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. 

Coming up...

We welcome Hannah to our Wednesday/Friday class!
Our Tuesday/Thursday class has 9 students and our Wed/Friday class has 10!

Valentine Parties will be on February 14th and 15th from 1-2 p.m.  You are welcome to join us for some fun!  More info to come soon.

We are considering taking a class field trip to the Duke Energy Children's Museum.  We are in the process of getting approval.  We would need volunteers to go with us.  If you are interested in volunteering please consider making an appointment at the main office to get fingerprinted.  All volunteers will need to be have this done prior to volunteering.  You can find out more information about fingerprinting on West Clermont's website http://www.westcler.org/. Please contact me with any questions.  Dates for the field trip are still being decided.  Most likely it'll be in the Spring.

It's Winter in our Classroom!

Have you heard that we are ice skating in our class?  That's right our dramatic play center has turned into an ice skating rink! 

Arctic Animals!

The arctic animal projects that were presented to the class were fantastic.  The creativity and diversity was great to see.  We learned many facts and it was a great way to supplement to what we are learning in class. I hope you all enjoyed working with your child on these.  The students showed a lot of pride in their work.

Preschool is just so much fun!

Check out our bulletin board.  The students worked very hard on their bears.  We practice using scissors on a regular basis.  One of the cues we use to help a child position their hand is "thumb on top". 

Our teddy bear picnic was so much fun.  We lined the animals up according to size (to go along with our discussion about large, medium and small).  We had some pretty significant debates about a few of the animals and which was actually bigger. 

We have been working on story writing.  We've discussed how everyone can be an author and illustrator.  Students have had the opportunity to write their own stories and dictate them to a teacher.  They have also contributed in whole class stories where each student can contribute to one story.  Remember every child is at a different level or writing.  Some are learning how to scribble while others are writing mock letters, letters and even words. 

One of our class stories. 

Here are a couple photos of our graphing of the gummy bears! 

Our sensory table is full of oats (for the Three Bears), bowls and spoons.  It has been a very popular center this week.

Shaving cream and teddy bears!  Here are some photos of some of the students in the class playing with shaving cream.  Shaving cream play provides a sensory experience but also provides an opportunity for so much more learning.  While playing with the bears the students were encouraged to count them, use their pointer fingers to draw or write in the shaving cream, and so much more.