EC3A-2020-2021
Ms Mekulski and Mrs Tabeling 
Virtual Classroom
(click on link for reading adventures)

Important Dates:

Friday, October 30th- Halloween Party
Wednesday-Friday-Novemeber 4-6th 11:30 dismissal (NO TEC)
Wednesday & Thursday-November 4th & 5th -Phone check- ins 
Wednesdy, November 11th- Scholastic book order due

 

EC3, EC4 and Kindergarten TEC Parents,

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

Thank you.

OUR 5 Little Pumpkins Song

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1P8ZIWfH9n_zyueWDP5EbkX0llF9T68Bg/view?usp=drivesdk

     Halloween Celebration

Students may wear Halloween costumes to school. Please wear school uniform underneath so we can easily remove the costume if your child becomes too warm or uncomfortable.
 
Our morning snack will be our Party. Snack will be provided through parent donations. A Sign Up Genius was sent. Thank you! The children will not need an additional morning snack.

All of the classes will go to the Hall for a Fall photo shoot. We will parade around the school building on the sidewalk and allow the classes to look out the window and watch us instead of parading inside the Big Building this year. Unfortunately, parents are not permitted to attend the celebration this year. I will make sure to take lots of pictures and post of the fun. 

October 28, 2020,

We had some excitement in EC3A today. Our class was Booed! We heard a loud knock at the door an a lot of boos. We went outside the classroom to see what was happening. To our surprise, we found a bag full of treats. We said it was definittey a very friendly ghost that came and visited us. The treat bags are being sent home in book bags. 

I forgot to post yesterday.. we had a fire drill. My friends were in the middle of snack. When they heard the alarm, they jumped up right away and got on the animal train. They knew just what to do. We walked quickly outside and waited for the ok to return to our classroom. My friends did awesome!

Today was all about spiders. We made a spider craft by gluing all parts of a spider. We worked on cutting the letter C. My friends are going amazing with scissors. We also used q-tips to paint he letter C. We used tweezers to get spiders out of a web. The children also counted spiders and placed them on a web up to number 5. We also used halloween fingers to pick up spiders and place them in cauldrons. 

During circle time I read the story Splat the Scaredy-Cat. We also worked on a review of the letters we have had so far. A, H, F, P and C. We talked about how we did not want them to be sad if we forgot about them. We sang the songs the Itsy Bitsy Spider, There is a Spider on my Knee and learned a finger play about 5 Little Spiders. 

We were able to go outside for morning and afternoon recess. We ran around on the black top and played on the little playground.

During Spanish class Ms Koval did a music class with my friends in Spanish. After Spanish we explored in our Halloween Sensory Bins, had a spider race and listened to a playlist of kids spider songs on youtube.
 



October 27, 2020.
Today was all about Monsters.. Fun Monsters. We started off the morning by painting a plate and making our very own Big Green Monster. We also worked on writing the letter C. We also made patterns out of monster erasers. My friends worked on stacking pegs to make a train accross the room. We then measured each friend by how many pegs long they were. This wasn't a planned activity but we had so much fun being creative and counting.

During circle time I read the story Go Away Big Green Monster with story props. My friends asked me to read the story multiple times. I also read the story Crankenstien. This is one of my favorites! We then discussed how sometimes we all turn into crankenstien. My friends each had a turn sharing what makes them turn into crankenstien. I loved hearing their answers. I shared the links below to both of the stories read alouds on youtube. We then sang the song Monster Monster Turn Around and learned the 5 little monsters. We got out wiggles out by doing two dances; the Monster Mash and the Monster Shuffle

Crankeinstien
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyINfmOVNzQ
Go Away Big Green Monster
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FLl3bM8VLA

The children had a chance to go outside for Morning recces during Spanish Class. Ms Koval was not here today so my friends had some fun on the playground and playing outside games.

We worked on our whole group religion pamphlet. I really an so proud of this class and how they stay as a group and follow directions. We read a bible story and worked on the inside of the pamphlet together. We also discussed how the weather does not look good for this week. We really love being able to go outside. We put our Mary Statue in the window and said a Hail Mary. We are praying for no rain especially on Friday when we come to school in our costumes. My friends are doing so well making the Sign of the Cross. 



October 26, 2020,
I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! I have to apologize about our 5 little pumpkin video viewing. I will try to find a better way to post videos in the future. Please request access and I will share it with you as soon as I get a notification. My friends are getting so excited for Halloween. We each had a turn to talk about our Costumes during circle time this morning. 
I introduced the letter C for Costume and Candy. We read the story Copy Cats and sang the songs Who took the Candy from the Trick or Treat Bag and Monster Monster Turn around. We also took turns naming objects that begin with the letter C in our Alphabet center. We finished circle time by watching youtube videos on the letter C.

ABC Mouse letter C
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDnzj88O6aQ
Storybots letter C
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSk_fgAAjjs
Sesame Street Letter C
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9JAVSruaeA

During our center time we made a cat out of the letter C for our alphabet books. We also completed the spot the dot and push pin activity for the letter C. We used tweezers to pull spiders out of a spider web, counted candy erasers up to 10. We also worked on making AB patterns with halloween counters.

My friends had music class this morning. Mrs Wagner did lots of Halloween activities with the class. She sang songs and they danced to all Halloween themed music. It was such a fun class for my friends. 

