Field Trip

Preschool Field Trip

A few reminders:

·       Field Trip is this Thursday and Friday

·       We will be departing at 9:15

·       Sack lunch and drink required (we will throw away all sacks after lunch) no peanut/peanut butter or nut products due to severe food allergies

·       Wear a red shirt and comfortable shoes

·       Departing from museum at 12:30 with arrival back to school at 1:15.

Chaperones:

·       Please park car on side of school, sign in at the office and come to classroom by 9 a.m.

·       If you are driving yourself and your child please meet us at Museum center at 10 a.m. You are responsible to pay for parking.  Please wait in lobby for us to arrive, as we will all go in together.

·       Fingerprints must be on file in school office.

·       If your child uses diapers or pull-ups please carry those with you as we will be only bringing the diapers/pull-ups for the students whose parent/guardians are not chaperoning.

We are very excited and intend on this being a fantastic day!

We are hard at work!

Well, I was inspired and the classroom has turned into a construction zone.  The learning opportunities are immense.  We have a pendulum (wrecking ball), sand paper and wood, various tools, graph paper, simple and complex math games, building blocks of various types.  Check out our photos. 


One of our language charts.  We are learning new vocabulary words such as hammer, wrench, saw, screwdriver etc...  If you don't know the "Bumping up and down in my little red wagon" song you can google it.  It's one of our favorites. 



Part of our block center.

Dramatic play!

This is one of our main books this theme.  It's a wordless book and promotes great conversation and thinking.



Our long path math game.



Another language chart.  We use rhythm sticks as hammers as we chant the words.



Our sensory table has wood shavings.



At our light table we are using translucent color tinted blocks.

Using sandpaper to smooth out a piece of wood.  We will paint and decorate our wood pieces.



Using the Tap-it to reinforce and expand our learning. 




The dramatic play has been very popular!



Hard at work with the wrecking ball.



The wrecking ball pendulum!




We have graph paper and students are encouraged to be "architects."




Drawing a building.





 

Spring has sprung!

Can you believe this weather?  I guess winter just passed us by.  I'm not complaining as the warm weather seems to brighten all of our days.


We are looking ahead into a more generic theme with a variety of new things.  Many of the students have been practically begging for baby dolls to be out while other students want the trains and trucks.  Therefore we are going to incorporate our learning standards with a little of both.  We'll do a little bit of a construction theme but yet have a traditional dramatic play with the kitchen, dolls, etc...

Guess what?  The field trip is confirmed.  We've had several adults show interest in chaperoning which is fantastic.  The field trip is scheduled for April 19th and 20th.  Much more specific info to come soon.  I am so excited to be able to experience a field trip with the students.

We welcome Christopher to our Tuesday/Thursday class.  We now have 10 students in Tues/Thurs class and 9 in Wed/Friday.

If your child is remaining in preschool next year I plan on keeping him or her in the same session unless you request differently.  It shouldn't be a problem to switch but please contact me if you are interested.

Remember never hesitate to contact me about anything.  Have a great weekend!

Cat in the Hat

The Cat in the Hat came for a visit today!

Pete the Cat etc...

We've been reading several pet themed books and I wanted to share the class favorite with you.  Check out the website below to learn about Pete the Cat.  We've just begun with the Pete the Cat series and so far only read, sung and danced to "I Love My White Shoes."  The song that goes along with the book is so catchy that we've all been humming and singing it all day.  The students are requesting it at every group time.  It's so much fun.  I believe you can get a free audio download on the website below.  You and your child may enjoy listening to it.  I can't wait to read a few more from the series.

http://www.harpercollinschildrens.com/feature/petethecat/

Our student teacher, Ms. Brandi Moore will be moving on to her Kindergarten practicum soon.  Her last day with us will be this Friday.  She has been a huge asset to our classroom and has made a very positive impact on the students.  She will be missed by all.

Kaley from our Wed/Friday class has moved and is no longer in our class.  Wanted to share this with you in case your child mentions this change to you.  By this time of year your child's class and his/her peers become a sort of family and when one child is sick, moves, or has a big change it can impact the whole group.  We currently have 9 students in each class now.

Updates!

Hi Everyone,
Things have been carrying on well in preschool.  We've been busy with our post office theme.  Some of you may have received letters your child has written and mailed from school. 

As we look ahead we will be learning all about pets.  As a preschool teacher I try to incorporate all content standards by taking the lead of the children when it comes to their interests.  Since we have had "cats and dogs" roaming the room being led by mail carriers I felt it was only natural to transition into pets.  Starting Tuesday our dramatic play center will be a vet office, our sensory table will have birdseed, they will paint with feathers, build dog houses, and so on.  Ms. Brandi our student teacher will be completing her lead teaching week next week during the morning hours meaning she will lead group times and transitions.  The students have responded very well to Ms. Brandi and I look forward to the opportunity to observe and collect data from another perspective.

Kindergarten registration begins soon.  You should have received a paper in your child's folder about it.  If not, please check the district website or contact me and I can get your more information.  Please make sure you mention that your child attended West Clermont preschool when registering.

IEP and ETR meetings are coming up.  For all of the students transitioning to Kindergarten we have or will be contacting you soon to set a date for an IEP and ETR meeting (Individualized Education Program and Evaluation Team Report).   Most of our meeting dates will be on Mondays due to the fact that we do not have students on that day.

Field Trip:  We are awaiting approval from the district office with regards to our field trip to the Duke Energy Children's Museum.  Most likely the field trip will occur in April!  Clough PTO has already agreed to fund the entire field trip including transportation!  I am so very grateful to them and cannot wait to take the children on one of the most developmentally appropriate field trips you can find in Cincinnati!  Remember that if you think you will be able to chaperone on the field trip to schedule a time with the main office to have your fingerprints done.  Any adult wanting to go who has not been fingerprinted will not be able to go.  Also, because of cost and space siblings will not be able to attend.

Have a Great Weekend!

Post Office Fun!

Literacy, literacy and more literacy!  One of my favorite ways to incorporate literacy in our classroom is by doing a unit on the post office.  Reading and writing is incorporated in such a fun way.

Our dramatic play center! 





The post office is such a great resource.  They allow us to use "real" postal envelopes, stickers and stamps.

In our science center students can weigh packages and record the weight.

Our long path game (created by Ms. Brandi).  It's based off the book, A Letter to Amy.

Our writing center.



One of our language charts.  We sing it and use bells as accompanying instruments.



Our other language chart.

One of my favorite books by one of my favorite authors.