WELCOME TO EC3A

2019-2020

IMPORTANT DATES
January 24    No School for ECP  Parent Conferences 
January 27    Catholic Schools Week 
January 27    ECP Dance party- wear your favorite dancing gear/             Chick filA for those that ordered
January 29    Jungle John visit 9:30/ crazy sock and hat day
January 29    H&SA Family Skate Night 
January 30    Pizza lunch/ Mulitples day ( PAC man) 
January 31.   Spirt wear ( SJB gear) Movie/Game day

January 22, 2020

Happy Birthday McKenna! We enjoyed celebrating with you today! Thank you for the special munchkin treat!

We were very comfortable in our jammies today!

We very super busy today in ECP3. With our two specials now being 45 minuites each it does not leave us much time in the classroom on Wednesdays.  We worked on making a queen out of the letter "Q" for our alphabet books. Our dramatic play area has turned into a winter wonderland/ hot cocoa stand.
The children worked on making ice castles for our winter animals. They also counted snowballs to add to a snowman for one to one correspondence.

We enjoyed an extended afternoon recess because the weather was so nice. ( for winter) . 

January 21, 2020
Durung circle time I read the book the very Quiet Quail. I also introduced opposites. We discussed quiet/ loud, Fast/slow, big/ small and some others. We helped my friend Quincy the Quail name objects that begin with the letter " Q". Then they gave him a quiet but quick high five. 

We continued with our winter themed centers. The children made a snow globe by painting with qtips. We worked on patterning with different colored penguins. My friends used Legos to make an ice castle for our winter animals. 

Reading some of our Favorite books with our 6th grade buddies:

Jake sharing the letter " W" letter jar.

January 17, 2020,

I'm sure you heard but in case you didn't I went home sick on Thursday right after lunch and was not in today. I'm hoping after the long weekend I will be better. Ms Debbie substituted for me. 

This week we brought winter in our classroom since we haven't seen that much of it outside. We counted and sorted snowmen. Made several snowman crafts and a winter scene with paint. The children played with shaving cream, melted ice cubes and for science we made ice crystals.

They worked in our building area making a sled, a winter forest and log cabin. My friends have been working hard at the writting center. They have been writting their names. Ask them to show you. If not you will see at our conference. I am so proud of them.

During our circle time we learned the songs I'm a little snowman and snow is falling. Some of the books we read were Snow, Snow Day and Snowmen at Night.

Next week will be a short week. We will work on the letter "Q" by making a friendship quilt.

On January 22nd, Wednesday. We will have a school wide tag day (Pajamas) for ECP only ( since we are off on Friday) Mrs Clark has volunteered pick up our pretzels so that our class does not miss out! 

Iron Hill Museum Visit:


Zoe With the letter jar for letter "B"

January 9, 2020,

A Sign up Genius for Conferences was sent out today. Please let me know if you have any questions. If the times do not work for you please contact me and we can work something out! I look forward to meeting with you all.

Im sure you have heard about this weeks theme of Bears and hibernation. The children are so excited when we discuss anything that has to do with bears. I really love it also. This is one of my most favorite themes. 

Because it is so cold out we haven’t been staying outside for our extended afternoon recess. I have been showing my friends about ten minuites of the Disney by Nature Bears Movie. They are so intrigued. It is such a wonderful movie if you ever get a chance to watch it. The movie follows a mother bear and her cubs after a winter of hibernation to find food. 

We completed our Hibernation Scholastic Magazine and smartboard activity. We worked on the letter B spot the dot and push pinning. 
Zoe shared items from the letter jar. We made a polar bear craft by painting with forks and a brown bear out of a paper plate.

Some of the stories we read were: Hibernation Sation, Bear Feels Scared, Bubble Bear, Brown Bear,Brown Bear and Polar Bear, Polar Bear. We learned a 5 Little Bears finger play and Wake up Sleepy Bear song.

I have also been working on evaluating my friends on the letters we have worked on so far this year, name writing and counting. I will share the results with you during conferences.

Tomorrow we will have our visit with Ashland Nature center. We are very excited about this program and hope the children love it. Thank you for all of you that have paid through Smartution. I can’t  thank you enough for help making these experiences possible for the children. 


January 6, 2020,

Happy New Year! I hope that every one had a Wonderful Christmas and long Winter Break! It was so great to see all of my friends today. I sure did miss them. They were so excited to see all of their friends and be back in school. This makes me so happy.

Ms Koval and the Spanish club gave the children Mexican candies today in celebration of 3 Kings day! The candy was sent home in book bags. 


Students at SJB have the opportunity to shop for their loved ones Monday December 16th.  The students will go over to the Hall and shop for max 5 family members.  They love this and get really excited that they get to surprise their family members Christmas morning.  To make this happen we need your help.  If you have some time to spare Monday please consider coming to school to help our students shop. Please send me an email if you are availble between 8:30-10:00.  I thank you for your support.

Spirit Rally is tomorrow. please have your child wear an Eagles shirt or a green shirt with your uniform pants.

Some of my friends will be going home with green feet today. I painted feet and the paint did not fully come off. Sorry!




