A Peek Into Our Day


 
Week of October 26

This week we will focus on the Letter Ss, Scarecrows, and Saints. It will be a busy week as we celebrate Halloween as well. S is a very tricky letter for the children to write. They would benefit from extra practice at home this week. When writing an S we say, "Little curve, little curve". Remind your child to start at the top. We will read a few fun scarecrow stories and create a scarecrow craft. We will read about St. Francis and St. John the Beloved and the children will present their Saint projects throughout the week.

Our centers have changed. Pumpkins were removed from the pumpkin patch/ kitchen area. The wheelbarrows remained and decorative leaves were added so the children can collect leaves and make leaf piles. In the sensory bins, the children will stuff scarecrows using crinkled paper and baby clothes. I have added the Superhero and Princess figures back in the dollhouse since they were a hit a few weeks ago. Our seats at the tables will change next weekend and we will have new seats for November.

Thank you to everyone who volunteered to donate snacks, prizes, or tablewear on the Sign Up Genius. Thank you for helping to make our small Halloween celebrations a success! You may send in your donations early, if you have them.

Just a reminder that school begins at 7:35. If you arrive after this time, you will need to go to the front office for a late pass. The teachers on duty have been generously waiting for late arrivals, but they do need to return to their classes for first period at 7:40. When the children are late, they get upset that they do not have enough play time with the morning tray activities. 

Monday: We read Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf by Lois Ehlert. The children painted a leaf shape with glue and then sprinkled colored sand over the glue. A few friends shared their Saint project. The projects will be displayed on our Religion bulletin board for November.

We enjoyed Music today. Ms. Koval was not in school. We did not have Spanish class, but since it may be rainy later in the week there is a possibility of having Spanish class on one of our indoor recess days.

Tuesday: We created a Scarecrow by cutting and gluing. The cutting activity for this craft was a bit challenging. The children tend to cut without focusing on the task and sometimes cut parts that should not be cut. I used this activity as a practice for this skill. I always have a model when completing crafts and I also complete a sample with the children. I directed the children to watch me cut the overalls. I showed them how to go around the outside of the shape so the straps of the overalls would be intact. Several children cut along the line, but did not go around the edge of the straps causing the straps to be cut off. There are also a few scarecrows without hands for the same reason. The children like to cut, however, they need to slow down and stay focused.

Wednesday:

Thursday: Students may replace their uniform top with their Spirit Rally t-shirts today. We will have a special morning snack, provided by parents who signed up on the Sign Up Genius. Mr. Hart will call Bingo over Zoom on the SmartBoard for our building.

Friday: Students may wear their Halloween costumes to school. Please have your child wear the school uniform underneath the costume so we can remove the costume if they become warm or uncomfortable and for rest time. We will have a special morning snack, provided by parents who signed up on the Sign Up Genius. We will go to the Hall for Fall pictures. We will parade around the Main building afterwards. The classes may look out the windows to watch the parade.

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Week of October 19

*** Please check your child's uniform sweatshirt. A couple have been mixed up. Please return to school if you have one that is not yours. I also have one without a name, please let me know if you are missing it. Children are instructed to place coats and sweatshirts inside the schoolbag when removing them.

Halloween has arrived in EC4A! This week we will begin our celebration of Halloween with the Letter Hh and a few Halloween crafts and activities. Our pumpkin centers will continue so that each group/ table has the opportunity to enjoy them. In Math, we will work with puzzles. Puzzles are a great fine motor and cognitive skills activity. We will work with wooden puzzles. We will also work with Halloween puzzles. The children will follow a diagram to create Halloween pictures using unifix cubes, interlocking blocks.

Monday: Welcome, Jack, to EC4A! Jack returns to SJB today and his friends have been anxiously awaiting his arrival. Our new students have been excited to meet him. We now have 20 students, 13 boys and 7 girls. 

During center time, the children painted a paper plate to prepare for an activity tomorrow for the book, Go Away, Big Green Monster, by Ed Emberley.

We will have Spanish and Music Special classes today. The children were disappointed to miss them last week due to the day off school.

Tuesday: Happy Birthday, Dominic!

