Hi Everyone,
It is hard to believe that we only have two more months of school! In honor of meeting our last Letterland character, Zig-Zag Zebra, we held an Alphabet Celebration day last Friday. We brought out all of the games we have related to the alphabet. The children made name badges with alphabet pasta, they played the Alphabet Match Me game, a giant alphabet foam puzzle, Boggle, Jr., Alphabet Toss and some magnet letters. They also drew their favorite Letterland character. For a fun treat, we shared Scrabble Cheese-Itz after lunch. This week, we started talking about the vowel “A,” for “Apron Man.” We introduced the concept of vowels by sharing that they say their own name in words. We will cover one vowel each week. Next week, we will introduce “Easy Magic Man,” for “E.”
The children are very proud of their animal habitats. This week we recorded them telling stories about their animals and their habitats. Each child learned a good deal about the mammal that they chose to work with.
Last week we began our unit of study on Seeds and Plants. The children are learning that seeds need soil, light, air and water to grow. We planted Basil, Marigolds and Sunflowers on Monday. Each day we check our peat pots for signs of growth. Through listening to some of the stories from our large collection of books on this subject, the children also learned that plants produce their own seeds to make new plants of the same kind. All of these plants are germinating on the window sills in the classroom. There are seed cards in the Science Corner for the children to explore and we made seed collages on paper plates. It was interesting to notice all of the different shaped and colored seeds.
We would like to thank everyone for a lovely week. On Monday, we were pleasantly surprised to find a kitchen full of breakfast treats. We actually went back for seconds at lunch! What a great way to start the week. On Tuesday our room was filled with the wonderful scent of fresh flowers. This was perfect as we began our unit on plants. The children were thrilled to see us acknowledge each of their contributions. We also took the time to note the differences in the petals, stems and leaves. We were so inspired that we used tissue paper to make our own flowers. They have made our room all that much more bright and colorful. Later in the day, we both enjoyed a Trager Massage from Meg Agnew. Wow! Very relaxing. On Wednesday, we received yummy gourmet chocolates. What a treat! On Thursday, we felt all kinds of appreciated when presented with the wonderful cards and drawings from the children. What masterpieces! Finally, it was such a treat to take a break in the middle of the day for a delicious luncheon. Thank you to Robin and Jenny for watching over our class as we dined. At the end of the day, we didn’t have to even think about going to the grocery store or making dinner, as it was prepared and boxed up for us to take home. We cannot think of a time that we have felt more appreciated! While everyday is a pleasure working with our children and at our school, it was great fun to receive such heartfelt treats throughout the week.
On Friday we celebrated Katelynne’s Star Day and her birthday! Her mom, Robin, her dad, Michael, and her brothers, Jacob and Kyle joined us for Morning Meeting where Katelynne shared a photo board filled with pictures from when she was a baby. We learned that when she was a baby her favorite thing to do was play in the bath tub! Now that she is 5, she likes to play with her dolls. Her mom read two stories to the class, “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” and “Little Bunny Follows His Nose,” by Katherine Howard and J.P. Miller. We all enjoyed monster chocolate cupcakes for snack. Yum!
We will be having a Preschool Celebration for Preschool children and their families at 11:00am on the Wednesday, June 13th, the last day of school. The children will sing a few songs for you and we will present them with special Preschool certificates. Please plan on joining us for this special day. Closing Ceremonies for the entire school will follow at around 11:30am in Fitzpatrick Hall and the All School Family Picnic will commence at 12noon.
Important Reminders:
- Preschool continues to go out each day. Please be sure children have coats as the mornings are often cold.
- Please return laundered rest items and replenish extra clothes. Children should have a full set of clothing, including socks, undergarments, shirts and pants. It is also a good idea to leave a sweatshirt or sweater for days that may be chilly.
- Please be sure to send in a refillable drink container for us to fill with water. In our efforts to be green, we try to refrain from using plastic cups.
- Please be sure to send appropriate flatware in your child’s lunch.
- A variety of snack items is encouraged for young growing children.
- Please be sure to return Library books on Wednesdays. They can check a new book out, once they return the book that is already checked out.
- If your child needs to have an item warmed up, please be sure it is in a microwave safe container.
- Leaving an extra pair of sneakers or other shoes in school is a good idea.
Dates to remember:
- Monday, April 30th, Lunch Bunch, courtesy of C. McDonnell and M. Marropodi
- Tuesday, May 1st, Preschool to Kindergarten Transition Meeting with Andrea Patel for parents, 8:15am
- Friday, May 11th, Preschool Mommy and Daddy’s Day Breakfast, 7:55am~9:00am, Preschool
- Friday, May 25th, Spring Fling Day, pay $2.00 to dress any way you like! Also Pizza Lunch.
- Monday, May 28th, NO SCHOOL, Memorial Day
- Wednesday, May 30th, Preschool Lunch Bunch
- Wednesday, June 6th, Field and Fun Day, dress to get wet, details, TBA
- Wednesday, June 13th, Last day of classes, 11:00am, Preschool Celebration for Preschool families 11:30am, Closing Ceremonies and Thank-You’s to Class Parents, 12noon, All School Family Picnic, families are invited to bring a blanket and a picnic lunch for your family. 1:00pm, dismissal
Happy Planting!
Ellie and Joni
