Wind and Water Theme- Week 1

January 3-7

Week 1
Theme- Wind and Water
In unit 3, children explore wind and water observations, experiments, and books to learn about such topics as evaporation, weather, temperature, insulation, rain, and snow.  Through the story time books, children hear about a boy playing on a windy day, baby rabbits and kitten finding shelter in storms, a child playing in the snow, and a silly hen trying to keep warm in winter.  In addition, to listening to stories, children increase their listening and speaking vocabulary and continue to learn about rhymes and identify letters and sounds.

Theme Concepts
-We find water in different forms- as rain(liquid), snow and ice(solid), and as steam(gas).  Temperature affects the form of water.
-Water soaks into, or is absorbed by, some things but is repelled by others.
-Wind- moving air- affects things.  Lighter things are moved a lot by wind.  Heavier things are moved less by wind.  The amount of wind changes with the weather.  In storms, wind can blow very hard. 
-Water comes to us through rain or snow.
-Water evaporates from puddles and from things that are wet.
-Plants and animals need water to live.
-Water and wind provide opportunities for recreation.

Books this week

-Giberto and the Wind by Marie Hall
-One Dark Night by Hazel Hutchins

Small Groups this week
-Shape Bingo Game (Math)
-Inflating balloons and observing their movement in wind(Science)
-Picture Card memory game using words from unit 3 storybooks (Games)
-Making Kites
-What Can Air Move? (science experiments to explore air movement)
-Book Browsing- We will read The Wind Blew by Pat Hutchins then compare and contrast this story with Gilberto and Wind.
**Please note that some small groups will continue next week.

Center Activities this week

Art: Painting with straws (moving paint on paper blowing into straws)
Easel: Painting with colors from the book Gilberto and the Wind (black, brown and and white paint)
Writing: blank books with crayons and markers
Sand and Water: water and student and teacher created sailboats
Library: Exploring books
Puzzles and Manipulatives: Matching uppercase alphabet arch letters
Dramatic Play: playing house, clothes line and clothes pins for dramatic play
Blocks: building with blocks

Songs, Word Play, Letters

Songs: Come On and Join in the Game; Clap Your Hands; Wheels on the Bus
Poems: Hands; Stand Up; My Big Balloon; Mix a Pancake; Five Little Owls in an Old Elm Tree
Literacy Skills: Naming sound game and rhyming word game

Try this at home: Observe signs of weather with your child. When you are outside ask them to look at the sky and talk about clouds, rain, wind, and storms.

December 20-23

Our last day of school is Thursday. We hope everyone has a restful and happy vacation break. We will see you back in school on January 3, 2011.

During the month of December, we will be exploring a thematic unit of the gingerbread man. We will be reading various versions of the gingerbread man. We will also addressing various preschool skills and concepts while focusing on the theme of gingerbread. This is a favorite unit for students and teachers.We look forward to having fun and learning during the month of December.


Book this week:
The Gingerbread Boy by Egielski
(In this version the gingerbread boy runs from characters from New York City such as street musicians, police, construction workers, etc)

Small Groups
-Snowman sequencing for portfolios
-Gingerbread 1:1 correspondence activity
-Gingerbread color game
-We will also be attending a special gingerbread performance on Tuesday by the Lucky Ducks classroom.

Centers
Blocks- Houses
Art- gingerbread cookie cutters in stamp pads to stamp onto paper.
Sensory- sand and "gingerbread candy" to hide in the sand and have a friend search to find matching candy
Easel- crayons and gingerbread cut out sandpaper to rub
Fine Motor Activity- collages
Dramatic Play- Bakery Shop
Writing center- vocabulary words
Puzzles- various puzzles
Library- gingerbread men felt for storytelling

Songs
-Five Gingerbread Cookies
-The Gingerbread Man Finds Shapes
-The Gingerbread Man
-The Gingerbreads are here, The Gingerbreads are there, The Gingerbreads, The Gingerbreads are Everywhere
-Gingerbread, Gingerbread (tune of: Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear)

Gingerbread Theme- December 13- 17

Our Gingerbread Party is this Friday at 10:45-11:30.

Your child will come to school at 8:30 as usual.  Here is an itinerary for the party.
10:45-10:55 Arrival and look around the room at your child's artwork.
10:55-11:00 Children will sing gingerbread and other songs.
11:00-11:20 Decorate gingerbread cookies at tables with families.
11:20-11:30 Package cookies and find your gingerbread surprise on our clothes line to take home.

During the month of December, we will be exploring a thematic unit of the gingerbread man. We will be reading various versions of the gingerbread man. We will also addressing various preschool skills and concepts while focusing on the theme of gingerbread. This is a favorite unit for students and teachers.We look forward to having fun and learning during the month of December.

Book this week:

The Gingerbread Girl by Lisa Campbell
The Gingerbread Boy by Egielski

Small Groups
-Run, Run Tally Game- Children will use a spinner and record on their own paper which color the spinner stopped on.  They will practice one to one correspondence skills.  We will count how many tally lines we make for each color and write the number to show how many.  We will observe our results( most, less, same).
-Gingerbread Man Character Memory Game- Using picture cards from familiar characters from our stories, we will play a memory game in small groups.
- Visual Discrimination Gingerbread Puzzle- We will color then cut a gingerbread man. Then we will reassemble the gingerbread man.
-Thursday Special Cooking Activity- We will be cooking gingerbread cookies from scratch for our gingerbread party on Friday.