After music we played in our Halloween sensory bins. We had a specail Monday dance party to get our wiggles out after lunch. We made it outside this moring before it started to rain. We celebrated tow birthdays today. Brett retuened to us today. Hr had a birthday and truned 4 while he was off school and 'ella celebrated her 4th birthday over the weekend. 



 

October 23, 2020,
We all looked so great in orange today. I took a video of our 5 Little Pumpkins Song. I will download it and post it when i get home on WIFI this evening. It is so cute!

We started off our morning making pumpkins out of our playdough. Once all our friends were in school we made a witch craft by using paint. We also worked on objects that looked the same and different today.  The children had a chance to finally explore with our wooden blocks this morning. They enjoyed making tall towers. They were counting blocks to see how tall they could get the tower before it fell. When it fell it made such a loud sound (no carpets). My friends really seemed to enjoy the sound. 

We had our famous Friday dance party. I read the stories Wee Witches Halloween and We're Going on a Witch Hunt. We were all little scientists this afternoon.. I carved our class pumpkin. My friends (the ones who wanted to) scooped out the insides with their hands. We explored the seeds and pulp. Then we decided what to draw for a face to create a jack-o' lantern. I drew the shapes and then cut them out. We lit our pumpkin and kept it lit for rest time. Our jack-o' lantern watched over us while we were resting.


October 22, 2020,

Tomorrow is orange dress down day.

Today we made ghosts by using paper plates. We also searched for the letter P in two different worksheets. My friends have done a great job recognizing the letter P. We played with clear colored legos on the light table. We also played with tubes and magnet blocks to make a ball race. We made a creation that stretched across the front of our classroom.

I read the story the 5 Spooky Ghosts. We also completed our Scholastic Big World magazine. The children watched an interactive video on investigating pumpkins and did a little pumpkin dance. We completed the back together as a class. I was so proud of my friends. They did an amazing job following directions and staying with the group. 

During Spanish, Ms Koval read Room on the Broom. The children completed a sequencing activity on the smartboard.  

Our painted pumpkins are finally dry. My friends checked on them as soon as they came in this morning. They are so excited to bring them home.

We are looking forward to making our 5 Little Pumpkins video tomorrow in our orange. We will also be carving and investigating our class pumpkin.


October 21, 2020,
Our field trip was a success in spite of the weather. We definitely had a misty morning.

We started off doing a virtual field trip to a pumpkin patch on the smartboard. We rode on a tractor and learned about all different types of pumpkins that grow on a farm. We even went through a corn maze.

Then we got on our "imaginary bus" and went for a long ride around the school until we arrived at our SJB pumpkin patch. 

The children picked out a pumpkin, painted their pumpkin, got a fall tattoo while eating their snack and helped build a scarecrow. We did not get a chance to carve our BIG class pumpkin because it started to rain on us. We will carve it on Friday.

We even had visitors (giant crows) join us outside. I put out bags of chips and pretzels for the children to use for a scavenger hunt. Before we knew it the crows were scooping down and grabbing the bags and bringing them on the roof of our building at eating them. This was such an entertaining teachable moment on why farmers use scarecrows. It definitely had the children very excited to make our scarecrow.

Thank you everyone for bringing in a pumpkin. The children had a super fun morning. They are coming home with their drawstring bags today. We used their towels and they are wet. Sorry! There is no rush to retrun them. We have been eating snack and lunch inside.


October 20, 2020,

Field "Trip" to our SJB Pumpkin Patch is tomorrow. 

Please send your child to school with boots( if you have them) and sneakers in their bookbags. The grass on the field is very wet. We will change our shoes when we return to the classroom. We will spend the entire morning outside with lots of fun fall activities.

A few friends still need pumpkins. Please make sure they have it by tomorrow. Thank you so much for your help with this activity!!!
 

During circle time we read the story the Runaway Mummy. We also watched a few videos on the letter "P". We practiced puckering our lips to make the sound of P. We also used our magic pencils to draw the letter.

During center time we made a mummy by adding strips of tissue paper with glue, We also used circle dot stickers to decorate a pumpkin. This really challenged our fine motor skills. The children did great peeling the stickers off and lining them up on the circles. 

During Spanish class the children worked on making a candle by using a paintbrush, water and tissue paper. This was the first step of this activity. Ms Koval said there was more to come. She complimented our class today. She said that they were so great at following directions! Congrats my friends!!!

October 19, 2020,
I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. A huge thank you to those who brought in pumpkins today. We are getting excited for our "field trip to the SJB pumpkin patch"

We are going to do our trip on Wednesday. Please send your child to school with boots( if you have them) and sneakers in their bookbags. The grass on the field is very wet. We will change our shoes when we return to the classroom. We will spend the entire morning outside with lots of fun fall activities.

Today we worked on making a "thumpkin patch" by using our thumb prints to put on a vine. We also colored the letter P and cut it out. My friends are doing extremely well with using scissors. We played with super heros in our block area and gears on our giant magnet board.

During our circle time we completed a PUMPKIN workout. The children were very excited to show off their push up skills. I read the story Pumpkin Head. We continued to practice our 5 little pumpkins song. Look for a video this week of my friends singing the song. 

The children had music  and Spanish class this morning. Mrs Wagner held class outside. The children used musical insturments and danced. Ms Koval did a gym class in spanish with my friends. They took a walk around our school and exercised. My friends were so tired at rest that they all fell asleep within minuties of laying on their mats. 

