December 2015

With all of the beautiful and warm weather we have been having, it's hard to believe it is almost December!  During the next few weeks we will be busy, busy, busy preparing for Christmas.  We will continue to practice our Christmas concert songs, as well as make special projects and gifts for our loved ones!

Our Christmas concert is right around the corner as well!  Our concert will be held in the MAES gymnasium on Monday, December 21st and Tuesday, December 22nd beginning at 9:30 A.M.  There will be cookies and punch in the cafeteria following the concert.  The students work really hard to prepare for this special day.  They're very excited to perform for you, and equally as excited for the cookie that comes after!  :)  We hope to see you all there.

Here is what's going on in Pre-K during the month of December:

November 30 - December 4: Cookies and Christmas Trees

*We will be reviewing shapes during this time as well as creating some fun holiday projects.

*We will be learning about letter Cc.

*Our number this week is 5.  This will be our last new number before Christmas break.

*December's family project is due Wednesday and Thursday of this week.  We will use the trees to decorate our bulletin board.

December 6-11: Christmas

*We will continue to practice our Christmas songs as well as make Christmas gifts and projects.  Some of our projects will help decorate our classroom during the month of December.

*We will be learning about letter Ii.

*We will do a brief review of numbers 1-5.

*Book orders are due on Monday and Tuesday.

*December's Families Being Involved Workshop will take place on Friday, December 11th beginning at 9:00 A.M. in the MAES commons.  Families are invited in to decorate Christmas cut out cookies.

December 14-17: Christmas continued

*We will put the final touches on Christmas gifts and will have one last rehearsal of our Christmas program.  

*We will review the letters and numbers we have learned thus far.

*If your child is participating in the $5.00 Christmas exchange, please send his/her boy or girl gift to school by Wednesday or Thursday.  More information has already been sent home.  If this would be a hardship for your family, please contact me as soon as possible.

*December's Families Being Involved Workshop will take place on Friday, December 11th beginning at 9:00 A.M. in the MAES commons.  Families are invited in to decorate Christmas cut out cookies.

December 21-22: Christmas Concert

*We will have our Christmas Celebration before our Christmas Program.  The kids will participate in the gift exchange as well as open a gift from me. 

*After our concert, please stop down into the classroom to pick up your child's things as well as some goodies for you.  :)  You are welcome to take your child home but it is not required.

REMINDERS:
**There will be no school for all grades from Wednesday, December 23rd - Friday, January 1st for Christmas break.  School will resume on Monday, January 4th, 2016.

**Rest time bedding will be coming home on December 16th-17th.  You may keep the bedding and wash it over Christmas break or send it back on the day of the program.

**Your child will be bringing a ziploc bag of extra clothing home as well.  Please check to make sure the clothing fits your child and is season appropriate.  Thanks in advance!

I hope you all have a happy and healthy Holiday season.  See you in the new year!

Ms. Brittany

November 2015

Happy November everyone!  Thanks to all of the families who completed a turkey feather.  They are decorating our hallway, and the kids love looking at them each day!  Here's what's happening in the month of November:

November 2-6: Night Time

*We will be learning about things we can do in the night time and which animals are awake during the night.

*We will be learning about letter Kk.

*Our number this week is 2.

*November's family project is due Monday and Tuesday of this week.

*PJ and movie day is Wednesday, Nov. 4th and Thursday, Nov. 5th.

*Bedding will come home to be washed and returned.

November 9-13: Scarecrows

*We will be learning about the purpose of scarecrows and how to build one.  We will also make a fun scarecrow project.

*We will be learning about letter Hh.

*Our number this week is 3.

*We will have our first fluoride varnish on Monday and Tuesday mornings for those that signed up.

November 16-27: Thanksgiving

*This theme will be two weeks.  We will talk about what we are thankful for and will also make some fun turkey projects.  We will be enjoying a special Thanksgiving snack of pumpkin bars on Monday Nov. 23rd and Tuesday, Nov. 24th.

*We will be learning about letter Tt.

*Our number this week is 4.

*Families Being Involved Cookie Decorating slips can be found in your child's folder on the 16th and 17th.

*November's Families Being Involved workshop will be Friday, Nov. 20th from 8:00-9:00 for M/W students and 9:30-10:30 for T/Th students.  This will be held at The Sports Page.

*There is an early release day on Tuesday, Nov. 24th.  Dismissal is at 1:52 P.M.

*There is NO SCHOOL for all students on Wednesday, Nov. 25th-Friday, Nov. 27th due to Thanksgiving break.

Halloween Hoopla!

The kiddos have been patiently waiting for this week to arrive ALL October!  On Wednesday and Thursday afternoon we celebrated Halloween by having our very own Halloween extravaganza!  We started off by dressing up in our costumes and going on a little parade through some of the other classrooms.  The 3rd and 4th graders were the most excited to see the little ones all dressed up.  :)  Next, we did some trick-or-treating in our classroom and ended with having our Witch's Brew for snack.  What fun!!!!  I wanted to take a moment to send out a special "thank you" to all of the parents who supported this fun time by sending in ingredients for the Witch's Brew, treats for the kids, and costumes for them to wear.  Below is a picture of each class enjoying their party and their costumes!  You can click on the individual picture to make it larger.  :)

October 2015

And just like THAT...it's October!  The kids are adjusting very nicely to school.  We continue to work on following school rules and expectations and learning the routines of our days here.  They are working so hard!  Parent/Teacher conferences is right around the corner!  I look forward to meeting with each of you for your child's conference.  It is fun to share some of their work with you so that you can see the progress they've made in just a short time.  Please look for information in your child's folder regarding our first Families Being Involved workshop, as well as the Halloween parties, which will take place at the end of the month!

