Preschool Newsletter
April 2008
Spring is here and new things are going on in our room. We have only seven weeks of school left, not that I am counting or anything, but it is try. We have many exciting events between now and the end of the school year. I know it can be overwhelming with so much, but please take time to read everything and put it on your calendars. If you have forgotten anything, remember you can always look it up on our school website at www.stmarysderby.com.
If any of you feel like cooking up some fun kid recipes, you might want to check out a new cookbook by Rachael Ray that I have added to our parent resource shelf. Don’t forget that there are also Family Fun magazines, videos that address several parenting topics, and books that might help with any number of topics that are available for you to check-out, too. Just let me know what you are taking and I will write it down. Please be sure and return them in a timely manner so that others might be able to use them, too.
This first week we will study about plants. Please remember to have your $2.50 in for the plant skit being presented to the 4-year-olds on Wed. EVERYONE, even if you have a membership or don’t plan to attend the summer field trip, must pay the $2.50 to view the skit. Anyone that plans to attend the field trip on Fri., June 6th at 9:00 am, can send in $2.50 for admission (that is for adults and any extra child over the age of 5). This group will also be reading the book and doing the song “Down by the Bay” along with bringing home a book of their own. They need to go to the last page and draw a picture of something that rhymes and have you write the sentence of what it is. You will get the idea when you read the first part of the book. Have them bring it back to school and they will be able to read their page to everyone. We planted our green bean seeds on Fri. and will transferring them to our pot gardens as soon as they are big enough. It takes around 50 days for the beans to come on, so I hope that we will have a good crop before the end of the year. I have a sign-up calendar that you may sign-up to help with watering during the first two weeks after we plant them. We will be doing our pot planting on Mon., April 7th (if everything goes as planned). On Fri. of this week, we will be going over to Mrs. Fanning’s Kindergarten room to work with her class on a project. Since it is her turn to plan the lesson, I will be as surprised as the children on what we will be doing. It will be fun, I’m sure!
The three-year-olds will be planting flowers seeds in a small pot. We will place these under the grow-light and keep them there until they start to come up. We will then send them home for you to plant there. They will also be finger-painting a geranium and going to Hillside Nursery on Thurs. to learn about how plants are grown there. We will leave around 9:00 am. You should have the field trip slip. Get that back to school as soon as possible.
The eggs were placed into the incubator on Tues., March 25th. We have almost four dozen in there. The estimated hatch date should be around Mon., April 7th. That is 21 days after placing them into their warm home. With any luck we will have almost four dozen chicks to send to my friend, John’s, farm, by the end of that week. You are welcome to bring any of your younger, or older, children into the room to check it all out.
During the chick theme week, the four-year-olds will be baking their own loaves of banana bread after reading the story The Little Red Hen. Please send the ingredient that you had on the notes that were sent out last week. We will not be able to successfully make our bread without all of the ingredients. They will also be learning about other animals that hatch their youngsters from eggs and which are born live. Later in the week, they will make a chicken/chick mobile that will come home. At around 11:00 am, on Fri., April 11th, we will be doing our “Humpty Dumpty” day. A separate sheet with all of the rules and details will come out soon. You are welcome to come and watch the fun to see whose egg will stay intact and whose won’t. It is very interesting to see all of the different ideas on how to keep their eggs safe. You are encouraged to help your children with this project.
The three-year-olds will also be having fun that week. They will be coloring a chick, making a chick that is in and can come out of an egg, and will be taking a large parachute outside to toss some cute little tennis ball chicks around in it. It is great fun! And what a great gross motor skill!
Early Childhood Week is from April 14-18. We have many VERY special activities planned for that week. Check out the schedule below:
*Mon. – 4th graders (Mrs. Ramsey’s class) will be helping the class make name caterpillars.
3:00-3:45 pm – In front of the old rectory, the Derby Police Dept. will be doing free car seat checks. It only takes a few minutes. It will be worth coming back for or coming early for, depending what class you are in.
*Tues. – Students will be painting egg carton caterpillars and putting them together later the next week.
6:30-8:00 pm – our rescheduled Family Math Night will be in the school gym. Parents and preschoolers only. Don’t miss the fun!
