Welcome to ECP - 3B
2018-2019

Mrs. Cuocolo 

 

Diocesan Wide Theme: Rejoice in the Lord Always
Franciscan Value for November: peacemaking

Important Dates

Thursday, 11/15 -  bring in a favorite T for towel (beach towel with a picture) for Show and Share
Friday, 11/16 -  Chic Fil A (for those who ordered), no hot lunch available, wear a T shirt (favorite team, teal or turquoise, trucks, teddy bears, etc), friends all need a clean empty toilet paper roll, bring a T for teddy bear
Monday, 11/19 -  11:35 dismissal (there is Eagle's Club), Thanksgiving Feast, bring a picture of something you are thankful for (either from a magazine or a real picture)
Tuesday, 11/20 -  11:35 dismissal (there is Eagle's Club), Thanksgiving Mass at 9:30
Wednesday 11/21 - Friday 11/23 -  School is CLOSED for Thanksgiving
Wednesday, 12/19 -  Christmas songs at 7:45 (parents are invited to join us after drop off for a brief 10 minute "show" of our Christmas songs

Important Note about the Barnes and Noble Book Fair

Please join us on Wednesday, November 14 at the Barnes and Noble at Christiana Mall for the School Book Fair. This is a great opportunity to purchase books to build your at home library and to support the school library. Mr. Hart will be doing story time at 6:00pm. Chic Fil A will donate a proceed of dinner sales after 5:30 to SJB also. This is such a fun night for the SJB family!

** Children may purchase raffle tickets for a chance for a $25 gift card. Please send the money in an envelope marked "Book Fair Raffle" with your child's name and homeroom. The Librarians will enter the informtation in the raffle.

 

Important Note about Bid A Mania

The biggest fund raiser of this school year is Bid A Mania.  it is scheduled for March 2, 2019, and although that seems like a long time from now, we are already planning and collecting for your awesome themed classroom baskets.  We are currently halfway through our donation drive and will be accepting donations through Tuesday November 20th.  We are asking for each child to contribute a suggested amount of $10.  These funds will be used to shop for your class’s themed basket.  All homerooms that collect $150 or more (ECP classes need to collect just $100 due to their small size) will be rewarded with an ICE CREAM SOCIAL the week after Thanksgiving.  5 of our 25 homerooms have already earned their ice cream social!!!  All donations are accepted through parents Smart Tuition accounts.

 

Daily Updates

November 14, 2018

What a whirlwind of a Wednesday! Despite vision screenings (all children received a sticker, even if you opted not to have their vision tested), Gym in the classroom and Spanish, we did manage to get quite a lot done today.

We created a T collage with pictures of turtles, trucks, tigers, trees and many other T words. We tasted Cinnamon Teddy grahams and Chocolate Chip Teddy Grahams. After a class vote, chocolate chip was our favorite with 10 votes. We decided that 10 is a bigger number than 4 so more friends like the chocolate chip bears.

We listened to a story called "Thanks for Thanksgiving" and created thankful heartsshare what we are thankful for. My friends also painted an acorn using an acorn topper to paint with. My friends also worked on fraying feathers to create a headress for Thanksgiving My friends also worked ona prewriting sheet to learn about moving from left to right.

I hope to see some of you at Barnes and Noble tonight! It is a fun night!

My friends all need a favorite towel for show and share tomorrow.

On Wednesday, December 19, parents are invited to stay after morning drop off for a brief (about 10 minutes) "show". We will sing Christmas songs that we have been working on. Please make arrangements at work now so that you can join us on this day. We will start at 7:45 and be done by 8:00. 


November 13, 2018
*** My friends all need a clean, empty toilet paper roll for Friday. We will use for a craft/science experiment next Monday. It would be great if the roll was brown, not white, as we are using it for w turkey craft. A paper towel roll would also work. We will be cutting our rolls in half. 

My friends all came in ready to go on this rainy, dreary Tuesday. They really are such bright spots on the dark days!

Today we enjoyed Technology on Tuesday for T week with Miss Luce. Some of my friends wanted to try to use the mouse today so she set them up with a game to play to work on this skill. We were unable to take a morning recess so we did the Turkey Trot and Turkey Hokey Pokey following along with the Smart board. Thanksfully the rain stopped and we were able to get outside to run around after lunch. I will always do my best to get them outside for even 5-10 minutes as they need that time to stretch and get fresh air. As the weather gets colder, please be sure that your child has appropriate outer wear to allow us to do our daily outings. Thanks to all who have mittens (not gloves). This makes a huge difference.

We listened to a story about Thanksgiving today and talked again about the reason that we celebrate. My friends then created a T for turkey for their end of the year ABC book. My friends also made Indian corn by crumpling tissue paper.

I worked on letter recognition with the children going over the letters that we have done thus far. We have done A, H, F, P, C, L, and T. Please review these letters with your child. Continue to expose them to our letters of the week. The children are not expected to master the letters this year - please do not panic if they cannot name them. They will learn their letters next year but we continue to expose them this year to help with recognition. The goal is that they know the letters in their first name by the end of the year.

We played a game today where the chidlren had to name a picture that they had and decide if it starts with T or not. They enjoyed this game and did a great job with this skill.

After recess, we did Religion. We talked about all of the gifts that we have and that God blessed us with our gifts and that we should be thankful for all that we have. We colored a prayer that they can share on Thanksgiving and we listened to a few Relgious songs about being thankful. Talk with yuor child about all that we have to be thankful for during this holiday season and always!

~Tomorrow we will have gym in the classroom. Please remember to pull your daughter's hair back and to make sure that your child's name is on their shirt/sweatshirt.

~ My friends all need a T picture for our T collage tomorrow.

~ We have the vision screening tomorrow morning. Just to add to the craziness of a Gym/Spanish day. We will be lucky if we get anything done tomorrow!!

~ Remember to head out to Barnes and Noble at Christiana Mall tomorrow to support the school Book Fair. This is a fun night for your family and the SJB family and a great way to support our school library. Mr. hart will bedoing story time at 6pm.

~ Have a great evening. Stay warm!

November 12, 2018
*** My friends all need a clean, empty toilet paper roll for Friday. We will use for a craft/science experiment next Monday. It would be great if the roll was brown, not white, as we are using it for w turkey craft. A paper towel roll would also work. We will be cutting our rolls in half. 

Welcome to the start of a new week together. I hope that everyone enjoyed the weekend, despite the cold windy conditions on Saturday! 

Today we introduced our new letter Tt. We looked at pictures of a table, tooth, television, tiger and turtle. My friends each did their crayon rubbings to find letters Tt, a turtle and a tire. They also each cut  ateal triangle and I have to say I was very impressed. It looked like many of my friends were practicing over the weekend. Keep up the good work!

We listened to a story called "Let it Fall" and talked more about the changes that happen in the fall. The children then painted a fall scene with fall colors and falling leaves and the words "Leaves fall down." My friends also worked on a special Thanksgiving gift today! The children also created a tree from the letter T. They did a great job cutting and gluing pieces of paper independently.

We enjoyed Music with Mrs. Wagner and a morning recess this morning.

Please see the above note about the Book Fair. This is a fun night for SJB and a great way to support the school library! 





November 9, 2018
Hooray for Friday! My friends were all so cute in their team shirts. We enjoyed sharing our animals that we love during circle time. 


Today we enjoyed story time in the Library. Our animals were able to join us!

I read the story "Leaf Man" today and my friends shared their leaves from home. We then sorted our leaves based on color, shape, and size. The children then used their leaves to create their own leaf men. Love to see their creativity shine through! My friends also worked on doing their L pushpins and used dot dot markers to color a leaf. My friends also created an L for lollipop with the letters in their name. 

Today we tried a science experiment that did not work. I explained to my friends that this happens sometimes and that a real scientist would try the experiment again and would maybe change a few things to see why it didn't work. I explained that things don't always go as planned but we don't get upset. We just keep going - kind of like Pete the Cat says to do! A good life lesson!

We were able to get outside for an afternoon recess after enjoying chic fil a (and pretzels this morning - these kids might not need to eat for days!). We played on the playground and took a nature walk to look for signs of fall. We walked through leaves to hear the crackling, crunchy sound they make then they are dried up.

After recess, we did Religion. We talked about ways to let others know that Jesus is in our hearts - by sharing, helping and using kind words. We looked at our Religion sheet and spun the wheel to share how each of the people pictured were showing God's love. We listened to and watched the video for "This Little Light of Mine". I reminded them to let that light shine this weekend. Feel free to use those words this weekend - ask them if their light is shining?!?

Next week we will talk about the letter T and Thanksgiving and turkeys.

~ My friends all need an empty and dry 8 oz water bottle for Monday. PLease pel the label off and write your child's initials on the cap.

~ Practice cutting skills this weekend. Children need to practice this skill at home so they are comfortable holding scissors and can improve upon their cutting skills.

~ Practice identifying your child's name with them. Go over the letters in their name with them. I am doing this one on one each morning. They should all be able to find their name in a group and tell you at least the beginning letter in their name.

~ Please practice the magic trick in putting their coats on! Some of my friends can do it and are so proud.

Have a great weekend together as a family. Take time to breath and enjoy the calm before the fun but craziness of the holiday season sets in! I will be freezing at a baseball tournament in Maryland!! 


November 8, 2018
Today was another fun and productive day in our classroom. We started our day with whole group table work - listening to and following directions with colors and finding numbers. My friends all did an amazing job with this activity - I was so proud of them! Each friend then had the chance to form a letter L on s dry erase board. We will not do much in terms of letter formation in here as they are not developmentally ready for this, but we will do some basic writing skills. 

My friends then became scientists. We did a super fun and cool activity called "colors in sunlight" - l for light. The children each had a cup with milk - we talked about the l for liquid that this was and reviewed what a liquid is. They poured their liquid in to a bowl. We then added three drops of three different food colors to the bowl - making sure not to mix the colors. We observed that the colors did not move, they stayed in "their spot". We then had a thick, orange liquid that we used our sense of smell to think about. I explained this was dish soap. The children then slowly poured this liquid into their bowls and were amazed by what happened. The colors all moixed together and we now had pinks, purples, yellows, and teal. The dish soap broke up the surface tension of the milk causing all of the colors to mix (way beyond their heads but I do explain the science behind it when I can). Thhis is one of my favorite experiments of the year - I think it was theirs too!



Today in Religion we talked about being a light in the world. We said the Holy Spirit lives in our hearts and we show others this when we are kind, loving and when we share. This makes our light shine brightly for others to see. I said that sometimes that light has a hard time showing because we all have bad days but we need to work hard every day to let our little lights shine to show everyone that Jesus is always in our hearts. We listened to the song "This Little Light of Mine". The children then made candle holders with tissue paper and cups and the words "This Little Light of Mine, I'm Gonna Let it Shine". Feel free to put a battery operated candle in there to remind them to always be the light and to let that light shine for othrs to see! The children also created hearts with the words 'I Love my Family" and included their family photos.

We enjoyed morning recess on the big playground and we had Art after lunch! The WHOLE CLASS SLEPT at rest time. This was a first for the year! Way to go, friends!

~ Tomorrow is pretzels for morning snack for those who ordered. If you did not order, please send in a snack.

~ Tomorrow is Chic Fil A for those who ordered. Ketchup is not always available to please send some in a container if your child prefers to eat with ketchup.

~ Tomorrow is a School TAG day. Wear your favorite team shirt!

~ Everyone needs a leaf tomorrow for our collage.

~ Bring in an animal that you LOVE for l week show and share.

~ Please support our school's biggest fundraiser by donating to Bid A Mania fund for our classroom. Thank you!

Tomorrow we do the Friday dance!


November 7, 2018
What a whirlwind our Wednesdays are! We were so happy to see the sun today!

We shared our large and little pictures today and brainstormed other items that are large and small. We also enjoyed lemonade as our drink for morning snack and we tasted Lucky charms for L week. Gym was in the classroom today and my friends danced with Mrs. Schock. They did a great job following her directions.