Today we read the book, Go Away, Big Green Monster. We then created paper plate green monsters. I tried something new today. Typically, I create a craft with the children so they can hear the directions and have the visual to follow along. Today, I hung up the finished product and had the children follow the model to complete the activity. They had to glue the facial features in the same places as my sample. I did this so the children could work on their observation skills and learn to pay attention to details. We played a game last week called, "Where's the pumpkin?". I had the children cover their eyes and then I placed the pumpkin somewhere in the classroom. They had to observe where the pumpkin was and then using their "telling" words to describe where it was. They first answered, "over there". As I asked more questions, they quickly caught on. I hid the pumpkin on the top shelf of Jack's cubby since it was empty last week. One child responded that the pumpkin was on top of the cubby. When I tapped the top another child said, "No, on the shelf." I looked at the bottom shelf and another child clarified that it was the top shelf. Learning to be more descriptive in their language with improve their communication skills as well as help them to be great writer later in school.

From the office: An email was also sent this morning.

10/20/2020

EC3, EC4 and Kindergarten TEC Parents,

There will be NO Eagles Club for EC3, EC4 and Kindergarten, Wednesday, November 4 - Friday, November 6.  The early childhood building is being used for Parent/Teacher conference zoom meetings. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Thank you.

Wednesday: We completed our first journal writing activity. The children drew what they were going to be dress up as for Halloween. I then worked with each child (this will take a few days) to sound out the name of his or her costume. At this point of the year, the children may only be able to hear the beginning and ending sounds. Vowels are difficult to distinguish. As the children become more comfortable with this activity, the will begin to hear sounds in the middle of the words. This is also great letter recognition practice when writing the word.

I did not work Eagles Club today. Miss Angela, who usually assists us, and Miss Marilyn had our group. I left school today at 2:00 to attend my daughter's field hockey game. It was the first game of the season and it was Senior Night so I had to arrive early for the ceremony before the game. Typically Senior Night is the last home game, but they wanted to celebrate it early in case the season is cut short. 

Thank you to everyone who volunteered to donate an item for our Halloween celebrations. Thank you for all of your support!

Thursday: We watched a video of the book, The Ghost Dinner, by Jacques Duquennoy. In the book, a group of ghosts have a dinner party. They turn the color of everything that they eat. For example, they orange when they eat pumpkin soup. The children then completed an activity where they had to color ghosts based on the food suggestions by the ghosts.

This afternoon, we had a STEAM activity. The children have been singing "Five Little Pumpkins". The children had to design and construct a gate/ stucture using various blocks to hold five pumpkins. I purchased a large bag of pumpkin candies that I use every year for this activity, but then realized I could not use it since the candies were not individually packaged. I knew the candies would be tempting not to eat! We completed the activity using five unifix cubes.

We also created a Five Little Pumpkin scene. The children were given craft sticks and a bag of five pumpkin stickers; foam bats, ghosts, moon: and witch papers. The children had freedom to design the scene however they pleased.

We BOOed KB this morning. Our building has the tradition of BOOing each other on the days leading up to Halloween. EC4A always starts the fun, therefore, we are BOOed last. The teachers prepare a bag of treats to leave outside the classroom door. As we have done in the past, the treats are always individually factory packaged. We tiptoed down the hallway, I knocked on the door, and we all yelled BOO very loudly. The children quickly walked down the hallway back to our classroom. Once we returned to the classroom, my friends cheered and laughed! They are very excited about getting BOOed next week. 

Friday: Today is Halloween Dress Down Day for the four year old classes. Students may wear Halloween themed or Halloween color clothing (not costumes). Be sure that shoes are playground appropriate.


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Week of October 12

I hope everyone enjoyed the three day weekend. I defintely needed to catch up on some sleep! Things have been going well in EC4A, but I am definitely exhausted each day. My friends have a lot of energy and enthusiasm! There is also a lot of cleaning to be done each day. Thank you to everyone who sent in sanitizing spray and extra wipes last week. We are going through them quickly.

During the last month, I have been impressed at how quickly and easily the children have transitioned back to school. They are happy to be back in a routine and among friends. Their name writing is coming along nicely and their fine motor skills are improving. They are learning patience. Many of our friends were home the last six months or in a camp with a smaller goup. With 19 (soon to be 20) friends, we need to remember to take turns when speaking. We need to be patient when waiting for a teacher's assistance. At snack and lunch, they are learning to wait patiently as I help everyone open their food containers or fill water bottles. It would be helpful if you could include napkins in the lunch box and Eagles Club snacks and send in two water bottles.

