January Newsletter

Happy New Year! I am so happy to have your children back in class. I missed them over

break. I hope you enjoyed the vacation.

We will be talking about winter for the months of January and February. We started our

conversation with a general overview of what winter is and how the weather in winter is

different than the other seasons of the year. On the first day we were back, we made a

web of what the children’s background knowledge of winter was. The children had a lot

of good information about what “winter” means. We will do this activity on our last day of

the theme to see how much they learned during our study. Other topics we will cover during

our study will be winter clothing, arctic animals, hibernating, migrating, adapting, tracking,

and snow people. Some of our activities will use cotton balls and sugar cubes. If you have

any that you would be willing to donate, it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

I created a sign up genius for volunteers to come into our classroom on Fridays to play

games with the children. If you are interested in volunteering, you can bring in your child’s

favorite game or I will supply one for you to play with the kids. The free choice time in our

classroom is from 1:30-2:15. You are welcome to come in just for that 45 minutes or stay

for the afternoon with us. The sign up link is
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B0F4BABAE2CAAFD0-funday 

Important Dates to Remember:
January 20th: No School for Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Favorite Mo Willems Book

The kids are so excited to share Should I Share My Ice Cream  with you tomorrow at 2:00!

Sent from my iPad

Favorite Pigeon Book

We had a tie on Friday when the children were asked which Pigeon Book was their favorite. We did a tie breaker today. The Pigeon Wants A Puppy was the favorite. Tomorrow we will vote on which Mo Willems Book is their all time favorite. We will read that with you at the author's celebration on Thursday.

Sent from my iPad

Favorite Gerald And Piggie Book

Should I Share My Ice Cream, by Mo Willems, was the children's favorite Gerald and Piggie book.

Sent from my iPad

December Newsletter

December 3, 2019

It was great to see so many of you at parent-teacher conferences last week. Thank you

for taking the time out of your busy schedule to meet with me. I thoroughly enjoy spending

time with your children each day. It was nice to be able to share pictures and stories about

what happens in our classroom with you. If you have any follow up questions, comments

or concerns, please reach out to me and we can schedule another time to meet or talk

by phone. 

Our next unit of study will be on the books of Mo Willems. Children love his characters

Pigeon, Piggie, and Elephant. They provide great stories for conversations on

expected/unexpected behavior, how to be a good friend, the difference between a want

and a need, and non verbal communication through body language and facial expressions.

We will be discussing the parts of a book (spine, front/back cover, author, illustrator, cover

page. etc) the parts of a story (setting, characters, problem, and solution) and voting on

our favorite Mo Willems book. We will share our favorite book and some theme related

songs at our culmination celebration on December 19th at 2:00. I hope you can join us.

Here is a link for a sign up genius if you would like to contribute food or drink to the

author’s celebration or the popcorn/pj party on Friday, 12/20/19. Thank you in advance. 

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B0F4BABAE2CAAFD0-authors 

We will continue to meet on the playground each day so long as the real feel and the

actual temperature are both at or above 11 degrees on the Accuweather app at 11:30.

If either number is l0 degrees or less, we will meet at the dismissal doors and come

straight inside to start our day. The side doors can only be opened once at 12:00. We

are not allowed to reopen the doors for people who arrive after they have closed.

Please enter through the main doors if you arrive after the doors have closed. Parents

are welcome to come in to help undress their children. We  ask that you leave through

the main doors so that the side doors remain securely closed and locked. Thank you

for your understanding with this. I have attached the dressing and undressing strips if

you would like to use them with your child. We appreciate any practice that they can

get at home learning these routines. Thank you. 

Dressing Strip

Undressing Strip

Important Dates to Remember:

December 4th- Early Release Day No School

December 19th- Author’s Celebration 2:00 Ms. Nancy’s Classroom

December 20th- PJ Day

December 23-January 1st- School Closed 

January 2nd- School Reopens

Thank you letter from the Ronald McDonald House

Dear children,

Hi! My name is Mike and I am the house dog for Ronald McDonald House in Burlington. 

I have a big job at Ronald McDonald House. I work hard at helping people feel better

and making them smile. 

Sometimes I will dress up in my favorite costume, Super Dog! What's your favorite

way to make someone smile?

 I wanted you to know that the humans I work with received all the wonderful

things you and your school collected for the Ronald McDonald House and for

the guests that need to stay with us. We all thought your "get well" cards were

beautiful. You are great artists! 

I am sending you some pictures of me. I hope they make you smile because

thinking of others is a kind thing to do and you made all of us at Ronald McDonald

House smile with your kindness. 

Your Friend,

Mike

The House Dog

Llama Llama’s Quilt

The children recreated Llama Llama's quilt after reading llama llama red pajama  by Anna Dewdney. 

Sent from my iPad

Clothing Graphs

Dying Fabric

As part of our clothing unit, we explored how our clothing becomes the color it is. We read the book Pete the Cat I Love My White Shoes by James Dean and Eric Litwin. Pete's shoes change color as he steps in strawberries, blueberries and mud. We extended the activity by having the children take pieces of white cotton fabric and dye them using coffee grounds, beet juice, mashed up grapes, and spinach.

November Song Lyrics

Greeting: What’s the first sound in your name?

Sung to London Bridges

What’s the first sound in your name?

In your name?

In your name?

What’s the first sound in your name?

Can you say it?

Baa, Baa, Black Sheep

Baa, baa, black sheep,

Have you any wool?

Yes, sir, yes, sir,

Three bags full;

One for the master,

And one for the dame,

And one for the little boy

Who lives down the lane.

This is the Way We Wash Our Clothes

This is the way we wash our clothes

Wash our clothes

Wash our clothes

This is the way we wash our clothes

So early in the morning

This is the way we iron our clothes

Iron our clothes

Iron our clothes

This is the way we iron our clothes

So early in the morning

This is the way we mend our clothes

Mend our clothes

Mend our clothes

This is the way we mend our clothes

So early in the morning

This is the way we get dressed up,

Get dressed up,

Get dressed up

This is the way we get dressed up,

So early in the morning

Measurement in Preschool

The preschoolers will measure their shoes using unifix cubes. They will record the length of their shoe on the form provided and then compare the length of their shoe with the length of their classmates to see whose is longer/shorter.

The Laundry Room

The children will practice sorting, washing, drying, and putting away laundry during our study of clothes. They will also match socks and fold towels. These are great life skills that they can help you with at home!

Chicka, Chicka, Boom, Boom Name Trees