Today we listened to a story called "Autumn's First Leaf" and talked about the changes that happen between summer and fall. The children then created fall wreaths with leaves of various fall colors. My friends also used their toilet paper rolls we collected to paint brown for a tree trunk and filled the branches with leaves of various colors (Fruit Loops). My friends also painted with a pinecone and filled in letters Ll with leaf stickers and stamps. We practiced cutting pictures of leaves, too. Please remember the importance of practicing scissor skills at home. Some of my friends still need a lot of help in this area.

I worked on a shape game and assessment with the children also.

We took a morning recess on the big playground to enjoy the sun and then we took a leaf walk to collect leaves for a craft tomorrow. We noticed that some of the trees were already bare and that some still had leaves but that the leaves were all different colors.

~ My friends all need a family picture for tomorrow or Friday. It can be the same picture that just came home from a Religion craft.

~ My friends should all bring a leaf on Friday for a leaf collage.

~ My friends all need one small (8oz) water bottle by next Monday. The water bottle should be empty and dry and the label should be removed. Please write your child's initials on the lid. We will use this for Thanksgiving. Thank you!


November 6, 2018
Today was another rainy, dreary day but these little ones are a bright spot on days like this - they come in all smiles and ready to go! 

Today we listened to the story 'The Grouchy Ladybug" and we then created an L for ladybug for their end of the year ABC book. We also read a book called "I like Me" and talked about all of the many things that make us special. The children each then shared with me something that makes them special and why they like themselves and they created a person to look like them. It is so important to remind the children just how special they are and that while we are all different and have different talents and gifts and apperances, we are all special. The children also painted a Ll with a lemon which was funny and did dot dots on leaves. They also created leaves out of colorful tissue paper. We had a fun and busy day!

~ My friends all need one small (8oz) water bottle by next Monday. The water bottle should be empty and dry and the label should be removed. Please write your child's initials on the lid. We will use this for Thanksgiving. Thank you!

~ Please see the note above about Bid A Mania and the Book Fair.

~ Remember to practice cutting, putting coats on and finding names with your child!

~ Wear an L shirt tomorrow. We do have Gym in the classroom so be sure that your child's name is on their shirt please.

~ Remember a picture of something large and something little for our collage.

Stay dry and safe out there!


November 5, 2018
It is a rainy Monday and we were in our classroom all day because we have Music in here and we cannot go to the cafeteria and we certainly could not go outside but my friends made the best of this rainy Monday and kept working right along. I hope that you all took advantage of the beautiful, sunny, wind free day yesterday. It was a perfect fall Sunday.

Today we met our new letter of the week - letter Ll. We said that Lilly's name begins with L and we looked at pictures of a lemon, a lion, a leaf, a letter, a log and a lamp. We practiced making the letter L on our imaginary papers.

I read a story about a scarecrow today. Each friend had the chance to hold a stufed scarecrow and then as a class we created a scarecrow on our flannel board. The children then created a scarecrow craft that will be put in our hallway to scare the crows away. My friends also worked on their L crayon rubbing and played a game with me to work on naming shapes. We also worked on following directions in a prewriting activity.

After recess, we listened to a story called "Fall, leaves, fall" and we talked about all of the colors that we see on the trees and other signs of fall. The children then painted a leaf either red, green, yellow or orange. They will hang from our ceilings for the month of November.

We had a dance party at recess to get some of our energy out since we can't go outside. This class likes to dance and they have the moves!

~ My friends all need one small (8oz) water bottle by next Monday. The water bottle should be empty and dry and the label should be removed. Please write your child's initials on the lid. We will use this for Thanksgiving. Thank you!

~ Please see the note above about Bid A Mania.

~ Remember to practice cutting, putting coats on and finding names with your child!

Stay dry and safe out there!

November 2, 2018
Happy Friday! We survived Halloween week! 

My friends enjoyed a fun Library class this morning - they got to jump into leave piles with characters from a Clifford story! We love our Friday story time at the Library!

Today I read the story "if you Give a Cat a Cupcake." The children held their stuffed animals during the story and were then each invited to introduce us to their pets. After the story was over, the children retold it to me by sequencing the events. The children each then had 2 mini cupcakes to decorate with icing and sprinkles and then to enjoy as a treat. This was so much fun and another tasty way to bring a story to life!



The children each then created a cat out of a paper plate and black tissue paper. They then each had to complete the sentence 'if you give a cat a cupcake, she will ____________" by telling me something from the story to rewrite. They then painted cupcakes using "puffy paint" and "sprinkles" - they loved doing this and they turned out so cute!

We took a morning recess to enjoy this warm November day and the fact that it is not raining as they said it would do all day!

Today we listened to a story about colors and talked about all of the beautiful colors that we saw on the pages of this story. The children each then had to come find their name on a circle and color it their favorite color. I also did a color assessment with each of my friends.

~ Monday starts winter uniform. Shorts may no longer be worn to school. Children must be in plain black sweat pants or SJB sweat pants - NO LEGGINGS for the girls.

~ Monday is the last day to place the order for Chic Fil A day on Friday, November 16. The payment should be made VIA Smart Tuition.

~ Remember to turn your clocks back on Saturday night.

~ We will focus on letter L and leaves next week.

~ Practice cutting skills this weekend. Children need to practice this skill at home so they are comfortable holding scissors and can improve upon their cutting skills.

~ Practice identifying your child's name with them. Go over the letters in their name with them. I am doing this one on one each morning. They should all be able to find their name in a group and tell you at least the beginning letter in their name.

~ Please practice the magic trick in putting their coats on! Some of my friends can do it and are so proud.

Have a great weekend together as a family. Take time to breath and enjoy the calm before the fun but craziness of the holiday season sets in!


November 1, 2018
Welcome to November! What a great month this will be as we celebrate all that we are blessed with and the many reasons we have to be thankful.

I hope that you all had a fun evening with your little trick or treaters. My friends came in with way more energy than I expected - they had a great day despite the excitement, lack of sleep and sugar high that last night brough wiith it.

We do have 3 friends out with coughs and colds so we wish them well. Thank you for keeping your children home and allowing them time to rest when they are not feeling well. Their little bodies need that time to recover and fight whatever illness it is that they are fighting. I realize it is not always easy to keep children home (my own daughter was home sick 3 days this week so we had to do some juggling) but ask that you please do your best to not send them to school when they are not feeling 100%. I hope that all of us wil be back together again soon!

Today we attended Mass with the whole school for All Saint's Day....I did not realize we were doing this yesterday so I did not prep the children or you. My friends did an amazing job and I was so proud of them. It is not easy to sit so still and quietly - especially after the excitement of yesterday - but they were so good and I was so impressed. We talked about what an honor it is to go to God's house, especially with the big kids. talk to them tonight about church. We took a 15 minute morning recess on the big playground afterwards as a treat and to enjoy this BEAUTIFUL fall day!

We shared and graphed our favorite colors today. Pink was the class favorite with 4 votes. The children do a very nice job of identifying the bigger numbers and smaller numbers when we do our graphs.

Today we read a story called "Little Cloud" and it was about a cloud that took on various shapes trying to be other things but then ealized its job is to be a cloud and to make the rain. The children then used c for cotton balls to paint clouds.

Today we celebrated Kennedy's 4th birthday with cupcakes at lunch. Happy 4th birthday, Kennedy and thanks for the treat! If your child had a sweet treat in their lunchbox, they may not have had it because they had to pick between the cupcake or treat. Please feel free to send in one small piece of candy from Halloween for them as a special treat AFTER they eat their lunch - remind them of that at home also, please.

~ My friends should all bring a stuffed cat or lion (or dog if you do not have a cat - do not go crazy looking for a stuffed cat) for a story tomorrow!

~ Enjoy this gorgeous weather  get outside and play before the rain rolls in tomorrow.

Tomorrow we do the Friday dance!


October 31, 2018

Happy Halloween from all of us in EC-3B!

We had a great time at our parade and party. Thank you to all who sent in treats and to all who volunteered and to all who took time out of your busy day to come see our parade. It was a fun morning!

We did not do much "work" today as we were so excited for this fun day but we did do our Scholastic News. The children enjoyed coming to the SmartBoard to create jack o lanterns. They also did a great job counting seeds and deciding which number is a bigger number. 

We took a long morning recess on the big playground to soak up this beautiful fall day. Watching the workers work on the roof is an added bonus!

Tomorrow my friends should wear their favorite colors for C week.

Scholastic book orders are due online tomorrow - our class code is QFX2R.

Please make sure that water bottles are filled for snack and lunch. We do not have a sink in our room ro fill them. 

Enjoy the eveing. I reminded my friends that manners work magic and to say Trick or Treat, Please, and Thank you! Have a fun night with your little pumpkins....tomorrow should be a day of being tired for my friends! We will do our best.  

October 30, 2018
It was like superhero, royalty day in here with everyone in their capes and crowns! This was good prep for tomorrow!

Today we listened to the story "Chicka, Chicka, 1,2,3". We looked for each number in the tree as we read about it. The children then each cut a circle and glued a tree trunk and branches to create their own coconut tree with a few numbers falling from them just like in the story. These turned out really cute! My friends also painted a day sky and night sky to thank God for creating the sun, moon and stars. My friends also used dot dots to fill in a pumpkin.

This morning, we did a fun, hands on pumpkin volcanoe. The children really enjoyed watching the reaction occur.




~ Please remember to practice putting coats on indenpendently at home and to practice zipping. We have one friend who can do this already! Also, as cold weather approached, I ask that children wear mittens not gloves as they are too hard to put on 30 hands every time we bundle up. Please make sure that you have mittens for the winter months!

~ Please make sure that your child's name is on all coats, hats, gloves and sweatshirts. Thank you!

~ Halloween Parade -  All parents and grandparents are invited to join us as we parade on Wednesday at 8:30. Please park in the front of the school if you do attend. We will parade in the area between the Geres building and the playground. After the parade, we will come in for our class party. Only the 3 volunteers will be allowed in to attend the party. Thank you for understanding. My friends should wear their uniforms under their costumes as we will change after we parade through the school. Please send a bag in for us to place costumes in after they are removed. Thank you!

~ If you would like to take your child with you after the parade or after the party, please let me know. I know this is an exciting day and some parents have asked about this. Please do what works best for your schedule!

~ Each child needs a clean, empty toilet paper roll for Friday. Their name should be in the bottom inside of the roll.


October 29, 2018
I hope that you all enjoyed the weekend and made fun, Halloween memories!

This week, we will continue to talk about the letter C. Today, we carved a pumpkin while wearing our Halloween shirts. First,we listened to a story about Joey the Jack O Lantern. Each child then had the chance to scoop out the insides and carve (with my assistance) the pumpkin. This was a fun way to celebrate C week and Halloween!


We worked on a Halloween pattern today and my friends did a great job as a whole group activity of listening and following directions to complete the patterm. You can practice patterning with candy after Halloween.

Today we talked about Halloween in Religion and we listened to two songs about pumpkins. The children each had the chance to raw a face on a pumpkin - I was impressed with their eyes and facial features that they included.

~ All friends need a clean, empty toilet paper roll by Friday. Please make sure that your child's name is on the bottom inside of the roll.

~ My friends all need to wear a cape or crown for C week tomorrow.

~ Please remember to practice putting coats on indenpendently at home and to practice zipping. We have one friend who can do this already! Also, as cold weather approached, I ask that children wear mittens not gloves as they are too hard to put on 30 hands every time we bundle up. Please make sure that you have mittens for the winter months!

~ Please make sure that your child's name is on all coats, hats, gloves and sweatshirts. Thank you!

~ Halloween Parade -  All parents and grandparents are invited to join us as we parade on Wednesda at 8:30. Please park in the front of the school if you do attend. We will parade in the area between the Geres building and the playground. After the parade, we will come in for our class party. Only the 3 volunteers will be allowed in to attend the party. Thank you for understanding. My friends should wear their uniforms under their costumes as we will change after we parade through the school. Please send a bag in for us to place costumes in after they are removed. Thank you!

