Announcements:
- We have just had a wonderful year! Thank you for sharing your children with us!!!
- Remember there are no more classes for the year!
- Next week is the preschool garage sale, on Wednesday the 23rd from 4-7pm for local preschools/daycares and parents of students; and on Thursday the 24th at 9:00am open to the public. (Cash only for all sales)
Activities:
- Theme: Safety in the Summer!
- Mortimer the puppet introduced the letter Z- he had a zipper! He was so sad to say "good-bye" to the children - he brought the kids a picture of him so we will remember him. Ask you child if we looked for Mortimer on our fieldtrip in the Friday class?
- Song: "We're going on a picnic!": "we're going on a picnic to the park today; and if it doesn't rain we'll be gone all day!"
- It was fun to have a picnic outside next door to the school on Thursday!
- Dora's clues: tent, flashlight, backpack --- Dora wants to go camping!
- Books: Hide and Seek Safety; Beach Day
- Excuse for snack activity: the children cooperatively built a creation on a tray and carried the creation together!
- We let our 5 butterflies go -- they all flew away!
- Have a wonderful summer!
May 10, 2012
- OPEN HOUSE THIS WEDNESDAY THE 16TH AT THE SCHOOL FROM 4-7PM in recognition of Carol and Mary!
- Happy Mother's Day!
- **Picnic outside on lawn next door to the school on Thursday - BRING A LUNCH! :)
Activities:
- Ask us about our field trip - we had a great time!! We enjoyed... riding the bus, eating our ice cream snack, and watching a cartoon about "Goofy" at Carol's house!! Then we got to go to the park - it was a very fun day!!!
- Snack Helper: Laine
- Project: wrap our Mother's Day gifts!
- You get to keep the Booklet of Experiences -- enjoy!
- Dora's clues: black, black, black... we found black paper and Carol blew bubbles and we caught the bubbles on our black paper!
- Books: Bubbles, Bubbles Everywhere; A Butterfly is Born
- Mortimer the puppet introduced the letter Y - he had a yo-yo in his mouth!
- We've got mail: Lots of Bubbles: here's a project you can do at home: put bubble solution in a dishwashing tub, and give the children a clean flyswatter. They can dip the flyswatter in the solution, remove it, and wave it around to see all the bubbles it will create!
- Song: "Pop, goes the Bubble": "Mix the soap and water up; To make a bubble mixture; Blow through the wand and watch it float; Pop! Goes the bubble!"
Announcements:
- Remember our bus field trip is this Thursday May 10th! The kids are so excited!
Activities:
- Helpers this week: Caite and Cameron
- Theme this week: Gardens!
- Books: Seeds Get Around, The Vegetable Garden, and Seed to Plant
- We've Got Mail: We found a flower experiment! Make a fresh cut on the bottom of the stem and put the flower in colored water - blue food coloring seems to work the best - watch the flower change to a pale blue color!!!
- Mortimer the puppet introduced the Letter X! Mortimer ws hurt and he brought an xray to show us!
- Dora's clues: small, medium and large rectangles - Dora likes rectangles!
- Dismiss for snack activity: Match the colored bird to the birdhouse! Count the number of shapes and match to the numeral!
- Song: May is Here (sung to Are You Sleeping?): I see daisies, i see daisies; Bloom in May, bloom in May; May's the month for flowers; No more April showers; May is here, May is here!
- Projects: Mother's Day Gift! We also measured the children to see how much they have grown for their booklets!
April 26, 2012
Announcements:
- Thank you for all of your pizza orders and donations!
Activities:
- Ask us about our walk to the post office - what other stores did we see? Where do the letters go when you mail them? Did we see any "behind the scenes" activities? Be sure to look for your family letter in the mailbox!
- Snack helpers: Colten
- Projects: "I feel....." - story for our booklet; and we finished our number book!
- Dismiss for snack activity: match the ovals - match numerals on the oval eggs!
- Dora's clues: we found small, medium, and large ovals - and we matched them!
- Books: Some Babies Are Wild; Baby Animals
- Song: "Baby Animals", sung to "are you sleeping?": Baby animals, baby animals; Oh so small, oh so small; They're cute and sometimes cuddly; They play and eat and sleep; Baby animals, baby animals!
Announcements:
- PIZZA PICKUP APRIL 26TH AT 5:45-6:15PM at Small Wonders!
- Due to possible road construction, if the access to the parking lot is blocked, please park on the street and come down the stairs to get into school - thank you!
- WALK TO THE POST OFFICE THIS THURSDAY - dress accordingly for outside weather - and wear good walking shoes!