An email went out today for phone check ins on November 4th and 5th. Here is the link to the sign up just in case you did not receive my email.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090B4CADAB22A4FA7-ec3a4

October 16, 2020,
Happy Friday! Wow the weeks are just flying by! We made it through our first rainy day at school. My friends were sad that they could not play outside today but we managed to have lots of fun inside.

We had our Friday dance party to celebrate our school week! We discussed that we will not be saying goodbye to letter P and we will continue to have more pumpkin fun next week.

During our center time we painted pumpkins with legos. We also worked on two different mazes for our letter P. One maze we needed to spot and dot the letter and the other we needed to follow the lines to get in and out of the letter P. My friends really seem to enjoy their letter work They get so excited to work with me and continue to ask when it is their turn. This makes me so happy! We completed an activity today using a fall picture on the smartboard. I asked the children a question about the picture and they had to use discriptive words to answer my question. For example.. Where is the pumpkin? It is on the bench or in the boy's hand.. My friends listened carefully and did a great job with this activity.

In Spanish class the children worked on more decorations for the "Party in Mexico" They colored a sheet and then turned it over and used q-tips w/ baby oil to make the picture magically apear. This was very cool!

After lunch we had a special treat since we could not go outside. We watched a movie "If you Give a Mouse a Pumpkin" and played in our Halloween sensory bins.

Scholastic book order for October was placed today. November catalog is being sent home today. This will be the last order before the hoildays. The order is due on November 11th.

Next week we will go on a "in house field trip" to a pumpkin patch. We will be outside picking pumpkins and painting them. I have lots of activities planed for the morning. We will either have our "trip" on Wednesday or Friday (when all my friends are present)I need to just check on the weather before deciding.

Please keep a look for a sign up email from me next week to schedule a phone check in. I will be using the half days scheduled in November (11/4 & 11/5). The rest of the school will be holding their conferences during this time.

Below is a picture of Skylar and her baby brother Eli. She finally got to meet him in person last night. Mom and baby are doing well. Congratulations!!!

October 15, 2020,
Today we painted our hands to make a pumpkin craft. We also q-tip painted the letter P (these were still a little wet so they will be sent home tomorrow)

We worked on counting spiders, patterning with Halloween erasers and our Halloween Stew and Brew. My friends did really well counting up to ten Halloween objects.

I set up a light table today. The children expolred with shapes and (5 little pumpkins) They were very patient waitng for their turn on this very exciting new activity. The children also built a gate/fence for the 5 little pumpkins using the magnet blocks. I loved seeing how creative they were being with their buliding.

We discussed the life cycle of a pumpkin and read the story Runaway Pumpkin and Its Pumkin Time. Ella also shared items she found from home that begin with the letter P... Great job on the Pink Pajama Pants!!

During Spanish class the children read a story about a "big festival in Mexico" They used markers and coffee filters to make a Spanish decoration.

October 14,2020,
We had a very fun day in EC3A. My friends had a special gym glass with Mrs Schock. They were very excited to meet the gym teacher that teaches all of the "Big Kids". She worked on exercising, running and did some yoga with the children.

During Spanish class Ms Koval did a mini geography lesson with the class using the smartboard. It was very intractive ans informative.

We had fun with the 5 Little Pumpkins today. The children made a craft using glue sticks. I am so proud of how my friends follow directions. We also read the story "The Five Little Pumpkins" sang the song with hand motions, sang it again using flannel props. We even watched 3 different versions of the song on the smartboard. Wow!  thats alot of 5 Little Pumpkins. I think they will be singing in thier sleep tonight.

My friends worked on their push pin activity and tracing the letter P. We also worked on various fine motor activites using Halloween fingers to pick up spiders and tweezers to pick up mini pumpkins

School pictures are in your child's folder. They all look so cute! If you are not happy with the picture, hold on to them and we have a picture make up day on December 2nd and 3rd.

I would like to thank Mrs Talley for sending out a sign up for our Halloween party. She informed me that all of our donations slots have been filled. Thank you so much for helping out and contributing. We really appreciate all that you do for our class.


October 13, 2020,
I hope everyone had a wonderful long weekend. We have an exciting announcement. Our friend Skylar returned to school a BIG sister! Her family welcomed baby Eli into their family on Monday, October 12th. We are so excited for Skylar and can not wait to hear all about her adventures as a new Big Sister.

I introduced the letter P today for Pumpkin. We will be having fun with pumpkins and Halloween the next few weeks. We are all so excited. I read our P book Pigs Picnic. We discussed all of the items in the story that began with the letter. We also completed out alphabet center. All of my friends took turns picking out an item from out letter jar and sharing it with their classmates. 
We watched a few short clips from you tube on the letter P.

During our center time my friends made a pumpkin patch out of the letter and worked on the spot the dot for P. They also counted, sorted and measured pumpkins.

During Spanish class the children worked on Halloween art craft by painting their hands and crumbling tissue paper.

We explored with our sensory bins. The children were so happy to see our Halloween themed bins. We listened to some fun music as they explored and played.


October 9, 2020,
We all looked so radiant in red today! We celebrated Friday with our ever famous dance party! My friends really love dancing and I love watching them!

Today we worked on our first letter mazes. The children did a great job with the lines and finding the letter F. The sheets are in their folders. We also had fun with paint. We made firefighter pictures by painting our hands and a plate for the face. These turned out so cute!

Jack S had the letter bag this week. He shared items that he found from home that started with the letter F.

