Apple-Palooza!

Well, it was a fun week in prekindergarten!  This week was all about apples.  Unfortunately we are still waiting for the green light to post pictures.  I promise I will share them all when I can - it will be worth the wait!  

Fine Motor

This week we made an apple craft to begin strengthening our fine motor skills and developing the all important pincer grasp.  We also had fun making apple pie play dough.  Play dough is a wonderful sensory experience that develops fine motor skills and hand eye coordination at the same time.

Click here to see more pictures of our apple projects.

Mr. Paul

Our Tuesday classes had a treat this week with a surprise visit from Mr. Paul.  Mr. Paul is a musical occupational therapist.  He is subcontracted through the Black Gold School District and will visit our PreK classes periodically throughout the school year.  He had a last minute cancellation Monday night, so we were able to squeeze in our first visit on Tuesday.  

When Mr. Paul visits he does music with the children, and mixes in different fine and gross motor activities at the same time.  This week the students did yoga, deep breathing, played his mandolin, as well as sang along to several different songs.  

Don't worry Monday/Wednesday students - you will have times with Mr. Paul throughout the year as well, and it will be worth the wait!

Click here to see more pictures from our visit with Mr. Paul!

How Tall Am I?

We had fun this week measuring each other with apples.  This activity worked on cooperation, counting, as well as hand-eye coordination skills.

Click here to see how many apples tall your child was!

Terry Fox Run

The students were full of energy and ready to run around our school yard on Wednesday and Thursday during our Terry Fox Run.  We chatted briefly about who Terry Fox was and what he was running for, then we enjoyed the beautiful weather as we adventured around the school yard.

You can click here to see more pictures from our Terry Fox run.

Ten Apples Up on Top!

This week we read Ten Apples Up on Top by Dr. Seuss.  The students had fun helping to reenact the story using apple blocks, a stuffed bear, and a toy mop.  This is a fun counting book with a silly story line that most children adore.  

To carry on with the apple theme we did a little finger play apple poem with the students this week: Five Little Apples.  Here are the words in case you want to do it at home as well!

  

Emergency Evacuation

Our Thursday morning class experienced their first emergency evacuation practice this week.  The students were very brave and remained calm during the entire practice - I am so proud of each and every one of them!

Click here to see more pictures from week three.

Coming Up Next Week

Next week our theme will be Thanksgiving.  We will be making a special snack on Wednesday and Thursday involving apples, Wow Butter, and marshmallows!  Please still send a snack to school on these days with your child (just in case they are still hungry afterwards, or in case they are not interested in eating our snack).

• October 4th and 5th - Early Dismissal Days
• The morning class will dismiss at 10:25 am
• The afternoon class will dismiss at 2:15 pm

Week Two!

We survived our first full week of prekindergarten!  The students seem to be settling into the routine of school.  Unfortunately the rainy weather kept us inside most the week.  However, we were lucky enough to go to the library, the gym, as well as have music class with Mrs. Stanksi this week!  

You can click here to see more pictures from music!

This past week we continued to work on developing our school routines.  Our Monday afternoon class experienced their first school wide emergency evacuation practice.  I was so proud of how patient our students were.  They had to stand in line for a long time until the drill was over.  

We are Crazy About Pete!

This week we experimented with strawberries, blueberries, and mud - just like Pete!  Earlier in the week we painted with berries and mud.  We also painted using shoes, as well as painted shoes using red (strawberry), blue (blueberry), and brown (mud) paint.  The students were delighted on Wednesday and Thursday when they were finally allowed to taste test those juicy berries.  It was all squeals during Pete's sensory walk.  The students had the opportunity to walk through bins of strawberries, blueberries, mud, and water during center time.  

You can click here to see more pictures from our Pete fun.

In the Gym

Last week in the gym we began to learn about the gym rules.  We also learned a new fun game called cat tag.  Next week we will continue to work on being the safe in the gym, and we will also be learning a new game called airport.