October 26, 2018
What a busy and crazy day this was - thank goodness we got to do the Friday dance today! This morning during circle time, there was a knock on our door and we heard a lot of loud yelling "boo!". I ran to the door and the hallway was empty but there was a bag of treats left as a Halloween surprise. Each child has a cup filled with goodies and a bag of pretzels. That was a fun start to our Friday!

We shared our pictures of God's creations and talked about many things in nature that God has created and how beautiful these creations are. My friends each made a blue circle for the water and cut out green pieces for the land and filled our world with animal stickers to thank God for His many gifts. These are hanging on our classroom Religion bulletin board.

Today I read a story about a scarecrow. I told the children that a scarecrow's job is to scare the c for crows away from the C for corn. In our story, the scarecrow was shy but had to learn how to be brave to keep the crows away. The children then worked to create scarecrows. My friends also used orange markers to form letters Cc and used a candy corn stamp to fill in letters Cc. They each also cut a pink circle - keep practicing those cutting skills at home!

After recess, we enjoyed our C veggies - carrots, cucumbers and celery. I encouraged all of my friends to please try but was met with some resistance. Thank you to all who sent in our healthy treats. We voted and our class favorite was carrots with 5 votes. 

After recess, we were left with just the girls in our room, so we enjoyed a few minutes of a my little pony show as a treat.

We will continue with letter c next week.

Please sign and return one copy of the October checklist in your child's folder. Keep one copy for your own records.

~ We will carve a pumpkin on Monday. My friends may wear a Halloween shirt or an orange shirt.

~ Remember that HOT LUNCH WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE for the next month. Every child must have a packed lunch starting on Monday.

~ My friends all need a picture of something that is their favorite color for a C collage on Monday.

~ Please remember to practice putting coats on indenpendently at home and to practice zipping. We have one friend who can do this already! Also, as cold weather approached, I ask that children wear mittens not gloves as they are too hard to put on 30 hands every time we bundle up. Please make sure that you have mittens for the winter months!

~ Please make sure that your child's name is on all coats, hats, gloves and sweatshirts. Thank you!

~ Halloween Parade -  All parents and grandparents are invited to join us as we parade on Wednesda at 8:30. Please park in the front of the school if you do attend. We will parade in the area between the Geres building and the playground. After the parade, we will come in for our class party. Only the 3 volunteers will be allowed in to attend the party. Thank you for understanding. My friends should wear their uniforms under their costumes as we will change after we parade through the school. Please send a bag in for us to place costumes in after they are removed. Thank you!

have a wonderful wekeend. Stay dry and make happy fall memories!


October 25, 2018
Today was another day of learning, fun and sunshine! My friends came in and created a heart on which they glued the words "I am a Child Of God" and they placed their pictures of themselves on the heart. Each child then made a crown to wear with the same words on it. We talked about what it means to be a child of God and how we can show others that Jesus is in our hearts. Remind them at home that they are children of God and to show others this by their loving actions.

We did a Science experiment with C for celery today. The children worked with partners to pour the liquid water into a cup. We observed the water and noted that it does not have a smell or a color. Each child then added 3 drops of food coloring in to their cup. We then talked about our celery and the children were told to us eone word to describe it. They all chose green. We talked about the leaves on the ends of the celery. They then carefully placed their stalk of celery in to the colored water and I placed them on the Science table where they will sit for a few days for us to observe what happens to the leaves. Again, another simple, easy, inexpensive hands on learning experience that you can do at home.

On our visit to God's house, my friends were so well behaved. Mrs. Ballintyn gave a brief tour of some special items in the church - the crucifix, the statue of the Holy Family, the pews and the altar. She then read a great book to use about what it means to be a chil of God. We talked about showing love, kindness and forgiveness to everyone and that God loves us all - those with brown eyes, blue eyes and green eyes.As we were leaving, my friends were each allowed to bless themselves with Holy Water.  I was so proud fo my friends for how quietly they sat in Church. We will make many more trips to God'se House this year. 


After our visit, we took a 10 minute morning recess on the big playground to enjoy another sunny fally day. We counted 8 sunny school days in a row on our weather graph! Hopefully we get another one tomorrow to end the week.

I read a story called "What it Means to be Catholic" - this is a very simple, age appropriate book that explains what is so special about our faith. The children then cut and glued together pieces to make a 'c is for Church' craft and used water colors to make a 'C is for Cross" craft.

~ My friends all need a picture of something God created for our collage tomorrow - this can be a real picture, from a magazine or the computer.

~ If you volunteered to send in vegetables for our tasting tomorrow, please remember to do so.

~ If your child is having picture retakes done or school pictures done tomorrow, please remember to send your order form or to return the original package for retakes. They do not need to wear their uniform if they are having pictures taken.

~ If you did not send a picture of your child today for Religion, please do that tomorrow.

~ I will send home two copies of the October transition checklist tomorrow. Please sign and return one copy and keep one copy for your records.

~ Please remember to practice putting coats on indenpendently at home and to practice zipping. We have one friend who can do this already! Also, as cold weather approached, I ask that children wear mittens not gloves as they are too hard to put on 30 hands every time we bundle up. Please make sure that you have mittens for the winter months!

~ Please make sure that your child's name is on all coats, hats, gloves and sweatshirts. Thank you!

Have a wonderful evening - tomorrow we do the Friday dance!



October 24, 2018
It was another busy and fun day here in our room! Thank you for reading my page and making sure that all of my friends had their hair pulled back and their names on their shirts!

We went on a top secret fun mission in between Gym and Spanish - ask my friends to tell you about it!

Today we listened to the story 'If you give a mouse a cookie" for C week. When the story was over, we retold the story by putting the events in the correct sequential order. My friends each then made a mouse and told me in their own words what would happen if we gave the mouse a cookie. Each friend then had 2 mini cookies to enjoy! My friends also worked on cutting a c for circle - keep practicing at home! We also played a cookie counting game to practice matching numbers and objects and one to one correspondence.

We enjoyed sharing our favorite colors in Show and Share today!

~ We will visit the Church tomorrow with Mrs. Ballintyn for a tour of the C for church. Please remind your child of the importance of being quiet and reverent while in God's house.

~ Every friend needs a picture of themselves for Relgion on Thursday or Friday.

~ If you volunteered to send in vegetables for our C tasting on Friday, please remember to send them in on Friday morning!

~ Please remember to practice putting coats on indenpendently at home and to practice zipping. We have one friend who can do this already! Also, as cold weather approached, I ask that children wear mittens not gloves as they are too hard to put on 30 hands every time we bundle up. Please make sure that you have mittens for the winter months!

~ Please make sure that your child's name is on all coats, hats, gloves and sweatshirts. Thank you!

I am leaving early today for a meeting with other preschool teachers from the Diocese. Miss Marilyn from Eagle's Club will be with Mrs. Monarski for the remainder of the day.

Have a great day -stay warm out there on this blustery fall day!


October 23, 2018
What a picture perfect fall day! We loved the bright, warm sunshine and enjoyed a morning recess on the big playground to make the most of this fall weather!

Before Technology this morning, we worked to make our Harvest Chex Mix. Each child had 5 cups with the ingredients in them - Chex cereal, mini pretzels, candy corn, candy pumpkins and Reeses Pieces. We identified our ingredients and talked about how important it is to follow a recipe correctly or it could ruin the taste of the food (not in this case). I then walked them through step by step the order in which to put the ingredients in - it is always interesting to see who can follow along. After all of our ingredients were in the bag, we zipped them and the children had to shake the bag to "mix" the ingredients. They were then able to taste test their treats - and the rest is in their lunchbox to share with you tonight. Thank you to all who contributed to this C snack.

I read the story "The Mixed Up Chameleon" today. First we talked about what we know about chameleons - they have long, sticky tongues, they can jump and they can change colors. The chamaleon in this story discovered animals in a zoo and wanted to be like each of these animals and changed to be like each of them until he was really hungry and did not have his chameleon tongue to catch a fly and he realized that what he really wanted was to be himself. I told the children that we all have special gifts and talents and that we should be happy to be who we are because God made us exactly as we are supposed to be. The children then worked to use saran wrap to "paint" a mixed up chameleon - they loved this activity! My friends also worked on a C for Cat for their end of the year ABC book. 

After lunch and recess, the children worked with partners to create a gate for their "5 little pumpkins". It was interesting to see them work together with the blocks that they were given to create a flat surface on which the pumpkins could sit. We will do more activities like this throughout the year where the chidlren are presented with a goal and given materials and they work together to make it work.




~ Tomorrow is Gym Day - please make sure that your child's name is on their shirt or sweatshirt and that girls have their hair pulled back.

~ Tomorrow is Show and Share - something that is your favorite color.

~ Every friend needs a picture of themselves for Relgion on Thursday or Friday.

~ Please remember to practice putting coats on indenpendently at home and to practice zipping. We have one friend who can do this already! Also, as cold weather approached, I ask that children wear mittens not gloves as they are too hard to put on 30 hands every time we bundle up. Please make sure that you have mittens for the winter months!

~ Please make sure that your child's name is on all coats, hats, gloves and sweatshirts. Thank you!


October 22, 2018
I hope that everyone enjoyed the weekend. We need to take advantage of the sunny days and get outside and enjoy that crisp, fall air! We took a morning recess to get some time in the sun to start our week!

Today we met our new letter of the week - letter Cc. We looked at pictures of cat, cow, cake, cup, camel and cookie. We will spend the next two weeks talking about the letter C.

I read a story called "10 orange pumpkins" today. This was a subtraction story - at the turn of each page, a pumpkin disappeared. I had 10 small plastic pumpkins that we used to count as we turned each page. The chidlrne loved this story and activity. The children then worked to create C for candy corn and we made pumpkins by painting their hands. The children also did their C crayon rubbing and discovered a cat and a cactus.

After lunch, we talked about ghords. I then explained that ghords are bumpy and all different colors. I passed around 3 ghords and a small pumpkin for the children to hold and feel and describe. They will be on our Science table for the week for the children to explore.

~ if you volunteered to send in items for our Harvest Chex Mix tomorrow, please remember to do so.

~ Everyone will need one clean, empty toilet paper roll by Friday 11/2. Please make sure that your child's name is inside on the bottom of the roll. Thank you!

Have a great start to the week!


October 19, 2018
Thank you for a fun morning at the Pumpkin Patch! We were blessed with a beautiful day to end our letter P theme! 

Have a great weekend.

October 18, 2018

Today was a fun and busy day to end our two weeks of the letter P.

This morning, we worked at tables on finding the letter P in a pumpkin patch. The children each then had a turn to form a letter P on a dry erase board - they did a great job. We then gathered at our tables with our pumpkins. We talked about the size of our pumpkins and made predictions of which pumpkins were the heaviest. We used a balance scale to test our predictions. The children were suprised that just beause a pumpkin was bigger did not mean it would be heavier. We had deorative pumpkins that were bigger than small real pumpkins but the real pumpkins weighed more. 


We took a bief morning recess on the big plaground to enjoy the bright fall sunshine. After recess, we did a P for popcorn science experiment. The children worked with partners to create a reaction to make popcorn kernels dance. As one of the young scientists exclaimed "This is so cool!". I love watching their excitement as they make these observations and test the world around them. We watched what happened as we added more baking soda and vinegar. After our experiment, we enjoyed some popped popcorn as a treat!


We then read a story called "A Trip to the Pumpkin Patch" and it was all about a class taking a field trip to the pumpkin patch. I told my friends that there were many of the same things that we will see tomorrow on our trip. The children then worked to make a pumpkin puzzle to put the letters of their name in the correct sequential order. They also worked on a pumpkin dot dot, stamping a P with pumpkins, and counting pumpkins and stamping for one to one correspondence. My friends also made P for pasta necklaces to work on fine motor skills. It was a busy morning but it flew by!

You can feel the excitement in the air - it is like Christmas Eve around here! The chidlren are so excited for tomorrow and to ride a school bus. Make sure everyone gets to bed early tonight so they are ready for our day! I hope that you all read over the letter that was sent home yesterday.

~ Please remember to sign in at the Main Office and to be OUTSIDE of our building by 8:20. We will come to you by 8:25 - please do not ring the doorbell to come in to the building.

