May 23, 2018,

Tomorrow is a school wide dress down day to celebrate reaching our goal for the Walk a Thon! 

My friends are coming home with their report cards, alphabet book and two gifts from Ms Kavanagh and myself. We hope they can be a lasting memory of their time in ECP-3A.

The children's cubbies will be cleaned out today with all of the ir belongings. They do not need to bring in a backpack or lunch box tomorrow. I wll provide drinks for snack tomorrow. Please bring in a morning snack only.

We will meet all of our loved ones on the little playground by 11:00. Please feel free to bring a blanket, chairs, balls, bubbles etc. to use during our picnic.

Today we had a special celebration with our 4th grade buddies. We went on a scavenger hunt, played with chalk and bubbles and enjoyed popsicles. The fourth grade class did so well with my friends. They even organized games such as duck duck goose with  the children. They had a lot of fun together.

May 17, 2018, 

I was so sad to have missed our Field Day activities today. I was home with a sick child. Ms Kavanaugh said everyone had a fun. I’m sure they will be tired this evening without having a rest today and all of the excitement.

Tomorrow morning we will be having our Donuts with Dads. The children will present Dad with a gift, sing a few songs and end with a story. We should be finished no later than 8:15. Thank you moms and dads for making these mornings so exciting for my friends. They love sharing their classroom with their loved ones.

I will be placing the McDonalds order on Monday for the last day of school. Please send in the form and payment on Monday if you haven’t done so already.

Thank you again for all of you that took time to help out today. It really means so much to our class and the school.


May 16, 2018,

Looks as if Mother Nature has forced us to change our plans for field day. We were really looking forward to a full day of very fun events. The children will still have a bag of pretzels for snack and pizza for lunch. Our events will take place in the gym between 1-2:20.

All of my friends are still welcomed to attend even if it is not your scheduled day.

Thank you to all of the parents who have volunteered for Field Day. We hope that you have just as much fun as the children.


May 10. 2018,

My friends are so excited for our Muffins with Moms morning. We will begin the morning with muffins and juice. The children will present you with their gift. Once everyone has arrived, we will sing a few songs. The children will invite you to sit with them on the carpet and I will read two stories. We will then say our goodbyes. I have spoken to the children about how very special this day is and we want all moms to leave happy. We are hoping for no tears and a very easy transition.

On Monday, May 14th we will have our last tag day (beach theme) and Red Nose Day! We will also have the rescheduled activities from the Walk a thon (dunk tank and snow cones).

Our class is still in need of one or two parents to walk with us during field day. Please let me know if you are interested or sign up on Mrs. Schock's teacher page.

Reminder: please fill out the last day of school information regarding the McDonald's Lunch.

IMPORTANT DATES:
Friday, 5/11- Mom's morning
Monday, 5/14- Beach Tag/red nose day-Walk a thon dunk tank
Wednesday, 5/16 - visit from police Officer for O week
Thursday, 5/17 -  Primary Field Day - ALL FRIENDS ARE WELCOME - half day friends will stay through lunch and be picked up at 12:15. 
Friday, 5/18- Dad's morning
Thursday, 5/24-ECP3 last day of school celebration

May 4. 2018,

We released our butterflies today. We walked took a walk to our butterfly garden in front of the school. My friends said a prayer for the butterflies to stay protected, find lots of food and to be reunited with their brothers and sisters. We then watched as the butterflies flew away into the sky. 

We played animal bingo with goldfish crackers and worked on a suprise gift for our mom's morning.

We celebrated Jonah's summer birthday with chocolate covered strawberries for snack. My friends really enjoyed this treat! We hope you have a great Birthday!


May 3, 2018,

We were very busy bees today! Upon arrival, my friends started to work on a surprise gift for mother's Day. We then went to Spanish Class (rescheduled from yesterday) and then Art Class. 

During our circle time we read the story "Brown Bear, Brown Bear". Each child had an opportunity to place an animal from the story on our prop board and read a page from our book. We then played our animal guessing game.

We celebrated Austin's summer birthday with ice cream sandwiches after lunch. Thank you for sharing this special treat. We hope you have a wonderful birthday!

May 2, 2018,

We certainly enjoyed the warm weather today. We strated off the morning by making a Zebra out of the letter Z and playing a guessing game using our best listening ears. I gave clues describing animals that live in the zoo and my friends had to take turns guessing. Wow! we really do know a lot about animals.

The children enjoyed gym class outside. Mrs Schock worked on some of the activities that they will be doing on field day.

The Branywine Zoo visit was very exciting. Zookeeper Hannah spoke about many animals that lived in the Zoo. She read the book Z is for Zookeeper. She brought a few friends with her for us to observe. We even had a chance to pet a snake. After their visit we enjoyed a picnic lunch of pizza, goldfish and cookies. 

A note is being sent home for a Muffins with Moms morning and Donuts with Dad morning. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

We still have a few open spots for volunteering for field day. Please consider coming and spending the day with us. As always we appreciate your time and helping make these days a success.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0445a5ac22a5f58-field4

May 8, 2018,
What a beautiful day! With the weather continuing to be nice, we will be spending a lot of time outside. Please remember to apply sunscreen to your children before they come to school. 

Children will only need a snack/drink tomorrow unless they do not like pizza. 

All of our butterflies have succesfully hatched. We have been observing them flutter around their net and sip from the orange slices we provided them.

We started discussing Zoo animals this week. Today my friends had to pick an animal and act like the animal for us to guess. They did a fantastic job. This was a fun activity for my friends.
At the art table, we used forks and paint to create lion manes. My friends sorted zoo animals and played an alphabet matching game.


Brandywine Traveling Zoo Information;
The Brandywine Zoo will be visiting us on Wednesday, 5/2 to go along with our Z/zoo theme. To make this feel more like a  field trip, we will have a pizza lunch after the visit. We will provide everything that is needed for lunch - we will have juice and cookies for dessert. All  half day friends are invited to stay and should plan on an 11:45 pickup. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Field Day Information:
Our Field Day is scheduled for Thursday, May 17th. All MWF children are invited to attend Field Day. This is a very fun and exciting day for our class. More Information about the day will be given closer to the date.
                         
Last Day of School Information:
The last day of school will be May 24th for all of my friends.  The three and four year olds will be celebrating our year with a class picnic.  Parents/Grandparents  are invited to join us for the picnic.  This year we will be offering the students the option to purchase a happy meal from McDonalds.  All information is being sent home in your child's folder.  If you would like your child to have a happy meal please complete the form and send it in with $4 cash.  If you do not wish to purchase the happy meal please complete the form checking off "we do not wish to purchase".  ALL FORMS MUST BE RETURNED BY MAY 17.  
The picnic will be 11:00-12:30.  If you wish to take your child after the celebration that will be fine.  I know many of you will be excited to start the long weekend. 

We had a wonderful surprise this morning! One butterfly had hatched and we observed 3 more hatching throughout the day. We gave the butterflies some orange slices for nurishment. We will be observing the butterflies for the rest of the week. On Friday we will release them so that they can find their friends. 

Walk a thon was a fun day! Special thanks to all of the parents who helped make this event a huge success, despite the weather! We were in the hall for a karate demonstration, bouncy houses and an afternoon exercise session. The rain had stopped and allowed us to take a walk into Sherwood Park and back. and enjoy our morning snack of popcorn. We had balloon and bouncy ball races in our hallway and Chic Fil A for lunch. 



