I would like to say "Thank You" to all of you for making the Halloween parade and party a great success! The children had a wonderful time! :)
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Hi Families... This week we have been talking about Pumpkins! The children described what the outside & inside of the pumpkin looks like. We mixed the colors red and yellow together to create orange paint. The children then painted a picture of the big pumpkin that is in our classroom. Then they used construction paper and crayons to turn it into a jack-o-lantern. We made estimates on how many lines and seeds the pumpkins have. Then we counted them! We also carved the big orange pumpkin. Learn to Play (1st & 2nd Grade): This week we made predictions about whether our 3 different sized pumpkins would sink or float! We then conducted the experiment. All 3 pumpkins did float, even though they were different in size, shape and color. We then tried other objects to see if the same thing would happen, as some of the children thought the only reason that all the pumpkins floated was because they were round. We watched as a marble sunk to the bottom of the container filled with water. While the ping pong ball stayed on top of the water. We then tried a piece of paper and then a pen. The paper floated, where as the pen didn't. We talked about the pumpkin being hollow and less dense, while the marble and the pen were more dense. Art: Today in art, we practiced tracing each other's body (waist up), as we will be doing this for some of our illustrations for the art and literature faire. Learn To Play: We would like to welcome Mrs. B to our school. She will be our new Sports Plus coach (as well as music)! Music: The preschool wing all got together and sang some songs and danced together after our Halloween party. Mrs. B and Dr. Jeff brought their instruments! It was so much fun! :) Spanish: The children are loving Spanish! This week they continued to talk about animals and colors. The children like to dance, use the puppets and converse with each other in Spanish class. What does your child like best about Spanish class? In November, we will be learning more about Africa, working mainly on our Art & Literature faire stuff. But we will also be talking about families and what it means to be thankful. Pictures below: L-R: Our classroom pumpkins and some of the books we have read, carving & cleaning out the pumpkin, Having a picnic lunch on the rug, Halloween picture & donut on a string!
Today in Science, with Preschool 3, we played a sensory Bingo game. The children each chose a picture card out of the bucket and then we needed to determine which sense we would need to use (ie. a picture of a banana split would be the sense of taste, a picture of perfume would be our sense of smell, etc.)
![]() We will be having Halloween festivities on Friday October 31st from 9:00-11:00 AM. All children in our class are invited to attend! :) 9:15 AM: The Laurel School Halloween Parade *Children may wear their costume to school (please do not forget a change of clothes). The children will be able to show off their costume as we parade around the front circle of the school. Great photo opportunity as well! After the parade we will have the children change out of their costumes and the party will begin. Preschool 3 & 4 will be celebrating together. Playing games and enjoying healthy snacks as well as a treat or two. Please see the sign up list hanging near the enterance to our classroom. If you child has a food sensitivity, please feel free to bring something that is not listed. Thank you for all the feedback about the blog. Several of you said that you prefer the newsletter weekly, instead of daily.
Community Circle: This week at community circle, Ms. Lynn C taught us a pumpkin poem as well as a song about a witch. We danced to Halloween music (Which witch is Which). We then acted out different facial expressions and feelings. The 4th grade came and joined us on Friday. We also created our own picture and we talked about it in front of the group. All the children did a wonderful job! Cape Cod ABC Book: This week we worked on our letter C page (cranberries). We read a few books about cranberries both factual books and story books. The children shared their experiences that they have had with cranberries (IE. cranberry sauce, living near a bog, going to a cranberry festival, etc.) Science (with Preschool 3): This week we went on a nature walk around the campus. We used our senses as we walked. We then sat together and talked about what we heard, touched, saw and smelled. We didn't taste anything that was on the playground. Art: We started working on our Art and Literature Faire projects. The children made paper fish. Some of the children wanted to bring them home, therefore we will be creating more! :) Spanish: This week the children are working on names of animals and also color review. Good news...we have a new coach & teacher for music and Sports Plus: Karyn! She will be starting next week :) Acorns: The children are still interested in acorns...so we have furthered our study about them. We watched a brief YouTube video about how an acorn grows into an oak tree starting underground and then eventually breaks through the soil to continue growing upwards. We sorted a big bucket of acorns into different groups by how they looked and felt. We then did a sink/float experiment with them. The children made a prediction about what they thought would happen, then the children tested their prediction. Half of the acorns sunk, while the other half floated. The children asked to keep the acorns in the bucket of water until Monday to see what will happen. (the water changed color, as of Friday..now the question is why?) F Today the Red Cross came to The Laurel School. They brought an ERV (Emergency Response Vehicle). The children got to explore and climb inside. They asked great questions about what they saw inside (IE. "Why do you have diapers in that case?" "Why is there a microwave?" "What do you do with all those sweatshirts?" "Why do you have stuffed animals on here? etc.)" Morning Meeting: Today we read the book: Where's My Mummy (By: Carolyn Crimi).
