Thursday, October 28

 I will let the pictures show our activities for today. Happy Halloween!

Wednesday, October 27

Group Meeting:  The excitement is growing for tomorrow.  The children are ready for Halloween at school.  Please take a minute to read the note in their folder today.

Story:  The story for today was Pumpkin Jack by Will Hubbell.  Tim has a pumpkin that has been carved into a Jack-o-lantern.  He names it Jack.  He loves how it smells and lights up his bedroom.  When Halloween is over, his mother notices that it is rotten and asks him to take it outside.  Tim takes it to the garden.  He notices that it is beginning to fall in and get moldy.  After winter, Jack notices something growing.  Ask your child to tell you what it is.

Small Group:  The children played a counting game today with two plastic spiders.  One spider was orange and the other was black.  I put the spiders in an empty tissue box.  The children took turns reaching in to take out a spider.  If it was orange, they colored the spot on a spider orange.  They did the same with the black spider.  Once we had colored all of the spiders, we counted how many were orange and how many were black and wrote that amount on the paper.  

Gross Motor:  I have a die which is programmed with Halloween characters and a movement.  The children took turns rolling it.  They performed the movement that was on the top.

Snack:  The snack for today was Cinnamon Sugar Belvita bars, juice and water.

Tuesday, October 26

Group Meeting: We are getting closer to Halloween.  We have made party plans and will be making decorations today.  A note will be sent home tomorrow to remind everyone to wear a costume if they wish. 

Story:  The story for today was How Spider Saved Halloween by Robert Kraus.  This is the story of three friends; Spider, Fly, and Ladybug.  Spider does not know what costume to wear for Halloween.  He tries several costumes, but nothing seems right.  Then, two bullies come and smash the jack-o-lantern that is on the porch.  Ladybug thinks that Halloween is ruined, but Spider has an idea.  Ask your child to tell you how Spider saves Halloween for his friends, not just once, but twice.

Writing Journal:  After the story, we watched a video about real spiders.  Then we went to the table to draw pictures of what we learned.  Ask your child to tell you how many legs and eyes a spider has.  We had a lot of good questions following the video.  I am looking up the answers to those questions tonight!

Art:  The children made Halloween windsocks to hang for our party on Thursday.

Snack:  The snack for today was Apple Cinnamon rice cakes, milk, and water.

Thursday, October 21

Group Meeting:  Our opening song today was "Hocus Pocus Freeze Dance".  Throughout the year, we will do several songs that give us a movement to do which is followed by "freeze" or "stop".  The purpose of these songs are to practice listening skills and self-control.  

Story:  The story for today was The Little Old Lady Who Wasn't Afraid of Anything by Linda Williams.  The Little Old Lady was going on a walk in the woods to collect nuts and herbs.  By the time that she turned around to go home, it was getting dark.  As she walked along, she heard two shoes behind her go "clomp, clomp".  She wasn't afraid and kept on going.  Next, she came upon a shirt going "shake, shake".   This continues with pants, gloves, a hat and a pumpkin head.  What will become of these things?  Ask your child to tell you.

Math:  The children measured Halloween characters on paper with measuring cubes.  We compared the lines of cubes to see which was longest and shortest.

Let's Find Out Magazine:  Our magazine was about squirrels.  The video was very informative.  If you'd like to watch it, go to letsfindout.com  Sign in as a student and use the password redeemer.  The back page of the magazine was a little hard for some of our students.  You may help your child with this at home.

Snacks:  The snack for today was Cinnamon Apple Cheerios, milk, and water.  

Wednesday, October 20

 I want to thank all of the parents who were able to attend conferences this week.  I appreciate your time and comments as we work together.  I know there are a few parents that were not able to attend.  We can arrange a time after school or on a Friday.

Group Meeting:  We are doing all kinds of Halloween activities this week.  We started with a Halloween yoga video to get our muscles stretched and our brains thinking.

Story:  The story for today was Big Pumpkin by Erica Silverman.  A witch has planted a pumpkin seed.  A pumpkin grows on the fine.  She would like to take it off of the vine to make pumpkin pie for Halloween.  However, the pumpkin is too big for her to lift.  Her friends ghost, vampire, and mummy all try to help.  Finally, a bat comes along.  He may not be big, but he has an idea.  Ask your child to tell you how the bat's idea helped get the pumpkin off of the vine.