December 5, 2019,

Tomorrow is Pajama day for St Nicholas Day. Please send in  slipper or shoe  that we can leave out during rest time. Some children have extra shoes in their cubbies. We can use those if you forget!

We have been so busy getting ready for Christmas in the classroom. My friends have been telling me all about thier trees at home. Our question of the day was : Do you have a Nativity at home? If you do not have a Nativity on display please do not worry. We will be sending home numerous Nativity crafts that you can decorate with in time for the holidays. 

We have also been having fun in our dranatic play area that has transformed into Santa's Workshop. The children have a cardboard house that they are decorating. Presents to wrap and fill in sacks and then put into stockings. They are decorating a tree with red and green balls. The children are making lists and mailing them. They are even baking cookies to leave out for Santa. The conversations they are having in this area are great! I love listening to them play.

I will be chaperoning a field trip tomorrow for my son who is in sixth grade. Mrs K will be substituting for me. Ms Kavanagh will be sure to take pictures of our St Nicholas suprise visit. 

December 2, 2019,
I hope that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I moved into a new house over the break so not so relaxing but definitely rewarding! The next few weeks are going to fly by in our classroom as we prepare for Christmas. We are already busy elves today.

We started to discuss the letter "N" for Nativity during center time. We spoke about Christmas and the birth of Baby Jesus. I read the story The first Christmas. We also helped Nelly the Nightingale name objects in the classrooom that begin withthe letter "N". We learned two Christmas songs Christmas Star and Santa's Chimney. We will sing all of our songs at the Christmas party for you all.
During our center time we made a Christmas Star Craft and did the Spot the Dot and push pin activity for the letter "N". There were various Christmas themed centers for the children to explore. They counted presents, Santas and sorted Christmas themed erasers. Nativity scences we set up for the children to act out the First Christmas Story. So cute!

I will be posting pictures this week of all of our Christmas fun!!!


Happy Thanksgiving! I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday with family and friends. I am so thankful for all of your children and so blessed to be their teacher. Thank you for all of your help during our feast and all of the contributions. I am so proud of all of my little turkeys.

A special thank you to Mrs. Durney our homeroom mom for coordinating our feast! We appreciate all that you do for EC3A!

November 22, 2109,

Thanksgiving Feast is on Monday at 10:00. Parents please park in the front parking lot and check in at the office. Please plan to arrive a few minutes early beacuse there will be a number of families checking in for their feasts during the same time.

The children will perform a few of the fall songs we have been learning in class. They will look adorable dressed in a special costume. (picture worthy). Please do not be surprised if your child does not sing or becomes shy. It can be very overwhelming with everyone staring at them. I have done my best to prepare them. (fingers crossed)

If your child is not planning on staying for Eagles Club you are welcomed to to take them home after the feast to avoid tears and the parking lot at dismissal time.

Thank you for all of the contributions for our feasr. We are looking forward to Monday! 
Have a great weekend!

November 21, 2019,
Favorite sports team dress down tomorrow! Chick filA and pretzels for those that ordered!

November 7, 2019,

We discussed squirrels and acorns today during our circle time. We learned the song "Im a nut". We also found hidden acorns from around the room to give to a squirrel. I read the book "A Friend Like you." Our question of the day was Have you ever seen an Acorn?. Many friends said they have found acorns in the park.

We put together an acorn and painted it brown for our art project today. We also created dot marker fall pictures. My friends drew fall leaves on a tree on our big dry erase board. We also played with linking sticks. We measured our bodies to see how tall we are. We also made a giant cubed tower with the sticks. The children worked hard sorting leaves bu color in our science center. We counted leaves to add them to trees from 1-5. We used squirrel tweezers to sort nuts. In our I build STEM area my friends are working hard building trees.

A Flyer is being sent home about our Barnes and Noble Book Fair on November 13th. This is a great night to support our school library. The children love to see their friends and teachers. Mr Hart reads a story, the school band plays and we have a guest author/book signing. Chick fil A also donates a proceeds of all food purchased b/w 5:00-8:00. I hope to see you all there!!!

November 1, 2019,
I hope everyone had a wonderful night Trick or Treating. I am so glad everything worked out with the weather. We did not have alot of time in our classroom today. We went to library and Mass in the morining. My friends did an amazing job in church. I am so proud of them. Please give them a big hug when you see them and tell them you are proud also. Mass was about an hour and they sat so well. (even after the excitement of Halloween)

Next week we will beging the letter "L" for Leaves.

Scholastic book order is due  on Monday.

October 31, 2019,
Happy Halloween! My friends look so great in their costumes. Thank you parents for attending the parade and helping out with the party. The children really had a great day. I hope that the rain does not stop the fun for this evening.

We will be attending 9:30 mass tomorrow for All Saints Day.

Parade Information: Unfortunately it looks like we will have rain for our Halloween Parade tomorrow. We will still have the parade at 8:30. We will be moving the parade inside the gym. Please do not arrive at the gym until 8:20 because there will be a gym class going on and we do not want to disturb them. We will parade around a few times and then gather for a group picture. The other 3 and 4 year old classes wil be parading with us. After the parade, we will still continue to march through the school so that the big kids can see our costumes. Parents who will be staying for the party- I will ask that you meet us in the classroom and begin to set up the food items for the children. Thank you!