This week we will learn about pumpkins and the Letter Pp. Our pumpkin activities will carry over to next week as well when our theme will be Halloween. We will learn how a pumpkin grows and be able to name the parts of a pumpkin.
We will also be reviewing and assessing patterns.

I have four students who need to complete their Spirit Rally t-shirts this week. 

Monday: No school today

Tuesday: In the folders today, you will find the October Monthly Letter and Number Assessment report. I assessed Uppercase Letters for all students. If the students were struggling with the lowercase letters, then I stopped and only assessed the letters in their first name. The assessment required the children to name the letter to which I pointed. The children were comfortable with this and attempted to guess even if they were unsure. For October, I assessed numbers 0 through 10. Please keep this report to compare to the November report. I am expecting that the children retain identification of the letters from month to month and continue to add more. For example, if a child identified 10 uppercase letters in October, I would hope that he or she remembers those same 10 and could identify 4 more letters in November.

Today we introduced the Letter P and continued to have fun with our fire safety centers. We are on a seven day rotation with centers so that each table can enjoy the theme's activities. On Thursday, our centers will change to our Pumpkin/ Halloween theme.

Wednesday: In Religion today, our paper reviewed making the Sign of the Cross. We have been praying everyday and the children say it beautifully. Please practice making the Sign of the Cross properly with your child. We also have been learning the Hail Mary since October is the month of the Rosary. The children are picking this prayer up very quickly.

School pictures are in the folders today.

Thursday: Our centers changed today to enhance our pumpkin theme. The children loved playing in the kitchen area/ fire station, but now it will be a pumpkin patch. I removed the toy fire extinguishers, walkie talkies, and fire tools. I also removed the table and chairs to make room for the wheel barrows and pumpkins. In the sensory bins, the children will be hammering wooden golf tees into a pumpkin. This is a great fine motor activity which also practices hand eye coordination. Using a toy hammer, the children will push the tees into the pumpkin and remove them with the hammer or their fingers. I added toy cars to the dollhouse and block area for imaginative play.

I cut open one of the pumpkins to share with the children the parts of a pumpkin. We then created our own pumpkin models by gluing together the parts and adding labels.

Friday: We learned about how a pumpkin grows. We compared a pumpkin to an apple (growing on a vine vs growing on a tree, yellow flower vs pink flower). We learned the term sequence. We glued the steps in a pumpkin's life cycle to practice our sequencing skills.

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Week of October 5

We will learn about Fire Safety and the Letter Ff. I forgot to mention that we had our first fire drill last Monday. I taught the children that when they hear me blow my whistle they must immediately stop, look, and listen. This is the protocol for all teachers in the school. The whistle signifies that there is an important message to be relayed, most likely regarding an emergency or need to exit the building. I gave several examples to the children such as a fire drill or a storm outside and we need to take shelter. This week we will learn the responsiblities of a fire fighter.

Thank you to everyone who has sent in donations that were requested on the Sign Up Genius. The children have enjoyed using the sidewalk chalk and running around popping bubbles. 

If you are able to find disinfectant spray, such as Lysol Spray, we are in need of some for the classroom. We had five bottles donated at the beginning fo the year, and I am quickly going through that supply.

Next week, we will learn about pumpkins. We will need a few small/ medium pumpkins for activities if you are able to donate one to the classroom.

Monday: We introduced the Letter F. I shared flashcards of F words for our Letter of the Week board. We pin punched the shape of Ff and practiced writing Ff on our white boards.

We had three specials today: Spanish, Music, and our first Gym Class of the year. Fr. Joe also visited us to bless our class pet for the feast of St. Francis.

This year is the 10th Anniversary of the opening of the Early Childhood Building. Each child was given a "10" cookie to take come to celebrate the occasion.

Tuesday: We read Fighting Fires by Seymour Simon. This book introduced the different types of fire engines such as ladder trucks, pumper trucks, tiller trucks, quint trucks, fire boats, and special planes that fight fires. We created a Dalmation dog craft using a paper plate. This was the first time we glued paper to a plate so the children quickly realized that they needed to use more glue for the paper to stick. 

