Merry Christmas!

Greetings,
I just wanted to take a minute to wish each of you a very Merry Christmas!  I hope 2013 has been good to your family, and may 2014 be even better.  Thank you for the opportunity to work with your child.  Through my role as an educator, I am fortunate enough to meet so many wonderful people and families and gain friendships along the way!  

May your holiday season be filled with laughter, love, family and friends.

See you in the new year,
Ms. Brittany

Cookie Decorating Families Being Involved Workshop

On December 6th, we held our third Families Being Involved workshop in the MAES cafeteria.  In order to help get in the holiday spirit, families were invited to decorate Christmas Cookies!  Many colors of frosting and lots of sprinkles were available for Pre-K students and families to use.   A special "thanks" goes out to Ms. Patty in the kitchen for preparing the cut out cookies.  Also, thanks to those families who were able to attend.  

Lexi and Aunt Gwen decorate with blue frosting!

Brody enjoys his time decorating cookies!

Christian and his great grandma work together.

Cash decorated very nicely with pink frosting and brown sprinkles.

Cheyanne and Mom work together to decorate their cookies.

December 2013

I hope all of your families had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday and break.  It is nice to spend a little extra time with friends, family and loved ones.  I can hardly believe it is already December!  We are busy gearing up for our Christmas program, which will be held on Dec. 18th and Dec. 19th in the MAES gym.  The program will begin at 9:30 A.M. with refreshments to follow in the cafeteria.  Throughout the month of December we will continue to practice our Christmas songs, as well as make some special holiday gifts.  :)  I look forward to seeing all of the families at the Christmas program.

December 2-5: Cookies and Christmas Trees

*We will be learning about letter Cc and number 10. 

*December's Families Being Involved workshop is Friday, Dec. 6th beginning at 1:45 P.M. in the MAES cafeteria.  If you signed up, please remember to bring a container to take your cookies home in.

December 9-12: Christmas Week 1

*We will be learning about letter Ii.

*We will continue to prepare for our Christmas program. 

**Please remember to send in your child's $5 gift exchange present.**

December 16-19: Christmas Week 2

*We will be learning about letter Ii.

*We will put the final touches on our Christmas program by practicing with the other Pre-K classes.

*Our special gifts will be ready to go home!

*The Pre-K Christmas Program will be on Wednesday, Dec. 18th and Thursday, Dec. 19th at 9:30 A.M.  Please remember to send back the slip that informs me of your child's plan for after the program.  We will have our class Christmas party prior to the program. 

Over Christmas break we will be sending a few things home with your child.  First, we will be sending home his/her extra clothes.  Please check them over to make sure they are appropriate for the season and that they still fit your child.  Next, will be his/her rest time blanket and pillow to be washed and returned after break.  Finally, we will be sending home a Christmas packet for your child to work on over the extended break.  :)  

Wishing you and your family a wonderful holiday season,

Ms. Brittany

Families Being Involved - Bowling

On Friday, November 15th, Families gathered at The Sports Page for our November Families Being Involved Workshop.  Pre-K students, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and more came together to participate in a game of bowling with other Pre-K families.  I heard many parents say that it was their child's first time bowling.  What a neat experience to share with them!  Thanks for attending and enjoy the pictures!

Christian poses with his mom.  His great-grandma was able to come along too!

Cheyanne's first time bowling.

Lindsey and her dad smile while waiting for their turn.

Austin shows us how to get the ball all the way down the lane.

Maniah with her mom and her grandma.

Caden was a power bowler!

Cash works on getting the ball down the lane while Mom watches.

Izzie works on throwing the ball all by herself!

November 2013

Time flies when you're having fun!  I can hardly believe it is November!  I was just talking to Ms. Jessica (our assistant) today about how I feel like we just changed the calendar over to October and POOF!  It's already gone!  Halloween was a blast at school and the children loved showing off their costumes to the Kindergarteners, 1st graders and the office staff.  Thanks for sending in a costume for your child!  Listed below are the themes and some important information for the month of November.

November 4-7: Night Time

*We will be learning about letter Kk and numbers 3 and 4. 

*Families Being Involved-Bowling slips are due on Monday and Tuesday, Nov. 4th and 5th.

*Tuesday, Nov. 5th will be an early release day.  Students will be dismissed at 1:52 P.M.

*Wednesday, Nov. 6th and Thursday, Nov. 7th will be Pajama Day.  We will also have our vision tested at 9:10.

November 11-14: Scarecrows

*We will be learning about letter Hh and numbers 5-6.