INFORMATION ON THE WALK A THON:
 

• Children should wear their Walk A Thon shirts - they can be tie dyed or decorated - and gym sweatpants or gym shorts. They must also wear comfortable sneakers.
• Please send an extra pair of socks in a ziploc bag with your child's name. The bounce house may be wet so we will put dry socks on after our time
• Please send a water bottle marked with your child's name. We will refill throughout the day.
• They are calling for rain tomorrow and the event is rain or shine. We will move as many activities indoors as possible so that this is still a fun day.
• The children who ordered will have Chic Fil A for lunch. Everyone must have a lunch packed if you did not order.
• All Half Day students must be picked up at 1:00 to allow the rest of us time to rest at the end of the day.

April 25, 2018,

Special Person’s lunch has changed our classroom routine around quite a bit. My friends have been doing quite well these past few days with all of our changes.

Our class will have the opportunity to attend the book fair tomorrow morning. We will only be taking friends who come to school with money. If your child does not attend school tomorrow and would like them to purchase books from the book fair please send in money with them on Friday. We will give them a chance to shop first thing in the morning before the Walk a Thon.

This week we are learning the letter “I” for insects. I am also incorporating stories from Eric Carle (one of my favorite authors) with this theme.

Our caterpillars have all transformed into chrysalides. They have been carefully moved into a butterfly net. We are now patiently waiting for butterflies to hatch.

We have read the books “The Very Hungry Caterpillar”, “The Very Lonely Firefly”, and “The Grouchy Lady Bug”. Some of the songs we have learned about insects are “5 Little Ladybugs”, Firefly, Firefly” and Butterfly Spread Your Wings”

During Center time the children have been exploring with various bug manipulatives. They are working on sequencing puzzles, sorting and counting bugs, insect lacing cards and number matching. At the art center we sponge painted a caterpillar, used tissue paper to create a firefly and finger painted a lady bug. Our sensory table is filled with grass and hiding insects.


April 17, 2018,

Special persons lunch tickets are being sent home today. The children will meet their loved ones on their assigned day in the hall. This is a fun event for the children to eat a lunch of their choice (provided by the special person) and share their classroom/school with their special loved ones. 

Today we continued to observe our Caterpillars. They have eaten most of the provided food and have made their way to the top of the container. We read the story The Very Hungry Caterpillar and used a puppet with props. Our question of the day was: Do You Like to Dance in the Rain? Most of my friends want to stomp in puddles rather than dance. We made umbrellas to go along with our rain drops in the hallway using dot markers. 

Our Tag Day on Friday is a CRAZY THEME. This is a day for my friends to get really creative with their wardrobe!!!


April 16, 2018,

I hope that everyone enjoyed the warm weather on Friday and Saturday. It was great seeing some of you at the Blue rocks Game and the ball field over the weekend. 

What a wet, wet morning!! We were very happy that the rain stopped by lunch and recess so that we could play outside.
During our circle time we spent some time discussing rain and thunder storms (especially the one we had this morning). Our letter for the week is "U" for umbrella. We read the story "Worm Weather". We also sang the song "Rain , Rain Go Away" using each one of my friends name. We tapped along to the song with diffrent rhythms. We observed our very large and now fuzzy catterpillars.

Our art project today was q-tip painting rain drops. Tomorrow we wil be making umbrellas to add to our display in the hallway. We also worked on writting the letter U, push pin and spot the dot at the writting center. 

A letter is being sent home in regards to the scholastic book fair. The book fair will be set up in the library starting on Friday 4/20. We will attend as a class on 4/26. 


April 12, 2018,

Reminder Field Trip Money for the traveling Zoo is due Friday, April 13th.

Our class really enjoyed the warm weather today. We went outside for recess in the morning and after lunch. It was so nice to feel the warmth of the sun. We finally have the spring weather that we have been discussing all week.

Our question of the day was: Have you ever flown a kite? My friends spoke about the kite that they flew and how most of them got caught in a tree. We also did an experiment with air and blowing into the palm of our hands.  We read the books: Windy and Tiny Chick. We visited the 4 year old class to observe the baby chicks. They now have 10 chicks that have hatched.

During center time the children made a cloud by ripping apart cotton balls into tiny pieces and gluing them onto a white cut out cloud shape. They are on display in our hallway bulletin board. They also counted flowers for one to one correspondence up to 10. Spring and flower puzzles were also available to manipulate. The flower shop is still a huge hit!! My friends are working very well together in the dramatic play area; it is really nice to see the classroom cooperation.

April 11, 2018,

Thank you for sending in tissues we greatly appreciate your generosity!

We worked on our Scholastic Big World Magazine. My friends did a fantastic job following along with the smartboard. We watched 2 short clips on Kites. We discussed all of the pictures and completed the activity on the back of the magazine as a class. We also completed a kite pattern matching game on the Smartboard. My friends waited so patiently for their turn. Great Job!

The hall was being used for honors breakfast today so we had gym in our classroom. The children exercised and danced to kids songs videos. 

The 4 year old class is learning about the life cycle of baby chicks. We went into thier classrooom today and observed a baby chick hatching from its egg. I was so excited they were able to see this process. On Friday we will spend more time with all of the hatched baby chicks.

This afternoon we attended a Spirit Rally. We took a very short rest after recess so my friends would not be tired this evening. Our class won the award for outstanding performance in Computer class. Way to go EC3A. After the Spirit Rally we had a dance party. The children really love to dance. It brings me so much joy watching them dance and having fun.

April 10, 2018,

NO HOT LUNCH TOMMOROW

Our Question of the day was: What kind of weather do we have in the Spring?
We also discussed some animals and insects that are waking up from winter.
We read the book: It is Spring. Our Caterpillars are a little bigger today and have been eating alot of the provided food.

During Technology class, the children worked on playing games by using the mouse. They are really getting the hang of clicking and dragging. Ms. Luce always gives them a scented sticker at the end of class. Today was Bubble Gum! They are always a huge hit!

During Center time we worked on making tissue paper kites. They will be displayed on our hallway bulletin board.  We also completed a push pin and spot the dot activity for the letter “K”. My friends seem to be really enjoying the Flower shop. They are creating beautiful bouquets to sell using the cash register and even order forms. It is really fun listening to all of their conversations.  Our playdogh table was another favorite. Thank you to “Hannah’s Mom” for our purple playdough!!

Our classroom is in desperate need of tissues. If anyone would like to send in a box we would greatly appreciate your generosity. Thank You.

April 9, 2018,

Welcome back!! I hope everyone had a wonderful Spring break! My friends were so excited this morning to tell me about all of the fun things they did over break! Wow!! some of you were very busy!

We started off our morning with music class. Mrs Wagner used sticks, drums, scarves and a resonator bell with the children. She sang various songs about the season of Spring.

We are discussing the letter "K" for Kite this week. We are also discussing the season of Spring. Im hoping that the more we talk about Spring the warmer it will become outside. We are all ready!!
We read the books Curious George the Kite, Kite Day and Where Do Balloons Go?. We learned the songs 5 Little Kites and If its Windy and you Know it. 

We will be observing the Metamorphosis of Caterpillars in our classroom over the next few weeks. We have 5 tiny and very hungry Caterpillars in our classroom. My friends are so excited to have a class pet.

During our center time we made kites out of the letter K for our alphabet book. Our dramatic play area has been transformed into a flower shop and the sensory table has items for flower planting. (seeds, grass and dirt)

Our classroom is in desperate need of tissues. If anyone would like to send in a box we would greatly appreciate your generosity. Thank You.

 

Our Easter Egg Hunt will be at 10:30 on the big playground. We will then come inside for lunch. I apologize for any confusion. I totally forgot about Chick Fil A when I sent out the information for our party. Most of the class has ordered and looks forward to those special lunch days. The other 3 year old class is having pizza. There will be pizza available for those that did not order Chick Fil A. I am also providing cupcakes for desert. Parents are welcomed to attend the hunt and stay for lunch.

