Community Helpers and Thanksgiving Gratitude

Enjoy some of theses pictures the children taken from October and the beginning of November!

The children are currently learning about the first Thanksgiving. The kids have been reading about the Pilgrims, their friends, the Native Americans, and we have been discussing what it means to be thankful for our homes, family and friends. 

 I hope that you have enjoyed seeing some of their memorable Thanksgiving crafts and activities coming home so far! They are really enjoying this unit!



The children loved learning about community helpers during October. Ronnell wants to be a garbage man, Brayden wants to be a police officer and Janelle wants to become a firefighter!

Special thanks to everyone for coming to the Fire Station on Nov. 9th for the field trip that supported some of the curriculum from October!



Wondering what the kids get for snacks? Take a peek...one day they enjoyed pears with cheerios and water.



On October 31st we had fun with Show 'n Tell. Ronnell started it off, dressed up as Luigi.



The kids were too cute dressed up for a fun day celebrating fall and harvests!

Brayden enjoyed telling everyone about his pumpkin that started with the letter "P".

Janelle was proud to show her dad's hat which began with the letter "H".

Time for some party snacks! Everyone was so excited to devour candy and party treats!

Another peek at a plate from our little party. We did have some apples and grapes too!

Outside, the kids were excited to create art masterpieces with sidewalk chalk.

Ronnell poses next to his picture! They had so much fun that day!

In November, Janelle patiently works on creating a memorable Thanksgiving place mat.

Everyone loves when we can play a theme game. November's game taught the kids how to count their spaces and reinforces the history of the Pilgrims journey through sea, building homes, meeting Native Americans and harvesting crops. At the center, the children "win" by going around the board and coming to a Thanksgiving feast!



DATES TO REMEMBER:

11/21-11/23   NO SCHOOL! Have a Blessed Thanksgiving Holiday!

11/28/12         Show and Tell: Have the kids bring something that starts with L, E or G.

11/28/12         Assessment Reviews (After AWANA dropoff for about 30 min?)

12/3/12           December Tuition Due

12/19/12         Show and Tell (Opportunity for birthday celebration for Ronnell? Let me know! :)

12/21-1/4        NO SCHOOL! WINTER BREAK See you in 2013!

HOME/SCHOOL CONNECTION

At home continue to read to your kids, count anything and everything and emphasize letter sounds in words and print.  Also take the opportunity to discuss the Pilgrims, Native Americans, the first Thanksgiving and being grateful for all that we have been blessed with to your kids.

After Thanksgiving, the kids will begin to learn about using their 5 Senses (smell, touch, sight etc). And December holds more fun with Rhyming activities and Christmas fun!

Thank you for all you do to support your child's education! These preschool years are critical to their quest of being a lifelong learner!

Learning About Fabulous Fall!

Well, another two weeks have passed and the kids have had a great time learning about the season of fall. Over the past two weeks at school the kids have had hands-on, interactive experiences with crafts, handwriting practice, finger play activities, songs and books.  Take a moment to see your little ones as they created some of those precious crafts and schoolwork that I hope you treasure for years to come!

The children loved creating a fall windsock at the beginning of the unit.  They were totally enamored with the tissue paper and everyone knew where they would hang it up at their homes!

Janelle stops painting with her feather to take a quick picture. On this day, the children learned about birds, specifically owls and they discussed the texture of feathers and learned some fun songs and facts about birds.

Ronnell was especially excited to use a feather, instead of a paintbrush. His creative expression with red and yellow paint was quite a masterpiece! Great job!

Smile Brayden! Brayden took his time painting and covered his entire page with paint!

During "Free Play" Brayden is pretending to be the teacher and is singing/teaching the ABC's to his friends.

Ronnell was so proud of his house that he built out of blocks! He really loves working with the blocks in the mornings.

Here, Janelle is building a city for her Lego friends. She enjoyed having them interact together.

Here, the children are sitting "criss-cross, applesauce" and ready for "Circle Time". Jaren is playing in the back, for the time being! They all do an excellent job paying attention during this time of the day while we go over shapes, calendar, read stories or do our "Morning Message" and "Learning Box".

Show and Tell Time!!! Ronnell brought his stuffed monkey to share with us. He said he loves to hang him from things and he lost the monkey's shirt! :) The monkey represented the letter /Mm/ and he was able to tell his friends the sound that /Mm/ makes too! Great job Ronnell!

Next, Brayden showed his friends his airplane that he made at VBS. He was happy to explain that it began with the letter /Aa/ and its sound too. Everyone wanted to see it fly! :)



Last, Janelle showed her friends her feathered boa! And wow, we were impressed by the glamour! It worked out that every child brought something that covered the 3 letters of the month. (M, A and F).  Janelle said the letter /Ff/ sounds and told us that she likes to put it on and play around the house.  Show and Tell for September was a success! Thanks parents, for taking the time to help find those items!



A LOOK AHEAD:

The units for October are "Community Helpers" and "Plenty of Pumpkins". So the first and third week of October we will learn about people in the community, such as firefighters, police officers, mailmen, dentists, doctors and more. Then toward the end of October we will learn about pumpkins, where they grow, their shapes and sizes and a pumpkin's life cycle.

REMINDERS:

Fall Break: No School October 8-12

During October, I hope to have our kids join up with MOPS for a field trip to a local fire station. More information coming soon!

School Resumes: October 15

HOME-SCHOOL CONNECTION:

When you can, take the time to read some great suggestions and ideas from the "Fun-damental" page that came home today (9/28). It gives us all some fun and creative ways to reinforce concepts taught to the kids during this month. At this age, the children learn best through play!



