Irvington Pre-K Newsletter for the week of September 29 – October 3, 2008

 

 

We had a wonderfully full and eventful week!  The children had a blast finding out interesting facts and exploring their bodies this week.   While continuing to explore the classroom we have also explored our bodies this week.  We journeyed through many parts of our bodies this week; including our skin, our heart and blood, and our muscles.  We also continued to build and develop such skills as: using large motor skills through our obstacle course, cutting/ drawing and tracing letters and crafts, sitting kris-cross-(applesauce) during circle time, sharing, using our words to communicate, and learning how to listen and take turns. 

            Next week, we will continue with the theme: Our Bodies.  We will continue exploring our amazing bodies and there functions.  More specifically we will be discussing the digestive system, the lungs, and the brain.

If there are any doctors or nurses or medical personnel we would love to extend the invitation to come in next week to share your expertise. We always love to have special guests in our classroom.  The children love it!  Thank you again Dr. Kotamarti, for being our first visitor.

 

We have introduced our first person of the week this week… Congratulations Rowan!

 

Reminders:

 

- Parents, keep up the good work in encouraging you child with their

  morning sign-in.

- Shares this week will be anything beginning with the letter Dd.

 on Mongay October 13, will be in room 112B, next to cafeteria. We are getting new carpet and need to stay out of the room. Please enter through the south west entrance, adjacent to pre-k room. 

The Week in Review:

 

Monday, September 29, 2008

 

Today we talked about the parts and functions of our bodies.  We will be studying our bodies for the next two weeks.  This week we are going over the letter, “Cc”.  We reviewed the letters sound and ASL sign.  Amelia brought in a caterpillar for a “Cc” share.  What a great share, thank you! 

 

During free time the children played in our new dramatic play area…the Hospital.  They are so excited with this transformation.  The children also practiced writing and tracing the letter “Cc”, drawing pictures, playing with the trains and animals, and playing in the library.

 

We read the books Human Body, Hidden World and a section of The Magic School Bus, Inside the Human body.  We talked about how to be healthy and our bodies grow.  We also discussed our different bodies; their looks, shape, hair color, eye color excreta…

At the end of the day we all sang “Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes” in English and Spanish!

 

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

 

At circle time we went over our letter “Cc”, the calendar, and the days of the week song.  We read more of the book The Magic School Bus, Inside the Human Body.  The children learned about the body’s blood and how we all have red and white blood cells.  We talked about how red blood cells carry oxygen and white blood cells fight off germs. 

 

The school had another fire drill today.  The children did great!  When we came back inside we played a game called “who’s got the bone”, and had a blast.  Then the children had free choice time where they played with the animals, the hospital, the big alphabet floor puzzle, the bean measuring mixture in the sensory table, and many of the numbers/ matching games. 

 

Our play time outside today was a bit different and very fun.  We took the cars out to the playground and had races with them.  We also took our instruments outside and created a marching band.  Oh, what fun!  In closing we read Sleep is for Everyone, and The Foot Book.  We talked about healthy things we can do for our bodies, and then played the body game. 

 

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

 

Today we talked about our bones and our skeleton!  We learned that our bones are hard on the outside, but soft and spongy on the inside (marrow).  We learned that when babies are born they have over 300 bones in their skeleton. 

 

We looked at x-rays of various bones in the body; then we identified them as a group.  We talked about how Doctors and Nurses take pictures of our bones with x-ray cameras and put casts, splints, or slings on us to protect bones while they heal. We read Our Skeletal System.

 

At the art table we created Q-tip skeletons, and skull coloring sheets were available.  The children also measured the food in the sensory table, played in the Hospital, and played with the musical instruments.  Ainsly shared a coin and a candle. Lucie shared about her trip to California.  Thank you both!

  

Thursday, October 2, 2008

 

At circle time we went over our calendar and sang the months of the year song.  We also went over our letter “Cc”, as well as signed the letter.  Then we talked about the muscles in our bodies.  We learned how our muscles work and how we benefit from taking care of them.  We also got a chance to use our muscles by going through an obstacle course.  With their hearts racing and smiles on their faces; all the children completed the course!

 

During free choice the children were able to collaborate in making a poster size human body at the art table. They also played with the trains, made a town with the blocks, and took out puzzles galore.

 

Together we read Sometimes I feel like a Mouse, and then talked about our feelings.  We had a big group talk about our different feelings and how they can change many times throughout the day.  We were all able to go around in a circle and tell a story about how we each were feeling.

 

Friday, October 3, 2008

 

We started off the day with a visit from Amelia’s dad, Dr. Kotamarti.  We had a lot of fun learning and asking questions about our bodies.  Dr. Kotamarti also brought his stethoscope and reflex hammer to share with the class.  The children loved learning with our visitor. Thank you Dr. Kotamarti!

 

We played the bone game with Beka and sang our bones song.  We also read Your Insides and The Goodnight Gecko.  During free choice time the children measured beans in the sensory table, read books to each other in the library, practiced their “Cc’s”, and made a huge train track.

 

School pictures were another exciting adventure the children embarked on today.  They were in aw of the big cameras, and were very excited to take their first school pictures.  Smiles all around!