*Wed. – Students will use the letter C to make caterpillars and Mrs. Torline will be doing a health lesson with us.
7:30-8:30 am – Donuts for Dads. Dads come with their preschoolers (from both classes) and enjoy some donuts, juice, and milk while reading a few books together. This will take place in the room right next to the preschool.
*Thurs. – This is when we will be having our Christmas in April event. Either author, Polly Basore or Santa (neither has confirmed at this time) will be here to read to the children and we will have five different centers set up for them to rotate through. There will be plenty of supervision for those that would like to drop off students and come back at 10:45 am to pick them up, or you may come with your child. The event starts at 9:00 am in the school gym. Remember that this is for ALL preschoolers, regardless of which day you come to school normally.
*Fri. – Students will be water-color painting a paper plate that will later be turned into a butterfly. No additional activities are scheduled for this day.
ENJOY ALL OF THESE EVENTS THAT ARE MEANT TO HELP US ALL CELEBRATE EARLY CHILDHOOD WEEK. We hope you come to all of them!!
The last full week of April has a theme of butterflies. Both classes will be making many different butterfly crafts. We plan a special activity to send some butterfly greetings to Micah’s (three-year-old) dad who has been deployed since Christmas time and will not return until June. A special note will be coming out with some suggested items that we would like to send over to him along with our beautiful artwork. Please be generous to show the men and women overseas how much we appreciate them! I will send the list to the children in the four-year-old class, also, so that you may contribute if you would like. See that come out in the middle of the month.
We will be receiving our caterpillars (live ones!) around the second week of March. They are painted lady butterflies. It takes about two weeks for the caterpillars to get big and fat, spin their chrysalis, and emerge as butterflies. I have a small cage that we keep the butterflies in for about two-three weeks. We will then go out to the butterfly garden are release them. The four-year-old class will draw pictures and dictate sentences to tell us where they think the butterflies will fly off to. You are welcome to come in and look at them whenever you can.
The last three days of April and the first two days of May will be spent learning about zoo animals. The field trips to the zoo will be on Mon. and Tues., April 28th and 29th. Please note the different times on the permission slips. We must leave early each day in order to get to the zoo for our classes that we attend before going into the zoo. If you are not at school on time, you will have to bring your child to the zoo on your own, because we will be leaving on time. Please dress your children in appropriate clothes. That time of year can be tricky, sometimes. Send a jacket and wear jeans, if you are not sure. It is better to have these things, than to have a freezing cold child. That is not fun! The three-year-olds will be attending a class called, “Animal Wraps” where they will learn about the coverings that animals have. The four-year-olds will be attending, “Animal Babies” that will teach them about what different baby animals are called and what they look like. I am also asking for them to bring a SACK lunch and drink that can be thrown away when finished. No money, please, as we don’t have time to go over to the restaurant to get food. Please put your child’s name on their sacks.
The math walk will be on Wed., April 30th. Four of our dads will be coming to school to help a group of children find out that there is math everywhere in our world. They will search for math related items on our school grounds. Everyone has a great time!! If you have received a note asking to be one of the volunteer dads, please let me know as soon as possible if you are available.
I’m sorry I haven’t gotten the backpacks back out. I have been working on getting our next level of atrium ready here at St. Mary’s and my new atrium at my church, Christ the King, and just haven’t gotten them ready to send back out. I will have those soon. BUT, I will have to have them returned before the end of the year! Remember to take good care of the take-home packets. I need them to last for a long time!
Please check the April and May calendars for birthdays that are during the summer months. I try my best to give everyone a chance to celebrate their birthdays here at school. You may bring cupcakes, or any snack of your choice, on that day.
Enjoy the nicer weather and talk about all the beautiful, God created, things that are to be found in our great outdoors!
Marcia
Here’s a look ahead:
Kindergarten meeting: Sunday, April 13th at 1:00 pm
Letter People Day: Mon. & Tues., May 5th & 6th
Sarah from Humane Society talks about pet care on Thurs., May 8th
Wacky Wed.: Four-year-olds only on Wed., May 14th
Derby Public Library talks to us about summer reading program 5-14
Field Day and Splash party: Three-year-olds only Thurs., May 15th
Great Plains Nature Center field trip for 4-year-olds on Fri., May 16th
The Year Ahead...
