Week of April 29-May 2, 2013

Week of April 29-May 2, 2013

 Theme: Seeds

Letter of the Week: Z

Show and Share May 2-something that starts with letter Z

Last week we had fun with Earth Day and caterpillars. We did an Earth Day sort of recyclable materials both real items and with pictures of items. We made the earth with paint and  beans. Each class also made a caterpillar, the morning class spelled their name in the circles of the caterpillar and the p.m. class made a chain caterpillar which will be coming home on Monday. We read "The Very Hungry Caterpillar," and "Ten Little Caterpillars." We made a bag story of "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" so that we could retell the story using the pictures. In the sensory table we made cloud dough which was a fun texture to play with (two boxes cornstarch and 1 can shaving cream). On Friday we made a bird feeder which came home in backpacks.

This week we will be talking about seeds and what they need to grow. We will also be talking about the parts of the plant after the seed spouts. This week will be a messy week in the sensory table, we will have dirt, gardening gloves, shovels and pots. We will also talk about plants that grow up (like corn) and plants that grown down (like potatoes), in our story "Up, Down and Around." We will be able to act out this story as we read it by moving up, down and around. We will also be planting seeds, watching them change and grow. Another story we will read is "Growing Vegetable Soup."

Upcoming dates:

End of the year party May 22- a.m. class 10:15-11:00 and p.m. class 1:30-2:15.

No School May 29-Memorial Day

Last day of Preschool-May 30

Week of April 22-25, 2013

Week of April 22-25, 2013

Theme: Earth Day & Everything Changes

Letter of the Week: Y

Show and Share: Something that starts with letter Y

Last week we explored how things grow. We measured ourselves and found out how much we have grown since the beginning of the school year. We colored couscous and used it in the middle of our toilet tube print flowers. We worked on ordering objects by size and counting the objects and finding the number that goes with the set. We also used our detective eyes to find the picture that was different in a given set. 

This week we will be talking about how everything changes and Earth Day. We will be sorting recyclable materials. We will also be making a picture of our Earth. We will be learning about caterpillars and butterflies and the transformation they go through. We are going to make two different types of caterpillars one for the a.m. and one for the p.m. We will also be reading the books "Love the Earth, " and "The Very Hungry Caterpillar." We are going to make a paper bag story to retell the story of "The Very Hungry Caterpillar." We are going to use some recyclable materials to make a bird feeder that you can hang outside at your house.

Due to a scheduled district wide literacy assessment inservice  that will be held on May 23rd we will need to change the date for our end of the year party. The end of the year party will now be held on May 22nd, the a.m. class party will be 10:15-11:00 and the p.m. class party will be 1:30-2:15. 

Upcoming dates:

May 27th-No School-Memorial Day

May 30th-Last day of preschool

Week of April 15-18, 2013

Week of April 15-18, 2013

Theme: I'm Growing Everyday

Letter of the Week: X

Show and Share: Something that begins or ends with the letter X

Last week the kids had so much fun with our worm habitat, they could hardly wait until Thursday to reveal the tunnels the worms had made in their habitat. Lucky for us the worms were successful and we were able to see some tunnels as well as some worms in the tunnels in our habitats. We also talked about changes that occur during the spring such as the changes in the weather, the clothes we wear and in the plants and animals outside.

Next week we continue to talk about change when we discuss how we grow everyday. We will discuss what we need to grow as well as plants and animals in the spring. We will compare how big the children were when they started school and how big they are now, you will be surprised at how much they have all grown. We will several books about growing such as "Planting a Rainbow," Farfellina and Marcel," and "Leo the Late Bloomer." We will be making a flower garden with painted flowers and making pipe cleaner bird feeders. We will compare the sizes of objects and count objects. We will working on putting together two groups of objects to make a whole group and determine what that new number is (adding).

Next week we are going to make another type of bird feeder using a water bottle. Please have your child send in one empty water bottle this week so that we can prepare them for next week's activity.

The end of the school party was scheduled for May 23rd, however, we have been informed that there will be a district wide literacy and assessment in service that I must attend. The preschool staff will be meeting to determine an alternate date for the end of school party.

Upcoming dates:

No School: May 27th Memorial Day

Week of April 8-11, 2013

April 8-11, 2013

Theme: Season's Change

Letter of the Week: W

Show and Share: April 11-W

I hope everyone had a relaxing and safe spring break. We are nearing the stretch for the last 9 weeks of the school year.

This week we will be talking about season's changing specifically the change from winter to spring. We will be discussing the growth of new plants and flowers. We will be talking about the characteristics of spring including: rain, warmer temperatures, seeing the sun more often and how these are needed for new plants to grow. We will be making a kite and talking about the wind in nature. We will also be talking about worms and the benefits they have in making the soil rich for plants to grow in. We will be making a worm habitat at school and watching how the worms make tunnels through the dirt and sand.

We will be looking at the characteristics of objects and which ones are the same and different. We will also be working on patterning and some visual motor skills of putting a variety of puzzles together.

Two of the books we will be reading include: "Diary of a Worm," and "The Wind Blew."

If your child is going to kindergarten this coming school year 2013-14 please make sure you have signed them up for a screening time and date at their home school.

Upcoming dates: No School May 27th-Memorial Day

May 30th Last day of preschool