Welcome to ECP - 3B
2019-2020

Mrs. Cuocolo 

 

Diocesan Wide Theme: Believe and see the glory of God
Franciscan Value for September: Right Relationship

Important Dates

Friday, 9/20 -  - wear red for apple week, apple tasting - please send in apples/cider if you volunteered to do so
Monday, 9/23 - Tomorrow is Gym day (girls need to have their hair pulled back and everyone needs their name on their shirt), Scholast Book Order due online (code is QFX2R)
Tuesday, 9/24 -  Happy 4th birthday, Grace! Tomorrow is Gym day (girls need their hair pulled back and everyone needs their name on their shirt), bring in something that makes you happy for show and share for H week
Wednesday, 9/15 -  bring a picture of just you for Religion, wear a hat for H week
Thursday, 9/26 -  SJB 5K Family Fun Run, Happy 4th birthday, Sophia B!
Friday, 9/27 -  Pretzels for those who ordered. TAG day for the school, bring a picture of your house or a house from a magazine - can be an animal's house
Monday, 9/30 -  tomorrow is Gym day (girls need their hair pulled back and everyone needs their name on their shirt)
Tuesday, 10/1 -  Tomorrow is Gym day (girls need their hair pulled back and everyone needs their name on their shirt)
Friday, 10/11 - Field Trip to Ramsey Farm (each child must have one chaperone on the trip so please make work arrangments now and be sure that all Volunteer Covenants are signed and Background Checks are completed)

 

 

Daily Updates

Thursday, September 19
Happy Thursday! What a beautiful fall day it was today. Unfortunately for me on Thursdays, I don't get much time with the children as they have Art and Spanish but how lucky they are to have all of the specials here at SJB!

We did manage to squeeze in some work today. The chidlren created fall trees using apples as paint brushes - they thought this was super fun and the colors turned out so nice and bright! The children also worked on patterning. We said a pattern means we are taking turns. Thjey did a great job of cutting, gluing and finding the next picture to complete the pattern. We will do a lot of patern work for Math this year. My friends also used dot dot markers (they loved this) to fill in an apple. This is a great fine motor skill.

This morning we did another apple poem. Each child picked an apple from my bucket. They had to wave their apple when I said the color of it during our poem. They did such a great job and they love these interactive poems and songs!

The highlight of our day was making an apple volcano! My friends all became scientists. We talked again about our five senses. They each had a turn to use their hands to feel an apple. I then cut a hole in the top of the center of our apple and we used our eyes to observe the inside of the apple. Each child then poured baking soda into the center hole. I then added blue food coloring. We talked about what liquids are and each child used their sense of smell to smell our liquid vinegar. I then slowly poured the vinegar into the apple and we were amazed to see the "volcano". Bubbles formed and we could hear fizzing. I explained that a reaction occured when the vinegar and baking soda mixed together. You could try this simple experiment at home. Science is so much fun and can be so simple!




Tomorrow is wear red for apple week.

if you volunteered to send in apples or cider tomorrow, please remember to do so. You could also bring it tonight if that is easier for you. Thank you!

I will see you at back to School Night at 6:30 in our classroom. The session should last about 45 minutes. I will cover all of the details that you need to know for our upcoming year together. Please remember this is not a time for an individual conference. Tonight is for parents only.

The school will have monthly TAG days with themes throughout the year. The first one is next Friday and the theme is favorite decade - my own kids are wearing tie dyed shirts because that is easy! Payment for TAG days should be made on Smart Tuition. The cost is $12 for the year and will be sent to charities chosen by the members of Student Council. If you do not pay for TAG days, your child should wear their regular uniform on that day.

Tomorrow we do the Friday Dance!!!

Wednesday, September 18
What a Wednesday! We were so very busy today, as we will be every day here in EC3B. Our days fly by and our year will, too! 

Today we were happy to have Jack back after being home sick for two days. There are so many germs going around already. I will discuss returning to school after being sick tomorrow at back to School Night. 

This morning I read a book called "Red as a Firetruck". We then looked around the room to find all of the red things in our classroom. Red is a very popular color in here. My friends then each shared their red picture and we created our collage of red. My friends were so proud of their homework!