Wed., 4-2 - Jan Brock from Botannica
Thurs., April 3 - field trip to Hillside Nursery
April 13-19 Early Childhood Week
April 14 - Carseat check in afternoon
April 15 - Donuts for Dads 7:30-8:30 am in Annex
April 16 - Christmas in April - with Polly Basore 9:00-11:00 am in gym
Fri., 4-18 - We have school, but is also the Kind. DIAL-3 Screening in old Rectory
Fri., 4-25 - We have school, but is also the Kind. DIAL-3 Screening in old Rectory
Mon. and Tues., 4-28 & 4-29 - field trips to the Zoo 8:30 am-1:00 pm
Thurs., 5-15 - field day and splash party
Fri., 5-16 - field trip to Great Plains Nature Center 9:00 am Sometime in the first part of June the four-year-old class goes to Botannica Gardens
Schedule Explanation for the 3-year-old class September, 2007
Hi! I promised you an explanation of what we are doing during our class time and that is just what this is. I will be giving you the times of each activity we have in our class and then give you an explanation of what is being learned and accomplished during that time, as well. I will also be attaching a copy of a college textbook page, which shows you some of the important reasons that children need to have play. You will also find a copy of our outcomes for the three and four-year-old classes. If you have questions about any of the things we are doing, please don't hesitate to ask me about them.
8:50-9:10 Children come in and take their folders from their bookbags and place them in a basket for me to look at later. This, along with putting their bookbags into the closet, helps to teach them responsibility. It is their job to do these things and not the parent's. Responsibility for oneself is a lesson that needs to be stressed more among children in today's society. I hope to help with this lesson at even this young age. The children are also to pick up a stick that has a shape (these are determined by usually a holiday during the month; Ex: November will bring turkeys), which contains their name on the shape. This is done to help with name recognition. After working with Mrs. Fanning (the St. Mary's kindergarten teacher), I found that she will be doing the teaching of writing the children's names. They need to be able to only recognize their names during preschool. After completing these few tasks, the children are to go to their desks and work on whatever paper or manipulative is laid out for that day. Most generally the morning activities are targeting practice of fine motor skills. The activity could be anything from a color/cutting/gluing page to puzzles, play dough, space links, etc. This activity, in addition to helping with fine motor skills, gets them ready for the school day.
9:15-9:35 During the next section, we will be dividing the class into two smaller groups. One group will be staying in the classroom and doing the carpet area activities with Mrs. Stephanie, while the second group will be going with me over to the church cry room and doing the song and activity that will be described. The groups will change positions when they come to school the next time. So, each group is getting calendar once a week and getting song/activity once a week.
Half of the children go to an area in front of our calendar for our next time slot. They sit on carpet squares. While they wait for everyone to complete the morning activity, they may select a book and read. During the carpet time, we look and talk about the calendar and the weather. This begins the recognition of the names of the months, days of the week, and numbers. We learn about different weather conditions outside and temperature. We have our morning prayer during this time. We are currently doing the Sign of the Cross and Angel of God. Later in the year, we will say the Pledge of Allegiance.
The other half of the children will be singing a song and playing a small game. The songs usually will focus on whatever the theme of the week is. Our games will be a wide variety of games. They could be a letter game, a counting game, or a game related to the theme of the week. The purpose of these games is to develop different kindergarten readiness skills. The entire time is also used to help the students learn to sit and listen to others, as well as follow directions.
9:35-9:55 At this time, we move back to our desks. At the desks, we might do a paper that is centered around our theme of the week, or do an art project that is also centered on the theme. Occasionally, we will not have something to bring home and will use the time to learn about some part of our theme by doing something different. An example would be if we were to use a visual on the chalkboard and then learn something about it by brainstorming answers to questions about the visual. We have also made graphs during this time. It is a learning time. It always focuses on the theme of the week.
9:55-10:25 This is freeplay time. Children are allowed to play with whatever they choose. I have a paint easel set up and they can paint. We have a sand/water table and two computers. We have an art center and a listening center. We change out the different toys occasionally. Other things remain out and available all year. There are times when I have special art projects that can be completed during freeplay time. These are usually optional. Only the children who would like to complete them, need to.