During Spanish the children worked really hard making thier very own pumpkins. Ms Koval worked on shape names with them in Spanish. 

I hope everyone has a happy and healthy long weekend!

October 9, 2020,
I’m back… It was so good to be back and see all of my friends. They were so surprised to see me this morning. I am not 100% but it sure helped to be with the children.

I must first apologize to you all. I updated my teacher page from home a few times but for some reason it did not publish. I want you to all know that I was pretty sick with a virus that I could not shake. It was not Covid but sure had me scared. My boys and I took several tests just to be sure (especially because I wasn’t getting better). I am happy to report that I am feeling better and so glad to be back.

Mrs Tabeling did a fantastic job keeping the classroom running and the children on their same routine. She has been with me for 6 years so she knows just how things are done in EC3A.

Kid stuff books went home and a school reach email with an explanation. These coupon books are completely optional to purchase. They are a school fundraiser in which we receive a portion of the amount of each book sold. If you do not want to purchase your book please send it back in your child’s folder. Thank you

The children went home with a #10 cookie on Monday. This was a celebration cookie for the anniversary of our Early Childhood building from Mr Hart.

Scholastic book order arrived for September and were sent home with the children, Our Order for October is due on 10/12. As always thank you for your order. We were able to purchase several books and a few new learning toys with our last classroom order.

Tomorrow, Friday October 10^th is a dress down day for EC3A (color RED)

Halloween!!! I just received word that we will be able to have a Halloween Party. The party will be for children only and the treats need to be individually packaged from a store (no homemade or bakery goods) The children will also be able to wear their costumes. More information to come but we are so excited that we get to celebrate!!

The Children said goodbye to letter H and are now working on letter F for firefighter. Today we qtip painted the letter F and painted hands for a 5 Little Firefighter craft that goes along with our song. I read the book Fire Engines. I told the children that my father was a firefighter and stories from when I was at their age being at the fire house and on a fire boat. We went on a virtual fieldtrip to a fire station and watched a fire boat in action. We also charted items that we safe and not safe to touch. After our morning recess we completed a whole group activity with our Scholastic Magazine. We read along and watched a video that went with the magazine. We then played a safe to touch game.

Below are pictures of Father Joes visit to bless our pet pictures for the Feast of St. Francis and the children using their paper cutting sensory bins.

September 29, 2020,
 Picture Day for our class is tomorrow. Children may dress in regular clothes for pictures. They do not need to be in uniform. All children will get their picture taken even if you decide not to order. These are the pictures that will go in the yearbook.

I apologize.. I forgot to mention that we had a fire drill yesterday. It was first thing in the morning. I explained to the children that we were having a drill and it was pretend. We needed to practice "just in case we needed to get out of the building quickly" I also warned them of the loud noise. My friends did fantastic! Everyone lined up right away and we walked quickly but quietly out of the building. Some friends covered their ears ( which I said was ok to do) no one seemed frightened or worried. 

We were so glad that we got a chance to play outside before the rain. The children went on a shape hunt outside with Ms Koval for Spanish class. They were told a shape both in English and Spanish and then searched all around the area to find the shape. 

My friends made a cow out of a paper plate by cutting and glueing. We also worked on the push pin activity for the letter H. We counted spots to add to a cow, tails to add to a pig. We also used unit blocks to measure farm animals. 

I read a book about life on a farm. We discussed animals, farmers and crops. Our question of the day was : Have you ever been to a farm? We learned the song 5 Little Ducks (with felt props). We also did farm animal yoga! This was really fun! It was Cameron's turn for the letter bag. He shared items he found from home that begin with the letter H. Great job Cameron!

We worked in our apple pie sensory bins. My friends  were jumping up and down with such excitement when they saw the bins set up as they came in from Spanish Class! This made me so happy!


September 28, 2020,
I hope that everyone had a wonderful weekend. I know several of my friends went apple picking.What a great way to end our Apple theme! They were excited to share their experience with the class.

I introduced the letter "H" for Horse today. We will be working on a Farm theme this week. I read our H book Hiding Hippo during circle time. We had to find the hiding hippo in different areas of the farm. We also took turns naming objects that begin with the letter H for our Alphabet center. We sang the song Old Mac Donald with animal props. We then charted if we liked the song with yes or no cards. My friends are learing to read the words YES and NO.  I am happy to say that the entire class likes Old Mac Donald. 

We made a horse out of the letter H for our alphabet book. This book will be sent home at the end of the year after all of our crafts are completed. We also completed the spot the dot for letter H. My friends are really good at finding and recognizing the upper and lower case letters. Way to Go!
They really like to pick out thier own sticker for their sheet when they are finished. 

The children played with farm sets and animals. farm puzzles, and cow counting. They are still exploring the magnetic tubes and apple catching. That was a big hit last week and they asked for it again today.

The school is going to be doing the annual pet blessing different this year. Father Joe will visit our classroom on October 5th for the blessing. Please send in a picture of a pet that you would like to have blessed for the Feast of St.Francis. You can start sending in pictures at anytime. I will hold on to them. Thank You!

The children had Music and Spanish class back to back today. We ate lunch a little later than usual. My friends were so tired by the time we were ready for rest. They all fell asleep so fast. They should be well rested this evening!

