Our Five Senses Walk on the Kuse Trail

Monday and Tuesday of this week we took our five senses nature hike on the Kuse Nature Trails behind the school.  The weather was PERFECT!!  Thank you for making sure your children had the proper clothing for our excursion!  We saw many things including birds, bird houses, milk weed, leaves, chipmunks, pine cones, pine needles, apples, apple trees, rocks, and deer trails just to name a few things.  Many of the kids shared comments like, "Wow, this is fun!"  or "I really like it back here."  I'm very glad we have the opportunity to share that outdoor space with our students.  It is fun and very educational for them!  Below are the class pictures from both days!

Monday/Wednesday class: Back row - Cooper, Bayley, Nathan, Olivia, Cole, Eli, Rylee, Kayelee, and Paige.
 Front row - Peyton, Easton, Rivalee, Brody, Leila, Ethan and Laney.

Tuesday/Thursday class: Back row - Hayden, Keegan, Wyatt, Sawyer, Mykena, Keaton, Griffen, Blake and Chloe.
 Front row - Morgan, Taytene, Hanul, Evan, Zoey, Ariella and Sadie.

Our 5 Senses

Greetings Everyone,

This week in Pre-K we will be learning about our five senses.  We will talk about how we learn about our world by tasting, seeing, hearing, touching, and smelling.  We will also be taking a five senses walk on the Kuse Nature Trails to test out our five senses.  Be sure to ask your child about the walk!  Back up days for the walk will be Wednesday and Thursday if the weather does not permit us to go Monday and Tuesday.  Our letter this week is Yy.  Please take time to practice identifying this letter with your child.  

Each afternoon we have something called center time.  This is where Ms. Amanda or Ms. Amber (the Early Childhood Special Ed Teachers) come into our room for a half hour to do activities with us.  In our class, the children are split up into 3 groups and rotate though different stations every 10 minutes.  This week during centers we will be working on properly forming the first letters of our names.  The children will also be introduced to "Mat Man."  Mat Man is an activity we learned about last year when we attended a Handwriting Without Tears conference in Minneapolis.  Mat Man is a great tool to help teach students about body awareness as well as drawing skills, socialization and number awareness as we learn to draw a person and count as we work in a group.  This is my first time using Mat Man, and I am very excited to see the results!

UPDATES AND REMINDERS:

**Please send a note to school with your child after s/he has been absent.  The office does not excuse the absence unless a note is returned.  Also, if your child's end of the day routine differs, please send a note.  I will not send your child home with someone unless I have written permission to do so.  This is also very helpful if there is ever a substitute in the classroom.

**Early Release Day is Thursday, September 27th.  We will dismiss the children at around 1:52.  If you usually pick your child up, please be in the cafeteria around 1:45.

**We do go outside twice everyday so please be sure to send your child with the appropriate clothing.

**Next week our theme is Fire Safety.  We will have special visitors from the Fire Department on Thursday, Oct. 4th and Wednesday, Oct. 10th.

**Parent/Teacher Conferences are on Monday, Oct. 15th and Friday, Oct 19th.  If you haven't signed up for a conference, please contact me.  If I do not hear from you, I will assign you a time slot.  More information, as well as a reminder of your time, will be sent home shortly.

I hope you all continue to enjoy the Fall weather!  Before you know it snow will be flying!!

Have a great week,

Ms. Brittany

Hello Pre-K Families,

Pre-K students made applesauce on Monday &Tuesday.

Thanks for being patient with me as I update our classroom blog each week.  It has been challenging to find time to fit it into the school day as we are already very busy in the classroom.  The children are doing an excellent job adjusting to the new rules and routines.  Things we continue to work on are staying in our seats during work time, listening/not talking when I am giving instructions, cutting, name writing, walking in a line, finding our lockers, etc.  There is so much to learn at school.  Thankfully their minds are like sponges, and they soak up most of what they are taught.  :)  I would also like to thank each of you for taking the time to go through your child's folder each night.  With them coming only two days a week, sometimes their folders get a little packed with papers.  I appreciate your promptness in returning the appropriate items to school!