We continued our talk on the letter A and apples today. I read a story called "Autmn is for Apples" and we talked about how trees grow and change in each season. My friends then each stamped an A with A and a. Stamping is a good fine motor skill - and they love to stamp! They also each painted an apple to hang from our ceiling and they created an A is for Angel craft. We also worked some on patterning - another math skill we will focus on this year.

Today we worked together to make applesauce. My friends each helped put apples and sugar into the crockpot. I then added cinnamon and water and we let it sit for hours. Our room smelled so warm, cozy and TASTY! We enjoyed our applesauce after rest time. 

The school will have monthly TAG days with themes throughout the year. The first one is next Friday and the theme is favorite decade - my own kids are wearing tie dyed shirts because that is easy! Payment for TAG days should be made on Smart Tuition. The cost is $12 for the year and will be sent to charities chosen by the members of Student Council. If you do not pay for TAG days, your child should wear their regular uniform on that day.

I am in need of a gallon of apple cider for Friday for our apple tasting. If you are willing to send in, please email me. Thank you. I will get to that Sign Up Genius - when I get a free minute...haha! 


Remember that Back to Schol Night is Thursday at 6:30 in our classroom. This is for parents only. It should last about 45 minutes to an hour. I need to leave by 7:45 to get my son from football if that gives you a point of reference for the time frame. I look forward to seeing you then!



Tuesday, September 17
Terrific Tuesday! What a gorgeous day and a day filled with fun and learning! My friends began their day with their red show and share and they did an amazing job with this. Good job, friends!

I read a story about Johnny Appleseed and we acted out the parts. We talked about how Johnny loved apples so much that he wanted to share with others his love for apples. My friends then created a stained glass apple using pieces of tissue paper. They did a great job and were so proud. We also did a little science experiment by painting apples with baking soda water and then adding vinegar mixed with food coloring to see the reaction that occurs. They loved the fizzing and the bubbling that happened and the colors look so pretty. They will be on display in our room. 

We acted out "Way up High in the Apple tree" today with cutout apples. We started with 5 apples and each time we shook the tree, we lost an apple and our number got smaller. I told the children this is subtracting. We will do a lot of math by acting out little songs and poems this year. 

My friends enjoyed gym class outside this morning so we did not take a morning recess. During our afternoon recess, I brought out cut out apples in different colors and we did apple aerobics. The children had to listen for their color and then follow my directions. They had so much fun with this simple acivity.



Tomorrow we will make a collage of red pictures. Help your child find a picture of something red from a magazine or printed off the computer. They will add this to our class collage. If your child is able to cut independently, please allow them to do so. This is their "homework".

Gym day tomorrow - names on shirts and hair in ponytails. Thank you!

I am in need of a gallon of apple cider for our apple tasting on Friday if anyone would like to supply this for us. Thank you! I am trying to figure out why some people received the sign up genius and some did not.

Have a wonderful Tuesday evening! It's a beautiful night to get outside and play!!


Monday, Sepetember 16
I hope that everyone enjoyed the weekend and the GORGEOUS weather! Weekends are the best time to make family memories - especially when the weather is just right for outside activties.

This morning we were introduced to our new letter Aa. We looked at pictures of an alligator, acorn, ape, ant , the alphabet and an apple. We pretended to take a bite of an apple and made the /a/ sound. We will be exposed to the letter A in a variety of ways this week. Remember your child is not expected to master all of the letters - they will get them again next year and again in klndergarten. This is just a stepping stone.

I read a book called " I am An Apple" today. This book shows the process of the growth of an apple tree and how the process repeats and repeats. I told the children this is called a cycle. My friends then created an apple out of their handprints to remember this first fall of preschool. My friends also worked on creating an A for alligator that we will keep until the end of the year when we will put together an ABC book of all of their alphabet projects - one of my favorite things we do! I also worked on cutting with some of my friends. This is a VERY IMPORTANT three year old skill that we will work on a lot this year but practice is key. Please allow your child to cut with scissors at home. Give them scrap paper and have them cut to strengthen this skill. We talk about scissor safety but remind them of the rules. Cutting is a big kid responsibility and they must earn that responsibility!