Centers
Blocks- Airports
Art- gingerbread cookie cutters in stamp pads to stamp onto paper.
Sensory- buttons
Easel- crayons and paper for drawing gingerbread characters
Fine Motor Activity- Creating gingerbread ornaments.
Dramatic Play- Bakery Shop
Writing center- vocabulary words
Puzzles- various puzzles
Library- gingerbread men felt for storytelling

Songs
-Five Gingerbread Cookies
-The Gingerbread Man Finds Shapes

-The Gingerbread Man

-The Gingerbreads are here, The Gingerbreads are there, The Gingerbreads, The Gingerbreads are Everywhere

-Gingerbread, Gingerbread (tune of: Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear)

Gingerbread Theme December 7- 10

Please remember there is no school on Monday (Professional Development for teachers)

During the month of December, we will be exploring a thematic unit of the gingerbread man. We will be reading various versions of the gingerbread man. We will also addressing various preschool skills and concepts while focusing on the theme of gingerbread. This is a favorite unit for students and teachers.We look forward to having fun and learning during the month of December.

Book this week:

The Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett

Small Groups
-Games- Candyland and/or Candyland Castle
-Positional Book- Each child will create a positional book, "Where is the gingerbread man?" Positional words include on, above, next to, below,between, and behind.
-Math- We will be rolling a number cube, identifying the number, then finding the same number on our gingerbread men paper. Then we will put a sticker on the number.
-I-touches- We will be creating virtual gingerbread men on our class itouches. 
-Color Spinner Game- We will be spinning a gingerbread man color and identifying the color it lands on. Then we will use clothespins and attach them on to their own tally boards.  We will then count how many clothespin are on each color, record how many on a paper, then discuss which color we had the most, least or the same.
-Uppercase and lowercase lettter match- We will be matching gingerbread men with uppercase and lowercase letters to their partner letters.  We will be also matching uppercase to the same uppercase letters. 
Centers
Blocks- Light brites on the rug
Art- using shaving cream, brown paint, and glue mixed together to make puffy gingerbread men to decorate.
Sensory- buttons
Easel- using spray bottles with brown colored water to spray onto white papertowels to create gingerbread men
Dramatic Play- Taking care of animals (related to characters to gingerbread men stories)
Writing center- vocabulary words
Puzzles- various puzzles
Library- gingerbread men felt for storytelling

Songs
-Five Gingerbread Cookies
-The Gingerbread Man Finds Shapes
-The Gingerbread Man
-The Gingerbreads are here, The Gingerbreads are there, The Gingerbreads, The Gingerbreads are Everywhere
-Gingerbread, Gingerbread (tune of: Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear)

Gingerbread Theme November 29 - December3

During the month of December, we will be exploring a thematic unit of the gingerbread man.  We will be reading various versions of the gingerbread man.  We will also addressing various preschool skills and concepts while focusing on the theme of gingerbread.  This is a favorite unit for students and teachers.We look forward to having fun and learning during the month of December.

Book this week:
The Gingerbread Man by Jim Aylesworth

Small Groups
-Art- We will be creating our own gingerbread man to attach to our "cookie sheet" bulletin board.
-Journals- We will be writing and drawing our favorite part of the Gingerbread Man book in our journals.
-Math- We will be measuring our bodies and items in our classroom using gingerbread man "rulers". A home extention will be sent home for this activity.
-Games- Candyland and/or Candyland Castle
-Positional Book- Each child will create a positional book, "Where is the gingerbread man?" Positional words include on, above, next to, below,between, and behind.
-Math- We will be rolling a number cube, identifying the number, then finding the same number on our gingerbread men paper.  Then we will put a sticker on the number. 

Centers
Blocks- Blocks
Art- gingerbread man collage
Sensory- sand
Easel-  brown paint and paper
Dramatic Play- materials for role playing the gingerbread man story
Writing center- vocabulary words
Puzzles- various puzzles
Library- gingerbread men felt for storytelling

Songs
Five Gingerbread Cookies
The Gingerbread Man Finds Shapes
The Gingerbread Man
Gingerbread, Gingerbread (tune of: Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear)

Pinata Party Pictures

We had our pinata party today.  Our stuffed animal friends came to school to listen to a pinata book then we took them outside to the playground to open our class pinata.  After we collected our pinata toys, we played with our stuffed animal friends on the playground.  It was a fun day. We also sent home their pinatas they created at the art table during choice time. 

November 22-24

Books this week
The Enormous Carrot
Small Groups
-Art- We will be creating a special turkey handprints for our families
-Language- We will be creating a postional book called "Where is the turkey?"
-Math- We will be playing a 1:1 turkey correspondence game.  We will roll a number cube, count the dots, then find the correct number on our turkeys.

