Newsletter
Newsletter - March 28, 2024
Very short newsletter – We finished up our Pet unit this week and will start our Reduce, Reuse, Recycle unit when we come back from break.
March 29 – April 5 No School (Spring Break)
April 8 - Solar Eclipse
April 19 - PreK Training Day - no school for pre-k students
Newsletter - March 1, 2024
Highlights: On Monday, Ms. Witte and Ms. Saad (Executive Director of the Westfield United Fund) read the book Buddy Bench to the class while the students sat on and around the “buddy bench” in the playground. Everybody huddled under umbrellas as the story was read in the rain - this added an extra touch of excitement. The children really enjoy all the upgrades and additions to the playground.
We learned parts of a new clapping song - “Double Double This, Double Double That”. It is a bit challenging for pre-k students, but we are learning it in stages. It is an interactive activity to do with a friend and incorporates sequencing skills. Double Double Hand Clapping Game - so you know, unlike the video, we don’t have a winner in our class version.
It is “Read Across America Week” this week, and I am happy to share with you that your children do such a nice job listening to books and looking at books by themselves. When a student tells me that he/she can’t read, I tell them that looking at pictures in books is reading (part of the reading process) for younger students. Pictures can tell so much about stories and help students anticipate what the pages/stories will be about. We have read Swimmy, Song in the City, Song in The City, Strictly No Elephants, andThe Buddy Bench by Patty Brozo ~ Read AloudThe Buddy Bench by Patty Brozo ~ Read Aloud.
The following are some of the activities we have done for our pet unit: discussed what we know about pets/animals and animal shelters; played in the pet center; created an aquarium (on paper) and made snakes with patterns; and watched Animal Shelter | Virtual Field Trip | KidVision Pre-K, andI Have A Pet | Animal Song | Super Simple SongsI Have A Pet | Animal Song | Super Simple Songs.
As we always do at the beginning of the month, we watched the months of the year videoMonths of the Year Song - 12 Months of the Year - Kids Songs by The Learning StationMonths of the Year Song - 12 Months of the Year - Kids Songs by The Learning Station
We have practiced certain academic skills using Ipads a times.
The following are Boom cards - they will expire in 14 days:
https://boom.cards/fastplay/yhrr -more or less
https://boom.cards/fastplay/kxbw - subtraction
https://boom.cards/fastplay/pf4v - where do pets live
https://boom.cards/fastplay/tmpr - counting 1 -10
March 22 - No School for Prek students
March 29 – April 5 No School - Spring Break
Newsletter - February 15, 2024
Highlights: Thank you to the parents who made the Valentine’s Day party so much fun!. Thank you to all the parents for the Valentine’s Day goodies that your children gave out to their classmates and teachers. Each student loved giving out their Valentine’s Day goodies. Over the last two weeks we have been extra focused on kindness. The class earned 100 pennies for good listening and kindness. This was a nice way to incorporate counting to 100 for the 100th day of school - the class really enjoyed counting out the pennies together. Aside from activities (reading books and poems, singing songs, creating art) related to Valentine’s Day and the 100th Day of School, the class has also participated in activities related to Lunar New Year and Presidents’ Day. The following crafts went home in backpacks: Lunar New Year bookmarks, 100th Day coloring felt pages, polar bears, love bracelets, the word “love” decorated and Valentine’s Day poems (please have your children read this to you or with you - we practiced reading this in class).
As I have said in the past, this class is so well behaved during assemblies. Today’s assembly was a dental assembly (each backpack has dental information and a toothbrush).
The following are some videos we watched:
Usher -Sesame Street: Usher's ABC Song
Lunar new year video https://vimeo.com/150682812
1⃣0⃣0⃣ Learn To Count To 100 With Spiderman 🕷 Spiderman Superhero Sing Along Songs 🕸H E A R T - The Kiboomers Valentine's Day Songs for PreschoolersH E A R T - The Kiboomers Valentine's Day Songs for PreschoolersPresident Washington and President Lincoln - The Kiboomers Preschool Patriotic SongsPresident Washington and President Lincoln - The Kiboomers Preschool Patriotic Songs
Next week we will start our Pet unit.
