News From Ms. Gloria: 3/18/2011

Friday, March 18, 2011 LETTER OF THE WEEK:


On Monday, we read Purim Activity Book written by Torah Aura Productions. This book tells the story of Purim using photographs of children dressed in King Ahashueras, Queen Esther, Mordechai, and Haman costumes. For our art project, the boys and girls made king and queen crowns. We learned these words that begin with letter Y: yellow, yoyo, yoga, yogurt, yawn, yarn, year, yes, and our friend, Gemma Young. Some of our friends have the letter Y in their first names: Carly, Nicky, Kaya, Brody, and Maya. The boys and girls are getting excited for the Purim Parade and they have been practicing the songs that they will sing for you.


On Tuesday, we read Hello, Yellow! by Christianne C. Jones. The world is full of colors and yellow makes us happy with such yellow things as lemonade, balloons, horns, and the warm golden sun. For our letter Y art project, the boys and girls painted the Y yellow and placed a yoyo with yarn onto the letter. On Wednesday, the story group read little blue and little yellow by Leo Lionni. A blue spot and a yellow spot are best friends. They play games together and they go to school together. When little blue and little yellow give each other a hug, they turn green. The journal group placed pictures of King Ahashueras, Queen Esther, Mordechai, Haman, or a grogger onto their journal page. In yoga, Miss Kim asked the children to name their favorite letter of the alphabet. They played an alphabet animal yoga game where they posed as an alligator, bear, cat, dog, elephant, frog, and giraffe. Next week, they will continue going through the alphabet posing as animals.


We had a wonderful celebration of Purim on Thursday. The children did a fabulous job performing the songs that they have worked so hard to learn. They looked great in their costumes and they felt very proud to be performing for all of you. Thank you very much for bringing in all of the luncheon foods and for supporting our programming in the ways that you do.
 
On Friday, we read Hamilton Duck’s Springtime Story by Arthur Getz. In this book, the newly grown blossoms on the trees mean that spring is here. For our art project, the boys and girls made spring flowers for our classroom bulletin board. Happy Spring!
 
*Thank you to Gemma, Rachel, Sofia, Jordan, and Jacob for being our super “kids of the day” this week.


*Camp applications are now being accepted. Enrollment works on a first come—first served basis. Children can be enrolled for any number of camp days during the camp season. You only pay for the days that your child is attending. Summer camp begins on Monday, June 6 and extends through Thursday, July 28. The hours are 8:30 AM until 12:30 PM Monday through Friday. Outdoor and indoor play, kiddie pools, bikes, songs, stories, themed arts and craft projects, games, and movement fill the morning hours at the Playschool Summer Camp. If you have any questions, please ask Gloria for more details.

*Please mark your calendars with these upcoming dates and more information about each event will be forthcoming:

Wednesday, March 30 - Pre-K trip to The Insectarium

Friday, April 15 - Tuesday, April 26 - Closed for Passover

Friday, April 1 - Pre - K PM Drama Performance

Thursday, April 7 - Pre - K AM Drama Performance

Monday, May 2 - Class Pictures for the Puppy Class, 3 - 4 Year Old Class, Pre-K AM, Pre-K PM

Tuesday, May 3 - Class Pictures for the Kitten Class

Wednesday, May 4 - Pre-K trip to the Arden Theatre

Friday, May 6 - Playschool Shabbat Dinner

Tuesday, May 10 - 3 - 4 Year Old Class trip to the Art Museum

Wednesday, May 11 and Thursday, May 12 - Parent Teacher Conferences

Friday, May 20 - Last day of Afterschool Arts Clubs

Thursday, May 26 - Kitten Class Graduation

Friday, May 27– Puppy Class, 3 – 4 Year Old Class, and Pre-K AM and PM Graduations

*Next week, we will continue to learn about letter Z and Passover.
Have a great weekend!
Miss Gloria, Miss Chloe, Miss Julia, Miss Mindy, and Mr. Noah

