Wednesday, September 29

 My apologies for not blogging yesterday.  After the afternoon class left, we were busy getting ready for company 😊  We want to thank all of those who were able to attend last night.  It was nice to see everyone.

Group Meeting:  We are still getting family pictures in for our Family Tree.  If you haven't sent one yet, please do so.  We are continuing to learn about Fall. 

Story:  Today, we read a non-fiction book by Sian Smith titled What Can You See in Fall?  This book has wonderful pictures of things that we will see as the season changes.  The simple text allows the children to read the book with me.

Fall Walk:  The children went on a fall walk to find the items that were listed in our book.  Each child had a list of things to look for.  As we found them, we checked them off of our list.  The only items that we couldn't find were mushrooms and apples.  Perhaps they can be found at home.

Fine Motor:  We sang the song "Where Do You Start Your Letters?" to help us prepare for letter printing which will begin next week.  The smiley face paper that your child brought home yesterday was in preparation for this as well.  The Handwriting Without Tears curriculum uses the smiley face to show children where to start printing. 

Snack:  The snack for today was apple cinnamon Cheerios, milk and water.

Tomorrow and Friday, the teachers will be participating in a state professional development online conference.  School will resume on Monday.  

Monday, September 27

Group Meeting:  We have been saying the Pledge of Alligiance for a week now.  The children are starting to pick up the words and learn their left hand from their right.  We are starting to talk about the changes that we see in the season of Fall.  This week, we will start looking for leaves that are changing colors and falling from the trees.

Story:   The story for today was I Am a Leaf by Jean Marzollo.  This story follows the life of a leaf from Summer to Fall, Winter and Spring.  We learned that leaves make tree food.   We also learned that leaves are green in the summer due to the chlorophyll in the leaves.  In the fall, the chlorophyll goes away, and we see the many colors.  Ask your child to tell you what the trees look like in Winter.

Leaves are Falling:  At the art table, the children were given leaves that were cut from diffuser paper.  They sprayed the leaves with water and them dropped liquid watercolor on them.  Once dry, we will tape these on our windows for everyone to see tomorrow night!

Mat Man:  We reviewed Mat Man and drew him on paper.  I showed the children how they can change Mat Man to look like any person by adding more features.  They watched me change Mat Man into Mrs. Christiansen, Superman (Batman in the afternoon), and my dad.  The children drew their own pictures of Mat Man and added more features to create someone that they knew.  These will be on our bulletin board in the hallway.

Snack:  The snack for today was Teddy Grahams, juice, and water.

Tomorrow is Picture Day!

Thursday, September 23

Group Meeting:  Your child is bringing home a note about Family Night and Picture Day.  Please take a few minutes to look at the information.  We would like to have everyone's family picture on our tree by Tuesday night.  Please send one if you haven't so far.

Story:  The story for today was Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCluskey.  Sal and her mother are going blueberry picking.  Sal picks a few blueberries and puts them in her pail.  Then, she eats them.  She decides to sit and eat blueberries instead of helping mother.  On the other side of the mountain, a mother bear and her bear cub are eating blueberries.  The cub sits down to eat berries too.  Ask your child to tell you what happens when Sal starts to look for her mother and the little cub searches for his.

Let's Find Out Magazine:  The magazine was about apples and bananas.  The video was about how apples grow and what we can make with apples.  If you'd like to watch the video and have access to other resources from Scholastic, go to letsfindout.com  Log in as a student and use the password redeemer.

Fine Motor:  The children sang the song "The Ant, the Bug, and the Bee".  They completed the paper that helps us learn to make lines up, down, and around.

Snack:  The snack for today was bagels, cream cheese, milk, and water.

Wednesday, September 22

Group Meeting:  We looked at a few more family pictures today.  If you haven't sent one yet, please do so.  The children love looking at them on our Family Tree.

Story:  The story for today was Harry the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion.  Harry is a white dog with black spots who does not like to take a bath.  One day, he hears the bath water running and thinks he will have to take a bath.  He buries the scrub brush in the backyard and runs away from home.  He explores new places in the neighborhood and gets very dirty.  So dirty, that he looks like a black dog with white spots.  When he decides to go back home, his family does not recognize him.  What can he do to make his family realize that it is him?  Ask your child to tell you!

Numeral recognition:  The children played a game called "Where's Harry?"  In small groups, we placed numeral cards 1-10 on the table.  The children took turns hiding Harry behind one numeral card while the rest of the group closed their eyes.  The children took turns guessing which numeral Harry was hiding behind.  