Activities:
- Theme: Our Beautiful Earth!
- Snack Helpers: Laine
- Art Projects: Frog headband.... ask your child what does their frog like to eat??; Letter to family and friends- Ingredients for friendship -- We will be mailing these to our families when we go to the Post Office on April 26th!
- We've got mail: We found two bowls of water with plastic fish in each bowl.... One stays clean and the other you put garbage into.... We talked about pollution and which fish will be healthier and happier!
- Song: Picking up Litter: (sung to the tune of "If you are happy and you know it").... "If you see a piece of litter pick it up!; If you see a piece of litter pick it up!; It's an easy thing to do; Takes a second, maybe two; If you see a piece of litter pick it up!!"
- Spunky the Squirrel - came to ask us to take care of the trees and keep our earth clean. Trees are the home for many animals!!
- Books: Why Should I Recycle; Where Did All the Garbage Go?
- Excuse for snack activity: follow a direction and make a pattern
- Mortimer the puppet introduced the letter W--- he had a Wrist Watch on!!
- Dora's clues: purple paper, purple marker, purple crayon-- Dora had a fun book about purple!
Announcements:
- Flip Flops on your feet: aren't safe in the classroom and are not acceptable for field trips - thank you!
- Pizza fundraiser orders were due today.
Activities:
- Theme: All about birds!
- Snack Helper: Jazlyn & Andrew
- We've Got Mail: Rainy Day Clothing-- we explored and compared the material used for rainy day clothing to those used for everyday wear! A fun way to investigate water absorption!
- Dora's clues: Baby birds with mouth wide open in the nest, brand new baby birds with no feathers, robin feeding baby birds...... Dora found a nest and she loves Spring! We learned about baby birds!
- Books: The Best Nest, No Roses for Harry, Spring is Here
- Dismiss for Snack Activity: match the animals and birds -- scales, fur and feathers - which goes to which animal? We also analyzed which colored bird goes into this colored house?
- Songs: Birds are Flying in the Air: Birds are flying in the air; flying flying everywhere! Blue birds, black birds, red birds too; They will sing a song to you!
- Mortimer the puppet introduced the letter V! He found a Vest to wear! Help your child discover other words that start with the letter V!
Annoucements:
- No School April 2-6 - Spring Break!
- See your newsletter for details re: Spring 2012 Pizza fundraiser!
Activities:
- Theme this week: creatures: ants.... zoo!
- Snack Helpers: Laine and Norah
- Art projects: oval collage; and Q-tip painting of oval
- Mortimer the puppet introduced the letter U - he found an umbrella!
- We've got mail: we found a demonstration called "magic copper cleaner": We put a penny in white vinegar and salt and watched what happened: it turned into a shiny penny very quickly!!
- Dora's clues: bubbles, bubble handle, bubble jar - Dora wants to blow bubbles outside!
- Books: The World of Ants, Where do Ants Live, and Zoo Animals!
- Dismiss for snack activities: zoo animal match, and match the golashes!
- "I see the animals!" game: "Do you see the elephants stomp, stomp, stomp? (children stomp); Yes we see the elephants stomp, stomp, stomp! (repeat action); Do you see the kangaroos hop, hop, hop? (children hop); Yes we see the kangaroos hop, hop, hop! (repeat action); Continue with: birds flap, monkeys scratch, bears growl, penguins waddle, etc.
- "Oh Where" song (sung to "oh where oh where has my little dog gone?): Oh where, oh where does the (zebra) live? Oh where, oh where is his home? Is it in the water or on the land? Oh where or where does he roam? (repeat with other animals)
Activities:
- Snack Helpers: Braxton and Will
- Topic: Staying Healthy!
- Art Projects: Frog - squish bag - fingerpaint inside; Butterfly!
- Dora's clues: green marker, green crayon, green paper - we found a song and book about green in the backpack!
- Mortimer the puppet introduced the letter "T" - he found a toothbrush in the woods! Practice words with the letter T with your child!
- We've got mail: We found "Bac" the bacteria puppet! His real name is B-A-C-T-E-R-I-A and he didn't want the children to wash their hands or keep things clean, because he wanted a place to hide and make people sick! But, the children remembered it was easy to get rid of Bac - just wash their hands and keep things clean! We also talked about the germ busters: elbow sneeze and cough, throw tissues in the trash can, and keep toys out of your mouth! You can't see the germs on your hands, and it is especially important to wash your hands before you eat!