We talked briefly about what a mummy is. Some of the children thought a mummy was something alive, while others said it was a type of monster. We talked about how a mummy is either a dead person or an animal. Then they were wrapped in cloths. We talked briefly about Egypt and how it is part of Africa (as Africa is the topic for the Art and Literature Faire). The children created their own mummy using small paper plates, crepe paper, construction paper, markers and glue. Then they did a small writing assignment about what they do when they are scared. (*See classroom bulletin board) We also used mummy lacing cards in the afternoon. Today we...
Music: Today Ms. Kathleen told the children the sad news that she will be leaving. The children gave Ms. Kathleen the cards and pictures that they made her. She also donated a book that she had made to our classroom (a song about clouds). She sang Halloween songs with the children. Art & Literature Faire: We talked about the book, Why The Sky Is Far Away (By: Mary-Joan Gerson). This is the book that we have chosen to use for the faire. The children were offering ideas that they would like to do for the illustrations. We discussed what color paint we will be needing, types of paper, etc. We made a list for Ms. Anna-Staci (the art teacher). What we did today...
The children noticed two different kinds of spiders outside on the playground. There were small black ones with short legs and the daddy long legs with long, delicate legs. We talked about how spiders are the same but also different, like we are. We re-read the book: Only One You. We talked about how the fish in the books all looked different. The children noticed that the illustrator created the fish out of rocks and different colors of paint. Some of the rocks were smaller while other rocks were larger. One of the children started talking about how we are similar to the fish rocks in the book. A group of fish are called a school and we go to school also. This led us to talking about all the different people that work in our school as well as that use the school. We made a list of all the people that work in our school. We then talked about how much we appreciate all of them. We put their names in a bag and will pull one out on a random basis and make them a card (Preschool 4 Random Acts Of Kindness). The first name we chose was Ms. Kathleen (our music teacher). We made her pictures of appreciation. The children drew pictures of what they liked doing in music. Some drew pictures of Ms. Kathleen playing different instruments, other friends drew pictures of specific songs that they have learned. While outside, some of the children gathered rocks. They painted their rocks after rest time. Hi Families...
Today we reviewed what we have learned about apples last week. The children acted out the life cycle of the apple (seed, sprout, tree, flower, bud, apple). We talked about how apples can only grow on apple trees. That apples have seeds inside of them. Apples come in different colors and tastes (red, pinkish, green, yellow and sometimes brown). Apples don't always have the same amount of seeds inside of them. Most apples float when put in water (rotten apples don't always float). We reviewed how apple juice and cider are made (what type of apples). The children have been noticing the daddy long leg spiders that are on the playground. They have lots of questions about them. We started making a chart about what we know about spiders and what we want to learn about them. Science (with preschool 3): Today we continued talking about our senses. We specifically talked about the sense of hearing today. We played listening bingo. Spanish: The children are enjoying Spanish with Senora Mary. They have been working on learning the colors in Spanish. Art: Today the children created spider webs on black construction paper, using crayons. Then they used scissors and construction paper to create spiders. Ms. Anastaci will be hanging their artwork in the hall. Book: The Little Old Lady Who Wasn't Afraid Of Anything. Hi Families...
This is what we did today... Today in Morning Meeting (classroom circle time) we read the book Skelton For DInner (By: Margery Cuyler). We talked about what it means to "host" an event. In the story the witches were hosting a dinner party for their friends. We also sang the song "Witches Brew". Today we added the Apple Tree poem to our poetry journals. We used green, yellow and red paint to make apple prints. Some of the children hosted a pretend party in the family area (dramatic play). Music (with Ms. Kathleen): Today in music the children continued to learn songs about the Fall season and a few Halloween songs. Reminder: I just wanted to remind you that we will be closed on Monday to observe Columbus Day. I hope everyone has a wonderful 3 day weekend. I want to apologizes for not posting many pictures to the blog. I am having technical difficulties uploading them onto the Weebly site. It is a learning process! Thank you for all that you do! You are amazing! : ) Mrs. Nancy Hi Families...