Centers
Blocks-Farms and animals from the farm
Sensory Table-corn kernels
Dramatic Play- Baking Pies for Thanksgiving using crust colored playdough and pie pans.
Library- A variety of books about friends and construction
Easel- Turkey pictures to paint
Art-Collage materials to make tissue paper carrots and corn on the corn with kernels
Puzzles- puzzles
Writing Center- name cards

Song, Word Play and Letters
Poems-Mix a pancake
Songs- Come On and Join In To The Game, Hello Mr. Turkey, Bananas Song
Literacy Skills- Beginning word sounds game

Unit 2 September 15-19

Reminders:
-Pinata Party is Thursday. Please have your child bring in a stuffed animal friend from home to school.
-No School on Friday for conferences.

Unit 2, children will be talking about friendship, how to be a good friend, and ways to resolve conflicts with friends. Through the Story Time books, children hear about the importance of being who you are, helping friends, enjoying special times together, and getting along. In addition to listening to stories, children will learn to idenify rhyming works and beginning letters and sounds in words, as they build vocabulary and comprehension skills. They will also participate in a variety of music, poetry, math, science, and art activities.


Theme Concepts:
-A friend is someone we like and want to spend time with. Friends like to do things together. They enjoy each other's company.
-We can have more than one good friend, and we might like to do some things with one friend and other things with other friends.
-Friends usually share with and help one another.
-Friends may have arguments and get mad at one another. Usually, friends work out their problems and continue to be friends.
-We can make new friends and also keep old friends.

Books this week
Road Builders
Dandelion
Hooray for Pinata
Animals in Winter
Small Groups
-Science- Making Lemonade-We will be exploring and observing lemons and using our fine motor muscles to squeeze lemons. This is connected to the characters in Matthew and Tilly
-Language and Literacy- Matching pictures from our unit 2 story books with words. We will be using our phonemic awarness skills to try to determine what words go with which pictures. Long words, short words, beginning sounds and ending sounds.
-Alphabet Matching Names- We will cut and glue the letters of our name in order
- Let's Feed the Hungry Monkeys- We will be using cookies to expose children to the concept of dividing.  They will be equally dividing a cookies in to two equal sets.  We will also problem solve when we have an extra cookie.  We will discuss the term one-half. 
-Picture Memory- We will be playing a memory game using pictures and vocabulary words from our books from unit 2.
-Gross Motor activity- Children will be using gross motor skills on equipment such as a balance beam, tricycles, and pulling baskets up the ramp.
***Please note that some small group activities have continued from last week.

Centers
Blocks-cars and race tracks on the rug
Sensory Table-Goop (corn starch and water)
Dramatic Play- Construction Zone (hammers, nails (golf tees), wrenches, screws and other building materials.
Library- A variety of books about friends and construction
Easel- Writing invitations like Dandelion using feathers to dip into paint.
Art-decorating our bags for our pinata party
Puzzles- construction puzzles
Writing Center- writing invitations
Song, Word Play and Letters
Poems-Mix a pancake
Songs- Come On and Join In To The Game, Five Little Moneys, Bananas Song
Literacy Skills- T-I-L-L-Y(We will be singing this song inspired by bingo then changing the beginning letter to make new words such as silly, Billy, Milly.

Pinata Party and Recipe

Our class has been reading the book Hooray A Pinata.  We created invitations and envelopes to invite our stuffed animal friends back to school on November 18 for a pinata party.  They are very excited.

We have also been creating pinatas in small groups and individual ones at the art table at choice time. If you would like to create them at home it is messy but easy. We cut newspaper and had the children soak the newpaper in a flour and water solution. (1 part flour and 2 parts water) Then they put the newpaper on an inflated balloon. We will then paint them and decorate them before sending them hope to share with you.

Unit 2 Novemeber 8 -12

Unit 2, children will be talking about friendship, how to be a good friend, and ways to resolve conflicts with friends. Through the Story Time books, children hear about the importance of being who you are, helping friends, enjoying special times together, and getting along. In addition to listening to stories, children will learn to idenify rhyming works and beginning letters and sounds in words, as they build vocabulary and comprehension skills. They will also participate in a variety of music, poetry, math, science, and art activities.


Theme Concepts:
-A friend is someone we like and want to spend time with. Friends like to do things together. They enjoy each other's company.
-We can have more than one good friend, and we might like to do some things with one friend and other things with other friends.
-Friends usually share with and help one another.
-Friends may have arguments and get mad at one another. Usually, friends work out their problems and continue to be friends.
-We can make new friends and also keep old friends.