Fine Motor:  The children learned the song "The Ant, the Bug and the Bee".  This song is part of the Handwriting Without Tears song.  After listening to the song, they completed a coloring page.

Snacks:  The snack for today was white cheddar rice cakes, milk and water.  

Tuesday, September 21

Group Meeting:  A few family pictures were brought in today.  The children told us about the members of their family.  We put the pictures on our Family Tree.  If you have not sent a picture, it can be brought at any time.

Story:  The story for today was Little Gorilla by Ruth Bornstein.  Everyone loves little gorilla; all of the members of his family and members of his animal community.   Then something happens.  Little gorilla grows up.  Will his family and community still love him?  Ask your child to tell you what happens at the end of the story.

Mat Man:  I demonstrated how to draw Mat Man one more time using the Mat Man song as a guide.  Then, I gave the children a paper to draw on while they listened to the song.  I saw a lot of amazing Mat Men!

Gross Motor:  The children learned to play the game "London Bridge".  We took turns being the bridge.

Snack:  The snack for today was cottage cheese, pretzels, juice and water.  

Group Meeting:  A family tree has been placed on the wall in our block area.  You child is bringing home a note today asking for a family picture to put on the tree.  This doesn't have to be a formal portrait.  Any picture that you have of your family will be perfect.  During Group Meeting this week, we will give the children a chance to show their pictures.

Story:  The story for today was The Little Red Hen retold by Bonnie Dobkin.  This is the classic story of the hen who finds wheat seeds and asks her friends for help in planting, harvesting and grinding the wheat to make bread.  Her friends do not want to help.  After the hen bakes a loaf of bread, the friends want to help her eat it.  Should she share?  This was a difficult question for the children.  They first thought that the hen should share even though the friends did not help her.   However, because the friends did not help her.  She didn't have to share.  The next time, the friends will help, and she will be happy to share.

Rhyming Words Bingo:  The children were given a paper with the characters and props from the story printed on it.  I would say a word that rhymed with one of those items.  Once we identified which word rhymed with it, the children circled the picture or colored the picture.  We will work on rhyming words throughout the school year.

Mat Man:  The children helped me assemble Mat Man again today.  Then, we took turns drawing him on the Promethean board.  

Snack:   The snack for today was Sun Chips, applesauce and water.  

Thursday, September 16

Group Meeting:  Today is Birthday Day.  We celebrated the September Birthdays at snack time.  We will be making our own snack today.

Story:  The story for today was Go Away, Big Green Monster by Ed Emberly.  This book is told with diecut pages in which the reader turns to create the Big Green Monster and then make the monster disappear.  This is a book that children can retell to themselves once they know the sequence.

Let's Find Out Magazine:  Our magazine today was about friendship.  The children in the magazine show a monster how to be a good friend.  The accompanying video gave the children ideas on how to be a good friend to a classmate. 

Fine Motor:  The children listened to the song of Mat Man and worked together with a group to build him with the wooden lines and curves.  

Snack:  The children made cinnamon biscuits.  They took Pillsbury biscuit dough, dipped it in butter, and rolled it in cinnamon sugar.  We baked them for 20 minutes.  They were delicious and the whole room smelled great.  We enjoyed them at snack time with juice and water.  We also had Birthday Brownies to celebrate the September birthdays. 

Wednesday, September 15

Group Meeting:  Our opening song today was "Roller Coaster" by Koo Koo Kangaroo.  If you are not familiar with Koo Koo Kangaroo, their Youtube videos are great for movement songs.  Brian and Neal are pretty funny, too.

Story:  The story for today was Where's My Teddy? by Jez Alborough.   Eddie has lost his teddy named Freddie.  He walks into the woods to find Freddie.  He finds a bear that looks like his teddy but is much bigger.    Did his bear grow?  Along comes a bear holding a tiny teddy.  The bear thinks that his teddy has shrunk.  Ask your child to tell you how the two meet and find the solution to the missing bears.

Sorting:  After the story, the children went on a Bear Hunt.  The teachers had hidden toy bear manipulatives around the room.  Each child could find two bears.  After all of the bears were found, we sorted them according to size and then color.  (The afternoon class did not have enough time for this activity.  We will try to squeeze it in tomorrow.)