October 29, 2019,

TOMORROW IS WEAR DAY FOR THE COLOR ORANGE

We put our Mary Statue facing the window again. We are praying for no rain on Thursday. I will keep you informed of our alternate plans for the parade in case of rain. We will most likely be parading inside the gym.

Today I read the story Wee Witches Halloween. We also learned a song about Witches Brew. Fiona had a chance to share items she found at home with the letter jar for "C". Julia shared a picture of her pet cat. My friends seem to love getting up in front of the class.

The children made a witch craft to go along with the story during center time. We also played Halloween Bingo.

October 28, 2019,
We are getting so excited for Halloween in EC3A. Music class this morning was filled with Halloween themed songs. Mrs Wagner even had a mixed up costume that my friends thought was super silly.

During our circle time we observed our celery stems that have been soaking up the colored water over the weekend. The children observed that the leaves turned red, yellow, blue and purple. We also had fun with Haloween yoga. I read the story The Runaway Mummy. We made our own mummy with construction and crepe paper at center time. They are decorating the hallway for Halooween.

Durning center time my friends made monsters out of playdough, used witch fingers to sort Halloween erasers into 4 diffrent groups. and made an AB pattern with ghosts. The children also set up a Halloween Party in our Pumpkin Patch. They even raked a leaf pile to jump in. Our Haloween theme writting center has been a huge hit. My friends seem to really like cutting and using the stickers provided. I love seeing all of the pictures.

October 25, 2019,
We were BOOED today! My friends were so excited to hear a knock on the door with a loud BOO!
We opened to door to find goodie bags full of treats. They are coming home in book bags. We were ghosts this morning also and BOOED our neighboring 4 year old class.

 

Picture of my friends enjoying pretzels for snack! yummy!

Today I read the story "Splat the Cat Scaredy Cat" and painted hands black to make a spider craft.
We also completed a science experiment. We put drops of food coloring in four cups of water and added celery stalks. We all made a guess as what was going to happen to the celery. We will continue to observe the stalks when we retun to school on Monday. 
October 24, 2019,

My friends all had a fabulous day! We all had a chance to pick something from the treasure chest this afternoon. I rewarded the children for having great listening ears and all of their help during our clean up times today.

Our question of the day was "Do you like to eat carrots?" So many of my friends like carrots but they do not seem to like cooked carrots. I read the story "Five Spookey Ghosts Playing Tricks at School". We each made a spookey ghost that is on display in the hallway. 

We had a chance to run around on the black top this morning before art class. After lunch we played on the playground and the field. We wanted to get the most out of this beautiful day.
 

During center time we spent time writting the letter C. We also worked on one to one cooresppndence with counting our Witches Brew. We used tweezers to get spiders out of a spider web. My friends also did a fantastic job sorting Halloween eraasers.

A Halloween party sign up went out to all families. Please let me know if you did not receive the email. More details about our parade and party will be posted tomorrow.

October 23, 2019,
Tag Day tomorrow-Wear PINK. We have been having fun with our Halloween theme and the letter "C".

Yesterday I read the story "Go Away Big Green Monster" My friends loved this book so much that we read it 4 times. (Its one of my favorites also) We made a monster craft from a paper plate to go along with the story. Today I read "There was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bat" with story book props. My friends cut a circle for a moon and then added bats for our craft. We discussed our Halloween costumes and trick or treating. Its always fun to hear about costumes. Our question today was : Do you like to eat cheese? 

We also played Halloween Freeze dance and guessing game. My friends really had their thinking caps on to listen for clues before guessing the Hallowen character I was describing. We also learned the "5 Little Bats" rhyme.

The children explored in a Halloween themed sensory table, spider web sorting, monster patterning, and puzzles. The magnetic board is set up with a matching costume game. Candy Corn counting and the Halloween themed playdough tray seem to be a big hit with my friends.



October 21, 2019
We were all so excited to see Ms Kavanagh today. Although the children handled having a substitute well, it was wonderful to be back to our same routines! 

Below are are some pictures from our pumpkin theme. 
On Friday we were all dressed in our pajamas and spent the day with our special pets. We held our pets during circle time, taught them the “ 5 Little Pumpkin “ song. We took our pets for a parade around the school and stopped into the music room. Mr D played the flute for our pets. 

We we had a fire drill in the morning. I read a story about the fire drill and explained our procedure. My friends were well prepared and knew exactly what to do. I was so proud of them. We stopped, lined up and walked out the building. We stayed outside until we had the ok to return into our classroom.

We also made a face onto our class pumpkin and I carved it out. the children all had a turn to take slime if the pulp out with their hands. They told me the pulp felt like strawberries. 

We we also made Spookely the Square pumpkin treats. We spread orange icing on a graham cracker and topped it with green licorice Nd candy eyes. We enjoyed our treat after recess as we ended our pumpkin theme by wat hung the Spookely show on the smartboard in our Pajamas.