*Our first Pre-K Fluoride Varnish will take place on Monday and Tuesday, Nov. 11th and 12th.

*November book orders are due on Mon. and Tues., Nov. 11th and 12th.

*Our second Families Being Involved workshop will be held on Friday, Nov. 15th in the morning.

November 18-26: Thanksgiving

*We will be learning about letter Tt and numbers 7, 8 and 9.

*Families Being Involved - Cookie Decorating slips are due Mon. and Tues. Nov. 18th and 19th.

*There is no school on Nov. 27th-Nov. 29th due to Thanksgiving break.

FBI - Pumpkin Carving

Our first Families Being Involved (FBI) Workshop was held on Friday, October 18th in the MAES Cafeteria.  Families from all Pre-K classes were invited to attend a pumpkin carving workshop!  Fun was had by all and the pumpkins turned out wonderfully!  I really enjoyed taking some extra time to get to know the families that were able to make it!  Here are some pictures of the pumpkin carving fun!

Cash works on getting the top off of his pumpkin as his grandma helps.

Peyton and his sister patiently wait for Dad to get the pumpkin open.

Maniah and her mom pose for a picture.

Alexis and her family work on putting the seeds in the bag to take home!

Lauren's family draws on a great jack-o-lantern face.  

Tristen and his dad work together to carve the pumpkin.

Cheyanne spends time with Mom and Dad as they carve their pumpkin.

October 2013

October is already here and fall is rolling in!!  We will be very busy in October learning, exploring and creating!  Below are the themes we will cover in October, as well as dates and reminders!

October 7-10 : Leaves and Fall

**During this week, we will be conducting a bus evacuation drill.  Our pumpkin family projects are due on Wednesday and Thursday.

October 14-17 : Hibernation and Migration

**This is a short week as there is NO SCHOOL on Monday, Oct. 14th due to Parent/Teacher Conferences and again on Thursday, Oct. 17th due to Child Development Day.

**Friday, October 18th is our first Families Being Involved event!  We will be carving pumpkins in the MAES cafeteria at 8:30 A.M.  Slips were due back Oct. 7th and 8th.

October 21-31 : Halloween

**Our theme of Halloween will be two weeks long and end with our Halloween parties!

**There will be NO SCHOOL on Friday, October 25th for all grades.

**The PBIS fall festival will be on Tuesday, October 29th from 4:30-6:30.

The Magic of Play Doh

Although very messy and not a favorite of parents, playing with PlayDoh is a GREAT way to give your child's hands a work out!  Because of it's consistency, PlayDoh targets fine motor skills as the children work to kneed it, cut it, roll it into balls, roll it out to be a snake, and/or press cookie cutters into it.  The ideas and creativity are endless!!!  Below is a coveted PlayDoh recipe from one of my college teachers at UW-River Falls.

PlayDoh

2 cups flour

1 cup salt

2 cups water with food coloring

2 tablespoons oil

2 teaspoons of cream of tartar

Mix all in a large pan (or pot) and stir over low heat until the magic of PlayDoh happens!

Here are some ideas that you can encourage your child to do with PlayDoh:

• Roll it out to look like a snake and then cut it with scissors
• Roll it out with a rolling pin and make "cookies" using cooking cutters
• Create a pretend "meal" using the PlayDoh
• Make animals with it
• Create a person's face - don't forget to add all the parts: ears, a nose, hair, eyes, eyebrows, a mouth and teeth!!

The possibilities are endless!  One thing that is certain, is that your child will be building up those little muscles in their hands and fingers, which will help them complete many important tasks!

Fire Safety Week

On Monday and Tuesday of this week, Mr. Mike and Mr. Troy from the Medford Fire Department, came to school for a visit!  Mr. Mike showed us all of his fire gear and explained the equipment's purpose.  He showed us that it is important to never be scared of a firefighter and that under all of those clothes, he is just a regular person.  Mr. Troy showed us Medford's brand new fire truck.  This truck had a big ladder and a loud siren! 

We appreciate Mr. Mike and Mr. Troy sharing their time and knowledge with us!  They reminded us that it is important to have working fire alarms in our homes, fire stickers on the windows of children's bedrooms, and a plan/meeting place in case of a fire.  Here are some fun photos taken during their visits!

Applesauce

On Wednesday and Thursday of this past week we made applesauce!  The kids were so excited!  Thanks to the Farm Bureau for organizing the activity and the MASH FFA Students for helping us cook!  The kids loved to smell the apples cooking and mash them through the food mills.  Here are a few fun pictures from our special activity!  Thanks to all of the parents for sending in apples for us to use!