Our Clifford Magazine was about fire fighters. Don't forget to access the online activities for the magazine on the Scholastic website. I sent a flyer with the password a few weeks ago. Let me know if you need the flyer.

We began sponge painting the Spirit Rally/ Field Day t-shirts today. I will do a few children each day. I will send the shirts home with each child as we complete them. We used fabric paint and it says to wait until 72 hours to wash the shirt. However, you will not need to wash them as the children have not worn them yet. I did prewash the shirts before painting. I believe the first time that the children will wear the shirts will be October 29th, but I will confirm soon. If you did not send in a t-shirt, please do soon this week. The number on the back is their class number from the class list in alphabetical order by last name.

Wednesday: We have two very special birthdays today! Happy Birthday, Mia and Sophia!

We finally dressed Mr. Potato Head completely which means we earned a class reward! We voted this morning and we will have Pajama Day this Friday, October 9th. I told the children they may wear pajamas or any comfy sweatpants, if they prefer. Girls should wear leggings under their nightgowns. No slippers, please. They may wear any shoes that are comfortable when playing.

         

I sent home the children's spare shoes from the cubbies on Monday. You may keep them at home. We have limited space in the cubbies this year and the children have been doing a fantastic job with the bathroom.

Thursday: Today we learned about the equipment that firefighters use. We colored and cut out fire safety cards to play a game. I gave clues about the equipment and the children held up the correct card/ answer. They enjoyed hearing the bell if they were correct or the buzzer if they were incorrect.

Don't forget that tomorrow is our special EC4A Pajama Day!

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Week of September 28

This week we will focus on the Letter Aa and our theme of Apples. We will learn about the life cycle of apples and be the parts of an apple. We will also learn about Johnny Appleseed in Music class and in EC4A. We will not be able to taste test apples and apple cider in school, but consider having apples for snack this week or weekend. 

A few centers have changed to enhance our theme. Our sensory bins will have farm toys and plastic apples. The children will also build apple trees using toilet paper rolls and craft sticks, trying to keep the apples in the tree by balancing pom poms on the craft sticks. A basket of toy apples has been added to the kitchen area. Last week I shared new toys with the children. Last year's class gifted me with new animals and Disney characters for our classroom. The children played with them on their morning trays. This week, I have added the superheroes and princesses to the dollhouse and animals to the block area.

Reminders for the week:
      - School pictures are on Wednesday. The children may dress down for
        picture day.

      - We are no longer staggering arrival. The doors open at 7:20 and close at
        7:35. If you arrive after 7:35, you must go to the Main office to obtain a
        late pass and then walk your child to our building.

      - Please send healthy snacks and lunches for your child. Be careful of sugar
        counts in snacks.

Monday: Today we introduced the Letter Aa. We pin punched the shape of Aa using a push pin and a cardboard box. This skill is challenging for the children in the beginning of the year as they are still strenghtning their fine motor skills.

We had Spanish and Music Specials today.

Tuesday: Happy Birthday, Avery! We learned about the life cycle of apples. We also created an apple by gluing tissue paper to an apple shape. The children could choose to either lay the tissue paper down or scrunch the tissue paper. Our Clifford magazine also featured apples. Don't forget you may log into the Scholastic website to access the games and videos at home.

I began assessing identification of uppercase letters today. I assess the letters and numbers monthly. I will send home a report once I have all the assessments completed. I bring the children over to work with me one at a time during centers. The children do not know it is an asessement. I keep it stress free. I am not concerned with the number correct each month. I am looking for retention from month to month and that they are adding more letters each month. If a child identified 8 letters in October, the goal would be to retain those 8 and identify a few more in November.

There is rain in the forecast for Picture Day tomorrow. Our class is scheduled for 8:45 in the Hall. For tomorrow, you may need to send in an umbrella and/ or rain coat. Children are permitted to dress down in regular clothes for the picture. Normally we do not allow umbrellas, however, we want the children to have perfect hair for their pictures!

Wednesday: Picture Day! All children will be photographed for the yearbook, even if you do not wish to purchase school pictures.

Mrs. Newcomb, our Art Teacher, will visit our class today for an Art lesson. They created fall trees by ripping paper and drawing the tree with a brown crayon. These will dry overnight and will be sent home on Thursday.

Thursday: White t-shirt is due today. We will decorate them next week.

