Monday, December 29, 2008
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Miss. Ali's final class news for 2008!!!
We ended 2008 with our final units on Winter and Hanukkah!
The past two weeks we have been studying winter weather, clothes we wear in the winter and fun things we like to do in this season! We also talked about a special holiday that comes up in early winter, Hanukkah!
We practiced letters "G" and "Q" and did some great projects with these letters.
We also reviewed writing numbers 2 and 3!
This Monday, we had a special guest come in and entertain the children, Joodles the Clown! She sang some wonderful songs with us, and showed us what it was like to become a clown! She showed us how she puts on her make-up, costume and big clown shoes! We also made a fun 3-D Dreidel Necklace! We started to use some of our musical instruments and made some great beats to our favorite classroom Cd's .
Tuesday we made a fun hand menorah using our hands as the main ingredient for our project! We also practiced some reading and writing on our language arts worksheets!
Wednesday, we made marvelous matching mittens, that are hanging up around our room! Come check them out! We also had some practice with the letter G, and name words that began with G!
Thursday, we had our last drama class with Miss. Vanda =-( We also made a menorah picture and decorated the helper candle, or the shaamash! This will be a great addition to any Hanukkah party!
Friday, we ended 2008 with our last Shabbat of the year~! We also completed our letter of the week project for letter "G."
A BIG THANK YOU TO OUR ROYAL READER THIS WEEK, DAWN LEVI!
Books We Read This Week:
Monday-The Rugrats Book of Chanukah- Sarah Willson
Tuesday- What is Hanukkah?- Harriet Ziefert
Wednesday- This is the Dreidel- Levine and Frye
Thursday- Chanukah Lights Everywhere- Rosen Iwai
Friday- Eight Nights Of Hanukkah- Rosen
**Important Notes!***
The playschool will be closed for winter break starting Monday, December 22nd. Playschool will resume on Monday, January 5th~
Please be aware of what day you are scheduled to come in for Royal Reader! The schedule is posted outside of the classroom, and a copy was sent home to every parent! Royal Reader will resume the first week we are back from break, January 9th.
We are very sad to see our drama teacher, Miss Vanda leave us, but we wish her lots of love and luck with her new bundle of joy! Mr. Michael, also from the Arden Theatre will join our class the first week in January, and continue with our drama program! The children are thrilled to have met him this week, and look forward to an exciting second half of the year with him!!
Whats coming up?....
Wildlife comes to the Pre-K! Monday, January 26th
Multicultural Week in Pre-K.. in February!
We wish everyone a wonderful, happy and healthy holiday season!! See you in 2009!!
Best-
Miss. Ali and Miss. C
The past two weeks we have been studying winter weather, clothes we wear in the winter and fun things we like to do in this season! We also talked about a special holiday that comes up in early winter, Hanukkah!
We practiced letters "G" and "Q" and did some great projects with these letters.
We also reviewed writing numbers 2 and 3!
This Monday, we had a special guest come in and entertain the children, Joodles the Clown! She sang some wonderful songs with us, and showed us what it was like to become a clown! She showed us how she puts on her make-up, costume and big clown shoes! We also made a fun 3-D Dreidel Necklace! We started to use some of our musical instruments and made some great beats to our favorite classroom Cd's .
Tuesday we made a fun hand menorah using our hands as the main ingredient for our project! We also practiced some reading and writing on our language arts worksheets!
Wednesday, we made marvelous matching mittens, that are hanging up around our room! Come check them out! We also had some practice with the letter G, and name words that began with G!
Thursday, we had our last drama class with Miss. Vanda =-( We also made a menorah picture and decorated the helper candle, or the shaamash! This will be a great addition to any Hanukkah party!
Friday, we ended 2008 with our last Shabbat of the year~! We also completed our letter of the week project for letter "G."
A BIG THANK YOU TO OUR ROYAL READER THIS WEEK, DAWN LEVI!
Books We Read This Week:
Monday-The Rugrats Book of Chanukah- Sarah Willson
Tuesday- What is Hanukkah?- Harriet Ziefert
Wednesday- This is the Dreidel- Levine and Frye
Thursday- Chanukah Lights Everywhere- Rosen Iwai
Friday- Eight Nights Of Hanukkah- Rosen
**Important Notes!***
The playschool will be closed for winter break starting Monday, December 22nd. Playschool will resume on Monday, January 5th~
Please be aware of what day you are scheduled to come in for Royal Reader! The schedule is posted outside of the classroom, and a copy was sent home to every parent! Royal Reader will resume the first week we are back from break, January 9th.
We are very sad to see our drama teacher, Miss Vanda leave us, but we wish her lots of love and luck with her new bundle of joy! Mr. Michael, also from the Arden Theatre will join our class the first week in January, and continue with our drama program! The children are thrilled to have met him this week, and look forward to an exciting second half of the year with him!!
Whats coming up?....
Wildlife comes to the Pre-K! Monday, January 26th
Multicultural Week in Pre-K.. in February!
We wish everyone a wonderful, happy and healthy holiday season!! See you in 2009!!
Best-
Miss. Ali and Miss. C
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Friday, December 5, 2008
News from Ms. Terri and Ms. Amber, 12/5/08
Hi Moms, Dads and Special Grown-ups!
We finished up our letter D fun by making "dirty D's" The children decorated them with more dinosaurs and dots and our Puppy Class friend "David," whose name starts with a D! The children had a big laugh because we painted them with dirt and tried to make them as messy as we could.
For letter E we read Elmo: Clap Your Hands, by Joe Ewers. We sang along with the Elmo puppet on the cover and then we made excellent Elmo portraits. (Check out the Elmo Hanukkia in Ms. Gloria's room. The After-School Arts bunch made it for our Hanukkah Happening!)
The children are getting super excited about Hanukkah! We started to learn some new songs and have been practicing spinning dreidels. We read Sammy Spider's First Hanukkah by Sylvia Rouss and Spin the Dreidel! by Alexandra Cooper and Claudine Gevrey. The children have kicked into production mode! We have lots of decorating to do. We have to prepare Ms. Gloria's room for the Hanukkah Happening. This week we made some sparkling stars to hang on the cieling and have plans to make the room sparkle for this special event.
Next week, on Wednesday, December 10 and Thursday, December 11, we will have Parent Teacher Conferences. There will be No Playschool on either of these two days. There is a sign-up sheet located above the children's coat area to schedule appointments. Children may be brought in to school at your conference time. Our teachers will be available to watch the children for the time that you are in conference.
Our annual Hanukkah Happening and Playschool Open House will be held on Sunday, December 14 at 11AM. If you would like to volunteer to help at the Hanukkah celebration, please let us know. There will be No Afterschool Arts Club on Tuesday, December 16. All children will be dismissed on that day at 12:30 PM.
The winter holiday break begins on Monday, December 22. The Playschool will re-open on Monday, January 5, 2009.
We finished up our letter D fun by making "dirty D's" The children decorated them with more dinosaurs and dots and our Puppy Class friend "David," whose name starts with a D! The children had a big laugh because we painted them with dirt and tried to make them as messy as we could.
For letter E we read Elmo: Clap Your Hands, by Joe Ewers. We sang along with the Elmo puppet on the cover and then we made excellent Elmo portraits. (Check out the Elmo Hanukkia in Ms. Gloria's room. The After-School Arts bunch made it for our Hanukkah Happening!)
The children are getting super excited about Hanukkah! We started to learn some new songs and have been practicing spinning dreidels. We read Sammy Spider's First Hanukkah by Sylvia Rouss and Spin the Dreidel! by Alexandra Cooper and Claudine Gevrey. The children have kicked into production mode! We have lots of decorating to do. We have to prepare Ms. Gloria's room for the Hanukkah Happening. This week we made some sparkling stars to hang on the cieling and have plans to make the room sparkle for this special event.
Next week, on Wednesday, December 10 and Thursday, December 11, we will have Parent Teacher Conferences. There will be No Playschool on either of these two days. There is a sign-up sheet located above the children's coat area to schedule appointments. Children may be brought in to school at your conference time. Our teachers will be available to watch the children for the time that you are in conference.
Our annual Hanukkah Happening and Playschool Open House will be held on Sunday, December 14 at 11AM. If you would like to volunteer to help at the Hanukkah celebration, please let us know. There will be No Afterschool Arts Club on Tuesday, December 16. All children will be dismissed on that day at 12:30 PM.
The winter holiday break begins on Monday, December 22. The Playschool will re-open on Monday, January 5, 2009.
News from Ms. Gloria, Friday, December 5, 2008
Friday, December 5, 2008 Letter of the Week: C
On Monday, we read Two Cool Coyotes by Jillian Lund. This book of friendship tells the story of Frank and Angelina, best friend coyotes. Hanukkah begins on Sunday, December 21. The boys and girls began learning new songs for the celebration and they painted murals for our Hanukkah bulletin board. We hope to see all of our Playschool families attend our Hanukkah Happening and Playschool Open House on Sunday, December 14 from 11 AM until 1 PM. Delicious latkes, craft projects for children, dreidel games, photos with Mr. Latke, and Hanukkah music and songs will be featured.
On Tuesday, we read What Time Is It, Mr. Crocodile? by Judy Sierra. In this colorfully illustrated, rhyming book, Mr. Crocodile is being teased by his monkey friends. He plans on cooking the monkeys for his dinner, but after much thought, he makes a decision to be their friend. For our letter of the week project, the boys and girls made their letter C look like a cheetah. The children tried spinning dreidels, too. It takes much practice, but we did have a few children who were able to make their dreidels spin.
On Wednesday, one group of children read Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson. This picture story follows Harold as he draws himself in some fun-filled adventures. The other group of children made pictures of dreidels for their journals. In yoga, Miss Kim asked the children to name their favorite color as they practiced yoga breathing. The boys and girls played "Yoga Simon Says" and they are getting good at listening for the words, "Simon Says" before making a yoga movement. They went on an imaginary trip to the zoo using the poses for riding a bike, as their means of transportation, and moving like birds, lions, giraffes, and butterflies. The boys and girls tried spinning the dreidels, again, and we sang Hanukkah songs, too.
Thursday, we read Chanukah Lights Everywhere by Michael J. Rosen. This book tells how the lights of Hanukkah brighten up homes everywhere. For our project, the boys and girls painted candle headbands. The children will wear the headbands at the Hanukkah Happening.
On Friday, we read Sammy Spider's First Hanukkah by Sylvia A. Rouss. This Sammy Spider adventure tells how Sammy learns about Hanukkah. He learns how to spin a dreidel and how to light the Haukkah menorah. Mrs. Spider surprises Sammy by spinning him eight very special gifts. For our art project, the boys and girls made Hanukkah decorations for the bulletin board.