~ You may want to pack a change of clothes for your child just in case.

~ Remember that children should not bring anything in to school with them.

~ I did not hear from anyon so I assume that all of my friends will be leaving after the trip. I will send all blankets home today.

~ Children should wear their school uniforms. make sure they have appropriate outer wear to be outside for 2 plus hours.

~ There are 8 chaperones who have not paid yet. If you did not pay, please go on to Smart Tuition and do so.

~ I sent home clothes today to be switched out for warmer weather clothes. Please be sure to send back a shirt, a pair of pantsm one extra pair of underwear, an extra pair of socks and shoes in the Ziploc bag on Monday. Thank you!

Next week we will start the letter C and talk about candy, costumes, colors and the Catholic Church.


October 17, 2018
What a beautiful Wednesday it was today. We took advantage of the bright sun and had a productive day -with some time on the big playground - even with 2 specials today!

We talked about items that are pink and purple - my friends looked great in their P clothes - and listened to a story called 'Pink as a Piglet" and 'Purple as a Plum". My friends then worked to create a P for pattern with pieces of paper. They were able to choose the two colors that they wanted and then they had to work to create the color pattern. They did a great job with this activity! My friends also used water colors to paint a P for popsicle. They also had to cut a purple square - remember to practice those cutting skills at home. They used pink and purple paint to form letter Ps.

Today we tasted vanilla and chocolate pudding and then grpahed our favorite. Vanilla received 5 votes with chocolate getting 9 votes. My friends decided that 9 is more than 5 so chocolate was the favorite in our class. I explained again that this does not mean that chocolate is better than vanilla. This is an opinion and in the opinion of our class, chocolate is the better flavor. Now if we did it again tomorrow, vanilla could be the favorite because we all know how 3 year olds change their minds!

~ My friends all need to bring a pumpkin tomorrow - it can be a fake pumpkin that is used as a deocration or a real (small) pumpkin.

~ I sent home a paper with information regarding our field trip on Friday. Please read this paper carefully. I plan on sending all blankets home tomorrow but if you plan on leaving your child here after the trip, PLEASE EMAIL ME TO LET ME KNOW. Please let me know if you have any questions about our trip.

~ Friday is a Tag day, but my friends SHOULD WEAR GYM UNIFORMS for our field trip. Today was considered our pink tag day.

~ We will send home clothes from cubbies tomorrow to be switched out with warmer weather clothes. Please return on Monday. Please send one pair of pants, one shirt, one pair of underwear, an extra pair of socks and shoes in a bag marked with your child's name. Thank you!

October 16, 2018
Today was a fun and busy day in our room but we managed to sneak outside for a few minutes of morning recess to enjoy the sunshine!

This morning we played more "Pop the Pig" with partners. The children are having so much fun with this game. The children also worked to use a hole puncher to punch holes in a paper pumpkin - not as easy as it sounds. This is a good fine motor skill.

Today we talked a lot about pumpkins and read a story about pumpkins turning into jack o lanterns. The children then worked at their tables to create their own jack o lanterns - they had to be sure they each had a stem, mouth, nose and eyes. They did a great job with this activity. 

For letter P, we talked about penguins and l read a story about penguins. The children shared with me what they know about penguins - they like cold and they walk funny. We also learned that penguins are birds but do not fly. The children then created a penguin from the letter P for their end of the year ABC book.

We also made P for prayer pockets today. The children each told me special people in thier lives who they would like to pray for. They can pull a name from the pocket each night and say why this person is special and keep them in their special bedtime prayers.

The children enjoyed doing our 5 little pumpkins poem today. This is such a fun time of year.

~ My friends can wear pink, purple or polka dots tomorrow. My boys can wear something with a police officer on it or any other P shirt like a Phillies shirt.

~ We will taste pudding tomorrow and vote for our favorite flavor.

Have a great night! 



October 15, 2018
I hope that everyone enjoyed the weekend and is ready for another week of learning and fun! This week. we will continue to talk about the letter P and will end with our trip tpo the Pumpkin Patch on Friday.

We started our morning by playing "Pop the Pig" for the letter P. This is a fun game that involves knowing your colors and number identification. The children are playing with partners. We will continue to play throughout the week.

I loved seeing all of the princesses and pirates coming down the hall this morning! 

We went on a princess/pirate parade to the other building. We visited with Sister Joann!

This morning I read a book called "The Pirate who Said Please". While they listened to the story, they enjoyed a bag of Pirate's Booty popcorn. We talked about the fact that the pirate was P for polite and he learned that if he was kind to others, they would be kind to him. The children then created a pirate out of a paper plate. They also worked on doing their pushpin for Pp and they used marbles to paint a pumpkin. 

We were able to get outside and run around a bit after lunch. There were lots of P for puddles but it was not raining so we took advantage of that and burned off some energy.

After recess, we acted out "Five Little Pumpkins" with little pumpkin puppets. Each child will have a turn to do this during the week.

It is supposed to be much cooler this week so please make sure that your child has a coat as we will be going outside. Please practice putting coats on independently at home to help with this process.

~If you would like to send in signs of fall for our sensory/science table, we would appreciate it. We would love acorns, pinecones, leaves, ghourds, mini pumpkins. Thank you!

~ If you did not send in your child's blanket and sheet today, please remember to do so tomorrow or Wednesday.

~ I will send home information about our field trip later this week. If your schedule allows, please plan on taking your child with you when we return to school. Our afternoon will consist of rest time and it is very hard for my friends to say goodbye to mom or dad and to return to school. 

October 12, 2018
My silly friends forgot to get dressed this morning and came to school in their pajamas! What a perfect way to spend this Friday , fall morning. I personally think that every day should be pajama day!

This morning, we enjoyed the story "If you Give a Pig a pancake". We talked about whether we thought this was a real or pretend story based on the pictures. At the end, the children worked to help me sequence the events of the story. We then made our pancakes! My mom came in to help - the children thought this was funny that I have a mom, too!. We talked about the ingredients we needed and how it is important to follow the steps of a recipe in order for it to turn out the right way. Each child helped to mix the batter. They then watched as we poured the batter on to the griddles (after we talked about how hot they are) and loved when we flipped the pancakes. The children each then enjoyed two pancakes! They then created pig puppets and had to tell me one fact from the story. They did a great job and these turned out so cute! This was a delicious way to end our week!.




~ We will continue with letter P next week and will end our letter P with our trip to the pumpkin patch.

~ My friends can dress like a princess or pirate on Monday. Again, please be sure they are comfortable for school.

Have a wonderful fall weekend. Enjoy this time together!
October 11, 2018
Today was another busy day filled with learning and fun! We started our day with table work in an activity where the children had to listen to and follow directions. They then worked on "partner patterning" - two "p"words. The chilren had bears of different colors and had to work with their partners to create a pattern. It took a few turns but then they really got the hang of it! 

We read a story about pumpkins today and learned the process of growing a pumpkin - from digging the dirt, to planting seeds, to watering the soil, to seeing yellow buds as the beggings of the pumping to vines growing tiny, green pumpkins that turn yellow and grow bigger and eventually turn orange and are ready to be picked. We acted out each part of the process as we read about it. We then completed a pumpkin Science experiment. The children again worked in partners for p week. Each pair had a plate with an outline of a pumpkin drawn on. They used Reese's pieces to make the pumpkins on the plates. We then talked about sugar and I explained that the candies are coated in sugar. Some of my friends raised their hands when I asked who has had a lollipop and then had their tongue turn the color of the lollipop. I explained that the warmth of our tongues dissolves the sugar of the lollipop. Each set of partners then poured warm water on the pumpkin made of Reese's pieces. They were amazed as they watched the water turn orange, brown and yellow from the sugar dissolving from the candy. As a treat at the end, they were able to enjoy a few pieces of candy. We love being Scientists!



After snack, we shared our pets and told why we like these pets. We were then lucky enough to be able to go outside and take our pets on parade. It was good to get out and stretch our legs and get some fresh air.


I read the story "What Pet Should I Get?" and we talked about how hard it is to make a decision sometimes! The children in the story had to decide on a dog, cat, fish or tutrle. The story ends with them making a decision but we are left to decide what they choose. We then graphed what decision we would make and a dog won with 4 votes. The children then each created a dog, cat, fish or turtle  - they had to pick - and they had to tell me why they picked that pet. These will be hanging on our hall bulletin board - they turned out so cute!

In the morming, we have been working with the kids on playing games with friends. They are learning how to play matching and memory games and learning the skills of taking turns. There is not much sweeter than watching them get excited for a friend when they make a match! 

We enjoyed art class today and we were able to get out on the blacktop for recess after lunch. We needed that time to run around!

~ Several of my friends are needing reminders to not hit their friends. Please review this rule at home. OUr hands are to be gentle at all times and if someone hits you, it does not make it okay to hit them back. Remind them to always use their words. Thank you!

~ Tomorrow is PAJAMA DAY!!! for p week. What a great way to celebrate Friday. My friends need to be able to use the bathroom independently in their pajamas. All friends need to wear sneakers.

~ We will make pancakes tomorrow for P week. Yummy!
 ~If you would like to send in signs of fall for our sensory/science table, we would appreciate it. We would love acorns, pinecones, leaves, ghourds, mini pumpkins. Thank you!

~ We are all set with coloring books for a while. Thank you to Evelyn and her sister for sending so many books in for us!

~ We love seasonal stickers - Halloween, leaves, pumpkins, Thanksgiving - if you would like to send any in that you may see upon your travels. Thank you!

~ Please pratice putting coats on independently with your child! This will make our times of transition much faster. THANK YOU!

Have a great evening - tomorrow we do the Friday dance - in our pjs!



October 10, 2018
Our Wednesdays are so busy with Gym and Spanish - sometimes it is hard to find time to do our work, but my friends worked hard today and we got it all done and even had 10 minutes for some time on the big playground this morning! I am so impressed with how well the children transition from activity to activity and just keep going! This is a long and busy day but the children just come in ready to go. Thank you for your part in that!

Today we talked about our new letter Pp. We looked at pictures of pizza, pencils, pigs, a pear, a pan and a pumpkin. We will talk alot about pumpkins this week and next!We practiced making letters Pp with our pretend pink and purple pencils. 

After Gym and Spanish, we shared our pet pictures and talked about P for pet. My friends told me why they like their pets. I then read the story "Pete the Cat and his Four Groovy Buttons". This is always a favorite. The children enjoy making the Pop sound when Pete loses a button and love to sing the song. This story is also a Math lesson as we count Pete's buttons each time he loses one. I then played the CD for my friends and they sang along. Each child then made a "Pete the Cat" and counted on his four groovy buttons. 

After recess, we gathered for our Religion lesson on people who care for us - moms, dads, sisters and brothers, grandparents, Mrs. Cuocolo, Mrs. Monarski, doctors, police officers - and how they show they care for us and keeo us safe. We said a prayer thanking God for these people in our lives. We then listened to a song about safety.

~ It is supposed to rain tomorrow. My friends are not allowed to have umbrellas - as they are not always safe for us - but please send your child in a raincoat or in a coat with a hood. If it is raining very hard, we will eat lunch in the classroom but it is best to be prepared. Thank you!

~ My friends all need a stuffed pet for show and share. We wlill go on a pet parade!

 ~If you would like to send in signs of fall for our sensory/science table, we would appreciate it. We would love acorns, pinecones, leaves, ghourds, mini pumpkins. Thank you!

~ We are all set with coloring books for a while. Thank you to Evelyn and her sister for sending so many books in for us!

~ We love seasonal stickers - Halloween, leaves, pumpkins, Thanksgiving - if you would like to send any in that you may see upon your travels. Thank you!

THANK YOU for reading my teacher page! All of my friends had their names on their shirts for gym and my girls all had their hair in ponytails!!

have a wonderful evening!

October 9, 2018
I hope that you all enjoyed the long weekend and made happy fall memories! I was happy to see my friends today and was so proud of them for walking in and being ready to go!