EC3A- EASTER EGG HUNT and PARTY

We will be having a class Egg Hunt and Party on Wednesday, March 28^th at 10:30.
We will have our Egg Hunt outside (weather permitting) on the playground followed by a pizza party.
Please send in 12 plastic filled eggs by the morning of our hunt. The eggs can be filled with candy or trinkets of choice.
A sign up will be sent home for contributions to our party! I will provide the pizza for the class!
We are looking forward to a fun and joyous morning!!!
Ms Mekulski

 

I look forward to seeing all of you for Conferences tomorrow. If something comes up and you need to reschedule, I completely understand. Please send me an email and we will work something out. Anyone with a conference time after morning drop off will need to sign in at the front office before entering our building. Conferences will be held in our Early Childhood building either in the classroom or faculty lounge.

 

A Sign up Genius was sent out for conferences. I used the email that was is in our school student directory. Please let me know if you did not receive the sign up information.

A NOTE ABOUT VALENTINES DAY:

We will have a special treat during snacktime and the children will hand out Valentines to their classmates on Febuary 14th. When filling out the Valentines cards please only put your child's name on the card in the from section. It will be easier for my friends to hand out the cards to their classmates by not having them individually addressed. Thank you!

February 13, 2018,

We have been having lots of fun with our Valentine’s theme. My friends have been busy making cards for each other using stickers and cut out hearts. They are so excited to exchange cards tomorrow. We decorated bags for our big card exchange. My friends also made a special Valentine for their loved ones at home. This special craft will be sent home tomorrow.

During our circle time we have been playing and singing song games with different color hearts. This is a great way for the children to practice listening, turn taking and patience. I am so proud of how far the class has come. I read the story “Today is Valentine’s Day”. (While reading the story I switched out the names for friends in the class.)  My friends though it was so silly to hear their names in the book they wanted me to read it again.

Some of the center activities we explored were painting, sorting candy hearts, Valentine number bingo, and writing and stamping the letter “V”

Tomorrow one of the Priests will come to our classroom to give the children Ashes. We will begin our season of Lent. A Lenten offering folder will be sent home with the oldest child in your family.
There will be a Valentine’s Day color tag day on Friday and Pretzels for snack.

Have a great evening
Ms Mekulski

Important Dates/Information: 
 
Feb 14      Ash Wednesday 
Feb 14      Valentine's Day treat for snack
Feb 15      Spring Pictures Dress in your pretty spring clothes :)
Feb 16      Tag Day- Dress in Valentines Colors; red, white, pink Pretzels for those who      ordered
Feb 19      No School 
Feb 23      Early Dismissal 11:30/ Progress reports sent home
Feb 28      Conferences


Progress Reports will be sent home on February 23rd. Parent Teacher conferences will be on February 28th. A sign up will be sent out on Friday. Conferences will be in 15 minuite incraments throughout the day. Phone conferences will aslo be available. Conferences are not mandatory but they are a great way to see your child's progression in our program. 

I was not here on Friday, but I wanted to inform you that the children all had their throats blessed in celebration of the feast of St. Blaze. They also received a free book of their choice from the Library. 

This week we are discussing the letter V with the theme of 'Valentine's Day". During our
circle time we have discussed the Valentine theme colors (red, pink, purple and white) and of course the famous shape ( the Heart). We also spoke about how we could celebrate in our classroom by being extra kind to our friends. (Especially keeping our hands and feet to ourselves).
We have read "Today is Valentine's Day", The Littlest Valentine" and " Love Monster". We played a game using diffrent colored hearts, learned a finger play  with felt board activity and sang to new songs."5 Little Hearts" and "I Love you".

During our center time my friends made friendship necklaces by stringing beads onto gimp. They also made a love bug by gluing hearts together. We worked on matching hearts by different colors and patterns. My friends are making letters and mailing them in our Dramatic play area.

 
 

January 31, 2018, 

 

Happy Catholic Schools Week!!

We have been celebration our love of School this week along with letter “G” for Groundhogs.

On Monday we celebrated with a dance party for the 3 and 4 year old class. My friends had so much fun dancing and singing along to some of their favorite songs.

Today we will be having a special ice cream treat at lunch.

 On Thursday 2/1 my friends will have a special EAGLES/SUPERBOWL (or favorite team)tag day. Please bring a non-perishable item for our food closet.

Friday is Spirit Day. Children may wear their blue ribbon shirts, SJB colors or sports team clothing. Pretzels will be given to all students.

We have been having lots of fun with Groundhogs. My friends learned all about our famous groundhog Punxsutawney Phil. We watched a short video on fun facts about Groundhogs and famous Punxsutawney.  Some of the books we have read are “Go to Sleep Groundhog”, “Substitute Groundhog” and “Groundhog Gets A Say”. We learned a song and a “5 Little Groundhogs” finger play with Felt board activity. During art the children have made Groundhogs with shadows by cutting, painting and  gluing. We have explored shadows by playing games with flashlights. Our class favorite seems to be “Guess Who I Am” We each took turns creating a shadow character and the class had to guess what we made.

 

January 24, 2018,

Last week we worked on the letter “Q”. This was an easy letter for my friends to write and recognize. Some of the activities we completed were Q-tip painting, quarter tossing and playing in quick sand. We read the books “The Quilt” and “Quilt Alphabet”. We discussed how unique quilts can be and that each square can hold so many memories. We then made a class quilt. Each of my friends made their very own unique quilt square and then we put it all together. Our class quilt is hanging in the hallway for display. We also had fun with the words Quick, Quack and Quiet.
This week we are discussing the letter ”M” with a Mitten theme. During our Circle time we learned a “Mitten Chant” using our hands and fingers. We also played a color recognition game with mittens and hiding a snowball. We have read the books “My Red Mittens” and “One Mitten”. During circle time my friends have been matching different patterned mittens and attaching them together with clothespins.  They are also adding the number of corresponding buttons to mitten number cards. They worked on using scissors to cut out a pattern, write their name and then added some sparkle with glitter and glue to their own special mitten.

 

January 11, 2018,
 

The children may wear a football jersey, tshirt or sweatshirt of any team tomorrow with sweatpants to celebrate the NFL playoff games.

Today we read the story ‘Shh! Bears Sleeping” and watched a short YouTube clip on Animal’s Winter Coats. We briefly discussed the difference between all the animals that can survive outside in the Cold Weather (Artic).  We then learned a “5 Little Bears” Poem with Felt Board activity. My friends really love our winter songs. They are singing while they are playing with each other. It is really cute to observe!

During our Center time we worked on finding our name with alphabet stickers and then writing underneath.  We also explored with Playdough and cut pictures from magazines in our sensory table. My friends made our Letter “B” bear craft for our alphabet book. I have been really focusing on activites to work on fine motor skills. You can reinforce this at home with buttons, zippers and simple things like picking up dry cereal piece by piece

January 10, 2018,

We did it we made it through a full day of school! We even had a chance to play outside on the black top for a little while after lunch! 

We had a busy morning with our 2 specials Spanish and Gym. During Spanish class the children learned a weather song and some winter words in Spanish. In Gym class the children worked with partners and bowled. They really seemed to enjoy this activity.

We also completed our Scholastic Big World Magazine on Bears. The children watched a video and played a game on hibernating animals. They did a fantastic job with the back page. My friends worked hard on drawing berries to add to the correct number of corresponding bushes. We also sang our Winter songs that we have been learning and listened to the story “There was a Cold Lady Who Swallowed some Snow”.  My friends also worked on creating the Letter “W” craft for our letter Books. 