September 25, 2020,
We all looked so great in our Apple colors! We had our Friday dance party today! The children get so excited and are so cute dancing and singing. I get so happy just watching them!
We said goodbye to letter A. I told my friends that we were not going to forget about A but we were moving onto another letter next week. We sang our Apple songs. I read the story 10 Apples up on Top. We took turns balancing an Apple in our head. This made us all laugh! We also took a virtual field trip to an Apple orchard. 

The children also counted 10 apples and glued them on top of their picture. These turned out really cute. They are on display in our classroom. They also used red, yellow and green finger paint to decorate an Apple. We also counted apples up to 5 to add to a pie and muffin pan. 

Towels and sheets were sent home. You do not need to send back the drawstring bag and extra towel. We have found it much easier to eat inside. The flys were bothering us and it was not fun. I will let you know when to send them back in. Thank you!


September 24, 2020,

It was so great seeing all of you last night. Thank you so much for taking time out of your night to join our Zoom. This was not an ideal way for me to present our preschool class. I truly hope through pictures and the children's personal experience you will be able to see and hear about the fun we are having in EC3A

Tomorrow is dress down (red, yellow or green)

We used apples to stamp paint this morning. We made a large apple basket full of red, green and yellow apples. We also used q-tips to paint the dots in the letter A. We continued to sing our apple songs. My friends really like singing. I read the book The Biggest Apple and we charted if we liked apple sauce. I opened up a new center today.  STEAM center. We used magnetic tubes to create a pathway for apples to travel. We either caught them in a basket or with a cup. This was a big hit with my friends.

Ms Koval took my friends for a walk around our school campus to use their senses in nature. 

My friends did a fantastic job with our whole group scholastic big world apple theme magazine. We read the pamphlet, watched a video from an apple orchard and played an apple sorting game. We worked on the back page together as a class. They did a great job following directions!

September 23, 2020,
Below are pictures of some of our Apple themed activities. Today I read the story The Apple Pie that Papa Baked for Me. We explored in our Apple Pie sensory bins; The children worked hard at making "apple pies" with their ingredients while listening to Apple songs on the smartboard.
I am sure they will tell you all about it. Mr Hart and Mr Delfin came into our class during the activity and my friends were so excited to show them what they were making.

We also painted a paper plate red and added slinky worm to go with our 5 Little Apples Song. My friends worked with me on tracing the letter A both Capital and Lower Case. We ue a small marker for grip and grasp control. As you will see in their folders the smaller the letter the more difficult to trace. This is the beginning of writing skills.

Back to school Night Zoom email has been sent out. We will zoom at 6:00. 

Friday is a dress down for our class. Red, yellow or green. The color of apples. Sneakers only please!!


September 22, 2020,
I truly apologize for having to reschedule our Back to School Night. I rarely get a migraine, but when I do it puts me under. I hope it was not too much of an inconvenience. I will send out an email for a new meeting on Wednesday.

Mrs Tabeling was back today. We were all so happy to see her. Ms Koval was out sick. We did not have Spanish today. We were able to have a longer recess by playing on both playgrounds, chalk and bubbles. It was a beautiful day outside.

Mr Delfin (our school counselor) came into the classroom and did an exercise with the class about feelings and emotions. He used the Disney movie Inside Out with his presentation. The children drew a picture of what makes them happy. It is in their folder.

Jack T was our first friend with the letter bag. He shared items he found from his house that started with the letter "A". Great job Jack!

We continued to work on our Apple theme. My friends made a sun catcher apple. They used their fine motor skills to add tissue paper to contact paper for this activity. They are on display in our classroom windows. We also used the push pins in our caddies. The children have been very interested in finding out what the pointy things were used for. They pushed holes into the letter A. This is another great fine motor activity. I read the story the Big Apple. We discussed the process of how apples were grown. We learned the songs Way Up High in the Apple Tree and 5 Little Apples. The children will be singing these songs in the car and around the house by the end of the week. We also charted if we liked apples. I had 11 friends who liked apples and 1 friend that did not like apples. We discussed more and less with this activity. We also counted apples up to 5 to add them to a tree. Tomorrow we will play in our individual apple pie sensory bins.

Scholastic book order for October is being sent home for anyone that would like books.  I will place the order by 10/16. Thank you!

The children do not need to wear the lanyards to come into school anymore. I am pretty sure they know where our classroom is and have become familiar with our building. They can be taken out of their folders and left at home. Thank you.




September 21, 2020,

Thank you to all of you that donated hand soap. We have enough to last us for a few months. I will post here if we are in short of other supplies. We really appreciate you helping us out.

Thank you to Mrs Talley for the new lanyards. I put them on masks today. They seem to be working much better than the old ones! Thank Goodness!

Thank you to everyone that placed an order with our Scholastic book club. I placed the order today. We were able to order over 20 books for the class and a few learning toys with all of the points from your orders. I know the children are going to love their books. I will place an order once a month for anyone who is interested in purchasing books. The next flyer will be coming home this week. 

Mrs Tabeling was out sick today. We made sure to keep her in our prayers. We hope that she feels better and comes back to us soon. Ms Marilyn was our subsitute teacher. The children are familiar with her from Eagles Club.

Colds/Fevers are starting to circulate around the room. We ask that if your child is sick please keep them home.  Please work on helping your child wipe their nose. It is really important this year to help spread germs in the clssroom. My friends have been using their arms and sleeves instead of tissues. 

Back to school night is a zoom information session for parents. It is tonight at 6:30. An email was sent out to all familes. Please let me know if you have not received an email from me. A folder is being sent home with all of the information we will discuss this evening. If you can not make it and have any questions just let me know. 