What a beautiful fall we have had so far!  I hope you continue to enjoy this beautiful weather!  :)

October 5-9: Fire Safety Week

*We will be learning about fire safety and will have special visitors from the Medford Area Fire Department.  *Tuesday's visit had to be rescheduled due to work conflicts for the firefighters.

*We will be learning about letter Ff.

*October's family project is due Wednesday and Thursday of this week.

*Students enjoyed short videos from our Scholastic - My Big World magazine that were found online.  Feel free to check out the Scholastic website for some fun activities and educational videos!

October 12-16: Hibernation and Migration

*We will be learning the terms hibernation and migration and making a fun book about bears.

*There will be no letter this week due to having only one day of school for each group.

*FBI slips are due on Monday and Tuesday.  Please let us know if your family will be participating in the pumpkin carving event.

*There will be no school for Pre-K on Wednesday, October 14th due to Child Development Day.

*There will be no school for all grades on Thursday, October 15th due to parent/teacher conferences.

*There will be no school for all grades on Friday, October 16th.  

**Ms. Brittany will have a sub on Monday and Tuesday of this week to complete PALS testing.

October 19-23 and October 26-30: Halloween

*We will be creating a lot of fun Halloween projects during this two week theme.

*We will focus on letters Mm and Jj and will begin learning about number 1 during week two of Halloween.

*Our Halloween parties will be on Wednesday, October 28th and Thursday, October 29th in the afternoon.  More information will be in your child's folder.

*This week will also be Red Ribbon Week at MAES.  Monday/Tuesday will be "wear red" day and Wednesday/Thursday will be "wear green or brown" day.  

*Picture retake day is scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 27th or Wednesday, Oct. 28th.

Exploring our 5 Senses and the Kuse Trail

On Monday and Tuesday of this week we ventured to the Kuse Nature Trail to find out what we could see, hear, smell and touch.  The weather was perfect for our walk, and the kids really experienced a lot of neat things.  Below are a few pictures of our 5 senses adventure!

The M/W class entering the trail!  They waited patiently to hear the rules of the Kuse Trail.

We wanted to see if we could all fit on the M bench.

Many, many deer tracks!  The kids were very excited to see these!

I think this is a raccoon track, but the kids are convinced it's a dog track.  :)

What a gorgeous blue sky day!

Yippy for some time in the fall sun!

The T/TH kiddos lining up for the rules!

We carefully touched the moss on one of the benches.  We talked many times about not wrecking things on the trail because this is their home, but also so others can enjoy them too!

Here we are all on a bench!

Say cheeeeese!!

Hooray for no rain on our walk!!

Applesauce!

Last week on Wednesday and Thursday we had our first cooking adventure when we made applesauce!  Students were asked to bring in an apple to slice up and put in the pot.  We then cooked them down and mushed them all up.  What a neat thing it is when you can eat something you made!  The kids LOVED taking a turn!  Every student tried at least one bite...some loved it, while others weren't quite so fond if it.  My favorite part is when kids think it will taste yucky and they find out they actually really like it!  :)  Below are some pictures from the Tuesday/Thursday class.  You can find pictures of the Monday/Wednesday class on the MAES facebook page.  Here is the link: MAES Facebook

September 2015

Hello Pre-K Families,
We are off to a GREAT start this year in Pre-K!  The kiddos are getting familiar with school rules and routines and are enjoying their time here.  Thanks for all you do at home to help prepare your child for school each day.

Please take a minute to check out the tabs on top and familiarize yourself with our classroom blog!  There is a lot of useful information as well as fun games for your children to play at home!  I will update the blog monthly, as well as add pictures of any fun projects or activities we may do throughout the course of the year.  These are the themes and letters we will be covering for the month of September:

September 7-11 : Shapes
We will focus on the four basic shapes: circle, square, triangle and rectangle.  We will be making some fun projects as well as playing shape games and singing the Shape Hokey Pokey!  Our first family project is due back this week!

September 14-18 : Apples "Aa"
*We will have our first day of Library on Monday and Tuesday.  Your child will be able to check out a book during next week's library time.  Please remember your child will need to return his/her book before a different library book may be checked out.

*We will be learning about where apples come from and how they grow.
*We will be learning about letter Aa.

*On Wednesday and Thursday morning we will be making applesauce!  Please send a baking apple with your child on or before Wednesday, Sept. 16th or Thursday, Sept. 17th.

*Our first Early Release Day is this Wednesday, September 16^th.  Students will be dismissed from school at 1:52 P.M.


September 21-25 : 5 Senses "Yy"
*We will be learning abouour 5 senses and taking a 5 senses walk on the Kuse Nature Trail on Monday and Tuesday (weather permitting).  If the weather does not cooperate, we will take our walk on Wednesday and Thursday.
*We will be learning about letter Yy.

September 28-October 2 : Leaves and Fall "Ll"
*We will be learning leaves and the season of fall.
*We will be learning about letter Ll.

*Our October family project will be coming home during this week!  You will get to decorate a fall pumpkin to hang up on our bulletin board in the hallway!

REMINDERS:  
Child Development Day is Wednesday, October 14th.  There is no school for Pre-K students this day.
Parent Teacher conferences are scheduled for Oct. 15th.  There is no school for all students this day.  There is also NO SCHOOL for all students on Friday, Oct. 16th.