Today we learned about Johnny Appleseed and created an apple by cutting and gluing the parts. The children added labels to the parts of the apples. We worked on our sounds and letter recognition to find the correct label. This activity was completed during Group Time after lunch. This is the time when the para is on her lunch break. Therfore, the children are learning to follow the directions of the teacher without another teacher walking around reminding the children to listen attentively. Learning to work independently is an important skill for the four year old class in preparation for Kindergarten. The sugary snacks in lunch makes it a bit more difficult to concentrate. Please be aware of the sugar counts in snacks and lunches. 

Friday: We finished our discussion of apples by naming foods that have apples as ingredients such as apple sauce and apple juice. We then created an apple pie craft. The children colored the pie plate and then cut and glued apple slices and pie crust.

Monday will be a very busy day in EC4A. We have our two specials, Spanish and Music. We will also meet Mrs. Schock for a special Gym period during our lunch recess. Fr. Joe will also visit us to bless our class pet, Firework. I also learned today that the children may bring in a picture of their pet for Fr. Joe to bless. We cannot have our Blessing of the Pets in person this year.

Thank you to everyone who sent in a white shirt for their child to decorate. I will stencil the numbers on the back this weekend. I explained to the children that I can only paint a few shirts each day next week because I need to do this project one on one since we will be using fabric paint. They are very excited to make their own shirts!

Have a wonderful weekend!
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Week of September 21

This week our theme will be All About Me. All of our weekly themes can be found at the Year at a Glance tab on the left. We will read books about being unique and special. The children are continuing to meet my expectations in the classroom. We are still taking a little long to gather our belongings and line up to have snack and lunch outside or use the bathroom. Hopefully, this will improve so we can go outside for learning activities.

We will continue to practice writing our names. I am sending home in the folder a blank name tracing sheet. Feel free to make copies and practice at home.

The students will also be sorting by shapes as I continue to assess shape recognition. Next week, we will begin the Letter of the Week with the letter A.

Arrival and Dismissal has been going very well. I believe a letter is going to be sent home to address the staggering of drop off and pick up. Kindergarten has been coming into the building quickly so your child may begin entering the building earlier. The doors open at 7:20. Please continue to social distance when bringing your child to the building. The children are not required to wear their star nametag into school.

Monday: Our book today was Designed by God So I Must Be Special. This book focuses on our senses and why they are valuable to us. The children created a self portrait by coloring a child shape. They loved adding the gems, shapes, and buttons to their initials last week so we will be adding similar items to our self portraits as well. The initials are hanging from the ceiling in the classroom.

We have our two specials, Spanish and Music, today.

Mr. Delfin, our Guidance Counselor, visited our class this morning to introduce himself and explain his role. The children recognize him from morning drop off, but we wanted them to understand how he helps in the school. He discussed feelings, played a game using the characters from the movie, Inside Out, and danced with the children to If You're Happy and You Know It. He explained that he is available if the children were sad, scared, or just having a bad day and needed someone to talk to.

Tuesday: I will update this evening, after Eagles Club. I apologize that I did not have time to update during the day. Mrs. Golebiowski and Ms. Koval were absent today. Mrs. Tharan, Miss Beth, and Miss Marilyn all popped in throughout the day to assist with bathroom, snack, and lunch.

My morning lesson focused on how we are all different and unique. I showed the children rocks in various size, shapes, textures, and colors. I explained that God created all of the rocks. Each one is special and amazing even though they are all different. Each child will choose a rock that is special to them. We will write their names on the rock and add fingerprints. These rocks will decorate our Prayer Table this year.

During Center Time, we sorted mini foam shape erasers. As they sorted using the tweezers again (strengthening those hand muscles), I assessed their shape recognition. This week I added rectangle and diamond since I did not assess these shapes last week. 

We read the book When I Grow Up by Al Yankovic. The boy in the story is telling his class during Show and Tell about all the awesome jobs he would like to have we he grows up. Some were typical occupations like chef and teacher and some very strange like a snail trainer or tarantula barber. Ask your child to tell one some of the silly jobs. We then followed directions to draw our face, cut out our head and leg shapes, and then glue all the pieces together. Some pieces I precut since they were a bit tricky. The body parts were photocopied on various shades of skin color paper. The children chose the skin color closest to their own so they did not need to color the skin. However, my friends LOVE the skin color crayons that I gave them and a few insisted on coloring the skin anyway. I love their enthusiasm and their attention to details!