10:25-10:30 This is our clean up time. I require the children to do the clean up. We do not start our next activity until the room looks the same as it did when we started freeplay. It is amazing to watch the children work together to get this done. This teaches them responsibility and tidiness.
10:30-10:45 During this time, we will be dividing the class up again. Half of the class will be going to the Good Shepherd atrium. This is a special room set-up for the children to learn about Jesus and the different things used during our Mass using a hands-on technique. The other half of the class will be staying in the classroom and doing a religion lesson and craft with Mrs. Stephanie. Stephanie usually has an introduction to the lesson and will then tell a Bible story with the assistance of flannel board or puppet characters. They might have a song to sing or a poem to say. Sometimes we have questions to discuss that relate to the Bible story. If time allows, we have an art project that goes with the lesson. I have found in the past that the children are very excited about religion and enjoy the stories. They will be happy to tell you the stories at home. The scripture cards are a great way for them to remember what the story was and for you to do a religion prayer and activity at home.
10:45-11:00 This is our snack time. You might think that no learning can be done during this time, but it can. We talk about what shape our snacks are, what color they are, what things were used to make them, and many other things. We always wait to eat our snack until we have said our blessing. We pray the “Before Meals” prayer. After completing their snacks, the students are responsible for throwing their own trash away. Responsibility again! They then go to the closet and get their book bags and coats, go over and find their own folders, put their folders into their book bags, and then place their book bags into their chairs. They are then to go and get a carpet square and sit on it until we are all ready to begin story time. While they are waiting, they are allowed to select a book and read. This is a very good, multiple following directions activity. Sometimes (especially at the beginning of the year) this time flows over into the next because it is such a multiple task job. The children get better as they get used to doing it.
11:00-11:15 This is story time. This is done for several reasons. Reading aloud to children has been proven to improve children's language skills and does help them by hearing words. Those children who have been read aloud to will be much better readers than those that did not get the reading aloud. That is why it is so important for you all to be reading to your children at home. This is also a good time for the children to learn respect. Respect to other students in that they sit still and not bother them and respect to me in that they not talk during the story. The book will usually relate to the theme.
11:15-11:30 We go outside during this time. It is important because they can improve their gross motor skills and their social skills of playing nicely with others. We go outside unless it is very cold or is raining. I think the fresh air is good for them. Be sure and send the appropriate clothing for the children, because without it they can be very uncomfortable during that time, and I cannot leave some children in and some out.
I hope this will help you to better understand what and why we do different things at preschool. I will try to keep you informed of what activities we are specifically doing through the monthly newsletter. Let me know if you have questions.
Schedule Explanation for the 4-year-old class September 2007
Hi! I promised you an explanation of what we are doing during our class time and that is just what this is. I will be giving you the times of each activity we have in our class and then give you an explanation of what is being learned and accomplished during that time, as well. I will also be attaching a copy of a college textbook page, which shows you some of the important reasons that children need to have play. You will also find a copy of our outcomes for the three and four-year-old classes. I f you have questions about any of the things we are doing, please don't hesitate to ask me about them.
8:50-9:10 Children come in and take their folders from their bookbags and place them in a basket for me to look at later. This, along with putting their bookbags into the closet, helps to teach them responsibility. It is their job to do these things and not the parent's. Responsibility for oneself is a lesson that needs to be stressed more among children in today's society. I hope to help with this lesson at even this young age. The children are also to pick up a stick that has a shape (these are determined by usually a holiday during the month. Ex: November will bring turkeys) which contains their name on the shape. This is done to help with name recognition. After working with Mrs. Fanning (the St. Mary's kindergarten teacher), I found that she will be doing the teaching of writing the children's names. They need to be able to only recognize their names during preschool. After completing these few tasks, the children are to go to their desks and work on whatever paper or manipulative is laid out for that day.
On Mondays, we will be working in our journals. The children draw a picture and then come to a volunteer that is sitting at a computer, and dictates to them what their picture is about. Some days they will be able to draw their choice of pictures, while other days I will suggest a theme for them to use. We keep these journals at school and will send them home at the end of the school year. You are welcome to ask to see them whenever you like. I will be bringing them along at conference time. You will see the children start out with simply words or sentences at the beginning of this process. Later in the year, you will see how they can tell very long stories about their pictures. I have decided to start working in journals at this age because many times older children have trouble writing stories and this give our children a jump-start on that. Writing is one of the areas that the main school has begun testing in the last few years. I want our children to be proficient at this skill long before they are tested.
