting activity where we had to identify the number on the bear's belly and then glue the corresponding number of berries on the tree next to him. Check our folders to see our wonderful work!
We had a nice morning snack, and then we were quite eager to go downstairs for music class with our Pre-K 2 friends. Today Ms. McGrogan recorded us singing and playing instruments to "Jingle Bells" for a special Christmas video she is making. We did a fantastic job!!!
Upon returning to the classroom, we worked in small groups at our centers. After enjoying our lunches and some free play time, we gathered on the rug for God's Time. We listened to the story "Room for a Little One" - a beautiful story of that special night when baby Jesus was born. Before resting we colored a picture that reads "J is for Jesus" while listening to what has become one of our favorite Christmas songs - "Happy Birthday, Baby Jesus"
After resting while listening to some peaceful Christmas songs, we rounded out our day finishing up the rotation of table top activities.
Next week, we will not have a new letter or number as we will be involved in many Christmas themed learning activities. Our letter table will be a Christmas table, so the children are encouraged to bring in anything Christmas related.
REMINDER:
There are NO CLASSES tomorrow for Pre-K due to conferences taking place. Please arrive at your scheduled time and enter through the Pre-K doors as usual. I'm looking forward to speaking with you :)
Wednesday, December 8, 2021
J is for Jellyfish and we learned some interesting jellyfish facts today. We already knew that they live in the ocean and that they sting, but we didn't know that they can be purple, blue, pink, yellow, or clear....and some of them can even glow! We also learned that they do not have eyes, a brain or a heart (who knew?) - but they do have a mouth!! Some are small, some are large, and they all have long tentacles that look like strings. Some of us talked about our own experiences with jellyfish and we were reminded that we should never touch one or get too close to one. When we returned to our seats, we created our own jellyfish craft. First we chose a color a real jellyfish could be and we colored a portion of a paper plate. Next we used our scissors to cut it out. We then flipped it over and glued on many long streamer pieces for the tentacles. Finally, we added large eyes and a mouth We know that they don't really have eyes, but we like how they look with them. We did a fantastic job and they are hanging in the classroom for all to see!
We munched on our morning snacks, then we were off to gym class. After some warm up exercises, Ms. Gorman set up 3 stations for us to participate in. One had us practicing our balancing skills, another one had us practicing how to tumble, and the in remaining one we used our hands and paddles to keep balloons in the air. Always fun!! Upon returning to the classroom, we got busy with our center time activities.
Lunch time was yummy, then we gathered on the rug and took a peek at our special classroom Nativity set. We saw and touched the stable, Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus, and the animals. We took the time to discuss that today, December 8th, is the special day that happened so long ago when the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and asked her to be the mother of God's son Jesus. Before settling down for rest time, we did a bit of movement to one of our favorite dances....pop-see-ko!
Afterwards, we participated in the rotation of table top activities that we started yesterday. We gathered our belongings, packed up, prayed and sang our goodbyes :)
REMINDER:
There are no classes for Pre-K this Friday due to progress report conferences. I sent a confirmation of our conference time on the class dojo app yesterday. Please let me know if you are unable to make the time you have been given.
Tuesday, December 7, 2021
Well our J table is now "J"umping with J items.....we have a pair of jeans, a jump rope, a jaguar, a jeep, a juice box and a jar! Very nice! J is also for our silly elf "Jingle" who was in a tricky spot this morning, but we eventually found him!
Today we focused on the number 10. We talked about how we have 10 fingers, 10 toes, and it's the first number we've worked on that has 2 digits in it. We participated in a jellybean game where our task was to find the color word that matched the jellybean color. We used our color board to guide us and we did a great job! When we returned to our seats we got busy tracing and printing the number 10, then counted out 10 jellybeans to glue in the basket on our activity sheets. Nice counting was done by all :)
After a bathroom break and our morning snacks, we located our name tags for center time. Before lunch we were called to help decorate our Christmas tree. Wow - what wonderful helpers! Our tree is looking tree-mendous - filled with strings of popcorn, lights, ornaments, and candy canes. Once we filled it up, we all went out to see the finished product. We took some guesses as to what was going to be placed at the tip-top - many of us thought it was going to be an angel or star. But then we saw that a beautiful red and gold was put up there. We all counted to 3 as we watched it get plugged in and.....Wow! We helped decorate a wonderful Christmas tree :)
After lunch and some free play time, we traveled down to the gym. J if for jump rope and while we were down there, some of us were practicing how to do it! Ms. Gorman let us use some of her jump ropes to practice. It's tricky and takes some practice, but we made a great effort!
During God's Time, we reviewed the story of the first Christmas. We were introduced to the word "Nativity" and learned that it refers to the birth of Jesus. We looked at a magnet Nativity scene that we have in our classroom and tomorrow we will take a look at another Nativity set that we can play with. We were told that we will be starting a special Nativity scene project this week.
We rested peacefully, then began our table top activities for this week, which include: filling up upper case J's with jellybeans, stringing beads to make patterns, and manipulating clay. We packed up our belongings, prayed, sang goodbyes and ended this nice to together with smiles.
REMINDER: There are no classes this Friday, 12/10 due to progress report conferences. You will receive a message on class dojo to confirm the time for our meeting.
Monday, December 6, 2021
Happy 2nd week of Advent! We were quick to notice that the classroom now has many Christmas decorations up and we especially noticed the Christmas tree right outside our classroom. Jingle the elf was in a very tricky spot this morning, but eventually we all located him!
Hooray for "J" - it's J week!! Unfortunately our J table is empty so far....maybe we will see some jello, a jump rope, a jar or maybe a pair of jeans over the course of the week? Of course we acknowledged our spritely elf Jingle, whose name begins with J. And the most precious J name - J of course is for Jesus.
During our morning lesson, we were introduced to the letter Jj and the number 10. We took a look at the Bounce Patrol video for Jj and practiced how to trace, print, sound out, and sign it. We looked at several pictures and listened for that initial /j/ sound. We even read some J sentences on our activity sheets - take a look in your child's folder and see if he/she can read them for you.
We had a nice morning snack, then we got busy with our center time activities for this week, which include: tracing and printing upper and lower case Jj's in our letter books, counting and writing numbers from 1-10, and making a "Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer" craft for our hallway display. After lunch and some free play time, we enjoyed the fresh air and sunshine on this lovely day outside with our Pre-K 2 friends.
During God's Time, we gathered on the rug and listened to "The True Story of Santa Claus", by Paul Prokop. This is a charming picture book that skillfully weaves the real meaning of Christmas into the story of the saint (Saint Nicholas) who became Santa Claus. This beautiful story recognizes that Jesus is the focus of Christmas. We learned about Saint Nicholas's life and how he helped the poor , taught people about Jesus and how to be loving and trusting, and especially loved little children. We discussed how today, December 6th, is the feast day to honor this special man. We also took the time to "light" another candle on our Advent wreath. A paper flame was added to the second purple candle - the candle that represents "peace". We talked about ways to incorporate peace into our classroom and home life. We came up with several thoughtful responses to bring peace to one another in the classroom and at home with the family. We discussed how it's a good idea to listen when a parent/teacher/sibling/friend is talking. We show respect when we listen and not talk over someone. We also thought it good to sit quietly and not make a lot of noise when someone is speaking. We also recognized how following directions at school and at home can lead to a peaceful activity. We are going to try especially hard during these last weeks of Advent to say and do especially kind things. We discussed today how every time we do a kind act, we are giving Jesus a gift.
After a quiet and peaceful rest, we rounded out the day coloring a picture of St. Nicholas. We prepared for dismissal and packed up our backpacks. See you tomorrow!
Friday, December 3, 2021
Happy Friday and Happy Pajama Day!! The children looked adorable as they entered the classroom in their pj's today and were eager to show them off :) A HUGE thank you for those of you who sent a donation to CHOP.
Well, what an exciting day it was! We got right down to business this morning by drawing a picture for Santa. We were asked to draw one or two things that we would like Santa to get us this Christmas. After drawing, then we colored our pictures in. Great work! We were told that we were going to hold on to these special drawings to show Santa when we sit on his lap today. They are now in your child's folder.
After a quick morning meeting, we were on our way to Santa's Secret Shop with our 8th grade buddies. We each had a buddy to help us shop for presents and pick out snacks. Of course, we all had on our best smiles as we got our pictures taken with Santa!! It was such a fun time and we thank Ms. Guerin and her 8th grade class for helping us!!!
Once we returned to the classroom, we participated in our center time activities. Before we knew it, we were on our way to music class with Ms. McGrogan. Whew, what a busy morning!! When we returned to the classroom we were super excited to see that our classroom elf, "Jingle" finally arrived! Our friend Antonela was the first to spot him!! See if your little one can tell you where he was. I'm sure that "Jingle" will give Santa a good report tonight and we look forward to seeing where that silly elf will be next time.
After lunch, we were quite anxious to observe our ice cube tray from yesterday and took notice of the differences. After keeping our tray in the freezer overnight, our water changed into ice! We discussed how the freezing cold temperature changed our liquid into a solid. Next we used our ice cubes to do something we never knew we could do with ice.....paint! That's right - we painted with an ice cube with food coloring inside of it. We noticed that the longer we kept our ice cubes out, the more they melted - and then we discussed why. Check our folders to see our unique ice paintings!
Before resting, we gathered on the rug and watched a special movie on our SMARTboard called "An Elf's Story" - about a young scout elf named Chippy who is assigned by Santa to restore a 9 year old boy's belief in Christmas magic. Perfect for us to watch on the day of Jingle's arrival!
We settled in for a peaceful rest time and then prepared for dismissal.
Enjoy the weekend and see you Monday!
Thursday, December 2, 2021
"I scream, you scream
We all scream for Ice Cream!"
We had some ice cream fun today for the letter "Ii". During our morning lesson we talked about ice cream. First we discussed the many different toppings that can be added to ice cream - our list included strawberries, bananas, cherries, sprinkles, gummy bears, candy and cookies. Yum! Next we chose our favorite ice cream flavor and graphed the results. Once completed we discovered that our classroom likes chocolate the best with a total of 3 votes. Mint and strawberry were tied for second with 2 votes each. Orange sherbet came in 3rd with 1 vote and vanilla was liked the least with 0 votes. We used our math skills to compare which flavors had more/less/equal. Next we talked about the number "9" and put our fine motor and counting skills to work as we glued 9 scoops of ice cream on our cones (paper ones, that is!)
We enjoyed our snacks, then got busy with our center time activities. During God's Time, we reviewed the meaning of Advent. We sang our special Advent song and talked about how we get ready for Christmas by being kind and loving to one another....and we talked about how we can do this. We discussed how doing and saying kind things is one way of giving Jesus a birthday gift.
Before lunch, we made our way downstairs to the library where Mrs. Dunfee read us a few enjoyable Christmas stories. After lunch and some free play time, we stretched our legs in the gym and got some good exercise. Before resting, we listened to the song "Happy Birthday Baby Jesus", which we will practice often as we await His birthday.
We calmed our minds and bodies during rest time, then we completed our table-top activities for this week. Before leaving, we watched water being poured into an ice cube tray, and continued to watch as different food colors were dropped into them. What will happen to the water in our tray after keeping it in the freezer overnight and why? We will be doing some ice exploration tomorrow!
REMINDERS:
Tomorrow is Pajama Day and we will also be visiting Santa's Secret Shop!!!
Wednesday, December 1, 2021
Happy December!! This month promises to be an exciting one!
Can you believe that we added the #50 to our vegetable garden today? Yes, it's our 50th day of Pre-K!! The top half of our garden is filled - just 50 more days till our 100th day celebration.
After completing our morning routine of activities, we had a very important "safe touch" discussion. Sr. John sent an e-mail to all parents with the details of this archdiocesan requirement for all elementary schools. We began by singing and moving to the song "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" and then we listed all of our regular body parts. Next we talked about how there are other body parts that no one (except safe adults, like parents and doctors) should touch. We discussed how our private body parts are the areas of our bodies that are covered by a bathing suit. We learned the rules for guarding against anyone who may try to hurt us or touch us in a bad way....1. Say "No", 2. Run away and 3. Tell a grown up. Please review this important info with your child on a regular basis.
We munched on our morning snacks, then we made our way downstairs for gym class. After warm-ups and exercises, we played a gun and energetic game of "dead bug tag" and also participated in some relay races.
Before lunch we worked in small groups and participated in our center time activities. After lunch and some free play time, we gathered to listen to the story of the very first Christmas. We saw pictures of Mary, Joseph, the angel Gabriel, the animals, the Innkeeper, the three Kings, and of course baby Jesus. We recognized that the reason we give presents at Christmas is because it's Jesus's birthday. We took another listen to the "Happy Birthday Baby Jesus" song and even added some dance moves!
After resting so nicely, we rounded out the day with the rotation of table-top activities. Prayers and goodbyes made for a nice end to our busy day.
REMINDERS:
Friday, 12/3 is Pajama Day and our day to visit Santa's Secret Shop!
Next Friday, 12/10 we will have our Progress Report Conferences. There are no classes for Pre-K students on this day.
Tuesday, November 30, 2021
Happy First Week of Advent! I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and an enjoyable, long weekend.
During our morning lesson we looked at several "Ii" pictures and tested our memory skills to see if we could figure out the one that was missing from the group. We also enjoyed watching and singing along to the letter I bounce patrol video clip on our SMARTboard. We were also introduced to our new number of the week - "9". When we returned to our seats, we practiced reading the 4 letter I sentences together, then on the opposite side we searched for and circled only the upper and lower case I's among a large group of letters. Nice work! Our letter table has on only 1 item so far - an ice cream cone magnet. Might we see Iron Man? Mr. Incredible? or maybe some index cards or an insect?
After enjoying our morning snacks, we got busy with our center/small group time this week we will complete the following activities: 1)making a unique Christmas elf, 2) tracing and printing upper and lower case Ii's in our letter books, and 3) tracing and printing the number 9 and using our thumbprints to make 9 insects in the jar. These activities will rotate daily until each child completes them. During center time today many of us had to give our Hairy Harry's a haircut....boy did that hair grow over the break!! We had fun using our scissors to cut, cut, cut that overgrown hair. Once they bring them home, if placed in a window and given a bit of water each day, the hair will continue to grow and will be ready for another hair cut soon.