Today I introduced the letter “C” for our Costume (Halloween) theme. my friends helped Colleen the Cow name objects that. Erin with the letter C. I read the story Copy Cats. Fiona and Justin shared pictures of their pets.

The children made a cat out of the letter C for their alphabet book. we also completed the spot the dot and push pin activity for the letter.



October 17, 2019,
Ms Kavanaugh is still not feeling well. We had Mrs K help us in our classroom today.

Pajama Day tomorrow and bring a stuffed pet for our pet parade.

Tomorrow will be our last day of our Pumpkin theme. We will be making a Spookely snack with grahm crackers, Pumpkin science and carving our pumpkin! 

We will still go outside on chilly days. Please make sure your child has a coat/sweatshirt. We have been working on putting our coats on by ourselves and zippering. By the end of the year your child should have this skill mastered. They are so excited to be independent.

Zoe, Skye and Lincoln shared pictures of their pets today. We added the pictures to our pet wall. 

October 16, 2019,
Ms Kavanaugh was out sick today. Ms Beth was helping with our class. We all prayed that she feels better soon!

We  had a chance to play on the playground this morning before the rain. Elle shared the items she fround from home that begin with the letter "P". Christian and Elle shared information about their pets during our circle time. Remember to bring in a pet picture this week!!

We made pumpkin sun catchers with contact and tissue paper. The children played in all of our pumpkin themed centers. Today, I added an assortment of planes.  They were a huge hit!

Pictures of our pumpkin theme will be posted by Friday!

October 15, 2019,
I hope that everyone had a great long weekend. The weather was beautiful. 
Thank you all for attending our field trip. The children all had a great time. We spoke about all of our favorite things during the trip. Most of my friends really just enjoyed the time the spent with all of you. The animals and slides were also on the top of the list.

If you have any pictures you would like for me to post or summit to the yearbook please send them to me. Unfortunately my phone broke on Friday before I had a chance to download the ones i took.

If you have a pet at home please bring in a picture for our pet wal. We will keep this picture in the class for the school year. if you do not have a pet feel free to send in a picture of your child's favorite animal.
Sloane and Colin shared information about thier dogs today during circle time.

In our pumpkin patch area my friends a raking leaves and weighing pumpkins. They were also making pies to sell to their classmates.

We painted our hands to make a pumpkin and sorted leaves by color.

In our "I build" the children were using materials to make a pumpkin patch, scarecrow and corn maze.

October 9, 2019,
We are all looking forward to the field trip tomorrow. Our Mary Statue has been facing the window this week and we have been praying for great weather.

• Children are to wear uniforms tomorrow. 

• Please sign in at the office. We will meet you outside of our building at 8:25.

• I will give the children a small snack in the morning  before we leave.

• Children do not need backpacks.

• Please pack a lunch for you and your child.

• Children may leave with you after our trip. It is usually very difficult to say goodbye.  

  
   

We have been having fun with the letter "P" and our Pumpkin theme. We will continue with this theme next week but add activities about Pets.

If you have a pet at home please bring in a picture for our pet wall by Monday. We will keep this picture in the class for the school year. if you do not have a pet feel free to send in a picture of your child's favorite animal.
 

We made a five little pumpkins craft today. Yesterday, we stamp painted a pumpkin with legos. We worked on writing the letter "P" and colored a fall colors books. Our dramatic play area has truned into a pumpkin patch. The children had fun with leaves and a variety of pumpkins and gourds. Our science center is All About Pumpkins! The magnet board has letter matching with pumpkins and wagons. We also worked on creating a gate out of legos and magnet blocks for our 5 Little Pumpkins. 

October 8, 2019,
My friends are doing a fantastic job with our class routines! So many children are walking in the classroom all by themeselves and unpacking their book bags. We love to see this independence. My friends are so very proud!! Way to go Parents!!!

It was a little wet outside for our morning recess so we played with chalk and monster trucks. The children made tracks and raced their trucks. They even had finish lines all drawn out. So cute!

During our circle time my friends helped Petunia the Pig name objects that begin with the letter "P". We also completed our Scholastic Magazine about Pumpkins. We learned the "5 Little Pumpkins" finger play song and completed a smartboard activity and game.

We used our thumb prints to make a pumpkin patch during our center time. My friends also worked on fall puzzles and sorting games. We also had fun counting with our Fall Stew.

Tomorrow the children with consent forms will be getting their vision screened. 

My friends are getting very excited for our field trip on Friday. Please pray for great weather!

October 7, 2019,
My Friends must of had a great and exciting weekend because they were all wound up this morning. We had music class first period and then after snack we had a little extra recess to get all of our wiggles out. 
We had a special visit from Firefighter Taggert today. He spoke to the children about fire safety. He dressed in all of his protective gear and explained to the children he was like a transformer in his uniform.

We worked on making a pumpkin patch out of the letter P. We also completed the spot the dot and push pin activity.