Books this week
Road Builders
The Door Bell Rang
Dandelion
Hooray for Pinata

Small Groups
-Math- Making 3D Pinatas- We will be creating and decorating pinata. We will be working together to create and decorate our pinatas. We will be focusing on cooperating with our peers to make decisions and relating our discussions to our class book.
-Language and Print Awareness- We will be making party invitations for our pinata party. We will be inviting our stuffed animals to come to school to our pinata party. I will send how a note with more details of our upcoming pinata party. We will alsobe working on following two step directions to create folded envelopes along with addressing envelopes to invite our stuffed animal friends.
-I Touches- We will be exploring letter apps in small groups.
-Science- Making Lemonade-We will be exploring and observing lemons and using our fine motor muscles to squeeze lemons.  This is connected to the characters in Matthew and Tilly
-Language and Literacy- Matching pictures from our unit 2 story books with words.  We will be using our phonemic awarness skills to try to determine what words go with which pictures.  Long words, short words, beginning sounds and ending sounds. 
-Alphabet Matching Names- We will cut and glue the letters of our name in order

***Please note that some small group activities will continue next week.

Centers
Blocks-construction vehicles and blocks to scoop up
Sensory Table-Dandelions Barber Shop-cutting yellow yarn and materials
Dramatic Play- Grocery Store is open (this is a favorite activity)We will be assisting the children making grocery lists to go and shop at the grocery store to find the same items on the shelves.
Library- A variety of books about friends and construction
Easel- crayon resistance with watercolors-We will write our names and observe how watercolors react with the crayon
Art-making pinatas- this should be fun and messy
Puzzles- fruit puzzles
Writing Center- Writing grocery lists using word cards and ads from the supermarkets

Song, Word Play and Letters
Poems-Mix a pancake
Songs- Come On and Join In To The Game, Down by the Bay, Head, The More We Get Together
Literacy Skills- T-I-L-L-Y(We will be singing this song inspired by bingo then changing the beginning letter to make new words such as silly, Billy, Milly.

Parent / Teacher Conferences - Nov. 19

Hello Parents,

On November 19, there will be no school for students. This is a day that you can schedule a time to meet with me to discuss the progress of your child. Below are times that you may choose from. Please give me your first and second choice for a time that is convenient for you to come to our classroom. I will do my best to accommodate you.
Please remember this is a time for us to discuss your child's progress. This is easier if your child or siblings are not present during our discussion.
Please email me or write a note in your child's folder to let me know what time you would like to meet with me.

8:00-8:15
8:15-8:30
8:30-8:45
8:45-9:00
9:00-9:15
9:15-9:30
9:30-9:45
9:45-10:00
10:00-10:15
10:15-10:30
10:30-10:45
10:45-11:00
11:00-11:15
11:15-11:30

Lisa Bottiglio

Unit 2 Friends - November 1-5

***NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS ON TUESDAY OCTOBER 2- PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT DAY****
In Unit 2, children will be talking about friendship, how to be a good friend, and ways to resolve conflicts with friends. Through the Story Time books, children hear about the importance of being who you are, helping friends, enjoying special times together, and getting along. In addition to listening to stories, children will learn to idenify rhyming works and beginning letters and sounds in words, as they build vocabulary and comprehension skills. They will also participate in a variety of music, poetry, math, science, and art activities.

Theme Concepts:
-A friend is someone we like and want to spend time with. Friends like to do things together. They enjoy each other's company.
-We can have more than one good friend, and we might like to do some things with one friend and other things with other friends.
-Friends usually share with and help one another

.-Friends may have arguments and get mad at one another. Usually, friends work out their problems and continue to be friends.

-We can make new friends and also keep old friends.

Books this week

Road Builders

Dandelion
Hooray for Pinata

Small Groups
-Math- Matching, Identifying and Counting Money- We will be creating sets of coins and paper bills. Then we will count the sets and record how many coins we have in each set.  This is coorelate with our grocery store cash regiseter.
-Language and Print Awareness- We will be discussing environmental signs such as open signs, closed signs, sale signs, and advertisments.  We will then create an open and closed sign by cutting and matching letters to our signs.
-Book Browsing- We will be listening to a teacher's three clues and try to guess the picture card they are talking about.  The picture cards and vocabulary is related to our class stories.
-Math- Making 3D Pinatas- We will be creating and decorating pinata.  We will be working together to create and decorate our pinatas.  We will be focusing on cooperating with our peers to make decisions and relating our discussions to our class book.
-Language and Print Awareness- We will be making party invitations for our pinata party.  We will be inviting our stuffed animals to come to school to our pinata party.  I will send how a note with more details of our upcoming pinata party.  We will alsobe working on following two step directions to create folded envelopes along with addressing envelopes to invite our stuffed animal friends. 
-I Touches- We will be exploring letter apps in small groups.

***Please note that some small group activities will continue next week.

Centers
Blocks-Making a playground with props
Sensory Table-Road Construction Vehicles with sand, gravel, and roads
Dramatic Play- Grocery Store is open (this is a favorite activity)We will be adding a scale to center to promote comparing weight of foods.
Library- A variety of books about friends and construction
Easel- Primary Paints for exploration and a pinata picture
Art-Clay Pizzas with props(oven, pizza slicer, toppings,oven mitt)
Puzzles- Matching Beginning Sounds and Pictures
Writing Center- Writing Captions for a picture album

Song, Word Play and Letters
Poems- Five Juicy Apples, Songs- Come On and Join In To The Game, Down by the Bay, Head, The More We Get Together
Literacy Skills- Clap out our names(counting the syllables in our friends names), If your name starts with a __ raise your hand, Chiming in with rhyming words.

