September 26-30
Beaumont/Alameda Pre-K
Newsletter for the week of September 26- 30, 2011
Hello Pre-K Families! We finished our unit on Family, Friends and Pets. Throughout the week the students did various activities involving friendship. During group time the students were paired up and went on a scavenger hunt trying to find two items in the classroom that were the color of their bag. Then they presented it to the class. We made friendship bracelets and the students randomly picked one from a basket. We made a classroom friendship book called What Represents Who You Are? Each student created their own Mini Me adding details of what they think they look like. We strung them all together to create a classroom chain which is hung outside the room for all to see. The teachers encouraged the students to make a new friend. The teachers’ role played showing ways to communicate with their friends.
On Thursday we celebrated Lucia’s 4th birthday and Vincent’s 5th birthday. Happy Birthday Lucia and Vincent!!!
Teacher Lacey had a chance to meet all the pre-k students on Thursdays and Friday. Lacey co-teaches at Beaumont Pre-k, 11:15 am-2pm, and fills in when needed.
Thanks and Reminders
*Thank you to Tess and her family for providing fruits and vegetables this week for snack!
*A Window Into Pre-K Lunch
We want to let everyone know what happens throughout the day and often we cannot spend much time talking with each of you either at morning/afternoon drop-off or at pick-up. We are going to use this space to “check in” about a few topics. The topic this week is lunch time. We would appreciate it if you would please talk with your child about eating at lunch time. Ask them what they are doing during lunch, who they sit next to, or what they liked best about their lunch. We eat together in the classroom as a whole group (from 11 to 11:30), and this may be a new experience for your child. We ask that you pack a lunch that your child will like to eat but keep in mind they may suddenly develop new tastes or they may enjoy eating the same foods every day. We encourage all students to eat their food, to use polite table manners, to enjoy their table mates through social interaction and to use their eating-time wisely. We make several reminders to the whole group as well as individually for students to focus on eating. However, we cannot “force” anyone to eat! We want students to recognize when they are hungry and when they have had enough, so that they may appropriately negotiate this for themselves is the future. We also offer a snack at 2:00 for full day and afternoon students, and the same scenario applies during snack time.
*The students will begin sharing during group time. For the week of October 3rd through the 7th will be letter Aa sharing. The following week will be Bb and continue on with the alphabet for the following weeks. Please follow the sharing schedule, this way we can make sure that each child has a chance to share. We do understand that you may forget and so therefore you may have your child bring something to share the following day. We DO NOT force any student to share so if your child doesn’t want to share that is their choice. We do however try and encourage them as it furthers their learning. This is another great opportunity for you and your child to search around the house or outside for items that begin with the letter of the week. Example: Your child may bring in an apple, alligator (stuffed one), ant etc. Also please do not bring in toys. You may check with Teacher Sarah, Katie or Shelley in regards to this. In addition to the letter of the week you may always bring in something from nature. Example: say you go for a hike as a family and you find an interesting rock, leaf, etc. you may bring that in to share with the class. Or you go on a family trip and bring something special back you may also share with the class. During this time the students will learn how to sign each letter of the alphabet as we go along. They will also learn the pronunciation of each letter. Thanks again for your support.
Sharing Schedule
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
Lola Henry Sasha Benton Quincy
Kate Gabriel Daniella Tess Maggie
Leo Corinne Jack Dominik Boone
Daphne Ella Deacon Chase Lucia
Davis August Charles Simone Beckett
Margaret Hudson Vincent Gilbert
*Our theme will be Community and Community Helpers. The students will have a chance to see the school office and meet the individuals that work there. They will also have a chance to eat in the cafeteria and meet the individuals that prepare the food for the middle school students. The Fire Department will visit our school on the following week October 11 due to their busy schedule. In the pretend area there will be a mailbox set up for the students to be able to be mail carriers and deliver mail to one another. Along with this, they will make their own mail bag to play with.
The Week in Review
Monday: This Monday was all about friends! We read a book about two amphibian buddies called “Frog and Toad Together,” and sang a song about friends called “Friend of Mine.” We made a poster with a little poem – Friends care/ Friends share/ We need friends everywhere! We also talked about what makes a friend, and wrote our thoughts on the poster. Our special project was decorating plates (with string attached, look for them hanging in our classroom soon!) with stickers and crayons, and our teacher dictated our words about things we like to do with friends, what makes a friend, and why we love our friends. We also did a little yoga and stretching in the gym, and played our silly word running game outside. Fun day!
Tuesday: We started off the day by reading Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon. The students were asked the question: “If you could speak another language what would it be?” It was great to what each child had to say. During group time we sang 10 horses. Also during group time, the students were paired up by the teachers and given a colored bag. They then went around the classroom with their partner and tried to find two items that were the same color of the bag they were given. Each pair presented it to the class. Great team work pre-k! Our special project today was making fuzzy buddies with puff balls, googly eyes, corks and precut feet. We also read “Who is a friend?” During outside time the students did an obstacle course. They appeared to have a ton of fun!
Wednesday: Today in Pre-K we read the books Corduroy and My Friend Bear. During circle time we discussed how our class is one big group of friends. We sang the song “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes.” Our special project for the day was a choice. The children had the option of making a picture that represented them for our class friendship book. Some other choices we offered today were trains, puzzles, and Play Doh. A special question we asked the students today was “What do you like to dream about?” Lots of students like to dream about rockets and unicorns! Outside, we played “Man on Mars.” This afternoon, we had a fire drill.
Thursday: Today we had two birthdays to celebrate! In the morning we sang our birthday song and looked at pictures for Lucia, and in the afternoon, Vincent took center stage for his birthday. Thanks so much to their parents for providing pictures and coming in to share with us. Our special project today was designing a mini paper version of ourselves, colored with marker and soon to be hung up hand-in-hand with our class and teachers – look for our “mini me” chain in the classroom soon. We read a book celebrating children, family, and friends all around the world called You and Me Together – Moms, Dads, and Kids Around the World, and we read our “What represents me?” project book aloud. Beaumont 8th graders visited Mount St. Helens yesterday, and three of our 8th grade Teacher’s Assistants told us about their trip and answered our questions – thanks to Rose, Siany, and Cole for their fun story time. Teacher Katie was out today, so teacher Lacey came to fill in for her.
Friday: Today we started off the day by reading Little Quacks New Friend. We sang baby shark. Our special project was making friendship bracelets. Each student made a bracelet which they placed in a basket when done. The students then drew a random bracelet from the basket. Prior to making the bracelets we discussed kind ways in receiving a gift from someone. The students did a great job at giving and receiving. We also read Bears New Friend, and Me and You.
Have a great weekend!
Sarah, Shelley, Katie, Mir and Lacey!