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER:

Jan 15      No School 
Jan 20      Home and School Skate Night 5:15-7:15
Jan 23      Friendly's Take Over
Jan 26      Full day of School no early dismissal
Jan 28      Catholic School Week!
Jan 29      Chick Fil A Lunch for those that ordered

Jan 29      Scholastic Book Orders Due

January 9, 2018,

Our day flew by with the 2 hour delay this morning but we still managed to get in some work.
During our Circle time we discussed Polar animals. We read a book describing polar animals and then watched a short you tube video. We also read "Polar Bear, Polar Bear What Do You Hear" and then sang "Polar Bear. Polar Bear Turn Around. 

During our Center time we painted our hands white and turned them into our own personal Polar Bears. We also had fun taking turns playing "Don't Break the Ice"  and a Snowman Memory Game. We worked on writting our Names at the Writting Center by using magnet letters and stamps. 

January 8, 2018,

WOW!! How about this Weather!! My friends are doing a great job with our Classroom routines even though it has been difficult with our time off. 
We will continue with our "W" winter theme  this week and also start to discuss the letter"B" and Bears. We read the book "The Bear Feels Scared" during circle time and learned the song "Wake up Bear".

During Center time we worked on some very challenging shape puzzles, sorted items that were hot and cold, and counted snowmen. My friends also worked on cutting at the sensory table and push pin and spot the dot activity at the writting center. At the art center the children made a paper plate Bear with paint to go along with our story of the day.

Scholastic book order is being sent home today. The orders are due bu 1/29/09. As always we appreciate your orders. The classroom is getting stocked with some really great books. thank you!

 

January 3, 2018,

Today we read the story ‘Ten Tiny Snowflakes” and used winter movement yoga cards. Our question of the Day was: Do you think it is cold Outside? A few of my friends answered NO. We sang our Snowman song and did the Snowy Pokey.

During our Centers the children played the game “don’t break the Ice” I painted their feet to make snowmen. My friends also worked on name writing and snowman and snowflake counting and matching.

We had our 2 specials today Spanish and Gym. After Gym class we walked over to the church to visit Baby Jesus in the Manger. We Asked Jesus to bless our new year and to keep us safe and healthy. The children were in Awe of the beauty of church and the stable. They were so quiet and peaceful. It was a great experience for them. They are bringing home a special bag of blessed hay from baby Jesus's Manger.

January 2, 2018,

Happy New Year! Welcome back! I hope that you enjoyed the holidays with your loved ones. My friends were so happy to be back at school. I was very impressed on how quickly they got right back into the classroom routine.

We started to discuss the letter “W”  and Winter today during our circle time. My friends told me how they could tell that we were in the season of winter. (Snow, cold outside, wearing coats, hats and mittens) Our question of the day was : Do you want to build a snowman? All of my firnds are ready to build a snowman.  They even have a favorit color scarf  to share with him. We learned the song ”Im a Little Snowman” and sang the Snowey Pokey.  We also read the book “ Snowmen at Work”.

During our center time we started to work on name writing. All of my friends can recognize and spell their first name. Papers are being sent home in folders with their name writing progress. Please continue to practice pencil and crayon holding at home. The children also made a melted snowman craft using paint at our Art center.

Even though it is cold we will still be walking over to the gym for lunch. Please label all hats and mittens. We had a bit of confusion today with our mittens. Thank you!!

December 22, 2017,

Ms Kavanagh and I want to wish you all a wonderful Holiday! Have a Very Merrry Christmas and A
Happy New Year! We are truly blessed to work with a group of fun loving children. We hope that you enjoy Santa and all of the fun memories that will last a lifetime.

Thank you for all for the wonderful gifts and your kindness and genersitry. We truly appreciate everything!

Today we took a walk over to church. My friends were so reverent and quiet. We read a story and said a prayer for God to watch over us during the Holiday season!

God Bless
Ms Mekulski


December 20, 2017,

WOW! What little angels we had today!! I was so proud of my friends. They did such a fantastic job singing all of our Christmas songs for all of you. It was so great to see their excitement in wanting to get dressed into their costumes and sing!!! I hope you all enjoyed it as much as we did!!!

A Very Special Thank You to everyone who attended the party, the special people who help set up, sent in donations and especially our Homeroom Mom, Mrs. Kluska for organizing this special day!!! We always appreciate everything you all do to make these events successful!!

Congratulations to Jonah Boulden. He was awarded today with the Franciscan Peacemaker Award for EC3-A.  Great Job Jonah, keep up the good work!! We are all so proud of you!!

You child is being sent home with a bag of goodies that they have been working on for the past couple weeks. We hope that these little gifts will become lifetime mementos of their experience in EC3-A.  They are so proud of their work and even more proud to make things for the special people in their lives. 

Tomorrow is a Christmas Colors Tag Day and pretzels for snack!!

Have a Wonderful Night!!

December 12, 2017, 

 

Our class had so much fun at the secret Santa Shop Yesterday! It was so nice to see the excitement of my friends when they picked out the perfect gift for their loved ones. We discussed how the gifts were to be a “Secret” and to not be opened until Christmas.

This afternoon we had a very special treat! We went over to the hall for a spirit assembly. Our class won an excellence award for doing such a great job in Gym. I am so proud of my friends. We had a lot of fun dancing along to Christmas songs and videos.

We have been working on the Letter ‘J” for Jesus and letter “S” for Star and Santa. We will continue with these letters and theme until Christmas Break!

My Friends have been very busy elves making special gifts for all of you for Christmas. They really enjoy making you gifts and surprises. We have also been spending a good amount of time singing and listening to Christmas Stories. What a wonderful time of year! I am so blessed to be part of their Christmas preparation.

Our class Christmas party will be on Wednesday, December  20^th.Lunch/Pizza Party!!! We will begin our party by singing our Christmas songs that we learned this month. Please bring in an Extra Large White t-shirt (this can be an adult shirt) for our costume. They will be returned immediately after the party. Our party will begin at 10:45. I am asking that everyone send in $3 to cover the cost of the pizza (we will get a party pizza from Pat's). Please put the money in an envelope marked 'Christmas pizza party" with your child's name by Friday, December 15. If your child is not going to eat the pizza, you do not need to send the money, but please send a note letting me know. A sign up genius will be sent out for other items needed for the party! Thank you always for your generosity!!!

On December 18^th our class will decorate the Christmas Giving Tree. This has become a tradition at SJB but we are making some changes. Hats, scarves, and mittens can be placed on the tree by our class however, since this year we are collecting for St. Francis Hospital St. Clare Medical Van, donations of Children's’ Tylenol, Motrin, Aleve, and cough or flu medicines may also be placed in a bin under the tree. (For safety’s sake, the medicine will be promptly removed.) Please consider sending in an item during this season of giving!! Thank you!


A note from Mrs. Schock:

In Physical Education class this month, I play Reindeer Games with the students. For ECP, K, Grades 1 and 2, I am looking for parent volunteers to help with the Reindeer Games.  Please sign-up using this Sign-up Genius if you are able to volunteer.  

www.SignUpGenius.com/go/20F0445A5AC22A5F58-physical 

Important Dates:

• Friday, 12/15 - 11:30 dismissal for everyone - NO EAGLE'S CLUB today, $3 in an envelope marked Christmas pizza party is due and T-shirt

• Monday, 12-18- Visit the Giving Tree
  Wednesday, 12/20 – 10:45 Christmas pizza lunch/party, wear Christmas color

• Thursday, 12/21 - Student Council tag Day - Christmas colors - pretzels for those who ordered.

• Friday, 12/22- 11:30-dismissal for everyone

December 6,  2017,

I would like to apologize for the delay in my Teacher page. Your little ones are really keeping us busy!!