Unit 2 Friends-Week 2 October 25-29

In Unit 2, children will be talking about friendship, how to be a good friend, and ways to resolve conflicts with friends. Through the Story Time books, children hear about the importance of being who you are, helping friends, enjoying special times together, and getting along. In addition to listening to stories, children will learn to idenify rhyming works and beginning letters and sounds in words, as they build vocabulary and comprehension skills. They will also participate in a variety of music, poetry, math, science, and art activities.

Theme Concepts:

-A friend is someone we like and want to spend time with. Friends like to do things together. They enjoy each other's company.

-We can have more than one good friend, and we might like to do some things with one friend and other things with other friends.

-Friends usually share with and help one another.

-Friends may have arguments and get mad at one another. Usually, friends work out their problems and continue to be friends.

-We can make new friends and also keep old friends.

Books this week
The Little Red Hen (Makes a Pizza)
A Letter to Amy by Ezra Jack Keats
Matthew and Tilly by Rebecca Jones

Small Groups
-Math- How Many Dinosaurs? We will count how many dinosaurs are in a forest and in the lake. We will use basis addition to discuss our results.

-Language- Alphabet Letter Tiles and Storybook Word Cards- They will match letters to create words of familiar vocabulary from our stories this week.

- Uppercase Alphabet Memory Game using letter pumpkins

-Science- Sorting Items for Grocery Store Play

-Language and Print Manipulatives- Children will match letter tiles to picture cards.  Pictures will be theme related to reinforce books of the week.

-Fine Motor- Children will color, cut and lace a pumpkin to promote fine motor skills

***Please note that some small group activities will continue next week.

Centers

Blocks-Making a playground with props
Sensory Table-Using sand molds with modeling sand

Dramatic Play- Grocery Store is open (this is a favorite activity)

Library- A variety of books about friends

Art-Leaf Rubbings

Easel-Drawing with chalk (wet and dry)

Science Experiment- making "slime"
Puzzles- Vegetable Puzzles

Writing Center- Creating Handmade Stationary for invitations

Song, Word Play and Letters

Poems- Five Juicy Apples, Five Little Owl in an old oak tree

Songs- Come On and Join In To The Game, Down by the Bay, Head, The More We Get Together

Literacy Skills- Clap out our names(counting the syllables in our friends names), If your name starts with a __ raise your hand, Chiming in with rhyming words.

Parlee Farm Pictures

Pumpkin Picking At Parlee Farms

Corduroy Party and End of Unit 1 Celebration

Today we had fun with our stuffed animal friends.  We watched a short video of Corduroy today with our stuffed animal friends too.  We also made apple crisp together. We went to the kitchen and put it in the oven.  The children loved smelling their creation cooking.  We tasted the apple crisp during snack time. Most of us liked it and some of our friends even asked for a second helping.  At the end of the day we had music with our stuffed animal friends. We loved dancing and singing with our stuffed animal friends.

Unit 2 Friends- Week 1

     In Unit 2, children will be talking about friendship, how to be a good friend, and ways to resolve conflicts with friends.  Through the Story Time books, children hear about the importance of being who you are, helping friends, enjoying special times together, and getting along.  In addition to listening to stories, children will learn to idenify rhyming works and beginning letters and sounds in words, as they build vocabulary and comprehension skills.  They will also participate in a variety of music, poetry, math, science, and art activities. 

Theme Concepts:

-A friend is someone we like and want to spend time with.  Friends like to do things together.  They enjoy each other's company.

-We can have more than one good friend, and we might like to do some things with one friend and other things with other friends.

-Friends usually share with and help one another.

-Friends may have arguments and get mad at one another. Usually, friends work out their problems and continue to be friends.

-We can make new friends and also keep old friends.

Books this week

The Little Red Hen (Makes a Pizza)
A Letter to Amy by Ezra Jack Keats
Small Groups
-Science- Exploring Pizza Dough- Children will be given pizza dough to observe.  They  will use language to describe they observations such as how does it feel and what does it look like.  They will be encouraged to knead the dough and shape it just like at a pizza shop.  We will send home our pizza creations for you to bake with your child.
-Writing- Friendship Pictures- Children will illustrate a picture of something they like to do with their friends at school. They will talk about their picture in small groups. We will create a class book using the illustrations.
-How many chips? Children will use 10 or 5 two sided chips. We they will put the chips into a cup then put them on a plate.  They will sort what colors are on the chips. Then use basis addition skills to count how many.
-Math- How Many Dinosaurs?  We will count how many dinosaurs are in a forest and in the lake. We will use basis addition to discuss our results.
-Language- Alphabet Letter Tiles and Storybook Word Cards- They will match letters to create words of familiar vocabulary from our stories this week.
- Uppercase Alphabet Memory Game.
***Please note that some small group activities will continue next week.
Centers
Blocks-Dollhouses and friends
Sensory Table-Washing Dishes
Dramatic Play- Washing Dishes and Inviting Friends Over to Play
Library- A variety of books about friends
Art Table-Making Bowl Drums
Easel- Pizza Painting
Puzzles- Vegetable Puzzles
Manipulatives- Stringing Beads
Writing Center- Creating Handmade Stationary
Song, Word Play and Letters
Poems- Five Juicy Apples, Five Little Owl in an old oak tree
Songs- Come On and Join In To The Game, Down by the Bay, Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes
Literacy Skills- Clap out our names(counting the syllables in our friends names), If your name starts with a __  raise your hand, Chiming in with rhyming words.