Before lunch we gathered on the rug for God's Time. We took the time to notice and examine our class Advent wreath. We then discussed how Sunday began the Advent season on the church calendar. We talked about how Advent is a time of waiting - a time for us to prepare our hearts for Jesus' birthday. We looked at our beautiful classroom Advent wreath and learned what it symbolizes....the wreath is in the shape of a circle - a circle never ends which symbolizes God's never ending love for us. We looked at the 4 candles on the wreath which represent the 4 weeks before Christmas. We "lit" the first candle today which represents "hope" and we sang a special Advent song. We will be spending the next few weeks creating Christmas crafts, practicing skills with Christmas-themed games and activities, listening to stories, singing songs, and preparing for the birthday of baby Jesus. The children may be enjoying the magic of the season, but our main focus will always be the real reason for the season, the birth of Jesus. We then returned to our seats and received the activity page for this lesson. We saw the pretty Advent wreath and pointed to the first purple candle of "hope". We used our scissors to cut out a flame and glued it on top. While we wait for Christmas, we will glue the flames on these candles - one for each week of Advent. They will be hanging in our classroom until it is completed.
After lunch and some free play time, we made our way downstairs to the gym with our friends in Pre-K 2. We exerted lots of energy and got a good stretch of the legs. After a relaxing rest time, we got busy with our table-top activities for this week, which include: filling up I's with ice cream cones, play-do exploration, and whiteboards with dry erase markers. We ended our day in the usual in the way - packing up, prayers, and goodbyes. Have a nice evening!
REMINDERS:
This Friday, 12/3, is pajama day and our day to visit Santa's Secret Shop. Please return the form that was sent home last week if you haven't already done so.
Wednesday, November 24, 2021
We cannot believe that Thanksgiving is just 1 day away. We have been involved in many Thanksgiving-related activities (songs, games, crafts, stories). During our morning lesson we participated in our second Scholastic lesson for this month titled " A Heart Full of Thanks!" We watched the enjoyable video clip on our SMARTboard that goes with this lesson, which was all about the many things that make us happy that we are thankful for. We learned that another word for thankful is "grateful". Then we returned to our seats and read through our booklets. On one of the pictures inside we saw Clifford thinking of 5 things that he was grateful for....and we were encouraged to do the same. On the last page we used our fine motor skills as we identified the letters that spell out G-R-A-T-E-F-U-L and found found them in the picture. I encourage you to read through this booklet with your child and see if they can read some words for you.
Next we made our way downstairs to the gym with our Pre-K 2 friends and had a "turkey-riffic" gym class! She had some Thanksgiving activities ready for us to participate in. See if your little one can tell you about it!!
Once we returned to the classroom, we celebrated our friend Kaylee's birthday, who turns 5 on Friday. She brought in many treats and goodies to share with us. We sang "Happy Birthday" and enjoyed some cupcakes, popcorn and veggie snacks. We each have a special party bag from her to bring home with us. Thanks Kaylee!! Afterwards, we located our name tags for center time. The remaining group of us made our Indian corn project and 3 of us had to give our "Hairy Harry's" a hair cut. After each child gives theirs a haircut, they will be sent home. If it is put in a window sill and watered a bit each day, it will continue to grow and your child can continue to give him a hair cut when needed.
We ended this busy morning by participating in a prayer service along with the rest of the school. I would like to take the time to wish you all a very happy Thankgsgiving holiday. Enjoy the time spent with your loved ones. I know I am thankful for each and every one of these little children who brighten up my classroom each day. God Bless and stay safe!
Tuesday, November 23, 2021
Well what a wonderful fruit feast we had with our friends in Pre-K 2 today!
During our morning lesson we reviewed our letters from A to H. We practiced identifying, signing and sounding each letter out. Next we each received a picture and our task was to put it underneath the letter it begins with. Afterward, we returned to our seats and completed a similar activity where we had to match the picture on the one side to the letter that it begins with on the other. Check our folders to see our great work!!
Before we knew it, we were ready for our Fruit Feast. We looked just like the children on the first Thanksgiving - sharing food with our Pilgrim and Native American Indian hats on. We remembered to take the time to pray and thank God for all the yummy fruit we were about to eat. We enjoyed apples, bananas, grapes, strawberries, oranges, clementine, raspberries, pineapples, pears, cantaloupe and even some mango! De-licious!! Thank you so much for your contributions!!! We also used special placemats that we colored to put underneath our plates. The children are encouraged to use this same placemat when they eat their Thanksgiving meal on Thursday. Also, the children are encouraged to be the "prayer leaders" at the Thanksgiving table - we have been saying the "Grace Before Meals" prayer every day since the first day of school and most of them are able to say it with little or no prompting.
Once we returned to the classroom, we located our name tags for center time activities. Before lunch, we exerted lots of energy down in the gym. After lunch and some free play time, we recorded a special video that was posted on our class story on the class dojo app. Please take the time to view it when you can :)
Rest time was relaxing and then we wrapped up the day putting some finishing touches on a special Thanksgiving card we made.
REMINDERS:
Tomorrow is a half day of school. Please remember to pack a snack and a drink, but no lunch. Pre-K will be ready for pick up at the Pre-K doors promptly at 11:55 am.
School is closed on Thursday, 11/25, Friday, 11/26 and Monday 11/29. Classes resume on Tuesday, 11/30.
Please see the letter attached to your child's folder regarding Santa's Secret Shop taking place on Friday, 12/3.
Monday, November 22, 2021
Well, our Thanksgiving countdown continues and we cannot believe that we are just 3 days away. After our morning routine of prayers, salute to the flag, songs, calendar and weather, we participated in our morning lesson. We played a math game where we flipped over a # (between 1 and 8), identified it, then put that same # of feathers on the turkey. We went back to our seats and completed a similar activity where we identified the # on the turkey's belly, then glued that same # of feathers on his body. Gobblin' good work I must say!!!
We sat down to enjoy our morning snacks, then we located our name tags for center time. We took a peek at our "Hairy Harry's" from last week and guess what? Some of them are now hairy! Wow, that hair (well, grass) really grew over the weekend. Pretty soon we will have to give haircuts! During center time today and tomorrow, we will each create a colorful Indian corn art project.
Lunch time was yummy in our tummies and then free play time followed. Next we gathered on the rug and we of course re-visited the Thanksgiving story - we listened to another interpretation of the first Thanksgiving on our SMARTboard with large,colorful pictures of the Pilgrims and Native Americans. We also watched "Let's Have a Dinner" on youtube and learned the catchy song.
Naptime was quiet and peaceful, then we rounded out the day manipulating some clay before preparing for dismissal. Looking forward to seeing everyone tomorrow.
REMINDERS:
Tomorrow is our Fruit Feast. Please send in the fruit tomorrow (if you haven't done so already)
Wednesday is a half day; 12:00 dismissal. Pre-K students will be ready to be picked up at the Pre-K doors promptly at 11:55 am.
No school this Thursday, 11/25, Friday, 11/26, and Monday 11/29. Classes resume on Tuesday, 11/30.
Friday, November 19, 2021
Happy Hat Day!! These little ones looked adorable this morning in their hats as they entered the classroom. Every child had a hat and looked spectacular. We enjoyed showing them off during circle time. We all got our pictures taken in them too!
We read a perfect story for today called "Old Hat, New Hat". While out shopping, bear searched for a new hat - he tries on frilly hats and silly hats, bumpy hats and lumpy hats, until he finds the most perfect hat of all - his own old hat. When we returned to our seats, we received our journal books and drew pictures of the many different types of hats from the story. There were some great drawings of pointy hats, tall hats, spotty hats, fluffy hats, etc. Nice work!
We had a nice morning snack, then we wrapped up our center time activities for this week. We are anxiously waiting to for our Hairy Harry plants to grow some hair :) Next we were eager to make our way downstairs for music class. Once we returned to the classroom we chatted with friends while munching on our lunches. Afterward we traveled down to the gym to stretch our legs a bit. Before resting we reviewed the Thanksgiving story and then we each randomly chose a paper which indicated who we will be at our Fruit Feast next week (either a Pilgrim or a Native American Indian) See if your little one can tell you which one he/she selected.
After a peaceful rest time, we packed up backpacks, prayed, and sang goodbyes as we ended another great week in Pre-K!
We will be focusing on Thanksgiving-themed activities on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday next week, so we will not be working on a new letter or number. Please keep in mind that we are closed next Thursday and Friday for the Thanksgiving holiday. Tuesday is our Fruit Feast and Wednesday is a half day - 12:00 dismissal. Our letter table will be a Thanksgiving table, so the children are encouraged to bring in anything Thanksgiving related for our table next week.
Thursday, November 18, 2021
Happy Thursday! Our Thanksgiving countdown is down to 7 - wow, just one week away!
We had the wonderful additions of another hat, a hanger, and a heart to our H table today! "H"ooray!! One day left...
After our normal circle time routine, our morning message revealed that we were going to listen to the story "Thanksgiving is For Giving Thanks". We took notice to how the word "thanks" is in the word "Thanksgiving", and the true meaning of the special day. We quickly reviewed The Thanksgiving Story and talked about how thankful the Pilgrim People were. We then had the chance to share and draw about what we are most thankful to God for, and I must say that their responses were very sweet :) Their drawings are hanging in the hallway outside of our classroom.
We munched on our morning snacks, then located our name tags for center time as we worked in small groups. Before we knew it, we were lining up and making our way downstairs to the library where Mrs. Dunfee read us a few stories.
Lunch time hit the spot, then free play time soon followed. Next we were very happy to go outdoors on this unusually warm day with our friends in Pre-K 2. We enjoyed the fresh air and sunshine. After all of that exercise it was nice to relax our bodies for a bit during rest time, then we finished up the rotation of table-top activities and ended this nice day with prayers and goodbyes.
REMINDER: Tomorrow is "Hat Day" in Pre-K! The children may wear or bring their favorite hat to school :) It can by a silly/crazy hat, a winter hat, a cowboy hat, a fancy hat.....
Wednesday, November 17, 2021
Upon entering the classroom this morning, we each stepped on a piece of paper as Mrs. Dignam traced our shoeprint. Hmmm, we couldn't imagine why, but were told that we would soon find out....
Today's morning lesson focused on an animal that begins with H. We listened to some clues to try to figure it out - they live on the farm, they eat hay, and people can ride them. It didn't us long to figure out it was a horse! We thought of things that we already know about them - they can gallop, they make a "neigh" sound, they have 4 legs, and they like to eat hay and grass. After watching an interesting video about horses on our SMARTboard, we learned some new things about them.....they can sleep standing up, their large eyes can see almost all the way around them, some horses pull carriages and some help the police do their jobs, and the hair that goes down his neck is called a mane. When we returned to our seats we put those fine motor skills to work as we cut out and assembles an adorable horse craft. We each received a piece of brown paper with a long rectangle shape and shoe print on it. Our first task was to cut out both shapes. We learned that our shoe print would become the horse's face and the long rectangle will be the horse's neck. We attached them together, then added ears, large eyes, and hair down his neck (his mane). Some of us even named our horses - see if your child can tell you about it.
Our H table welcomed 2 more horses and 2 hats today. 2 more days left....might we see a hanger? a heart? or maybe a hammer before Friday?
After munching on our morning snacks, we were ready and eager to make our way downstairs for gym class with Ms. Gorman. We warmed up, spent a good amount of time learning how to jump properly using both feet and our arms, then played a fun game of "spaghetti and meatballs" with the use of noodles, balls, and hula hoops.
Upon returning to the classroom we participated in our center time activities. During this time, we heard the alarm bell ring for a fire drill practice. We all remembered to quickly and quietly line up, exit the classroom, grab an 8th grade buddy's hand, and leave the building safely into the parking lot. We did a great job - way to go Pre-K!!!
After lunch and some free play time, we settled on the rug and listened to the story of "Mike's First Haircut" and pointed out the "H" in the title. This story was all about a little boy's first experience getting his hair cut. This prompted us to share our own experiences with getting our hair cut. We also talked about how pretty soon we will all be giving our Hairy Harry plants a hair cut!
Rest time allowed us to relax and calm our bodies, then we got busy with the rotation of table-top activities. We then ended our day by packing up, singing goodbyes, and praying.
REMINDER: Hat day is Friday!!
Tuesday, November 16, 2021
H is for Happy and we were happy to see a few more additions to our H table this morning....a Hulk coloring book, 2 more horses, and a helicopter. Awesome!
During our morning lesson today we talked about how to keep our Hearts Healthy for the letter H. We agreed that in order to keep our little hearts healthy we must remember to eat healthy snacks most of the time, exercise our bones and muscles, and remember to get plenty of sleep. We made a list of healthy heart foods and junk foods. We all agreed that we all like to eat junk foods sometimes, we just can't eat too much of it! Next we enjoyed sorting foods and placing them in the appropriate pile (junk food or healthy food).
After watching a short Sesame Street video clip about the #8, we returned to our seats to refine those fine motor skills. We each received a picture of a butterfly and we colored its' body, antennae, and wings. Then our task was to carefully count out 8 heart shaped foam stickers and stick them inside the wings. Nicely done!!! We also took the time to recognize that 8 is the total number of children in our class today (since one friend is missing).
As we munched on our morning snacks, we took the time to check to see if we were eating healthy or junk food. The result? 3 of us were eating something healthy and 5 of us were eating junk food. Hmmmm....
We worked hard at our centers, then we played hard outdoors and got some good exercise on this brisk, sunny day. We then enjoyed our lunches, followed by some free play time in the classroom. Next we gathered on the rug to listen to another story about the first Thanksgiving. We reviewed how the Pilgrims left England because they weren't allowed to pray the way they wanted to. They sailed on a ship called "The Mayflower" for 2 months and sometimes the weather was stormy and very cold. Some of the Pilgrims died. Finally they saw land and landed here in America and they needed to build homes for protection. But the cold winter came fast and they had little food to eat. More Pilgrims died. When Spring came the Pilgrims discovered that there were others living nearby - the Native American Indians. At first they were afraid of each other, but soon they became friends and the Indians taught the Pilgrims how to plant seeds, catch fish, and hunt animals. The Pilgrims worked hard and did all that the Native Americans told them to do and when fall time came around again, they had a wonderful harvest of food. They decided to have a big feast and invite their Indian friends - and the feast lasted for 3 days. See if your little one can recall any of these details for you :)
We calmed our minds and bodies during rest time, then we got busy with our table-top activities for this week, which are: filling up upper case H's with hearts, making pictures with markers, and using shapes to make patterns and objects.
