Thanksgiving

This week was a very short week! During our two days in school we talked about Thanksgiving and what it means to be thankful. The kiddos were thankful for their families, school, their toys, winter, snow, and learning!

On Monday we practiced for our big musical performance! The kiddos practiced walking to their spot on stage and singing the songs.  In our classroom, they participated in Thanksgiving centers. They played Turkey Color Match, Turkey Letter Match, and made thankful leaves.

On Tuesday we celebrated Grandparents Day! The children had so much fun singing for their Grandparents and special guests. They also enjoyed showing off their classrooms!

Next week we begin our Mo Willems author study! Some of the books we will be enjoying include: Don't Let The Pigeon Drive the Bus! The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog, There is a Bird on Your Head, and Knuffle Bunny. 

Stone Soup

"We're making Stone Soup, 

We're making Stone Soup, 

Stir the pot, 

It's getting hot, 

We're making Stone Soup!"

This week we completed our Stone Soup unit.  There are many versions of the story but we focused on the old French tale about three hungry soldiers.  In case you don't know the story, the three soldiers used trickery to convince the inhabitants of a village to provide them with the ingredients for a feast.  At first, the villagers were afraid, but they were intrigued by the soldiers, who told them that they were going to prepare soup out of stones.  After the soldiers hinted that the soup would be better with a few vegetables, each villager went home and returned with something to contribute, resulting in a feast that they all enjoyed together.  It is a perfect story to read right before Thanksgiving. We discussed how a little cooperation can go a long way, and could yield something to be truly grateful for. 

Morning Meeting: During morning meeting we spent some time discussing what we were thankful for. Some of the children's responses included: family, toys, school, winter, and cutting (with scissors).  We also sang stone soup songs. The children loved the song, "Chippity Chop." Ask your Pre-K kid if they remember the lyrics and hand motions that go with the song!

"Chop Chop Chippity Chop, 

Chop off the bottom, 

Chop off the top, 

What we have left we throw in the pot." 

Chop Chop Chippity Chop!

Also during morning meeting we made Alphabet Stone Soup!  We used magnetic letters and numbered stones. I arranged the numbered stones on the white board ledge and I arranged various letters on the white board. I asked the students to find specific letters and numbers and add them to the pot.  This activity reinforced many skills - letter identification, making letter sounds, identifying numbers through the teens, and comparing size. 

Math: Turkey Clothespin Counting - great for both fine motor development as well as counting practice! 

Fine Motor: To get ready for Thanksgiving the children made handprint turkeys! The kids practiced scissor skills cutting out the feathers. We also used our fine motor skills to decorate a baby shower gift for Mrs. Vanchieri! Not only did the kiddos have fun decorating, but they learned the value of doing something nice for someone else. The kiddos also participated in a color sort using tweezers. 

Reading Extension:  After reading the book, "Stone Soup" we discussed different kinds of soups. We asked the kids, "What kind of soup would you make?" One of the students said that they were going to make noodle soup! Another said they were going to make carrot soup! The kids dictated what kind of soup they would make and the ingredients they would use. Then they created their soup using various colors of scrap paper. 

Spanish: Twice a week the Pre-K kids have Spanish. They have been working hard on their colors! This week the kids practiced sorting colored pumpkin seeds. Their job was to pick up a colored pumpkin seed, say the color in Spanish, and put into the correct container. Ask your Pre-K kid if they can teach you the colors in Spanish!

Free Choice: Every morning when the children arrive, they get to participate in Free Choice. This is a great opportunity for the kiddos to get to explore their own interests and to practice problem solving skills. We teach language that the kids can use on their own, in order to problem solve without a teacher stepping in. Free Choice is also a time where I get to work individually with students to practice writing. 

Zoo Phonics: Everyday we spend about 10-15 minutes practicing letting identification and letter sounds. We are making our way through the alphabet and we are already on letter "V." 

Reading Buddies: On Friday we spent some time with our Reading Buddies. The Reading Buddy program benefits both the younger and older students. The younger students benefits from hearing stories read-aloud (modeling of reading fluency, phrasing and expression), having conversations with an older student about topics that interest and involve them (extending their vocabulary, oral language abilities), enjoying fun, positive experiences with ‘big kids’ who are now a recognizable face in the school community. The older students benefit by further developing their own literacy skill, fostering leadership and problem-solving skills, improved self-confidence that comes from being looked-up to, and an opportunity to be ‘caught’ (and praised) for positive behavior. 