Thank you to Hayden, Annalise, Nina, Thomas, and Lucas for being our super "kids of the day" this week.
Next week, on Wednesday, December 10 and Thursday, December 11, we will have Parent Teacher Conferences. There will be No Playschool on either of these two days. There is a sign-up sheet on our classroom door to schedule appointments. Children may be brought in to school at your conference time. Our teachers will be available to watch the children for the time that you are in conference.
Our annual Hanukkah Happening and Playschool Open House will be held on Sunday, December 14 at 11AM. If you would like to volunteer to help at the Hanukkah celebration, please let us know. There will be No Afterschool Arts Club on Tuesday, December 16. All children will be dismissed on that day at 12:30 PM.
Don't forget about having your child stay for Afterschool Arts Clubs. Cooking, Science, Art, Movement, and Music are our featured activities. During each afternoon, the children have free playtime, story time, the planned activity or project, snack, and indoor or outdoor bike riding. It's a great way for your child to spend their afternoons!
The winter holiday break begins on Monday, December 22. The Playschool will re-open on Monday, January 5, 2009. Our second trip to the Art Museum will be on Tuesday, January 13.
Have a great weekend!
Miss Gloria, Miss Allison, Miss Lilly, Miss Sophie and Miss Mindy
On Monday, we read Two Cool Coyotes by Jillian Lund. This book of friendship tells the story of Frank and Angelina, best friend coyotes. Hanukkah begins on Sunday, December 21. The boys and girls began learning new songs for the celebration and they painted murals for our Hanukkah bulletin board. We hope to see all of our Playschool families attend our Hanukkah Happening and Playschool Open House on Sunday, December 14 from 11 AM until 1 PM. Delicious latkes, craft projects for children, dreidel games, photos with Mr. Latke, and Hanukkah music and songs will be featured.
On Tuesday, we read What Time Is It, Mr. Crocodile? by Judy Sierra. In this colorfully illustrated, rhyming book, Mr. Crocodile is being teased by his monkey friends. He plans on cooking the monkeys for his dinner, but after much thought, he makes a decision to be their friend. For our letter of the week project, the boys and girls made their letter C look like a cheetah. The children tried spinning dreidels, too. It takes much practice, but we did have a few children who were able to make their dreidels spin.
On Wednesday, one group of children read Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson. This picture story follows Harold as he draws himself in some fun-filled adventures. The other group of children made pictures of dreidels for their journals. In yoga, Miss Kim asked the children to name their favorite color as they practiced yoga breathing. The boys and girls played "Yoga Simon Says" and they are getting good at listening for the words, "Simon Says" before making a yoga movement. They went on an imaginary trip to the zoo using the poses for riding a bike, as their means of transportation, and moving like birds, lions, giraffes, and butterflies. The boys and girls tried spinning the dreidels, again, and we sang Hanukkah songs, too.
Thursday, we read Chanukah Lights Everywhere by Michael J. Rosen. This book tells how the lights of Hanukkah brighten up homes everywhere. For our project, the boys and girls painted candle headbands. The children will wear the headbands at the Hanukkah Happening.
On Friday, we read Sammy Spider's First Hanukkah by Sylvia A. Rouss. This Sammy Spider adventure tells how Sammy learns about Hanukkah. He learns how to spin a dreidel and how to light the Haukkah menorah. Mrs. Spider surprises Sammy by spinning him eight very special gifts. For our art project, the boys and girls made Hanukkah decorations for the bulletin board.
Thank you to Hayden, Annalise, Nina, Thomas, and Lucas for being our super "kids of the day" this week.
Next week, on Wednesday, December 10 and Thursday, December 11, we will have Parent Teacher Conferences. There will be No Playschool on either of these two days. There is a sign-up sheet on our classroom door to schedule appointments. Children may be brought in to school at your conference time. Our teachers will be available to watch the children for the time that you are in conference.
Our annual Hanukkah Happening and Playschool Open House will be held on Sunday, December 14 at 11AM. If you would like to volunteer to help at the Hanukkah celebration, please let us know. There will be No Afterschool Arts Club on Tuesday, December 16. All children will be dismissed on that day at 12:30 PM.
Don't forget about having your child stay for Afterschool Arts Clubs. Cooking, Science, Art, Movement, and Music are our featured activities. During each afternoon, the children have free playtime, story time, the planned activity or project, snack, and indoor or outdoor bike riding. It's a great way for your child to spend their afternoons!
The winter holiday break begins on Monday, December 22. The Playschool will re-open on Monday, January 5, 2009. Our second trip to the Art Museum will be on Tuesday, January 13.
Have a great weekend!
Miss Gloria, Miss Allison, Miss Lilly, Miss Sophie and Miss Mindy
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Classroom News From Miss. Ali- Dec 1st
This week our unit was Winter! We made some great winter projects, introduced the letter "Q" and practiced writing the number 6.
On Monday, we made sparkly doily snowflakes which we decorated with craypas and glitter! They look great hanging up in our classroom! We started practice writing the letter "Q" and thought of some words that began with "Q."
On Tuesday, we made Frosty Friend Snowmen! We made our snowmen out of cupcake liners!! Of course we didn't want the snowman to be cold, so we added a hat, gloves, some boots, scarfs and buttons!! We learned how to write the word "six" and write the number '"6."
Wednesday, we made tasty marshmallow snowmen!!! We got to glue (and sample =-) marshmallows to make our snowman's body! We used pretzel rods for his/her arms and legs. When the children were finished creating their snowmen, they got to eat some of the yummy treats we used for this project! We continued practice with the letter "Q" as well.
On Thursday, we read and illustrated a winter weather storybook. The story told us how it is important to keep warm and safe during the winter weather. The children named some supplies that one may need to keep warm during these cold winter months!! Miss. Vanda came for drama and did some great song and movement activities with the children~! They had a refresher course of what it means to have "Rhythm, and speak in Unison!
Friday, we ended our week with a letter "Q" project. We made a letter "Q" and made it into a QUEEN!! We were also happy to be back celebrating Shabbat with Cantor Carl, after our Thanksgiving Break!
THANK YOU TO OUR ROYAL READER THIS WEEK, MARJORIE DRASNIN!!
Books This Week:
Monday-Oh Can You Say, What's The Weather Today?- Tish Rabe
Tuesday-
All You Need For A Snowman- Alice Schertle
Wednesday- Is That You Winter?- Stephen Gammell
Thursday- Prize In The Snow- Bill Easterling
Friday- The Snowman Storybook- Raymond Briggs
** Parent- Teacher Conferences are Wednesday, December 10th and Thursday, December 11th. There will be no school for students, but child care is available in Miss. Gloria's room during your conference time, if needed.
Please check out the sign up sheet outside of our classroom, to take note of the time you have signed up for!
Parent Volunteers are also needed for our Hanukkah Happening on Sunday, December 14th @11:00am. A sign up sheet for this event is also located outside our classroom!
~~~ Stay Tuned for our 2009 Royal Reader Schedule, which will be posted outside of our class. Copies of this list were sent home a few weeks ago, so please make sure you are aware of your scheduled date!! If there is a problem with a day you are scheduled to come in, please let me know. =-)
On Monday, we made sparkly doily snowflakes which we decorated with craypas and glitter! They look great hanging up in our classroom! We started practice writing the letter "Q" and thought of some words that began with "Q."
On Tuesday, we made Frosty Friend Snowmen! We made our snowmen out of cupcake liners!! Of course we didn't want the snowman to be cold, so we added a hat, gloves, some boots, scarfs and buttons!! We learned how to write the word "six" and write the number '"6."
Wednesday, we made tasty marshmallow snowmen!!! We got to glue (and sample =-) marshmallows to make our snowman's body! We used pretzel rods for his/her arms and legs. When the children were finished creating their snowmen, they got to eat some of the yummy treats we used for this project! We continued practice with the letter "Q" as well.
On Thursday, we read and illustrated a winter weather storybook. The story told us how it is important to keep warm and safe during the winter weather. The children named some supplies that one may need to keep warm during these cold winter months!! Miss. Vanda came for drama and did some great song and movement activities with the children~! They had a refresher course of what it means to have "Rhythm, and speak in Unison!
Friday, we ended our week with a letter "Q" project. We made a letter "Q" and made it into a QUEEN!! We were also happy to be back celebrating Shabbat with Cantor Carl, after our Thanksgiving Break!
THANK YOU TO OUR ROYAL READER THIS WEEK, MARJORIE DRASNIN!!
Books This Week:
Monday-Oh Can You Say, What's The Weather Today?- Tish Rabe
Tuesday-
All You Need For A Snowman- Alice Schertle
Wednesday- Is That You Winter?- Stephen Gammell
Thursday- Prize In The Snow- Bill Easterling
Friday- The Snowman Storybook- Raymond Briggs
** Parent- Teacher Conferences are Wednesday, December 10th and Thursday, December 11th. There will be no school for students, but child care is available in Miss. Gloria's room during your conference time, if needed.
Please check out the sign up sheet outside of our classroom, to take note of the time you have signed up for!
Parent Volunteers are also needed for our Hanukkah Happening on Sunday, December 14th @11:00am. A sign up sheet for this event is also located outside our classroom!
~~~ Stay Tuned for our 2009 Royal Reader Schedule, which will be posted outside of our class. Copies of this list were sent home a few weeks ago, so please make sure you are aware of your scheduled date!! If there is a problem with a day you are scheduled to come in, please let me know. =-)
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Class News from Pre-K
This week we wrapped up our unit and projects on Thanksgiving. We sang some FANTASTIC Thanksgiving songs, that I hope will be shared with each and every family during the holidays!!
We practiced and reviewed the letter "O" and did some listening activities to learn how to follow directions better!
On Monday we read "The Know Nothings Talk Turkey" by Michele Sobel Spirn
Tuesday we read "One Terrific Thanksgiving" by Marjorie Sharmat
Wednesday we read "Thanksgiving Day"- by Anne Rockwell
We made a great drawing of what we would eat for thanksgiving dinner, created an adorable turkey headband with feathers, and began painting a special SURPRISE gift for Hanukkah!
We Wish Everyone A Wonderful Holiday!!
See you in December!
Miss. Ali and Miss. C
We practiced and reviewed the letter "O" and did some listening activities to learn how to follow directions better!
On Monday we read "The Know Nothings Talk Turkey" by Michele Sobel Spirn
Tuesday we read "One Terrific Thanksgiving" by Marjorie Sharmat
Wednesday we read "Thanksgiving Day"- by Anne Rockwell
We made a great drawing of what we would eat for thanksgiving dinner, created an adorable turkey headband with feathers, and began painting a special SURPRISE gift for Hanukkah!
We Wish Everyone A Wonderful Holiday!!
See you in December!