Our classroom will become a Science lab and my friends will become Scientists each week and today was that first day!I talked about what it means to be a scientist and how my friends will use their 5 sense to observe in Science. The children know that the number one rule for scientist is to always use their best listening ears so they can hear my directions. They did a great job today. First we had the chance to feel an apple. They told me it felt, "good, cold, smooth, hard and round" - all great describing words. I then used an apple slicer to cut the apple. Each child could then see the seeds and feel the seed - they were amazed at how tiny the seeds were. Each table had 4 cups on it. The cups were labeled water, vinegar, air and oil. The children then used their sense of smell to smell the vinegar - someone said it smells like mommy cleaning:) I filled the appropriate cups and we talked about liquids - how they change shape when poured from container to container, we can drink most liquids and most importantly that they will spill and form a puddle if we drop them. The children then each had a turn to place an apple slice in to a cup. We will observe on Wed and Fri to see the changes that take place in each cup. Our cups are on the Science table now for observation. We love being scientists in here!









I received several emails saying that many of you did not receive the sign up genius. Thank you for letting me know. I am going to look into that this week - it could be operator error on my part!

Remember that Back to Schol Night is Thursday at 6:30 in our classroom. This is for parents only. It should last about 45 minutes to an hour. 

Tomorrow is red show and share. PLease make sure your child knows what their item is and that it fits in their bookbag.

We have Gym tomorrow - please be sure names are on shirts and that girls have their hair pulled back.

My friends will need a picture of themself and a picture of their house (or a house from a magazine if you don't want to send one of your house) for next week. Just a head's up so you can send your prints to Wahlgreens if need be. i will post exact dates tomorrow.

Have a nice night!



Friday, September 13
Hooray for Friday! We did the Friday dance today - the childrne love doing this each week. What a fast Friday it was and we made it to the end of our first full week of school. It only gets easier from here on out!

I loved seeing their favorite shirts today - and it's nice for them to show some of their personality by dressing out of uniform.

This morning the children had a lot of fun in Library. The listened to the story 'Ten Apples Up on Top" and each practiced balancing 10 apples on their heads. I even got to join in the fun! This was a great kickoff to our apples theme next week.

Today I read "Celebrating me" to the children. In the story, the children were celebrating how much they have grown and changed and we talked about how much we will grow and change this year! This is such a big year for them and for you as a parent - and me as a teacher. It is a blessing to watch them develop throughout the year. They come in as babies and leave as little people and we will celebrate that! I painted their hands, again, and we created a handprint for you to remember them as a 3 or 4 year old. They also worked with Mrs. Monarski in creating a person and they got to pick the pants and shirts that they wanted so that it was just their person. 

For Math today, we graphed if we are a boy or a girl by decorating a boy or girl and gluing them to a chart. We then compared the numbers and decided that 9 is bigger than 6 so we have more girls than boys in our class. We do a lot of graphing and comparing numbers for Math. Math is so much fun and is sucha  big kid skill!

We took a 10 minute recess on the big playground this morning and couldn't believe how much cooler it was than yesterday.

We take at least 7 group bathroom breaks a day and my friends are doing awesome! We have remained accident free, knock on wood. The children are doing a great job telling us when they need to use the bathroom. Way to go!

My friends are starting to lay quietly at rest time because they want that sticker. Remember to check shirts for stickers before putting them in the washer and drier, says a mom with experience on that topic! Thanks to my friends who have brought in stickers to share with their sleeping friends!

I emailed a sign up genius for apple tasting last week. Please let me know if you did not receive this. I still need all slots filled. 

Next week we will takl about the letter A, apples and the color red.

Have a wonderful weekend making memories with your family. We somehow have a sports free Saturday, which rarely happens, so we will be at Hershey Park holding on to the last bit of summer!

I look forward to seeing all of my friends smiling faces on Monday!

