News, December 7-11
PRE-K NEWSLETTER
DECEMBER 7- 11
This week we continued our look at winter, shifting our focus from animals and hibernation, to weather, and winter activities. The kids learned about snowflakes, clouds, and about how humans prepare for winter. Because of the wintry weather, we were also able to use the gym all week! The kids had a great time learning to play new games like, snowball fight, moo, and dead bug. We even had a chance to break out the parachute!
Monday 12/7/09
Books we read today:
How I Became A Pirate, All You Need For A Snowman, and Weather
During circle time we counted the calendar, checked the weather, sang the letter Kk song, and made a list of words beginning with the letter Kk. Cleo shared a Kaleidoscope, and Jack Twining Freeman shared his very special teddy bear, Keith.
Since the weather outside was so chilly, we went to the gym and played several games; dead bug, four corners, and we even had time to play snowball fight. After rest time, we worked as a group to form the letters of the alphabet with our bodies! The kids had so much fun trying to make letters by lying on the floor.
At the art table today, free drawing and and letter K cutouts were available for the kids to experiment with.
Tuesday
Books we read today:
Bear Wants More, One Winter's Day, Kites, Imogene's Antlers, Snow Friends
We started off the morning by heading to the gym, where the kids were able to play freely with rainbow soccer balls, and then we ended gym time with another game of dead bug!
During circle time, we counted the calendar with our calendar helper Cleo, checked the weather, and opened our letter of the week bag. After circle time, Trevor helped to make giant upper case and lower case Kk on the carpet using masking tape. When the K's were complete, the kids were able to trace the letters by driving toy cars or walking along them using plastic animals.
At the art table, the kids had time to work on their winter cards for their families;and magnets, easel painting, lego, color mixing, and the bear cave were also available during choice time. In the afternoon, we played a game of musical chairs, and returned to the gym to play dead bug, snowball fight, and we learned to play a new game, called Moo!
Wednesday
Books we read today:
The Jacket I Wear In The Snow, A Hat For Minerva Louise, Just In Case, Chester, Animals In Winter
During circle we counted the calendar, practiced the sign language alphabet, and talked about what a cloud is,how rain and snow can come from clouds in certain conditions, and the names of some of the different types of clouds. We also read the book Animals in Winter and played a guessing game using the animals from the book. When the teacher turned the page to a specific animal; the children took turns sharing different things they knew about that animal. It was quite impressive to see how much that they were able to remember. At the art table the children were given paint and paper
Thursday
Books we read today:
Hello Snow, Teddy's Snow Day, Footprints In the Snow, Here Comes the Snow, Snow
During circle time we counted the calendar, checked the weather, sang the letter Kk song, and learned a new song; I'm A Little Snowman. Since the nasty weather continued, we hung out inside today and played circus clown, musical chairs, and two rounds of freeze dance. At the art table, the children had access to a variety of collage materials, and were able to create a night snow scene; which is hanging in our classroom next to the stairs.
Friday
Books we read today:
Owl Moon, Why Do Birds Fly South?, The Hat, There Was A Cold Lady Who Swallowed Some Snow
During Circle we counted the calendar, checked the weather, and sang our letter Kk song. We also sang Snow is Falling, and since the children recognized the tune, we also sang Frere Jaques. After reading The Hat, we talked about the type of clothing that people need to wear in the winter in order to keep warm. As we talked about the clothes, the teacher drew a picture of each item on the board until we had a whole person, wearing: snow goggles, pants, feathers, a jacket, a pom-pon hat, gloves, mittens, and shirts. After we had completed our winter wardrobe picture we talked about the differences between summer clothes, and winter clothes.
Thanks and Reminders:
A big thank you to all of the families who brought in supplies for our gingerbread houses; the kids are all so excited!
The Pre-K family brunch has been cancelled due to scheduling conflicts; many of the families would be unable to attend. We will be rescheduling the brunch sometime after the break, hopefully this will allow more parents to attend. Thanks for your understanding!
The first day of school after the break is January 4th