Literacy:  Two weeks ago, we did an activity in which we clapped fruit words to find out how many syllables were in the word.  Today, we did the same with Halloween words.  Once we determined how many syllables, we counted the same number of Unifix cubes and put them on our game boards.

Math:  The children were given a clip board with a paper on which the numerals 1-10 were printed.  They searched the room to find cards that had the same numerals.  Once they found a numeral, they traced it on their paper.

Snacks:  The snack for today was grapes, milk, and water.

Thursday, October 14

Group Meeting:  Today was October Birthday Day which means cooking!  Our Let's Find Out Magazine for today was about fire safety and firefighters so we wanted to highlight that as well.

Story:  The story for today was No Dragons for Tea by Jean Pendziwol.  In this story, a girl meets a dragon on her way to the beach.  They become friends.  She invites the dragon to her house for tea.  While they are eating, some spicy food causes the dragon to sneeze.  Dragons sneeze fire, so soon the drapes are burning.  The girl knows that the best thing to do is go outside.  The dragon wants to hide.  She pulls him to safety.  Then, the dragon wants to go back in for a toy.  She explains that she can replace his toy, but she can't replace him.  This book is a wonderful way to talk about fire safety to children without being scary.

Let's Find Out Magazine:  The accompanying video for our magazine was about firefighters.  We watched this first and then read through the magazine.  We did not have time to complete the back page, but I know the children will be able to complete it without much help.

Letter Learning:  Uu

Snack:  The children made apple roll-ups.  We used an apple slicer to cut apples that we received from Wallace's.  Every child took a slice and rolled it up in crescent roll dough that they had sprinkled with cinnamon sugar.  We baked them in the oven.  We had apple juice and water to drink.  We also had birthday brownies to celebrate.

Wednesday, October 13

Group Meeting:  We learned a new song today about apples.  We'll try it again tomorrow and perhaps your child will be able to tell you how it goes by then.  We are getting very good at the pumpkin chant.

Story:  The story for today was 10 Apples Up on Top by Dr. Seuss.  In this familiar book, three animals are trying to see who can balance the largest number of apples on their head.  Other animals try to knock the apples off.  This is a very good book for rhyming words.  I can read the sentences and leave off the last word and the children easily fill it in.

Gross Motor:  After the story, we tried to see if we could balance something.  I gave the children our supply of bean bags and we tried balancing them on our heads while we walked, hopped, etc.  

Letter Learning:  Ii

Snacks:  The snack for today was Sun Chips, juice and water. 

Tuesday, October 12

Group Meeting:  This was the first day for a King/Queen.  Some of the children were a little confused about the Show and Tell bag.  Only the King or Queen of the day is to bring Show and Tell, but everyone will get a turn to do so.

Story:  The story for today was Abiyoyo as told by Pete Seger.   This is a story based on an old African tale about a man and his son.  The man likes to play tricks on others and the son plays his ukulele too loudly.  They are sent to live outside of the city.  One day, Abiyoyo appears.  What is Abiyoyo?  Ask your child to tell you.  I'm sure they will be able to describe him perfectly.  Also, ask how Abiyoyo disappears.

Writing Journal:  After our story, we talked about things that are bigger than us.  The children drew a picture of something that is bigger.   We shared our drawings with each other.

Letter Learning:  Tt

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

Monday, October 11

Group Meeting:  We are starting a new activity this week that will continue throughout the year.  Every day, we will have a King or Queen.  The King or Queen will put the sticker on the 10 frame that we use to count the days.  He/she will also hold the flag for the Pledge of Allegiance and will be the line leader.  The King or Queen will get to bring one item for Show and Tell.  When it is your child's turn, a Show and Tell bag will be sent home with directions.  It will take 20 days for everyone's turn to come around which may seem like an eternity for some children, but everyone will get a turn.

Story:  The book that I read today was An Apple a Day by Melvin Berger.  This book, with it's wonderful pictures, shows how apples grow.  We see the blossoms, the bees, and the little apples that grow.  After I read this book, we compared it to the pumpkin book that I read on the field trip.  Both pumpkins and apples start as flowers.  Both need bees or some other pollinator to help the fruit grow.  