Miss. Ali and Miss. C
Sunday, November 23, 2008
News from Ms. Terri and Ms. Amber 11/19/08
Hi Moms, Dads and Special Grown-ups,
IMPORTANT!
Please let Ms. Gloria know by Monday, December 1 any dates that you will not be available to co-op from January through May. She will be preparing the new Parent of the Day schedule so that you can receive it before the winter break.
The children were very excited to have Ms. Amber back with us and the appearance of the first snow flakes. We've been having a great time singing Thanksgiving songs and learning a new Winter poem. We finished up letter "C" by reading It looked Like Spilt Milk by Charles G. Shaw. We mixed up a slurry of corn starch and water and poured it onto our blue table and made cloud shapes. The children really enjoyed the feeling of the mixture. You can gather it into a ball for a second, them it oozes through your fingers again. As you play with it, it gets stiffer and then finally turns back to powder.
We've been busy making some fun Thanksgiving treats. We made awesome Turkey hats to wear for a parade or share with the chef du jour and we made a nifty turkey to decorate a special friends celebration.
Some Thanksgiving books we've been reading include: The Thanksgiving Beast Feast by Karen Gray Ruelle, Clifford's Thanksgiving Visit by Norman Bridwell, What is Thanksgiving? by Harriet Ziefert and Claudine Schumacher and Dinosaurs Thanksgiving by Liza Donnelly.
We were thrilled to find a book about Dinosaurs and Thanksgiving as we began to talk about letter "D."
For letter "D" we made a delightful-dotty-diplodocus-dinosaurs and we're working on some big dinosaur D's. Our letter "D" books include:
If the Dinosaurs Came Back by Bernard Most and Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs
by Byron Barton. This week is a short one and we plan to begin our super-secret Hanukkah presents...ssshhhh!
Our New Winter Poem:
Hat and mittens keep us warm
We are ready... for the storm
Pull your coat up to your chin
Do not let the cold weather in!
Our Playschool Art Exhibit will be coming down on Monday, December 1 . If you would like to purchase your child's work of art and/or order customized stationery, please let us know as soon as possible.
Another reminder of upcoming dates to remember:
On Wednesday, November 26, we will dismiss at 12:30 and there will be no After-school Arts Club. The Playschool will be closed for Thanksgiving on Thursday, November 27 and Friday, November 28.
Wednesday, December 10 and Thursday, December 11 are Parent Teacher Conferences. There will be no classes for the children on conference day, but staff will be available to watch children during meetings. More information will be available soon.
Our annual Hanukkah Happening and Playschool Open House will be held on Sunday, December 14 at 11AM. More information will be forthcoming in the next few weeks.
The winter holiday break begins on Monday, December 22. The Playschool will re-open on Monday, January 5, 2009.
Wishing All a peaceful and restful Thanksgiving Holiday!
Ms. Terri and Ms. Amber
Friday, November 21, 2008
News from Ms. Gloria, Friday, November 21, 2008
Letter of the Week: T
On Monday, we read the book that was sent from the Art Museum titled Bear in a Square by Stella Blackstone. In this book, shapes can be found on each colorfully illustrated page. On one of the pages in the book, there is a picture of a clown. As the book was being read, the children were asked to look for the clown's face. For our art project, the boys and girls made their own clown faces with an oval shaped head, star eyes, a heart nose, a crescent mouth, and a rectangle hat. We talked to the children about going on a bus and what they would be doing in the museum.
All of the teachers were very proud of the children as they went on their first trip to the Art Museum. Everyone followed the rules and participated in all of the activities that were presented to us. The theme of the lesson was Shapes and Colors in Art. In the museum, the boys and girls looked at paintings that were filled with shapes. They also found shapes on the ceiling in one of the hallways. They walked through the Gee's Bend Quilts exhibition and viewed many quilts of various styles, colors, fabrics, and designs. Our museum guide gave the children the opportunity to touch a quilted fabric, too. The children made a group quilt design using felt squares. For our art project, the boys and girls made their own quilt square. You can see the squares hanging up in our classroom.
On Wednesday, one group read Top Cat by Lois Ehlert. When Top Cat learns of the arrival of a new kitten, he makes it known who's the boss. The other group of children put a picture of a turkey in their journals. In yoga, Miss Kim asked the children to make their favorite animal pose as they practiced yoga breathing. Their imaginary trip was to play outside at the park. They moved their legs to pretend to ride their bicycles. At the park, they made a picnic lunch, ate gigantic sandwiches, and sipped a drink through a straw. They posed as a frog, too, and then, rode back home on their bicycles. They also played the dog and snake yoga game.
On Thursday, we read One Terrific Thanksgiving by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat. This book is about a bear who learns that Thanksgiving is not only about eating a big dinner, but it is more importantly, about being with friends. For our art project, the children painted a ceramic gift for their families for the holiday season. On Friday, we read Today I Feel Silly and Other Moods That Make My Day by Jamie Lee Curtis. This book explains the different ways that children may feel on any particular day. Some of the children painted their ceramic project while others made a turkey project.
Thank you to Maxwell, Jack F., Brooke, Max, and Jonnah for being our super "kids of the day" this week. Next week, on Wednesday, November 26, we will dismiss at 12:30 and there will be no Afterschool Arts Club. The Playschool will be closed for Thanksgiving on Thursday, November 27 and Friday, November 28. Wednesday, December 10 and Thursday, December 11 are Parent Teacher Conferences. More information will be available soon. Our annual Hanukkah Happening and Playschool Open House will be held on Sunday, December 14 at 11AM. More information will be forthcoming as well. The winter holiday break begins on Monday, December 22. The Playschool will re-open on Monday, January 5, 2009.
Thank you to all of our parents who accompanied us on the trip to the Art Museum. Our next trip will be on January 13, 2009.
Please let me know by Monday, December 1 any dates that you will not be available to co-op from January through May. I will be preparing the new Parent of the Day schedule so that you can receive it before the winter break.
Have a great weekend! Happy Thanksgiving!
Miss Gloria, Miss Allison, Miss Lilly, Miss Sophie and Miss Mindy
On Monday, we read the book that was sent from the Art Museum titled Bear in a Square by Stella Blackstone. In this book, shapes can be found on each colorfully illustrated page. On one of the pages in the book, there is a picture of a clown. As the book was being read, the children were asked to look for the clown's face. For our art project, the boys and girls made their own clown faces with an oval shaped head, star eyes, a heart nose, a crescent mouth, and a rectangle hat. We talked to the children about going on a bus and what they would be doing in the museum.
All of the teachers were very proud of the children as they went on their first trip to the Art Museum. Everyone followed the rules and participated in all of the activities that were presented to us. The theme of the lesson was Shapes and Colors in Art. In the museum, the boys and girls looked at paintings that were filled with shapes. They also found shapes on the ceiling in one of the hallways. They walked through the Gee's Bend Quilts exhibition and viewed many quilts of various styles, colors, fabrics, and designs. Our museum guide gave the children the opportunity to touch a quilted fabric, too. The children made a group quilt design using felt squares. For our art project, the boys and girls made their own quilt square. You can see the squares hanging up in our classroom.
On Wednesday, one group read Top Cat by Lois Ehlert. When Top Cat learns of the arrival of a new kitten, he makes it known who's the boss. The other group of children put a picture of a turkey in their journals. In yoga, Miss Kim asked the children to make their favorite animal pose as they practiced yoga breathing. Their imaginary trip was to play outside at the park. They moved their legs to pretend to ride their bicycles. At the park, they made a picnic lunch, ate gigantic sandwiches, and sipped a drink through a straw. They posed as a frog, too, and then, rode back home on their bicycles. They also played the dog and snake yoga game.
On Thursday, we read One Terrific Thanksgiving by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat. This book is about a bear who learns that Thanksgiving is not only about eating a big dinner, but it is more importantly, about being with friends. For our art project, the children painted a ceramic gift for their families for the holiday season. On Friday, we read Today I Feel Silly and Other Moods That Make My Day by Jamie Lee Curtis. This book explains the different ways that children may feel on any particular day. Some of the children painted their ceramic project while others made a turkey project.
Thank you to Maxwell, Jack F., Brooke, Max, and Jonnah for being our super "kids of the day" this week. Next week, on Wednesday, November 26, we will dismiss at 12:30 and there will be no Afterschool Arts Club. The Playschool will be closed for Thanksgiving on Thursday, November 27 and Friday, November 28. Wednesday, December 10 and Thursday, December 11 are Parent Teacher Conferences. More information will be available soon. Our annual Hanukkah Happening and Playschool Open House will be held on Sunday, December 14 at 11AM. More information will be forthcoming as well. The winter holiday break begins on Monday, December 22. The Playschool will re-open on Monday, January 5, 2009.
Thank you to all of our parents who accompanied us on the trip to the Art Museum. Our next trip will be on January 13, 2009.
Please let me know by Monday, December 1 any dates that you will not be available to co-op from January through May. I will be preparing the new Parent of the Day schedule so that you can receive it before the winter break.
Have a great weekend! Happy Thanksgiving!
Miss Gloria, Miss Allison, Miss Lilly, Miss Sophie and Miss Mindy
Miss. Ali's News for November 17th
This week we talked about Thanksgiving and what it means to be thankful!!
On Monday, we made fingerprint turkey's and began practice in our Handwriting Without Tears books with the letter "C."
Tuesday, we had a fun and messy time making Tootsie Turkey's using our feet to make the body of the turkey!! We drew colorful feathers around the turkey, and even put on some funny googly eyes!! We also practiced forming and counting the number 5!
Wednesday, we made a turkey Popsicle stick puppet with colorful feathers, and we continued practice with the letter "C."
Thursday, we learned some new song and dances with Miss. Vanda in drama and reviewed our theatre vocabulary words we learned last week! We also made beautiful Wreaths of Thanks that are hanging around our classroom!
Friday ended our week with Shabbat and a letter of the week project for our letter "C."
Books We Read This Week:
Monday-Today Is Thanksgiving- P.K. Hallinan
Tuesday- The Thanksgiving Beast Feast- Karen Gray Ruelle
Wednesday- A Turkey for Thanksgiving- Eve Bunting
Thursday- Thanksgiving is for Giving Thanks- Margaret Sutherland
Friday- Sometimes its Turkeys, Sometimes its Feathers! -Lorna Bailan
Thanks to our Royal Reader this week, DAN BECKER!!!
The playschool will close at 12:30pm on Wednesday, November 26th. We will be closed Thursday, November 27th and Friday, November 28th for Thanksgiving~
Please check your children's folders regarding information for our Hanukkah Happening on Sunday, December 14th!
Information will be posted shortly about Parent Teacher Conferences..Stay Tuned!!
Shabbat Shalom!