I Am Special Because I'm Me and I Love My Family!

September has proven to be a fun month for the children.  For the past two weeks they have enjoyed learning more about themselves, what makes them special and discussing their families. Take a peek at a few fun pictures from the last couple of weeks!

We began the month, continuing to  work on name recognition and handwriting. Here Brayden takes a reluctant moment to pose for me as he adds the lentils to his name card.

Ronnell enjoyed this activity very much and was excited to take a picture for me! Thanks Ronnell!

Janelle too! She loved adding the lentils and took her time to do it just right!

This month we will be working with the letter /Mm/. This was a fun activity that supports fine motor skills, letter recognition and phonemic awareness. I teach the students the letter sounds and not just the name of the letter at school, so  don't forget to ask your child what sound an /Mm/ makes and look for opportunities to locate the letter in print and say the sound too!

Janelle and Brayden were so excited to do their hand prints in their "My All About Me" books.  The kids were so happy to work on each page and discover more about themselves. I hope that these books serve as precious memories of these preschool days. I try to allow the children freedom in creating and drawing with pictures and colors, to ensure that this is their own authentic artwork at this particular time in their life.

Every morning we have our morning routine where we count the days and discuss the month, day of the week, pattern for the month, A(red children card)B(yellow leaf card), and sing our Month of the Year and Days of the Week song. Here Janelle was the first one to shout out the correct numerical date so she was invited to add the day to our calendar! Great job Janelle! All the children love the opportunity to be Calendar Helper!

We have just finished a unit on Me and My Family, and the children enjoyed reading books about what makes them special from their name to fun tricks or talents they have. We discussed that there is no one else in the world like them and they all liked that!

So please take a moment to talk to your child about why you think they're special to you and to your family.  Also, the class did discuss what personal information is, such as their name, phone number, birthday and address. It's hard to believe sometimes, but this is important for us to teach our little ones. They'll feel like such big kids!

What's Next?

Beginning Monday, September 17th, we will begin a new unit focused on the season of Fall. So, keep an eye out for fun fall activities. We will also continue to work with the letters, /Mm/, /Ff/ and /Aa/. The shape of the month is a circle and we are working with the numbers 1 and 2.

Wednesday, September 26: Show and Tell (More information will be coming home in the next weeks.)

August Fun With The Letter "A" And Our Names

WELCOME TO SCHOOL!

Well, we are officially in our second week of preschool and we have had too much fun learning about the letter "A" and our names.  I had to post some of these pictures taken over the past week or so. Take a peek at your preschooler learning and exploring at Ms. Nicole's Preschool!


 

Ronnell enjoys playing with legos during Free Play in the mornings.



On the first day of school, everyone had a great time building trains.

The students had a blast tracing their names with finger paint.

Janelle smiles for Ms. Nicole as she paints her letter "A" poster.

The students thought that this pre-writing activity of writing the letter "A" in salt was too cool.



Check out the kids working hard on coloring and constructing their alligator puppets.



HOME-SCHOOL CONNECTION:

It's so important to your child's success in education to have continued reinforcement of concepts at home too. Here are some fun ideas that will encourage your child to keep doing their best at school.

LETTER "A"

*Talk to you kids about the letter "A", the sound it makes and try searching for it in books or print around the house.

*Go on a treasure hunt at home searching for items that begin with the letter "A" (apple, applesauce, astronaut, animal)

*Have fun writing the letter "A" in salt or sand in a cookie sheet.

MY NAME

*Write your child's name on a strip of paper, cut out each letter and mix it up. Ask your child to put the letters of their name in the right order. (Younger students may need to see their name as a guide.)

*Practice writing their name on paper, or make it fun and use the salt idea from above. (May need to do dot-to-dot)

* Take a moment and tell your child why their name is so important, why you chose it just for them and why it makes them who they are!

OTHER ACTIVITIES

*Visit your local library often. Look for books about letters, names or just a great story. Children at this age love listening to stories and it's a great way to encourage reading. Also check out online books...try visiting the scholastic website for eStoria book apps.

*Practice singing the ABC Song and counting to 10 with your little preschooler.  It's a fun way to keep them learning all the time.

REMINDERS

8.29.12      SHOW AND TELL: Bring an item about your name or something that begins with "A"

9.3.12        NO SCHOOL: Have a safe and fun Labor's Day Weekend!

9.5.12        TUITION DUE

COMING UP

In September, the kids will continue exploring and learning with the units: Me and My Family and Fabulous Fall.  More information will be coming home in the upcoming weeks. Also, continue to check the blog for more information and pictures!

Thank you for your support of your child's education!  

Welcome To Ms. Nicole's Preschool!

Welcome to Ms. Nicole's Preschool! The beginning of school is an exciting time of year and it is my hope that this blog serves as a great way for you to connect with your children's learning experiences at Ms. Nicole's Preschool.

Check out the blog on a monthly basis to view pictures of our students learning and engaging with their curriculum.  Also stay connected with important parent information and reminders.


Again, welcome to our preschool and to an exciting year in education!



Quickly View Tuition Information, Dates of Operation and Hours Below:

Tuition Rates:  $100/student for the 3 Days or $80/student for the 2 Days

Dates of Operation:  Mondays, Wednesday and Friday (3 Day Program)
                                                              or
                                           Monday and Wednesday (2 Day Program)

Hours: 9am to 12pm

* Please remember to drop-off and pick-up students promptly. Thank You!