October 4, 2019,
Happy Feast of Saint Francis Day! I am so proud of my friends. They did a fantastic job at church today. Please give them a big hug when they get home and tell them how proud you are of them also. They all picked something out of the treasure chest today. Mass was about an hour and half. We celebrated all of our Franciscan Sisters and especially Sister Joann who retired this year. This was a long celebration for my friends. I was actually shocked we all made it!!! Way to go! My friends told me they loved church and asked when we were going to go back!
Our class presented Sister with a plant wrapped in our handprints and a picture of all of them in front of Saint Francis.

Next week will be Letter "P" for Pumpkins.

October 3, 2019,
Blessing of the pets will take place tomorrow at 2:00 on the side of the church. Please let me know if you plan on attending. We will bring your child to you at the blessing site and you are free to leave when finished.

We had a dance party in our classroom today to get our wiggles out. The children really do love dancing. We also completed our Fire Safety Scholastic Magazine. My friends worked so well with this activity. We all took turns dressing a fire fighter when we were finished.

During our circle time I discussed our school fire drill procedure with the children. I read a story about fire drills and we practiced a mini classroom drill. We will have a school wide drill in the upcoming week.

During center time my friends explored with dot markers and stickers to create a firefighter picture. I also painted their hands again for a firefighter craft. We continued to explore with our fire themed puzzles and games. The children are really using their imagination in our firehouse dramatic play area.

We will be going to 9:30 Mass tomorrow for the Feast of St. Francis. Please remind your children to be as reverent as possible in church. Please pray for us!!!!

October 2, 2019,
Wow! We managed to fit so much fun in our day! We had Spanish and Gym this morning. After Gym we visited our school statue of St. Francis for our letter "F" saint. I discussed how St. Francis looks after all of our pets. 
Bo shared all of the items he found at home from our "F" letter Jar. We made a fire truck out of construction paper by cutting and gluing. I also painted my friends hands twice today. We created a craft to present to Sister Joann at our Mass on Friday. We also made a "5 Little Fire Fighters " craft with our handprint.
After lunch we had a visit from Millcreek Firehouse. The firefighters spoke to us about fire safety and when to call 911. They dressed in their gear to show the children that it is like a costume and to not be afraid. The children then had the opportunity to climb in the fire truck. Some of my friends were a little apprehensive of the truck and didn't want to get their picture taken.

School pictures are being sent home today!

Vison screenings are being sent home for those that I have not received. If you are not interested in having your child screened please just send the paper back with a note. Thank you.

Here is the link for the field trip chaperones. Please make a payment on smart tuition for your child under their account and then click this link to make a payment for the chaperone attending the trip. I appologize for the complicated process.  Please let me know if you have any issues!
https://bngn.smarttuition.com/?id=bt4a2lxfcqi


September 30, 2019,


Happy Monday! I cant believe that it is the last day of September. We have made it through our first month of school. The children have adapted well to their new classroom and routines!

Everyone looked great in thier RED wear today. We had music first peroid this morning and got outside right before the rain shower!

During Circle time we discussed our letter of the week "F". My friends helped Freddy the Frog (puppet) name items that begin with the letter "F". They were all excited to get a kiss from Freddy when they were finished. I also read "Fibbi the Ferrets Fabulous Flute" 

During centers my friends played with various fire house sets and trucks. They pretended they were firefighters in our dramatic play area. They also used squirt bottles to put out flames in our sensory table. They made a firefighter out of the letter "F" for our alphabet book. We also completed the spot the dot and push pin activity for the letter.

We wil have a visit from a fire truck on October 2nd after lunch. 

Please consider stopping by Frazzberry today between 3-8. Proceeds from your purchase will go towards SJB!!

September 26, 2019,

Happy birthday Jake! Thank you for celebrating with us! We hope you had a great day! Thank you for the very delicious black and white cookies. They were a big hit!

Thank you for those that brought in side walk chalk. My friends were very happy with our new pieces!

Tag day and pretzels tomorrow for those that ordered! Sneakers please! Dress as you like this theme is difficult for our little ones!

Monday is our class wear day for the color RED

Please do not forget to fill out the vision screening if you would like your child to be screened. thank you!

Here is the link for the field trip chaperones. Please make a payment on smart tuition for your child under their account and then click this link to make a payment for the chaperone attending the trip. I appologize for the complicated process.  Please let me know if you have any issues!
https://bngn.smarttuition.com/?id=bt4a2lxfcqi

I read the story Ottis and the Puppy during circle time. We charted animals that live on the farm and animals that do not live on the farm. We also played our animal guessing game again. My friends really get excited when they make the correct guess.  We also sang our farm theme songs.

During center time my friends made a chicken by tracing their handprints and cutting and glueing a paper plate. We also worked on writting the letter "H". The same farm theme centers were set up for the children to explore. They are really loving the magnetic tubes for pom pom racing. We also played a farm animal bingo game.  

 

September 25, 2019,
We had another busy day! My friends even told me that it was busy. We had Spanish and Gym this morning.  Mrs Schock had a dance party for the children. I loved watching them dance. They sure do have some moves.

We had a short circle time. McKenna shared all of the items she found at home that begin with the lettter "H" from her turn with the letter jar. I read a book about "My Farm" We made animal sounds as we turned the pages to discuss the animals that live on a farm. We then sang our finger play 5 Little Ducks with the flannel board.