Thank you for attending the Back to School Night Zooms. I appreciate that you took time out of your busy day. And thank you for sending in all the wonderful donations!!!!!!!!!

Wednesday: We read the book, I LIke Me!, by Nancy Carlson. This book encourages being proud and happy with yourself. The children completed a hand held mirror craft, like the one in the book.

I allowed the children to use water color paints for the first time today. Some friends will have the opportunity to do this activity tomorrow. We completed a page in our name books where the children paint the letters of their name. They used the thin brush to paint inside each letter. This was great letter recognition and fine motor skill practice.

Miss Beth, who works in Eagles Club with the first grade, was our substitute today.

Thursday: Today we practiced writing our name and pre-writing skill lines in our red notebooks. As I expected, the children were thrilled to have a new book. They do a great job tracing my lines. I wrote in a highlighter which allowed them to be able to see their lines clearly. Some friends were very hesitant to attempt to write their name by themselves. Others proudly wrote the name all in capital letters even though they traced their name with lowercase letters. We completed our name books today. I will assemble them over the weekend and send them home on Monday. Please practice name writing at home.

Friday: I have really enjoyed watching the children present the items in the All About Me bags. All students stood or sat on the bench in the front of the classroom. Some were quiet and quick. Others could have talked for an hour! Some enjoyed walking around to the other tables to show their pictures or items. I instructed them to walk to the tables and hold the item the same way that I hold a book that I am reading to the class. 

Today we read Only One You which is a sweet story about a family of fish. The parents are telling their child how special he is and how he can do anything his heart desires. We painted a fish using liquid watercolor paint.

Please remember to wash rest blankets, crib sheets, and gray snack towels and return them to school on Monday. Please send the rest blankets and sheets in a bag.

Picture Day is September 30th!!! All students are photgraphed for the yearbook, therefore their pictures will be taken even if you do not intend to purchase.

Next week, we will begin having a Letter of the Week and our theme will be apples. Sadly, we cannot have our apple taste testing as planned. Have a wonderful weekend!

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Week of September 14

We had a fantastic first week of school! The children quickly settled in to their new environment and being back to school. We will continue with our theme, "Welcome to SJB". We will also practice writing our names the "Big Kid" way. We will transition to writing our first names with an uppercase letter and the other letters lowercase. Last week, I encouraged the children to write as many letters in their names that they could. I would like them be confident in writing their names, even if they can only write their initial. They do not gain confidence or improve if I am writing it for them. I told them that they will learn the other letters as we continue to practice.

We will practice sorting by color this week and I am assessing recognition of colors and shapes. In the fours, we ask the child to identify the color/ shape/ letter by name as opposed to locating and pointing to the correct answer.

A few reminders:
     - Remember to wash the rest towels/ sheets and gray outdoor sitting towels
       over the weekend and return to school each Monday. It is helpful if the rest
       blankets are in a separate bag, not the schoolbag.

     - We have snack and (sometimes lunch) outside everyday. Please be sure
       that all food, including morning snack, is in the lunch box. It is easier for
       the children to carry the lunchbox outside, rather than two or three
       morning snacks. Eagles Club snack should be kept separate from the lunch
       box and be in the front pocket of the schoolbag.

     - Please send everything your child needs for lunch, including napkins, forks,
       spoons, filled water bottle. We will refill the water as needed throughout
       the day.

I have added a few pictures of our projects to the Photos Tab to the left. Also, scroll down to see the picture of our fish, Rainbow, if you missed it on Friday.

Monday: We will read The Pigeon Has to Go to School by Mo Willems and follow directions to complete a craft. This craft requires the children to listen closely as well as follow along as I complete a sample.

We will also have our first Specials today. Every Monday we have Spanish class with Ms. Koval and Music class with Mrs. Wagner. Mrs. Wagner has provided each student with a bag of instruments which we keep in the classroom. At this time, these are the only two specials that we will have. On the other days, Ms. Koval comes to our room and assist with lunch recess outside and sometimes plans an activity for the children. This allows me time to clean the toys and classroom in the middle of the day. After Eagles Club, I clean toys and the classroom again.