Miss. Ali and Miss. C
On Monday, we made fingerprint turkey's and began practice in our Handwriting Without Tears books with the letter "C."
Tuesday, we had a fun and messy time making Tootsie Turkey's using our feet to make the body of the turkey!! We drew colorful feathers around the turkey, and even put on some funny googly eyes!! We also practiced forming and counting the number 5!
Wednesday, we made a turkey Popsicle stick puppet with colorful feathers, and we continued practice with the letter "C."
Thursday, we learned some new song and dances with Miss. Vanda in drama and reviewed our theatre vocabulary words we learned last week! We also made beautiful Wreaths of Thanks that are hanging around our classroom!
Friday ended our week with Shabbat and a letter of the week project for our letter "C."
Books We Read This Week:
Monday-Today Is Thanksgiving- P.K. Hallinan
Tuesday- The Thanksgiving Beast Feast- Karen Gray Ruelle
Wednesday- A Turkey for Thanksgiving- Eve Bunting
Thursday- Thanksgiving is for Giving Thanks- Margaret Sutherland
Friday- Sometimes its Turkeys, Sometimes its Feathers! -Lorna Bailan
Thanks to our Royal Reader this week, DAN BECKER!!!
The playschool will close at 12:30pm on Wednesday, November 26th. We will be closed Thursday, November 27th and Friday, November 28th for Thanksgiving~
Please check your children's folders regarding information for our Hanukkah Happening on Sunday, December 14th!
Information will be posted shortly about Parent Teacher Conferences..Stay Tuned!!
Shabbat Shalom!
Miss. Ali and Miss. C
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
News from Ms. Gloria, Friday, November 14, 2008
Letter of the Week: T
On Monday, we read sometimes it's TURKEY - sometimes it's FEATHERS by Lorna Balian. When Mrs. Gumm finds a turkey egg, she decides to hatch it, care for the turkey, and have the turkey come to her house for Thanksgiving dinner. For our art project, the boys and girls painted a mural for our Thanksgiving bulletin board display in our classroom. The children stood around the table and painted a large sheet of paper. They used scrapers with various shaped edges to add detail and depth to the mural. As a final step, glitter was added.
On Tuesday, we read A Turkey For Thanksgiving by Eve Bunting. In this book, a turkey is invited to dinner instead of being dinner. For our letter T project, the children decorated the letter T with a turkey. We asked each of the children to tell us what they were thankful for. One child said that he was thankful for "the letters A to Z". Another child said,"I am thankful for my mommy and daddy and for all of the yummy food that I eat".
On Wednesday, one group read Big Red Tub by Julia Jarman. This colorfully illustrated book, with rhyming text, tells about a fantasy bathtime experience. The other group of children worked in their journals. We talked about going on our trip to the Art Museum and the children made a drawing within a picture frame. In yoga class, Miss Kim asked the children to make the sounds of their favorite animals as they practiced yoga breathing. Their imaginary yoga trip was to take an airplane ride to a rainforest. The boys and girls also traveled by boat to reach their final destination. In the imaginary rainforest, they used their bodies to make the yoga poses for lizards and frogs. They also posed as the flowers and trees that filled the rainforest.
On Thursday, we read The Treasure Chest by Dominique Falda. In this book, the animals of the forest learn that a squirrel's treasure chest is filled with the riches of friendship. We asked the children what they would like to find in a treasure chest. One child used his imagination and said, "Golden wings". For our letter T art project, the boys and girls created pictures of milk trucks. Their art work is on our letter of the week bulletin board.
On Friday, we read Turkey Surprise by Peggy Archer. In this book, a turkey is saved when two brothers find something better than turkey to eat on Thanksgiving. Our art project was to make name tags that the children will wear on the trip to the Art Museum.
Thank you to Cole, Phoebe, Max, and Jack L. for being our super "kids of the day" this week.
On Tuesday, we will going to the Art Museum. All children, who will be attending the trip, can come to school at our regular time of 8:30 AM. We will have free playtime, and at 9 AM, we will clean up, have a short circle time, use the bathrooms, and eat a light snack. The bus will be here by 9:30. At the museum, the class will be divided into two groups. Each group will be accompanied through the museum with a museum guide. After each of the groups have completed the lesson, we will all meet back in the preschool classroom to complete an art project. Please pack your child's lunch in a paper bag with his/her name so that we do not have to keep track of lunch boxes. We will be back at school by 12:30 PM.
In looking forward, on Wednesday, November 26, we will dismiss at 12:30 and there will be no Afterschool Arts Club. The Playschool will be closed for Thanksgiving on Thursday, November 27 and Friday, November 28. Wednesday, December 10 and Thursday, December 11 are Parent Teacher Conferences. More information will be available soon. Our annual Hanukkah Happening and Playschool Open House will be held on Sunday, December 14 at 11AM. More information will be forthcoming in the next few weeks. The winter holiday break begins on Monday, December 22. The Playschool will re-open on Monday, January 5, 2009.
Have a great weekend!
Miss Gloria, Miss Allison, Miss Sophie, Miss Lilly and Miss Mindy
On Monday, we read sometimes it's TURKEY - sometimes it's FEATHERS by Lorna Balian. When Mrs. Gumm finds a turkey egg, she decides to hatch it, care for the turkey, and have the turkey come to her house for Thanksgiving dinner. For our art project, the boys and girls painted a mural for our Thanksgiving bulletin board display in our classroom. The children stood around the table and painted a large sheet of paper. They used scrapers with various shaped edges to add detail and depth to the mural. As a final step, glitter was added.
On Tuesday, we read A Turkey For Thanksgiving by Eve Bunting. In this book, a turkey is invited to dinner instead of being dinner. For our letter T project, the children decorated the letter T with a turkey. We asked each of the children to tell us what they were thankful for. One child said that he was thankful for "the letters A to Z". Another child said,"I am thankful for my mommy and daddy and for all of the yummy food that I eat".
On Wednesday, one group read Big Red Tub by Julia Jarman. This colorfully illustrated book, with rhyming text, tells about a fantasy bathtime experience. The other group of children worked in their journals. We talked about going on our trip to the Art Museum and the children made a drawing within a picture frame. In yoga class, Miss Kim asked the children to make the sounds of their favorite animals as they practiced yoga breathing. Their imaginary yoga trip was to take an airplane ride to a rainforest. The boys and girls also traveled by boat to reach their final destination. In the imaginary rainforest, they used their bodies to make the yoga poses for lizards and frogs. They also posed as the flowers and trees that filled the rainforest.
On Thursday, we read The Treasure Chest by Dominique Falda. In this book, the animals of the forest learn that a squirrel's treasure chest is filled with the riches of friendship. We asked the children what they would like to find in a treasure chest. One child used his imagination and said, "Golden wings". For our letter T art project, the boys and girls created pictures of milk trucks. Their art work is on our letter of the week bulletin board.
On Friday, we read Turkey Surprise by Peggy Archer. In this book, a turkey is saved when two brothers find something better than turkey to eat on Thanksgiving. Our art project was to make name tags that the children will wear on the trip to the Art Museum.
Thank you to Cole, Phoebe, Max, and Jack L. for being our super "kids of the day" this week.
On Tuesday, we will going to the Art Museum. All children, who will be attending the trip, can come to school at our regular time of 8:30 AM. We will have free playtime, and at 9 AM, we will clean up, have a short circle time, use the bathrooms, and eat a light snack. The bus will be here by 9:30. At the museum, the class will be divided into two groups. Each group will be accompanied through the museum with a museum guide. After each of the groups have completed the lesson, we will all meet back in the preschool classroom to complete an art project. Please pack your child's lunch in a paper bag with his/her name so that we do not have to keep track of lunch boxes. We will be back at school by 12:30 PM.
In looking forward, on Wednesday, November 26, we will dismiss at 12:30 and there will be no Afterschool Arts Club. The Playschool will be closed for Thanksgiving on Thursday, November 27 and Friday, November 28. Wednesday, December 10 and Thursday, December 11 are Parent Teacher Conferences. More information will be available soon. Our annual Hanukkah Happening and Playschool Open House will be held on Sunday, December 14 at 11AM. More information will be forthcoming in the next few weeks. The winter holiday break begins on Monday, December 22. The Playschool will re-open on Monday, January 5, 2009.
Have a great weekend!
Miss Gloria, Miss Allison, Miss Sophie, Miss Lilly and Miss Mindy
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
News From Miss. Ali and Miss. C
This week we continued our discussion about community jobs and people! We had such a BUSY week with our field trip to Super Fresh and all of our terrific parent volunteers who came in to talk to the children about jobs that they have!
On Monday, Joyce Miele came in to talk to the children about her job as a hair stylist. She talked about what happens when you go to a salon, and how to give people the best haircut! She also discussed how all people have different shaped faces, and how there is a hair style to match everyone! She brought in different cutouts of shapes, and also wonderful crazy hairstyles that the children had to color and cut out! They were able to create different looks on their "clients" using the different hair styles that they designed! We also started practice with our letter of the week, letter "U."
On Tuesday, we went on our exciting field trip to Super Fresh! The children got to see all of the different jobs that a supermarket has~! We spoke with the produce manager, the deli manager, the baker, and even the manager of the entire supermarket!! The children got to touch a lobster too!! We received some yummy treats, and had a wonderful time touring!! We even got to ask the manager some great questions, such as "Where does the meat come from?" and "How does the cheese arrive at the supermarket?" When we got back, we wrote a letter to our friends at Super Fresh thanking them for letting us come in and tour the market! We had practice signing our name, and talking about the parts of a letter.
Wednesday, Sheri Watson came in to talk about her job as a professor. Sheri teaches lighting on the college level, and showed the children how we can use light in fun ways. She made adorable shadow puppets with us, and the children had a great time putting on a puppet show with shadows!! We also had some practice in language arts, learning about what objects go with different pictures.
Thursday, Stephanie Squires came in to discuss her job of owning a fabric store! She brought in many different beautiful fabrics, and explained where you could use them in a home. The children were able to cut out different patterns of fabric, and glue them to a canvas! We used tassels, patterns of boats, seahorses, children and polka dots! Once these projects dry, they will be showcased in our classroom! Miss Vanda also came for drama and taught us new words, "Mime" and what it means to talk in "unison." The children had fun miming different everyday activities such as opening the door, ringing the doorbell, and seeing something really funny! They also got to act out the story "The Bear Snores On." Each child got to be a different animal in the story, trying to wake up the snoring bear!
We ended our week on Friday doing a project with our letter of the week, letter "U." We colored the letter "U" then thought of some great words that the letter began with" U." We had a fun time with Cantor Carl singing some of our favorite Shabbat Songs!
A GREAT BIG THANK TO ALL OF OUR WONDERFUL PARENT HELPERS THIS WEEK!