Pictures From The Purim Carnival

Thanks Carolyn!
Here's the link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/7579901@N03/sets/72157626311994234/show/

News From Miss Gloria's Class 3/11/2011

Friday, March 11, 2011
LETTER OF THE WEEK: X

On Monday, we read the book that was sent from the Art Museum called The Wind Blew by Pat Hutchins. This book tells how the wind blew so hard that it took everything with it: an umbrella, a balloon, scarves, a wig, and more. Just as the wind was about to carry everything out to sea, it changed its mind. The theme of the lesson is the Art of Sculpture and the children will learn about the ways in which artists represent movement or the use of movement in the works that they create. For our art project, the boys and girls made pinwheels to show how the wind can make objects move.

On Tuesday, at the museum, the boys and girls learned about sculptures in art. During the visit, they learned what a sculpture is and how sculptures are made to look like they are moving. The children viewed these sculptures: Horse (made for a tomb), a sculpture that was made in China and gives a sense of motion, Ghost, a moving sculpture, by Alexander Calder, and Little Dancer, Aged Fourteen, a bronze sculpture, by Hilaire-Germain-Edgar Degas. The boys and girls created their own paper sculptures for their art project.

On Wednesday, the children, in the journal group, put a Purim picture of King Ahasuerus, Queen Esther, Haman, or a grogger on their page. The children, in the story group, read Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst. Everything that can go wrong, does go wrong with Alexander’s day. In yoga, Miss Kim asked the children to name their favorite numbers as they practiced yoga breathing. The children thanked the warm, golden sun and stretched their bodies. They played “Red Light, Yoga Light” and posed as giraffes, frogs, and crabs. The children went on an imaginary yoga trip to Miss Kim’s garden.

On Thursday, we read A Purim Album by Raymond A. Zwerin and Audrey Friedman Marcus. This book is an album of drawings that depict the story of Purim. For our art project, the boys and girls painted a ceramic gift for Passover. The ceramic projects make great keepsakes of your child’s preschool days.

On Friday, we read Purim Activity Book by Torah Aura Productions. This book tells the story of Purim using photographs of children dressed in costumes of King Ahashueras, Queen Esther, Mordechai, and Haman. At Purim, we celebrate with parties, hamantashen, costumes, carnivals, and groggers and we read the Book of Esther from a scroll called the megillah. For our project, some of the children painted their ceramic gift and some of the children made Purim puppets.

*Thank you to Dalia, Nicky, Luke, Isa, and Charlotte for being our super “kids of the day” this week.

*Thank you to all of the parents who accompanied us on the trip to the Art Museum. Our last trip will be on Tuesday, May 10. Parents, who did not come on the January and March trips, are welcome to join us in May.

*The Purim Carnival will take place on Sunday, March 13 from 11 AM until 1 PM. We will have games, food, prizes, craft projects, and fun for the whole family. Children and parents can dress in costume, too! We hope to see everyone there!

*Our class Purim celebration, with a parade and luncheon, will take place on Thursday, March 17 at 11:30 AM. All children and parents are encouraged to attend even if it is not your child’s regular day to come to school. Please pack a costume in a labeled bag for your child to wear during the parade. There is a sign-up sheet on the classroom door for food items needed for our luncheon. Please bring in the food on the morning of March 17 so that the food can be set up before the parade. All children should come to the Playschool at the usual time. The children will sing songs about King Ahasuerus, the ruler of the Persian Empire, Queen Esther, who helped to save the Jewish people, Mordechai, who warned the King of Haman’s plot against his life, and Haman, an evil man who wanted to hurt the Jewish people.

*Next week, we will continue to learn about Purim and the letter Y.