Today, we finished the letter F by learning a song about a firetruck and learning the motions that go along with the song. We listened to a story about firemen and then we created 5 little firemen with a handpoem. The children also worked on fire safety patterning, coloring the numbers 911 and using dot dots to create a dalmation. They also played "Fish" with a friend to end letter F week. What a fun week it was! Tomorrow we will start with letter P and will end P week with our trip to the Pumpkin Patch next Friday, October 19. 

~ Everyone needs a picture of a pet for a collage tomorrow. This can be your pet, a grandparent's pet or a picture from a magazine. If it a personal picture, please write the child's name on the back.

~ Tomorrow is Gym day. Please make sure that all of my friends have a name on their shirt and that girls have their hair in a ponytail. Thank you!

~ Our friends love to color. If you have old, unused coloring books or are at the Dollar Store and want to pick some up, we would be grateful. You may notice that friends bring home papers with other names on them sometimes. I use scrap paper from work that was not completed and let the children color on the scrap paper.

~ If you would like to send in signs of fall for our sensory/science table, we would appreciate it. We would love acorns, pinecones, leaves, ghourds, mini pumpkins. Thank you!

Have a fabulous night!


October 5, 2018
What a busy, fun and fast Friday we had! We got a lot done on a half day!

Today we enjoyed our (gold)fish tasting. We tasted cheddar, pretzel and vanilla goldfish. After our voting, pretzels had the most votes with 6 votes! We listened to a story about Fall and talked about signs of Fall- changing leaves, falling leaves, acorns and pinecones. My friends then shared their signs of fall and then painted a fall tree with orange, yellow, red and green leaves. We also worked on cutting and following directions as a prewriting skill.

We had so much fun with fifth grade buddies today. We listened to a story about Christopher Columbus and then worked with partners to create an ocean and the 3 boats that he sailed on. The children also listened to their stories read to them by the fifth grade friends. This was so much fun! We will get together with 5th grade throughout the year.

Enjoy the long wekeend. Make lots of fun, fall family memories!

Next week we will finish the letter F on Tuesday and will start letter P on Wednesday.

October 4, 2018
What a great day we had - it was another beautiful day and my friends worked hard and played hard!

This morning, we spent time in Mrs. Albert's room with Firefighter Tim for F week. Firefighter Tim is father to one of our four year old friends and works for the city of Wilmington. He talked to us about ways to keep safe. My friends learned to call 911 (you may want to practice at home) in case of an emergency and that if there is a fire they should get out and stay out. Firefighter Tim also told us that if we are ever stuck and can't get out of a house, we need to wave our arms and yell 'Help me. I am over here". The children practiced this. He also gave them homework to go home and find a meeting place in the event of a fire. He then put on his fire safety gear so my friends could see what he would look like and know to not be scared. Firefighters are our friends. Thank you, Firefighter Tim!



This morning we also did a Science experiment for letter F. We talked about how if we throw a rock into the water, the rock sinks because it is heavy. We talked about how some of us know how to float and some are learning. We then made predictions for various items - marble, paper clip, block, penny, straw, legos, etc - as to whether they would sink or float based on how light or heavy they are. Each child was able to try the items in a bucket of water as we tested our predictions. The children loved this and were surprised that a paper clip sank even though it is so light. This is another free, not messy experiment you can try at home for our little Scientists!

We listened to a story about firefighters and the children each made a fire truck. They also did their f pushpins. They filled in a letter F with feathers and we read a story called "feathers for lunch".

After recess, we gathered for Religion and talked about ways our families show their love and what makes our families special. We said a prayer for our families and sang a song about families. The children cut a heart and glued the words "Thank you, God, for my family" and their famil picture on the heart. We then shared our pictures and named who is in our family. Talk about ways your family shows love tonight.

We enjoyed our F show and share today also. They are so proud of these items that they bring in!

~ Friday is an 11:35 dismissal for my friends. There will be Eagle'e Club. We will only have snack on Friday - we will not have lunch, unless your child is attending Eagle's Club.

~ We will be joining with fifth graders on Friday to read and do a craft. Please send in a book or two (total reading of about 10-15 minutes) for the 5th grader to read to your child.

~ Everyone needs a sign of fall - can be a picture - for Friday.

Have a fun night with your family!

October 3, 2018
Today was a fun fall day for my friends! We enjoyed Gym and Spanish. Mrs. Schock told me what great listeners they were in gym and I was so happy to hear that!

Today we created an awesome farm collage with horses, ducks, a barn, a rooster, a cat, sheep, chickens, a duck and even a farmer! We then read the story "The Farmer in the Dell" and we then sang the song. The children then worked with Mrs. Monarski to create a sheep and with me to create a horse from their handprint. Farm animals are fun!

Please continue to practice cutting at home. Just hand them paper and let them get comfortable with scissors in their hands. This is a really important preschool skill and many of my friends are saying it is too hard to do. Practice will help strengthen this skill!

~ My friends all need something that starts with F for show and share tomorrow!
~ My friends all need a family picture for tomorrow or Friday.
~ A firefighter will visit us at 8 am tomorrow for F week!!
~ Online Scholastic Book orders are due by tomorrow. Our code is QFX2R
~ Friday is an 11:35 dismissal for my friends. There will be Eagle'e Club. We will only have snack on Friday - we will not have lunch, unless your child is attending Eagle's Club.
~ We will be joining with fifth graders on Friday to read and do a craft. Please send in a book or two (total reading of about 10-15 minutes) for the 5th grader to read to your child.
~ Everyone needs a sign of fall - can be a picture - for Friday.

Have a fantastic night!


October 2, 2018
Terrific Tuesday! Today was a great day for my friends. They all came in ready to learn and have fun.

Today we celebrated Norah and Gabriella's 4th birthdays. They each turned 4 today! We enjoyed a cupcake from Norah for morning snack and a rice krispy treat and fruit snacks from Gabriella at lunch in the cafteria. There is also a bag from Gabriella in your bookbags. Thanks for the treats, girls, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

We talked about our new letter Ff today. We looked at pictures of a fork, fox, fingers, foot, fan and fish. We listened to a story about a "Frog on a Log" and laughed at the silly words and pictures. The children each then made a frog out of the leter F for our end of the year ABC book. My friends also did a crayon rubbing for letter F to find feet and a fish. They also created a cow for farm week. We will talk about farm animals this week and will make many crafts for the farm animals. We listened to the music 'Old MacDonald Had a Farm' today and sang along to the fun animal sounds.

Today we worked at tables as small groups to cut, count and match numbers. The chilren did a great job with this activity!

We got outside for morning recess on the big playground today! They love this morning outside time and really do need even just 10 minutes of it.

All of my friends need a picture of something found on a farm for our farm collage tomorrow - it doesn't have to be an animal. Please remember to let the children try to find items on their own - this is their "homework".

Everyone needs a family picture for Thursday or Friday - if you do not come to school on Thursday.

Friday is an 11:35 dismissal. We will not eat lunch at school. Eagle's Club will be opened and chidlren who attend Eagle's will eat lunch. My car rider friends will be dismissed on the blacktop at 11:35. Please let me know if you have any questions.

We have gym tomorrow - please make sure that your child's name is visible on their shirt and that girls have their hair pulled back in a ponytail. Thank you!

Have a fantastic fall night!


October 1, 2018
Happy first day of October - and what a gorgeous first day it is! I hope that everyone got out and enjoyed the fantastic fall weather that we were gifted this weekend!

Today was a fun and busy day of learning! We finished our letter H week today and will start with letter F tomorrow. This morning, we went outside for a H for hunt. I had 14 H pictures hidden on the playground and the childrne had to hunt to find one and then bring it back to me and tell me if it was a big H or little h and what h pictures was on it - some had hearts, horses, hens, and helicopters. Ask your child if they remember what was on their card. I was so proud of how well they listened and followed directions. We then stayed outside for a bit to enjoy the beautiful day! 

When we returned from our hunt, we became scientists. We talked about Humpty Dumpty and what we knew about him - he was an egg, he fell, etc. I asked them to name some other things that can break easily like an egg - glass, ornaments, pictures were some of the things that they named. We then listened to the story of Humpty Dumpty. We then experimented with hard boil eggs. Each egg had a face and was a Humpty Dumpty. We put the eggs in bags with various items - one bag had feathers, one had marbles, one had legos, one had cotton balls, one had pieces of straw and one had pieces of tissue paper. We talked about if the items were hard or soft and we predicted if we thought the items would crack or not. Each child had one turn to drop the eggs - we did it once on the carpet and checked - and then we did it on the hard floor. We were surprised that every egg cracked, but some cracked mcuh more than others. I then peeled a hard boiled egg for them to see. Everyone got to feel a peeled egg and an egg with the shell still on. After we were done, we did a group activity and created our own Humpty Dumptys. The children did sucha  great job of following my directions and completing this project. Many required minimal help from Mrs. Monarski and me. 

After lucn and recess, we were visited by a firetruck and three fire fighters from Mill Creek fire hall. The children each had the chance to walk through the truck, from one side to the other. We saw the lights go on and talked about how firefighters keep us safe and are not scary. It was a good way to end H for helpers week and start F for firefighters week. They each have an H for helmet from the firefighters.

~ My friends should all wear something that starts with the letter F tomorrow - flower, frozen character, farm animal, firetruck, etc. If they don't have anything, just wear a favorite shirt. Please do not go out and buy things for our 'wear days". These days are not meant to be stressful or expensive - they are to bring our letter of the week to life and make it fun and interesting.

Have a great night - get outside for a bit and soak up this beautiful day! 
September 28, 2018
Today was a fantastic Friday! We did the Friday dance and celebrated the end of another week of school and the completion of the month of September. 

This morning, I read the story 'A House for Hermit Crab". This is a cute story about a crab who outgrows his house so he must find another home to move into. We talked about how neat it is that wherever a hermit crab is, it is "home" because it carries its house on its back. I then introduced the class to our pet hermit crab that lives at my house - Hermy. Gianna, my daughter, was kind enough to let me bring him to share with the children today. I showed them his empty bigger shell that he will move into when he is ready. We talked about the fact that Hermy needs food, water and shelter just like we do. I then took Hermy out and let him explore on the rug. The children loved this and really enjoyed watching him pull back into his shell when he sensed me coming - he used his antanae.

We talked about things that all of our houses have - doors, windows, rooms, etc. We talked about and listed some animal homes and said that even though our houses are different from animal homes - they have the same job to keep us safe and dry during storms and to be a warm place where we are loved and cared for. The children then shared their pictures of their houses and why they like their house and we put them on a collage for the letter H.

During Centers, the children worked to make a hermit crab. They decorated the plain shell just as the crab in the story did. They also made a house out of the letter H and put a roof and door on.
I worked with chidlren on creating a color pattern using H for hearts to make a necklace.

After lunch, my friends joined me in a circle for Religion. We talked about all of the people in our lives who care for us and how they care for is. We said a little prayer thanking God for helpers and then brainstormed ways that we help - by listening, by cleaning up. Remind them this weekend to be H for helpers. We ended by listening to a story about God's helpers in our lives.

On Monday, we will be visited by Mill Creke fire company. They will bring a fire truck for us to see after recess! 

We will finish with letter H on Monday and will start with letter F on Tuesday.


~ All friends will need a picture of their family for Religion on Thursday next week. If you are not here on Thursday, please bring on Friday. The weekend is a good time to print pictures that we need!

~ If you volunteered to send in goldfish next Friday, please add it to your weekend shopping lists!

Have a Happy weekend!! Make memories together as a family and get out and enjoy the sun!

September 27, 2018
My friends all did an amazing job of sitting still and quietly this morning in church for our visit with the Bishop. I was so proud of them. We were in 'God's house" for 45 minutes and they did a great job. We will take many visits to church throughout the year. They had 10 minutes after church to run around on the big playground as a reward for sitting so quietly for that long!

Today we did a science experiment using our hands to feel mysertious objects inside a bag and our sense of h for hearing to listen to the sounds that the items made. The children used words to describe what they felt in the bag - soft, hard, round, pointy, smooth, etc. They then predicted what they thought was inside the bag! The items were cotton balls, marbles, blocks, buttons and a mini pumpkin. It is fun being scientists! This is an easy, free and mess free experiment that you can do at home.