February 16 & 19 No School - Presidents Weekend
February 23 - No School for Prek students
Newsletter - February 2, 2024
Highlights: The students learned that some animals, like the groundhog and brown bear, hibernate in the winter, while other animals, like the polar bear, are quite active in the winter. We discussed how to make shadows and tried to make our own. Each student predicted whether the groundhog would see his shadow. The students have been introduced to writing the letters t, l, b, and f. The last few weeks we have focused particular attention on rhyming, identifying opposites and creating patterns. The students have played a few different board games. They pretended to be painters and also scientists who examined which items are magnetic.
You can send in Valentine’s Day cards (homemade or store bought) for your child to give out to his/her classmates on Valentine’s Day. If your child brings in cards, please make sure he/she makes cards for all classmates.
List of classmates/teachers:
Cora
Nicholas
Joseph
Jules
Charles
Ava
Umay
Elena
Colin
Olivia
Damian
Chibu
Ms. Biedermann
Ms. Evangalista
Ms. Spector
And me - Ms. Bartok
I posted a Seesaw cutting activity and below are some links to Boom cards.
These links will expire in 14 days. Choose the activities that are appropriate for your child’s developmental level
Boom cards
Groundhog shadow shapes https://boom.cards/fastplay/8wpr
100th day of school number ordering to 50 https://boom.cards/fastplay/uq4o
Counting hearts 1 - 10 https://boom.cards/fastplay/rdmw3
Yes or No Emotions https://boom.cards/fastplay/iwsc
Winter Addition https://boom.cards/fastplay/j3o7
February 16 & 19 No School - Presidents Weekend
February 23 - No School for Prek students
Newsletter - January 19, 2024
Highlights: The class has continued to learn about community helpers. Some of the ways the students learned about and pretended to be community helpers are the following: pretended to be bakers in the play center and helped actually make cookies; wrote and mailed letters in the class mailbox and pretended to be mail carriers; and pretended to be construction workers by hammering golf tees into styrofoam. We watched https://ny.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/community-helper-community-helpers/daniel-tigers-neighborhood-media-gallery-pnc-community-helpers-pnc-grow-up-great-2022/ and
📫 Let's Deliver the Mail! | Learn Colors & Shapes | Mooseclumps | Kids Learning Songs for Toddlers
The students read their individual copies of a community helper book which will be sent home next week.
Here are some links to Boom cards. Boom cards are a little more interactive than Seesaw activities. These links will expire in 14 days. Choose the activities that are appropriate for your child’s developmental level
Community Helpers - for everyone
https://boom.cards/fastplay/tmfey
https://boom.cards/fastplay/vtek
shapes
https://boom.cards/fastplay/wzzhp
CVC words - https://boom.cards/fastplay/rzpq – This activity is geared more for students entering kindergarten in the fall 2024.
Beginning sounds - https://boom.cards/fastplay/qmez
Prepositions -https://boom.cards/fastplay/d7hy
January 26 - No School for Prek students
Newsletter - January 5, 2023
Highlights: The class welcomed a new student, Olivia, into the class this week. We are still involved in our “building” unit and will focus more on community helpers in the coming weeks. Everybody did a nice job sharing information about the community helper he/she was pretending to be today. The students cut out rectangles (windows) and pasted them on buildings to create a cityscape. You can see this impressive bulletin board on the first floor right outside of the office and/or look at the picture of it on the class website. We read the following books: The True Story of the Three Little Pigs; Buildings From A to Z;
Community Superheroes | Kids Read Aloud Books | Classroom Read Alouds | Learning About Community
and When I Grow Up Peppa Pig | Career & Community Helpers | Books Read Aloud
Students watched the following videos:Four Seasons Song | Jack HartmannTime lapse of home constructed start to finishTime lapse of home constructed start to finish, and Months of the Year Song - 12 Months of the Year - Kids Songs by The Learning Station
A few other notable activities the students did are the following: made individual houses using different paper shapes; experimented with candy canes in different liquids; created props (such as cookies made from model magic) for our pretend bakery that will open next week; and worked on prepositions using Peppa the Pig.