Families Week 4-October 12-15

Families Theme
This is our last week of our Family Theme

Children will be exploring and talking about families and the many different ways families relate to and help one another. Through the Story Time books, children will hear about a boy who helps his family take care of his baby sister, a boy who realizes how much he has grown when a new baby arrives, a girl who behaves badly when she want attention, and a lonely stuffed bear who finds a new friend. Besides listening to stories, children will begin to recognize initial sounds in words and identify rhyming words as they build vocabulary and comprehension skills. They will also be participating in a variety of music, poetry, mathematics, science, and art activities during Center Time and in Small Groups.

Theme Concepts:
*Family members have role names: mother, father, sister, and so on.
*Some family members live together; some live in other places but are still family members.
*Grown-ups in a family take care of the children. Younger children need more care. Older children can help take care of younger brothers and sisters.
*Children sometimes get angry at parents and may feel that their parents don't love them as much as their siblings.
*Sometimes grown-ups in a family don't like things that children do and tell them to stop or be quiet.
*Families do things together that are fun.

Books This Week:
Whistle for Willie by Ezra Jack Keats
Corduroy by Don Freeman


Small Groups:
-Marble Play- Each child will be given a marble to investigate. Using a magnifying glass we will look at how every marble is different. Then children will be given a box and and tubes to experiment how marbles move. They will be able to add materials to their box to see how the marble reacts and sounds when their marble hits other materials.

-Alphabet Bingo- This game will be playing with uppercase letters.

-Name Matching- Each child will be given a board with empty boxes(the correct # of boxes for letters in their name). Then they will be given the letters of their name which they will attach to the board. As an extention, children will be asked to cut and glue the letters of their name on a similiar board.

-The Animal Game- Children will use one-to-one correspondence to compare two sets numberically.  They will count animals and use sticks find a stick that has the same number of dots on it. They will determine if they are equal or unequal.

-Rhyming Word Pictures- Children will match rhyming cards in small groups.  The rhyming words will be familiar from some of our songs. (snake/cat,frog/dog, mouse/house, cat/bat).

-Boxes and Bands- Children will create simple instruments using boxes and rubber bands. We will listen to the sounds as we strum our instruments.  We will compare how thin rubber bands sound different than thicker rubber bands.  We will compare our instruments to the instruments we saw in our books,  (Oonga Boonga- harmonica, Whistle for Willie- whistling with our mouths) along with the bottle shakers we made last week.
**Please note that some of our small groups have continued into this week.
Centers
-Dramatic Play- Dunkin Donuts Cafe- Children will role play being a cashier, a baker, and a customer.  Provide materials will be small, medium, and large coffee cups/various kinds of colored munckins(pom-poms)/money/cash register/ muffin tins).
-Sensory Table- Rubber Ducks in water. (Babies Bath Tub)
-Art Table-Character Puppets for story Corduroy
-Writing- "My Favorite Stuffed Animal"
-Blocks- Blocks.
-Puzzles/Fine Motor-"Sewing"- Lacing Cards to dress Corduroy bear
-Library-Reading Aloud to dolls
-Literacy- Matching uppercase and lowercase letters on alphabet archs
Easel- Drawing with chalk then using cotton to blend colors
Songs, Word Play, and Letters
-Sequence Story of Corduroy
-Five Green and Speckled Frogs
-Dr. Jean Alphabet
-Five Little Ducks
-Down by the Bay
-If your name starts with ____ stand up

Families Unit- Week 3 October 4-8

Families Theme
Children will be exploring and talking about families and the many different ways families relate to and help one another. Through the Story Time books, children will hear about a boy who helps his family take care of his baby sister, a boy who realizes how much he has grown when a new baby arrives, a girl who behaves badly when she want attention, and a lonely stuffed bear who finds a new friend. Besides listening to stories, children will begin to recognize initial sounds in words and identify rhyming words as they build vocabulary and comprehension skills. They will also be participating in a variety of music, poetry, mathematics, science, and art activities during Center Time and in Small Groups.
Theme Concepts:
*Family members have role names: mother, father, sister, and so on.
*Some family members live together; some live in other places but are still family members.
*Grown-ups in a family take care of the children. Younger children need more care. Older children can help take care of younger brothers and sisters.
*Children sometimes get angry at parents and may feel that their parents don't love them as much as their siblings.
*Sometimes grown-ups in a family don't like things that children do and tell them to stop or be quiet.
*Families do things together that are fun.

Books This Week:

Peter's Chair by Ezra Jack Keats
Whistle for Willie by Ezra Jack Keats
Noisy Nora by Rosemary Wells

Small Groups:
Math- Which Bear Is First In Line?- Children will learn ordinal number names(first,second....) by using bear manipulatives in a hands on lesson.