Thursday, September 12
What a busy Thursday! Between pictures, Art and Spanish today, we had about 45 minutes in the classroom. We had play time and we read a book called " God made me just right" to continue with our all about me theme. I traced the children's hands and we used an ink pad to make fingerprints. We counted their fingers and I told the children that everyone has different fingerprints and we looked at their fingerprints to see how different they are. We also did our Religion magazine and talked about how Jesus loves ALL of his children!

My friends did a nice job with class pictures today. They had to wait very patiently for their turn. The photographer did her best to get them to smile but keep in mind there was a lot going on and for some friends this proved overwhelming. I hope no one is expecting the "perfect picture" but keep in mind these pictures captured your child as they are today - at 3. My favorite school picture is my daughter's 3 year old picture - not a smile to be found but it captured her three year old personality! My friends all looked so handsome and beautiful. Thank you for sending everyone in sneakers. Safety before fashion!


My friends can wear their favorite shirt tomorrow for All About Me week. They can wear whatever shorts/pants they want - they do not need to be in uniform shorts. Again, they must be in sneakers.

A Scholastic Book Order was sent home in your child's folder today along with a letter explaining how this works. Please help your child develop a love of reading by building their library at very low costs.

Tomorrow we do the Friday dance already!! First full week of school is done - we are rolling now!



Wednesday, September 11
We made it to midweek! Only two more wakeups and two more days of lunches to pack!! 

My friends all did such an amazing job with their first Show and Share today. They proudly stood and told us their name and what they brought and what letter their name and item start with. They enjoy sharing these special items from home and we enjoy getting to know more about them. We will do a weekly show and share for theme. It is helpful to practice at home so they know what to say each week. Thanks for doing that this week as they were all ready and prepared!

This morning we had Gym in the gym and the children did a great job of following directions! We did not take a morning recess because we had time in Gym to get our energy out.

This morning we continued talking about what makes us special. I read a book called "Designed by God so I must be special". We pointed to each of our body parts and talked about what they help us do. I asked for things that my friends see, hear, touch, taste and smell - such great lists they came up with! My friends then designed a person to look like them for our Religion Bulletin board called "Jesus loves the little children". I told the class that we are all children and Jesus loves all of us because we are His little children.  I also painted hands again to create our EC3B Friendship Tree that will hang in the hall all year reminding my friends that we are all a part of this EC3B family!

My friends also painted flags today to show how proud we are to be living in America. We talked about the colors we saw on our flag and the fact that e say the pledge to our flag every day. On this September 11, enjoy a few extra minutes of family time and hug your babies a little tighter tonight.

Our class pictures are on Thursday at 8 am. Children should wear Sunday best WITH SNEAKERS - no one sees their feet and 3 year olds are not looking to make a fashion statement with their footwear - we are trying to stay safe considering many of my friends are tripping over air in here! My M, W, F friends can come meet us in the Library at 8 am (accomponied by a chaperone) in order to have your picture taken. We do not do a class photo at this time so if you do not plan on ordering pictures, you do not need to come. Please let me know if you plan on bringing your child for pictures on Thursday if this is not a regular school day for them. You must sign in at the Main office and walk down to meet us at the Library. You will have to wait in the hallway while we have our pictues taken.

We took 7 group bathroom breaks today and remain accident free, knock on wood. My friends are doing a great job of telling us when they need to use the bathroom. 

At rest time today,I told the children I would give stickers to my friends who rested and laid quietly. It is AMAZING how the promise of a sticker will motivate. So many of my friends settled right in and fell asleep. I will do this every day if this helps to settle us in. We welcome all contributions of stickers for this cause. Children love to pick out rest time stickers for their friends so take them shopping with you to make it even more fun for them!

Have a nice evening with your families and thank you for choosing SJB as their "home away from home" for the next 8 months.


Tuesday, September 10
Today was a busy day for my friends, as all of our days will be. Today we took a walk through the "big building" to meet our school nurse, Ms. Perrine. SJB is lucky to have a full time school nurse and an awesome one at that. Ms. Perrine told the children she will help with scrapes and tummy aches and coughs and that her room is a safe place. She assured the children that they will never get a needle from her - this was a big concern. Some of my friends have already had to visit after recess time, but hopefully we will not make too many trips to see Ms. Perrine this year!