An notification was sent out to all Early Childhood Building families. The children should be arriving to school no later than 7:45 (official school start time) the door will be shut to our building at that time. If you arrive later than 7:45, you will have to check in at the front office.

We started our letter of the week "A"  for Apples today. The children made an apple out of the letter A. They used their dot markers to spot the dot for upper and lower case A. We read the story Abby the Alligator and earned the song 5 Little Apples. We also named objects that begin with the letter A from our class letter Jar.

September 18, 2020,
We made it through our second week of school!! We had our Friday Dance Party today. We danced a Freeze dance, Shake our Sillies Out, Baby Shark, and If You're a Kid. All of the songs can be found on YouTube. My friends sure do have some moves.

We Shared our Me bags today. Thank you for helping with this activity. The children seemed to love sharing the items in their bags.  They all waited patiently for their turn which is extremely difficult for threes.  Everyone was so interested and excited to see what was in each others bag. This was so much fun!

Brett shared his All about Me poster with the class today. We also counted ingredients to make a school stew. The children used one to one coorespondence to count using a recipe card. They put all of the ingredients into a pot then stirred the stew. When they were finished they sorted the items. We will do a Stew for each theme. My friends learn counting, adding and subtracting with this activity.

My friends had fun drawing on the white board this morning. They were happy to share their drawings with their friends. 

We all looked great in our favorite colors. Our next dress down day will be on 9/26. We will wear the color red for our Apple theme.

I hope everyone has a great weekend. Looks like we will have beautiful Fall weather.

September 17,2020,
We continued discussing "All about Me" today. We had 3 more firnds share their posters. Cameron, Harper and Matthew. I really love seeing how excited my friends are with this activity. 

We made "all about me" paper dolls . The children created themselves with various materials, ribbons, butons, felt, yard, and tissue paper. They drew their own face . The finished product will be on display in our classroom . I will be sure to take a picture of the bulletin board.

I traced the children's bodies on giant paper and we used water colors and crayons to decorate. We made our creations outside where we had lots of room to speard out and be creative.


i read an Elephant and Piggie story with the class today. My New Friend is Fun. We discussed how we can make new friends by being kind . We also read the My Family book. We charted how many members we have in our home family. 

Mrs Talley (Jack'sMom) purchased our class new lanyards. We should have them next week. Thank you so much for thinkingg of us and for your generosity.

If anyone would like to send in small bottles of hand soap (any kind) . It would be greatly appreciated. The children are finding it easier to use the bottles than the dispenser at our classroom sink. thank you
 

Me bags are due tomorrow 
Favorite Color Dress Down Day tomorrow

September 16, 2020,
We will have our first "Wear Day" on Friday. The children can wear their favorite color. My friends still must wear sneakers on all dress down days. Thank You.

Colette, Grayson and Julianna shared their All About Me poster with the  class today. My friends re so excited to share all of thier hard work. 

We painted hands today to create a Pete the Cat picture. The children picked out Pete's colored shoes. They all told me what Pete stepped in to change his shoes from white to the color they picked. Ask them to share the story with you. We also read Pete the Cat and the Magic Sunglasses. We talked about all of the emotions that the aminals were feeling. We discussed some things that might make us sad, fustrated, angry and happy.

We completed our first whole group Religion Phamplet. The children listed to a bible story and we discussed the picture on the front of Phamplet. We then spoke about some of our favorite things and completed the inside. The phamplet is in your child's folder.

Me bags are due on Friday

Dismissal will be closer 2:30 now


Picture Forms are coming home in folders today. Picture Day for our class is Wednesday, September 30th. Children may dress in regular clothes for pictures. They do not need to be in uniform. All children will get thieir picture taken even if you decide not to order. These are the pictures that will go in the yearbook.


September 15, 2020,
We had a great day today! We hd fun with Pete the Cat. We painted a paper plate to make Pete's face, worked on a name your color worksheet. We read 2 Pete the Cat books " I Love My White Shoes" and "The New Guy" We even watched a  Pete the Cat Show for a special treat during our lunchtime. We had 4 friends share their "All About Me Posters" Brady, Beau, Jack T , and Skylar. Great job sharing! The children are doing really well geting up and speaking in front of the class. 

My friends had a chance to play with their playdough today. They are really making some very cool creations. We used scissors today with our dough to work on our fine motor skills.

During Spanish today Ms Koval took the class on a nature walk to look for fall colors.The children found a leaf, brought it back to the classroom and used it to paint a fall picture.

We had a new friend start in our class today. The children welcomed Nola and asked her to pay immediately. My friends are so sweet and kind. Great job Moms and Dads.

We have been asked to dismiss our class a little later now that everyone has gotten the hang of being back to school and the parking lot proceduers. Starting tomorrow we will dismiss at 2:30 instead of 2:20. We will still be the first class to walk out from the Early Chilldhood Building. 

I have to apologize for the difficulty with these lanyards. It looks like the ones I purchased did not hold up very well with our class. I will look into purchasing a different kind soon. If anyone has happened to find a better one out there please let me know. Thank you.


September 14, 2020,

Welcome back from a beautiful weekend. My friends did a great job coming in this morning and remembering our routine. Children may start arriving by 7:20 now if it works for your family. My friends are walking into the building extremely well. 

Our theme this week is "All about Me". Today we worked on our names and "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom" My friends counted the letters in their name and we charted the responses. , We looked for sticker letters for their name for a coconut tree and used scissors for cutting lines. 