I send out the special person schedule every other week in my newsletter and you can also look at the schedule on the website - go to the “special person” tab and scroll down past the description and you will see the schedule.
January 15 - No School- MLK
January 26 - No School for Prek students
Newsletter - December 15, 2023
Highlights: The students were captivated as they watched the Edison Junior High students sing holiday songs last week. Everybody enjoyed playing the dreidel game (I think part of the thrill was eating a small gelt coin) and reading Sammy Spider's First Hanukkah.
After reading the Gingerbread Man (big hit), we made a gingerbread house (which promptly fell apart). We also read Buildings, Buildings Buildings, Building a House, A Chair For My Mother, and Keep Counting. Students practiced their letter identification and phonics skills by performing some of the following activities: playing bingo, playing a letter/word game based on The Three Little Pigs, and creating letters using wiki sticks and wood pieces. When the students engage in choral reading (when we read the Scholastic magazine together) it builds pre-reading skills - such as learning 1:1 correspondence (each written word is a spoken word), and that reading is done from left to right and top to bottom. One other noteworthy activity was the children making shapes with toothpicks and marshmallows.
I will post new seesaw activities before the winter break.
If you know in advance that your child is going to be absent, I always appreciate you letting me know.
Newsletter - December 1, 2023
Highlights: We have kicked off our new unit - buildings, with some of the following activities: looked at different types of buildings and discussed what we know about buildings; acted out Three Little Pigs (the students loved this); built cubix block towers; and ice skated using wax paper under our feet as skates while pretending we were in an ice skating rink. The students practiced drawing a person, used pattern blocks to create designs, and made shapes in shaving cream. The class watched The Poop Song (ENG Ver.) [Happy Studio Kids] and discussed what you should do if you “toot” (this is what the class calls it) by accident and how we all need to use the bathroom. As we do on the first day of every month, we listened to the month song Months of the Year Song - 12 Months of the Year - Kids Songs by The Learning Station
The students practiced cutting out a triangle - one hand uses the scissors and the other hand holds and turns the paper ( I wanted to give you the words we use because cutting shapes can be tricky for students). Everybody enthusiastically participated in a class obstacle course (tunnel, stepping stones and trampoline) - there are lots of pictures on the class website.
https://sites.google.com/westfieldnjk12.org/kbartok.
If you would like to come into the class to share a holiday tradition (such as a special book or special activity) please let me know.
I have posted some new Seesaw activities.
Dates to Remember
December 15 - No School, Prek Professional Day
Newsletter - November 17, 2023
Highlights: The students are enjoying the playground! We have been playing games such as Bingo, a game using dice, and Memory. During these last few weeks of our tree unit the students have participated in the following: used crayons and paper to make a tree bark rubbing, experimented with pinecones in water (the scales closed and they floated), watched Why Do We Need Trees? - Facts about trees for kids, and matched fruits that grow on trees to their initial letters. The students listened to A Tree is For, Growing Trees, and Night Animals. We watched this video about Diwali https://www.google.com/search?q=youtube+diwali+prek+book+for+diwali&sca_esv=580877352&rlz=1C1GCEA_enUS1071US1072&ei=WPpMZYmlLe2fptQPm_O66As&oq=youtube+prek+book+for+diwali&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiHHlvdXR1YmUgcHJlayBib29rIGZvciBkaXdhbGkqAggAMggQIRigARjDBEiXY1D_BFjRT3AGeAGQAQCYAZ0BoAGzCKoBBDExLjK4AQHIAQD4AQHCAgoQABhHGNYEGLADwgIKECEYoAEYwwQYCsICBRAAGKIEwgIIEAAYiQUYogTiAwQYACBBiAYBkAYH&sclient=gws-wiz-serp#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:f199f183,vid:x8ubwtJogFk,st:0
We have discussed what we are thankful for and read the book Thanks for Thanksgiving. Once again, the class was a good audience during the assembly about Lenape Indians.