Today we talked about H for Holy Spirit and we noticed that we say these words when we make the sign of the cross. I told the children that the Holy Spirit is in us all - we all received it at our Baptism. I said most of us do not remember our Bapisms because we were too young, but some friends remembered the baptism of a younger sibling or a cousin. take time this weekend to look through their Baptism pictures with them. We talked about the white dove as a symbol of Baptism. The chidlren then created a white dove to rmeind them of the Holy Spirit within them - we painted their hands white and used white feathers which they loved!

After recess, we did a Scholastic News called Hello School. We watched a video about children at school and were surprised that the school day in the video looked a lot like our day at school. We talked about different ways to say H for hello - say hi, smile, give a high five, do a handshake, etc.

We had our first Art class today after recess. We met Mrs. Newcomb and were happy to learn that Art is right here in our building. The children did a great job following directions and creating self portraits.

~ My friends all need a picture of their house or a house for our H collage tomorrow. If it is your house, please make sure that your child's name is on the back of the picture.

Tomorrow we do the Friday dance! 


September 26, 2018
What a crazy weather Wednesday it was - the day started cloudy and wet and humid and the sun came out and it was H for hot at recess! We were happy to see that sun.

We have 3 friends home sick and sent one friend home not feeling well. We are sad that so many of our friends are not feeling 100% but thank you to the parents for keeping them home (or picking them up) and llowing their little bodies time to rest and recover. Just a reminder that childrne must be fever free and symptom free for 24 hours without the use of medication before they are allowed to return to school. We hope everyone is feeling better soon!

Today, my friends worked on one to one correspondence by counting hearts and stamping the correct number of hearts in each. This is a good math skill and fine motor skill wrapped in to one! They also painted a very Hungry caterpillar. We read a book called 'Hooray for You' and talked again about all of the tings that make us special. The children then worked with Mrs. Monarski to cut an h for heart and to glue the words 'Jesus Loves Me" and put the picture of them on the hearts to remind themselves that they are each special and loved by God!

My friends had a busy morning with gym and Spanish. We also enjoyed a Hershey kiss for H week.

After recess we listened to the story "Happy Birthday Moon". In the story the bear buys a hat for the moon's birthday. We each were proud of the hats that we wore for h week. We wore them to gym for Mrs. Schock to see and she loved them!

There is a permission slip for our class trip to Ramsey Pumpkin Patch in your folder today. The payment must all be made via Smart Tuition. The directions on how to do this are explained on the paer form being sent home. Please do not send money to school! The form must be completed and sent back when you make your online payment. Unfortunately, I cannot answer questions about Smart Tuition (my husband takes care of that in my house!) so please contact Sue O'Hanlon in the Parish Busisness office with any questions.

We will visit the Church tomorrow with grades EC-3 through 3rd grade. The Bishop will be in attendance and we will sing 'Jesus Loves the Little Children". We have been practicing in Music class. I pointed out the church today and told the children that it is God's house and that we will viist it tomorrow. Please remind the children that church is a quiet place and that they need to sit still - this should be a challenge on week 3 of school but I know they will do it!

Have a happy day!

September 25, 2018
Today was a terrific Tuesday! So proud of my friends and how they have made this transition to "big kid school".

We do have 2 friends home with colds so we wish them well. Again, I remind you that if your child is not feeling 100% , please do not send them to school. Please keep them hom so that they can rest - and not spread their germs!

My friends enjoyed sharing their items that make them happy today. Love to learn more about them during these show and share moments!

Today we talked about what we know about horses and then we read a book on horses. My friends then created a horse out of the letter H for our end of the year ABC book. The children also worked on cutting, gluing and sorting in a hot/not hot sheet that we did. My friends also worked on their fine motor by stamping a letter H with hearts. I also played a shape matching game with each friend during our center time. They did a great job naming and matching the shapes! Look around in the real world to find shapes - they are everywhere!!

We were able to go out for a brief morning recess on the blacktop after technology so we could move around a bit after sitting fro 20 minutes. We also had a recess on the blackop after lunch. We are hoping to see the sun soon!

~if you signed up for the honey teddy grahams, please send them in tomorrow.

~ Tomorrow is wear a hat for H week. It can be any type of hat.

~ My friends all need a picture of just them for a Religion craft tomorrow.

~ Remember today is the SJB Frazzberry takeover! Go enjoy a treat after school and help raise money for our school while doing it!



September 24, 2018

I hope that everyone enjoyed the weekend and got out and enjoyed the fall weather on Saturday! Today we had our first TEARFREE day. This was amazing on a Monday morning. Good job to all of my friends. A lot of my friends are even walking down the hall on their own - keep it up!

Today we talked about our new letter of the week - letter H. We used our pretend crayons to write a big H and little h in the air. We will not do alot of actual letter formation with paper and pencil this year as they are not developmentally ready for this but we will be doing many other prewriting activies. We talked about h words - heart, head, hand, hippo, hat, heart and house to name a few. Since it was raining and we couldn't get outside for recess this morning, we danced to "If You're Happy and you know it" and "Happy" to get some of our wiggles out! Then I read the story "The Very Hungry Caterpillar". We talked about what food we would want to eat if we were really hungry. The children then made a hungry caterpillar by putting the letters of their name in order to build the caterpillar's body. We will do many activities where we build our names to help the children learn the correct sequential order of their names. The children also did their H crayon rubbing and found the letters Hh and a heart and a hat.Most of them were so proud because they were able to do this with little to no help this week. I also painted their hands and we talked about how their hands can help. They each brainstormed a way for their hands to help - remind them of this tonight! This afternoon, we read a story about what it means to be a helper.

Today we opened the sensory table. Each week the table will be filled with different sensory items - either related to our letter of the week or the season. We talked about the important rules that items do not belong near our faces - and NEVER in our mouths. All items must stay in the table and that only 2 friends are allowed at the table at one time. This week the table is just filled with big balls and cups and bowls just to get them used to being at the table. Every child had a turn today and they did a great job!

~ We did get outside for afternoon recess today. We were happy to get some fresh air!

~ Tomorrow is bring in something that makes you happy for H week. This can be a picture of something or someone.

~ Everyone needs a picture of just them for a religion project.

Have a happy night - stay warm and cozy

September 21, 2018
Thank you all for coming out last night. It was great to see so many of you. I hope you found the evening informative. There were so many other topics I could have discussed and here are a few:

~ Code Red - As I said on Wednesday, we will be practicing many different drills in order to keep us safe throughout the year. Please know I will never let the children know if we are in danger, but I will let them know that it is an emergency and that they need to be silent and listening. I will always do everything in my power to keep them safe while they are in my care. If you ever have any questions about school safety, please email me and I will be ahppy to discuss this with you.

~ Webpage - Thank you for checking my page nightly. I really appreciate that. Please use my notes and pictures from the day as prompts for asking your child about their day. Also, our webpage does not have spellcheck so I apologize for any erroros or typos - I am usually typing while I eat or in a hurry at rest time. 

~ Missed days - We do not really track attendance at this stage. We note it just for our own knowledge, so please do not worry about your child missing school. If you have a day off of work or have a fun activity planned, please do not fret about them missing school. You really only have so many years to enjoy this luxury so i encourage you to take advantage while you can.

~ Kid Stuff books - If you do not want to purchase the KidStuff fundraising books, please put a note on it and place in your child's bookbag so we know. Thank you!

~ Please read over the packet that I sent home and sign and return the last page. 

I loved seeing all of my friends in red today. Gues who forgot her red?!?! Oops...it was one of those mornings at my house! My friends also enjoyed sharing their A for animals. We discussed some facts about each animal.

After Library, snack and morning recess ( we were busy), we tasted our red and green apples and our apple cider. I encourage the childrne to try everything and most of them did. We talked about the different tastes of the red and green apples. We then graphed our favorite - red had 9 votes and green had 5 votes. Thank you to all who sent in the items for our tasting! 

We read a story called "The Apple Pie Tree" today and pretended to make an apple pie. The children then worked with Mrs. Monarski to create stained glass apples using tissue paper (a god fine motor skill). The children also sat and painted a big A and little a and were encouraged to do their best to stay inside the lines. My friends worked with me to create a pattern with red and green apples. They are doing so well with patterning.

After recess, we read our first Scholastic News on Apples. Each week, we will read a Scholstic News magazine - a lot of times they are related to the theme we are on or the season we are in. I pull the big issue up on the smartboard and there are interactive games, videos and songs. The children really enjoyed this activity - it is a nice ending to our week together.

~ There is a banana in your child's bookbag from Valeria's dad! Thanks so much for the healthy weekend treat!

Our letter next week is H for horse and home. 

Have a great weekend and enjoy the fall weather making memories together! Thank you for a great first 12 days of school together!

September 20, 2018
What a fun and busy day we had today! This morning we started something that we will do on Thursdays when our roup is a little smaller (today we only had 10 kids.  We do tablework where Mrs. Monarski sits at one table and I sit at another and we work on a skill with that small group. Today we worked on listening and following directions - we worked on finding a designated color crayon and tracing lines from the left to the right (these are very early prewriting skills). The children also worked on a sheet where we had to find two things that were alike and find the one that was different. They did such a  great job on these skills! I was so proud of them.

After tablework, we became scientists. We used our sense of sight to describe how an apple looks. I then cut the middle of the apple out and we used our sense of touch to feel the seeds and the inside of the apple. We then used our sense of smell to smell vinegar again. I filled the cored apple with baking soda - we used our sense of sight to see that it was white. I then showed them the vinegar and we described it as clear. I then showed them green food coloring and told them that food coloring would change the color of something but not the taste. We counted as I put 3 drops of food coloring in the vinegar and we observed the change in color of the liquid. I then poured the vinegar into the cored apple with baking soda which caused a reaction that looked like an explosion - or a volcanoe some of my friends noted. We used our sense of hearing  to listen to the fizzing reaction. The children loved this experiment!

 

I read a story about an apple orchard today. The children then worked on a green and red pattern with Mrs. Monarski. They then worked on finishing apple patterns. We will do a lot of ABAB patters this year. I describe it as taking turns . 

Today in Religion, we talked about what it means to be a friend - we listed ways we show that we are friends. I told them that Jesus wants us all to be friends and to make others happy by taking turns and sharing. We will work on this during our year together. The children then created an A for angel with their handprints. They turned out so cute!

~ I look forward to seeing you tonight at 6:30 in our classroom. I am of course losing my voice and my power point presentatino won't upload! But we will make the best of it! Remember this is for parents only and that this is not a time for conferences. Thank you!

~ Tomorrow is wear red day for Apple week. My friends should also bring an animal that they love for A show and share.

~ If you volunteered to send in apples or cider, please do that at drop off tomorrow or even tonight if that is easier.

September 19, 2018
Happy, sunny Wednesday! My friends were so happy to put a sun sticker up today on our weather calendar. I am so proud of my friends - so many of them are walking down the hall on their own and with big smiles! Keep it up!!

Wednesdays are very busy days here that don't leave us a lot of time in the classroom to do our work, but that is okay because we are learning and having fun in Gym and Spanish. My friends enjoyed both specials today and I was so happy to get a good report when I picked them up from each.

I read a story about apples today and we talked about ways apples are used - apple juice, applesauce, apple cider, apple doughnuts, candy apples. My friends then stamped a letter A with apple stamps and used dot dots to fill in an apple - this is a good fine motor skill. My friends also worked on cutting a heart. We will practice using our scissor skills a lot in our classroom.

This morning we took a brief morning recess on the playground since it was such a beautiful day. I took time at the end of recess to practice a drill in case we ever have to get off of the playground quickly. I eplained to the children that I will only ever blow my whistle if there is an emergency (I will never blow it to signal the end of recess, etc) and I need them to come right away when they hear me and to line up silently. I said that sometimes we might have to take a walk away from the building and they need to stay in a silent line behind me. I told them that they will always be safe with Mrs. Monarski and me. The children did such a great job during our practice drill. I was so proud of them! We will practice other drills over the coming weeks - locking our room and staying quiet inside, leaving our room quickly and going into the neighborhood. It saddens me that we need to even practice this and to be honest it terrifies me (as a teacher and a mom) that this is a sad reality in this day and age. I promise I do not take this job lightly and will always do what I can to keep your child safe while they are with me just as I expect my own childrens' teachers to do. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me. 