We also worked with family counters. We sorted counters by colors by putting them into the cooresponding colored house. We made AB patterns and counted.


We shared three friends "All about Me" posters. Ella, Jack and Ethan. My firends are all so excited to share their posters. 

The children were outside for Music and Spanish class this morning. Mrs Wagner introduced musical insturments and Ms Koval did an exercise class in Spanish.

Sepetember 11, 2020,
We made it through our first week of school! We had some tears this morning as my friends came in the classroom. Please understand that it is a long day for my friends and they are just getting use to the routine. My friends stop crying as soon as they get in the classroom and become distracted. 

We started off the morning by painting. We painted a paper plate to make a "No David " Face. My friends are really liking the "No David"book series. We have read 3 books so far and the children want me to read them over and over. They like telling me wether David is making a red or a green choice. These are such fun beginging of the year stories. 

We had a fun dance party to celebrate Friday in the classroom this morning before lunch.
My friends really have some moves. We danced to a few songs using the smartboard.

In your child's folder you will find a "Me Bag" This is a way for the children to bring in a small show and tell next week for "All About Me" week.The bags are due on Friday September 18th. Please dont forget about our posters due next week.. We will start sharing on Monday. My goal is t have 3 children share a day. 

Dismissal has been a bit of a challenge for myself and the children, It is so difficult to recoginize parents with masks and sometimes sunglasses. I ask that when you see our class coming down the sidewalk please come close so we can see you right away! thank you for your help.
We are always trying to figure out what works in these ever changing times!

Please email me at anytime with any questions or concerns. I know it is difficult not communicatiing during drop off and pick up.
Have a wonderful weekend!


September 10, 2020,
What a great day in EC3A! All of my friends are coming in the door so happy and ready to play! I am sure you are as amazed as I am on how easy this transiton to school has been. Praying this continues! The children are welcomed to bring in a lovey or small stuffed animal to sleep with during rest time. The children have been crashing as soon as they hit their mat. Im sure you can see how tired they are in the evening. 

During center time my frinds made a construction paper "No David craft" They followed directions step by step and used their glue stick very well! We also worked on sorting by color ans making an AB pattern. My friends worked on building with magnets and legos. The housekeeping are seems to be a favorite with this class. This is exciteng for me because I always change this area with our themes. We are going to have so much fun together this year!

We ate snack and lunch inside today but we still managed to get outside before the rain. We ran around on the black top and played with bubbles. A few of us got some scrapes on our knees from running. Mrs Tabeling and I will be cleaning up small cuts and scrapes ourselves this year without a visit to the nurse. (soap and water and a bandaid) Of course any major issue the children wiil be sent to her office by walking around to the front of the school. 

We had a chance to play with our homemade palydough today! Thank you so much for supporting our class and making this for your chidren. They had so much fun exploring and sharing their creations with their friends!

After lunch we went for a walk outside. We practiced walking in a line pretending we were on a bridge an d there was water and hot lava under us!









September 9, 2020,
We had such a great 2nd day of school. The childeren are picking up the rules and routines of the classroom. Today we discussed green choices (thumbs up) and red choices (thubs down). My friends were so excited when they were caught making green choices ( I will go over all of our classroom rotine and rules with you on back to school night) 

During our morning center time the children made a Chester the racoon craft. I introduced their individualized art caddy and we used our glue sticks and crayons for our projects today.
The children had Spanish today. Ms Koval did a lesson about feelings and emotions in Spanish and sang a few songs.

We ate snack and lunch outside . We tried to get alot of outside time today because tomorrow they are calling for rain. My friends had a chance to play on both playgrounds and the blacktop with chalk

We did a whole group activity using our Schoastic Big Worlds magazine (in folder) We read through the magazine using the smart board, played a feelings game, made emotion faces, and took a dance break . We completed the back page together by pointing. Feel free to have your children use crayons and repeat the activity with you at home. They will be excited to share.
 

September 8, 2020,
We did it! We made it through our first day of school! the children all did fantastic! I was totally shocked. Not one tear! We started off our morning with our learning centers. The children colored first dat of school head bands and I painted their hands for a poem craft. My friends also worked on sorting by color and object (we used back to school counters).the kitchen, magnet board, monster tucks, farm animals with barn and doll house were other centers the children explored.

We had a picnic outside for snack and then played on the "big playground" then Ms Koval visited us and played a spanish game about feelings. 
During our circle time we read the story of The Kissing Hand. The children have a poem of their handprint that is being sent home in their foder ask them to tell you all about the story. We also charted our feelings. I asked if my friends felt happy or sad. Most friends felt happy and the ones that felt sad said they wanted to "play" We also watched a youtube clip related to the Kissing Hand book.

September 3, 2020,
I emailed the Zoom information out to everyone this morning. Please email me if you did not recieve it. This means I do not have your correct email address. Thank you!

Our Night Before Preschool Zoom will be on Monday at 6:30pm.I will do a scavenger hunt before I read our closing story. I will have the children find 5 items during our zoom and share with their friends. .An item that is green, red, blue, yellow and orange. I just wanted you all to be prepared for the color scavenger hunt. My goal is for the children to see some of their new classmates and have a little fun bofe thay have to separate from you on Tuesday. 

Have a wonderful weekend!
Looking forward to a great beginning of the year with my friends!!!
Ms Mekulski

 

September 2, 2020,

It was so wonderful meeting you and your children. Here are a few things to help with the first day!

