This week the Gingerbread Man came to visit Pre-K...along with another special visitor! We finished up our Classic Stories theme with a variety of versions of the Gingerbread Man. We spent a day mixing up our own gingerbread men and, of course, tasting them. The majority of the class decided that they liked the taste of gingerbread men!
Rolling our our gingerbread men!
Later in the week the "big man" came to visit! Santa arrived, brought some treats, and had all of the students promise to be good for their teacher. We'll see how that goes!
Santa's Visit
Next week we'll be focusing on Christmas and trying to patiently wait for Christmas break to arrive!
Don't forget...we are having a Pre-K Family Night on Tuesday, Dec. 13th from 5-6:30. This event is an open house (you can come and go as you please). Mrs. Claus will be visiting for a storytelling time and she will be bringing one of Santa's reindeer along with her for picture opportunities! End your night with cookie decorating in the cafeteria. We will also be having another door prize drawing for those in attendance. Hope to see you there!
We've made it to December! It has been a whirlwind week here in Pre-K! The teachers in our program were visited by the state for our bi-annual program compliance visit. While we are confident in our program, there is definitely a huge amount of added stress when this visit occurs. Everything went well and we are all thrilled it is over and we can enjoy the holiday season!
This week we were focusing on the stories of the Three Little Pigs. We read a new version each day, as we've been doing with the other classic stories, and discussed the similarities and differences. The children spent a lot of time building structures this week as a result of our discussions surrounding the 3 Pigs building material choices.
"The tallest house for the 3 pigs"
We also received some new materials in the mail this week: tunnels, a rubber track, and wooden balls. The students loved exploring these new items in the block area. They changed their designs to see how many "hills" they could make, how far they could get the ball to go, and how much they could get the ball to curve. It was a fantastic way to work some science into their play!
And, as usual, we spent time just exploring the different materials in the room!
"Bug Eyes"
"Which is Heavier?"
Zane's kite
Next week we will be ending our classic stories theme with The Gingerbread Man. We are ready to bring some holiday spirit into our room! Don't forget to mark your calendars for the December Pre-K Family Night on Tues. December 13th!!
Mark your calendars! Our December Pre-K Family Night will be on Tuesday, December 13th from 5-6:30 p.m. You won't want to miss a thing!
We will be visited by one of Santa's reindeer and his sleigh! Children will be able to have their picture taken during this event and are welcome to come in their Christmas pajamas if they wish. We will also be decorating Christmas cookies and having story time. Don't forget...we'll be having a drawing for door prizes again!
This week in Pre-K we visited the worlds of Jack and the Beanstalk and the Three Billy Goats Gruff. We read two different versions of each story and then compared/contrasted each one. The students also enjoyed using our fairy tale figures to act out each of the stories during center time.
We also spent some time creating in the Art Center, playing bookstore in Dramatic Play, and FINALLY getting to try out the new merry-go-round on the playground! On Wednesday we had a visit from Ms. Sarah and Ag in the Classroom. She shared with us how cranberries are grown. It was a great week to enjoy the last of the warm weather.
Next week we'll focus on Thanksgiving and everything we're thankful for this year!
This Week:
Theme: Classic Stories: 3 Billy Goats Gruff/Jack and the Beanstalk
Letter: R
Nursery Rhyme: Jack and Jill
Skills: comparing and contrasting, sequencing events, retelling stories, letter recognition, number recognition
Theme: Classic Stories/Goldilocks and the Three Bears
Color: Brown
Nursery Rhyme: Rub a Dub Dub
Letter: H
Skills: classifying, retelling a story, comparing and contrasting, letter recognition, name writing, dictating and writing to convey meaning
Next Week:
Theme: Classic Stories
Nursery Rhyme: Jack and Jill
Letter: R
Mark your calendars: The December Pre-k Family Night will be on Tuesday, December 13th from 5-6:30!! This event will be more of an open house-you may come and go at any time during this period. We will be having storytelling, cookie decorating, and a visit from a live reindeer with a sleigh! Please plan on attending!
Reminders:
*The weather is getting much cooler! Please make sure to switch out your child's extra clothing for come that is appropriate for cooler temperatures. Also, please make sure your child has a jacket/coat. Unless it is raining, or the wind chill is too cold, we will be outside all year for recess.
*If you are dropping off your child at the drop-off zone, please remember that students are not to be let out of the car without an adult present. Morning drop-off time begins at 7:30 and afternoon drop-off time begins at 11:55. If you are in the morning class, please do not send your child to the building if the gates are locked. We are unable to supervise them until staff arrives at 7:30. Thank you!
The week is off to a great start! We are beginning an exploration of classic stories and have read two versions of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. We will be reading a different version each day this week and comparing/contrasting the stories. The students are really enjoying this story! A couple of the versions we will be using are pictured below. They are a fresh, silly take on the classic story.
A few other moments from the beginning of our week:
Wyatt trying out our new light table.
Aubrie loves our new doll and stroller!
Today was an instrument day.
Kassidy and Hensley made birthday cakes.
Aubrie and Isabella are hard at work making bracelets.