This week in Pre-K we are talking about apples and are introducing our first letter, which is letter Aa.  We will also talk about apples, what we can make out of them and how apples/apple trees grow.  Ms. Cheri and some FFA students volunteered their time to make applesauce with us on Monday and Tuesday.  Unfortunately, I forgot my camera at home, so I don't have any pictures to post of the event but the children loved straining the apples and tasting the applesauce.  Some didn't think they'd like how it tasted, but everyone tried it and most asked for more!  It was such a great hands-on experience.  Thank you very much for sending in the apples for us to use!

This week is Homecoming week and there are a few dress up days left this week.  Wednesday is "wear your favorite sports team clothing" day and Thursday is "rock and roll" day.  If your child would like to participate, they are more than welcome to.

UPDATES AND REMINDERS:

**There is an EARLY RELEASE day on September 27th.  Pre-K students will be dismissed around 1:52 P.M.  If you are picking your child up, please be sure to meet in the cafeteria around 1:45.

**Child Development Days is October 18th, 2012.  There will be NO SCHOOL for Pre-K students on that day.  If your child is already enrolled in Pre-K, they do not need to come to this screening.  Younger siblings are welcome.

** We will be sending your child's towel/blanket and pillow home at the end of each month to be washed.  Please wash them over the weekend and return them to school with your child.

**Our first Families Being Involved (FBI) event will be a pumpkin carving activity.  It will be held on Oct. 19 in the MAES cafeteria.  More information will be coming home in your child's folder in the beginning of October.

**If you have not signed up for a time for Parent/Teacher Conferences and would like to, please contact me as soon as possible.  Times are filling up fast!  If you do not sign up, a time slot will be assigned to you.

Shapes

Greetings,

I hope this finds your families adjusting nicely to the new school year.  I have heard many children very excited to come back to Pre-K which is so nice to hear.  The first few days are challenging for the kids as they come to a new school, meet a new teacher and learn new rules and a new routine.  The first few days went well, and I'm sure this week will be even better!  

This week we will be talking about shapes and colors.  We will be focusing on the four basic shapes: square, triangle, circle and rectangle.  Please encourage your children to identify these shapes whenever possible.  You can find lots of shapes around your house, in the grocery store or even while driving down the road.  This is a skill your child will be tested on this quarter.  

Monday and Tuesday will be our first days of library.  The children learn the rules of the library as well as how to take care of a book once they get to take one home.  The children will begin checking out books next week.  Please remember that in order for them to pick out a new book, the previous one must be returned to school.  If your child wants to bring the book back on Wednesday or Thursday of the same week, that is OK too.  We have a special bin for them in our room!

As the year goes on, I will be posting pictures to our classroom blog.  Please feel free to enter a comment on any post written.  I often show the blog to the kids and they like to see parent responses.  You may follow our blog by typing in your email address on the right side of the screen. 

UPCOMING EVENTS/REMINDERS:

**Monday, Sept. 17th and Tuesday, Sept. 18th will be Pre-K picture day at MAES.  Envelopes will be coming home early this week with your child.  You may return them as soon as you'd like.  You may also place your order online if that is more convenient for you.  

**Family tree projects are due Wednesday, Sept. 12th and Thursday, Sept. 13th.  

**Book orders will be coming home Monday and Tuesday in your child's folder.  You may place your order online if you'd like.  The code for our class is: J78KY   You will need this code if ordering online.  If you'd rather send a hard copy of your order in, please return it to school in your child's folder.

**The Classroom News will be coming home in  your child's folder Monday and Tuesday of this week.  This is the weekly newsletter from the Pre-K teachers and MAES.  It has many upcoming dates/events and maybe helpful reminders.  Please read through it weekly for the latest Pre-K information.