 

• Wear masks and lanyards for walk into school

• Send back folder and filled out forms

• Cinch sack for outside eating

• playdough in sealable container

• family picture for cubby

• inform me of Eagles club days (if any)

• sticker snack for mornig snack

• check teacher page daily. It will be udated by 5:00pm each day

Letter to all EC3A parents:

Dear EC3 Families, 

We hope you are all doing well and staying healthy during this difficult time. The Early Childhood teachers have been meeting and planning throughout the summer to open their classrooms for your child. The teachers and administrators have been following guidelines provided by the Center for Disease Control (CDC), Forward in Faith documents and Governor Carney. We are thrilled that we have the OK to move forward with an in person learning environment. It is imperative that we work together throughout the year to make sure the health of our students, families and teachers are always the top priority. As classroom teachers we are happy to share some changes to our classroom and routines that follow the recommended guidelines. We are feeling confident that we are creating a safe space for your child. We will have a parent orientation to discuss the EC3 policies and procedures on August 27th. This will be a virtual orientation on Zoom and we will have two sessions to accommodate schedules.

*Students will remain with their teacher and class throughout the day. Students will not move to other classrooms or interact with other students in another classroom. All specials will be held in their classroom.
*Masks are required for all SJB students when entering and exiting the buildings, walking in the hallways, and in the bathrooms. Masks for EC3 students are recommended. Students will not be expected to wear them all day. Lanyards will be offered to students with masks. When in a small group they may wear it. As a parent you have the choice to share with the teacher if you want your child to wear it all day.
*Frequent hand washing. There are sinks in most of our classrooms as well as 5 sinks in the bathroom.
*Bathrooms will be monitored to allow for proper student/sink ratio to provide social distancing.
*EC3 will be using tables. Four students per table to provide adequate social distance.
*Students wii be provided individual class supplies (pencils, crayons, scissors, glue stick) 
*Small group instruction by teacher will be a group of maximum three students  (this is when a teacher will work with students on the letter of the week, craft, math skills)
*Center time (students will have the opportunity to interact with friends in a group of three) Students will self select activities they want to use. The students activities will move to the students rather than the student traveling from station to station.
*Frequent Cleaning. (toys, tables, chairs, doors, and bathrooms ) will be cleaned and sanitized daily)
*Classrooms have been decluttered to create open space. Items that are not made for safe cleaning have been placed in storage. 
*Students will use cubbies to store individual items. Taking turns to create social distancing will be reviewed and followed to prevent groups of students at the cubbies at once.
*The Early Childhood Building will stagger arrival times. Kindergarten will arrive 7:20-7:35. EC4 will arrive 7:35-7:50. EC3 will arrive 7:50-8:05.  We ask that you wait in your car until it is your arrival time. You may walk your child to the EC doors where teachers will be there to greet your child. Unfortunately, parents are not permitted in our building at anytime during our day. If your child is nervous, the classroom teacher will come to the door to assist your child. If you child is upset, it may be best to take them back to the car until they are calm and ready to walk into the building with the teacher.
*The Early Childhood Building will stagger dismissal times. EC3 will begin dismissal at 2:20. Teachers will walk the students up the sidewalk to the blacktop, where they will be dismissed to parents. Please wait on the black top and step forward once you see your child. EC4 will begin dismissal at 2:30. Kindergarten will dismiss at 2:40.

*Teachers will be wearing face shields and masks.
*We will be using outdoor space for lunchtime, playtime and class activities.
 *Students will have recess daily. This is very important for the EC program.


Working together is going to be key. We ask that you also do your part at home.
*Before leaving home have your child wash their hands with soap and water. Please review proper hand washing (rinse hands, soap, rubbing between fingers and frequent touch points like the palms of your hands, then rinse) they should be able to do this independently.
*Discuss keeping hands away from their face. Students will be encouraged to use a tissue independently.
*Practice wearing a mask. ( taking it on and off independently)
*Practice personal space and the importance of keeping their hands to themselves
*Students are required to be 100% toilet trained. This includes complete bathroom independence (pulling up ones own pants and wiping oneself) .
*Monitor your child’s health. If your child is ill; tummy problems, fevers, sore throats please do not send them to school. This is for the best interest of all students and staff in the classroom.
*Students must have velcro sneakers.

The year may look a little different but our Early Childhood goals remain the same. Social and Emotional well being will be key in the first part of the school year. Separating from parents, making new friends and following a school schedule will be step one. The Early Childhood program will continue to follow a daily schedule that provides play, learning and fun. Daily crafts, themes and letters will fill our day with excitement. 

We thank you for your support and sharing your child with us. We look forward to a terrific year where we will all grow together and overcome any obstacle in these novel times.
 
Ms. Mekulski EC3A and Mrs. Tucci EC3B

Supplies for EC3A

Water bottle, Lunch box, 2 towels to be used for rest and outdoor lunch (2’ x 5’ or smaller to fit in cubbies); regular sized backpack, Glue sticks (6), Kleenex tissues (2), fitted crib sheet (1), Clorox wipes (3), baby wipes (2), hand sanitizer (2), Lysol disinfectant spray (2), and Paper Towels (2 rolls), Velcro only sneakers, cinch sack ( will explain during orientation) 
Undergarmets, socks shirt, shorts in case of accident(in a ziplock bag label child's name on bag)