Fine Motor:  The children learned about Mat Man.  Mat Man is part of the Handwriting Without Tears program.  It is used to teach children how to draw a person.  We used the wooden lines and curves to make Mat Man.  We listened to the Mat Man song which helps us put him together.

Snack:  The snack for today was cereal (wheat Chex-AM, Cheerios-PM), milk and water.

Tuesday, September 14

Group Meeting:  The children asked if we would be going outside again today.  By looking at the Message Board, they could see that we would.  They are learning to use the Message Board to know what and when we will be doing activities for the day.

Story:  The story for today was Peeny Butter Fudge by Toni Morrison.  In this story, Mom has to go away for a while, so she takes the children to Nana's house.  Nana has a lot of fun stuff planned.  Nana read stories, completed a puzzle with the children, and pretends to be a patient at the hospital so that the children can take care of her.  After all of that, Nana shows the children how to make Peeny Butter Fudge.  The children help her mix it and pour it in the pan.  When Mom arrives to pick up the children, she finds a big mess.  What can make Mom feel better?  Ask your child to tell you. 

Lines and Curves:  The children reviewed the lines and curves that we learned yesterday.  We sang the "Wooden Piece Hokey Pokey".

Writing Journal:  I asked the children to print as many letters as they knew.  Some children wrote their names, some wrote other letters, and some made pretend letters.  All of the writings were good.  It helps me to know where they are in their fine motor development. 

Snack:  The snack for today was apples, Sun Butter (sunflower butter that tastes like peanut butter), milk and water.  

Monday, September 13

Group Meeting:  The children were excited to hear that we could go outside during play time today.  We took a few minutes to talk about what things we could do outside and how to play safely.

Story:  The story for today was Charlie Anderson by Barbara Abercrombie.  Charlie is a cat that wandered into Elizabeth and Sarah's house one day.  He liked their house and stayed overnight.  In the morning, Charlie went back outside and into the woods.  Each day, Charlie comes in for the night and goes out in the morning.  One stormy night, Charlie doesn't come home.  The girls are worried about him.  Where did Charlie go?  Ask your child to tell you.  I love this book because it talks about how Charlie and the girls both have two homes.  The girls stay with their mom during the week and visit their dad on the weekends.  Charlie has two homes too.  He stays with the girls at night and goes to the neighbors during the day.  Two homes with people who love them.

Curves and Lines:  I introduced the children to wooden lines and curves.  This is part of the Handwriting Without Tears curriculum.  When we begin making letters, it will be helpful for the children to know the difference between a line and a curve.  We used the big lines to sing "Tap, Tap".

Snack:  The snack for today was whole wheat Goldfish, cheese sticks, and water.

Here's a few pictures from outside today.

Thursday, September 9

 Group Meeting:  The excitement for today was watching the workers in our playground.  The children enjoyed watching the dump truck deliver gravel and the workers spread it on the ground.  Tomorrow, the rubber will be poured.  We are planning to play on it on Monday!

Story:  Our story for today was A Color of His Own by Leo Lionni.  This is the story of a chameleon who wishes that he didn't change colors.  Other animals have colors of their own like the gray elephant and the green parrot.  The chameleon decides to stay on a green leaf and be green forever.  However, fall comes. The leaves change from green to yellow to red and so does the chameleon.  After a long winter, the chameleon finds something that is the same color that he is.  Ask your child to tell you what it is.

Fine Motor:  After the story, I gave each child a paper with a chameleon printed on it.  Our goal was to put small pieces of colored paper on it to make it look like the chameleon in the book.  To do so, we learned how to use a bottle of gel glue.  We call this "drippy glue".  The children learned a method we call, "dot, dot, not a lot" to make small dots of glue.  We learned how to open and close the glue bottle as well.  The pictures will dry over the weekend and be sent home on Monday.

Let's Find Out:  Our magazine today was about School Feelings.  We can have many feelings during our school day.  This magazine helped us identify them and talk about how to work through our feelings.

Snacks:  The snack for today was blueberry Belvita bars, juice and water.

Wednesday, September 8

Group Meeting:   The children are quickly learning our routine.  Ask your child to tell you about the message board.  Ask your child about the math journal.  These are both things that we are learning to do!

Story:  Last week, we had the story of Pete the Cat, I Love My White Shoes.  Our story today was Pete the Cat, My Four Groovy Buttons by Pete Litwin.  Pete's favorite shirt has four colored buttons down the front.  One by one, the buttons pop off.  We subtract the button that falls off by counting how many are left.  Does Pete cry?  Goodness no, buttons come and buttons go.  

