September 29, 2011

Announcements:

• Picture day is on Tuesday, October 4th - our next day of class!
• On October 6th, a New Prague Fireman will be visiting our class.  He will bring in some of the equipment that firefighters wear when fighting fires.
• Pizza pick-up will be October 13th!
• October newsletters were sent home this week and will be summarized on the website.

School Activities this week:

• Our stars this week were: Cameron and Braxton!
• We had mail!!  We found several kinds of nuts: walnuts, chestnuts, acorns and peanuts.  We opened them and found the nuts inside!  All of the nuts grow on trees except the peanuts.  One of the chestnuts even had 2 nuts inside!!
• Dora's clues this week were: red leaf, orange leaf, yellow leaf - Dora likes colored leaves!  Can you find any of these outside at this time of year?
• Projects: We drew a picture of "my family", and worked on our number book in our booklet of experiences.
• The children were excused for snack by: 1)  The children had to scoop a nut out of a bowl and carry it on a spoon to another bowl - this worked on our fine motor skills! 2) The children matched leaves!
• Books: 

1.  Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf:  This book examines the life of a sugar maple tree from the point of view of a young child. One day the wind blew leaves and seeds off the maple tree, they fell to the ground and after a while got covered with snow.  In the Spring, sprouts came up and the workers came and took them to a garden center.  A little boy got to buy one and planted it.  He learned about all of the seasons, and he decides he likes Fall the best because of the beautiful leaves.
2. When a Leaf Blew In:  This is a fun story about the way one leaf turns an entire barnyard upside down!  For example, the cow sneezed "ah-choo" and made a spider land on an owl!

• Music:  1) "My Seasons" song, (sung to "The Muffin Man", act out actions in the song... flutter like leaves):  Leaves are turning, falling down; falling down, falling down; Leaves are turning, falling down; On this autumn day!  2) "Ten Little Red Leaves" Song (count along on fingers and name different colors): One little, two little, three little red leaves; Four little, five little, six little red leaves; Seven little, eight little, nine little red leaves; Ten little red Fall leaves!

Check out our garden/flower shop, creative play area this week!  More pictures on "photos" tab!

September 22, 2011

We had another great week!

Announcements for this week:

• Pizza orders due next week on Thursday!
• Pictures will be taken on Tuesday October 4th during class!

School activities this week:

• Dora's clues this week were:  a red apple, a basket, an apple tree.... We found out that Dora loves to pick apples, and she put a coloring page for you to color in her backpack!
• We had mail!  In our mailbox this week we found apples and some water.  We did an experiment, we put the apples in the water - ask your child if the apples sink or float?
• Our topic this week was "Apples Everywhere".  We talked about apples: they are crunchy, red, green, yellow, and they are good for you!  You can eat them in many different forms - apple pie, applesauce, apple juice - can you think of some more ways to eat apples?  Maybe you have an apple tree by your house or have visited an apple orchard!
• Art projects this week were: a "self portrait" drawing for our booklets (which will be sent home to view later in the year), and a sponge painted apple tree!
• This week the children were excused for snack by: 1) each child had to position a picture on the apple; 2) children practiced their colors by dropping a red, yellow, or green ball into a container!
• Books this week were: Ten Little Apples, Apple Countdown, An Apple a Day, and Amazing Apples.  Through reading "An Apple a Day" we discussed the whole process of growing an apple: the apple blossoms in the Spring, bees pollinate the flowers, and then inside the flower the apple begins to grow!  During the summer the tree gets sun & rain to help the apples get bigger!  We discussed the different colors that apples can become, and when they are ripe and ready to pick and eat!  We also learned about counting when reading about a fieldtrip to the Applebee Farm in "Apple Countdown" ! Count 20 name tags, 19 kids on the bus, 18 miles to the farm.  There are 14 cows and 13 ducks, and 12 rows of apple trees.  Count the apples in your sack, count 3 pies to eat (divided into 20 pieces), and all too soon it's 2 o'clock, time to go!  But wait - Lee has a number 1 surprise - when he crunches into his apple he lost 1 tooth! This book includes grouping and simple addition! 
• Music: We sang "Ten Little Apples": One little, two little, three little apples; Four little, five little, six little apples; Seven little, eight little, nine little apples- Delicious as can be. Crunch!  See if your child can sing it for you!