Have a great weekend! Hope to see you at the Purim Carnival!
Miss Gloria, Miss Chloe, Miss Julia, Miss Mindy, and Mr. Noah

News From Miss Gloria's Class: 3/3/2011

Friday, March 4, 2011
LETTERS OF THE WEEK: Q and X

Last week, we learned letter Q, and on Thursday, the boys and girls decorated the letter Q with a queen. On Friday, they made queen stick puppets. We read It’s Quacking Time by Martin Waddell, Sylvia Jean Drama Queen by Lisa Campbell Ernst, and Goldie’s Purim by Jane Breskin Zalben.

This week, on Monday, we read I. Q. Goes to School by Mary Ann Fraser. This book tells how I. Q., the classroom pet, waits patiently to become the “student of the week” in his class. For our art project, the boys and girls made paper plate hamantashen for our classroom bulletin board. The children have been practicing the Purim songs that they will sing for you at our Purim Parade on Thursday, March 17.

On Tuesday, we learned about letter X. We learned that x-ray and xylophone begin with letter X and that these words have a letter X in them: fox, fix, six, exit, extinct, mix, box, excellent, experiment, t-rex, taxi, exercise, our friend, Max, and Jakob’s last name, Oxman. We read An Extraordinary Egg by Leo Lionni. This book tells how Jessica, the frog, finds what she thinks is a large stone, but it turns out that it is really an alligator egg.

On Wednesday, the story group read Hattie and the Fox by Mem Fox. In this book, Hattie the Hen spots danger, but the goose, pig, sheep, horse, and cow are not afraid. When the animals see that a fox is nearby, the cow comes to their rescue by sounding a loud, “Moo”. Each child, in the journal group, made an x-ray using a black paper X. The children drew parts of the body with chalk on the black X to look like an x-ray. In yoga, Miss Kim asked the children to name something that is their “favorite”. They practiced yoga stretching poses to warm-up. On their imaginary yoga trip, the boys and girls had a yoga adventure on a pirate ship.

On Thursday, we read The Mystery Bear - A Purim Story by Leone Adelson. When Little Bear awakens from his long winter’s sleep, he is hungry and goes out looking for food. He finds a house where the people are celebrating Purim. Inside, everyone is dressed in costumes and they are shaking their groggers. Little Bear is invited to come in as everyone thinks that he is a friend who is dressed as a bear. When Little Bear lets out a loud growl, they realize that a real bear has come to their Purim party. For our project, the boys and girls painted groggers that they will be using during the Purim Parade.

On Friday, we read Edwina The Dinosaur Who Didn’t Know She Was Extinct by Mo Willems. Everyone knows that dinosaurs are extinct until they meet Edwina. The boys and girls made name tags for Tuesday’s trip to the Art Museum.

*Thank you to Jack, Carly, Bodin, Giacomo, Theo, Liam, Samantha, and Maya for being our super “kids of the day” during the past two weeks.
*Our third trip to the Art Museum will be on Tuesday. Please pack your child’s lunch in a disposable bag.
*Please mark your calendars for the Purim Carnival on Sunday, March 13 from 11 AM until 1 PM. We will have games, food, prizes, craft projects, and fun for the whole family. Children and parents can dress in costume, too!
*Our class Purim celebration, with a parade and luncheon, will take place on Thursday, March 17 at 11:30 AM. All children and parents are encouraged to attend even if it is not your child’s regular day to come to school. Please pack a costume in a labeled bag for your child to wear during the parade. There is a sign-up sheet on the classroom door for food items needed for our luncheon. Please bring in the food on the morning of March 17 so that the food can be set up before the parade.
*As a reminder, the Shabbat Dinner has been changed from Friday, April 8 to Friday, May 6. The Playschool will be closed for Passover from Friday, April 15 through Tuesday, April 26.
*Next week, we will continue to learn about Purim and the letter Q.
Have a great weekend!
Miss Gloria, Miss Chloe, Miss Julia, Miss Mindy, and Mr. Noah

PUPPY PURIM PREVIEW

Lincoln "Crooner" Kramer

Winter Songs from Ms. Terri's Class