Make sure to look at your child’s photos on the class website https://sites.google.com/westfieldnjk12.org/kbartok.
Dates to Remember
November 22 - class time 8:30 - 10:30
November 23-24 – No School, Thanksgiving Break
December 15 - No School, Prek Professional Day
Newsletter - November 3, 2023
Highlights: We are so pleased that Ms. Evangelista joined our class on October 23rd! The students were very enthusiastic about making apple bread. After watching videos about pumpkins and apples,the students scooped out a pumpkin, predicted if a pumpkin would float, and participated in an apple tasting activity. Each student estimated how many pumpkin erasers were in our pumpkin jar - as you can imagine, the guesses were way off, but everybody enjoyed guessing and then counting up the pumpkins. The students practiced reading their own Halloween pattern books (a pattern book is when each page has the same words except for one word which is different because the picture on the page is different). These books were sent home in each child’s backpack. We also read Trees, Trees, Trees; Henny Penny and the Scholastic Magazine. Some other skills/activities the students have been working on are the following: rhyming, making patterns, gluing, cutting, finding letters/words in a poem, painting pictures of things that grow on trees, and ball skills when we go to Kehler Field. Our class bulletin board (outside of the office) is decorated with the students' artwork - the students painted with fall colors and then cut out leaf shapes to make an autumn scene. Thank you to the parents who made the Halloween party so much fun. I am looking forward to talking with all of you about your lovely children at the parent-teacher conferences next week.
If you have not signed up yet for a conference time, please sign up here.
Bartok 2023 AM Parent-Teacher Conference Sign-up Sheet
Make sure to look at your child’s photos on the class website https://sites.google.com/westfieldnjk12.org/kbartok.
Special Person Schedule
November 6 - Damian
November 7 - Chibu
November 8 - Joseph
November 9 - No School
November 10 -No School
November 13 - Jules
November 14 - Charles
November 15 - Ava
November 16 - Umay
November 17 - Elena
Dates to Remember
November 6 class time 8:30 - 10:30
November 7 class time 8:30 - 10:30
November 8 class time 8:30 - 10:30
November 9 and 10 - No School, Teacher’s Convention
November 14 - Individual Picture Retake
November 17 - No School, PreK Training Day
November 22 - class time 8:30 - 10:30
November 23-24 – No School, Thanksgiving Break
Thank you,
Kristin Bartok
Newsletter - October 20, 2023
Highlights: The class has been busy investigating and learning about trees. They have examined different types of leaves and parts of trees using magnifying glasses and a balance scale, and measured the circumference of a tree. As I read the story Abiyoyo, each student pretended to be a character (the father) who used a stick throughout the story to make things disappear - everybody did such a great job listening to the story and pretending to be the father. The students also listened to the following books: The Grouchy Ladybug, Who Lives in Trees, and Trees Count. All the children have been working on their fine motor skills by engaging in some of the following activities: painted with q-tips, painted a picture with fall colors on the easel, painted with leaf shaped sponges, painted a pumpkin with puffy paint, used water paints to paint animals that live in trees, and used a crayon to make a leaf rubbing. Everybody seemed to love pretending to be a seed that grows into a tree, and singing the songs “Strolling Through the Park One Day” and “Five Little Pumpkins”. Thank you to the parents who were able to help make the pumpkin patch such a success.