Thanks to Joyce Miele, Sheri Watson, Fanny Ziegler, Stephanie Squires and to our Royal Reader AND parent helper, Gloria Stefel~!!
Books We Read This Week:
Monday- I will Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato- Lauren Child
Tuesday- The Boy Who Wouldn't Share- Mike Reiss
Wednesday- What Do You Want To Be?- Todd Parr
Thursday- Mister Seahorse- Eric Carle
Friday- I've Lost My Yellow Zebra- Angela Brooksbank
Please stay tuned for more info regarding Parent- Teacher Conferences and our Hanukkah Happening in December!
The playschool will close at 12:30pm on Wednesday, November 26th and will be closed Thursday, November 27th for Thanksgiving~
Have a Super Weekend!
Miss. Ali and Miss. C
On Monday, Joyce Miele came in to talk to the children about her job as a hair stylist. She talked about what happens when you go to a salon, and how to give people the best haircut! She also discussed how all people have different shaped faces, and how there is a hair style to match everyone! She brought in different cutouts of shapes, and also wonderful crazy hairstyles that the children had to color and cut out! They were able to create different looks on their "clients" using the different hair styles that they designed! We also started practice with our letter of the week, letter "U."
On Tuesday, we went on our exciting field trip to Super Fresh! The children got to see all of the different jobs that a supermarket has~! We spoke with the produce manager, the deli manager, the baker, and even the manager of the entire supermarket!! The children got to touch a lobster too!! We received some yummy treats, and had a wonderful time touring!! We even got to ask the manager some great questions, such as "Where does the meat come from?" and "How does the cheese arrive at the supermarket?" When we got back, we wrote a letter to our friends at Super Fresh thanking them for letting us come in and tour the market! We had practice signing our name, and talking about the parts of a letter.
Wednesday, Sheri Watson came in to talk about her job as a professor. Sheri teaches lighting on the college level, and showed the children how we can use light in fun ways. She made adorable shadow puppets with us, and the children had a great time putting on a puppet show with shadows!! We also had some practice in language arts, learning about what objects go with different pictures.
Thursday, Stephanie Squires came in to discuss her job of owning a fabric store! She brought in many different beautiful fabrics, and explained where you could use them in a home. The children were able to cut out different patterns of fabric, and glue them to a canvas! We used tassels, patterns of boats, seahorses, children and polka dots! Once these projects dry, they will be showcased in our classroom! Miss Vanda also came for drama and taught us new words, "Mime" and what it means to talk in "unison." The children had fun miming different everyday activities such as opening the door, ringing the doorbell, and seeing something really funny! They also got to act out the story "The Bear Snores On." Each child got to be a different animal in the story, trying to wake up the snoring bear!
We ended our week on Friday doing a project with our letter of the week, letter "U." We colored the letter "U" then thought of some great words that the letter began with" U." We had a fun time with Cantor Carl singing some of our favorite Shabbat Songs!
A GREAT BIG THANK TO ALL OF OUR WONDERFUL PARENT HELPERS THIS WEEK!
Thanks to Joyce Miele, Sheri Watson, Fanny Ziegler, Stephanie Squires and to our Royal Reader AND parent helper, Gloria Stefel~!!
Books We Read This Week:
Monday- I will Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato- Lauren Child
Tuesday- The Boy Who Wouldn't Share- Mike Reiss
Wednesday- What Do You Want To Be?- Todd Parr
Thursday- Mister Seahorse- Eric Carle
Friday- I've Lost My Yellow Zebra- Angela Brooksbank
Please stay tuned for more info regarding Parent- Teacher Conferences and our Hanukkah Happening in December!
The playschool will close at 12:30pm on Wednesday, November 26th and will be closed Thursday, November 27th for Thanksgiving~
Have a Super Weekend!
Miss. Ali and Miss. C
Friday, November 7, 2008
News From Ms. Terri and Ms. Amber 11/07/08
Is our Letter of the Week!!!
Hi Moms, Dads and special Grown-ups,
This week we've been talking about how tricky the letter "C' can be.
Sometimes it sounds like letters K and S and when it's next to an H...
we get a whole new sound like in choo-choo and cheese! We read Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Have You Seen My Cat? We painted the letter C to look like the Caterpillar in the story and we made some really cool cats. We read Hi Cat! by Ezra Jack Keats. The children thought it was really funny that the little black cat followed the boys everywhere they went. They were hoping the cat would move in to the house! We are getting ready to begin next week talking about clouds and then we move on to letter D and Thanksgiving.
We are learning lots of Thanksgiving songs and will be making some wonderful things to take home and share with family while visiting for dinner! We will put the words to songs in your mail box this week. We also wanted to remind you that Ms. Amber will be away until the 17th of November. She is getting married on November 9th and will be Honeymooning in Canada. We wish her a beautiful time!!! Ms. Sophie and Ms. Lilly will be filling in for her. They are two of the wonderful teaching assistants in Ms. Gloria's class.
Our Playschool Art Exhibit is still on display. If you would like to purchase your child's work of art and/or order customized stationery, please let us know as soon as possible.
Here are some important dates to remind you about in the coming weeks!
On Wednesday, November 26, we will dismiss at 12:30 and there will be no After-school Arts Club. The Playschool will be closed for Thanksgiving on Thursday, November 27 and Friday, November 28.
Wednesday, December 10 and Thursday, December 11 are Parent Teacher Conferences. There will be no classes for the children on conference day, but staff will be available to watch children during meetings. More information will be available soon.
Our annual Hanukkah Happening and Playschool Open House will be held on Sunday, December 14 at 11AM. More information will be forthcoming in the next few weeks.
The winter holiday break begins on Monday, December 22. The Playschool will re-open on Monday, January 5, 2009.
Have a great weekend, Shabbat Shalom!
Ms. Terri, Ms. Amber, Ms. Sophie and Ms. Lilly
News From Miss Gloria and Friends, 11/07/08
Letter of the Week: N
On Monday, we read In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak. In this fantasy story, a young boy's dream sends him on a journey through a baker's kitchen where he assists in the creation of a cake. For our art project, the boys and girls made an illustration from the story. We began to talk about Thanksgiving as we looked at the November calendar. The children learned that on Thanksgiving we think about things that we are thankful for. The boys and girls began learning a few Thanksgiving songs, too.
On Tuesday, we read One Dark Night by Lisa Wheeler. Mouse and Mole are in fear of the dark night until they find Bear who shows them kindness by sharing his dinner with them. Our letter of the week project was to make the dark, nighttime sky. On the letter N, the children put an owl sitting in a tree, bats, and the shining stars up in the sky. During circle time, for a letter N activity, the children told us their first and last names. We learned a few more funny turkey songs for Thanksgiving.
On Wednesday, one group of children worked in their journals. On their page, they decorated the letter N with pieces of newspapers. The other children read a fall book called Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf by Lois Ehlert. This book tells about trees in the four seasons. In yoga class, Miss Kim asked the children what they would like to be when they grew up, as they practiced yoga breathing. The children played "Yoga Simon Says" using various yoga poses. Today's lesson focused on learning animal poses, such as a donkeys, lizards, seals, snakes, and cats.
Thursday, we read Nanta's Lion by Suse MacDonald. Nanta is in search of a lion who is scaring the cattle in her African village. This search-and-find book has a surprise ending as Nanta shows her disappointment in being unable to find the lion. For our art project, the boys and girls painted their own lions like the one that Nanta lost. We listened to a musical CD called Dinosaurs by Wee Sing and Learn. The children also had fun singing some silly Thanksgiving Day songs.
On Friday, we read Ten Red Apples by Virginia Miller. In this number book, Bartholomew Bear loves to count the apples on his apple tree. He counts the apples until he has enough to make an apple pie. For our project, the children put the numbers one through nine on the letter N.
Thank you to Hayden, Thomas, Harry, Owen, and Nina for being our super "kids of the day" this week. Please let us know if your child will be attending the trip to the Art Museum on Tuesday, November 18. The cost is $10.00 per child and $10.00 for an adult. Parents are invited to attend, too. The theme of the lesson will be Shapes and Colors in Art.
Our Playschool Art Exhibit is still on display. If you would like to purchase your child's work of art and/or order customized stationery, please let us know as soon as possible.
In Afterschool Arts Clubs, on Monday, we made pumpkin pie, on Tuesday, we did an experiment with food coloring and flowers, on Wednesday, we read The Napping House and created our own napping houses, and on Thursday, we played parachute games.
Looking forward, on Wednesday, November 26, we will dismiss at 12:30 and there will be no Afterschool Arts Club. The Playschool will be closed for Thanksgiving on Thursday, November 27 and Friday, November 28. Wednesday, December 10 and Thursday, December 11 are Parent Teacher Conferences. More information will be available soon. Our annual Hanukkah Happening and Playschool Open House will be held on Sunday, December 14 at 11AM. More information will be forthcoming in the next few weeks. The winter holiday break begins on Monday, December 22. The Playschool will re-open on Monday, January 5, 2009.
Next week, we will learn letter T. Have a great weekend!
Ms. Gloria, Ms. Allison, Ms. Lily, Ms. Sophie, Ms. Mindy
Pre-K News...Week of November 3rd
This week in Pre- K our unit was Community Jobs and People! We did many fun projects, and are getting ready for our field trip to Super Fresh next week!
Monday, we colored and decorated faces and described what their job could be! We started practicing the letter "I" in our Handwriting Without Tears book, and thought of words that began with the letter "I."
Tuesday, we cut out paper dolls, colored them and made a background scene for them. Many of our friends wanted their dolls to be pilots, ballerina's and doctors! We did some work in language arts and are learning to understand letter, picture recognition.
Wednesday, we decorated paper cut outs and talked about heroes. Each child created their own hero, and explained why they choose their hero. Some of heroes were lawyers, vets and school bus drivers!!
Thursday, we illustrated a picture of a job we would like to be when we grow up, and then explained it! They are hanging around our classroom, and the children did an excellent job explaining their pictures!
Friday, we did a project for our letter of the week, letter "I." We used bingo paint dotters to color our I's, then said a sentence using a word that began with "I." We also celebrated Shabbat with Cantor Carl, and sang some great songs.
Thanks a MILLION to Sheri Watson, our super Royal Reader this week!!
Books:
Monday- Sally Gets A Job- Stephen Huneck
Tuesday- Doctor Maisy- Lucy Cousins
Wednesday- The Berenstain Bears Learn About Strangers- Stan and Jan Berenstain
Thursday- We're Taking An Airplane Trip- Dinah Moche
Friday-The Jolly Postman- Janet and Allen Ahlberg
*** Our Field Trip to Super Fresh has been rescheduled to Tuesday, November 11th!!
Shabbat Shalom, Have a great weekend!