We packed up our belongings, prayed, and sang our goodbyes as we ended this nice day together.
REMINDERS:
Family pages are due tomorrow!
Please see the letter attached to your child's folder about our upcoming fruit feast on Tuesday 11/23.
Monday, November 15, 2021
Happy Monday! We welcomed the letter "Hh" with a big "H"ello today! We thought about the sound a dog makes when it pants to help us make that /h/ sound. We looked at many letter h pictures and enjoyed viewing and singing along to the letter Hh Bouncepatrol video clip. Our letter table is already "H"opping with H items....we already have a horse, 2 hippos, a hot dog, and a hamburger! We were also introduced to our new number of the week.... "8"!
After our salute to the flag, songs, calendar check, and weather, we discussed a special project that we will be working on this week in honor of the letter H.....we will be making our own "Hairy Harry's". First we discussed what hairy means - then we discovered that Hairy Harry is a plant. We brought some science into our discussion and made a list of things seeds need to grow into plants (soil or dirt, water, and sunlight)....see if your child can name them! We will each receive our own cup to draw Harry's face. Next, we will fill up our cups with soil, sprinkle in some grass seeds, and then add a bit of water. We will take care of our Hairy Harry's (although they are not quite hairy yet!) by watering them and keeping them in the sunlight. We can not wait to watch him grow some hair (well, grass)....and when it gets too long, we will use our scissors to give him a haircut.
After snack time, we got busy with our center activities for this week. This week we will be rotating the following activities in small groups - counting out 8 blueberries and gluing them onto the pie on our worksheets, making our Hairy Harry plants, tracing and printing upper and lower case Hh's in our letter books, and playing some Thanksgiving related educational games on the i-pads.
After lunch and some free play time, we made our way downstairs to get a good stretch of the legs in the gym. Before resting, we gathered on the rug and listened to another fairytale classic titled "Henny Penny". We pointed out the "H" in the title and also talked about how the two words rhyme. In fact, all of the characters in this story having rhyming names. In this story, an acorn falls from a tree and hits Henny Penny on the head. Henny Penny believes that the sky is falling and proceeds to journey to the king to tell him. Along the way, Henny Penny acquires a group of friends (cocky locky, ducky lucky, goosey loosey, turkey lurkey) who also want to warn the king. But before they get there, they run into foxy loxy. We recalled how fox characters are usually tricky in these stories, like in the gingerbread man story from last week. See if your little one can tell you how this one ended.
We settled for a quiet, peaceful rest time and then we rounded out the day manipulating some clay. See you tomorrow :)
REMINDERS:
Please check your child's folder for 2 handouts that were sent home today. One is regarding our Pre-K Parent/Teacher conferences coming up on 12/10. The other is about "Hat Day" which will be taking place this Friday, 11/19.
This Wednesday, 11/17, the family pages are due.
Friday, November 12, 2021
TGIF!
We participated in the first scholastic lesson for this month titled "My Autumn Nature Walk", which was all about the Autumn sights and colors. We talked about the many special things that happen in the Fall-time season and watched an informational video about it. When we returned to our seats, we practiced reading through our booklets together. On the back cover we put those fine motor skills to work as we found and circled the autumn items in the picture. We also practiced our fall color words and colored the leaves on the fall tree. We had to carefully check to see which color to use on each leaf (O for orange, R for Red, Y for Yellow, and B for Brown). We did a great job following directions!
We munched on our morning snacks, then we finished up our center activities for this week. The turkey crafts that we made this week are adorable and are hanging in the hallway for all to see! Next we were happy to make our way downstairs for a fun-filled music class with Ms. McGrogan. Afterward we enjoyed our lunches and some free play time with friends. Before settling down for rest time, we played a few rounds of alphabet bingo. This game requires us to use our listening skills and helps us with our letter sounds and recognition.
We had a peaceful rest time, then we prepared for dismissal. We packed up backpacks, said our prayers, sang our goodbyes, and ended another great week in Pre-K. Enjoy your weekend :)
REMINDER:
The family pages that were sent home last week are due next Wednesday, 11/17. Please help your child complete these pages instead of doing it for them. Thank you!
Thursday, November 11, 2021
May God bless all our veterans on this Veteran's Day!
During our morning lesson we reviewed our colors and color words. We practiced matching the color to its' color word by listening to the beginning sound. Our color board in our classroom was a helpful tool to guide us. Our morning message revealed that we were using gummy bears to practice sorting and counting - and we love gummy bears! A delcious "G" treat! When we returned to our seats, we each received a gummy bear sorting mat. Our first task was to color over the color word with that particular color. We then each received a cup with several gummy bears inside of it. Our next task was to place each one on top of its' matching color gummy bear on our mat. We are wonderful sorters!! Next, it was time to count how many of each color we had, and then we tried our best to write that number next to each bear. This was a bit tricky for some of us, but we all made a great effort! Our next step was to compare. Which color did we have the most of? the least of? Which two colors were equal and had the same amount? Some of us were even comparing with the friends at our tables....seeing who had more of less of a particular color. Impressive math work!! Finally, it was time for our favorite part.....yes, to eat them :)
We enjoyed our morning snacks, then located our name tags and participated in our center time activities. We gathered on the rug for God's Time and we discussed how today is a special day called Veteran's Day. We learned that it's a day honoring the brave men and women who have served our country. We talked about how they are heroes and many of us probably know a veteran. We learned a short song about it - see if your little one can sing it for you :)
After lunch and free play time with friends, we made our way outside with our friends in Pre-K 2. During this time we all sang the "Veteran's Day" song that we learned earlier. We were so good that we were recorded and it was sent to Mrs. Malloy, our Advancement Director.
Before resting we re-visited the story about the 1st Thanksgiving, this time we saw some colorful pictures of the Pilgrim people, the Mayflower, and the Native American Indians. We talked about the many things the Pilgrim people were thankful for and started thinking about some things that we are so very thankful for - which is the true meaning of Thanksgiving.
After a relaxing rest time, we completed the rotation of table-top activities for this week. Before we knew it, it was time to head home for day.
Wednesday, November 10, 2021
"Run, run, run, as fast as you can
You can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man!"
We had much fun with many gingerbread man themed activities today!
What a "G"reat looking G table....today we added a green glove (that's a double G!), a guitar, 2 gray items, a green item and another glue stick. Wow!!!
During our morning lesson, we used our counting skills as we reviewed our numbers from 1 to 7 with the use of gingerbread men. We each received our own gingerbread man foam piece, next we each received a cup full of buttons. Then it was time to wait, look, and count. A number card was held up and our first task was to identify the number without speaking. Next we had to put the corresponding number of buttons on our gingerbread man. We played several rounds and did a very nice job!! Next we listened to the story "The Gingerbread Man".... the classic tale of a silly little cookie who comes to life! Some of us were already familiar with it. We enjoyed following him as he ran away from a little old woman, a little old man, a cow, a horse, and some farmers. But when he came to the river he was in quite the dilemma since he couldn't swim...until mister fox came along and offered to help. But was he being helpful or sneaky? We discussed how the fox character in many stories and fairytales usually can't be trusted - which proved to be the case in this story! Afterward, we worked hard to make our own cute, little gingerbread men creations. First we colored, then we cut them out and glued them onto a piece of construction paper. Then it was time to add some neat decorations - fat raisin eyes, colorful buttons on his belly, and sparkly glitter on his arms and legs. We were proud of our work - and this one surely will not run away!! They are hanging in our classroom and will be sent home tomorrow.
After a trip to the bathroom and eating our delicious snacks, we were happy and eager to make our way downstairs for gym class. This week we joined our Pre-K 2 friends and we played some fun games while putting those large motor skills to work!!
Once we returned to the classroom, we got busy with our center activities before lunch time. After lunch and some free play time, we then gathered on the rug and re-visited the Gingerbread Man story, this time watching the animated version on our SMARTboard. We liked watching all of the characters we read about earlier come to life.
After resting peacefully, table-top activities kept us busy until it was time to prepare for dismissal. Tomorrow we will have some fun with gummy bears. Have a good night.
Tuesday, November 9, 2021
Well our G table is "G"rowing and "G"rowing with G items! Today we welcomed 3 gloves, a girl, some glue, and a gorilla :)
During our morning lesson today, we had the chance to taste something sweet and delicious that begins with the letter G.....grapes! We each received a cup with 1 green and 1 purple grape inside of it and took the time to taste each one. Then we tasted another type of grape called a cotton candy grape! Some of us were familiar and some weren't. We tasted all 3 and then had to decide which one we liked the best. We then made a Grape Graph and we each put our name underneath the one we preferred. Finally, we tallied the results. Well - that cotton candy grape was the class favorite with a total of 5 votes. Next came green with 3 votes. And in last place was purple with just one vote. See if your little one can tell you which kind he/she voted for.
When we returned to our seats we were ready to put those math skills to work as we counted out 7 grapes and glued them onto our plates. We also printed the number 7 on there too. Great grape counting, everyone!
We had many grapes left over, so some of us chose to eat more during snack time. Afterward, we got busy with our center time activities. Next we made our way outside on yet another beautiful, unseasonably warm day. We enjoyed the fresh air and sunshine with our Pre-K 2 friends.
Lunch was de-licious, then we had the chance to choose a place in the classroom to play for free play time. During God's Time, we discussed what Thanksgiving is all about - giving thanks to God for all that makes us happy. We listened and looked at pictures in a book that taught us all about the very first Thanksgiving. We learned that the Pilgrims lived in a country across the ocean named England. They were not very happy there because the King told them that they could not pray or go to Church - so they decided to leave England on a ship called The Mayflower. This book showed the Native American Indians and how they assisted the Pilgrim people after they landed in a new country. The Native Americans showed the Pilgrims how to fish, hunt, grow crops, and build strong homes. We also learned how one Native American named Squanto especially helped the Pilgrim people. We will be re-visiting this story often as we prepare for this special day!
Rest time allowed us to peacefully take time to ourselves. We then began our table-top activities for this week: gluing ghosts inside a large letter G, play-do exploration, and name-writing practice. Clean-up and prep for dismissal followed. We ended our day with prayer and song.
Monday, November 8, 2021
What a Great-looking G table we already have! On it sits Grover from Sesame Street, some grapes, a gorilla, a giraffe, a pair of glasses and Mickey's friend Goofy. Wow!!
At circle time today, after doing our usual routine of prayers, salute to the flag, songs, and calendar we began discussing the letter Gg and how it makes 2 different sounds (just like the letter Cc) - the soft and the hard /g/ sound. We looked at several pictures that begin with G, practiced how to sound it out and print it (it's a tricky one to make!) We viewed a video clip by Bounce patrol on our SMARTboard about the letter G. We were also introduced to the #7, our new number of the week.
Once we returned to our seats we practiced reading some letter G sentences. Yes, we are beginning to read simple sentences :) Next we used those fine motor skills when we found and traced all of the upper and lower case Gg's on our paper. Check your child's folder for their wonderful work and see if he/she can read the sentences for you.
At center time we were busy with our small group activities - printing the letter Gg in our letter books, counting out 7 circles to glue onto a caterpillar's body, creating a cute turkey craft for the hallway display, and fun at the i-pad station. These activities will rotate until all students complete them. Next we had the chance to enjoy this beautiful day as we made our way outside. We got a good stretch of the legs and got lots of fresh air. Before we knew it, we were eating our lunches while chatting with friends.
Afterward we gathered on the rug and listened to the classic tale of "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" - some of us were already familiar with this one. While looking at the cover and the title, we were quick to point out that the name "Goldilocks" begins with G. After resting peacefully, we rounded out our day manipulating some clay. We were encouraged to make upper and lower case Gg's and a great effort was made by all! We packed up, prayed, sang goodbyes, and were on our merry way!
Friday, November 5, 2021
We began our day in the usual way - with prayers, pledge, calendar and weather check, 100th day countdown, and singing some lively songs. Our morning message revealed that we had quite a busy day ahead of us.
We looked so nice in our fancy clothes today for pictures! We made our way downstairs to the auditorium and put on our best smiles :) The photographer was silly and did a great job getting us to sit tall and smile so nicely!
When we returned to the classroom we brainstormed many things that begin with the /F/ sound. Our F table had some great additions - a flashlight and a football!! We worked hard in our journal books to draw many "F" things - and there were some "F"abulous drawings of flowers, fish, flags, and footballs (just to name a few). We enjoyed our morning snacks, and then finished up our center time activities for this week. Before we knew it, we were making our way downstairs for music class. We had the chance to play some instruments and we're even starting to learn some Christmas songs!!
Lunch time hit the spot, then we had some free play time. Afterwards we played a fun game of alphabet bingo. We each received a bingo card with 10 letters on it. Mrs. Dignam held up the letter and identified it - our task was to look at our card to see if that same letter was on it. If it was, we covered it up with a bingo chip. Once all the letters were covered, we yelled "Bingo!". The first one to do this was the winner, but we kept playing until everyone had the chance to yell "Bingo". This game is a fun way to practice our letter identification skills and also requires good listening skills :)
Rest time was peaceful and quiet as we relaxed while the soft music played. As we prepared to leave this afternoon, we offered prayers for our families. Have a safe and happy weekend :)
Thursday, November 4, 2021
Happy Thursday! Well, what a "F"ine looking F table. We have added Forky from Toy Story, a few more forks, a fairy, and a firetruck to the mix. Wow! One more day left....
Our morning lesson focused on an "F" creature that hops around. That's right, frogs! We first played a frog counting game where we had to choose a frog with a number on it and make it hop (and ribbit) over to the lily pad with the corresponding number of spots on it. We then watched a short frog video on our SMARTboard and learned some interesting frog facts: they come in many different colors and sizes, they can live both in the water and on land, and we also learned that many frogs can change their color to blend in with their environment, which is called camouflage. They like to eat bugs and some frogs are poisonous! At the end of the video we laughed when we saw a very silly looking frog called the "tomato frog" - and yep, it looked just like a tomato!
When we returned to our seats, we got busy coloring a small paper plate green. Next we carefully cut out two long frog legs. We then glued on some eyes, and eyeballs, a tongue, and the legs. What fantastic looking frogs indeed!!
After a bathroom break and munching on our morning snacks, we got busy with our center time activities. Afterwards we were happy to find out that we were visiting the library for the first time. Mrs. Dunfee was there ready to read us a few stories and she even let us take a look at some her books!