- Dismiss for snack activity: snowman color match and match food
- Stories: Bear Wants More; You are What You Eat; Eating Right
- Songs: 1) (sung to row row your boat): Wash, wash, wash your hands; to the count of fifteen; scrub em and rub em; rub em and scrub em; till they're really clean! 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10, 11,12,13,14,15.... Now I'm clean! 2) (sung to she'll be comin' around the mountain): When you cough or when you sneeze, cover your mouth; When you cough or when you sneeze, cover your mouth; When you cough or when you sneeze, cover your mouth, if you please; When you cough or when you sneeze, cover your mouth!
- We talked about treats and healthy food, for an interesting discussion with the children!
Activities:
- Snack Helpers: Molly & Ryder
- Theme this week: transportation!
- Art Projects: we made a butterfly and a shamrock (out of hearts)!
- Books: Plane Rides, Boat Rides, Train Rides
- Songs: "Choo Choo Train"; and "I'm a Little Airplane" (sung to "I'm a little teapot"): "I'm a little airplane in the sky; I start out low; then I fly up high. When it's time to land, my wheels come down. And then I gently touch the ground."
- Dora's clues: leprechaun, shamrock, green hat...... Happy St. Patrick's Day!
- We found a pot of gold (chocolate kisses) in the school today--- we decided the leprechauns brought it and forgot where they left it so we each got a piece of gold!! We also had mysterious green footprints in the school -- did they match our feet? Who left the green footprints? :)
- We've got mail: We found a project - how to make a balance scale! Directions: use a clothes hanger to make a balance - tie two identical cups on each end of the hanger so that they balance and tape them in place. Hook the scale to a door knob or cabinet handle, or hang it from the ceiling. Invite the children to weigh and balance small toy animals, clocks, shells, rocks, etc. How many rocks does it take to balance against one toy animal? What happens when you place one block in each cup? Does one square block weigh more or less than a rectangle shaped block? Or, do they weigh the same?
- Dismiss for snack activity: match transportation pictures! We talked about different ways that we travel - by air, land, and water.
- Mortimer the puppet introduced the letter "S"! He was wearing Socks!!
Announcements:
- Conferences Friday March 9th, no school!
- Thanks for signing up to bring snacks!
Activities:
- Snack helpers: Emma and Lydia
- Art projects: we made a kite; and we worked on a story - "If I could drive a car....."
- We've got mail: We found an experiment - "salty water makes the egg float"! To do the experiment, fill a glass cup half full with water, carefully drop an egg in the water - it should sink! Slowly stir salt into the water - the egg should start to float. It is much easier for people to float in the salty water of the ocean too!!
- Mortimer the puppet introduced the letter "R" - he found a rainbow colored rabbit in the woods!
- Dismiss for snack activity: snowman number match, and position pictures!
- Dora's clues: small, medium, and large diamond - there was a diamond kite in the backpack for the children to color!
- Stories: Who Cares About the Weather; Bears Your Manners are Showing; Manners at School
- Song: "Teddy Bear Hokey-Pokey" song: You put your teddy bear in, you put your teddy bear out; You put your teddy bear in, and you shake it all about, You do the hokey pokey and you turn yourself around, That's what it's all about!
Announcements:
- Booklet of Experiences: Your child brought home their booklet on Thursday! Spring progress reports will also be in the booklet...... And, you have an assignment to do! Please write about your child's favorite place to go with your family. You may include pictures. Have fun writing and talking to your child about his/her special place. Please remember to return the booklet to school - you will get to keep the booklet in May!
Activities:
- Snack helpers: Laine and Andrew
- Theme: dinosaurs
- Dora's clues: star, star, star - we found a dot to dot paper exercise that makes a star!
- We've got mail: We found a rainbow volcano experiment! You need a small bowl of water. Squirt shaving cream into the center of the water, drip colors of water (use food coloring) on the top and watch the water run down the volcano - you will make a rainbow of colors in the water!
- We took a walk/fieldtrip to Dr. Dvorak's dental clinic - ask us what we learned about eating healthy foods and taking care of our teeth!
- Mortimer the puppet introduced the letter Q! Mortimer had a quilt - did it keep him warm??
- Dismiss for snack activity: dinosaur match exercise
- Books: Dinosaur book; Can I have a Stegosaurus Mom? Can I Please?
- Songs: Dino Play, sung to "row row row your boat": "Dino, Dino, dinosaurs; How are you today?; Dino, dino, dinosaurs; Would you like to play?"; and Stegosaurus: sung to "are you sleeping?": "Stegosaurus, Stegosaurus in the swamp, in the swamp. Plates upon your back, with your tail you whack - klomp, klomp, klomp!"