Miss Ali and Miss. C
Monday, we colored and decorated faces and described what their job could be! We started practicing the letter "I" in our Handwriting Without Tears book, and thought of words that began with the letter "I."
Tuesday, we cut out paper dolls, colored them and made a background scene for them. Many of our friends wanted their dolls to be pilots, ballerina's and doctors! We did some work in language arts and are learning to understand letter, picture recognition.
Wednesday, we decorated paper cut outs and talked about heroes. Each child created their own hero, and explained why they choose their hero. Some of heroes were lawyers, vets and school bus drivers!!
Thursday, we illustrated a picture of a job we would like to be when we grow up, and then explained it! They are hanging around our classroom, and the children did an excellent job explaining their pictures!
Friday, we did a project for our letter of the week, letter "I." We used bingo paint dotters to color our I's, then said a sentence using a word that began with "I." We also celebrated Shabbat with Cantor Carl, and sang some great songs.
Thanks a MILLION to Sheri Watson, our super Royal Reader this week!!
Books:
Monday- Sally Gets A Job- Stephen Huneck
Tuesday- Doctor Maisy- Lucy Cousins
Wednesday- The Berenstain Bears Learn About Strangers- Stan and Jan Berenstain
Thursday- We're Taking An Airplane Trip- Dinah Moche
Friday-The Jolly Postman- Janet and Allen Ahlberg
*** Our Field Trip to Super Fresh has been rescheduled to Tuesday, November 11th!!
Shabbat Shalom, Have a great weekend!
Miss Ali and Miss. C
Monday, November 3, 2008
Miss. Ali and Miss. C's classroom news for week of Oct 27th
This week our unit was Families! The children learned about different types of families and what makes each one special. We read some great books and did some fantastic projects that are displayed around our classroom!
On Monday, the children made a family tree using paper cupcake liners to draw the members of their families on. We also began the letter "T" in our Handwriting without Tears workbooks1
Tuesday, we made our families using paper hands! Each child drew a picture of their family members on the fingers of our family tree hand projects! We also had some practice writing and counting the number 4.
Wednesday, the children had a choice to make either a grandfather puppet or a grandmother puppet. They colored and decorated them the way they thought their grandparents looked! We also continued practice with the letter "T"
Thursday, we decorated picture frames for our grandparents day gifts! The children did a beautiful job creating a present especially for their grandparent, and got a kick out of seeing their pictures in the frames! We also practiced understanding determining different sizes of pictures and shapes in language arts.
Friday, we had a wonderful day celebrating grandparents day! The children and their grandparents took part in playtime, circle time and our story of the day. We also had a lot of fun listing why grandparents are special to us. We ended the day with a great Shabbat celebration with Cantor Carl.
Much Thanks to our SUPER Royal Reader this week, Matt Duncan!!
Books We Read This Week:
Monday- Just me and my Mom- Mercer Mayer
Tuesday-The Daddy Mountain- Jules Feiffer
Wednesday- The Family Book- Todd Parr
Thursday- It's OK to be Different- Todd Parr
Friday- - The Ultimate Guide to Grandma’s and Grandpa’s- Sally Lloyd Jones
* Our class field trip to Super Fresh for our unit on Community Jobs and People, is Monday, November 10th at 10am!
On Monday, the children made a family tree using paper cupcake liners to draw the members of their families on. We also began the letter "T" in our Handwriting without Tears workbooks1
Tuesday, we made our families using paper hands! Each child drew a picture of their family members on the fingers of our family tree hand projects! We also had some practice writing and counting the number 4.
Wednesday, the children had a choice to make either a grandfather puppet or a grandmother puppet. They colored and decorated them the way they thought their grandparents looked! We also continued practice with the letter "T"
Thursday, we decorated picture frames for our grandparents day gifts! The children did a beautiful job creating a present especially for their grandparent, and got a kick out of seeing their pictures in the frames! We also practiced understanding determining different sizes of pictures and shapes in language arts.
Friday, we had a wonderful day celebrating grandparents day! The children and their grandparents took part in playtime, circle time and our story of the day. We also had a lot of fun listing why grandparents are special to us. We ended the day with a great Shabbat celebration with Cantor Carl.
Much Thanks to our SUPER Royal Reader this week, Matt Duncan!!
Books We Read This Week:
Monday- Just me and my Mom- Mercer Mayer
Tuesday-The Daddy Mountain- Jules Feiffer
Wednesday- The Family Book- Todd Parr
Thursday- It's OK to be Different- Todd Parr
Friday- - The Ultimate Guide to Grandma’s and Grandpa’s- Sally Lloyd Jones
* Our class field trip to Super Fresh for our unit on Community Jobs and People, is Monday, November 10th at 10am!
Sunday, November 2, 2008
News From Ms. Terri and Ms. Amber 10/31/08
http://www.georgerodrigue.com/Hi Moms, Dads and Special Grownups,
We have been so busy over the past few weeks celebrating all of the Fall Holidays.
It was a little tricky having so many days off. We are really happy to be back on a regular schedule!
We wanted to catch you up with some of the books we read for Sukkot. In addition to Sammy Spider, we read It's Sukkah Time by by Latifa Berry Kropf with photographs by Tod Cohen. The children really liked this book because of the photographs. We passed around an Etrog and sniffed it, just like the girl on the cover. We also read Papa, Please get the Moon for Me by Eric Carle. This book is an absolute treasure and the children love the fold out pages and luscious paintings. We made fantastic "Moon masks" to view the moon through. The children are excited for the next full moon!
Thank you all for making our Fall Shabbat dinner such a lovely experience and Thank you so much for your generous support of our school by participating in our Art Exhibit fund raiser.
The children worked so hard on their paintings for days. Each time we used something different to make marks, brushes, string, stamps, and sticks. We used different colors each time we worked on it. We read Olivia by Ian Falconer and paid close attention to the Degas and Pollack paintings in the story. The children were really proud of the final product and are still excited about the "show." We plan to take walks to go and look at the paintings while they are still hanging.
We got to wrap up our letter "B" exploration this week. We made big-blue-B's, birds, and beaded bracelets. We read The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry and the Big Hungry Bear, by Audrey and Don Wood and Bear in a Square by Stella Blackstone and Debbie Harter. Our favorite book of the week was Whis is Blue Dog Blue? by George Rodrigue. We learned allot of new names for colors, like chartreuse, auburn and magenta. We made paintings of Blue Dog.
We have been learning lots of new songs! Each time we talk about a different letter, we are changing the first letter of our names and singing the Willoughby Walloughby song. (ie. Ms. Terri>Ms. Berri) Our current favorites are The Goldfish song by Laurie Berkner and this Little Apple Seed song below. It is sung to the tune of Itsy-Bitsy Spider!
A little apple seed was planted in the ground
Down came the rain drops, falling all around
Up came the bright sun, as bright as bright can be
And the little apple seed grew up to be an apple tree
This week...Letter "C"
Have a great weekend and Shabbat Shalom,
Ms. Terri and Ms. Amber
Friday, October 31, 2008
News From Miss Gloria and Friends, 10/31/08
On Friday, we read What Pet to Get? by Emma Dodd. In this book, Jack's mother agrees to get Jack a pet. Jack suggests an elephant, a giraffe, a lion and even a t-rex. Jack's mother explains why each of his choices would not make a good pet. They finally agree that a puppy, named Fang, would be a perfect pet. Our art project was to design picture frames for our grandparents and special friends who will be coming to spend time with us on Friday.
On Tuesday, we read What Grandmas Can't Do by Douglas Wood. This book tells how grandmas can't bake your favorite cookies by themselves and how they can't let you go to bed without reading you a story. The one thing, that they can't do best of all, is that they can't possibly love you more than they already do. For our letter G project, we decorated the letter G with a grandmom or a grandpop face.
On Wednesday, one group read Dinos on the Go! by Karma Wilson. In this book, dinosaurs travel around on world in all types of transportation. The other group of children made entries in their journals. Their journal entry was to color a picture of Shabbat candles or a kiddush cup. In yoga, Miss Kim began the class with yoga breathing. The boys and girls enjoyed playing "Yoga Simon Says" and they worked hard to listen for the words, "Simon Says". The imaginary yoga trip was to pose as things that could be found outside at night. For this yoga activity, the boys and girls posed as bats, stray cats and dogs, and the moon.
On Thursday, we read Look Out, Suzy Goose by Petr Horacek. Suzy Goose is looking for a quiet place because all of the other geese are honking too loudly. Suzy tries to find a quiet place in the woods, but then, she realizes that she is not alone. For our art project, the boys and girls made an illustration of Suzy Goose and her animal friends. We listened and moved to the CD Preschool Aerobic Fun by Gerogiana Stewart.
Friday is Grandparents and Special Friends Day. All guests will have the opportunity to spend time with their special child during playtime. Following playtime, the boys and girls will participate in circle time and calendar activities. We will read The Grandma Book and The Grandpa Book both by Todd Parr. All of the children in the Playschool and their guests will celebrate Shabbat together with Cantor Carl. Grandparents and Special Friends will enjoy reading "Grandparents are Special because . . . " written by some of the children.
Thank you to Jonnah, Laura, Lucia, Ciampone, and Charlotte for being our super "kids of the day" this week. Thank you to all of our families who attended the Shabbat Dinner last Friday. The attendance was fantastic and we hope to see everyone again at our Spring Shabbat Dinner. Please let us know if you would like to purchase your child's art and the matching notecards. Thank you to all grandparents and special friends who spent this morning at the Playschool. It was a pleasure to meet everyone and we hope that you enjoyed our programming.
In Afterschool Arts Clubs, on Monday, we made pomegranate art (food art), on Tuesday, we learned about comets and asteroids, on Wednesday, we painted a dog from the book Why is Blue Dog Blue?, and on Thursday, we played "Duck, Duck, Goose" and "Red Light, Green Light".
Our first trip to the Philadelphia Museum of Art will take place on Tuesday, November 18. The cost is $10.00 per child and $10.00 for an adult. Parents are invited to attend, too. Next week, we will learn letter N. Have a great weekend!
Miss Gloria, Miss Allison, Miss Lily, Miss Sophie, Miss Mindy
Monday, October 27, 2008
News from Miss. Ali's Class- Week of Oct. 20th
This week in Pre- K we talked about Simechot Torrah and made beautiful centerpieces for our Shabbat Dinner!
On Monday, we made fun, glittery flags for Simechot Torah and began to practice the letter "H" in our Handwriting Without Tears workbooks.
On Thursday, we painted pumpkins for part of our Shabbat dinner centerpieces. The children had the choice of painting orange or green pumpkins, and adding some glitter paint to them so they would sparkle! We also had some practice writing and counting the number "4" with help from our math worksheets. Miss. Vanda came for drama and the children started to act out the book "Are you my mother?" By Dr. Suess. The children will continue acting out this story next week in drama as well!