I was wondering if it would be possible if each child could have either a reusable water bottle or cup for their lunchboxes/cubbies? Many of you already do so, which is wonderful! The children often get thirsty during the day (after outside time, at their "specials", etc.) or they drink both of their drinks (snack/lunch) at one sitting because they are thirsty. A reusable cup or bottle would be great! Thank you! : ) Hi Families...
Today I sent home an Art to Remember packet. Your child created their paint-print in art class with Ms. Anastaci. The order forms are due on Friday October 17th. Forms and monies can be handed into me. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask. Thank you! :) Hi Families...
Here is what we did today... Community Circle: Sang the 5 Little Pumpkins and also acted out Way Up High In The Apple Tree with all the preschool classrooms. Spots Plus: We played the game Duck, Duck, Goose! But we put an apple twist on it. We called it Apple, Apple, Apple sauce! The children had a lot of fun playing this game. When we went outside, we invited the other preschool classrooms to join us. Drama: We went and watched the dress rehearsal of the 3 Little Piggy Opera. Our Learn To Play buddies were the cast members. The children had a wonderful time. There were lots of laughs and smiles while we watched the play. Art & Literature Faire Update: Today we looked at the pictures in the book, Why The Sky Is Far Away. We talked about the animals that we saw in the book and where we might see them around here (IE. Monkeys, tropical birds, etc.). We also looked at a map of Africa and found Nigeria, where this folktale took place. Morning Meeting: At our morning circle, we talked about what a compliment is. Each child has had 2 turns being the star of the day. Now when your child is the Star Of The Day, they will be bringing home a list of compliments from their classmates/friends. Reminders: Just a quick reminder, that we will be closed on Monday for Columbus Day! Here is what we did today...
Community Circle: Today we sang the song 5 Little Pumpkins and acted it out while standing in our own spots on the rug. We also read the book The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid Of Anything (By: Linda Williams). The children helped read the story by acting out what the shoes, shirt, pants, gloves, hat and pumpkin said. Art & LIterature Faire Update: Today we read the book Why The Sky Is Far Away: A Nigerian Folktale (By: Mary-Joan Gerson). We did a walk through first, looking at the pictures in the book. We then read the story. A few of the children started talking about how the book reminded them of our classroom, as we have containers for recycling. Others talked about how we reuse plastic containers as when we used them to plant our acorns. We will continue to look at this book in the coming days, as we learn about how we are connected to the Earth and how we can take care of the Earth. During our classroom circle time, we acted out the life cycle of an apple. We started off as small seeds (curling our bodies up into a ball), then we started to sprout up (squatting our bodies down), Then we made our bodies a little bit taller as we became a tree (still growing). Then we made tight fists (to signify the buds on our arm branches), then we opened up our hands and spread our fingers out wide to form the flowers and then said "apple"! We had an apple taste test today. We tried a piece of a Macintosh, Golden Delicious and a Granny Smith apple. We then voted on which one we liked the best. Golden Delicious won with 7 votes, Macintosh received one vote as well as the Granny Smith. We talked about how each one tasted and felt in our mouth. One child said that one felt colder in their mouth then the other ones. Another child said that the Granny Smith apple made their tongue tickle on the top (taste buds). The children then asked if apples float in the water. We conducted an experiment to answer their question. We first made a prediction on what we thought would happen. Five friends thought that the apples would float and four friends thought they would sink. Some thought only the apples with the stems would sink, while others thought the apple with the sticker would sink. But all of the apples did FLOAT! We also read two seasonal books today: 1. Where's My Mummy? (By: Carolyn Crimi) 2. Room On The Broom (By: Julia Donaldson) Hi Families...