Scholastic Book Order

Next week your child will be bringing home a Scholastic Book order form.  Purchasing books from Scholastic is completed optional.  You are by no means obligated to buy books from the Scholastic Book order.  Scholastic Book orders give parents the opportunity to buy high quality children's books for a reasonable price.  When you make a purchase from Scholastic, our classroom earns points that can be used to purchase new books and materials for our prekindergarten classroom.  You can pay online or with a cheque.  Our first Scholastic Book Order is due on Thursday, October 5th.

Click here to see more pictures from week two!

Lost and Found

Please let me know if this sweater belongs to your child!  It was left behind one day during the first week of school.  

Coming Up

Next week prekindergarten will be all about apples!  We will also be having our own little Terry Fox Walk/Run around the school yard on both Wednesday and Thursday. 

• September 27th - picture day for the full time and M/W students
• September 28th - picture day for the T/Th students 
• October 4th and 5th - early dismissal days
• the morning class will dismiss at 10:30 am
• the afternoon class will dismiss at 2:15 pm
• October 5th - Scholastic Book orders due 

Happy First Days!

Prekindergarten has gotten off to a great start.  I am so proud of how brave each and every one of our students has been!  We have had a fun couple of days and I think we are going to have an amazing year.

You can click here to see more pictures from our first day of school!

Routines, Routines, Routines!

We have spent a significant amount of time these last couple of days trying to begin to establish some PreK routines.  Children are more relaxed in their environment when they have a predictable routine set in place.  We will continue to work on establishing our PreK routines over the next month.

Safety

We started talking about Emergency Evacuations this week.  We even began practicing emergency evacuation drills within our classroom.  We are getting ready for a real emergency evacuation practice that will be happening soon with all of the other boys and girls from our school!  I have been talking to your children about the importance of staying together with their PreK teachers and class during an emergency evacuation drill.  I have also been warning them about how loud the emergency evacuation bell is - but that it's okay, it is just loud, not scary.

Pick Up

As we work to find our end of the day and pick up routine, I am asking parents to please make sure a PreK staff member knows you have picked up your child before you leave.  Especially with our afternoon classes when there are kids from other grades going in and out of the school at the same time.

I am working with the students that they need to get their outside shoes or boots on, then line up on the black line and wait until a staff member can help them find their parents.  Thank you for helping us with this process!

Umbrella Breathing

This week I began to teach the students about "umbrella breathing."  Umbrella breathing (deep breathing) is a self regulation tool that can be used for calming yourself when you are upset.  We will be practicing umbrella breathing every day in our classroom using our "breathing bell."  Once the students understand how to umbrella breathe we will work with them to use umbrella breathing as a tool to help calm themselves down if they are upset.

You can click here to see more pictures from our first week of school.

Pete the Cat

Our theme right now is Pete the Cat.  We have been reading "Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes" by Eric Litwin.  I strongly recommend this book if you are looking for a story to enjoy with your child.  Next week we will have Pete themed art and sensory play.

Coming Up

Next week we will continue to enjoy our Pete theme.  We plan to get messy squishing berries and mud just like Pete does in the book!  We will also be working on how to play together, how to clean up after ourselves, as well as emergency evacuation practices.  We will begin going to the gym and library next week as well, although we will not be bringing library books home at this time (maybe the following week).  We will also begin having music classes with Mrs. Stanski.

Important upcoming dates:

• September 27th - Picture day for PreK students (except T/Th kids)
• September 28th - Picture day for the T/Th PreK students
• October 4th and 5th - Early Dismissal Days
• the morning class will dismiss at 10:30 am
• the afternoon class will dismiss at 2:15 pm

Welcome to PreK!

Our classroom is all set and we are ready for prekindergarten to start tomorrow!  Thank you to all of the families for attending the meet and greets over the past week.  We enjoyed getting to know you and your child on a more personal level.

Allergies

Please be aware that our classroom has a peanut and rice allergy this year.  I would appreciate if all of our prekindergarten families could help out by avoiding these foods when packing school snacks.

I am looking forward to a fun year of prekindergarten.  See you soon!