-Science- Exploring Sound Cans- Children will use various materials(beads, paperclips, cotton..) and place them in metal coffee cans.  We will discuss how each can sounds and use describing words such as loud, soft, clang, rattle, muffled, banging.

-Baby Game- Each child will be given a board with various pictures of babies.  They will roll a number cube, identify the number, then count out the correct number of mini baby bottles to put on each baby. This will reinforce number identification skills along with 1:1 coorespondence.

-Marble Play- Each child will be given a marble to investigate.  Using a magnifying glass we will look at how every marble is different. Then children will be given a box and and tubes to experiment how marbles move.  They will be able to add materials to their box to see how the marble reacts and sounds when their marble hits other materials.

-Alphabet Bingo- This game will be playing with uppercase letters.

-Name Matching- Each child will be given a board with empty boxes(the correct # of boxes for letters in their name). Then they will be given the letters of their name which they will attach to the board. As an extention, children will be asked to cut and glue the letters of their name on a similiar board.

**Please note that some of our small groups will continue next week.
Centers
-Dramatic Play- Reading Aloud to Baby Dolls (board books and dolls will be provided to encourage pretend reading to babies).
-Sensory Table- We painted a box and put tubes through. We will roll marbles in the tube in the sensory table
-Art Table- Clay Dough with Baking Props
-Writing- Using word cards to encourage children to write words and draw pictures about families(Word Card Words- Mom, Dad, Family, Baby, Dog, Cat)
-Blocks- Marble Runs. Child created marble runs will be provided.
-Puzzles-Fabric swatches in the shape of clothing along with paper doll cutouts will be provided. We will discuss textures and colors of textures.
-Library/Literacy- Exploring theme related books.
-Painting with marbles using various paints.
Songs, Word Play, and Letters
-Owl song
-Five Green and Speckled Frogs
-Dr. Jean Alphabet
-Five Little Ducks
-Down by the Bay
-I'm a Little Teapot
-If your name starts with ____ raise your hand

Our Visit to The Burlington Science Center

Today we walked to the Science Center inside the Burlington High School.  We saw many animals inside and outside.  Outside in the cage was a redtailed hawk along with two turtle in a pen. Inside we saw an alligator, snapping turtles, snakes, spiders, ferrets, birds, and guinea pigs.  We came back and wrote our observations together.  We will go back to visit the animals again over the course of the school year

.

Families Unit- Week 2 September 28- October 1

Families Theme

Children will be exploring and talking about families and the many different ways families relate to and help one another. Through the Story Time books, children will hear about a boy who helps his family take care of his baby sister, a boy who realizes how much he has grown when a new baby arrives, a girl who behaves badly when she want attention, and a lonely stuffed bear who finds a new friend. Besides listening to stories, children will begin to recognize initial sounds in words and identify rhyming words as they build vocabulary and comprehension skills. They will also be participating in a variety of music, poetry, mathematics, science, and art activities during Center Time and in Small Groups.

Theme Concepts:
*Family members have role names: mother, father, sister, and so on.
*Some family members live together; some live in other places but are still family members.
*Grown-ups in a family take care of the children. Younger children need more care. Older children can help take care of younger brothers and sisters.
*Children sometimes get angry at parents and may feel that their parents don't love them as much as their siblings.
*Sometimes grown-ups in a family don't like things that children do and tell them to stop or be quiet.
*Families do things together that are fun.

Books This Week:
Peter's Chair by Ezra Jack Keats
Owl Babies by  Martin Waddell
Noisy Nora by Rosemary Wells
Small Groups:
-Family Portraits- We will look in the books Oonga Boonga and Peter's Chair and discuss their families. Then children will be encouraged to draw and label their own family portrait.

-Watch Me Count- Children will count objects from our unit and label each set with a number. We will be working with sets of 3, 7, and 15.

-I Touches- Children will be able to play preschool educational apps on our itouches.

-Science-Paper Fans inspired by our story Oonga Boonga.  Children will be encouraged to create an AB pattern after cutting strips of paper.

-Paint Chip Matching-Children will match color chips from the hardware store.  This activity is inspired by Peter's Chair.

- Peter's Chair Sequencing Activity- Children will look at the sequence of the story. Then cut out pictures and arrange them in the order of the story.  We will discuss the story and encourage problem solving skills.

Centers
-Dramatic Play- Taking Care of Babies (vocabulary-burping, feeding, rocking, changing)
-Sensory Table- Water and Air Movement using funnels and containers to fill and pour and water wheels
-Art Table- Creating owl puppets for the story Owl Babies
-Writing- Using word cards to encourage children to write words and draw pictures about families(Word Card Words- Mom, Dad, Family, Baby, Dog, Cat)
-Blocks- Blocks and people to encourage building houses for families
-Music-Making music bottles and listening to the sounds. Comparing sounds with other students' bottles.
-Library/Literacy- We are changing our library into a scene from Peter's Chair.  Paint chips, paintbrushes, pretend paint containers, drop clothes, and a chair will be provided for children to retell the story of Peter painting a chair with his father for his baby sister.  Pictures from the story will be posted to encourage children.
Easel- Painting Peter's Chair for his sister

