Week of March 25-28, 2013

Week of March 25-28, 2013

Theme: Bunnies and chicks

No letter this week

Our last week of dinosaurs was so much fun. The children made some fossils which are drying in the classroom and will be sent home next week. We matched upper and lowercase dinosaur eggs and baby dinosaurs. The children followed a maze to have the dinosaur find the bones and completed a dot-to-dot dinosaur. We had fun using finger paint to paint a dinosaur and we made dinosaur headbands. We wore our dinosaur headbands to do some dinosaur movement activities. All week was Right to Read week and the theme was Reading Laboratory so we did several science experiments. We placed gobstoppers in water and watched the color soak up, however, the colors stayed separate and did not mix in the water. We placed a half of a bar of soap in the microwave and saw how it changed form but there was no chemical change. We watched a color absorption experiment that made color water travel up a paper towel to another cup and then mixed colors. 

Next week we will be talking about bunnies and chicks as we get ready for spring. We will be counting jellybeans into numbered plastic eggs and using plastic bunny scissors to pick up plastic eggs. We are going to do an egg matching egg hunt and will also do an egg relay. We are going are going to make an decorate egg using shaving cream and paint which should be fun. We will also be following directions to put together either a bunny or a chicken foam frame.  Both a.m. and p.m. classes will be getting together with their third grade buddies to read a bunny story and make a bunny craft. We will read several books including: The Easter Egg, The Easter Bunny's Assistant and The Runaway Bunny.

We have adjusted our letter of the week schedule because we have decided not to do a letter of the week next week. Instead, Show and Share next week will be something that represents spring. The letter of the week will begin again on the week of April 11th with the letter W. A revised schedule of Show and Share will come home with your child on Monday.

Upcoming important dates: March 29-April 7th Spring Break. School resumes April 8th.

Week of March 18-21, 2013

Week of March 18-21, 2013

Themes: Dinosaurs and Rhyming Words

Letter of the Week: N

Show and Share Letter: N

Last week we had fun celebrating St. Patrick's Day. We used a little science to mix the right colors to dye choo-choo wheel noodles. We then used the pasta and matched them by color to a rainbow. We also made a sparkly shamrock with Karo syrup paint and glitter. We did some shamrock patterning and counting throughout the week. The sensory table had water that was colored green in it. We also began using our listening center to listen to a variety of stories. I am sure you heard that the trick leprechaun also visited preschool. Not only did he lead us on a shamrock trail to the bathroom where he used one toilet (ask you children how we know) when we got back to the room he had clearly made a big mess. The leprechaun did make up for it though because he left behind a pot of coins that we shared with the whole class.

Next week we will finish our study of dinosaurs and work on identifying rhyming words. The children will be finger painting a dinosaur and will be making a dinosaur headband to wear during some dinosaur movement activities. We are also going to have a science experiment about volcanoes and how they erupt. We watch a volcano erupt in our classroom. We will work individually and in small groups to identify rhyming words.

Next week is also Right to Read week at school. There will be many fun activities school wide including daily read alouds and science experiments. We have some buddy reading sessions scheduled with two third grade classrooms. Each day we are having a coin challenge to earn money to buy books for the school, we can also earn an ice cream party for bringing in the most coins. There are special themes each day as well. All of this is explained in a newsletter that came home on Thursday with your child. 

Upcoming events: March29-April 7 Spring Break-No School

Week of March 11-14, 2013

March 11-14, 2012

Theme: St. Patrick's Day & Rainbows

Letter of the Week: M

Last week we learned quite a bit about dinosaurs. We learned about what fossils are and we made some in the classroom. We went on a dinosaur dig in the sensory table and uncovered dinosaurs bones. We created colorful dinosaurs which are being proudly displayed in the classroom. We counted dinosaurs and matched the correct number to them.

Next week we are going to take a week long break from dinosaurs to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. Next week we will create a St. Patrick's day shamrock from a sticky, glittery substance. We will also experiment with colors and make some colorful noodles that we will use to make a rainbow. We will be matching letters and using our fine motor skills to pick up coins and place them in a shamrock box. 

On Tuesday the morning class will get the opportunity to attend a musical concert put on by the 2nd grade classes.

On Wednesday we will celebrate green by having a Green Feast. Please bring in a green snack to share with the class. Some snack ideas include: green grapes, cucumbers, green jello, cookies, Apple Jacks cereal, etc.

On Thursday we will be going on a Leprechaun hunt so please wear green to school. If you don't have something green to wear at home don't worry we  have shamrocks at school your child can wear. We are going to set a trap to catch that tricky leprechaun while we go on an adventure around the school to try and find him. Hopefully we will have caught him when we get back or I think there may be some mischief in our classroom. 

Show and Share this week is something that starts with the letter M. 

Happy Birthday to Lauren Havranek!

Week of March 4-7, 2013

Week of March 4-7, 2013

Theme: Dinosaurs

Show and Share: Letter V

Last week we had fun shopping in our grocery store. The children used coins to buy items in the store and took turns working at the cash register. We sorted coins by type and matched coins also. The children also got the opportunity to use coins to buy their snack at snack time.

Next week we will start exploring dinosaurs. We are will be counting dinosaurs and matching dinosaurs to their shadows. We will also be digging for dinosaurs in the sand table. There will be a variety of dinosaurs to play with in a variety of sizes. We will be putting together dinosaur puzzles. We will be constructing our own dinosaurs out of paint and paper plates. Some stories we will be reading include: "Theasaurus Rex" and "Saturday Night at the Dinosaur Stomp." We will end the week with a dinosaur hunt on scooter boards around the school. 

For peer models who would like to return next year the times for classes are: 8:30-11:00 for the a.m. class and 12:00-2:30 for the p.m. class. If you are planning to have your child return for the 2013-2014 school year please send me a quick email so that we can plan for them as we look towards class lists for next school year.