During our centers my friends explored in a farm theme sensory table. They worked as a team making a ball drop through magnet tubes on our board. This was a huge hit. They were cheering for each other racing the balls through the tubes. What a fun activity. We also made a sheep by sponge painting. 

My friends are doing a wonderful job walking in all by themselves. We are so proud of them. I love watching their faces... they are so happy with their independence. Great Job!!

We are in need of side walk chalk!! If anyone would like to donate some that would be great. My chalk is already down to small little stubs. As always, I appreciate your generosity.

Tag day theme on Friday is Blast from the Past. Feel free to get creative if you wish. I think this is a pretty hard theme for our little ones so they may dress down in whatever they wish. My only request is SNEAKERS please!



September 24, 2019,
Today flew by super fast. We had Gym first period this morning. Mrs Schock played games with balls. The children listened very well with all of her instructions. She was very impressed.

We didn't have a lot of time in the classroom for centers today. We went to church for a visit with the Bishop. My friends were so reverent during our time in the church. The Bishop listened to short prayers and songs from each grade. We were there for about 30 minutes (it was a long time for my friends). After church we spent a few minutes on the playground before lunch.

During our circle time, we answered the question: Would you rather touch a sheep or a cow? 8 friends wanted to pet a cow and 4 friends a sheep. We compared our answers. We learned the song "5 Little Ducks" with flannel board props. I read the story "The Big Red Barn" and then we did Farm Animal yoga.

The children made a Cow by cutting and gluing. They also worked on animal sorting by color and shape. They created Farms in the playdough tray and worked on writing the letter "H"

Tag day theme on Friday is Blast from the Past. Feel free to get creative if you wish. I think this is a pretty hard theme for our little ones so they may dress down in whatever they wish. My only request is SNEAKERS please!

Spetember 23, 2019,
Happy Independence Day!! Our hallway celebrated as our friends walked down tothe classrooms by themselves today. We taled about independence day at circle time and many of my friends said they were ready. We will see how it goes tomorrow. We also clebrated with lunch with an ice cream cup! Yummy! 

We said goodbye to the letter "A" and Hello to the Letter "H" for Horse today at circle time. Henrietta the Hen asked my friends to help her pull items out of our letter jar that began with the letter "H". I also read the story"There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Cow" We played a farm animal guessing game. I gave the children descriptive words about a farm animal and they had to guess which animal i was describing. We ended circle time by singing and dancing to "Old Mac Donald"

During center time  my friends made a horse out of the letter "H" and completed the spot the dot and push pin for the letter. They also played with a farm and animals and lincoln logs. We worked on farm puzzles and animal sorting.

September 20, 2019,
We have exciting news! Ms Kavanagh got engaged during lunch today.
We are all so happy for Ms Kavanagh and her Fiance Nick. Thank you for sharing this day with us!


September 19, 2019,
I hope to see you all tonight at Back to School Night. We will meet at 6:30 in our EC3A classroom. I will update you on all the fun we have been having in our classroom. Just a reminder.. tonight is for parents only! Thank you! If you can not make it please do not worry. I will send all of the informtion hame with your child.

We completed an apple taste test today. We used our 5 senses to observe 3 apples (Yellow, Red and Green). We tasted each apple and determined which was our favorite. The red apple had the most votes and the green had the least. 
We also stamped with apple halves. Tomorrow we will make applesauce and plant an apple seed.

Vison screening persmisin forms are bening sent home in folders.

Kids stuff books are being sent home with oldest children in the school. If you are interested in purchasing the book. Please keep the book and make payment through smart tuition. If you are not interetsted PLEASE return book. Thank you!


September 17, 2019,

We sure are having fun with apples in EC3A. Our pretend play area has transformed into an apple orchard and our sensory table is filled with ingredients to make apple pie. These centers were a big hit with my friends today.

We learned the song "Way up High in the Apple Tree" and a Finger Play with felt board props "5 Little Apples". Our question of the day was "Do you Like Apples?" My friends had a chance to chart their response with a yes or no card. I am happy to report that I have an entire class of apple likers. I then read the books "Little a" and "Big Red Apple".
During our centers, my friends made an apple with a worm by painting a paper plate. We also worked on counting up to number 5 with one to one coorespondence. My friends are doing a wonderful job recognizing their numbers.

We have gym again tomorrow. Please do not stress about their names on the shirts. We will put a sticker on before class if you forget. 

September 16, 2019,
It was so great to see so many smiling and happy friends coming to school after the weekend. 
We started off the morning with music and movement with music class. 
Mrs. Wagner had the children marching and singing around the room.
I introduced our first "Letter of the Week" today. The letter A. We discussed how "A" was the first letter in the alphabet and in many of our names. I read the story Abby the Alligator. Abby (alligator puppet) then helped us name items that begin with the letter A. Each of my friends picked an item out of our letter jar and placed it in our Alphabet chart, But not without getting a big kiss from Abby- they thought this was so funny. We will also being doing a number of fun activities with apples this week to coorespond with our letter. 
During our center time the children created an apple out of the letter A for our end of the year alphabet book. They also completed a spot the dot find the letter A and push pinning the letter. They worked on counting apples and putting them on trees up to the number 5. Apple shape matching and sorting were some other theme related activites the children explored. 

