Announcements

The children have gotten off to a WONDERFUL start in preschool.  They are quickly learning our classroom routines, they are beginning to form new friendships and they all have been a joy to get know these past few weeks!  Mrs. Tierney and I are enjoying them so much!  Mrs. Petix, our new assistant on Wednesdays, is also getting to know your children as well.  She joined us for the first time last Wednesday and we look forward to seeing her again in the weeks ahead.

Our language arts program in PreK-4, is centered around a reading readiness program called The Happily Ever After Series.  In this series, there are 10 story units that will teach the children their letters, shapes, colors, beginning and ending sounds, how to recognize and follow print on a page and in a storybook and how to listen to and follow "marking" instructions on various activity pages.  At the end of each 2-3 week unit, your child's storybook and activity pages will be sent home, along with information about what was taught and some suggested activities to do at home with your child.  

These lessons are designed to be completed together in class.  I model for the children what to do and then there is time for myself or the "computerized voice" to review the correct answers, depending on the type of lesson we are doing.  In the beginning, many children have the natural impulse to make random marks on their paper, or just "color" in anything/everything they see on a paper.  This will change as their listening skills and fine motor skills develop and they learn to make "meaningful marks" in their storybooks and activity sheets.  Their story comprehension will also improve as they become more "engaged learners".  

Due to the variety of attendance schedules, there may be some pages that your child can complete at home with you if he/she is not in school on a day when a lesson in completed.  I will always try my best to make sure your child has the basic understanding of what to do before sending something home.  Please let me know if you ever have any questions regarding any of the activities.  The storybook and activity pages for Little Red Riding Hood will be sent home later this week.  

During the month of September, the children learned the song "I Know That God Loves Me".  This month, we will be singing "He's Got The Whole World in His Hands".  Young children love to sing and many of our songs have hand motions that accompany our singing.  Your children have beautiful singing voices!

In math, we have started learning about rectangles and squares.  We will also learn about circles and triangles this month.  The children have also been sorting items by color and we have also been clapping, tapping and moving our bodies as we count "up" to 10 and "back" to 1.  You may want to ask your child about the Jack Hartman "Count to 10" song we sing to on the smartboard some days!

This month, we will learn about texture, size, shape and color as we work with pumpkins and leaves in our classroom.  We will read different stories, design artwork and have some "hands on fun" with these items during October.

We have a lot to look forward to this month!  Our preschool field trip to Cobble Creek Farm is next Tuesday, October 9th, our school Walkathon is on Saturday, October 27th, and our Halloween celebration is on Wednesday, October 31st (more information will be sent as the date gets closer).  Thank you for all your support at home and for sharing your children with us this year!

Have a great month and enjoy this beautiful time of year!