Today was a very special day for EC3-A. St, Nicholas visited us during our rest time. My friends were so excited to rest without their shoes on and put them outside in the hall. They were even more excited to wake and find them filled with treats.  We celebrated St. Nicolas today by watching a YouTube video on his life, making a puppet, hat and dot marker activity sheet. Most importantly we all tried to be nice to one another and use our good listening ears as St. Nicolas would be watching!!!

Secret Santa Shop is Monday, December 11^th. Envelopes are being sent home today in your child’s folder.  This is a fun event for your children to pick out small gifts for you and family members with our assistance.  If you would like your child to participate please send in money with the envelope on Monday and we will take care of everything!!!

Our class Christmas party will be on Wednesday, December  20^th.Lunch/Pizza Party!!! We will begin our party by singing our Christmas songs that we learned this month. Please bring in an Extra Large White t-shirt (this can be an adult shirt) for our costume. They will be returned immediately after the party. Our party will begin at 10:45. I am asking that everyone send in $3 to cover the cost of the pizza (we will get a party pizza from Pat's). Please put the money in an envelope marked 'Christmas pizza party" with your child's name by Friday, December 15. If your child is not going to eat the pizza, you do not need to send the money, but please send a note letting me know. A sign up genius will be sent out for other items needed for the party! Thank you always for your generosity!!!

On December 18^th our class will decorate the Christmas Giving Tree. This has become a tradition at SJB but we are making some changes. Hats, scarves, and mittens can be placed on the tree by our class however, since this year we are collecting for St. Francis Hospital St. Clare Medical Van, donations of Children's’ Tylenol, Motrin, Aleve, and cough or flu medicines may also be placed in a bin under the tree. (For safety’s sake, the medicine will be promptly removed.) Please consider sending in an item during this season of giving!! Thank you!

We have been discussing the Nativity and Birthday of Baby Jesus. We are focused on the Letters “N” and “J”. This week we worked on creating Advent Wreaths and learned about using this month to prepare for Christmas Day both at home and in church. This is always a very fun and exciting month in our classroom with so many joyous activities. We will be taking a trip over to church this month to pray, read a story and view the Advent Wreath.

A very special Happy Birthday to Julian and Elias. Thank you for sending in a special treat to share with all of your friends! We hope you enjoyed your special day!!

Just a reminder the 3 year old program does not send home report cards until February. Conferences will be scheduled during that time

A note from Mrs. Schock:

In Physical Education class this month, I play Reindeer Games with the students. For ECP, K, Grades 1 and 2, I am looking for parent volunteers to help with the Reindeer Games.  Please sign-up using this Sign-up Genius if you are able to volunteer.  

www.SignUpGenius.com/go/20F0445A5AC22A5F58-physical 

Important Dates:

• Friday, 12/15 - 11:30 dismissal for everyone - NO EAGLE'S CLUB today, $3 in an envelope marked Christmas pizza party is due and T-shirt

• Monday, 12-18- Visit the Giving Tree
  Wednesday, 12/20 – 10:45 Christmas pizza lunch/party, wear Christmas color

• Thursday, 12/21 - Student Council tag Day - Christmas colors - pretzels for those who ordered.

• Friday, 12/22- 11:30-dismissal for everyone

 

 

November 20, 2017,

My friends are very excited to share the songs we have been learning. If you can not make our class feast on Wednesday please ask your child to sing the songs for you.

The children may dress down on Wednesday but will still need to wear sneakers because of Gym class. Thank You!

Our feast will start around 10:00. The children have a surprise for you so it make take is a little while to return to the building from gym class. Please sign in at the front office and wait for us in the classroom. Once the feast is over you may take your child home. ( you may want to beat parking lot traffic) There is no need to sign them out in the office. 

During circle time time today I read the book “ Tilly’s Terricic Tea”, we discussed the sound the letter t made. We used our fingers to make The letter T. I was so impressed with the children. They did a fantastic job naming objects in the book that began with the letter. They were really using their listening ears. Tonny the Tiger puppet helped my friends find objects in our room that began with the letter “T”.

The children had a chance to explore and play in a TeePee during our center time. We also worked on a Religon Phamplet to correspond with Sunday’s Gospel. The children were able to expolre with various art centers. They mixed paint colors and created beautiful paintings, used crayon rubbings and stencils, explored with mixing dot markers to create a turkey. The children also worked on cutting scrap paper and used feathers and play dough to create turkeys. 

Have a Terrifc Evening!
Ms Mekulski 
 

*****Barnes and Noble Book Fair will be tomorrow, November 15th. For families new to St John’s, this is always a fun event for the entire family. Please consider attending.. I hope to see you there!!

******Thanksgiving Feast Information...We will have a small feast on Wednesday, November 22nd at 10:00. The children will parade into the classroom and preform the fall songs we have been working on in class before they sit down to eat. All our welcomed to attend. Please remember to park in the front of the school and sign in at the office before coming to our classroom. 

November 14, 2017,

Today I read the book “ 5 Little Turkeys” with story props. My friends learned 3 new “ Turkey “ songs that will be preformed during our feast. Our question of the day was: Do you like to eat Turkey? Some friends said they were going to have cheeseburgers and popcorn for Thanksgiving.
The children made a fingerprint Turkey and worked at the writting center on the letter “ T”. 
We played a game using flashlights. This was a huge hit with my friends. We explored the flashlights then used them to find objects around the room.
 

November 13, 2017,

We said goodbye to the letter “L” today but not before Liam shared the items he found from home in the letter Jar. We welcomed the letter “T” and our new themes “Thanksgiving and Turkey”. 

***** Sports themed tag day tomorrow and pretzels for snack*****

November 9, 2017,

Tomorrow will be a sports themed tag day and pretzels for snack. There will be no hot lunch and Chick Fil A for those that ordered.
Ms Marilyn was our substitute teacher today. I was home with a sick child. I will be returning to the classroom tomorrow.

The past two days we have been doing activities related to Fall leaves, Fall colors and the letter “L”
We read the books” When the Leaf Blew in” and “Colors of Fall” We have been having so much fun with all of our Fall songs. My friends really seem to enjoy singing “ Leaves, Leaves Everywhere” ( we get to throw Leaves in the air at the end of the song”. 

For centers we have been working on counting acorns with one to one correspondence. We are using unfix cubes to measure tractors, haystacks and piles of leaves. We are counting leaves and adding them to trees. At the writting center the children have been busy writting the letter “L”on the dry erase boards. We added the our L craft ( a lady bug) to our class alphabet book.

I am looking forward to seeing all of my friends tomorrow,,
Hope everyone has a good night!

November 6, 2017,
Today we discussed acorns to go along with our Fall Theme. Our queston of the day was: Have you ever seen an Acorn? Most of my friends have seen an acorn. For those who have not we will be taking a Fall walk on Wednesday. We learned a finger play "5 little Acorns" and read the story: "There was an Old Lady that Swallowed Some Leaves" with story props. 
Our dramatic play area has beeen transformed into all Fall Harvest. The children took turns raking leaves into a pile today. Our Sensory table is filled with corn and fall themed items such as acorns, mini gourds, leaves ect.. The children made Acorns today by using glue and crinkled tissue paper. We also worked on our Religion Pamphlet. We discussed ways we could Help as Jesus helps others. My friends did a fantastic job cutting the items we used in the pamphlet. (in child's folder)
Important Dates/Information: 

Nov 9        School Picture retakes
Nov 10      Tag Day/ Pretzels for those who ordered
Nov 10      No hot lunch/ chick fil a for those who ordered
Nov 13      Scholastic book order due.
Nov 15      Barnes and Noble Book Fair
Nov 17      Early Dismissal 11:35 (No Lunch)
Nov 22      Thanksgiving celebration
Nov 22      Early Dismissal 11:35 (No Lunch)
Nov 23-24 No School  Happy Thanksgiving!