Just in case you might think it's always calm and quiet here in Pre-K...here's just a 10 second clip of what it sounded like this afternoon. (and this was after half of the students had moved on to new activities)
We're back! Sorry for the absence! The combination of Parent/Teacher conferences and Halloween made for some crazy weeks the past two weeks. We should be back on track for blog posts!
Last week we read several spooky stories to get us in the Halloween mindset. The students loved being "scared" by the stories, especially the ones that had a surprise element. We read several more than once.
This was one of our particular favorites, but we read it with quite a bit more drama, lol.
Some of you may have heard this at Pre-K Family Night. It is a great addition to any family library!
Our day goes on "business as usual" on Halloween-we're used to wearing costumes !
This week, once the Halloween festivities were over, we began talking about creepy, crawly spiders.
We have learned how many eyes, legs, and body parts spiders have, what different sizes of spiders exist (some are as big as a dinner plate and can eat a bird!), and how spiders camouflage themselves.
We also created spiderwebs with marble painting and drew our own spiders to adorn them.
Surprisingly, a lot of students said they weren't afraid of spiders...although I do doubt their honesty a bit!
Next week's color of the week will be our last...it is BROWN! Thanks to all who have sent in items for our color posters. The students enjoy looking at them daily as they are playing during center time.
Monday, October 24th is Pre-K Family Night!! Grab the family and join us from 6-7 p.m. for storytelling and Book BINGO! Students are welcome to come in their Halloween costumes if they would like! There will be door prizes awarded for each Pre-K room! Hope to see you there!
Conference reminders went home in agenda books on Thurs. afternoon and Fri. morning. If you are unable to keep the appointment you have made, please contact the school as soon as possible to make other arrangements. Thank you!
This week the students have enjoyed completing a "Pumpkin Investigation"! We began the week with an overview of how pumpkins are grown using picture cards. We then worked on one part of our investigation chart each day. The students used observation and investigation to describe the outside of a pumpkin, count how many "lines" were on the outside of the pumpkin, and to describe the inside of a pumpkin after it was carved. We also voted on which type of jack o' lantern the classes wanted to carve.
P.M. Class Investigation Chart
The afternoon class had a head start on the activities since they did not have school on Friday.
David thought the pumpkin smelled good!
The afternoon class spent a little time hanging out with Dobby on Thursday as well!
Friday morning the a.m. class completed their pumpkin investigation by carving their jack o'lantern and describing the inside of their pumpkin.
The afternoon class decided to change up their design a bit and go with vampire teeth! Spooky!
This Week:
Theme: Pumpkins
Color: Pink
Nursery Rhyme: Peter, Peter Pumpkin Eater
Letter: N
Skills: Observing, writing to convey meaning, comparing and contrasting, predicting, counting, letter recognition
This week the students have enjoyed completing a "Pumpkin Investigation"! We began the week with an overview of how pumpkins are grown using picture cards. We then worked on one part of our investigation chart each day. The students used observation and investigation to describe the outside of a pumpkin, count how many "lines" were on the outside of the pumpkin, and to describe the inside of a pumpkin after it was carved. We also voted on which type of jack o' lantern the classes wanted to carve.
P.M. Class Investigation Chart
The afternoon class had a head start on the activities since they did not have school on Friday.
David thought the pumpkin smelled good!
The afternoon class spent a little time hanging out with Dobby on Thursday as well!
Friday morning the a.m. class completed their pumpkin investigation by carving their jack o'lantern and describing the inside of their pumpkin.
This Week:
Theme: Pumpkins
Color: Pink
Nursery Rhyme: Peter, Peter Pumpkin Eater
Letter: N
Skills: Observing, writing to convey meaning, comparing and contrasting, predicting, counting, letter recognition
It was another eventful week in Pre-K! Out theme for the week was a bit mixed...we talked about the changing season and the signs of fall, but we also discusses fire safety and firefighters in preparation for our visit.
The fireman from the Rushville Fire Department were kind enough to visit and bring one of their trucks with them. We learned about how the firemen's gear keeps them safe, as well as what the different parts of the firetruck can do.
Wyatt and Evan trying out the firehose.
Kinsley hitting her target!
Evan demonstrating his "Darth Vader voice" while wearing his face mask.
PM Class
AM Class
Future Firefighters
The students had a great time trying out the firehose!
Next week we will be talking all about pumpkins! We will be exploring them from vine to seed...life cycles, types, uses, etc. We will also be participating in some science activities with pumpkins.
As we talked about fall, we discussed how the temperature is changing. With that in mind, please make sure that your child's extra clothing in his/her backpack is weather appropriate. We also will be going out for recess each day if it is not raining. Please make sure your child has a coat/jacket to wear.
This Week:
Theme: Fall/Fire Safety
Color: Purple
Nursery Rhyme: Hickory Dickory Dock
Letter: P
Skills: sorting, writing to convey meaning, dictating information, comparing and contrasting, letter recognition
Next Week:
Theme: Pumpkins
Color: Pink
Nursery Rhyme: Peter, Peter Pumpkin Eater
Letter: N