I also told the story of the little boy who was looking for a red house with a chimney that had a star inside.  The red house is an apple.  The children watched me find the star.  Your child can show you how to find the star.

Letter Learning:  Hh

Counting Syllables:  I told the children that words are made up of parts called syllables.  We can figure out how many syllables are in a word by clapping when we say the word.  I used fruits to demonstrate.  Apple has two syllables or two claps.  Banana has three.  We completed a paper with this activity that I will show you at conferences.

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

Thursday, October 7

 Group Meeting:  The children and I discussed the field trip to Wallace's.  We are making a thank you card and picture to send to Wallace's.  We also want to thank the adults who provided transportation for us as wekk,  

Story:  The story for today was The Bumpy Little Pumpkin by Margery Cuylar.  Little Nell and her sisters have grown pumpkins in their garden.  It's time to pick one to carve into a Jack-o-lantern.  Nell's big sisters pick big round pumpkins.  Nell picks a little bumpy pumpkin.  Her sisters call it ugly.  Who will help Nell carve this little pumpkin into a beautiful Jack-o-lantern?  Ask your child to tell you.

Writing Journal:  To help us remember what we saw on our field trip, the children drew pictures for their writing journal.  We learned how to draw things using shapes such as circles for pumpkins and apples, squares and rectangles for the big Adirondack chair, etc.

Letter Learning:  Ee

Science:  In the classroom, we have three pumpkins; large, medium, and small.  I filled a bucket with water and allowed the children to put the pumpkins in to see if they would sink or float.  All of the pumpkins floated!

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

Tuesday, October 5

Group Meeting:  Tomorrow is our field trip to Wallace's.  The children talked about things that they know about pumpkins and then we made a list of what we hope to learn about pumpkins.  Please take a few minutes to read the note that was sent home today about our trip.

Story:  Our story for today was The Roll-Away Pumpkin by Junia Wonders.  Marla Little's pumpkin is rolling away.  She chases it down the road.   The people along the way try to help her catch it, but it is too fast.  The pumpkin rolls down main street and into a parade.  At the end of the parade, there are people getting ready for a big lunch.  What will happen to the pumpkin?  Ask your child to tell you. 

Let's Find Out Magazine:  Our magazine was all about pumpkins.  We watched the video that was about different kinds of pumpkins, sizes of pumpkins, and what was inside of a pumpkin.  The morning class had time to finish the back page, but the afternoon class did not.  Please help your child complete this page if you have time.

Letter Learning:  The letter for today was Ff.  We made the letter with wooden pieces, made the letter sound, and wrote the letter using Wet, Dry, Try.

Snack:  The snack for the morning class was Wheat Thins, juice and water.  The afternoon snack was Goldfish, juice and water.  The family style service is working well!

Monday, October 4

Group Meeting:  This week, we will be learning about pumpkins; how they grow, what they look like, and what we can do with them.  We started by learning a pumpkin chant today.  Ask your child if they can recite it for you.  It starts with "pumpkin, pumpkin, pumpkin bread". 

Story:  The story for today was How Big Could Your Pumpkin Grow? by Wendall Minor.    This story invites us to think about how large a pumpkin could grow.  Contests are held every year for the biggest pumpkin.  Could a pumpkin be big enough to be a boat?  Could a pumpkin be a tunnel for a roller coaster?  Ask your child to tell you what was on the ribbon of the award winning pumpkin.

Letter Learning:  Today we started to learn about the letters of the alphabet.  We start with the letters that are the easiest to make.  Today's letter was Ll.   First, we make the letter with the wooden pieces that we learned about at the beginning of the year.  Next, we make the letter sound and identify the picture that starts with the letter. Finally, we print the letter on chalk boards using the Wet, Dry, Try method which is part of Handwriting Without Tears.  Ask your child to tell you about Wet, Dry, Try.

Snacks:  The snack for today was Teddy Grahams, juice and water.  The children are learning to use family style service at preschool and to pour their own drinks.  The snack is placed in a basket on each table.  The children take a snack and pass it to the person next to them.  When the water and juice is passed in our small pitchers, they pour a half a glass of their chosen drink.  This went very well today.  I'm sure your child will be excited to tell you about it.