After our lunch and recess, I read a story about the color red and we talked about things that are red - cherries, strawberries, firetrucks. My friends each then shared their red picture and glued them to our red collage. My friends were so proud of the pictures that they found!

Thank you for reading my page nightly - I loved how many girls had ponytails and that most of my friends had names on their shirts, as I requested!


~ Back to School Night is on Thursday at 6:30 in the classroom. This event is for PARENTS ONLY. I also ask that you please remember that this is not time for conferences as this night is about sharing our day and expectations for the year with you.

Have a great night - get out and enjoy the beautiful weather!
 

September 18, 2018
My friends did a great job today with their red show and share. They really are so proud of their items that they bring in and they love to see what their friends have to share. This is a great activity to reifnorce our letter of the week and to help them increase their confidence in talking in front of friends. Valeria brought in red grapes to share with the class. What a healthy treat that we enjoyed with our morning snacks!

My friends enjoyed Technology today. They watched videos all about the letter A and apples to support our letter of the week.

Today I read the story "The ABC book" and we talked again about the letters in the alphabet. My friends then created an alligator out of the letter A that I will keep for our end of the year ABC book. They also painted an fall tree using an apple half as their paintbrush! Their tress are so colorful. They really enjoyed this activity.

We also started our first science experiment today. Each week, we will do a science experiment for our theme. Today we talked about how scientists use their senses - we listed our body parts and named each sense - to learn about their world around us. Today we used our sense of touch to feel how and apple feels - smooth and heavy. We used our sense of sight to describe the apple - red and shiney. I then cut an apple into quarters and we looked at the inside of the apple and talked about the stem, the core and the seeds. I then introduced the word "liquid" and explained that a liquid is something that can be poured from one container to another and will make a puddle if it spills. We used our sense of smell to smell a cup with water, a cup with vinegar and a cup with vegetable oil. We decided that the vinegar does not smell very good. I then put one apple slice in an empty cup labeled air, one in a cup with water, one in cup filed with vinegar and one in a cup with the oil. We will make an observation - this is our big scientist word - each day this week.

We are also taking turns each day acting out a little poem called "Five Little Apples". They might be able to recite this for you at home.

~ We took a brief 5 minute morning recess on the blacktop and we were able to get on the play ground after lunch for 20 minutes before the rain started!

~ Scholastic Book Orders are due online by tomorrow. I will place the order tomorrow afternoon. 

~ Everyone needs a picture of something red for our red collage tomorrow. This can be cut from a magazine or printed from a computer. Please allow your child to help you find an object that is red. This is their "homework".

~ Thank you for all of the sidewalk chalk. You are so generous. We are set for a while now. 

~ If you are out and about and see stickers that you would like to send in, we use a lot of stickers here in this classroom! 

~ Tomorrow is Gym Day. Girls should wear their hair pulled back in a ponytail. If your child's name is not on their shirt, please stick it on with a piece of tape for Mrs. Schock. Thank you!

~ Back to School Night is on Thursday at 6:30 in the classroom. This event is for PARENTS ONLY. I also ask that you please remember that this is not time for conferences as this night is about sharing our day and expectations for the year with you.

~ Ask your child if they had a job at school. They love to do their special jobs and are so proud of themselves!

Stay dry tonight! It was a good napping day - they were all so tired and our room was so dark. But I am ready for more sunshine!


September 17, 2018
I hope that you all enjoyed your weekend! It was a gorgeous one and I hope that everyone got outside to have a lot of fun and make happy, family memories. And now here we are ready to start our second full week of school.

I was so proud of my friends as there were NO TEARS this morning at drop off! Hooray !! They are all doing so well with this huge transition to school. Even though many of them have been in day care or other schools, this is a big change for them and they are doing so well. Thank you for your work in helping to make this possible. And everyone looked great in their red, white and blue!

We enjoyed Music with Mrs. Wagner this morning and are working on a special song for when the Bishop visits next week.

My friends enjoyed their pretzels for morning snack so they may have an extra snack that they did not eat from this morning. It is amazing how many of my little friends can eat a big hole pretzel.

Today I introduced our new letter of the week - letter Aa. We practiced making the letters with our "pretend crayons". We saw pictures of words that start with A - ant, alligator, apple, ape, ABC and acorn. This week we will talk about the letter A and apples and the color red. I read the story "Ten Apples Up on Top" and we pretended to put 10 apples on our head. We counted the apples on the animals heads in the story and made predictions of what we thought might happen. The childrne then worked to paint an apple to hang fromn our ceilings. They also had to stamp and count 10 appls. The childrne also learned to do crayon rubbings that we will do at the start of each week for our new letter. We call it magic as they make the letters and pictures appear, we then talk about what pictures start with the new letter. Today we learned that A was for apron and apple. My friends were also able to play with play doh for the first time and were sp excited to do so. We reviewed the ruiles of play doh. This week they have apple cookie cutters and a cookie cutter for the letter A. 

We got a morning recess in on the playground and were able to spend more time on the playground after lunch. It is supposed to rain tomorrow so please send your child to school with a jacket with a hood. Children are not allowed to bring umbrellas to school. 

~ Bring in something red for Show and Share tomorrow.
~ Pretzel money is due tomorrow. I recommend that everyone order the pretzels as it ios very sad when all of your friends have a pretzel and you do not. We send the pretzels home in a bag if your child does not want to eat it.
~ Remember to check the important dates above nightly!

Have an Amazing Monday!

September 14, 2018
Happy Friday. Today we did the Friday dance!! We celebrated the end of our first full week togther - it flew by (as a teacher, as a parent, not so much..). 

My friends all did such a great job sharing their items for "All About Me". I loved getting to know a little bit more about them and they were so proud and excited to share their items! Thank you for all reading my page and for sending these items in! This really does make a big difference.

Today we finished our "All About Me" theme by listening to the story 'What I like About Being Me". The children then got to color a boy or a girl and we graphed the number of boys and girls in the room. The children could tell by looking at the graph that we have more girls than boys. We counted and found that we have 11 girls and only 4 boys and that 11 is a bigger number than 4. The children also created a person by gluing together a head, arms, lefs, feet, hands and hair - they then had to draw on two eyes, one nose and one mouth. We then played a dice game where I rolled one dice that gave us a movement (for example, bend) and then a second dice with a body part (ex, knees) and we had to follow the directions for the movement.

We also talked more about letters and reviewed 'Chica Chica Boom Boom". The children then had a chance to hold a real coconut (from the alphabet coconut tree in the story) - we talked about whether it was light or heavy and the fact that it was not smooth - it felt kind of hairy. We then did a coconut painting where we rolled the coconut in paint to paint our papers. The kids thought it was fun to paint with something other than a brush or their hands - we will do that a lot in here!

~ Monday is TAG day for the school. The theme is red, white and blue.

~ All of my friends will get a pretzel from the Philly Pretzel factory on Monday for morning snack. Please remember to send in a drink.

~ Our theme next week is letter A, the color red and apples.

~ Remember to send the blankets and sheets back in on Monday. It would be helpful to send the same sheet as I am starting to know what sheet blongs to each child. Please send it in a bag that will stay in school until Friday.

Have a wonderful, relaxing weekend filled with laughter and happy times with your family. Thanks for a great start to the year!
 

September 13, 2018
My friends all looked so handsome and so pretty in their special picture day outfits this morning. There were some issues with the cameras during our scheduled time so we had to sit and wait for a very long time but my friends did an AMAZING job! I was so proud of them for how patient they were. They earned a long morning recess for the patience that they showed!

We read the story "Chrysanthemum" this morning. In this story, Chrysanthemum does not like her name after friends at school started making fun of her for how long it was and how funny it sounded. We talked about the fact that we each have a special name that our moms and dad chose for us and that we should be proud of our names because it tells who we are and about us. We talked again about the letters that our names start with. The children then had to find the letter that their names starts with and glue it to a sheet with that letter already on it. They did a great job matching the letters. They were also able to use water colors to paint their names. They loved this fun project!

After recess, we shared our special items that start with the same letter as our names. They loved seeing their friends items and they did a great job sharing! We will do this weekly and it is amazing to see their confidence grow as the year goes on.

My friends all need to bring in a small brown bag with 3 items that tell about them for tomorrow - family picture, small stuffed animal, small ball or little car or something that is their favorite color. We will share these to end our 'All About Me" week.

~ I am asking that EACH CHILD bring in a small canvas tote (can be purchased at AC MOORE) or a reusable bag from the Disney Store (or something similar). Please make sure that your child's name is on the bag. If you buy a canvas one at AC MOORE, feel free to decorate it at home. This bag will carry their blanket and  sheet back and forth to school. You can send it on by Friday so we can send blankets home in it or you can send it in on Monday when you send in their clean sheet and towel. This bag will stay in their cubbie all week but it will make transporting their towels and blankets easier - they often don't fit in their bookbags. Thank you!

September 12, 2018
What a wonderful Wednesday! My friends came in ready for our day - and what a busy day it was! On Wednesday, we go to Gym and Spanish so we do not have a lot of classroom time to get things done!

We talked about the fact that the cafeteria was going to look different for Gym and my friends were excited to see this. Mrs. Schock said that our class was so well behaved and such good listeners. We are looking forward to playing games and having fun each week as we exercise and release some energy.



We had a nice time in Spanish also and were very good listeners and got to sit in big desks in the big building. 

We listened to "Chica Chica Boom Boom" today and talked about all of the letters. We talked about the letters that start each of our names. My friends also learned a fun ABC march - this was a lot of fun and we will do it almost daily. My friends each made a coconut tree using their handprints as the tree and then used stickers to create their names - these are hanging on our bulletin board. My friends will hopefully learn to recognize and spell their first names by the end of the year. After recess, we watched a "Chica Chica Boom Boom" video that the children enjoyed.

~Tomorrow is Picture Day. Please remember to sen din your form or a print out from your online order - please do not email me this as I will not be able to print these in the morning for you. My friends should wear an outfit that you would like for pictures but they MUST WEAR SNEAKERS. Moms of girls, I know this may not be the outift that you envision but I promise you do not see their feet in the pictures. This is for safety reasons for the playground. Safety and comfort are key when you are three!

~ My friends also all need to bring in something that starts with the same letter as their name tomorrow. Make sure they know what letter their name starts with and what their object is. This will be for our first show and share.

~ I am asking that EACH CHILD bring in a small canvas tote (can be purchased at AC MOORE) or a reusable bag from the Disney Store (or something similar). Please make sure that your child's name is on the bag. If you buy a canvas one at AC MOORE, feel free to decorate it at home. This bag will carry their blanket and  sheet back and forth to school. You can send it on by Friday so we can send blankets home in it or you can send it in on Monday when you send in their clean sheet and towel. This bag will stay in their cubbie all week but it will make transporting their towels and blankets easier - they often don't fit in their bookbags. Thank you!

Have a nice night - hopefully it stays dry for some after school play time!


September 11, 2018

What a great job my friends did coming into the room today! There were far less tears than yesterday. Every day will get easier!

I loved all of my friends nice colorful shirts today! It is fun to see their personalities come through on these dress down days. Good job, moms and dads, all of my friends were dressed down. Thank you for reading my page and remembering!

This morning, we took a walk to the big building for technology with Ms. Luce. The children did such a nice job of walking over to the big building and up the steps to the second floor. I was so proud of them! The children enjoyed watching 'Pete the Cat' videos. Each week, they will watch videos that correspond to our theme for the week.

After Computer, we took a walk to meet our school nurse, Mrs. Perrine. I explained to the children that Mrs. Perrine will help them if they are ever not feeling well, have to take medicine or fall and need a band aid. I also explained that she will NEVER give them a needle (as this was a concern). I don't want them to ever be afraid to go see the nurse. We talked about what a bright and happy office she has!