On Wednesdays, the morning activity will be something that will help improve fine motor skills. It may be playing with some kind of manipulative, working puzzles, playing with Playdough, or working on a paper that they have to cut, glue, and/or color. Children need to have strong hands in order to do well in handwriting. Fine motor practice helps the children to get stronger hands.
On Fridays, our focus for the morning activity will be an art project. The art project will, most generally, be tied into the theme of the week. Occasionally, we will be doing an art project that we will later use during our religion lesson.
All of the morning activities are helping the children get ready for the school day. There is a five minute time used to clean-up before moving onto the next area of learning.
9:15-9:35 The children go to an area in front of our calendar for our next time slot. They sit on carpet squares. Sitting on carpet squares help children to define their own space and learn to keep hands and feet to themselves. While they wait for everyone to complete the morning activity, they may select a book and read. Many times children tell me that they can not read, but I believe that if you can see and understand what is going on in a story by looking at the pictures, you are in fact read. Children may either look at a book on their own or look at one with a friend. Either way, it is a quiet reading time.
On Mondays, Fridays and every other Wednesday, we look and talk about the calendar and the weather. This begins the recognition of the names of the months, days of the week, and numbers. We learn about different weather conditions outside and temperature. We have our Morning Prayer during this time. We are currently doing the Sign of the Cross and Angel of God. Later in the year, we will say the Pledge of Allegiance.
Mondays we read our story during carpet time. We are doing this because Monday is Language Arts day and by reading the book now, we can continue using the book as a base for the activities that we do for the rest of the morning. On Math Wednesdays, we will sing a song and play a small game. The songs usually will focus on whatever the theme of the week is. Our games will be a wide variety of games. They could be a letter game, a counting game, or a game related to the theme of the week. The purpose of these games is to develop different kindergarten readiness skills. Fridays we will do our Bal-A-Vis-X practice during this time. In addition to the skills that I have mentioned that are being practiced, the entire carpet time is also used to help the students learn to sit and listen to others, as well as follow directions.
Monday – 9:35-9:50 Language Arts Day. We will be learning about the alphabet through the help of the Letter People. We have puppets that we use to see what each letter looks like and what the person that is representing the letter looks like. We have a CD that has really cute songs that helps the children to remember what sound each letter makes. We sing, dance, or play instruments to the music. We also have a bag that contains objects that start with the letter that we are studying about. The children have to guess from clues given to them by me what is in the bag. Children are then allowed to play that same game with their friends during freeplay time.
Wednesday – 9:20-9:55 Science Day (once a month Wednesday). This time is being used to focus on the many topics that are available to study in Science. Science is a wonderful subject for youngsters to study. They are so inquisitive and excited about exploring. Our topic will not necessarily tie in with the theme of the week, but it will be fun and interesting.
On other Wed. once a month, we have Lori Torline come over and do a health lesson with the students, or we do center work, or we do a Math/Technology lesson. Math lessons involve counting, sorting, or any number of other pre-math skills. Center work is described below.
Friday – 9:35-10:15 Religion. Students are divided into two groups during this time. Half of the class goes to the Good Shepherd atrium with me. In there, we will be working with materials that have been presented during the atrium lesson on Wednesdays. I will occasionally present a new lesson, but I am trying to keep this time for the children to work with the materials on their own. The other half of the class will remain with Mrs. Stephanie for a religion lesson from our series that provides you with the scripture pages. They will usually have plenty of time, so that they can complete an art project that can be brought home in order to help children remember the lesson. There will be weeks when the time will not allow this to happen. After a 20 minute time, groups will switch.