Songs, Word Play, and Letters
-Owl song
-Five Green and Speckled Frogs
-Dr. Jean Alphabet
-Stand Up
-Down by the Bay
-Hands
-If your name starts with ____ raise your hand

Families Unit - Week 1 September 20-24

Families Theme
Children will be exploring and talking about families and the many different ways families relate to and help one another.  Through the Story Time books, children will hear about a boy who helps his family take care of his baby sister, a boy who realizes how much he has grown when a new baby arrives, a girl who behaves badly when she want attention, and a lonely stuffed bear who finds a new friend.  Besides listening to stories, children will begin to recognize initial sounds in words and identify rhyming words as they build vocabulary and comprehension skills.  They will also be participating in a variety of music, poetry, mathematics, science, and art activities during Center Time and in Small Groups.
Theme Concepts:
*Family members have role names: mother, father, sister, and so on.
*Some family members live together; some live in other places but are still family members.
*Grown-ups in a family take care of the children. Younger children need more care.  Older children can help take care of younger brothers and sisters.
*Children sometimes get angry at parents and may feel that their parents don't love them as much as their siblings.
*Sometimes grown-ups in a family don't like things that children do and tell them to stop or be quiet.
*Families do things together that are fun.

Books This Week:
Oonga Boonga by Frieda Wishinsky
Peter's Chair by Ezra Jack Keats

Small Groups:
(Please note that some of our small groups will carry over to Monday)
-Writing/Storytelling- Children will be encouraged to draw pictures in blank books and write letters or words for their illustrations

-Letter Matching- Children will match uppercase letters in small groups.  Teachers will discuss the sounds for the matching letters.

-Book Browsing- Children will look through theme related books. They will also discuss vocabulary/picture cards for the unit.

-Family Portraits- We will look in the books Oonga Boonga and Peter's Chair and discuss their families. Then children will be encouraged to draw and label their own family portrait.

-Watch Me Count- Children will count objects from our unit and label each set with a number.  We will be working with sets of 3, 7, and 15.

-I Touches- Children will be able to play preschool educational apps on our itouches.

Centers
-Dramatic Play- Taking Care of Babies
-Sensory Table- Water Movement using squeeze bottles and funnels
-Art Table- Making tissue paper collages
-Writing- Writing my name with letter stampers
-Blocks- Block Play
-Math-Sorting buttons by color, shape, and number of hole
-Library- Books about families

Songs, Word Play, and Letters
-Five Green and Speckled Frogs
-Dr. Jean Alphabet
-Stand Up
-Down by the Bay
-If your name starts with ____ raise your hand

September 13-17

We are having fun and learning in the Cub Cadet classroom.  Please enjoy the pictures we took on Friday.  We sang "I'm a little raccoon" using the masks we created. We will continue to discuss The Kissing Hand along with some new books next week.  Below is activities we will enjoy next week.

Books This Week:

The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin
Silly Sally by Audrey Wood

Small Groups:
-1 to 1 coorespondence game- Using a number cube, each child will roll the cube to see what number the cube will land on.  They identify or count the number on the cube.  Then using dot markers, each child will dot that many hands on their paper.

-Tally Charts- Using a spinner with pictures from our story The Kissing Hand, each child will record and color the same picture on the spinner. We will discuss which picture came out the most and least.

-Memory Game- Using pictures from The Kissing Hand, we will play a memory game.

-Number Book- Each child will create a sticker number book inspired by The Kissing Hand.

-Using Scissors- We will be working on using scissors to follow a  "trail."  These samples will be saved and placed in our portfolios.

Centers
-Dramatic Play- Housekeeping
-Sensory Table-Sand and sand toys
-Art Table- Painting our hands to create our names in a "Kissing Hand"
-Blocks- Cars on tracks
-Math- Hi Ho Cherry-O
-Library- Books about school
-Table Activity- Pinching clothespins on number cards. Children will count how many kissing hands are on a board and put a clothespin on the correct number below.
-Writing Center- paper and markers available as an open ended writing activity

Songs, Word Play, and Letters
-I'm a little raccoon
-If your happy and you know it
-Head, shoulders, knees, and toes
-Take your little hands

First Day

First Week of School

We will be getting to know each other and exploring our new classroom.  This week we will focus on learning the new routine of the classroom and learning more about each other.

Books This Week:

The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn

DW's Guide to Preschool by Marc Brown
Small Groups:
-Visual Discrimination Game- We will roll a number cube and visually match the numbered pieces to create a picture from our story The Kissing Hand.
- Art- We will create a raccoon mask for the character in our story.  We will use these masks for a raccoon song during music.
-Each child will create a self portrait for their portfolio.
-Sequencing- Each child will cut and glue an AB pattern using pictures from our story The Kissing Hand.
-Math- We will use blocks to measure how long a street is.

Centers

-Dramatic Play- Housekeeping

-Sensory Table-Sand and sand toys

-Art Table- hand prints for Kissing Hand project
-Blocks- Cars on tracks

-Math- pop beads

-Library- Books about school

Songs, Word Play, and Letters
-I'm a little raccoon
-If your happy and you know it
-Head, shoulders, knees, and toes
-Take your little hands