In Centers, we talked more about what makes us each special and we read a fun book called "I really like me". We talked about the fact that we are all different but that we are all friends and a team now that we are in the same class. The children then had their hand painted to create a friendship tree. We also talked about our flag ( we say the Pledge each morning) and the colors that we see in our flag. We certainly did not talk about 9/11, but we did make a little flag for each of them to hold. We talked about how special our flag is. Remember to hug yuor loved ones a little tighter tonight!

We were able to play outside after lunch - my friends loved sidewalk chalk so if you would like to send some in, we would appreciate it!

~ Please remember to reach out to Mrs. Malatesta at mmalatesta@sjbdel.org if you need to start the process for your background check. It is helpful if both parents complete this process. It is $30 and is good for 5 years. You mus have a background check completed in order to vlunteer in any way here at school. You must also have a signed Volunteer Covenant on file - this will be signed annually. OUr first field trip is Friday, October 19, so please make sure all forms are done by then as all friends need a chaperone to attend.

~ I will be sending out a sign up genius for apple tasting next week. PLease let me know if you do not receive the sign up genius. I will send it this afternoon.

~ Picture Day is Thursday. I know that some of my friends are not here on Thursday. They can have their picture taken at retake day in October. Our scheduled time is 8:00. If your schedule allows, you can meet us at the Library at 8:00 for your child to have their picture taken and then you may take them home with you (THIS IS ONLY FOR MY M,W,F friends). Please remmber to send in the picture form with your child or the printout if you completed the form online. 

~ Remember to check the dates above for all important information about classroom fun!

~ I am asking that EACH CHILD bring in a small canvas tote (can be purchased at AC MOORE) or a reusable bag from the Disney Store (or something similar). Please make sure that your child's name is on the bag. If you buy a canvas one at AC MOORE, feel free to decorate it at home. This bag will carry their blanket and  sheet back and forth to school. You can send it on by Friday so we can send blankets home in it or you can send it in on Monday when you send in their clean sheet and towel. This bag will stay in their cubbie all week but it will make transporting their towels and blankets easier - they often don't fit in their bookbags. Thank you!
September 10, 2018
Happy Monday. Welcome to our first full week of school! I hope that everyone enjoyed the weekend, despite the weather. It looks like it will be a rainy, dreary week but we will make the best of it! This morning we sang the songs "Rain, Rain go away" and "It's raining, it's pouring"...we talked about good rainy day activities - jumping in puddles, watching a movie, doing a puzzle, reading a book. 

I know drop off was hard for some of my friends today. Let's be honest, who wants the weekend and time with family to end? But all of my friends were settled after just 10 minutes. I was so proud of them. Goodbyes are hard but once they realize the fun we will have and how fast our day goes by, it will get easier for them. Again, I THANK YOU for dropping them at the door. It really does make the morning transition easier for everyone - you included!

Today we met Mrs. Wagner and had our first Music class. The children had the chance to sing, dance, play with scarves and wooden sticks. I was so impressed with how well they did for their first class! It was a lot of fun. Mrs. Wagner will come each Monday morning for 45 minutes!

We talked about ways that we are special and what makes us special. I asked the children who was a boy and who was a girl, who has brothers and sisters and who doesn't, who has blond hair and who has brown hair. We decided the world would be really boring if we all looked alike or only wanted to play soccer or play with dolls. God made us each special and He loves us just as we are. We sang a little song about being special. I then read a book called "Designed by God so I must be special". We talked about what our eyes and ears do and how special each of our body parts is. The childre then created a person using materials to decorate our Religion bulletin board. They did such a nice job and really took their time doing this! I also worked on a sheet with each child where I asked questions in an effort to get to know them better. After our crafts and play time were done, we all gathered to do our Religion pamphlet (this is in their folder). We talked about the fact that we are meeting new friends in school and we named the friends we know and all of the fun things we will do. It is going to be a great year of learning and fun and celebrating what makes us all special!

We were able to get outside for recess after lunch. We ran around on the blacktop for a bit since the  playground was wet. After we came in, we watched a brief 15 minute Daniel Tiger show. We will sometimes watch shows on the SmartBoard but this will not be a daily occurence. I usually only do it on days when we cant't stay outside because of the weather.


~ Tomorrow is wear your favorite shirt day for "All About Me" week. Children can wear whatever pants they want or their gym shorts.

~ Please remember to reach out to Mrs. Malatesta at mmalatesta@sjbdel.org if you need to start the process for your background check. It is helpful if both parents complete this process. It is $30 and is good for 5 years. You mus have a background check completed in order to vlunteer in any way here at school. You must also have a signed Volunteer Covenant on file - this will be signed annually. OUr first field trip is Friday, October 19, so please make sure all forms are done by then as all friends need a chaperone to attend.

~ Picture Day is Thursday. I know that some of my friends are not here on Thursday. They can have their picture taken at retake day in October.

~ Remember to check the dates above for all important information about classroom fun!

~ I am asking that EACH CHILD bring in a small canvas tote (can be purchased at AC MOORE) or a reusable bag from the Disney Store (or something similar). Please make sure that your child's name is on the bag. If you buy a canvas one at AC MOORE, feel free to decorate it at home. This bag will carry their blanket and  sheet back and forth to school. You can send it on by Friday so we can send blankets home in it or you can send it in on Monday when you send in their clean sheet and towel. This bag will stay in their cubbie all week but it will make transporting their towels and blankets easier - they often don't fit in their bookbags. Thank you!

Stay dry out there!

September 7, 2018

Happy 2nd day of school and Happy Friday! In our room, we celebrate Fridays by doing the "Friday dance"...many of the children will also want to do this at home!

There were some more tears this morning as the reality that this was happening again set in, but for the most part it was a smooth transition into our room again this morning. Again, I thank you for saying goodbye at the door and understanding this is a "rule"for a reason - it would just prolong the tears and the goodbyes. I do not allow you in the room even on mornings where your child is crying. I will pry them off of you and wave you on, as hard as it may be for them and for you. A few weeks from now, the tears will all be a distant memory!

Today we visited Mrs. Oldiges and Mrs. Tobin in the library. We got to walk over to the "big building" and had a lot of fun in the library listening to a story about Courduroy and playing a game of 'Who Stole the Cookie from the Cookie Jar." We look forward to going back to library next week!

We took a brief morning recess on the playground after our morning snack. The children really enjoyed running around and having fun with their friends. I will try to get out for a morning recess or walk every day as this is an important part of the day in the life of a three year old! Please remember to always dress your child for the weather!

We listened to the story of "Pete the Cat Rocking in his School Shoes". In the story, Pete was in the library, the cafeteria and the playground - all of the places that we go. He was not nervous or scared because he sang his school song - we rocked a long to this also. The children then made Pete the Cat headbands and I painted their hands to create a Pete the Cat in his school shoes.

~ Your child's water bottle or drink for lunch must fit in their luncbox. We cannot remember to grab water bottles from cubbies to take to the cafeteria with us. Thank you for understanding.

~ Please make sure your child's morning snack is in their lunchbox and marked somehow either with a sticker or the words. Again, please pack what they will eat  (but no cookies or fruit snacks for morning snack). We have had some tears over not liking our morning snacks!

~ Towels and sheets will be sent home next Friday to be washed.

~Remember a small stuffed lovie in their bookbags please! This helps with rest time.

Have a wonderful weekend filled with lots of family time! Remember that Monday might be like starting all over again after 2 days off....I promise, it it will get easier!

 

September 6, 2018
What a great first day we had - we all survived (moms and dads, that includes you, too). I know, believe me, I know, how hard it is to "let your child go". Even if they have been in a day care prior to this, this is a change and this is "school" so I am sure this was hard for you. Thank you for following and respecting my rule that goodbyes are said at the door. It really does make our morning easier on everyone! You did it! I am proud of you. Thank you for trusting me with this immensely important job of teaching your child. I promise this is not something that I take lightly!

The children all came in so nicely with minimal tears - I was so impressed and so proud of them! Today was a busy day talking about all of the things we will do in school and learning some of the routines and rules of our day. In no time, they will have it down pat - they learn and adapt so quickly at this age.

I read the story "The Kissing Hand" today and we talked about who was nervous or scared this morning . In the story, Chester Racoon was also nervous and did not want to go to school. His mom kissed his hand and told him to put it to his cheek anytime that he needed to feel her love. Chester then realized that school was fun and that he enjoyed meeting new friends and that his mom's love was always with him and that she would always get him after school. The children then worked to create a Chester racoon. I painted their hands - they all said it tickled - and we made a kissing hand for you to remember that their love is always with you. We also made preschool headbands for them to wear. The children also learned a little racoon hand poem that they enjoyed! It was a busy morning mixed with work, play and fun! It will be a great year in Ec-3B!

The children all did a great job eating in the cafeteria! I think they thought it was a lot of fun to eat with "the big kids."

Some children were looking for stuffed animals at rest time. Please remember to send one in their bookbag tomorrow if you did not today. We will not send sheets and towels home to be washed tomorrow since it is a short week.

We took 7 group bathroom breaks today and had several children tell us when they needed to go. Knock on wood, it was an accident free day! Let's keep it up tomorrow!!

I hope that everyone has a great night - and gets to bed early. I know I will! See you tomorrow - let's hope that day 2 goes just as well!!

September  2018
It was so nice to meet you at orientation! I know I covered a lot of information in a short amount of time. Please feel free to email me with any questions. I will cover much more at our back to school night on Thursday, September 20.

~ Please remember to bring a white empty icing container on the first day of school if you did not do so for orienation. This will be your child's crayon can for the year.
~ Please remember to send in two pictures of just your child if you did not do so already. One picture will mark your child's cubbie and one will mark your child's seat at the table.
~ Please read and review the potty training policy and sign and return on Thursday or Friday.
~ I look forward to a great first day on Thursday or Friday! Remember that if your child is only registered for M, W, F, their first day will be on Friday. Only children who are full time or registered T, W, Th will start on Thursday.
~ I know I said that we do not have an Independence Day in our program, but I do ask that you leave your child at the classroom door. Please say your goodbyes at the door and allow them to come into the classroom on their own. Mrs. Monarski will greet them at their cubbies and will help them unload all of their supplies. Saying goodbye at the door allows for a smoother transition in to the classroom.
~ Remember to bring your smiles (and brave faces, parents) to school for the first day. It WILL be a great year!

 

August 2018

I hope that you are all enjoying your summer and have made a lot of fun memories at the beach, playground, pool, library and spending time with family and friends. I look forward to meeting some of you at the social on Monday, August 27 at 6:30 in the back parking lot of the school. When we meet for our orientation on either Tuesday, September 4 or Wednesday, September 5, please bring the following items:

 

1. Student information sheets
2. Change of clothes and shoes - in a ziploc bag marked with your name and in a bag - does not need to be a gym uniform - seasonably appropriate clothes 
3. Blanket and fitted crib sheet labeled with your name for rest time - FULL DAY STUDENTS ONLY
4. Box of tissues - 1
5. Clorox wipes - 1
6. Baby wipes - 1
7. 2 pictures of just YOU for your cubby and seat
8. A clean, empty white frosting container for your crayons
9. A happy smile ready to make friends and have fun while learning!

*** Remember that ANY VOLUNTEER must have a background check and volunteer covenant on file to volunteer at school and attend field trips. Please make sure that all paperwork is in to avoid confusion. You can check wih Mrs. Malatesta to see if you have all papers on file. If you are in need of a background check, please email mmalatesta@sjbdel.org and she will respond with the steps needed in order to complete this process. I will have copies of the volunteer covenant at Orientation. 


If you have any questions or concerns, please email me at kcuocolo@sjbdel.org


Enjoy the last few weeks of summer,
Mrs. Cuocolo

Specials Schedule
Monday -  Music 8:25-9:10
Tuesday - Computer 8:45-9:00
Wednesday - Spanish - 9:25-9:55
                 Gym 9:55-10:40
Thursday - Art 12:00-12:30
Friday - Library - 8:25 - 9:10