Today we continued learning about apples. This morning at our Community Circle we learned an action poem about apples: Way up high in the apple tree (reaching up high) 2 little apples smiled at me (pointing to our own smiles) I shook the tree as hard as I could (Shaking the trunk of the tree motion) Down came the apples (motioning our hands/arms in a downward motion) Mmm-mmm were they good! (rubbing our tummies). We also sang the 5 Little Pumpkin song at our Community Circle. We re-read the story One Red Apple (By: Harriet Ziefert) today. The children read the pages, by explaining what they saw happening in the pictures. They explained the life cycle of an apple verbally. We also read the book Apples And Pumpkins (by: Anne Rockwell). In this book we learned about what an orchard. We also learned that apples grown on apple trees, but that pumpkins grown on a vine on the ground. But that both, pumpkins and apples have seeds in them, even though they don't look the same. Science (with Preschool 3): We read the story Apple Cider Making Days (By: Ann Purmell). We learned how apple cider is made. After reading the story, we had a taste test between apple juice vs. apple cider to see what friends liked better. Apple juice won by only 1 vote. Spanish (with Senora Mary): Today they learned that the color yellow is called amarillo in Spanish. They played assorted games and sang songs about the color. Please check your child's mailbox, as Senora Mary sent a letter home today. Art (with Ms. Ana Staci): Please check your child's mailbox as assorted painted prints were sent home today. Please also check Ms. Ana Staci's art blog, to find out more of that the children are doing in their art class. Today on the playground, one of the children found a snail. A few of the children thought it was a rock or a sea shell. We invited the snail in for the morning part of the day. We made him/her a small habitat in a bucket. Some of the children even named it George Party. We talked about what a snail was, its body parts and what it likes to eat. We talked about the difference between a hermit crab and a snail, as they both have shells. A snail does not move out of it's shell, but rather the shell grows with it. They are attached. Mystery Share: Please remind your children that Mystery Share happens every day. Each child has their own specific day. That day stays the same for your child. Please see me if your child forgot which day is theirs. :) Art & Literature Faire Update: Today we did a walk through of the book African Journey (By: John Chiasson). We looked at the photographs that were in the book. We looked at the map of Africa. We talked about how it is a country, like how we live in Massachusetts. We talked about the towns we live in and also looked at the different places that are in Africa. We talked about how the people, their homes and their communities were similar, but also different than ours. Today we started talking about apples. Apples will be our theme for this week.
Today we read the book: One Red Apple (By: Harriet Ziefert). The children then sequenced the life cycle of an apple (apple, seed, seedling, tree, bud, flower blossom and apple). Learn To Play (w/ Grade 1 & 2): Today in Buddies we read the story: The Little Old Lady That Wasn't Afraid Of Anything. We then went outside to play with our buddies. Art & Literature Faire: Today we read the book: Look! (By: Ted Lewin). We talked about the different animals that live in Africa. We reviewed what our senses are and looked to see which animals were using their senses in the book (ie. looking, smelling, tasting, touching, etc.). Thank you for all the families that have brought in Box Tops. Please continue to send them in with your child. Every Box Top count!
We have decided to be the designated classroom to count the Box Tops. We have turned it into a math activity. We will be making an estimate on how many Box Tops are in our container each week. We will then sort them by size...smallest to the largest. We then will count them into groups of 10's. Then we will count them and make a tally on our chart in the hall (so that everyone can be aware of how many we have so far). How many: We counted 133 today! : ) Hi Families...
Happy October! This week we have begun to talk about the Fall season. We talked about what we already knew about Fall. The children then talked about what they wanted to learn about the season. Book: A Tree For All Seasons (by: Robin Bernard). This week we started off the week by reading this book. The children have started to notice that some of the leaves are changing color. Some of them are red/orange while others are still green. We have been talking about the parts of a tree (roots, trunk, branches). The children painted a picture of a tree. Then they used scraps of colored paper to create their leaves. Then they did a small writing assignment to label the parts of their tree. Learn To Play: This week our class read the book, Only One You (By: Linda Kranz) before we went to see our "buddies". The children gathered rocks on the playground to use in the classroom. Then they played with their Buddies on the playground. Science (with Preschool 3): This week we talked about the sense of touch. We read a few feely books about different textured animals. Then the children used the feely box. The children needed to use one hand to try to guess what was in the box. Spanish: This week the children learned about the color blue, or in Spanish "azul". Art: Please see Ms. Anastaci's blog for more details. Sports Plus: The children enjoyed a Chex Mix snack with Coach Jake before having our school pictures taken. Music: This week in music the children have started to learn 2 Halloween songs. Cape Cod Alphabet Book: This week we have started the letter B page-beach! I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! Mrs. Nancy : ) **Next week: we will be talking about apples. If there are any food allergies issues, please let me know on Monday. Hi Families...
Each child has their own mailbox in the classroom. There is a hanging shoe bag labeled with your child's name on a pocket. That pocket is their mailbox. Any artwork or treasures that they may have found during the day will be put in their "mailbox" to go home. I am hoping that it will give the children more room in their coat cubbies for their lunch boxes and change of clothes. Mrs. Nancy :) |
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March 2020
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Nancy W. Pre-Kindergarten Teacher The Laurel School 1436 Long Pond Road Brewster, MA 02631 [email protected] Categories |