Mrs. Golebiowski was not in school today and we were unable to find a substitute. The children did a great job and were very patient with me. Mrs. Tharan came over several times and helped with bathroom time. I was not comfortable taking the children out by myself at this early stage of the year. It is difficult for one person since the children are still learning the rules and boundaries. I also would be unable to take the children to the bathroom and monitor the children outside. 

Tuesday: We introduced our Good Deed tree today. Each child has an apple on a tree decoration which is hanging on the wall. The cut out/ shape will change each month. When we notice the children doing a good deed or showing kindness to others, they earn a sticker on their shape. The good deed tree is for individual accomplishments. For class rewards for good behavior, the children earn a piece to Mr. Potato Head. We have a Mr. Potato Head in our classroom and the class earns a piece when the entire group is on task and participating. 
                                   
We also read The Rainbow Fish which aided us in our discussion of sharing and kindness.

We are reviewing sorting this week in Math. We are sorting mini star erasers by color. Next week, we will sort by shape.

This afternoon we completed our Clifford Magazine. We read the magazine together in class, watch the online videos, and play the games on the Smart Board. There is a letter in the folder providing you with our class code so your child can also complete these activities at home.

Miss Marilyn, our Eagles Club Director for the Early Childhood Building, was the substitute for Mrs. Golebiowski today.

Wednesday: Today we traced our first names. I printed out a sheet with their names written on it so they could trace the letters. We also have been discussing initials. Some children were confused by this concept. I like to use different prompts when giving directions or lining up. I said, "If your name begins with an E, please line up." Several children lined up and responded my name starts with an E, however, they have E's in the middle of their names. We will be completing a name book to help us learn how to write our names the big kid way. I am not expecting perfection, but hoping to have the children transition from writing in all capital letters to upper/lowercase combination since this is a hard habit to break.

We completed a journal drawing activity for our binders. The children had to draw one thing they liked about SJB and then dictate their response to a teacher. I love looking at these binders in May to see how their writing and drawing has progressed over the school year. It was also nice to hear that many of the children enjoy the center areas. I had to make many changes to the way we typically do center time this year so I was thrilled to hear that they are loving the areas.

Please remember to write names on all belongings. I instruct the children to place sweatshirts in their schoolbag when they remove them because they tend to slide out of the cubby and land on the floor.

Thursday: We read the book Lucy's Mask by Lisa Thompson. Lucy loves to wear masks and play dress up. One day her mom gives her a special mask and tells her that this mask will help save people which makes Lucy feel like a superhero. We then discussed our feelings about mask and germs. The children completed a journal drawing activity where the children drew their feelings.

We sorted colored mini star erasers by color. We reviewed how to sort and as expected they completed the activity easily. Children have no difficulty sorting by color, but when we sort by shape or type there can be some confusion. To maximize our learning, the children used oversized tweezers to pick up the erasers. I told them they were strengthening their hand muscles so they could become better writers.

The children created a crayon box craft as a group. We are working on following directions during group activities. They are very excited to be with their friends and may have not been in a large group setting since March. We completed this together. The crayons had the letters of their name written on them. The children had to put their names in order and glue the crayons on the box. 

Please send in a plain white t-shirt for your child by October 1st. Mrs. Schock our Gym teacher organizes our Spirit Rallies and Field Day. Each class (EC through 2nd grade) is assigned a different color. We will decorate these shirts in class.

Friday: We had fun decorating our initials. A few friends began this activity yesterday. I cut out a large letter for each child and glued it onto a piece of construction paper. The children added small foam shapes, buttons, or gems to their initial using a glue sponge. This is something I found on online and had wanted to do last year. This is the perfect year to try it! Each child has a small plastic container containing a sponge saturated in Elmer's glue. They push the shape or paper onto the sponge to apply the glue. It is recommended to spray the sponges with a water/ Listerine mixture once a week to keep it moisturized and sanitized. It will be an experiment to see how they hold up, but the kids loved using them. They still had a bit of glue on their fingers, but it was definitely less messy.

The children are doing a great job. I am pleased with their progress so far. We have tried a variety of fine motor activities and they have been successful. It is obvious that you all kept up with activities over the summer and the children retained these skills. Thank you!