Friday, we added the finishing touches to our centerpieces by adding 3-D pumpkins on to them!
We also had the chance to catch up to some work from earlier in the week, and celebrated shabbat with Cantor Carl.
A BIG THANK YOU to Stephanie Squires for being our Royal Reader this week!
Books We Read This Week:
Monday- Chica, Chica, Boom Boom- Bill Martin Jr.
Thursday- Norma Jean, Jumping Bean- Joanna Cole
Friday- The Peace Book- Todd Parr
****Grandparents Day is Friday, October 31st from 9-11am. Please let me know who is coming from your family.
=-)
Miss. Ali and Miss. C
On Monday, we made fun, glittery flags for Simechot Torah and began to practice the letter "H" in our Handwriting Without Tears workbooks.
On Thursday, we painted pumpkins for part of our Shabbat dinner centerpieces. The children had the choice of painting orange or green pumpkins, and adding some glitter paint to them so they would sparkle! We also had some practice writing and counting the number "4" with help from our math worksheets. Miss. Vanda came for drama and the children started to act out the book "Are you my mother?" By Dr. Suess. The children will continue acting out this story next week in drama as well!
Friday, we added the finishing touches to our centerpieces by adding 3-D pumpkins on to them!
We also had the chance to catch up to some work from earlier in the week, and celebrated shabbat with Cantor Carl.
A BIG THANK YOU to Stephanie Squires for being our Royal Reader this week!
Books We Read This Week:
Monday- Chica, Chica, Boom Boom- Bill Martin Jr.
Thursday- Norma Jean, Jumping Bean- Joanna Cole
Friday- The Peace Book- Todd Parr
****Grandparents Day is Friday, October 31st from 9-11am. Please let me know who is coming from your family.
=-)
Miss. Ali and Miss. C
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Important Info from Ms. Gloria!
The boys and girls in the 3 - 4 year old class have been learning about Sukkot and Simchat Torah. They were so excited to visit the synagogue sukkah. We played a game where they tried to find the sukkah decorations that they made amongst the lights, leaves, flowers, fruits, and vegetables that adorned the sukkah. Their floral paper chain stood out as a decorative addition. We read The Sukkah that I Built by Rochel Groner Vorst and It's Sukkah Time! by Latifa Berry Kropf. For Simchat Torah, we made flags and the boys and girls waved their flags and marched around our classroom in celebration.
Our letter of the week was D for the upcoming Shabbat Dinner. The children made their letter D art project with pictures of the candles, a kiddush cup, and challah placed on the cut-out letter. In preparation for the Shabbat Dinner, the boys and girls made centerpieces for the tables and Shabbat wall hangings. The children also made dinosaurs to go along with their favorite Shabbat song, "There's a Dinosaur Knocking at my Door". We even read a book called Dinosaur on Shabbat by Diane Levin Rauchwerger. Another Shabbat book that we read this week was Bim and Bom A Shabbat Tale by Daniel J. Swartz.
Thank you to Maxwell, Anya, Max M., Ava, and Lucia for being our super "kids of the day" for the past two weeks. Next week, we will learn letter G. Please mark your calendars of our first trip to the Art Museum on Tuesday, November 18. All children in the 3 - 4 year old class and their parents are invited to attend the trip even if Tuesday is not their regular day to attend the Playschool. More information will be forthcoming soon. Have a great weekend!
Miss Gloria, Miss Allison, Miss Lily, Miss Sophie, and Miss Mindy
Shabbat Dinner and Art Exhibit
We look forward to seeing all of our Playschool families attend our Shabbat Dinner and Art Exhibit this evening from 5:30 PM until 7:00 PM. Please take a few moments to look at the children's art work that is on display. Not only did each of our artists create their own work, they also titled their paintings to reflect what they worked very hard to represent. The paintings are unique and very special keepsakes of your child's time at the Playschool. The works of art will be on display in the front hall of the synagogue for a few weeks in the event that you are unable to attend the opening. Wine and cheese will also be served. Information about the fundraising portion of the exhibit will be available. Thank you in advance for celebrating Shabbat with us.
Grandparent's and Special Grown-Up's Day
Friday, October 31 is Grandparent's and Special Grown-Up's Day for the children in the 3 - 4 year old class and the Pre-K class. Please let us know as soon as possible the names and addresses of those grandparents and special grown-ups who will be attending. Grandparent's and Special Grown-Up's Day will take place from 9 AM until 11 AM. Grandparents and Special Grown-Ups will spend time in their grandchild's classroom and celebrate Shabbat with Cantor Carl and all of the children in the Playschool. If your child does not have a grandparent who can attend, special grown-ups in your child's life are welcome. Please let us know their names and addresses, too. If your child does not attend the Playschool on Fridays, he/she is invited to come to school on this day to be a part of this special event.
If you have any questions, please contact the Playschool office or email gparris@societyhillsynagogue.org
Friday, October 17, 2008
Pre-K Quick News for October 16th and 17th
Hello All!
We had a very short week in Pre-K! On Thursday we painted beautiful pictures on canvas for our Shabbat Dinner on Friday, October 24th. The children did a wonderful job creating awesome pictures and naming their artwork! We were able to have drama after a week off with Miss. Vanda. The children acted out different roles as they pretended to wait at a bus stop! We had alot of fun!!
On Friday, we discussed Fire Safety! We talked about when to dial 9-1-1 and what kind of clothing firefighters would wear. We even made a fun fireman arts and crafts project, using paper plates!
Thank you again to Ira Kauderwood for being our Royal Reader this week! We always enjoy having him as our special guest!
Some Important Dates:
We are off on Tuesday, October 21st and Wednesday, October 22nd.
Playschool Shabbat Dinner is Friday, October 24th from 5:30pm until 7:00pm. If you haven't already, please sign up outside our classroom on the bulletin board. Parents are asked to make a kosher dairy dish.
Grandparents Day will be on Friday, October 31st. Please sign and return the form in your child's folder.
Books We Read This Week:
Thursday- Old Bear's Suprise Painting- Jane Hissey
Friday- The Little Engine That Could and the Fire Rescue- Platt and Munk
Enjoy your weekend!
Miss Ali and Miss. C =-)
We had a very short week in Pre-K! On Thursday we painted beautiful pictures on canvas for our Shabbat Dinner on Friday, October 24th. The children did a wonderful job creating awesome pictures and naming their artwork! We were able to have drama after a week off with Miss. Vanda. The children acted out different roles as they pretended to wait at a bus stop! We had alot of fun!!
On Friday, we discussed Fire Safety! We talked about when to dial 9-1-1 and what kind of clothing firefighters would wear. We even made a fun fireman arts and crafts project, using paper plates!
Thank you again to Ira Kauderwood for being our Royal Reader this week! We always enjoy having him as our special guest!
Some Important Dates:
We are off on Tuesday, October 21st and Wednesday, October 22nd.
Playschool Shabbat Dinner is Friday, October 24th from 5:30pm until 7:00pm. If you haven't already, please sign up outside our classroom on the bulletin board. Parents are asked to make a kosher dairy dish.
Grandparents Day will be on Friday, October 31st. Please sign and return the form in your child's folder.
Books We Read This Week:
Thursday- Old Bear's Suprise Painting- Jane Hissey
Friday- The Little Engine That Could and the Fire Rescue- Platt and Munk
Enjoy your weekend!
Miss Ali and Miss. C =-)
Thursday, October 16, 2008
SHS PLAYSCHOOL FAMILY SHABBAT DINNER
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 24th, 5:30pm - 7pmFAMILY SHABBAT DINNER
Families (moms,dads, siblings, bubbes and zaydes) of our Playschool students are warmly invited to join together for a very special Shabbat celebration on Friday, October 24th.
Cantor Carl will be on hand to lead our prayers and song at this popular and joyful event. The meal is pot-luck (dairy), a sign up sheet will be posted in your child's classroom.
Don't Miss the Art Exhibit and Opening Reception!!!
(featuring wine and cheese...grape juice and snacks and a chance to meet the artists!)
This museum quality collection of the work of local Philadelphia artists (each of your children)
is presented as a fund-raiser for the Playschool. Artists' families will have an opportunity to purchase these very special canvases at the end of the exhibition!
QUESTIONS?
CONTACT: Gloria Parris
215.922.6590, ext. 28
gparris@societyhillsynagogue.org
Monday, October 13, 2008
Kitten & Puppy Class News from Ms. Terri & Ms. Amber: 10/10/08
Hi Moms, Dads and Special Grown-ups,
We are so excited about our October 24th Fall Shabbat Dinner!
The children are going to have a real "Art Opening!"
We have been painting on a real canvas each day we've come to Pre-school for a week now.
We have been using different colors and different painting techniques each time.
The children are learning how to make different textures. So far we have made our marks with brushes, sticks, string, stamps and fingers. We are going to use feathers and air before we are through!
We also learned lots about the Holidays we've been celebrating through our friend Sammy Spider. We read Sammy Spider's First Rosh Hashanah and Sammy Spider's First Sukkot,by Sylvia A. Rouss. The children loved the colorful pictures by Katherine Janus Kahn. The Rosh Hashanah story taught us about small, middle sized and large objects. We tried to make some marks like that in our paintings. The children learned about directions like under, over, above, below, inside and outside in the Sukkot story. We love Sammy Spider!!! Our wonderful Cantor is even teaching us how to sing Itsy-Bitsy Spider with Hebrew words!
For our "art inspiration" we read Little Blue and Little Green by Leo Leonni and have learned lots about mixing colors as we work on our canvases. We also read Olivia, by Ian Falconer. We noted that we should only paint on paper, canvas or what a grown up gives us to paint on. Olivia got a time out for trying to paint like Jackson Pollack on a wall! Hey...I know, I think we'll try and paint like him too!!!
A reminder that the Playschool will be closed on Monday, October 13, Tuesday, October 14, and Wednesday, October 15 for Columbus Day and Sukkot. We will also be closed on Tuesday, October 21 for Shemini Atzeret and on Wednesday, October 22 for Simchat Torah.
We are looking forward to coming back to school after these long breaks. We have lots work to do to prepare for Shabbat Dinner. We plan to make it a festive event with lots of beautiful decorations...and of course our exhibit!!!
We hope you have a wonderful week!
Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach,
Ms. Terri and Ms. Amber
Friday, October 10, 2008
Check Out What Happened This Week In Pre-K...
We have had a busy and crazy month of October in the Pre-K!
This week we discussed the many different holidays that fall during the week of October 6th and the week of October 13th.