After lunch and some free play time, we gathered on the rug for God's Time. We have been focusing on the "Family" theme, and in your child's folder you will find the pages for our "Family Project". Please look for it and read the instructions on the front page. All family pages are due by Wednesday, November 17th. Please keep in mind that it is encouraged that you help your child complete these pages rather than doing it for them.
Before resting, we listened to a story titled "Finklehopper Frog" - this was a wonderful rhyming tale of a frog who decided to give jogging a try and everyone laughs at his efforts. But Finklehopper learns that its best to be himself and do what he loves (hopping), because that's the perfect way for him! This story teaches an important lesson about how we shouldn't try to be like others and that we all have many gifts and talents that make us special.
After we rested for a short time, we finished up the rotation of table-top activities for this week. We packed up backpacks, offered up prayers, and sang our goodbye song and ended our nice day together.
Tomorrow is picture day!! Remember to complete and return the order form that was sent home earlier this week. The children can wear regular clothes if you prefer. Also, all scholastic orders are due tomorrow.
Wednesday, November 3, 2021
We had some "F"antastic additions to our F table this morning: a flag, two forks and another fish. Keep those F items comin'! Might we see a firetruck? a flashlight? or maybe a football?
F is for Fish and during our morning lesson we talked about what we already know about fish and looked at various pictures of several different kinds of fish. We learned that fish come in all shapes, sizes, and colors - and that they have gills through which they breathe. We then went "fishing" by capturing a fish. Our task was to identify the # of spots on our fish. After some careful counting, we had to place our fishy under the fish tank with the corresponding numeral on it (either 1,2,3,4,5 or 6). Once we placed our fish in the correct column, we then tallied the results by counting each row. Which had the most? the least? Afterward we colored the water in the fish tanks on our activity page, next we practiced tracing and printing the # 6. We then counted out 6 little fishies to glue inside of our tank - great counting was done by all!
We enjoyed our morning snacks, then we were off to gym class. After some warming and stretches, we played a fun game of ice cream cone relay with the use of cones and balls. We also played "spin the pin" and then practiced our fine motor skills with scarves and bowling pins. First we had to lay the scarf out flat on the floor and stand the bowling pin up in the center of it. Now our task was to figure out the best way to slide that scarf out from underneath without letting the pin fall. Tricky, but we kept practicing and most of us got it!
Upon returning to the classroom, we got busy with our center time activities. After lunch we gathered on the rug to listen to the story "Fish Eyes" - which is a brilliantly colorful book showing various types of fish swimming through the pages - and a great counting book as well! Before resting we participated in one of our favorite dances that happens to begin with F...Freeze Dance! Fun, fun, fun!
After relaxing our minds and bodies, we participated in the rotation of table-top activities before packing up and preparing for dismissal.
REMINDERS:
The annual Thanksgiving Food Drive has begun here at St. Matthew's and the Pre-K class has been asked to send it condiments, such as mustard, ketchup and mayonnaise.
School pictures will be taken this Friday. Please return the form that was sent home inside your child's folder!
Scholastic book order forms are also in your child's folder. All orders must be placed on or before this Friday, 11/5 in order for the books to be received by 12/17. If you placed an order last time, the books are on their way!
Tuesday, November 2, 2021
Happy November! I hope everyone had a happy and safe Halloween with your little one(s). We were anxious to tell about our weekends and all of the Halloween fun we had with our families and friends.
It's "F" week and our F table already has a "f"ew items on there. On it we have a couple of fish and Elsa from "F"rozen. Hopefully we'll see more on there tomorrow.
During our morning lesson today we looked at several "f" pictures and tested our memory skills to see if we could figure out the one that was missing. We viewed a video clip by BouncePatrol on our SMARTboard all about the letter F and the sound it makes - we were even singing along :) We practiced how to sign and print it. We were also introduced to the number 6 - our special # this week.
Afterward we returned to our seats to practice reading some letter F sentences, then finding and circling only the pictures with the beginning /f/ sound. See if your child can read the sentences for you when you check their wonderful work in his/her folder.
After a bathroom break and morning snack, we got busy with our center time activities for this week, which include: tracing and printing upper and lower case Ff's in our letter books, identifying the flags with the #6 on it, making a colorful fish with the use of a large fish stencil and dot-a-dot stampers, and i-pad practice.
Next we gathered on the rug and continued our Religion theme of "Families" that we started two weeks ago. We read a story called "This is My Family" and discussed how God gave all of us special families who love and take care of us. We talked about different ways we can show our family how much we love them. We will continue this lesson tomorrow.
Before lunch, we traveled downstairs to the gym to exert some energy and stretch our legs a bit. A peaceful rest time was followed by our participation in the table-top activities for this week, which include: filling up large upper case F's with feathers, drawing with markers, and manipulating clay. We packed up, sang our goodbyes, prayed, and ended our day. Looking forward to another fun-filled busy day in Pre-K tomorrow :)
REMINDERS:
The annual Thanksgiving Food Drive has begun here at St. Matthew's and the Pre-K class has been asked to send it condiments, such as mustard, ketchup and mayonnaise.
School pictures will be taken this Friday. Please see the form inside your child's folder!
Scholastic book order forms are also in your child's folder. All orders must be placed on or before this Friday, 11/5 in order for the books to be received by 12/17. If you placed an order last time, the books are on their way!
Friday, October 29, 2021
Happy Halloween!!! These little ghosts and goblins were in their Halloween finest today to celebrate this special day with their Pre-K friends! We did such a wonderful job parading around the hallways in our costumes. It certainly was fun seeing them all dressed up and so excited :) Pictures will be posted on this site over the weekend.
After our parade and having our pictures taken, we chose a Halloween coloring page to color while we waited to remove our costumes. After a trip to the bathroom, we were ready for our Halloween celebration. We listened to some Halloween music while we munched on some delicious treats. A HUGE thank you to the parents who sent in some goodies!! We really enjoyed them.
We finished up our center activities for this week, then we were off to music class with Ms. McGrogan! After lunch, we joined our friends in Pre-K 2 and watched "Room on the Broom". We listened to this wonderful story on Wednesday about a witch, her broom and some friends. Today we enjoyed watching the story come to life on the SMARTboard.
Before resting we enjoyed a yummy ice cream treat provided by the Home and School Association. Yum, yum, yum!
We had quite an eventful day filled with Halloween fun and lots of treats! We ended it by going over some Halloween night safety tips. As always, we prayed and thanked God for all of our blessings. Have a happy and safe Halloween night!
**Please remember that there are no classes on Monday, November 1st. Enjoy the long weekend and see you Tuesday :)
Thursday, October 28, 2021
What a "spook-tacular" day! Today most of our activities were about something creepy we see around Halloween.....ghosts! These little ghosts in Pre-K 1 are definitely excited about Halloween. Just 3 more days left :)
We had quite a busy, fun-filled day! It started off with our Halloween parade around the block. We were excited to join our Pre-K 2 friends and many parents as we traveled around the block 2 times. The weather was beautiful and we thank those who were able to join us :)
Once we returned to the classroom we finished up our boo bags that we began earlier in the week. We are planning to have lots of Halloween fun tomorrow and we need a place to put our candies and treats. We each received a bag and we glued the word "Boo!" on one side, then glued two creepy creatures to color and cut out to glue onto the other side. Nice job!
Next we were excited to find out that we were going outside again, this time to meet a few firefighters! Earlier this month we learned about fire safety in one of our scholastic lessons. Today, as fire prevention month is coming to a close, a few local firefighters came into the school yard with their big firetruck. They talked to us about some important fire safety tips. They showed us some of the special gear they wear when they put out fires and they even let us go inside their firetruck. We each received a fire hat and a coloring book too. So cool! We were sure to thank them for visiting us and for helping to keep us safe.
Upon returning to the classroom, we enjoyed our morning snacks. Next it was time for us to get busy making some spooky ghosts. We enjoyed cutting and gluing when we made a neat craft. We started with just a paper plate, but after we added facial features, arms, and streamers we created our own spooky ghosts. They are hanging across our classroom for all to see - such "Boo-tiful" work!
After center time, we enjoyed our lunches while chatting with friends. Free play time followed, then before settling for rest time we listened to the story "Ten Timid Ghosts". We talked about how the word timid means shy and afraid. In the beginning of the story the ghosts were afraid of the witch, who wanted them out of the house. She found a way to scare them away, one by one. But then, at the end, all the ghosts joined together and weren't so timid anymore. We liked the ending to this story!
We relaxed our minds and bodies while we rested for a bit, then we participated in the rotation of table top activities for this week.
Tomorrow we look forward to wearing our costumes to school and having lots of Halloween fun :)
Wednesday October 27, 2021
What a "witchy" Wednesday we had in our classroom today! After singing some songs and our Halloween favorites, we began our morning lesson about witches. First we brainstormed some things that we already know about scary witches and came up with a pretty impressive list: pointy hats, ride on broomsticks, crazy hair and ugly teeth. We then watched a short video clip on the SMARTboard about the characteristics of a witch. There were a few things our list didn't have - a long pointy nose (with a wart on it!), and they cast spells. We sure know about witches in here! We finished up by making our own scary witches. We used the paper plates that we painted green earlier in the week, cut out a pointy hat, added eyes, a nose, a mouth, and teeth and glued them into place. These wonderful wicked witch creations are hanging in our classroom for all to see :)
During circle time we watched as our class jack-o-lantern was carved out. He now has triangle shaped eyes and a circle nose and a big happy mouth. The best part was putting the tea lights inside and watching him glow!! He is now sitting on our Halloween table.
We enjoyed our morning snacks and then we made our way downstairs to see Ms. Gorman for gym class. We played a fun game called "Ghostbusters" and we had fun being ghosts in the haunted house as we tried to take the candy pieces.
We had some free play time after lunch, then we sat down to listen to the delightful Halloween story titled "Room on the Broom". The witch and her cat are happily flying through the sky on a broomstick when the wind picks up and blows away the witch's hat, then her bow, and then her wand! Luckily, three helpful animals find the missing items, and all they want in return is a ride on the broom. But is there room on the broom for so many friends? And when disaster strikes, will they be able to save the witch from the hungry dragon? We especially liked the happy ending to this story.
Our witch fun continued as we viewed a video by Bounce Patrol called "Witches on Halloween". We watched it once, then we were ready to get up and join in on the fun. We were performing many witch actions all around our classroom, such as cackling, screaming, stirring, riding brooms, and casting spells. Afterward we were laughing as Mrs. Dignam pretended to cast a spell on each of us by changing us into something. Our task was to sound and/or act out whatever we were changed into. See if your little one can tell you about it :)
Rest time was peaceful, then we completed the rotation of table-top activities for this week. We ended our day in the usual way - packing backpacks, prayers and a happy goodbye song :)
REMINDER: This Friday, 10/29, the children should come to school wearing his/her costume. Please pack a bag in your child's backpack so we can place your child's costume inside of it after removal. Our parade is planned for 8:30 am, weather permitting. Parents are welcome and encouraged to walk with us around the block at that time.
Tuesday, October 26, 2021
Today we added the #30 to our vegetable garden - which means it's our 30th day of Pre-K!! Wow, we've learned so much and have made many new friends in the past 30 days! And our Halloween countdown is down to 5 :)
Our morning lesson focused on pumpkins today! We noticed pretty quickly as we entered today that there is now a large pumpkin in our classroom. We used words to describe the outside of it....orange, hard, and smooth. We then made some predictions as to what could be inside of it. Next we watched a video on our Smartboard that was called "Investigating Pumpkins" and learned some pretty cool things about pumpkins. We saw the inside of one and learned that there are many seeds and stringy stuff called pulp in there. We also learned that they come in many different sizes, shapes, colors and textures. We saw teeny tiny ones called "Jack-be-littles" and great big giant ones that people made boats out of!! Next it was time to explore our pumpkin! We all watched as Mrs. Dignam first drew a circle around the stem with a black marker to give it a hat. Then she carved it out. We all peeked inside and saw many, many seeds and the stringy pulp, just like in the video. Most of us even wanted to touch, smell and feel it. Some of the words we used to describe what it felt like were soft, gooey, wet, squishy, and slimy. Finally, we watched as all the seeds and pulp were scooped out of it. Tomorrow we will finish up our class jack-o-lantern.
When we returned to our seats we worked in our scholastic booklets. We read through it together then completed the "A-B" patterning activity on the back page. We reviewed how a pattern is when the same things happens over and over again. Great work!
We enjoyed our snacks, then participated in our center time activities. Before lunch, we made our way down to the gym to get some exercise since it was raining outside. After lunch we played a fun, interactive game on our Smartboard. We each had the chance to choose a pumpkin and a stem, and then we selected our preferred facial features - which came in a variety of shapes. Once all the facial features were selected, we liked watching them glow while hearing some spooky noises. Next we listened to a story called "Max and Maggie and the Perfect Pumpkin" - we recognized the mice characters from another story we read by the same author. This time Max is looking for the perfect pumpkin and Maggie tries really hard to find him one. This story showed how friends sometimes hurt each other's feelings, and the importance of saying "I'm Sorry" when that happens.
We settled down for quiet rest time, then we participated in our table top activities for this week, which include: drawing Halloween pictures in our storybook journals, play-do exploration with some neat-o Halloween cookie cutters, and using a scary witch finger to find letters and numbers in Halloween books.
Tomorrow we look forward to carving our pumpkin into a jack-o-lantern and making a neat Halloween craft!
Monday, October 25, 2021
Happy Birthday to our friend Noah - who turned 5 years old yesterday!
Well our Halloween countdown is now down to 6!! And just 4 days until our Halloween parade and party. A reminder letter will be sent home in your child's folder tomorrow.
Our morning lesson focused on patterns. We discussed how a pattern is when the same thing happens over and over again. We used Halloween pumpkins and witches to practice various patterns. We first were introduced to the "A-B" pattern (pumpkin/witch/pumpkin/witch/...) Then we did the "A-A-B-B" pattern (pumpkin/pumpkin/witch/witch). Next we did "A-A-B" (pumpkin/pumpkin/witch). We even tried the "A-B-B" pattern (pumpkin/witch/witch) When we returned to our seats, we completed a similar activity. First we used our scissors to cut out the 4 Halloween pictures at the bottom of our papers. Then our task was to complete the patterns on the remaining section of the paper by placing the pictures in the appropriate places. Nice work was done by all :)
Snack time was especially delicious because we celebrated Noah's birthday with some delicious treats. He brought in cupcakes, Pringles, and some juice boxes to share with us. We enjoyed them - thank you to Noah!