November 3, 2017,

Happy Friday!! We continued with our Fall theme by discussing Scarecrows during our circle time. Our question of the day was: Have you ever seen a scarecrow? The children charted and discussed their answers. We then sang the song "Scarecrow Scarecrow turn around". I read the books the "Shy Scarecrow" and Otis and the Scarecrow" We painted our hands to make our very own scarecrow. They will be on display in the hallyway with all of our Fall projects. 

During center time my friends worked on a letter"L" spot the dot and push pin activity. Acorn and leaf counting/ sorting were also some of the fall theme centers available to explore.

  

November 2, 2017,

We started the letter “L” for Leaves and a Fall theme today. We will also continue this letter and theme next week. We discussed the Sesaon of Fall and the changes that are happening to the treees. Squirrels were the theme for the day. I read the book “Nuts to You”. We then spoke about how Squirrels are gathering nuts for the winter to feed their families. We went on a squirrel hunt outside to observe squirrels in action. We saw 4 squirrels scurrying around our school yard. We also made a Grey Squirrel art project to go along with the new song we learned. “Grey Squirrel Grey Squirrel Swish your Bushy Tail” (ask your child to sing it to you.. they look so cute) The children glued cotton balls and painted them grey to make a squishy tail for their squirrel. We then played a game. I hid acorns around the room. The children had to find an acorn to bring to the squirrel hidding in a tree. 

 

Thank you so very much for attending our Halloween Parade. We especially thank you for all the contributions to our party. The children enjoyed all of the treats. A special thank you to Mrs.Kluska for organizing our party and for Mrs Boulden and Mrs Searfass for setting up the classroom. 

October 30, 2017,

Halloween parade tomorrow at 8:30 in front of the Gerres building. We will also parade thorught the school. Parents are welcomed to attend the parade and our classroom party. Please make sure your child has a change of clothes under their costume and is wearing sneakers. Please provide a bag to store their costume in if it doesn not fit into their bookbag. The children may wear Halloween colors or themed clothing tomorrow. They do not need to wear their school uniform.


We have had a lot of fun learning the letter “C” with our Costume theme. Some of the activities that we completed were carving our pumpkin that we picked on the field trip. We also did a Candy Corn taste test. We tasted (Apple pie, caramel apple, and green apple) and voted on our favorite. Green Apple had the most votes and Apple Pie had the least votes.  We all took turns telling our classmates what costume we were wearing for Halloween and our favorite candy. My friends had to use their listening ears to play “Guess the Character” while I gave them clues and descriptions words on Halloween Characters.
We read the stories “The Old Lady who Swallowed a Bat” and made a handprint bat craft, “The Runaway Mummy” and made a tissue paper mummy, “5 Spooky Ghosts “ with a paper streamer ghost craft and “Big Green Monster” with a paper plate monster craft. We also learned the songs” 5 Little Bats” and  “5 Little Monsters” We also really enjoyed acting like Halloween characters with yoga cards.  Gianna had a turn with the “C” letter jar. We named objects that began with the letter “C” and read “My C book and completed a C/Cat craft for our class letter book.
Our learning centers had counting, sorting and matching Halloween characters. Halloween lacing cards and puzzles, 


October 23, 2017,

Our Halloween Parade will be on Tuesday, October 31st. We will parade with the 4 year old class outside in front of the Gerres Building at 8:30. We will then parade through the entire school. Children should come to school in their costumes wearing sneakers and a change of clothing underneath. (does not need to be uniform). We will have our party immediately after the parade and change out of our costumes. All our welcomed to attend the parade.
Children who attend school on  MWF.. You are welcomed to switch your day for this week so your child can attend the parade and party. Please let me know what day you will be switching out. Thank you.

Pictures are being sent home in your child's folder today. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. Picture retake day will be on November 7th.

We will be having a Chick Fil A lunch on November 10th. An email was sent out with the order form. If you are interested in ordering please send in money and form by November 1st.

Last call for October Scholastic book orders. Thank you for those who have ordered. November forms have gone home and are due November 13th. 
 

October 13, 2017

Thank you so very much for being a part of  our EC3-A field trip. The children all seemed to have fun and enjoyed their trip. We really apprecite all of the chaperones that took time out of their day.  

Our class can wear Pink on Monday for the tag day that they missed today.

October 12, 2017,

**** MWF children receive their vision screening on October 25th. If you did not fill out a permission slip and would like your child screened please let me know. I will send home a new form.

We are all so very excited about our field trip tomorrow!! My friends asked me many times throughout the day when it was going to be time to get on the bus.

We continued to work on the letter "P" today by stamping and Q-tip painting the letter. At the art center the children marble painted pumpkins. The sensory table has diffrent body parts (like potato head pieces) and playdogh balls. The children are creating mini Jack O Lanterns.

We read the book "Pig's Picnic"  with help from my puppet friend Petunia the Pig. It was Parker's turn with the letter Jar. He shared some great items that start with the letter "P" My friends loved the smartboard activity we completed today. We each made a Jack O lantern by adding eyebrows, eyes, nose and a mouth. The Jack o Lantern was used in the five little pumpkin song.

We took a silly walk around the building after lunch. It was too wet to play on the playground. I think the children enjoyed free play in the classroom for a change.

Lets all pray for great weather tomorrow!!!


October 11, 2017,

My friends were so excited to see each other this morning. They all unpacked and began to play right away. I love seeing the friendships that are forming.

We started our new letter "P' and Pumpkin theme today. We will continue this theme next week also. 
We created a P out of pumpkins and vines for our letter book at the art center. The children worked on pin pushing and finding the letter P at the writting center. They have also been working on writting letters using the chalkboards. We counted and sorted pumpkin seeds, used unix cubes to measure diffrent size pumpkins, and played pumpkin bingo.
We sang the song" Five Little Pumpkins Sitting on the Gate" with a felt board activity.

During gym class my friends played games with various size balls. In Spanish the children learned a few new songs and played a color game on the smartboard.

October 10, 2017,

I hope everyone had a wonderful long weekend! We finished the letter "F" today. We made a fireman out out he letter "F" using glue sticks and construction paper. We played a fire themed matching/memory game and read the book "Firefighters A to Z". 

We completed a Scholastic Big World Leaflet on "Fire Saftey" (they are coming home in folders). The children watched 2 videos and sand along to the song "The Wheels on the Fire Truck". We also completed the back page together as a class. My friends did a fabulous job following directions and using their pencil boxes.

Our class had a visit from Millcreek Fire Company after lunch today. The children watched as the firefighters dressed in full gear and used the hose to spray water from the truck. The firefighters spoke to the children about fire safety. My friends really seemed to enjoy the visit.



                                     
 

IMPORTANT DATES:

Friday, 10/13 - Field trip to Ramsey farm
Monday, 10/16 - Wear pink for Tag Day that we will miss on Friday for our field trip
Thursday, 10/19 -  11:30 dismissal 
Friday, 10/20 -   NO SCHOOL

 

October 5, 2017,

Happy first week of October!! We have been so busy this week. We learned all about the letter "F" and Fire Safety. My friends are really interested in learning.

During our Circle times we read "The Brave Little Engine", "Fire Trucks" , "Clifford the Fire House Dog" and "Fire Rescue". We learned a finger play "5 Little FireFighters" that included a Felt board activity. We also learned the song 'Ten Little FireFighters" We learned to "Stop,  Drop and Roll". We had a pretend fire and charted items that were Safe to Touch and Not Safe to Touch. We discussed the letter"F" and items that begin with the letter. We used the smartboard to learn about diffrent parts of a fire truck and how they work. Jonah also shared the letter "F" jar with our class.