On Monday, we talked about Yom Kippur and made a fun shofar necklace that the children pretended to blow. Tuesday, we talked about the harvest holiday of Sukkot. The children were split into 2 groups to make BIG sukkah's. They decorated the sukkah's with leaves, fruits, vegetables, people and plants, crayons and markers! Our beautiful sukkah's are displayed in our classroom. Please make sure to take a look at what a great job the children did! Wednesday, we made a delicious and glittery fruit salad for Sukkot, and Thursday we had a little break from school because of Yom Kippur. Friday we talked about Columbus Day, and made a Christopher Columbus silly puppet!
We didnt have drama this week because of Yom Kippur, but we look forward to seeing Miss. Vanda next week!
Our letter of the week this week was letter "E." We practiced "air drawing" it and then completed some letter "E" pages in our Handwriting Without Tears workbooks. We also discussed at circle time some words that began with the letter "E." We thought of 25 words, and wrote them on our blackboard!
We reviewed the numbers 1-3 and had some more practice writing those numbers in our workbooks.
In Language Arts, we talked once again about pictures and words that are the SAME and DIFFERENT. The children are really getting a hang of this concept and did a wonderful job with their work and following directions!
Books We Read This Week:
Monday- Sound the Shofar- Himmelman
Tuesday- Sammy Spider's First Sukkot
Wednesday- The Sukkah That I Built- Rochel Vorst
Thursday- OFF
Friday- Columbus Day- Dennis Brindell Fradin
A BIG THANKS to our Royal Readers from the past 2 weeks, Annabelle Levi's nanny Jady, and Michael Miele! They both did a fantastic job reading stories to our class!
Also we want to wish Michael Miele a happy 5th birthday! We enjoyed celebrating his birthday in school Friday with some yummy treats!
WE WILL BE OFF OCTOBER 13th- OCTOBER 15th. Playschool will resume on Thursday.
Have a great few days off!
Miss. Ali and Miss. C
This week we discussed the many different holidays that fall during the week of October 6th and the week of October 13th.
On Monday, we talked about Yom Kippur and made a fun shofar necklace that the children pretended to blow. Tuesday, we talked about the harvest holiday of Sukkot. The children were split into 2 groups to make BIG sukkah's. They decorated the sukkah's with leaves, fruits, vegetables, people and plants, crayons and markers! Our beautiful sukkah's are displayed in our classroom. Please make sure to take a look at what a great job the children did! Wednesday, we made a delicious and glittery fruit salad for Sukkot, and Thursday we had a little break from school because of Yom Kippur. Friday we talked about Columbus Day, and made a Christopher Columbus silly puppet!
We didnt have drama this week because of Yom Kippur, but we look forward to seeing Miss. Vanda next week!
Our letter of the week this week was letter "E." We practiced "air drawing" it and then completed some letter "E" pages in our Handwriting Without Tears workbooks. We also discussed at circle time some words that began with the letter "E." We thought of 25 words, and wrote them on our blackboard!
We reviewed the numbers 1-3 and had some more practice writing those numbers in our workbooks.
In Language Arts, we talked once again about pictures and words that are the SAME and DIFFERENT. The children are really getting a hang of this concept and did a wonderful job with their work and following directions!
Books We Read This Week:
Monday- Sound the Shofar- Himmelman
Tuesday- Sammy Spider's First Sukkot
Wednesday- The Sukkah That I Built- Rochel Vorst
Thursday- OFF
Friday- Columbus Day- Dennis Brindell Fradin
A BIG THANKS to our Royal Readers from the past 2 weeks, Annabelle Levi's nanny Jady, and Michael Miele! They both did a fantastic job reading stories to our class!
Also we want to wish Michael Miele a happy 5th birthday! We enjoyed celebrating his birthday in school Friday with some yummy treats!
WE WILL BE OFF OCTOBER 13th- OCTOBER 15th. Playschool will resume on Thursday.
Have a great few days off!
Miss. Ali and Miss. C
Ms. Gloria & Friends: News from the 3-4 Year Old Class
On Monday, we read Mama Cat has three kittens by Denise Fleming. For our letter of the week art project, the boys and girls made a kitten playing with a ball of yarn. At circle time, we learned a song called, “The Leaves of the Trees”. The boys and girls continued all week long completing their work for the upcoming Art Exhibit.
On Tuesday, we read Sound the Shofar! by Leslie Kimmelman. For our letter of the week art project, the children decorated a K for the holiday of Yom Kippur. On the letter K, they put a kippah, a tallit, and a shofar. The kippah is a skullcap worn by men and women during services and other religious rituals. The tallit is a prayer shawl also worn during Jewish services. The shofar is a ram’s horn blown on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur to welcome the New Year. The boys and girls painted the K using dark brown, light brown, and orange to make the color khaki.
On Wednesday, one group of children made entries in their journals. For Yom Kippur, the boys and girls made a picture of a shofar. The other group of children read Leo and Blossom’s Sukkah by Jane Breskin Zalben, the story of celebrating the holiday of Sukkot. In yoga class, Miss Kim asked the children to say their favorite numbers as they practiced yoga breathing. The children learned how to breathe like the fall. They enjoyed playing “Red Light, Yoga Light” as they posed as giraffes, frogs, and snakes. Their imaginary trip was to go to the zoo.
On Friday, all of the children in the Playschool celebrated Shabbat together with Cantor Carl. We read Sammy Spider’s First Sukkot by Sylvia A. Rouss. For our art project, the boys and girls made paper chains of floral pictures to hang in the synagogue sukkah.
Thank you to
Please have your child try our Afterschool Arts Clubs. Last Thursday, in Movement Club, the children played parachute games, and on Friday, the boys and girls sang new fall songs and learned the alphabet song in Hebrew.
This week, in Cooking Club, the children made snacks for the birds, and in Science Club, they experimented with water and temperature.
Please mark your calendars for the Fall Shabbat Dinner and Art Exhibit on Friday evening, October 24. Grandparent’s Day will be held on Friday, October 31 for the 3 – 4 year old and Pre-K classes. More information will be available shortly. Have a great holiday and we will be back at the Playschool on Thursday,
October 16.
Miss Gloria, Miss Allison, Miss Lily, Miss Sophie, and Miss Mindy
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Kitten & Puppy Class News from Ms. Terri & Ms. Amber: 9/26/08
LaShanah Tovah!
Hi Moms, Dads and Special Grown-ups,
This has been fantastic week at Playschool!
Ms. Amber and I are thrilled to say that the children are officially having fun times at Preschool!!! We had a virtually tear-free week. We hope you enjoyed the Rosh Hashananh cards we made for you. We’ve been practicing our Apples and Honey song everyday. The words can be found inside the card. We also filled our bellies with sticky apples and honey at each snack time!
This week we finished up with letter A.
We read Apples,Apples by Salina Yoon and The Apple Pie Tree by Zoe Hall with pictures by Shari Halpern. We are excited to try our hands at baking some apple treats when Sukkot rolls around! We are also talking about the change of seasons. We are wishing the trees a Happy Fall and celebrating the changing colors of the leaves by reading Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf by Lois Ehlert. You’ll be seeing many of Ms. Ehlert’s books…she is one of Ms. Terri’s most favorites! We’ll be reading her book Feathers for Lunch as we make birds for letter B.
Don’t forget we are on Holiday this week and return to Playschool on October 2nd. If anyone needs a reminder of the October schedule, it is located below in the 9/18 posting.
We hope you have a wonderful week!
Shabbat Shalom and LaShanah Tovah,
Ms. Terri and Ms. Amber
The Playschool will be closed for Rosh Hashanah on Monday, September 29, Tuesday, September 30, and Wednesday, October 1.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Ms. Gloria & Friends: News from the 3-4 Year Old Class
On Monday, we read Sammy Spider’s First Rosh Hashanah by Sylvia A. Rouss. Traditionally, apples and honey are eaten on Rosh Hashanah for a sweet, new year. The boys and girls enjoyed trying apples dipped in honey for their snack. We learned a song called, “I Dip the Apples in the Honey”. For our art project, each group of children painted a mural for our classroom bulletin board. They will make a forest scene of trees filled with foxes and skunks. During our calendar activity, we noted that Monday was the first day of fall. The boys and girls learned that the leaves will soon be red, yellow, and orange and that the days and nights will soon become cooler.
On Tuesday, we read Happy New Year,
On Wednesday, some of the children made entries in their journals. They decorated fall leaves to put on their first journal page. The other group of children read Nuts to You! by Lois Ehlert. In yoga class, Miss Kim began with yoga breathing and asked the children to name their favorite things to play with. She tried to trick them as they played “Yoga Simon Says”, too. The children took an imaginary trip to the farm. They each posed as tiny little seeds that grew with the help of the warm, golden sun and the rain. Each child said the name of the fruit that they posed as, and then, they pretended to eat those fruits. They positioned themselves as tables and chairs as they enjoyed the fruits that grew on the farm.
On Thursday, we read The Robobots by Matt Novak. For our letter R project, the children designed their own robots. They will also be displayed in our classroom. We sang songs for Rosh Hashanah and fall, too. The boys and girls learned another fall song called “Gray Squirrel”. On Friday, we read Apples and Honey by Jonny Zucker and Jan Barger Cohen. Our project was to make Rosh Hashanah cards for our families.
Thank you to Lucas, Owen, Harry, Thomas, and Hayden for being our super “kids of the day” this week. As a reminder, the Playschool will be closed on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday for Rosh Hashanah. We will be closing at 12:30 PM on Wednesday, October 8 so there will be no Afterschool Arts Club on that day. The Playschool will be closed on Thursday, October 9 for Yom Kippur.
This week, in Afterschool Arts, the children made baked, stuffed apples in Cooking Club, they did an experiment with water in Science Club, for Art Club, they made skunks that are similar to the ones in the book, Mole’s Hill by Lois Ehlert, in Movement Club, the children participated in aerobic movement and had fun dancing with crazy hats, and in Music Club, the children sang, danced, and played musical instruments. In addition, during each afternoon, our teachers read a story to the children, and weather permitting, the children ride bikes outdoors. Please let us know if you would like your child to attend. It’s a great way for the children to continue their Playschool experience each day!
Next week, we will begin our paintings for the upcoming Art Exhibit on the evening of our Fall Shabbat Dinner, Friday, October 24. More information will be coming soon about this event.
Have a great holiday. L’Shanah Tovah! See you on Thursday, October 2.
Miss Gloria, Miss Allison, Miss Lily, Miss Sophie, and Miss Mindy
Here’s a Rosh Hashanah song that you can sing at home with your children:
I Dip Apples in the Honey
I dip apples in the honey to have a sweet New Year,
And when I am all finished, I stick from ear to ear.
My hand sticks to my nose,
My fingers to my toes,
My elbow’s sticking to my knee,
And that’s the way it goes!
I dip apples in the honey to have a sweet New Year.
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