Next we got busy with our Halloween-themed center activities. This week we will be painting plates for a spooky craft, reviewing our numbers 1-5 by placing the appropriate # of Halloween stickers under the corresponding number, making patterns with Halloween stamps, and playing some Halloween games on the i-pads.
Before lunch we gathered on the rug for God's Time. We discussed how Halloween is a time for us to dress up and play make-believe. We listened to the story about Carlos on Halloween and talked about some important safety tips. This story is in your child's folder if you'd like to review it with them.
We had a relaxing and peaceful rest time, then we rounded out the day with the use of whiteboards and dry erase markers. We were encouraged to draw some Halloween things such as pumpkins, spiders, ghosts, and bats.
Reminders:
Our Halloween parade will take place this Friday at 8:30 am. All parents are welcome to meet us under the foyer at that time and walk with us! Please send your child to school at regular time wearing his/her costume (no masks or weapons please). Inside every child's schoolbag should be a bag for their costume wear we can place it after removal. Children may wear orange and black or Halloween-related dress down clothes underneath their costume.
Our letter table is a Halloween table this week. The children are encouraged to bring in anything Halloween related :)
Friday, October 22, 2021
Happy Friday! Our Halloween countdown is now down to 8 :)
During our morning lesson we played a game that tested our memory skills. We were shown some paper eggs with many different designs on them. Once they were flipped over, they all looked the same. Our task was to find two eggs with matching patterns. It was a bit tricky, but we got the hang of it pretty fast. Our morning message revealed that we were going to draw pictures for our next class book and that we were going to begin to make a scary Halloween craft!! Before returning to our seats, we reviewed the Humpty Dumpty nursery rhyme from yesterday....most of us were able to recite it without any help at all :) We then were told that our next class book will be titled "Humpty Dumpty Sat on a ...." Now we all know that in the rhyme he sat on a wall, but we were asked to think of something else Humpty could sit on. I must say that we had some silly responses! We then got busy drawing an oval shape for Humpty Dumpty', added a face, arms, and legs (and some of us even gave him pants!). Then we drew a picture of whatever we wanted him to sit on. These creative pages will be bound together for our next class book and will go home for one night with each child.
We nibbled on our morning snacks, then we located our name tags and finished up our center time activities for this week. Afterward, we were happy to make our way downstairs to see Ms. McGrogan for a fun music class.
After lunch and some free play time, we were happy to get outside on yet another beautiful October day. Lots of exercise and fresh air is always good for us :) Next we gathered on the rug and listened to a story called "What Can You Be?" - which is a cute story about the many different things children can be for Halloween. Of course this prompted a discussion about what we plan to be this Halloween.
We will NOT be moving on to the letter F and number 6 next week. We will be reviewing A-E and 1-5 in addition to participating in many Halloween-themed activities. Instead of an "F" table we will have a Halloween themed table next week - so the children are encouraged to bring anything Halloween related for the table.
Enjoy the weekend!!
Thursday, October 21, 2021
Our Halloween countdown has begun!! 10 more days till Halloween and we are super excited about it :)
E is for Egg. During our morning lesson, we were introduced to a famous nursery rhyme character who is, in fact, an egg....good old Humpty Dumpty. Some of us were familiar with him, some of us not. We practiced the rhyme several times, learned the song version of it, and watched it on the SMARTboard. We practiced our sequencing skills by putting the events of the Humpty Dumpty rhyme in the proper order. First we used our scissors to cut out the 4 pictures on our page, then we had to figure out what happened first, second, third, and fourth and glue it in the appropriate place. Egg-cellent work :) See if your little one can show you their sequence strip and say the rhyme for you!
We had "E"xcellent additions to our E table today - another envelope and a big eraser!
We munched on our morning snacks, then got busy with our center time activities. Before lunch Mrs. Dunfee came in to read us a few entertaining Halloween stories. After lunch and free play time, we made our way outside on this very warm October day - we enjoyed the fresh air and sunshine. Next we gathered on the rug and listened to a very special story.....created by us! That's right - our first class book "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?" is complete and ready to go home with each child for one weekend. All of the pictures that we created have been bound together into a lovely book. We read it today and enjoyed seeing our own artwork illustrated on the pages. Tomorrow one Pre-K friend will bring the book home for the weekend to share with his/her family.
We relaxed during rest time, then we finished up our table-top activities for this week. We prepared for dismissal, then prayed and sang goodbyes as we ended another great day in Pre-K!
Wednesday October 20, 2021
E is for Elephant and we learned some interesting things about them today! During our morning lesson we listed some things that we already know about elephants (they are big, , they have large ears, have a long trunk, stomp their feet, live in the jungle, some are at the zoo) We then learned that there are 2 kinds of elephants in the world - African and Asian. By viewing our SMARTboard, we were able to see close up pictures of what each kind looks like. We saw similarities and differences and came up with the following observations: African elephants are larger, have much larger ears, and are more aggressive while Asian elephants are smaller, have smaller ears, are more peaceful and have more wrinkles on their skin. Afterwards we put our fine motor skills to work by coloring, gluing, and assembling our own elephant craft. What "E"xcellent elephants they are indeed!
We enjoyed our morning snacks, then we were "E"xcited to make our way down to gym class. Upon returning to the classroom we participated in our center time activities. I must say that the pumpkin people they are working on look adorable and will look quite festive in our hallway once all are completed.
After lunch and some free play time, we participated in the rotation of table top activities that we started yesterday. Before settling in for rest time, we listened to an entertaining story titled "Oliver". We found out pretty quickly that Oliver in this story is not a boy, but an elephant. Oliver has always wanted to be a dancing elephant in the circus, but what will he do when he is told that the circus already has enough elephants? We laughed as we followed Oliver's silly adventures and were happy to see how he finally achieves his dream at the end. We took a good look at the pictures of Oliver throughout the book and decided that he must be an African elephant because of his very large ears!
We prepared for dismissal, then prayed and sang goodbyes to end our day with smiles.
Tuesday, October 19, 2021
Our E table had some a wonderful addition today - good ole' Elmo from Sesame Street!
During our morning lesson we focused on the #5 and took a peak at our birthday chart to see who has already turned 5 in this class....it looks like four so far - our friends Antonela, Lavinia, Anson and Luna. We talked about how we have 5 fingers on one hand and 5 toes on one foot. We watched a Sesame Street video clip all about the #5. When we returned to our seats, we practiced tracing and printing the #5 - which was a bit tricky, but we are getting the hang of it. We noticed that if we are not careful, it could look like the letter S. We finished up our papers by counting the spots on the dogs and then circled the corresponding #....check our folders to see!!
We had a nice morning snack, then got busy with our center time activities. Before lunch, we gathered on the rug for God's Time. Our theme this week is "Families" and we discussed how our families are the people to whom we belong, who love and care for us. We talked about how there are many different types of families - some are big, some are small, but all families love and care for one another. We took the time to recognize that God loves all of our families and that our families are one of God's special gifts to us. We listened to the story "Loving Families", which is in your child's folder. When we returned to our seats we all thought about how many people live in our house with us, then completed our activity page where we had to draw our family members inside the big van. We learned that some of us have 6 people in our families, some have 5, some have 3, and most of us have 4. We will continue this lesson on Thursday.
After lunch and free play time, we made our way outdoors to get a bit of exercise. Before settling for rest time we read a story called "Max and Maggie in Autumn" - about 2 mice friends who discover that falling leaves are the best part of Autumn. We relaxed during rest time, then we wrapped up our day with table-top activities. This week we will be filling up large upper E's with eggs, use seasonal stencils to make a Halloween picture, and using puzzle piece shapes to make a picture. We then wrapped up our day in the usual way - packing up, singing goodbyes, and praying to our Guardian Angels.
Monday, October 18, 2021
We are "E"ager for "E" week! We were introduced to the upper and lower case Ee, practiced how to print it and what sound it makes, and saw many pictures of things that begin with the letter E. Our E table already has several elephants, a pair of earrings, a few eggs, an envelope, a couple of erasers and Elsa from Frozen.....Excellent!!!! We watched a fun letter Ee video clip on our SMARTboard by BouncePatrol. We were also introduced to our new number of the week, the # 5 - we discussed how most of us in this class will turn 5 years old on our next birthday. When we returned to our seats we used our pointer fingers to read our letter E sentences together, and we are getting better and better at this! We also found and circled only the pictures with the beginning /e/ sound, and "x"ed out the rest. Nice work!
During circle time today we learned some new Halloween songs.....we especially liked the one about the haunted house. After a bathroom break and a morning snack, we got busy with our center activities. This week we will be printing and tracing upper and lower case Ee's in our letter books, using dot-a-dot stampers to put 5 spots on an egg, making a pumpkin person craft for our hallway display, and practicing many skills on the i-pads.
Before lunch we made our way outdoors on this cool day. Parents, please be sure to send your child to school with a sweatshirt and/or a jacket on these cooler days. Upon returning to the classroom we participated in a game called "The Muffin Man". This game requires us to use our listening ears to see if, when our eyes are closed, we can figure out which one of our friends is singing. We have 3 guesses to try and figure it out :)
Lunch time really hit the spot after all of that exercise. Before rest time we listened to the entertaining tale of "Elmer the Elephant" for the letter E. We will be revisiting this story later in the week when we further discuss elephants.
Rest time allowed for some peaceful moments, then we finished up our day by manipulating some clay. We were encouraged to make several snakes and form them into upper and lower case Ee's. Clean up, prayers, and song closed out another great day in Pre-K :) See you tomorrow!
Friday, October 15, 2021
Happy Friday!! Our D table looks quite "D"azzling I must say - over the past few days we've added more dolls, more dogs, a dish, a dress, and a diamond ring. Amazing!
We participated in our first October Scholastic lesson this morning titled "Cooking Up Safety". We discussed ways to stay safe in the kitchen and talked about things we should and shouldn't touch in there. We also talked about a Firefighter's job and that the special tools and clothing they wear is called their gear. We looked a firefighter and pointed out their helmet, boots, breathing mask, fire suit, and air tank. We discussed how all of those things keep the firefighter safe when putting out fires. We watched the informational video for this lesson and learned 4 super safety rules. 1) Stay away from hot things, like ovens, candles, stoves and grills. 2)Dont' touch matches or lighters. If you see them, tell a grown up. 3) If you see a fire or smoke, get out and stay out! and 4) Know the sound of a smoke alarm. We also reviewed the # to call in the event of an emergency. After reading through our booklets together, we then completed the activity page on the back. We also completed the activity sheet for this lesson where we had to follow step-by-step directions to color the firefighter's gear. On the opposite side we had to find and "x" out the 4 things that are too hot to touch. I encourage you to review this booklet at home with your child and see what he/she can tell you about it.
We then enjoyed our morning snacks and we each received a lollipop in celebration of Mrs. Dignam's birthday, which will be on Sunday :) Afterwards we finished up our center time activities for this week. Before music class we played a game on our Smartboard that went with our fire safety lesson from earlier. We each had the chance to help the dalmation find safe things to touch!
Music class was fun, then we enjoyed our lunches. After some free play time, we made our way outside and got a good stretch of the legs on this summer-like day. Upon returning to the classroom, we listened to the story from our Religion lesson this week called "Lost", which is in your child;s folder. We discussed how God takes care of us by giving us people to take care of us. We talked about the many people who take care of us and how we, too, can be good helpers.
We relaxed our minds and bodies for a bit, then before we knew it we were gathering our belongings to go home.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Thursday, October 14, 2021
"Dinosaurs lived long ago, long ago, long ago. Dinosaurs lived long ago, that's prehistoric!" We sung this song to the tune of "London Bridges" today since our focus was on Dinosaurs. We saw pictures of many different kinds of dinosaurs and learned many interesting facts - that they roamed the earth millions of years ago but are now extinct, that some are meat eaters and some are plant eaters, and that they were big, small, slow and fast. We also discussed what a paleontologist does and that the word dinosaur means "terrible lizard". After looking at some very cool pictures of dinosaurs in a book called "Dangerous Dinos", we voted for our favorite one. It looks like the triceratops is the Pre-K favorite, with a total of 3 votes. The pterdactyl and the brontosaurus were tied for second with 2 votes each. And the t-rex and stegasaurus came in last place with just one vote each. We then returned to our seats to make some neat-o dinosaur headbands.
After our morning snack, we split up into small groups and participated in our center time activities. Afterward, Mrs. Dunfee visited our classroom and read a few entertaining stories to us :)
Lunch time was yummy in our tummies, then we enjoyed some free play time. Next we were excited to make our way outside to have some fun in the sun - we haven't seen that sun in a few days! Once we returned to the classroom we had the chance to see a T-rex footprint - a true to size t-rex footprint. It was HUGE! We started taking some guesses as to how many Pre-K children could fit inside that footprint. We had many predictions, ranging from 2 to 9. Next it was time to see. One at a time we came up and stood inside that footprint. Congratulations to Leonardo whose prediction proved to be correct - all nine Pre-K kids fit inside the huge t-rex footprint.
We settled in for a quiet and relaxing rest time, then we wrapped up our day completing the rotation of table-top activities for this week.
**Please be sure to read the letter inside your child's folder about Halloween and the walk-a-thon.
Wednesday, October 13, 2021
Well today was just a "ducky" day! Yep, you guessed it, we learned a lot about ducks! We watched an informational kids video all about ducks and found out some interesting things about them. We already knew that they make a quack sound and like to swim, but we didn't know that they are semi-aquatic. We learned that fancy word means they live partly on land and partly in the water. They like to eat fish, bugs and small plants and like to dunk their heads under the water. We also discovered that they have a special oil in their body that keeps their feathers dry so they have waterproof feathers - pretty cool! We also were surprised to learn that not all ducks quack. Who knew? See if your little one can recall any of this information for you :)
When we returned to our seats we made a super cute "rockin' duck" craft. First we colored a large paper plate yellow and folded it in half. Next we cut out a circle shape for the duck's face. We added some facial features and the wings were made from our handprints. After gluing it all in place we had fun making our ducks rock back and forth. Check our folders to see!
