What a wonderful day it was! The children were so precious in their costumes and had a lot of fun with our themed centers for the day! Please enjoy a few of these photos until I can upload the rest this weekend. Make sure to take advantage of the nice weather we are supposed to have over the weekend. Included in your child’s folder today was a fun Autumn Scavenger Hunt to do with them this weekend.
I hope everyone stayed dry tonight during Trick-or-Treating! See you on Monday!!!
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‘Twas the night before Halloween, and all through the classroom, all the children were stirring, except for the mouse. The teachers had gathered to plan and prepare, for the super-hero’s and princesses who soon would be there!
This week has been a wonderful week of learning! We’ve been studying about bats and their habitats, along with some pumpkin fun! Students voted on what type of face they would like to give their class pumpkin. Each child got to scoop out some seeds and pulp, and then Miss Hopkins carved out the chosen face! Below are some pictures of the morning class enjoying their pumpkin scooping!
Notes for tomorrow on Halloween Day:
1. All preschoolers are encouraged to wear their Halloween costume TO SCHOOL!
2. All of our centers will be Halloween themed; there isn’t necessarily a “party” planned. We have 6 fun centers the kids can visit with a pumpkin bean bag toss, witches hat ring toss, a bat finger puppet craft, a healthy snack, a journal activity, and a spooky memory game.
3. If it rains tomorrow, the parade at 1:00 p.m. will be inside in the cafeteria, and main hallways. If the rain holds off, we will be out on the track. AM STUDENTS are invited to join the PM class in walking in the Halloween Parade at 1:00 p.m. We will take a large group picture after the parade.
Thank you for your help and cooperation! Happy Halloween!!!
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Whoa! I can hardly believe we are in the middle of October now! Time flies when you’re having fun! My apologies for not posting my weekly updates, time has slipped away from me!
Anyway, we have been super busy learners in Room 121 over the past several weeks. We wrapped up our “All about Me” Unit two weeks ago with the presentation of our All about Me Murals/Collages. Some parents that have children that are three were concerned because they did not receive their child’s body outline. We decided not to do this specific project with those children because we had them do something else that was more age appropriate. However, there were about 5-6 of those three year olds that were interested in the project and wanted to outline their body. We had them do it just for the experience. Do not be worried if your child did not bring one home. We had it planned that way!
Over the course of this year, you will notice that we do differentiate your child’s instruction and lessons to be where he/she is cognitively and social-emotionally. Sometimes you will see the four year olds doing something different than the three years olds and vice-versa. This is what you want to see in a Preschool classroom where you have mixed ages! With a huge age range and ability levels, you want to see your child’s teacher using best practice in differentiating their instruction. To learn more about what differentiated instruction is and looks like, please visit the following website: http://www.ascd.org/research-a-topic/differentiated-instruction-resources.aspx
Last week, both classes began to study TREES!!! What are trees for? What do trees provide for us? What are the parts of a tree? Those questions are the three of our guiding questions for the children to think about as we move through this unit. With all the beautiful weather we’ve been having, we had the opportunity to go outside each day to observe the trees changing around our school grounds. The children went outside and collected different types of leaves, sticks, and berries that they found. After that, we went back inside to sort our collections by color, shape, and size. Tuesday through Friday, we went outside again to observe a tree that is currently going through the process of absorbing the nutrients (chlorophyll), and moving from green to a deep red. The children got to see the tree go from almost all green to all red by the end of the week! The children illustrated their observations and placed them into their journals! They did an amazing job showing their understanding of this process we see every fall.
Upcoming studies in conjunction with our Tree Unit will be Pumpkins and Bats!
Have a spooktacular week!!!
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Is it a full moon?
Mid-week update from room 121!
We are well into our “All About Me” unit. This week our focus is on our “hands”. Maybe your child has come home singing, “Where is thumpkin?” or “Clap your hands”! We have been reading and learning about our hands, the names of our fingers, looking at our bones, veins, and skin that covers our hands. Throughout this week we have begun to discuss directional vocabulary using the words, “left” and “right”. Who is left handed and who is right handed?
This Friday, your child will bring home TWO at home activities for the weekend to do with you! Your child will share with you their finger print results, along with how many squares their hand can fit into. Your child this weekend will be charged with the mission of collecting your finger prints and tracing your hand. (Assistance might be needed from you!) During these activities this weekend, discuss with your child the similarities and differences you see between each other’s fingerprints and hands. Our goal is to you have the children bring back on Monday their prints and hands along with another family member’s. Thank you for your support in advance!
As a reminder, please keep reviewing the rules: Be Respectful, Be Responsible, Be Safe, (So we can have fun). Have a wonderful rest of the week!