Activities:
- Helpers this week: Colten
- Theme this week: Here comes the circus!
- Art projects: clown, and we worked on a story for our booklet of experiences!
- Dora's clues this week were: a clown, a lion tamer, a unicycle rider and a juggler...... All the pictures work in the circus! There was a clown in the backpack for the children to color at home!
- Mortimer the puppet introduced the letter "P" - he found a Pink Pig friend in the woods!
- We've got mail: We found an activity that showed us how to make a bird feeder! We cut an orange in half, cut 3- 12 inch pieces of yarn and criss-cross them setting orange in the center where the strings meet - then tie all loose ends together and hang in a tree!
- Dismiss for snack activities were: mitten match and number match exercises
- Stories: The Loudest Roar, Clifford at the Circus, and Bozo the Clown
- We looked at pictures of how clowns put on their make-up. Clowns aren't so scary now that we know they are just regular people with lots of make-up on, and funny noses or maybe a wig!
- Songs: Circus Clown, and Pop! Goes the Clown!: " All around the circus tent, The clown was acting silly! The monkey thought 'twas all in fun, Pop! Goes the clown!"
Announcements:
- Thanks for making the carnival such a success! It was so much fun!
- *NEW* March 1st: Walk to Dr. Dvorak's dental clinic, 136 W. Main St. - this was not on the original schedule! Remember to have the kids dressed appropriately for this short walk just across the street!
Activities:
- Snack Helpers: Tyler
- Projects: We worked on our booklet of experiences, and we sewed around a Valentine heart for a special valentine!
- Stories (it's children's dental health month!): Tooth Trouble, My Dentist, and Brushing Well!
- We've got mail: We learned about healthy or unhealthy food! We sorted healthy and unhealthy foods onto a happy tooth and a sad tooth depending on the type of food!
- Dismiss for snack activity: Position teddy bears: under, over, behind, inside
- Dora's clues: toothbrush, dental floss, toothpaste - Dora wants to brush her teeth! We found a cute bear brushing his teeth to color and talked about taking care of our teeth.
- Mortimer the puppet: introduced the Letter O! He found an Orange in the woods and he had it in his mouth- he is so silly!
- A puppet, called Chef Combo, came to visit us! He talked to us about eating healthy food. You always need to have at least 2 bites when you try new food or food you think you don't like! (Thanks Chef Combo!!)
- Songs: Smile Song, sung to "skip to my lou", and Toothbrushing Song, sung to "peanut butter and jelly"
- Hope you enjoyed looking at all of the Valentines the kids brought home!
Activities:
- Healthy Kids Helpers this week: Cameron and Jazlyn!
- Projects: We dressed our "beary cold bears" and made a heart fish!
- Mortimer the puppet introduced the letter N! He was silly and kept saying "No my Nose isn't Noisy", no, no, no Mortimer was being Naughty but then he said he would be nice and not make his Nose so Noisy!
- We've got mail: We found an experiment called "magic water" - fill a small pop bottle with cooking oil, drop in drips of colored water, gently move the bottle to watch magic water float!
- Dora's clues: hearts of all sizes - we found a heart valentine box in the bag!
- Dismiss for snack activity: do the actions and patterning of bears and hearts!
- Bears: we listened to Jewel the bear and her baby cubs - www.bear.org
- We practiced our songs for the concert!!!
Announcements:
- Carnival on Friday! Remember to turn in your raffle tickets! If you haven't signed up for a volunteer spot/shift please let us know if you can help - the jobs are easy!
- Remember you can eat dinner at the carnival before the concert - we will have taco in a bag and hotdogs starting at 5:30; kids need to be there by 6:00 if not coming sooner, and the concert is at 6:15! You can also get food after the concert!
Activities:
- Healthy Kids Helpers: Ryder and Norah
- Projects: Story in book - My Sandwich and Fingerpaint!
- Books: Step Inside the Rain Forest, and The Rain
- Mortimer the puppet introduced the Letter M! He had a monkey playing with him!
- Dora's clues: pink marker, pink crayon, pink paper -- Dora had a fun song about pink!
- Mailbox - We found a rainstick inside the mailbox! A rain stick is so fun to listen to! We also found out how to make a rainstick: First, poke a bunch of toothpicks into an empty paper towel roll. Bend the end of the toothpicks and tape them down. Put masking tape all over on end and add 1/2 cup of rice. Tape the roll securely with masking tape and-- you have a rainstick!!
- Excuse for snack exercise: snowman match, and match pictures to cold weather or warm weather!