**DON'T FORGET TO CHECK THE FRIDAY PRE-K PAGE FOR THIS WEEK'S UPDATE!
*PHOTOS PAGE WILL BE CHANGED TO NEW PICS ALSO!

September 15, 2011

We had a great second week of school!

Announcements for this week:

• Picture day is Tuesday October 4th!
• Fall Fundraiser September 15-29 : Information was sent home in your child's backpack regarding our pizza sale fundraiser!  We are working with Stone Oven Pizzeria selling their real italian stone oven pizzas - they are delicious!  We are hoping that each family will be able to sell 15 pizzas to help us reach our goal.  If you sell 40 or more pizzas, you will be entered into our drawing for a $25 gift card to Wal-Mart/Sam's Club!  Estimated delivery for the pizzas are the week of October 13th - more details are on the fundraising form!

This weeks school activities:

We have a mailbox at our school - when the flag is up, we check inside the mailbox!!  Today we found an experiment with directions and we tried it!!  You can also try it at home!

• Magic touch bags:  In a large ziploc bag we combined: 5 Tbsp of cornstarch, 1/2 cup of water and a few drops of liquid watercolor and mixed it all together.  Now add 1/2 cup of oil, reseal the bag, and lay it flat on a tabletop for touch exploration!  Best to tape it to the table so it stays in one place!!!

Dora's clues in the classroom this week were: 1) yellow crayon, 2) yellow paper, 3) yellow marker.  When we opened up Dora's backpack we found that Dora had a book and a game about yellow!  Everyone got a yellow smile sticker!

Our art projects this week were marble painting and coffee filter painting!  Ask  your child how we did these paintings!

The children were dismissed from group to go to snack, each child had to: 1) match an animal to its' home, 2) roll a ball to a friend and say their name!

Stories the children listened to this week were: "This is My House", "There's No Place Like Home", and "Where Do You Sleep Lttle One?"

Songs we sang were: "Yes I Can", and "I'm growing up".  Song to try at home = "Yes I Can!"- (sung to the tune of "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands")

• I can (nod my head) - Yes, I can! (repeat this line 2 more times)
• I can (nod my head) right now!
• repeat with (shrug my shoulders), (wave my hands), (wiggle my nose), (blink my eyes)

Be sure to check out the Friday class section to see what our pre-K students did on Friday!  See you next week!
Some photos below, check out the "photos" tab for additional pictures from this week and last!

September 8th, 2011

We had a great first day - it was fun to see all of the smiling faces - smiles bloom here! :)

This year Dora will have clues throughout the classroom so the children can figure out what is in her backpack, which is on the wall of the classroom!  This week the clues were: a jar with bubbles inside, a bubble wand, and bubbles! We found a picture in Dora's backpack of Dora's friends blowing bubbles - have fun coloring the picture!

For art, the children painted this week - paintings will be coming home in their backpack!  We learned where to hang up our paintshirts when we were done, rather than leaving the shirts on the floor! :)

The children were dismissed for snack by matching the colored houses!  We learned about washing our hands before snack, found our name at the snack table, and discussed good table manners!

The books we read were: "Hands are Not for Hitting", and "Itsy Bitsy Spider".  Ask your children what they learned!

The songs we sang this week were: "Itsy Bitsy Spider" - fingerplay and song; and "Way up in the Apple Tree": "Way up in the apple tree, 2 little apples looked down at me, I shook that tree as hard as I could, down came the apples 1,2,3!"  Ask your child to sing it for you!

*Please note* One of the children in our class has a peanut allergy, please be sensitive to this allergy when bringing snacks and treats to Small Wonders - thank you!

It was great to see all of the fun "show and tell" items - see you again next week! We will have show and tell again on Tuesday!

September 6, 2011

Welcome back!!

We are looking forward to another fun year with you and your child!