Fine Motor Practice:  The children listened to the song "Pick up a Crayon".  Yesterday, we colored little stars and fireflies.  Today, we colored big fireworks.   This is good practice for when it's time to start making letters.

Numeral identification:  Following the story, the children searched for four buttons that had numerals printed on them that were hidden around the room.  When they found a button, they had to find the matching numeral button on their paper and use their crayons to make it the same color. 

Snack:  The snack for today was strawberry yogurt, granola, juice and water.

Your child is bringing home a note in their folder today.  Please return the folder tomorrow.  Thank you!

Tuesday, September 7

Group Meeting:  We are starting a Job Chart today.  When it is time to clean up after play time, the children will look for their name on the Job Chart.  There will be a picture of a play area that they will help clean up.  This makes clean up time go very quickly!

Story:  The story for today was Wemberly Worried by Kevin Henkes.  Wemberly is a little mouse who worries about everything.  Her new worry is school.  She has never been to school before.  Will the teacher be nice?  Will she like the snack?  Will she make a friend?  Ask your child to tell you how the story ends.  As I was reading, it was good to hear a few children say, "She doesn't need to be worried.  The teacher will help."

Fine Motor:  The children listened to the song, "Pick up a Crayon".    This song teaches us the proper way to hold a crayon.  We sang along to it a few times and practiced holding a crayon.  Then, we practiced coloring by pointing the crayon and wiggling it back and forth.  The star/firefly picture in your child's bag is what we used to practice.

Writing Journal:  We sang the song "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" and pointed the body parts that we named.  Next, we sat down and drew a person.  

Snack:  The snack for today was carrots, ranch dip, milk and water.  

We had some good news about our playground today.  I'll share that in a letter tomorrow!

Thursday, September 3

Group Meeting:  On Tuesday, we began counting the days that we are in school using a ten frame chart.  Every day, we will put a sticker in the ten frame and count them.  Soon, we will be counting by ones and tens.  We now have three smiley face stickers on our chart.

Story:  The story for today was Little Blue and Little Yellow by Leo Lionni.  Little Blue has a good friend, Little Yellow.  One day, Little Blue went to visit his friend, but Little Yellow was not home.  He search for him.  When he found Little Yellow, he was so happy that he hugged him.  He hugged him so tightly that they became green.  When they went home, their parents did not recognize them.  They cried big blue and yellow tears until they became Little Blue and Little Yellow again. 

Small Groups:  After the story, we talked about the colors that mixed.  We wondered what other colors mix to create new colors.  We gave the children water that had a little Liquid Watercolor in it.  They used droppers to drop the colors onto wax paper.  When the color drops mixed, they created new colors.  We used cotton balls to soak up the new colors.  

Let's Find Out Magazine:  Every Thursday, the children will receive a Let's Find Out Magazine.   The content of these magazines are typically science and social studies.   The magazine has a video to watch and activities to do.  Today's magazine is about keeping our classroom tidy.   Please take a few minutes to look at the magazine with your child.

Snack:  The snack for today was Wheat Thins, cheese, juice, and water.

It's Labor Day Weekend.  Enjoy the wonderful weather.  School resumes on Tuesday!

Wednesday, September 1

Group Meeting:  Today, the children met Zoey and Max.  Zoey and Max are two puppet friends of mine that I use to teach kindness at preschool.   I explained to the children that we have rules at school which will help us all have a good time.  I will be using these puppets for the first two weeks as we learn how to work through different situations.

Story:  The story for today was My Camel Wants to be a Unicorn by Julia Inserro.  In this story, a girl thinks that her camel wants to be a unicorn because she keeps putting things on her head to make a horn.  The camel doesn't seem to be happy.  At the end of the story, the girl figures out why the camel wants a horn.  Ask your child to tell you why.  We discussed how the camel could not tell the girl why she wanted a horn.  Children can use words to tell their parents and teachers what they want. 

Math Journal:  The children colored the cover of their September Math Journal today.

Large Group:  The children played a game in which they were given a small number of Unifix cubes.  They had to count them and find the matching numeral that was somewhere in the classroom.  This was a very simple counting activity.  The goal was not to check their counting skills, but to practice following a two step direction.  This is something that is important for children to learn before we present more challenging skills. 

Snack:  The snack for today was bananas, milk and water.