September 11, 2019,

School Pictures are tomorrow morning. We are scheduled to have our pictures taken at 8:30 in the Library. Children do not need to wear the school uniform for pictures. Please make sure your child wears sneakers to school. The pictures are taken from the waist up so shoes will not be seen. We will still be playing outside for recess and I would like to make sure all of my friends are safe. Thank you!

We had Spanish and Gym class today. Our Wednesdays are very busy with little time in the classroom. We did manage to fit in fun with our Scholastic Big World Magazine. We complete this as a whole group activity. Each page has a cooresponding smartboard activity and video. When we are finished we play a game on the smartboard. Today our game was searching for shapes hidden in the classroom. My friends all took turns locating a shape and tapping it on the smartboard.

Scholastic books were ordered for September. A new magazine is being sent home in your child's folder. The order is due 10/11,  As always, thank you for your orders and helping us build our classroom library.

September 10, 2019,
Our day went by so fast beacuse we had so much fun! We started off our day with Gym Class outside on the "big playground" The children were so cute explaining all of our playground rules to Mrs. Schock.
We then came inside for snack and circle time. I read the book Be Who You Are. We sang the songs Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes and the Hokey Pokey. We discussed how God made each of us special and unique. 
We went outside on the blacktop to build roads for our monster trucks. My friends had a great time racing their trucks. They did a really good job building roads.
When we were finished, we transitioned to our center time back into the classroom. We made our very own people today. We decorated our person with hair, a face and clothing. My friends took so much time to make their person very special and unique to their own style. This was such a fun activity to do with the class. They will be on display in our classsroom bulletin board. The children also played with letter sorting and matching activites. We also worked on buttoning, snapping and zippering skills. A new center for today was drawing with markers on our big dry erase board. This was a huge hit. The children loved drawing and erasing. 


September 9, 2019,
I was so glad to see so many happy faces coming into school this morning. The weekends  can sometimes throw off our routines. 
We had our first music class this morning. My friends had fun singing and moving with Mrs Wagner.

We were so busy playing and learning today that I did not get a chance to take any pictures. I promise I will make up for it!!!

During our circle time, We discussed letters. I explained to the children that letters are all around us. We searched the room for letters. I then read the book Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. We also completed a short activity on the smartboard with letters. 

During our center time, my friends made a coconut tree with the letters of their name. They also completed a spot the dot; finding the letters in their names. Some of the other activities the children explored were our back to school themed writing center and I Build area. They sifted to find letters in the sensory table and stamped letters into playdough.
 

• Tomorrow we have gym class. Please make sure shirts have names and girls have their hair pulled back. Thank You.
• The nurse is sending home papers to those children who still need to summit physical records. If you do not have a form in your folder, then we have your information. Thank you!

September 6, 2019,
We are all so happy that we made it through our first week of school. We all did a happy dance during our circle time to celebrate. 

We had our first Library class today. The Librarians were so impressed at how well the children participated during class. After Library we took a trip to the nurse's office. The nurse introduced herself and gave them a tour of her office. She explained that it was a safe place to come when you are hurt or not feeling well. She made sure to tell them that she does not give any shots. The children were happy with this news.

You should have all received an email that we were on a lock down today for a short period. We were already in the building doing our classroom centers. The children were not aware that anything out of the ordinary was going on. We will discuss our saftey percautions more at Back to School night.

During our circle time I read the story Pete the Cat I Love My white shoes. We also sang along to the song on the smartboard. During our Centers we decorated a paperplate to look like Pete the Cat. I also introduced the Writing Center. This was a huge hit with my friends. They really enjoyed making letters with stickers and markers. We also played a counting game "School Stew" My friends had to pick a recipe card and count out the ingredients. This is always a favorite activity. 

We celebrated Skye and Zoe's birthday today with mini cupcakes during lunch. Thank you Girls! We all hope you had a great day!

MWF children's towels will stay at school because it was a short week.

Scholastic book orders will be placed on Monday for any of you that would still like to order books. Thank you!


September 5, 2019,
My friends are doing such a great job. It is so wonderful to see all of the friendships that are being made already after 3 days. 
We spent time outside on both playgrounds and the field today. We had our first Art class. The children read the story The Day the Crayons Quit and used crayons to color a picture that cooresponded with the story. 
During our classroom circle time I read a story "I can make Green Choices" (thumbs up) Your child will probably be talking a lot about this at home. I will explain about our class rules in more detail at back to school night.  I also read the story David Gets in Trouble. My friends are really liking the David stories. We then broke out into centers. The children made a David craft by gluing body parts and clothing to create a person. These are so cute. They are hanging in the classroom. The children also played a color matching game using clothespins (for fine motor). In our "I Build Center" my friends explored with materials to build items that they would see in our classroom or school. (bus, table, chair)

Picture forms are coming home in folders today. You may either fill out the form with payment and retrun it by Thursday, September 12th or complete information online. MWF children are welcomed to switch a day that week or just come for pictures. Our scheduled time is 8:30am. Please let me know what works best for you. 