Mystery Reader: This week we had our first Mystery Reader! Thank you Anika's dad for coming in and sharing two great books with us!

Reminders: 

• Tuesday, November 21 is Grandparents & Special Guests Day! 
• NO SCHOOL Wednesday, Thursday & Friday. 
• If you haven't already please bring in snow pants, hats, gloves and boots. 
• Please check your child's extra clothes bin to see what needs to be replaced. 

Fall...continued!

This week we wrapped up our Fall Unit. Let’s take a look at the week:

Fine Motor: The children used q-tips and paint to fill in the circles to make a red apple. It was good practice holding the q-tip like it was a pencil. The children are getting very good at holding different writing instruments in the correct way. The children also used tweezers to take out the gold acorns from the sunflower seeds and pom pom mixture.

Math: The Pre-K kids enjoyed getting messy while counting! They used their fingers to create apples. The goal was to add the same number of red apples as shown on the barrel. The kiddos also played a Corn Counting game with cheerios!

Free Choice: One of the popular activities this week during free choice was making play-dough people with yarn hair. The kids LOVED giving them haircuts!  They also really enjoyed the light table. The children had fun making a zoo out of magnetic tiles.

Art: The students painted their monthly self portraits this week. First, the kiddos chose the paint color that matches their skin color. We take this opportunity to discuss how we are similar and different than our friends. The next day we paint the details such as hair and eye color.  The Pre-K kids also made Fall Trees using q-tips.

PE: In PE this week we played with noodles and hula hoops! We also completed an obstacle course!

Music: The kiddos are almost ready to perform for Grandparents Day!

Language Arts: For journals this week the topic was, “What is your favorite season? Why?”  Most of the kids chose winter! They love playing in the snow, building snowmen, and making snow angels!

Book Extension:  This week we read the book "Leaf Man" by Lois Elhert. Elhert is known for her collage style of illustrating, using found objects to create colorful and beautiful scenes. In the book, real leaves formed all of the illustrations - a leaf man, leaf birds, leaf fish, and leaf prairies!  After reading the book, Pre-K was inspired to make their own leaf pictures. We went on a leaf hunt and collected a variety of leaves - all different shapes and colors. We then got to work and used our imaginations to create a lion, a house, an alligator, and a bird!

Next week is our Stone Soup Unit!

Fall

Leaves are falling

To the ground without a sound

Days are getting shorter

Nights are growing longer

Fall is here, fall is here

This week we began our fall unit! Let’s take a look at the week:

Free Choice: One of our students loves playing teacher! Check out the video:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/p4Qo8lg24oAyXWzP2

Art: The kiddos got messy as their forearms and hands were painted so they could make their own fall trees! Before we began this activity we looked out the window and made observations - What color are the leaves? Are some of the trees bare? Why?

Fine Motor: The kiddos made Apple Name Puzzles! First, the children practiced cutting along a straight line in order to cut out each letter. Then they scrambled the letter pieces and then glued the apple back together in the correct order. The kids loved this activity! It is great practice for both fine motor development and name recognition. The kids also worked on their fine motor skills by placing colorful pumpkin seeds into the white circles of a leaf print out.

Math: This week the kids had fun making apple trees with clothespins! Great for practicing 1:1 correspondence and developing fine motor skills.

Language Arts: For our weekly journal entry the Pre-K kids shared what they thought was special about fall. Some of the responses included - “Fall is special because the leaves change colors!” and “It gets colder in the fall!” During journals the kiddos are encouraged to draw a picture that matches their response. This is a fun way to work on pre-writing skills.

PE: The kids always enjoy participating in PE and having the opportunity to play fun games in the gym!

Music: The kids continue to practice songs for Grandparent's Day!

Spanish: This week the kids had a party in order to celebrate Dia de Muertos (Day of the Dead). Dia de Muertos is a Mexican holiday celebrated throughout Mexico and by people of Mexican ancestry. The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have passed.

Reminder: NO SCHOOL and NO EDP on Friday, November 11th.