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First of all, I wanted to thank the many families from our classroom that donated to our grade level’s Donorschoose.org grant! We were fully funded today, and I am so humbled by everyone’s generous donations! Thank you from the bottom of my heart!!! The materials have been ordered, so we hope to have the listening centers by the end of the month! Way to go Preschool Community!!!
Our first two weeks of school has been all about learning routines, following directions, getting to know each other, and learning how to take care of our classroom environment. One of the biggest goals that we have for all of our children in preschool is to gain the social-emotional skills that help them establish and sustain positive relationships, participate cooperatively and constructively in group settings, along with being able to regulate their own emotions and behaviors. These are goals that we really emphasis and work on for our students throughout the year, but especially during the beginning of the year. If your child has not yet started having play dates with other children his/her age, this is the perfect time to do so. With the winter months approaching, we will be inside a lot of the time. Begin to have your child meet a friend with a parent or babysitter at your local park or playground. Bring a snack for the kids, and watch how your child plays with the other children around him/her. Once the winter months are here, ask for these same friends to join your child over at your house for a few hours of playtime! The rewards of doing this now are very beneficial for long term effectiveness.
Last week, students graphed what the first letter of their name is on our alphabet chart. We also took a look at how old we are graphed our results. On Friday we managed to get in our first measurement of the year on our growth chart! (We keep track of how much we grow throughout the school year!)
Moving forward into our third week of preschool, we are beginning to examine and look at “All About Me” topics. Students are visiting our self-portrait studio this week to take a closer examination at details in their face. What shape is your face? What shape is your eyes, nose, lips, etc… Do you have long hair or short hair? We also are having the students to begin reflecting and taking a closer look at what makes them special. What do they like about themselves? Do they like their hair? Or maybe their ability to run fast! Begin to start conversations with your child about these topics this week and next. See what you are noticing about your child and if he/she is beginning to notice more details about themselves and the people around them.
BIG NEWS in room 121!!! Our new water table arrived and was in full use today! The children did an excellent job playing at the new learning center, and practiced taking turns. We are still waiting on the delivery of our new sand table. I have been told it will be shipped out September 23rd. (Fingers crossed it is before that date!)
Enjoy some pictures from last week and today! Hope to see you all on Thursday evening for our Open House/Curriculum Night from 6-7:30 p.m.
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Attention Preschool Families and Supporters!!!
Our preschool team is excited to announce that we have a new Donorschoose grant up for all three classroom! We wrote a grant for each classroom to receive a brand new listening center with wireless headsets! Our children will be able to listen to stories on tape or cd, along with incorporating story recordings, and literacy activities throughout the year! We are so excited about this grant, and hope you are too!
From now until September 6, 2013 there is a donor that will match your donation! (So, if you give $25, then the donor will donate $25 as well!) Use the match code INSPIRE during checkout. What a deal!!!! Please click on the link below to check out our grant, and also pass along the link to your friends and family!!!! THANK YOU FOR SUPPORT!!!!
http://www.donorschoose.org/project/listen-to-the-stories-we-all-have-to-tel/1056336
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What a great day we had today! Here are some pictures of most of the kids from the first day of preschool! I will keep adding them until I have all 40 taken! Enjoy!
Attention NEW Pre-K Families,
Thank you so much for your patience in helping to figure out with us the new SMART Tuition System for Preschool this year! One of our parent’s was able to enroll online last night and sent the following quick tips to get enrolled! Please give it a try and let me know if you have any problems!
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Would you like to receive reminders or quick texts throughout the school year? If so, please sign up for your child’s class messages. Below are the numbers for each class! Sign up today!
AM Class: To receive messages via text, text @peir to phone number (442) 333-7127! You can opt-out of messages at anytime by replying, “unsubscribe @peir’.
PM Class: To receive messages via text, text @peirc to phone number (442) 333-7127! You can opt-out of messages at anytime by replying, “unsubscribe @peirc’.
There is a different text message for each class. So please make sure you sign up for the correct class. Let me know if you have any questions!
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Attention All Preschool Families!
You are all invited to attend the 1st annual “Peirce Back to School Picnic” on Friday, August 21st starting at 4pm!
Please join our parent community for an evening of fun on the field behind school. Bring a blanket, snacks, and your kids. There will be music, face painting, games, and more! Parent Karen Dreyfuss is looking for volunteers to help out with the picnic. If you’d like to get involved, please contact her at karendreyfuss@gmail.com
This is a wonderful event to help kick-off the school year, and to meet new and returning families at Peirce!!! Hope to see you there!!!
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Preschool in the City with Mrs. Gabelman 