I have the okay to post pictures. I am so excited to share with you pictures of your children in action the past couple days. We are having such an amazing time together!!





























September 4, 2019,
Wow! What a great day! All of my friends were present today. We were so happy to welcome our M/W/F friends. Happy First Day! We were super busy today with a lot of transitions.
We had a small amount of time in the classroom but managed to get in some playtime. After our morning free play, we had a bathroom break and snack. We then went to our first Spanish class. The children did a fantastic job walking over to the "big building" How Exciting! Ms Koval sang songs in Spanish and started to teach the children the "Our Father" prayer. After Spanish we went straight to Gym class. Mrs Schock worked on exercising and played a ball game with my friends. We snuck in a short recess on the playground before coming inside.
During our circle time I read the story No David. We then broke out into centers so we could play. The children had a chance to feed David while using tweezers and play a feelings game. They also made a David face by painting and gluing. These will be on display in our class bulletin board. Sensory table, dinosaurs, legos and magnets were also some of the centers the children explored. 
After centers we went to lunch and had recess. It was a little hot outside today. We came in early and had fun with an activity on the smartboard before rest. 

Pretzel form and Tag day information was sent out in an email. If you would like your child to participate please summit payment through smart tuition.

Please fill out Info snap information ASAP so I can post the adorable pictures of my friends!!

Please make sure you label your child's snack with a sticker. It is getting a little hectic at snack time. My friends are pulling everything out of their lunch boxes before we can get to them. the friends who have the sticker snack are doing a fantastic job locating their snack! Thank you so much for your help! We really appreciate it!!

September 3, 2019,
We did it! We all made it through our first Day of EC3A! I am so proud of all of my friends. They did a fantastic job transitioning into the classroom. We had a lot of fun today! The children explored the room in the morning. We then had a bathroom break and ate snack. We had a small circle time to learn our friends' names and then discussed the rules of the playground. We then went out on the "big" playground (near the sidewalk).
After the playground, we came back into the classroom for circle time. I read the story The Kissing Hand and we discussed Our First Day Feelings. The children were able to chart how they felt. We discussed how we should help our friends that feel sad to feel happy. The children then explored with classroom centers. I painted my friends' hands for a craft that went along with our Kissing Hand story. They also made a Chester Raccoon craft. They played a matching game, magnet play and with sand in the sensory table. 
Our morning flew by so fast- before we knew it, it was lunch. My friends did such a great job walking over to the lunch hall. After lunch we played on the small playground and did some running on the field. Once recess was over we came back into the classroom. I read the story Clifford Goes to School and then we prepared for rest time. I am so proud of all of my friends. We are all praying for a great day again tomorrow!
I have taken numerous pictures of the children throughout the day. Once everyone has completed the info snap forms online and have given photo release clearance I will post them. Thank you again for sharing your children with us. We are going to have a wondeful and exciting year together!

August 30, 2019,

It was a pleasure meeting all of you during our orientations. We are looking forward to a wonderful school year. Thank you for choosing SJB and sharing your children with us! As I mentioned during our meetings, please do not hesitate to contact me with any concerns or questions.
We are excited for Tuesday and praying for a successful transition into EC3A!!

Ms Mekulski and Ms Kavanagh

Welcome to EC3-A. I, Ms Mekulski will be your child's teacher along with my para Ms Kavanagh. We have been very busy getting our classrrom ready for your arrival. I am so excited about this year and look forward to meeting you and your child at our small group orientations on Tuesday 8/27 and  Wednesday 8/28 . I will go over classroom and school information and answer any questions you may have about our upcoming year.

Please remember to bring:

• Back Pack (large enough to fit folder, rest towel/sheet and lunchbox)

• Child Information Sheet 

• OWL ABOUT ME SHEET

• Change of Clothing (labeled with your child's name)

• Towel or blanket and crib sheet for rest (labeled with your child's name)

• 1 box of Tissues

• 1 clorox wipes

• 1 pack of wipes

• 6 Small Glue Sticks 

*THE EARLY CHILDHOOD PROGRAM IS ASKING THAT ALL STUDENTS WEARVELCRO SNEAKERS WITH THEIR GYM UNIFORM.  WE THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR SUPPORTING US!

BACKGROUND CHECK INFORMATION:

All children will be required to have a chaperone for our first field trip to Ramsey Farm on October 11th. You  will need to complete a background check. I will provide the steps needed to complete this check.  I ask that you take care of this ASAP.  I can not allow you to attend the first field trip if you are not given the OK. Each adult will need their own payment completed on our SmartTuition.  I will provide you the needed link to access Background Check payment.  Once you completed payment Marie Maltesta with send you an email with the code and directions to complete your background check.  If you have a background check please send it to school so we can update your information. Thank you! The background check is good for 5 years.

LUNCH INFORMATION

Please click Aramark Letter .  All new families must create an account if your child will be purchasing lunches.  Please read the letter and follow all directions.

Please click ECP-2nd Gr. Lunch Menu