The following are videos the class has watched: Sid The Seed (Official Video), “Is it a letter or number” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDfTS0bfskU , and Halloween Songs for Kids ♫ Haunted House ♫ Halloween Dance ♫ Scary Songs by The Learning Station
Does the jacket in the attached picture belong to anybody’s child?
Bartok 2023 AM Parent-Teacher Conference Sign-up Sheet
Dates to Remember
October 23 - Halloween Parade and Class Party
October 27 - No School - PreK Training Day
Newsletter - October 6, 2023
Highlights: The “Touch - A - Truck” event was a big success, and the class also really enjoyed the Fire Safety Assembly. For the “extra week of respect” at Lincoln School, the class engaged in the following: discussed and practiced ways of being kind, respectful, responsible and safe; painted/colored coloring pages on these topics; and read Kindness Starts with You, and Stick and Stone. We started off our “Trees” unit of study by discussing what we know about trees and going for a walk to collect leaves. The students acted out the poem “A Tree My Size” and read Abiyoyo, and Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. If your child (or you) would like to share anything related to trees (such as a beautiful/interesting picture of a tree, fallen bark, a leaf) that you think might be of interest to the class, feel free to send the item into class. In our Fundations (phonics) lessons, the students have been introduced to the letters A - H. The students watched/sang along to/danced to these videos: Happy Dance - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbZSe6N_BXs, Bingo BINGO | Super Simple Songs, and Months of the Year Song - 12 Months of the Year - Kids Songs by The Learning Station
Some other activities the students participated in are the following: pretended to be firefighters, worked on cutting skills, played Pete the Cat memory game, measured how tall students are by using string, and worked on patterns.
If you haven’t done so already, please send in a picture of your family and note who the people are and what’s going on in the picture.
Bartok 2023 AM Parent-Teacher Conference Sign-up Sheet
Dates to Remember
October 9 - No School - Indigenous Peoples’ Day/Columbus Day
October 13 - Pumpkin Patch
October 20 - Halloween Parade and Class Parties
October 27 - No School - PreK Training Day
Newsletter -September 23, 2023
Highlights: It has been just eleven days of school and the students have shown so much progress in learning the class routines and the class/school rules (such as walking down the stairs quietly). We have been starting “circle time” by singing hello to one another followed by singing along to one of these hello songs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ziku4FLka4 Good Morning Mr. Rooster or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0t_-cEIf17E Go Noodle - Hello in different languages.
We have read My Five Senses; Brown Bear, Brown Bear; Pete The Cat In His School Shoes; and Anansi And His Children. The students practiced pointing to words in their Scholastic Magazines as they read along with me, and they used story props to help recite “Mary Had a Little Lamb”. The following are some of the math activities we did: recorded which scent each student liked better (lemon or mint) on a chart, measured our shoes using cubix blocks, and recorded each student’s eye color on a graph. The students engaged in many other activities such as playing dominoes, painting with watercolors, and making “Mat Man”. The students did an excellent job during the first two safety drills. We talked about the new season and enjoyed listening to this video Four Seasons Song | Jack Hartmann
If you haven’t sent in the paper with the Kissing Hand, please do so. We are going to create a class book featuring a page for each student’s family. Please send in a picture of your family and note who the people are and what’s going on in the picture. I would like to record what each child says about the picture and your descriptions might help clarify things (such as peoples’ names and locations).
Make sure to send in a healthier snack when your child is “special” person - such as fruit, crackers, pretzels, cheese sticks, healthier type cookies, and graham crackers. When children celebrate birthdays in class, you can bring in more celebratory foods (i.e., cupcakes). We have lots of birthdays coming up this fall.
Dates to Remember
September 25 - No School - Yom Kippur
September 28 - Picture Day
October 5 - Back To School Night 6:40-7:05 in our pre k class
October 9 - No School - Indigenous Peoples’ Day/Columbus Day
October 13 - Pumpkin Patch
October 20 - Halloween Parade and Class Parties
October 27 - No School - PreK Training Day