Week of September 30-October 3, 2013

Theme: All About Me

Letter of the Week: D

Dear Parents,

During this week, the children will be introduced to the idea that each person is unique and special. They will explore things they can do and things they want to learn to do. They will talk about how being able to do things makes them feel proud. Additionally, children will explore ways in which they are similar to and different from their friends and classmates. They will also compare themselves as they are today and with how they looked and acted when they were younger. 

Learning Together

• Look at magazines together. Have your child point out activities or actions that he or she can do. Ask how being able to do these things makes your child feel.
• The children will also be learning about shapes during the week. Point out things around your home that are different shapes.
• If you have photographs of your child as a baby, look at them together. Talk about what your child did as a baby, and what he or she can do now. If the child has older siblings, talk about things they can do and ask which of those things your child would like to do, too. 

Next week at snack time we are going to have the opportunity to taste a variety of apples. Please have your child bring their favorite type of apple to school on Monday. We will cut them up and share them in class on Tuesday and decide which ones we liked the best. 

Important information and dates:

October 3-Show and Share one thing that begins with the letter D.

October 15-Preschool picture day, more information will come home closer to the date.

October 16-the Brecksville library will visit the preschool for story time. 
Please make sure to display the number for your car at pick up time, we take turns with dismissal so it makes the process work most efficiently if the number if prominently displayed in your car or on your dashboard. 

Week of September 23-26, 2013

Theme: Getting Along with One Another

Letter of the Week: M

Dear Family,

This week's activities and discussions focus on children's learning to get along with one another while they play and learn together. Children will read about a character named Amelia who goes to a new school, and they will compare part of their day at preschool with hers. They will explore activities they undertake in the classroom, such as reading books and playing musical instruments, and outdoor activities they participate in on the playground. Children will learn about effective ways to help each other play and learn and ways in which their teacher helps each of them.

Learning Together:

• Ask your child to tell you the story of the gingerbread man. Make gingerbread cookies, or cut out figures of gingerbread men, and act out the story together.
• Take turns saying and guessing riddles with your child. Remind your child to listen when it's your turn to speak.
• Help your child undertake something he or she wants to learn to do, such as printing letters, catching or throwing a ball and so on.
• After school each day talk with your child about what he or she did during the day. Begin by sharing what you did during the day and then pose questions designed to elicit more than "yes or no" answers. For example, ask: What songs did you sing today? What new things did you learn? Which activity was the most fun for you today? Why? What stories did your teacher read aloud? What new friends did you make? what have you brought home from school to share?

Other exciting activities include:

• Making a mouse for the letter M
• Reading additional stories: If You Give a Moose a Muffin and Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed.
• We will be sorting shapes, describing shapes, labeling shapes, and going on a shape search at the end of the week.
• This week I will introduce the tag readers for the students to use, they have already been introduced to the listening center and have been listening to books weekly.

I am excited to tell you a little bit about our literacy block in preschool, what it may look and sound like. It won't be long until your child may be talking about the "Daily Five." The Daily Five is a way of structuring the language and literacy time so that every student is engaged in meaningful literacy tasks. these research based tasks are ones that will have the biggest impact on student reading and writing achievement, as well as help foster children who love to read and are beginning tow rite. Students receive explicit whole group instruction and then are given independent practice time to read and work with words while we provide focused instruction to individuals and small groups of students.

When it is up and running smoothly the students will be engaged in the Daily Five which are comprised of:

• Read to Self (Read words or read pictures or retell stories
• Work on Writing
• Read to Someone
• Listen to Reading 
• Word Work

There are very specific behavior expectations that go with each Daily 5 component. We will begin working intensely on building our reading and writing stamina, learning the behaviors of the Daily 5 and fostering our classroom community. We will also spend time learning about your child's strengths and greatest needs as a reader/pre-reader in order to best plan for each student's instructions. The activities may look different for each class as well as each student but they will be receiving research based pre-reading and reading instruction that will help improve their literacy skills. 

The two components we will be working on to begin with are Read to Self and Word Work. As we begin working on these components I will share with you some of the activities that your children are participating in.

Star of the Week: Jack Knestrick
Letter of the Week Snack M: Gabe Carpenter ( A letter will go home on Monday with directions)
Show and Share: Sept. 26-Letter M

Week of September 16-19, 2013

Theme: Let's Be Friends

Letter of the Week: S

Star of the Week: Asher Chaplin, P.M. class

This week we will continue to focus on classroom rules and routines. We will also be focusing on building friendships and qualities that make a good friend. The children will explore ways that friends help each other and show that they care about each other. They will read stories in which unlikely characters, such as a goose and a bear, and a lion and a mouse, become friends. In addition, children will talk about how sharing toys, listening, and sharing their feelings are important not only to a friendship, but also to creating a friendly, cooperative classroom environment.

Learning together:

• Have your child invite a friend over to play. After the visit, discuss things that your child and his or her friend did that were fun.
• Talk with your child about your friends. Explain why these people are your friends and describe the kinds of things you enjoy doing with them.
• Get one of the Frog and Toad books from the local library and read it with your child. Talk about what makes these characters good friends.
• After school each day, talk with your child about what he or she did during the day. Begin by sharing what you did during the day and then pose questions designed to elicit more than "yes or no" answers. For example, ask: What songs did you sing today? What new things did you learn? Which activity was the most fun for you today? Why? What stories did your teacher read aloud? What new friends did you make? What have you brought home from school to share?

This week the children will also be participating in STARS assessment which helps benchmark their language and literacy level so that we are able to measure their growth over the course of the school year. For the children it will seem like a game that they will be playing on the IPads.

This week I will also email home a copy of the class roster so that you are able to connect with the parents and children in your child's classroom.

Show and Share this week (September 19) will be an item that starts with the letter S. For Show and Share please make sure that the item is able to fit inside of your child's Show and Share bag and that they bring only one item for Show and Share.

We will have a special S snack on Wednesday.

Week of September 9-12, 2013

All About Preschool

Letter of the Week: A

Last week was short but good week. We have been focusing on classroom routines and rules. We will continue to explore preschool next week and develop classroom rules together. Some stories we will read include: Super Friends and Being a Friend. We will review these stories again and use them to help us develop classroom rules together.

This week the children will continue to learn about what happens in a preschool classroom. In the book, Yellowbelly and Plum Go to School, children are introduced to the activities that happen in a Yellowbelly's classroom, such as painting, blocks, and singing songs. The two characters learn about classroom rules and jobs, such as those pertaining to clean up. Additionally, they learn the names of classmates and begin to learn the names of letters, numbers, and days of the week.

Learning Together

• Ask your child to tell you the names of some of the children in her or her class. Each day, ask your child to name on child he or she played with.
• Talk about your name and your child's name. Help your child identify the first letter of each name. Look through books or magazines and see how many examples of those letters you can find.
• Take a walk with your child and count the number of people, cars, buses, trees, and other things you see.
• Talk about the rules you have in your home. Have your child help clean up after playing with toys or having a snack.
• After school each day, talk with your child about what he or she did during the day. Begin by sharing what you did during the day and then pose questions designed to elicit more than "yes or no" answers. For example, ask: What songs did you sing today? What new things did you learn? Which activity was the most fun for you today? Why? What stories did your teacher read aloud? What have your brought home from  school to share?

Upcoming Events:

Star of the Week: Sean Dougherty, A.M. class

Birthdays: Asher Chaplin and Sean Dougherty

Show and Share: Thursday, Sept. 12-Something that starts with the letter A

Special Snack: Something that starts with letter A, Marko Laszlo

September 11-Wear red, white and blue to school.