Our centers coordinated with the "Fire Safety Theme". We color matched fire helemts, counted dalmations, and sorted fire trucks by size and color. We used tweezers to pick up bones and fed a dalamtion. My friends had to sort through fire (crinkle paper) to find the correct number of fire hydrants to put out numbered flames on our magnet board. The children worked as a team putting together a large fire truck puzzle. WOW!! My friends enjoyed playing with a fire station, trucks and dalamtions in our block area. Our Dramatic play Area was set up as a mini fire station. The children made 911 phone calls and raced to put out a fire. (so cute). At our sensory table, my friends used spary bottles to put out fires (paper flames). Our art crafts consited of q-tip painting spots on a dalmation, paper plate fireman, and a construction paper fire truck.



Our Writting center is so popular. My friends love to find our letter and write. I am using a variety of writting tools to help with thier grasp and fine motor control. The children are getting so excited with their letter formation. If you have time at home continue to work on our letter writting at home. The continued practice of grasping a writting tool by just by even coloring (crayon, marker or pencil) will continue to boost their confidence. I am amazed at how well the children are doing this early in the year. 

Scholastic book orders for October went home in folders. Order is due by October 25th. For those of you who ordered books they went home this week. Thank you for your order. Our class recieved a pumpkin game and 3 books for our library.

Vision screenings were given to the children on Tuesday. If your child needed an additional eye examination a paper was sent home in thier folder. My friends that attend school on MWF the screening will occur on a date that is to be determined

OUR SEPTEMBER BIRTHDAYS!!!

September 28, 2017,

Happy Thursday!! I am so proud of my friends.. We had an amazing day especially with transitions. We are learning the routine and school is getting to be FUN!! 

We played a Farm Animal hide and seek game during circle time. This was an excellent way to use our discriptive words. We read a story about "Horses" and review objects that begin with the letter"H". Every firend could name a diffrent object!! WOW!!

During our center time children used finger paint to "Put the Mud on the Pig". My friends also worked really hard at writting the letter "H" on chalk and dry erase boards. We also worked on AB patterning with farm animal counters.

At Art class my friends dot painted leaves on a tree with q-tips. 

Tomorrow is our RED dress down day.

September 27, 2017,

My Friends all looked so great today for their pictures. We were able to get a glimpse of everyones pictures to make sure they had huge smiles! Hopefully you will love them!!! They all did fantastic!!

After pictures we went to Spanish Class. The children learned a Buenos Dias song and played a game on the smartboard. During Gym class my friends had so much fun dancing to music videos on a huge projector. We have some great dancers in our class. We spent a few minuites on the playground for morning recess so we would have time for centers.

During our Center time we made a horse craft shaped as the letter "H". My friends worked at the writting center and at our farm theme manipulatives. 

We listened to the story "Do Like a Duck Does" and sang our "5 Little Ducks Song" with the Flannel Board. Our Question of the day was : Have you ever been to a Farm? The children shared stories about thier trip to a farm. Cooper also shared items from home that were RED from our color Jar.
I had 3 friends who said they have never been to a farm so we went on a virtual field trip to a farm on the smartboard. This was really cool!! 

We celebrated Cooper's birthday on Wednesday with cupcakes and Elena's birthday today at morning snack with Munchkins!! Happy birthday my Friends!!!!

Red dress down day. (Friday 9/29) Our class will be celebrating the color RED. Please wear something red to school.

11:30 Dismissal (Friday 9/29) Same dismissal procedures apply for half days. Children only need a morning snack unless they are attending Eagles club.



September 26, 2017,

Happy Independence Day!!! WOW!! I am so proud of my friends that walked to our classroom all by themeslves this morning!! They were so happy and excited to come into class and unpack independently. We gave lots of Hugs and High fives this morning. Thank you Moms and Dads for helping make today so successfull!!!

Hip Hip Horray for letter " H" We started a new letter yesterday and a theme about Farm Animals. 
Today Henrietta the Hen helped us name objects that begin with the letter "H". Hannah also had Homework (our class letter jar) that she shared with the class.
We read the story "Where is Hippo Hidding" and sang the song "Five Little Ducks
Went out to Play"(with a felt board activity). We also used farm animal yoga cards during our morning circle time.

During centers the children explored with farm animals in our block center. We worked on puzzles, measuring and sorting. My friends are really getting the hang of our centers. It is great to see so many of the children interested in learning and writting.

In technology class the children watched videos on the letter"H" and farm animals.

Picture Day is tomorrow. We will be having morning snack before pictures and then heading straight to Spanish and Gym Class. Busy Morning!!

Have a Happy Night!!



September 25, 2017

Important Information for the Week>>>

Picture Day. (Wednesday 9/27) We will be getting our pictures taken in the morning. Pictures are taken from the waist up so please make sure your child wears sneakers for the day. We will still be going to gym and the playground for recess.

Red dress down day. (Friday 9/29) Our class will be celebrating the color RED. Please wear something red to school.

11:30 Dismissal (Friday 9/29) Same dismissal procedures apply for half days. Children only need a morning snack unless they are attending Eagles club.

Kid Stuff Books (coupon book) a Home and School Fundraiser was sent home with the oldest and only children on Friday. If you are not interested in purchasing the book please return in your child's book bag. thank you.

Vision Sreening permission slips were also sent home on Friday. Your child will not be screened without a signed form. Please let me know if you do not want them to be screened.

Independence day for our building is set for tomorrow Tuesday, September 26th. This does not pertain to our classroom. However, I do encourage you to start working on your own independence day with your child. It really helps for an easy morning transition.











September 20, 2017,

Thank you for taking the time to attend Back to School Night. I hope you enjoyed learning about our classroom and routine. If you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to ask. My friends  were very excited to know that mom or dad was sitting in their special animal seat. 

During Spanish Class the children learned a song and started working on naming colors. Mrs Schock had the children exercising  and running during gym class.

Our circle time was so much fun! We read the story " Apples Apples Everywhere" and learned the song " Way up High on the Apple Tree with a flannel board activity. Our question of the day was Do You Like Apples? We had 10 yes and 6 no. I started to introduce the concept of more and less. We then completed a smart board activity on counting apple seeds. 

The apple centers are are a huge hit. My friends are really working hard at each center and are showing so much interest in learning. Of course our " Apple Orchard" is the classes favorite. I observed friends weighing, bagging, buying and selling apples. 

Red, White and Blue tag day is on Friday with pretzels for snack for those that ordered.

Field trip permission slips are due on Friday.

Last call for Scholastic Book orders for September. Thank you for those that have placed their orders. Our class is really showing a love for reading.

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER:

 

Friday, 9/22          - Tag Day - red, white and blue; pretzels
Wednesday, 9/27       -  School pictures
Friday, 9/29          -  11:30 dismissal (Eagle's Club is open)
Friday, 9/29.         -  Color red wear day for month of September
Saturday. 9/30        -  Home and School Family Movie Night 6:30 SJB Hall

September 19, 2017,

I am looking forward to seeing everyone tonight at Back to School Night. Please meet in our EC3A classroom. We will begin at 6:30. Reminder..this is a parent only event. Please let me know if you can not attend. I will make sure you receive al of the information.
Thank you for your understanding.
Ms Mekulski 

September 18, 2017,

Happy Monday!! Thank you so much for helping out with the "sticker snack". Snack time was much easier for my friends today! They were so happy with their independence.

Picture forms were sent home today for our picture day on September 27th. You can turn in the form anytime up until the day of pictures. Children may dress up for pictures.

Field trip permission slips went home on Friday. Please let me know if you have any questions. 

Back to School night is tomorrow at 6:30 in our EC3-A classroom. If you can not make it please let me know and I will get you a packet and information discussed. 