After our morning snacks, we were ready and eager to make our way downstairs for gym class. After some warm up stretches and exercises, we really practiced our hand-eye coordination skills today with the use of scarves and tennis balls!
Before lunch we located our name tags and participated in our center time activities. After lunch our duck theme continued as we gathered on the rug to listen to the story "One Duck Stuck" - which is a delightful counting and rhyming picture book. about a duck who gets stuck in the muck. A variety of different animals, counting by numbers 2 -10, make their way to the pond to try to save Duck. Each group separately just couldn't do it and poor duck stayed stuck. But then, we were surprised with the happy ending when every group joined and worked together to help out duck. This story taught us a few important lessons - that we should always try to help our friends, and that sometimes when we can't do something on our own we need to work together as a team to accomplish our goals. Before resting we had fun doing a dance that had us moving and quacking like ducks!
After resting so nicely, we rounded out our day using our fine motor skills as we engaged in the rotation of table-top activities. We packed up our belongings, then ended our day with prayers and goodbyes.
Tuesday, October 12. 2021
Well, I am "D"e-lighted to report that we had quite a few more items added to our D table - a donkey, two donuts, a bag of "dum-dum" lollipops, a few more dinosaurs, and a duck. Wow!
During our morning lesson today we focused on our # of the week, the number 4. We discovered that most of us in this class are 4 years old. We first played a pumpkin game where we each had to turn over a pumpkin card and identify the number on it (1,2,3,or 4). Next we were shown an instrument that begins with D...a very large drum! We each had the chance to bang it 4 times - nice counting was done by all! We watched a #4 Sesame Street podcast, then we returned to our seats to practice our counting and writing skills. First we tried our best to trace and print the number 4, then we flipped our papers over and our task was to identify the number on the fire dog's hat and then glue that same number of spots on its' body. We did a great job as we carefully counted and glued. Check our folders to see our great work!
After our morning snacks, we got busy with our center time activities as we worked and played in small groups. Before lunch we enjoyed playing outside with our friends in Pre-K 2.
After lunch, we gathered on the rug for our Religion lesson. This week our theme focuses on "Loving". We discussed how we are loved by many people. We all thought of our families right away when we were asked to think about those who loves us. We learned that God takes care of us through others. We discussed how one of God's special gifts are the people who help us - like police officers, firefighters, dentists, trash collectors, mail carriers, doctors, etc. We talked about many community helpers and what they need/use to do their jobs. We completed the activity page for this lesson by drawing a picture of someone who loves us - and moms and dads were a very popular choice! We ended the lesson by thanking God for giving us so many people to help and care for us!
After resting peacefully, we got busy with our table-top activities for this week - which include: filling upper case Dd's with diamonds, play-do molding, and drawing with markers. These activities will rotate each day until all tables have them completed.
Before we knew it, the time had come to prepare for dismissal with prayer and song. Another great day in Pre-K!! See you tomorrow!
Monday, October 11, 2021
I hope everyone enjoyed the weekend! The children were quick to observe some changes in the classroom this morning when they arrived......pumpkins, spiders, ghosts, and jack-o-lanterns are decorating our room.
Our letter D table is already looking "D"ynamite! So far we have a few dinosaurs and dolphins, a deer, dice, and 3 dogs!! Wow, it's only Monday and that letter table is already filling up! Way to go, Pre-K kids!!!
During our morning lesson we were introduced to our new letter (Dd) and our new # (4). We looked at many pictures that begin with D, then had to test our memory skills to see if we could figure out the one that was missing. We also viewed a fun letter Dd video clip on our SMARTboard by Bounce Patrol. We even got up and Danced to it. We practiced reading the 4 "D" sentences on our papers - using our pointer fingers to read the words. We are getting better at this and I encourage you to have your child read them for you as well.
Snack time was welcomed with smiles as we ate and chatted with friends. We then broke up into small groups for our center time activities....this week we will practice tracing and printing upper and lower case Dd's, counting out and gluing 4 spots on the dog, using crayons, scissors and glue to make a dinosaur craft, and i-pad practice.
Before lunch we made our way outside to get a breath of fresh air and some exercise. After munching on our lunches and some free play time, we gathered on the rug and listened to a very funny story titled "Dog Breath" by Dav Pilkey about a dog named Hally Tosis who had - yes, you guessed it - horrible breath! We held our nose for this one and laughed at the effect Hally the dog's breath had on people. It was so bad, that the Tosis family was going to get rid of him - but then a miracle happened! See if your little one can tell you why Hally was a hero at the end of the story.
After resting peacefully, we got busy with our clay. We used our clay to make snakes and tried our best to form them into upper and lower case Dd's. We all made our best effort to do so :)
Before we knew it, the time had come to prepare for dismissal with prayer and song. Looking forward to seeing all of my Pre-K friends tomorrow!
Thursday, October 7, 2021
Well believe or not we squeezed a few more items on our C table this morning....a cow, some cotton balls, a cap, and a calculator. WOW!!!
We re-visited "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" story during our morning lesson, but this time we watched it on the Smartboard. We followed his journey through the week as he ate, and ate, and ate some more. Afterward, we returned to our seats and worked in our journal books. This time we tried our best to draw pictures from "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" story. There were some wonderful drawings of that caterpillar, some fruit, some junk food, and even some butterflies. Nice journal work!
We had a nice morning snack, then we finished up our center activities for this week. Afterward we welcomed Mrs. Dunfee to our classroom. She read us a few entertaining stories. We especially liked the one about the 3 pigs!!
Before lunch, we made our way outside to get some fresh air and lots of exercise. After lunch and some free play time, we gathered on the rug for "God's Time". We continued our Religion lesson from Tuesday. We discussed how we can be good helpers to others at home and at school. We were introduced to our classroom Children's Bible and heard the story of "The Good Samaritan" - about a man who helped someone in need. We then completed our activity page by drawing a person in our lives who is a good helper to us. Check our folders to see our great work!
We settled in for a peaceful and relaxing rest time, then we wrapped up the day completing the rotation of table top activities. Another great week ends in Pre-K :)
REMINDER: There are no classes tomorrow, 10/8/21 due to a Faculty Retreat Day.
Wednesday, October 6, 2021
Wow! Our C table is "C"rawling with C items. Today we welcomed a comb, a chicken, another carrot, and a cake. Amazing :)
During our morning lesson we played a sorting game. We each received a picture and our tasks were to identify the picture, listen to the beginning sound, and then place it under the corresponding letter (B or C). Many of us were able to do this with very little prompting. Next we counted the pictures under each letter to see which had more and which had less. We discovered that the letter C had more, with a total of 6 items underneath it and the letter B had less, with a total of 3 items underneath it. When we returned to our seats we practiced tracing and writing upper and lower case Cc, then we chose a C item to draw on our papers. There were some terrific drawings of cookies, cars, cakes and cans. We finished up by using the dot-a-dot stamper to stamp out the upper and lower case Cc. Check our folders to see our great work!
After munching on our morning snacks, we were excited to make our way downstairs for gym class. And today's class was especially fun because our friends in Pre-K 2 joined us. After some warm up exercises, we used drumsticks to practice many different skills and we also played a fun game of clothespin tag. We then used those clothespins to find little plastic spiders around the gym - our task was to pick them up with the clothespins instead of our fingers. We did a great job!
Once we returned to the classroom, we participated in our center time activities. After lunch and some free play time, we gathered on the rug to listen to the entertaining story titled "Caps For Sale". First we talked about what caps are and that it begins with the letter C. We talked about how we don't have any caps on our C table yet and maybe one will show up on there tomorrow. This was a funny story about a man, some monkeys and their monkey business. There's a cute version of this story on youtube if you'd like to watch it with your child at home.
We had a relaxing rest time, then participated in the rotation of table activities that we started yesterday. Before we knew it, the day was ending and we wrapped it up with prayers and goodbyes. See you tomorrow :)
Tuesday, October 5, 2021
What a "Cool" looking letter C table. Today we had many, many items to add: another car, two carrots, some candles, a cone, corn on the cob, some cauliflower, cabbage, some celery and a cupcake . Nice going :)
Our morning lesson today focused on the #3. We each had the chance to clap three times and find the the #3 among other numbers. We played a # review game using our pretend cookies and chips. We each received our own "cookie", then picked a # (either 1, 2, or 3) from the # bag. We first had to identify our number, then place the corresponding number of "chips" on our cookie. We also learned a catchy cookie song called, "Who took the cookie from the cookie jar?" ~ maybe your child will sing it for you :) Afterward we completed a similar activity using our crayons and glue. First we colored our cookies, then glued the appropriate # of chips inside of them. Check our folders for our wonderful work! On the opposite side we practiced writing the number 3, which was bit tricky but we all gave our best effort!
After enjoying our morning snacks, we located our name tags and participated in our center time activities. Next we gathered on the rug for "God's Time". Our theme this week is "Friends help one another". We read a story about 4 friends being good helpers at their school. We talked about the many ways we can be good helpers at school and at home. We completed the first side of the activity page for this lesson by looking at each picture and telling how the friends are helping one another. Then we colored and cut out the helping hands at the bottom and glued them on our favorite one. We will finish this lesson on Thursday.
Before lunch, we made our way outside to stretch our legs and get a breath of fresh air with our friends in Pre-K 2. After lunch and some free play time, we listened to the popular story "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie". We recalled how we counted our chips for our cookies earlier, and we pointed out the letter "C" in the word Cookie on the cover. If you give a mouse a cookie, he's going to ask for a glass of milk....and that's only the beginning!! We laughed at the silly mouse and how he kept asking for things. Afterward we all agreed that it's probably best not to give a mouse a cookie! After having a go at "Freeze Dance", we settled in for a relaxing rest time.
We rounded out the day participating in our table top activities for this week, which include filling up a large letter "C" with cotton balls, play-do, and stringing beads. Before we knew it, the day was ending and we wrapped it up with prayers and goodbyes. See you tomorrow :)
Monday, October 4, 2021
It's C week and so far we have 3 cars, a cat, two cups, a crayon, some cake, a carrot, and a cucumber on our C table. We wonder what will show up tomorrow...maybe a candle or a cookie? So many possibilities for the letter C. During our morning lesson we focused on the C sound and learned that it usually makes the /k/ sound (as in cat) but sometimes makes the /s/ sound (as in circle). We watched the letter Cc Bounce Patrol video, then returned to our seats to work on our activity sheets. We practiced reading the letter C sentences together, then we were encouraged to use our pointer fingers and slide our finger across the line from left to right as we practiced reading them on our own. On the opposite side, we listened for that hard /c/ sound and circled only the pictures that began with that sound - then "x"ed out the rest. Please review this at home with your child and see if he/she can read the sentences for you :)
We had a quick bathroom break then enjoyed our morning snacks while chatting with friends. Next we got busy with our center time activities in small groups. This week we will be tracing and printing upper and lower Cc's in our letter books, counting objects and circling the corresponding number (either 1, 2, or 3), making a colorful caterpillar craft, and i-pad practice. We then got a good stretch of the legs outside on this warm fall day.
Lunch time was delicious as always, then some free play time followed. Afterward we gathered on the rug and listened to the classic tale of the "The Very Hungry Caterpillar". In the light of the moon a little egg lay on a leaf and then out popped a very tiny little caterpillar. That caterpillar found some interesting and not-so-healthy things to eat each day of the week - so much that he got a bellyache. Finally at the end of the week he ate something good for him and felt much better....and then he was big enough to build a special house around himself called a chrysalis. Inside that house a special change was happening and when he was ready to pop out......oh my did he look different! See if your little one can tell you about it. We will be revisiting this story throughout the week.
We settled down for a nice, quiet rest time, then we rounded out the day putting our fine motor skills to work as we manipulated some clay. We tried our best to make upper and lower case Cc's with it - and most of us could accomplish this all by ourselves!! Our day ended with smiles as we packed up, prayed and sang our goodbyes.
Friday October 1, 2021
Happy Friday and Happy October!! We were quick to notice that our calendar changed to a brand new month as we flipped over the #1 for the first day of October. We looked at our October birthday board and saw that we have 2 October birthdays to celebrate this month....Mrs. Dignam's and Noah's :)
B is for Big - and these little ones deserve a BIG round of applause for our B table. We hardly had any room but we squeezed on a few more B items today...a band aid, a balloon, a pair of boots and a brush!!! Excellent!
This morning we re-visited the "Brown Bear" story once again, this time watching a musical version of it on our Smartboard. When we returned to our seats we were introduced to our storybook journals, which we will be using frequently throughout the year. Our task was to pick a few of our favorite animals from the Brown Bear story and draw them. We watched Mrs. Dignam draw some first, then we made our best efforts. We then were encouraged to color the animals the same color they were in the story. I must say that I think we may have some future artists in the this class! There were some fantastic drawings of fish, cats, sheep, frogs, and bears (just to name a few). Wonderful journal work!
We had bathroom break, then sat down to enjoy our morning snacks. Afterward we located our name tags and finished up our center time activities for this week. Next we lined up and made our way downstairs for music class with Ms. McGrogan. We tiptoed to her door and when she opened it up we greeted her with a hearty "Happy Birthday" - Happy Birthday Ms. McGrogan!!
Lunch time was yummy in our tummies, followed by some free play time. Afterward we had some fun with the "Beanbag Boogie" dance to wrap up "B" week. Before resting we had an important discussion about what a fire drill is. We talked about the importance of getting out of the building quickly and quietly and practiced how to do that. Our 8th grade buddies assisted us in getting outside safely. We did a fabulous job!!! We will have another practice next week.
We rested our minds and bodies as the soft music played, then we prayed and sang goodbyes as another great week in Pre-K ends :)
*Nap mats were sent home today - please wash them and return on Monday. Have a wonderful weekend!
Thursday, September 30, 2021
Can you believe that we squeezed two more B items onto our table today? A bathtub and a bed! One more day left.... We also added the very last number to our September calendar today!! We've had a quite busy and eventful September here in Pre-K!
During our morning lesson we played a letter "A" and "B" review game. We each received a bear and our first task was to identify its' color, then we had to see which letter was on its' shirt (A or B) and place it in under the corresponding letter. Finally, we counted up all of the A bears and B bears to see which had more, and which had less. We then revisited the story "Brown Bear, Brown Bear" one last time and made the pictures for our classroom book. Yes, we are making our own version of the story. We each thought of animal that we would like to draw, then we reached inside of a bag and selected a color. What masterpieces! We did a really great job. This will be the first of several classroom books that we will make this year. Once I bind all of the pages together, each child will get the chance to bring this classroom book home for one night to share with their families.
