Friday, September 30, 2016

Apples, Apples, Apples!



What a fun week we had in pre-k this week!  Our theme was apples.  The kids enjoyed exploring and experimenting with apples in many different ways.  We stamped with apples, painted apples, weighed apples, as well as made apple art.  We had fun getting silly with the book Ten Apples Up on Top.  It was all giggles in the room as we re-acted the story and tried to protect our apples from the angry bear and hungry birds!  The kids also enjoyed counting apples and other fruits when we read The Very Hungry Caterpillar. 

Click on the following link to see some pictures from our week of apple fun: Apples!

Physical Education

During gym this week, we played with a gigantic parachute.  The kids were thrilled to play different parachute games.  We had fun with the parachute.  Shaking it, running under it, and trying to figure out "who is missing?" during the Bug in my Chute game.  

Stamps are a Good Thing

If you have noticed your child coming home with stamps on their hands - that is a good thing!  We have been giving our students stamps to reward positive behavior such as sharing, sitting quietly, lining up, cleaning up, or participating during circle time. 


Water Bottles Wanted
The water fountain by our classroom is quite tall and rather tricky for many of our students to use.  I have been encouraging the kids to bring their water bottles into the classroom and leave them on the counter so that they are easily accessible throughout the day.  The kids are often very thirsty when we come back from playing in the gym, so sending a water bottle is a great idea to help keep them quenched!




Scholastic Book Orders

I will be sending home Scholastic book orders with your children.  Scholastic book orders give you the opportunity to purchase high quality books for your children at affordable prices.  Every time you order books from the Scholastic book order, you help earn educational items (such as new books and toys) for our classroom.  You are not obligated to purchase anything from the book order.  If you do choose to purchase books, simply fill out the attached order form and send it in your child's book bag with a cheque (made payable to Scholastic Canada) or exact change.  
Coming up Next Week...
Next week our theme is going to be Thanksgiving!  Next week will also be our first week of early dismissal days.  Don't forget - pre-k will be dismissing an hour early on both Wednesday AND Thursday.   Dismissal times will be 10:25 am for the morning class, and 2:15 pm for the afternoon class.  


Wednesday, September 21, 2016

Pre-kindergarten has gotten off to an amazing start.  I am so proud of all of my students.  We are all successfully coming to pre-k each morning and afternoon without tears - way to go everyone!

Click on the followign liks to see some pictures from our first few weeks of school:
Our First Day Of School
September
Balloon Painting


Our theme for the past two weeks has been Pete the Cat.  Pete the Cat is a series of children's books written by Eric Litwin.  If you are looking for a fun story to share with your children, I would highly recommend Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes, it is my personal favorite!

The students have had fun exploring several of Pete's books.  We have painted Pete's shoes, created Pete's school bus, and counted with Pete's buttons.  The students were thrilled when we used Pete's shoes to measure them and find out "how many shoes tall am I?"  We also had fun using our senses to get messy just like Pete by squishing strawberries, blueberries, and mud.


As a part of the MindUp Curriculum, I have been working with the students on deep breathing.  We practice deep breathing when we arrive, to calm down after gym class, as well as before we go home.  I will be working with the students throughout the year to take deep breaths when they are feeling frustrated to help calm themselves down before they react to a situation.

We have seen a lot of wasted juice during snack time.  It is difficult for our little people to drink an entire juice box in one snack time.  I would recommend sending juice or water in a re-sealable water bottle instead.  That way they can drink what they want, and take the rest home.

Next week we will begin our unit on Apples!