The children had 30 minutes on the big playground for Gym this morning so we did not take a morning recess. After our visit with the nurse, we took a walk outside to enjoy this beautiful day.

This week we are talking about ourselves and learning to get to know one another. I read a book called "Hooray for you" and we talked about all of the things that make us special. I told the children to look in the mirror tonight and say 'hooray for me!" The children then answered questions for me to help me learn a bit about them. They worked with Mrs. Monarski in identifying the first letter of their name. They had to find a match for their letter and glue it on to a sheet. My friends also used a coconut to paint and thought this was silly. We read "Chica Chica Boom Boom" yesterday and talked about the coconut tree. Today I brought a real coconut for them to see. We placed the coconut in a box with red, yellow and blue paint and the children rolled the box back and forth and used the coconut to paint their paper. We will use many different items to paint this year!

We have Gym again tomorrow so please be sure that names are on shirts and that girls have their hair pulled back.

Please remember that we have our first Show and Share tomorrow. Children should bring something that starts with the first letter of their name and they should be able to tell us what it is. The item must it in their bookbags. We will do weekly show and shares and the children become so comfortable doing this as the year progresses. It is so fun to watch the transformation.

Our class pictures are on Thursday at 8 am. Children should wear Sunday best WITH SNEAKERS - no one sees their feet and 3 year olds are not looking to make a fashion statement with their footwear - we are trying to stay safe considering many of my friends are tripping over air in here! My M, W, F friends can come meet us in the Library at 8 am (accomponied by a chaperone) in order to have your picture taken. We do not do a class photo at this time so if you do not plan on ordering pictures, you do not need to come. Please let me know if you plan on bringing your child for pictures on Thursday if this is not a regular school day for them. 

Have a nice evening. There is a Home and School Meeting at 6:30 if you want to come out and get involved!




Monday, September 9
I hope that everyone enjoyed the weekend and took advantage of the gorgeous weather. I know many of my friends came in tired so I am guessing that everyone had a busy and fun weekend filled with lots of memory making! I was so proud that after two days at home, we did not have any tears as the chidlren entered the classroom. Let's keep it up!

Today we enjoyed our first Music class with Mrs. Wagner. She will expose the children to many different instruments and games and has lots of movement panned for the children. They enjoyed Music and did a great job of following the many directions.


We enjoyed 15 minutes outside on the big playground for morning recess and the we began our work/play time.  This morning I read "Chica Chica Boom Boom" to the chidlren and we talked about the letters that we saw. The children helped tell the story by saying the words chica chica boom boom when it was time. They then created their own coconut trees with their handprints and the letters in their names. Many of my friends were able to tell the letters in their names and we were so impressed! We will spend a lot of time this year working on identifying the letters in their names and placing those letters in the correct sequential order. My friends also shared their family pictures with me and named their family members and told me something their family likes to do and I will put these together to make a class book. We also finished our Pete the cat handprints from Friday - they turned out so cute and will be on display in our hallway.

Several of our friends have a pretty nasty cough already - it is so early in the year for these germs.  Please practice coughing and sneezing into their elbows to help reduce the spread of germs. Eleanor is home with a cold and we wish her well - we sang her a cute little song this morning that we will sing whenever someone is absent. Please remember that your child must be symptom free and fever free for 24 hours, without medication, before they can return to school. We will discuss this at Back to School Night next week.

Some of my friends are playing with the long strings on their gym shorts and trying to wrap them around their necks. This is obviously very dangerous. If your child has a long strong inside their gym shorts and you do not need it to adjust the size, please cut it off for us so it does not become a danger or a toy.

If you did not send a family picture today, please do so tomorrow.

Please remember that we have our first Show and Share on Wednesday. Children should bring something that starts with the first letter of their name and they should be able to tell us what it is. We will do weekly show and shares and the children become so comfortable doing this as the year progresses. It is so fun to watch the transformation.