We sat down to munch on our morning snacks, then we got busy with our center time activities. Next we gathered on the rug for God's Time. We discussed how each of us is special to God, and that we were all made and loved by Him. We each looked into a mirror to see our reflection and our own special features. We talked about how God made some of us with dark hair, light hair, straight hair, curly hair, dark eyes, light eyes....and all are beautiful! We then received our activity pages and looked at the picture of the children standing in front of a big mirror. We were encouraged to imagine that we were standing in front of a mirror, then draw ourselves in it. We tried our best to choose crayons that matched our eye and hair color. Take a look in our folders to see :) We ended by praying and thanking God for all of our new friends and for making us so special.
We had a nice lunch and then some free play time with friends followed. Instead of going outside we went down to the gym to get some exercise since the play area is being re-paved. While we were down there we had another go at "We're Going On A Bear Hunt" since we enjoyed it so much the other day. We acted out walking through the grass, the river, the mud, the forest, the snowstorm, and the cave. Once we found that bear in the cave we had to reverse our actions quickly back to the house and into our beds. Safe and sound :)
After resting peacefully we finished up the rotation of table top activities for this week, then prepared for dismissal. Looking forward to seeing all of my little friends tomorrow!
Wednesday, September 29, 2021
Our letter B table is just Beautiful!!! Today we added the Disney Princess "Belle". We're hoping to see a balloon, a boat or maybe some bandaids on there before Friday.
We've been singing some fall-time songs this week The tree in the parking lot right outside of our window will be a fantastic teacher for our class. We can see just by looking out the window that the tree is starting to lose some leaves, and some of the ones that are hanging on, have changed color! We look forward to keeping our eyes out for more changes as autumn begins.
During our morning lesson we brainstormed as many B items as we could think of. We created a long list and then counted them up. We came up with 19 B things - Brilliant!! We practiced printing upper and lower case Bb's, then we chose some "B" items to draw on our papers. There were some nice drawings of balls, balloons, butterflies, bananas and even bugs. Our last task was to use our dot-a-dot stampers to stamp on top of the large upper and lower case Bb's. Wonderful work!
Snack time was a refreshing break, then we were happy to make our way downstairs for gym class. After warming up Ms. Gorman had us moving like animals all around the gym. We played a fun game called "Dead Bug Tag" and then we used hula hoops to practice many different skills. Lots of fun :)
Once we returned to the classroom, we located our name tags and worked in small groups at our centers. We enjoyed our lunches next, and then free play time soon followed. We then gathered on the rug and read a book all about some creepy crawly creatures that begin with the letter B.....yep, you guessed it, Bugs!! We got an up-close look at a ladybug, a butterfly, a bumblebee, a firefly, and a praying mantis. Afterward we each picked our favorite one - see if your little one can tell you which one he/she picked. Before resting, we made our way outside and had some fun in the sun.
We settled for a quiet rest time, then participated in the rotation of table-top activities. Prayers and a good rendition of our good-bye song helped to end a nice day.
REMINDER: Scholastic book orders are due this Friday! Your participation helps us earn free books for our classroom library.
Tuesday, September 28, 2021
I am happy to say that our B table is "B"ursting with more B items....today we added a Batman figure, a basketball, a bus, a bicycle, and another book. Great thinking! We are wondering if maybe a bell or a boat might show up on there this week. We reviewed how to make upper and lower case Bb's, and how to sign it.
During our morning lesson today we practiced identifying the #2 and counting out 2 items. We went around the circle to see who could clap two times and yes, we all did it! We brainstormed what we have 2 of on our bodies and we had quite the list: eyes, hands, arms, legs, feet, ears, and even shoulders! We watched a Sesame Street #2 video that had us movin' and groovin' and the end we all stamped our feet 2 times. When we returned to our seats, we practiced counting how many items were in each box (either 1 or 2), then circled the corresponding #. We are doing a great job following directions. On the opposite side, we practiced making our own #2's...a bit tricky, but we will keep working at it.
After munching on our morning snacks, we got busy with our center time activities. Next we got some exercise downstairs in the gym with our Pre-K 2 friends since it began raining outside. Once we returned to the classroom we gathered on the rug for God's Time and listened to a story about making new friends. We talked about how God helps us to be a good friend and we discussed the words and actions of a good friend. We each had the chance to name some of the new friends we have made in our Pre-K classroom, then we colored some of the children on our activity page to look like some of the friends in our class. We will finish this lesson on Thursday.
Lunch time was delicious, and then came the all-favorite free play time. We then sat down and listened to the popular story "We're Going On A Bear Hunt" - and right away we took notice that one of the words in the title starts with the letter B! After listening, we then got up and watched it on our SMARTboard - but this time we participated in all of the actions. We had lots of fun - we laughed at the end when we all pretended to make it safely to our beds and pull the covers over our heads.
After resting peacefully, we got busy with our table top activities. This week at our tables we will be: filling up upper case Bb's with balloons, drawing with dry erase markers on whiteboards, and using shape puzzle pieces to make pictures. We then ended our day in the usual way - packing up, saying prayers and singing goodbyes to friends and teachers!
**Scholastic Book Orders are due this Friday, October 1st!
Monday, September 27, 2021
Happy Monday!
We got right back into the swing of things this morning to begin our Pre-K day. We prayed, saluted the flag, checked the calendar, had a weather report, and added another day to our vegetable garden. We finished our first row of peppers in our vegetable garden as we added the number 10 this morning. 10 days down in Pre-K! We were introduced to our new letter Bb and the sound it makes. We even learned how to sign it in sign language. We were happy to welcome many B items to our table - a banana, a bear, some bubbles, a bag filled with beads, a ball, a baby bottle (that's a double B!), a bracelet, a book, and a bobblehead! Wow! What other B items will show up on our table tomorrow? We watched and sang along to the letter B Bounce Patrol video on our SMARTboard and got some good ideas....like baby, butterfly, balloon, bird, bus.
When we returned to our seats we practiced reading 4 letter B sentences together. We are working hard at using our pointer fingers to point to each word in the sentence from left to right as we read them. On the opposite side we listened for that /b/ sound to figure out which pictures began with B and which did not. Our task was to circle the ones that did, and put an "x" on those that did not. We did a great job following directions - check our folders to see :)
We then had a quick bathroom break and sat down to enjoy our morning snacks. Next we located our name tags and got busy with our center time activities...some of us worked in our letter books tracing and printing upper and lower case Bb's, a group of us colored, cut, and glued to make a brown bear, another group traced and printed the number 2 ( a little tricky) then using a large stamp pad to stamp our two hand prints on our papers, and another small group practiced skills on the i-pads. These center activities will rotate each day until each group completes them.
We then made our way outside and enjoyed the fresh air on this beautiful day. B if for Bubbles and we had much fun and got some good exercise as we were catching and chasing them all around.
Lunch time was followed by some free play time, then we gathered on the rug and listened to the story "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?" and enjoyed reading along. Some of us were already familiar with this classic tale. We will be making our first classroom book of this story this week! In this story we saw many colors and familiar animals. We then had the chance to act and move like various animals as we participated in the "Animal Action" dance. We were stomping like elephants, slithering like snakes, leaping like frogs, and swinging like monkeys (just to name a few).
We rounded out our day with the use of clay. We refined those fine motor skills as we attempted to make three snakes and form them into an upper case B. These kids are the Best! We prepared for dismissal and ended our day with prayer and goodbyes.
Friday, September 24, 2021
Happy Friday! Wow, we've completed two weeks of school and we are really getting used to the Pre-K routine :)
Our letter A table had the addition of an ambulance this morning. Thanks for helping to make our letter A table "A"bsolutely "A"wesome! The children really enjoy sharing their letter items with the class and we look forward to seeing what will show up on our "B" table next week :)
Our "apple" theme continued today as we participated in our second Scholastic lesson titled "Big Red Apple". We reviewed the parts of an apple, then we watched an interesting video and learned about the many things we drink and eat that are made from apples. We returned to our seats and looked through our booklets together. On the back page we put our fine motor skills to work as we traced our name, then colored the apple parts the appropriate colors. This activity also had us practicing our color identification skills and listening to directions. Check our folders to see :) I encourage you to review the booklet at home with your child and see if he/she can tell you about the pictures inside and what the apple parts are called.
We enjoyed our morning snacks after a quick bathroom break. Next we were super excited to make our way downstairs for our first music class with Ms. McGrogan. We used maracas to make music, we sang and we danced and had lots of fun :)
Upon returning to the classroom, we located our name tags and participated in our center time activities. After munching on our lunches and some free play time, we played an interactive game on our smartboard from our scholastic lesson earlier. This game had us sorting apples first by size, then by color. We all had the chance to play and did a wonderful job! Next we had the chance to get some fresh air and sunshine on this beautiful Fall day.
We settled down for a relaxing rest time while the peaceful music played. Before we knew it we were packing up backpacks, praying and singing our goodbyes. What a great week we had! Have a happy and safe weekend. Enjoy the beautiful weather and see you Monday!
Thursday, September 23, 2021
We had one more addition to our letter A table this morning....another Ariel from The Little Mermaid! So great! One more more day to bring some A items in....will we see any more?
This morning we learned all about the parts of an apple. Many of us knew that inside an apple we will always find seeds...but we didn't know that seeds are also known as pips. We looked at a real apple and took some guesses as to how many seeds would be inside of it. We watched as Mrs. Dignam carefully sliced open the apple sideways, then showed us the star shape inside of it. We counted the seeds and our friend Antonella's prediction was right on - there were 2 inside! Next we looked at the other apple parts: the skin, the flesh, and the stem. Sometimes apples have leaves too, but ours did not. Next we participated in a fun activity where we tasted and voted for our favorite color apple - red, yellow, or green. We each received a small cup with 3 bite size apple pieces inside (one red, one yellow, and one green). We all agreed that the green was quite sour, and the red was pretty sweet and the yellow was somewhere in between. Next it was time to vote! We each had the chance to put our name underneath the color apple we liked the best. We tallied the results to find that this Pre-K class likes all three equally. That's right, it was a 3-way tie!! 3 of us like green the best, 3 of us like yellow, and 3 of us like red.
When we returned to our seats we practiced our fine motor, color identification and listening skills as we created an apple person! First we colored our apple the same color that we voted for, then we carefully used our scissors to cut, cut, cut it out. Next we glued on the arms and legs. We then held them up and made them jump up and down and dance all around. Take a look inside your child's folder to see.
We had a delicious morning snack provided by the Home and School Association - ice cream sandwiches!! Yum yum yum! Thanks to them for that special treat :) Next we began working/playing at our centers, we gathered on the rug for God's Time and finished the lesson we began on Tuesday. We first listened to a story about Lorrie and her first day of Pre-K. We listened to find out what Lorrie liked about being in her new classroom. This led us to a nice discussion about what we like best about our new school.....and we all agreed that making new friends is at the top of our list! We also talked about how Jesus in our friend and how He is always there in our hearts.
Lunch time was yummy as always, and then free play time with friends in the classroom followed. Before rest time we re-visited the story "There's an Alligator Under My Bed" that we read yesterday. Today we watched the movie version of this entertaining story on our Smartboard. You can watch it too with your child on Youtube, all you have to do is search the title.
After resting so nicely, we finished up the rotation of table-top activities for this week. We gathered for prayer and goodbyes at the end of our day and look forward to seeing our friends tomorrow :)
Wednesday, September 22, 2021
We had an "A"wesome addition to our A table this morning - Ariel from The Little Mermaid!! Great job so far everyone! We have two days left to add items....might we see a toy alligator? an acorn? or maybe some apple juice? If you and your child can think of any more, please send them in. After praying and saying The Pledge of Allegiance , we sat down for circle time. We sang our hello song and few others, the weather watcher and calendar checker did their jobs, and sang our months of the year and days of the week songs. Next we put our math skills to work by playing a fun apple counting and sorting game. We each received a different color apple (either red, yellow, or green). We made a floor graph to see how many apples were under each color and then discussed which color had the most and the least.
When we returned to our seats, we each received an activity page with a large upper and lower case Aa on it. Our first task was to carefully trace our names with our pencil. Next we watched how to draw an apple on the SMARTboard, then tried our best to draw our own at the bottom of our papers. Wow - we have some awesome apple drawers! We then thought about which color apple we like the best - red, yellow or green. We were asked to find that color in our crayon bags and hold it in the air. This helps us with our listening skills and following directions. We then colored our apple in using the color we chose. But we weren't done yet! Finally, we used some colorful dot-a-dot stampers to stamp on top of the large upper and lower case Aa's. Wonderful job! Check our folders to see our amazing work!
We enjoyed our morning snacks, then we were super excited to make our way downstairs for our first gym class with Ms. Gorman. We practiced many skills such as skipping, jumping, galloping, leaping, and hopping. We played some tag and then had some hula hoop fun. We practiced putting different body parts inside and outside of the hula hoops. Upon returning to the classroom, we located our name tags and worked in small groups at our centers.
We worked up quite an appetite after our busy morning, so lunch time hit the spot! Afterward we chose a place to play for free play time. Before resting, we began a story called "There's An Alligator Under My Bed", by Mercer Mayer. This is a cute story about a little boy who believes there is an alligator under his bed. He had to figure out a way to get him out of there. Can he do it? See if your little one can tell you about it.
Rest time was quite peaceful, then we were eager to get busy with our table top activities for today. We gathered up our belongings, packed up, prayed and sang our goodbyes as we ended this great day in Pre-K :)
Tuesday, September 21, 2021
Can you believe that we celebrated not one, but two birthdays today??? Happy Birthday to our friends Anson and Lavinia who turn 5 years old today :)
We are really beginning to get the hang of things in Pre-K 1! We are becoming very familiar with the morning routine of unpacking, putting our leaf in the attendance tree, and coloring in our coloring books. I am very proud of them :)
I am happy to report that our A table is looking quite "A"mazing!! We now have several apples, an airplane, an Ana from Frozen, and an upper case A magnet! After praying, saying The Pledge of Allegiance and singing our hello song, we sat down for circle time. We sang songs, the weather watcher and calendar checker did their jobs, and sang our months of the year and days of the week songs.