Monday and Wednesday 9:55-10:20 Freeplay time. Children have many choices of what they can do during freeplay time. I have a paint easel set up and they can paint. We have a sand/water table and two computers. We have an art center, a listening center, a reading center, a dramatic play center, and several centers that have materials to build with. We change out some of the toys occasionally. Other things remain out and available all year. There are times when I have special art projects that can be completed during freeplay time. These are usually optional. Only the children, who would like to complete them, need to. We have many toys and manipulatives on the shelf that the children can choose from. As I mentioned at the beginning of this description, I have included a page from one of my college textbooks that explains how important play is. I wish we had more time for it because of all the skills that young children learn by participating in play.
10:20-10:25 This is our clean up time. I require the children to do the clean up. We do not start our next activity until the room looks the same as it did when we started freeplay. It is amazing to watch the children work together to get this done. This teaches them responsibility and tidiness.
Wed., once a month 9:20-10:00 On one Wed. a month we have centers. One or two volunteers and myself will be running the centers. One center will be computers. I have a Kidspiration program set up on one of the computers and students will take turns completing the program. These programs allow the children to improve their skills on the computer as well as learn something in a curriculum area. The area can be math, writing, letters, etc. There will be a new program each month. I am saving the work that they are doing to a floppy disc and I will send it home at the end of the year for you to view. I have a way of getting Kidspiration installed onto your computer, free for 30 days, so that you will be able to view your child's work. Children at the second computer will be playing educational games. The second center is listening center. Children will listen to the book, which is pre-selected by me, and then complete a listening center paper. The paper asks them to circle whether they liked the book, thought it was OK, or didn't like the book. They are then to draw a picture of their favorite part of the book. A volunteer will write what the child tells them about their picture. The last center involves an art or learning project. The project will more than likely be connected to the theme of the week. Children will have their projects to bring home to show to you.
Monday – 10:25-10:55 Additional language arts activities will be completed during this time. They may be a number of things. We might make a book or make something that will help the children to remember the letter or letter sounds that we studied that day. Any activity that we do will be related to something that we learn regarding language arts.
Wednesday – 10:20-10:35 This is our snack time. You might think that no learning can be done during this time, but it can. We talk about what shape our snacks are, what color they are, what things were used to make them, and many other things. We always wait to eat our snack until we have said our blessing. We pray the “Before Meals” prayer. While the children are eating, there will be one child that will showing the others their Show-n-Tell. We do show-n-tell because it helps children to learn to feel comfortable taking in front of other children and to learn to be able to verbalize what they want to tell us. After completing their snacks, the students are responsible for throwing their own trash away. Responsibility again! They then go to the closet and get their backpacks and coats, go over and find their own folders, put their folders into their backpacks, and then place their backpacks into their chairs. They are then to go and get a carpet square and sit on it until we are all ready to begin story time on Wednesday s and Friday s. While they are waiting, they are allowed to select a book and read. This is a very good, multiple following directions activity. Sometimes (especially at the beginning of the year) this time flows over into the next because it is such a multiple task job. The children get better as they get used to doing it.
Monday – 10:55-11:15 Snack. Same as above.
Wednesday – 10:35-11:05 Good Shepherd atrium. We visit the atrium on Wednesdays to have new presentations. Children will come into the atrium and listen to me as I give a new atrium lesson to them. If time allows, they will be able to do a short time of work on their own with the materials.
Wednesday (11:05-11:15) and Friday (11:00-11:15) This is story time. This is done for several reasons. Reading aloud to children has been proven to improve children's language skills and does help them by hearing words. Those children who have been read aloud to will be much better readers than those that did not get the reading aloud. That is why it is so important for you all to be reading to your children at home. This is also a good time for the children to learn respect. Respect to other students in that they sit still and not bother them and respect to me in that they not talk during the story. The book will usually relate to the theme.
11:15-11:30 We go outside during this time. It is important because they can improve their gross motor skills and their social skills of playing nicely with others. We go outside unless it is very cold or is raining. I think the fresh air is good for them. Be sure and send the appropriate clothing for the children, because without it they can be very uncomfortable during that time, and I can not leave some children in and some out.
I hope this will help you to better understand what and why we do different things at preschool. I will try to keep you informed of what activities we are specifically doing through the monthly newsletter. I do my best to get these out the first week of the month. But, you know how life is! Sometimes it is later.
Keep in mind that this is a tentative schedule. Things will, of course, change when we have speakers, field trips, or special days. Let me know if you have questions.