On Friday we celebrated Nico's birthday with munchkins for snack. Happy Birthday Nico!!!

Today we started our Letter of the week "A" for apples theme. Our classroom has been transformed with apples galore. Please check out all of our themed based manipulatives  and centers at back to school night.


 

****Information from school office****

If you choose  to have your child play on the playground after dismissal please park in the parking spots near the tree line by the Sherwood Park gate.  We ask for you to do this for the safety of our SJB students and the flow of traffic.  We thank you for your cooperation and assistance in this matter.  If you have any questions feel free to contact your teacher.  

September 14, 2017,

Reminder.... please help us by putting a sticker or a mark like a smiley face on your child's morning snack. My friends are told as a group to open their lunch box and look for their "sticker snack". We have quite a few friends that are starting to eat their lunch before we get to them for help and some who are taking out all of their food and getting it mixed with others at the table. The stickers really help them to determine what they should be eating. Thank you so much for your help. 

My friends were playing so cooperatively this morning with centers and morning manipulatives. They are adjusting extremely well to their new classroom and school.

We started our Circle Time with our morning Prayer,  Calendar and Weather. I then read a silly story that always gets tons of laughs.. "Even Firefighters Use the Potty" . We charted picture cards with good and poor choices. I held up a card and explained the action ( lining up, listening ears, pushing) and the children took turns putting it on the chart under good choice (smiley face)or bad choice (sad face). We will continue to talk about these choices for the rest of the school year.

During center time the children continued to explore the Pete the Cat centers from yesterday. I started beginning of the school year assessments with some friends today. I hope to have everyone finished by tomorrow. More information to follow on this at back to school night. 

 

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER:

 

Tuesday, 9/19         - Back to School Night at 6:30
Friday, 9/22          - Tag Day - red, white and blue; pretzels
Wednesday, 9/27       -  School pictures
Friday, 9/29          -  11:30 dismissal (Eagle's Club is open)
Saturday. 9/30        -  Home and School Family Movie Night 6:30 SJB Hall

September 13, 2017

What a Wet Wednesday! We had a very busy morning. We had  2 specials back to back. We started with Spanish class. My friends walked over to the big school ever so quietly. We had so many compliments on how quiet we were from the teachers in the hallway. Ms Koval introduced Spanish class, sang a few songs and colored a welcome picture. While we were walking over to the hall for gym class it began to rain. Everyone thought it was so fun to be walking in the rain!! Mrs Hutton was the substitute gym teacher for our class. She went over some of the rules for the class, execrcised with the children and then played a few interactive games.

I began to introduce our daily circle time routine with the Calendar ( Month, days of the week, and date) and Freddy the weather frog. We also read Pete the Cat and the Magic Sunglasses and sang along with Pete the Cat the Wheels on the Bus and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. 

Our centers will filled with Pete the Cat activities. We painted a paper plate blue and glued on pieces to create Pete. ( these on are display in our classroom ).  We played a Pete Memory Matching Game, counted buttons for one to one correspondence, sorted buttons by size and color, and our dramatic play area was filled with sunglasses and stuffed animals to act out our story.

We ate lunch in the classroom today because of the rain. My friends had enough fun in the rain and had their turn being soaked for the day during our walk to and from gym class. They also had a special treat of watching a short Disney show while they were eating. Because of the rain we had indoor recess which included free play of the classroom toys.

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER:

 

Tuesday, 9/19         - Back to School Night at 6:30
Friday, 9/22          - Tag Day - red, white and blue; pretzels
Wednesday, 9/27       -  School pictures
Friday, 9/29          -  11:30 dismissal (Eagle's Club is open)
Saturday. 9/30        -  Home and School Family Movie Night 6:30 SJB Hall

September 12, 2017,

Today was a Terrific Tuesday. The day went by super fast beacause we had so much fun together. We spent some time this morning exploring and playing with classroom manipulatives. The Ipads were alo introduced this morning. The children are quite the pros at Technology.

We took a long walk over to the big school and up the stairs for Technology class. My friends did a fantastic job staying in line (behind a friend) and walking with thier finger on a lip and hand on hip. (ask them to show you.. they look so cute)

Ms Luce had the children put on headphones and watch a montage of videos about Pete the Cat.  We will be reading a Pete The Cat Story tomorrow and making a coordinating craft. She also introduced the Technology Lab and rules.

During center time I read another David story :David Gets in Trouble. My Friends actualy read me the story. We looked at each picture and they described what David was doing on each page. We decided that David is super silly and could definitely make better choices.

 

September 11, 2017,

 

A special thank you for all of the classroom supplies! We are so greatful for your generosity.

Marvelous Monday! What a great day! My friends came in this morning happy and ready to play. We started off the morning with music class. The children joined Mrs. Wagner on our carpet and participated in singing and dancing. Mrs. wagner was so impressed at how well the children were duting thier first music class. They all  seemed to have so much fun with the movement and activities.

After music we ate snack and went outside for a short morning recess. My friends are doing so well with all of our transitions and following into a routine.  We seem to really love lining up on the animal train.

During Circle time we listened to the story "No David". We were very concerned by David's choices. We discussed how David could do things differently and what could happen if he continued to make poor choices. We also spoke about good choices and poor choices in the classroom. 

During our center time we painted paper plates to make a David Face. We also sorted by color, worked on puzzles, counted keys to unlock a padlock. The children also explored  with playdough and magnet blocks.

September 8, 2017,

Happy Friday!! Happy 1st Day of School for our MWF Friends. Today was another great day!
We spent most of the morning exploring the classroom and playing together. The children were doing such a fantastic job sharing and using their words to communicate. During our circle time we played a game to get know our friends names. Next week I will start to introduce our morning routine.

We lined up on our animal train and walked over to the "Big School" for Library. The children met Mrs. Oldiges and Mrs Tobin our Librarians. They explored the library and listen to a story about silly choices.

The children were very tired today and some started to melt down after lunch. We had a short recess and came in to wind down for rest. All of my friends fell alseep very quickly. The begining of school and all of our transitions can be very exhasuting for my friends.

Rest towels will go home next Friday since this was a short week. Thank You!

I will be sure to post pictures next week of our classroom fun.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

September 7, 2017

We made it through our first day!!! The children had a great day. I was so impressed at how well the children came in to class this morning and started playing. We completed the entire day with no tears. I am hoping it goes as well tomorrow.

We spent most of the day introducing the classroom, bathroom, hallway and playground rules for the school. The children did a fantastic job listening and following directions. The first day can be so overwhelming but they did extremely well.

We had two small circle times today (carpet time). I read the story "The Kissing Hand". The children will show you the secret from the book tonight. They also took turns petting Chester the racoon from the story and learning our classmates names. During our second circle time we discussed how we were feeling today at school. We charted our feelings. We had 8 friends who were happy and 3 freinds who were sad. I do not think they were really sad. They just liked that the child on the picture was wearing a blue shirt.

During our center time, block area, housekeeping and manipulatives were introduced. The children also made a construction paper Chester Racoon from our story.
We went outside for a morning and afternoon recess. The children had an opportunity to play on two of the playgrounds.

During Art class the children experimented with colors and milk to make rainbows. 

 

 

9/5 & 9/6 Orientations                       

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 9/5 and  Wednesday 9/6 . I will go over classroom and school information and answer any questions you may have about our upcoming year.

Please remember to bring:

• Yellow Emergency Card

• Child Information Sheet

• OWL ABOUT ME SHEET

 

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

• Towel for rest (labeled with your child's name)

• 1 box of Tissues

• 1 clorox wipes

• 1 hand sanitizer

• 1 flushable wipes