Our morning lesson focused on the number 1 and we enjoyed talking about the parts of our bodies that we have one of - our list included head, face, mouth, nose, chin, back, and bellybutton! We also took turns finding the #1 within a group of other numbers. We stood up and moved a bit as we watched and danced along to a Sesame Street #1 video on our SMARTboard. When we returned to our seats, we traced the large #1 with our pointer finger, then put our fine motor skills to work as we glued torn pieces of construction paper inside to fill it up. Check our folders to see!
Next we sang happy birthday to our friends Anson and Lavinia. They brought in some cupcakes to share with us and they were de-licious! Thanks to them for that special treat! Afterward we searched for our name tags and participated in our center-time/small group activities, which rotate every day. We then had the opportunity to go outside and get some fresh air and stretch our muscles. We enjoyed jumping on each other's shadows on this sunny day!
Lunch time was yummy in our tummies, then we chose a place to play for free play time.we gathered for "God's Time", which is our Religion lesson. Today we discussed how this year we will learn about God and God's love for us. We will learn about God's only son, Jesus, who is our friend. We talked about how we will play games, sing songs, and listen to stories. We looked at a large picture of 4 Pre-K friends named Carlos, Peter, Brenda, and Lorrie and that we will see these children throughout the year on our Religion activity pages. Afterwards we returned to our seats and received our own page to work on. First we traced our name, then we made our own face in the picture with the other children by drawing eyes, a nose, a mouth, and some hair. We will complete this activity page during our next lesson on Thursday.
After a relaxing rest time, we returned to our seats and got busy with some table activities. Each table has a different activity that will rotate each day until all tables complete them. This week we will fill up our upper case A's with apples, manipulate some play-do, and make a picture with markers.
We wrapped up our day by packing up our belongings, praying, and singing goodbyes. Looking forward to another great day tomorrow ;)
Monday, September 20, 2021
Hooray for "A"! Today we were introduced to the letter Aa and our A table already has 2 items on there - an apple and an avacado brought in by our friend Kaylee! Please help your child find something at home that begins with A to put on our A table. Our friends Anson and Antonella colored their letter people to put on there. We talked about many things that begin with "A", such as apple, alligator, anchor, ant, acorn, apron, and airplane. We also took a look at the bouncepatrol letter A video on youtube.
We completed our activity sheet and did such a wonderful job following directions! Our first task was to find our dotted-out name at the top and carefully trace the letters of our name. Next we read through the "A is for" sentences together. Finally we found and circled only the pictures that started with the /a/ sound, and put an "X" on the ones that didn't. Check our folders to see!!
We enjoyed our morning snacks while chatting with friends at our tables. During center/small group time, one group began working in our letter books where we traced and made upper and lower case Aa's, then we chose two A pictures to color and glue into our books. Another group cut, colored and cut out acorns and made apple prints with red paint, while another group traced and made the #1 and counted out 1 ice cream scoop (well, a cotton ball) to glue on top of a piece of pie that we colored. By Friday, all of us will have completed all of these fun learning activities. Before lunch we got a good stretch of the legs outside and enjoyed the sunshine and fresh air. We also participated in some cutting practice with scissors. Our task was to cut, cut, cut on the 4 dotted lines on our paper. We are learning how to hold scissors properly and open and shut them on the dotted lines.
Lunch time was yummy in our tummies, then we gathered on the rug and listened to the story "Under the Apple Tree". We were asked to find the "A" word in the title and didn't take us long! In this story we saw children doing lots of neat things under the apple tree. Afterwards we were encouraged to share what we would like to do under an apple tree, and we had some creative responses - such as playing with toys, having a picnic, and even playing music and dancing! Next we participated in a fun dance called "The Bean Bag Boogie". We each received a bean bag and we had to practice balancing that bean bag on different body parts - but the tricky part was that we had to do this while bouncing. We had a lot of fun with this one :) See if your little one can tell you the different body parts they were balancing their bean bag on.
Next we settled our bodies and minds for a relaxing rest time. Afterwards, we manipulated some clay and were encouraged to form an upper case and lower case A with it. Many of us were able to do this with little or no assistance. Nice job! We packed up our backpacks, said our prayers and sang our goodbye song as we ended our day together. See you tomorrow!
Friday, September 17, 2021
Whew! Our first week of Pre-K has come to an end. The children have done such a wonderful job this week getting to know one another, following a new routine, taking turns, playing nicely, creating crafts, and practicing new songs and prayers. And they are doing surprisingly well with their masks!! Way to go, Pre-K!
These little ones are continuing to get comfortable with our classroom routine and are even getting mighty independent with unpacking bags and taking care of their items before settling down at the table to practice coloring.
This morning we participated in our first September Scholastic lesson titled "Let's Try New Things", which was all about the new and exciting things at our new school. After watching the videoclip for this lesson on our SMARTboard, we returned to our seats and put those fine motor skills to work. We each received our own scholastic book and a pencil, and our first task was to trace our name. We will practice tracing our names every day in Pre-K! Next we followed directions well as we completed the activity page where we had to find and circle different items in the classroom. Take a peek in our folders to see our wonderful work! I encourage you to review and read through this booklet at home with your child.
We had a bathroom break and then enjoyed our morning snacks. Afterward, we had the chance to play in the classroom. Every center had several visitors today and we are doing a really nice job treating the toys gently, sharing, and putting things away in their proper place.
Next we completed an activity that was an extension of our scholastic lesson. First we traced our names at the top of our papers. Next we practiced following step by step directions by looking at the pictures on our page and only circling the ones that we have inside our classroom. Then we colored all of the pictures we circled. We did a fantastic job! We worked up quite an appetite so lunch time hit the spot! We then gathered on the rug and listened as 4 more friends shared their "All About Me" bags with us - Leonardo, Kaylee, Luna and Wesson. Wow! These kids did such a fabulous job with this getting to know you activity. We've learned that many of us have similar interests. Before rest time, we listened to two entertaining stories with the same character - "No, David!" and "David Goes to School". We enjoyed these stories about a silly boy who sometimes forgets the rules. We discussed the importance of making good choices. But no matter what, we are always loved!
After resting peacefully, we gathered on the rug and talked about all of the fun things we did this past week. We prayed and sang goodbye to our friends and teachers.
What a great first week!!! Ms. Denise, Mrs. Towey and I are very proud of the children :) Next week we are looking forward to learning all about the letter ""Aa" and the #1. Please keep in mind that the children are encouraged to bring in "A" items for our A table any day next week. Have a wonderful weekend with your little ones :)
Thursday, September 16, 2021
Welcome back after an unexpected day off yesterday. Happy Birthday to Luna who turned 5 years old yesterday!
How nice it was to see the classroom filled with all of the boys AND girls today! They were very eager to enter the classroom, and I could just tell that there many smiles under those masks. We are beginning to learn the morning routine - unpacking, putting our leaves in the attendance tree, and coloring. At circle time we had a calendar checker, a weather watcher, and several other helpers as we participated in our morning meeting activities. There was even two new songs introduced to help us learn the days of the week and the months of the year! We use songs often in the classroom to learn and develop language and rhythm...and have fun too :)
We read our morning message together to find out the day's activities. We read the entertaining story of "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom" by Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambault. A told B, and B told C, I'll meet you at the top of the coconut tree - but when all the letters of the alphabet race up the tree.....Oh No! Chicka Chicka BOOM! BOOM! Next we returned to our seats to complete an activity related to the story. We discussed how the story had all of the letters of the alphabet in it, then we each had a turn to find the letter that our name begins with and practice the sound it makes. Finally, we all received a piece of construction paper with the first letter of our name on it, and our task was to cover it up with colorful stickers. What a fun way to practice those small motor skills as we peeled off each sticker and carefully placed it on top our letter. A great job was done by all! They are hanging in our classroom for all to see :)
Next up we had a bathroom break and then enjoyed our morning snacks. We had the chance to visit the gym and meet our gym teacher Ms. Gorman. We are looking forward to our first gym class next Wednesday! Afterward we were happy to have some time to play with friends at center time. Before lunch we enjoyed some time outside with our friends in Pre-K 2 in the fresh air and sunshine.
After lunch we had several friends who shared their "All About Me" bags with us - Lavinia, Noah, Anson, Olivia, and Antonella. They did a wonderful job decorating their bags and showing us what was inside. We learned some new things about our new friends. Next we stood up, spread out, and got our bodies moving as we had a go at "Freeze Dance". We sure have some terrific dancers and freezers here in Pre-K :)
After a quick trip to the bathroom, it was our rest time - a time for us to be quiet and still after a very busy morning. Soft music, lights dimmed, and peace. Some friends fell asleep, some didn't. Before we knew it rest time was over and then we all had the chance to write with dry erase markers on whiteboards before ending our day together.
We gathered our belongings, said our closing prayer and sang our goodbye song. Busy but fun day in Pre-K! We are so proud of all of the children - they are doing great :) See you tomorrow!
September 14, 2021
What a pleasure it was to meet the boys of our Pre-K class. Another amazing day! Some of the daily jobs that we practiced today are how to line up, walk in line, how to walk into and out of the classroom, unpacking and placing our backpacks in the proper bin, finding our name tag leaf and placing it in the attendance tree, and listening to directions.
We sang song songs and learned the names of our friends. We dressed our weather frog for sunny, warm day and turned over the next day on our September calendar. As the girls did yesterday, we enjoyed looking at our circle time boards and what we will be learning and participating in each day during our morning meeting. We took the time to read our morning message together to find out what the day had in store for us.
After walking quietly to the bathroom and enjoying our morning snack, we had a quick tour of the centers in our classroom. First we went over some rules, then we were able to participate in free play time. The dramatic play area was a popular place, as was the blocks and building center. Some of us put our painting skills to work at the easel and practiced small motor skills at the writing center.
Next we listened to the wonderful story "The Kissing Hand" by Audrey Penn about a racoon named Chester who is sad to leave his mommy when he goes to school. His mother shares a wonderful secret with him that makes him feel her love even when she can't be with him. A perfect story for the first day of school! This prompted a good discussion about our first day of school feelings. After the story we colored a picture of Chester while waiting to make a special art project for you, our wonderful parents. Since this craft required paint, it will be sent home tomorrow.
Next we were happy to get some fresh air and exercise outside for a short time.
Time went by quickly and it was already almost time to go home. We wrapped up the day putting those fine motor skills to work by playing with play-do. We gathered in a circle to end our day with prayer and our goodbye song. We received a special treat that went along with "The Kissing Hand" story for having such a wonderful first day. Ms. Denise, Mrs. Towey and I are so very proud of them.
Tomorrow we look forward to having all of the students in our wonderful class together for the first time. TOMORROW IS A FULL DAY OF SCHOOL - DISMISSAL IS AT 2:30 PM. Please keep in mind that all children should have a morning snack, a lunch, 2 drinks, and a few napkins inside their lunchbox. Thanks and have a great night :)
September 13, 2021
Wow! Wow! Wow! Our first day was fantastic! I am so proud of how well the girls listened and got settled into our classroom.
We practiced doing a number of basic daily jobs, like walking into the classroom, lining up, finding their name tag leaves and placing them in our attendance tree, putting folders away, unpacking backpacks, locating our cubbies and waiting for directions.
We also sang some fun songs that will help us learn things, like each others' names and what the weather looked and felt like on this sunny, warm day. We looked at our circle time boards and noticed that we will be counting each day until our 100th, we will learn some fun new songs to help us remember our days of the week and months of the year.
We also read our morning message together to find out what the morning had in store for us.
After a trip to the bathroom and our morning snack, we had the chance to see all of the centers in our classroom and participated in some free play time.
Next we listened to the wonderful story "The Kissing Hand" by Audrey Penn about a raccoon named Chester who is sad to leave his mommy when he goes to school. His mother shares a wonderful secret with him that makes him feel her love even when she can't be with him. A perfect story for the first day of school! This prompted a good discussion about our first day of school feelings. After the story we colored a picture of Chester while waiting to make a special art project for you, our wonderful parents. Since this project required some paint, they will be sent home on Wednesday.
Next we had the chance to play outside for a short time to get some fresh air. We then made another trip to the bathroom once we were back inside. Before we knew it it was almost time to go home. We finished up by manipulating some play-do, then we gathered in a circle to end our day with prayer and we talked about our day.
The children really did their very best to follow directions, clean up toys, share together, and use manners. I'm so proud of them! They each received a special treat before going home for having such a wonderful first day.
Looking forward to seeing the boys tomorrow!
Hello Pre-K Parents!
I am very excited to be your child's teacher and look forward to an enriching and rewarding school year. So many great things will happen in our class! My objective this year is to help better prepare your child for kindergarten emotionally, spiritually, socially, and academically in a positive and nurturing environment.
Below you will find some of the skills focused on in Pre-K:
Reading Readiness: listening to and following directions, left to right progression when reading and writing, letter identification, and letter sounds, using storybooks to make predictions and learn about characters, setting, and lessons learned.
Math Concepts: patterning, sorting, one to one correspondence, greater than/less than, shapes, size sequencing, number recognition, number writing, simple addition and subtraction.
Fine Motor Skills: manipulating small objects, tracing, painting, coloring, pencil grip, correct letter and number formation, gluing and cutting.
Science: simple experiments and outcome predictions, animal habitats, 5 Senses
Awareness of self: respect of self and others as well as our school community, waiting one's turn to speak and play, and completing daily tasks.
It would be very helpful if your child becomes familiar with the following skills and information. Please work on any of these skills and/or information below with your child that he/she may need help with:
1. His/Her full name and phone number
2. How to wash his/her hands with soap and water as well as how to dry them.
3. How to put away play things and materials after using them.
4. How to use a tissue when blowing his/her nose. How to cough and sneeze into his/her elbow.
5. How to take off and put on clothing including jackets, mittens, etc. without assistance.
6. How to unfasten/fasten clothing including zippers, snaps and buttons.
PLEASE make sure that your child knows how to take care of his/her bathroom needs including wiping him/herself without assistance.
We realize many children may not have mastered all of the above, but working together, we're sure it can soon be accomplished.
I am very much looking forward to meeting all of you and your beautiful children and I am excited to be a part of their growth and development. Please don't hesitate to contact me at sdignam71@gmail.com with any questions or concerns you may have.
Please click on the "Pre-K Info" and "Calendar" tabs to your left for further info regarding Parent Orientation Night, Meet and Greet, and the first week of school schedule.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Dignam