- We have been busy practicing all of our fun songs for the concert!! :)
Announcements:
- Carnival advanced sales tickets form was sent home - this is a convenient way to get a discount on the tickets, and also avoid having to wait in line when the kids are ready to eat and ready to go play games!
Activities:
- It was a short week this week!
- Projects: Gingerbread house! Ask your child how we made this house - they had so much fun!
- Dora's clues: shovel, pail, swimsuit..... Dora had fun at the beach!
- Excuse for snack activity: match the colored gingerbread man to their color of house!
- Story - Gingerbread Boy: In this story the gingerbread boy was on a boat and he is probably still running away!!
- We came to snack and our snack was missing!!!! The gingerbread men had run away! We had a gingerbread hunt --- run, run as fast as you can, you can't catch me I'm the gingerbread man! Where did we finally find the gingerbread men? Did we have to go all around the room to finally find them? We had a great time, and a fun adventure!!
Announcements:
- Please note a typo on the January calendar - there is NO SCHOOL on Thursday Jan 26th and Friday Jan 27th!
- Please note the carnival invitations sent home in your child's backpack! Send them to family, friends & neighbors - it's lots of fun games and prizes for the kids! There are more invites at the school or just copy yours!
- Raffle tickets for the carnival were sent home in your child's backpack! We do have more at school if anyone wants more! As we did last year, we are selling fewer tickets so the odds of winning are much higher!
Activities this week:
- Topics: 5 senses and poison
- Healthy Kid Helpers : Braxton & Molly
- Projects: Carnival invite and snowman!
- Dora's clues: small, medium, and large octagons - we talked about thins shaped like an octagon: stop signs, some umbrellas, etc.
- We've got mail! We had a taste test: 1) salty = chips, 2) sour = baby dill pickles, 3) sweet = M&M's!
- Excuse for snack activity: 1) match snowman and his hat, and 2) look at the letters in each child's name!
- Mortimer the puppet introduced the letter K this week! He was the king of the forest! Practice the "K sound with your child this week!
- Poison: We talked about different poisons and also about "Mr. Goodarm". Mr. Goodarm helps us pick up things that are only good for us and helps us think about what we should do if we see something that looks good but we're not sure what it is = Go talk to your parents about it!
- Books: Jamberry, and Big Smelly Bear.
- Eyes and Ears Songs: 1) Senses - sung to the "Muffin Man": Oh, do you use your ears to hear, Your ears to hear, your ears to hear?; Oh do you use your ears to hear? Oh, yes! We use our ears! (repeat with eyes to see, mouth to taste, nose to smell, and hands to touch) 2) sung to "Are you Sleeping": Ears are listening, Ears are listening; Listen now! Listen now!; Let's make a little noise, Make a little noise!; stomp, clap, clap; stomp, clap, clap!
- Be sure to check the Friday PreK page and the updated Photos page!
Announcements:
- The monthly newsletter was sent home in your child's backpack- please read for important details!
- The carnival is coming up - Friday February 10th - help spread the word, this is a fun family event!
- Math and Storybook totes are available to check out from Small Wonders - enjoy!
- Remember to send shoes to wear during school when boots are worn - thanks!
- Conferences will be on March 9th, sign up will be posted in the school in February!
Activities this week:
- Projects: Celebrate 2012 Decoration, or Hat! We also worked on a story in our booklet called "Once Upon a Time...."
- Mortimer the puppet: introduced the letter "J"! he was jingling - he found jingle bells in the woods!
- We've got mail: We found an experiment - "Iceberg Bottles"! Here's how we did it: Fill a 20 oz water bottle 3/4th full of water, add glitter, craft foam pieces, game pieces, etc. in the bottle and freeze. Examine and watch it melt. Remember to look at it the next time you come to school and see what happens!
- Dora's clues: Blue marker, blue paper, blue crayon: we found that Dora had a fun book about Blue!
- Music: "I'm a Little Snowman" - sung to "I'm a Little Teapot": I'm a little snowman, short and fat; Here is my broomstick, here is my hat; When the sun comes out, I melt away; Down down down down - Oops I'm a puddle!
- Books: Snowmen at Night - what do snowmen do at night? Slide around? Sip ice cold cocoa? Have snowman races? Throw snowballs? When Winter Comes - this book was all about that changes that happen in the winter - where do caterpillars, mice, and other creatures go in the winter?
- Excuse for snack exercise: 1) Carry a styrofoam snowball with tongs from point A to point B, 2) Roll a snowball to a friend!