Our class pictures are on Thursday at 8 am. Children should wear Sunday best WITH SNEAKERS - no one sees their feet and 3 year olds are not looking to make a fashion statement with their footwear - we are trying to stay safe considering many of my friends are tripping over air in here! My M, W, F friends can come meet us in the Library at 8 am (accomponied by a chaperone) in order to have your picture taken. We do not do a class photo at this time so if you do not plan on ordering pictures, you do not need to come. Please let me know if you plan on bringing your child for pictures on Thursday if this is not a regular school day for them. 

We have Gym tomorrow so please make sure that girls have their hair pulled back and that your child has their name on their gym shirt.

Have a marvelous Monday! This is a full week of school - we can do it! 



Friday, September 6
Hooray for Friday! Today we did the Friday dance to celebrate the end of our week together! Congrats to everyone for making it through the hardest week of them all. It was a great week and I know it will be a great year! Look at these cute faces - how could it not be a great year?


This morning we were able to go visit the Library and meet Mrs. Oldiges and Mrs. Tobin. We are so lucky that we get to end our week with Library. We will hear great stories and do fun activities. The children were very excited when I picked them up! We are such big kids to get time in the library!

We listened to "Pete the Cat Rocking in My School Shoes" this morning and danced along to the song Pete sings. We know that there is never a reason to worry at school - school is a fun and safe place! The children created Pete the Cat headbands. They will wear these home on Monday because of the rain today. I also painted their hands again and these will become cute Pete the Cat pictures after they are dried and we can finish decorating them on Monday. I also took a picture of each friend in their school shoes and asked them to describe their shoes to me. I will put the pictures together to make our own class book abou rocking in our school shoes!

Today we took a morning recess on the big playground. We also took a walk after lunch and then spent 20 more minutes on the big playground before the rain started. The children love recess time and they need that time to release energy and to play in a way that is much more free than when they are in the classroom. Remember that play is learning!

We took 8 group bathroom breaks today. The children are also doing a great job of telling me if they need to use the bathroom.

Remember to ask your child if they had a job today. They are loving the responsibilty of having a job as a classroom helper.

My friends all need a family picture for Monday. This picture will not be sent home. It will be come part of a class book.

Next week our themes will be Chica Chica Boom Boom and All About Me.

You may have received the message about the safety lockdown that took place earlier today. The teachers were notified privately that we were not to leave the building until given the all clear. We remained in our classroom and continued to work and play - never a cause for concern. We have procedures in place for many different situations that arise and I promise you that your children wil always be safe in my care. This is my most important role as their teacher to keep them safe and I will do that, just as I know my own childrens' teachers will do for them. 

Have a wonderful weekend wih your families! Enjoy the time togehr and make happy memories!


Thursday, September 5
Today was a tear free day! And many of my friends walked down the hall and into the classroom independently! I am just so proud of them all - and all of you!

I realized today that Thursdays are going to be our busy days that don't allow much time for play or work in the classroom because we are busy at Spanish and Art. We will be learning, working and having fun in other classrooms. We are lucky to attend specials even in preschool!

This morning we did do our first Religion lesson. We talked about how we are all special and that God made us special. I told the children that Mrs. Monarski and I will be getting to know them this year and we will learn who likes what and we will learn what makes each of them special. We did our Religion paper and shared who likes soccer and music and the various other choices we had. The children did a nice job following a long and following directions - not asy to do on day 3! We ended with a special prayer thanking God for our new school and new friends. I can't wait to get to know the children this year! 

I read the book "Pete the cat rocking in his school shoes" today and the children danced a long to the catchy song. We will be doing crafts for this tomorrow as we just did not have time today!

We enjoyed Spanish in the "big building" with Miss Kovall today. The chidlren will be exposed to the numbers and colors and various songs in Spanish. We also had Art with Mrs. Newcomb today. The children will listen to a story and do a craft that relates to that story each week. 

We enjoyed our recess today and are looking forward to fall days when it is not quite so hot and sunny (though I love the heat). We began rest time around 12:35 and many friends fell right to sleep. Some friends are having a hard time settling their bodies at rest time. This is an important time of day for the chidlren as their little bodies need that down time. Please remind them to try their best to lay still and quietly so that they can rest - and so can their friends around them.