Have a wonderful weekend! Enjoy the Fall weather! Next week, our theme is All About Me. Remember to send in your child's All ABout Me bag on their assigned day. The children will show their items and then place their bags immediately back into their schoolbags to keep the items germ free. If you choose to send in the bag early, we will keep it in the schoolbag until it is time to use it.

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Week of September 8
 
Our theme for the first two weeks of school is "Welcome to EC4A and SJB". We will have fun introducing our new friends to the routine and rules of the classroom. We will assess the fine motor skills of the students as we complete several fun art projects.

I will read books from three different authors as we welcome the students. The first will be James Dean and his Pete the Cat series.    

Monday: Happy Labor Day! 6:30 'Twas the Night Before Preschool Zoom

Tuesday: First Day of School! The children did a fantastic job today! They were very excited and very polite. They are learning the rules, learning to be patient and wait their turn, and asking lots of questions. We read the story Pete the Cat, Rocking in My School Shoes and colored a special Pete the Cat First Day of School paper. I took several pictures of the children playing and will upload them to the Photos Tab once I receive notification from the office of picture permission granted. We also practiced cutting on a line. Each child had two stips of paper with straight and diagonal lines on which to cut. Everyone used proper scissor grip, and most cut on the line perfectly. Great job!

We introduced how our center areas work and explained that they are in that center for the whole time. They children did a great job staying in their areas. I was truly impressed at how they followed directions! They are excited to see which center they have tomorrow and I told them to check the chart when they arrive each morning to see. I keep it a secret so they have something to look forward to when they arrive each day. They check their jobs and center areas on the charts each morning.

Please remember to send in a water bottle everyday. Children should continue to wear their star nametag into school. They did a great job wearing their masks when instructed to do so. I was so proud of them for walking into school like big kids!

Wednesday: Please have your child practice putting on their mask by themselves. Since the masks touch their faces, I am concerned about spreading germs if I need to assist with several masks on the playground when we are preparing to return to the classroom.

Your child may have mentioned that we have been eating morning snack outside. I ordered the children a grey hand towel to sit on when we are on the blacktop for snack or outdoor learning. They arrived Tuesday afternoon. I will send these home with the children on Fridays to be washed with their rest sheets and blankets. Please be sure to return the towels and rest blankets on Mondays.

We completed Lesson One of our Religion book. Each lesson has a tear out sheet for the children to complete in school along with a family newsletter. Today you will receive two letters, one for the unit and one for the lesson.

We decorated a cover for our binders and completed the first activity. These binders are a portfolio of your child's progress throughout the year. The children drew a self portrait. They will draw one in January and one on May to assess their growth during the year.

Thursday: Today we read Pete the Cat and his Groovy Buttons. I wore a yellow shirt with felt buttons, like Pete, and as I read the story, my buttons were lost as well. The children glued their own Pete the Cat and added his yellow shirt. Then they placed numbered button stickers on the shirt. They had to put the four numbers in correct order. These will decorate our classroom. We will send them home soon for you to enjoy.

We also read the book Germs vs. Soap by Didi Dragon. The book is a humorous look at germs and how important it is to use soap when washing hands. Most four year olds pump soap from the dispenser and then immediately run their hands under water. I demonstrated how to properly wash hands and then we did a Science experiment. I filled bowls with water on the tables. I added pepper to the water. The pepper represented germs and how they can remain on skin when you only wash with water. Then I poured a drop of dish soap into the water and we observed the pepper scatter. Hopefully, this will help the children remember how to wash their hands effectively. We also discussed the appropriate amount of hand sanitizer to use. Some of my friends think more is better when sanitizing their hands. 

It is amazing how quickly the children are settling in their new routines. They are quickly becoming friends and are comfortable in their new surroundings. I love their enthusiasm!

Friday: Today we read The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Dewalt. We discussed how each crayon was feeling and that it is okay to have those feelings. Sometimes you need to let the other person know that you do not like the way he or she is treating you. Each child chose a color crayon to decorate. They did a great job cutting and following directions to create the crayon craft.

We also did a page in our special Learning Without Tears workbook. This is our handwriting curriculum. The page today was following directions, which is very important for learning.

Our fish has a name!!!! The children had many great choices for his name and we had the final vote this morning. Welcome, Rainbow, to EC4A!!!!!!

         

The friends' names that are in the box were absent or chose not to vote.