We took 8 group bathroom breaks today and were accident free again! What an awesome job they are doing in telling us when they need to use the bathroom. I even had two friends tell me while out on the playground - not easy to want to stop playing to use the bathroom. Let's kep up the great work!

Thank you to all who read my page and removed long straps from lunchboxes and remembered to pack drinks in the lunchboxes. 

I will be sending out a signup genius most weeks asking for help for the following week to assist in a tasting we will do for our letter of the week. Thank you for your help and generosity in making our letters come to life. I try to expose the children in a variety of ways to our theme and thank you for your part in this. The first signup genius should be coming out today or tomorrow. If yuo sign up to send in apples, we do not need them until Friday, September 20, Please do not send in prior to this date.

Remember that my friends will need a family picture on Monday. Please print one if you have not one so yet.

Ask your child if they had a job today. We take turns daily with jobs and the childrne love having jobs and that responsibility.

Tomorrow is Friday and we do the Friday dance in EC3B!!



Wednesday September 4
We all survived Day 2. Sometimes that is when the reality sets in and the tears flow, but once again, I was so impressed by and so proud of the children. There were minimal tears and my friends came in ready for a new day - for some this was their first day and they settled right in! Bravo to the chidlren and to the parents for making this such a smooth transition.

This morning we reviewed our morning circle time and routine. Some of the children were even singing along to the songs we sing to start our day. They enjoy the jobs that we have and each day someone new has a job so we will all get plenty of turns to have the jobs throughout the year. I like to remind them that we are all handy helpers and we will all work together to make this a great year.

We had Gym class this morning which was a lot of fun - and a little confusing as to why we were in the cafeteria but not eating. Mrs. Schock spent the class this morning playing different games getting to know the children and to learn their names. We will haveGym class two times a week during this first trimester.

During our Center time today, I read "The Kissing Hand" again and we talked about Chester's feelings and how many of us were nervous yesterday but were less nervous today. The children then worked to create a Chester raccoon with Mrs. Monarski. I called the children over an did something so silly - I painted their hands! They thought this was funny and that it tickled. I told them I will do this many times throughout the year. We made a little picture to remind them of the kissing hand secret.

At lunch time, I did my best to encourage the children to eat but several of my friends were not interested in eating. Please remember to pack something that they like and will eat. I cannot force them to eat but always do my best to make sure that they do have enough in them for our long day.

My friends were all VERY TIRED today - many were asking if it was rest time before we even went to lunch. We were on our mats by 12:30 and most of my friends fell right to sleep. Please remember that early and consistent bed times help make our day a smooth one.

We only took 7 group bathroom breaks today and were accident free again today. Hooray for that! let's keep it up. 

Today we celebrated Luke's 4th birthday and we all enjoyed powdered doughnuts! Happy birthday, Luke, and thanks for the yummy treats.

Some of my friends have long straps on their lunchboxes and are tripping over them or trying to put them around their necks. If your child has a long strap and it can be removed, please do so for safety reasons. Thank you!

Please remember to send your pink or blue folder to school daily! 

Remember to check all of the dates above for upcoming events!

In the event of rain on Friday, please do not send your child to school with an umbrella. The preschool does not allow umbrellas for safety reasons. Please send them in a coat with a hood on rainy days. 

Thanks for a great first two days of school! Looking forward to a great day 3!

Tuesday September 3
Hooray! You all survived the first morning dropoff!! Thank you for respecting my rule of saying goodbye at the door. It made for a much smoother transition for them - and for you, I promise. I was so proud and so impressed by the children as they all came in and got right to it. We had minimal tears from just two children and they lasted for 5 minutes. Let's do it again tomorrow!

This morning we started our day by reading "My first day of preschool". We talked about the simliarities between the children in the pictures and us - we all had backpacks and lunchboxes and cubbies and we are meeting and making new friends. We then settled into our morning carpet time and the children were excited to sing our morning song and try out the new jobs that they will have. After a few days, we will all be settled in to the new morning routine.

We enjoyed our morning snack. Thank you for marking the snacks with an S or a sticker to make it easy for us to identify. We had snack around 9 am and some of my friends were hungry. Again, they will adjust to the new schedule in just a few days. After our morning snack, we took a few minutes to go outside on the playground. We reviewed the rules of the playground and the children enjoyed running around on this sunny day!

We read the story "The Kissing Hand" today. Sone of my friends told me that they have this story at home. We talked about how Chester was nervous to leave his Mommy, just like many of us were. But his mommy came to get him, just like our moms and dads always do. Chester's mom taught him the secret of kissing his left hand so that the love could travel to his heart and so he could place his hand to his cheek all day to feel his mom's love. I told the kids I would share this secret with you, so tomorrow you might want to do your own kissing hand. We made little kissing hand crafts today as a reminder. The children also made headbands to celebrate their first day of preschool. What a big and exciting day this is for them and for you!

The children were so excited for lunch in the cafeteria! They looked so cute sitting at the table eating their lunches. I took a picture but cannot post it until we have the all clear from the office that everyone is allowed to be photographed. Please make sure that there is a drink in your child's lunchbox for lunch as we cannot always remember to grab water bottlles from cubbies. Please also remember to keep snacks for Eagle's Club seperate from lunchboxes. These should be in the front pocket of your child's bookbag. Only 3 of my friends did not fall alseep at rest time but did lay quietly. Everyone should be ready for bed tonight - myself included!

We enjoyed about 40 minutes outside after recess but it was HOT!! The children were ready for rest by 12:45. Most of my friends laid right down and settled in. A few friends needed reminders to lay quietly on their mats. Their little bodies need that down time - it is a long day! Some friends were sad to not have stuffed animals so please remember to put one in tonight if you have not done so.

We took 8 group bathroom breaks today! The children did an aweome job. A few friends told me when they needed to go and we got them there right away. We were accident free today! let's keep it up!

We have Gym tomorrow. Please remember to have your child's name on their shirt and for girls to have their hair pulled back.

Please check the dates above for important events in the classroom.

Looking forward to Day 2 tomorrow and to meeting 4 friends who were not here today!

It is going to be a great year in EC3B!

** You all should have received an email about ordering pretzels from Home and School. My advice is to order the pretzels even if you think your child will not eat it. They do receive the pretzels once a month and children are disappointed if everyone around them has a pretzel and they do not. The process to order is explained in the email and all payments are done via Smart Tuition. 

***We have Gym on Tuesday and Wednesday during the first trimester. Please be sure that girls have their hair pulled back and that everyone has their name on their shirt (use masking tape if you do not want to write on the shirt).

August 2019
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 19. Remember this is a meeting for parents only.

~ 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 Tuesday or Wednesday! Remember that if your child is only registered for M, W, F, their first day will be on Wednesday. Only children who are full time or registered T, W, Th will start on Tuesday.
~ 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!

Specials Schedule
Monday -  Music 8:25-9:10
Tuesday - Gym 8:30-9:10
Wednesday - Gym 8:30-9:00
Thursday - Spanish 9:20-9:50
                 Art 9:55-10:40
Friday - Library - 8:40 - 9:10

August 2019

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 Tuesday, August 20 at 6:30 in the back parking lot of the school. When we meet for our orientation on either Tuesday, August 27 or Wednesday, August 28, 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 or towel and fitted crib sheet labeled with your name for rest time 
4. Box of tissues - 1
5. Clorox wipes - 1
6. Baby wipes - 1
7. 2 pictures of just YOU for your cubby and seat (can be the same picture)
8. A clean, empty white frosting container for your crayons ( I provide the crayons and will put your name on the container)
9. 6 gluesticks (you do not need your name on them - this will be a class supply)
10. A small canvas tote (can be purchased at AC Moore) or a reusable bag from the DIsney Store. Please make sure your name is on the bag. This bag will carry your sheet/towel back and forth from school on the weekend to be washed. 
11. A happy smile ready to make friends and have fun while learning!

***The preschool teachers are asking that ALL STudents wear velcro sneakers. 

*** 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