Group Meeting: Thank you for all of the birthday greetings that I received today. The staff and children went above and beyond this year with celebrating. The children made pictures for me and made a wonderful bulletin board display.
During Group Meeting, I explained to the children that we would be reading lots of book this month. At school, we will be reading books by my favorite authors and illustrators. Please read the note that was sent home about our reading challenge.
Story: This week, we will be reading books that were written and illustrated by Eric Carle. The first book that I read was The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Many of the children had heard this story of the caterpillar who eats too much before changing into a beautiful caterpillar. Later in the day, I read The Very Lonely Firefly. A firefly is flashing his light, looking for a friend. He finds other lights such as a flashlight, a candle, and headlights. Ask your child to tell you if the firefly finds a friend.
Large Group: After reading The Very Lonely Firefly, we turned off the lights and pretended to be fireflies dancing in the night sky. We listened to the song "Firefly Lullaby".
Letter Learning: The letter for today was Nn. The tub contained a newspaper, nose, net, necklace, notebook and nest. We traced and printed the letter Nn.
Snack: The snack for today was bagels, cream cheese, milk and water.
Group Meeting: For our last day in March, we reviewed the fairy tales that we read. We noted that most of them ended "happily ever after" but one did not. Ask your child to tell you which one ended sadly for it's characters.
Story: The story for today was a re-read of The Three Little Pigs. This time, the children said the parts of the pigs and the wolf. I like this version of the story because it stresses the importance of hard work. The pigs that made their houses of straw and sticks did so because it was easy. The little pig who used bricks worked hard and it paid off.
Let's Find Out: Our magazine was about beavers. The video told about several animals that build their own homes such as bees, spiders, mice, etc. The back of the magazine compared groundhogs to beavers. For more information, go to letsfindout.com Login as a student and use the password redeemer.
Letter Learning: The letter for today was Mm. The tub contained a mirror, mouse, mug, mop, milk, and mailbox. The children traced and printed the letter and found it in print.
Snack: The snack for today was cinnamon bread, milk and water.
Group Meeting: We have been doing a little yoga before Group Meeting. We act out a story using yoga poses. It helps us focus and get ready to read the message board.
Story: The fairy tale that I read today was The Three Little Pigs retold by Bonnie Dobkin. Three little pigs lived with their mother. When they grew up, they were sent to build houses of their own. The first little pig built a house of straw, the second little pig built a house of sticks, and the third little pig built a house of bricks. The Big Bad Wolf comes out of the forest looking for little pigs to eat. How will he get into their houses? Will he be able to catch the little pigs? Ask your child to tell you.
Small Groups: The children acted out our story using puppets and a few props to represent straw, sticks and bricks. I narrated while they added a few lines from the story.
Letter Learning: The letter for today was Ll. The tub contained a lion, lettuce, log, lock, ladybug, and lightbulb. The children traced and printed the letter and found it in print.
Snack: The snack for today was corn chips, salsa, juice and water.
Group Meeting: Last week, I read the book, Interrupting Chicken. I chose this story because interrupting has been a problem during Group Meeting and story time. I am challenging the children to not interrupt a friend or teacher and instead wait and/or raise a hand for a turn to talk. To help us with this challenge, I made a chart with five little chickens on it. If someone interrupts, I remove a chicken. If at least one chicken remains at the end of the day, we get to do something fun or select something to take home. We're doing well!
Story: Once again, I read the book Jack and the Beanstalk. This time, the children voiced the words of the giant, "Fee-Fi-Fo-Fum!". We also talked about how Jack became greedy. He had taken the hen that laid the golden eggs but returned to get the golden harp. This might be a hard concept for some children. We talked about being happy with what we have.
Small Groups: The children planted bean seeds to grow their own beanstalk. We added a popsicle stick with a castle at the top so that our beanstalks can grow up to reach it, just like the story.
Letter Learning: The letter for today was Ff. The tub contained a feather, fish, fan, four, football, and a fork. We traced and printed the letter Ff and found the letter in print.
Snack: The snack for today was Clementine oranges, milk and water.
The morning class had a special guest today. Isabel's grandfather, Dan Dickens, came at the end of the day to lead us in a few songs. Mr. Dickens is a retired teacher. Thank you, Isabel, for sharing your grandfather with us.
Group Meeting: Today was our 100th Day of School! We counted all of the stickers on our 10 frames. That means we only have 34 days left. The school year is flying by.
Story: The fairy tale that I read today was Jack and the Beanstalk as told by Melanie Joyce. Jack and his mother have run out of money. Mother sends Jack to sell the cow so that they will have money to buy food. On his way, Jack meets a man who buys the cow for three magic beans. Jack's mother is not happy. She throws the beans out of the window. The next morning Jack awakes to a beanstalk that has grown up into the clouds. Ask your child to tell you what Jack finds at the top of the beanstalk.
Letter Learning: The letter for today was Zz. The tub contained a zebra, zoo sign, zucchini, zipper, zig zag and zero. We traced and printed the letter Zz and found it in a sentence.
Large Group: To celebrate 100 days, the children completed 100 movement activities by doing 10 sets of 10 different exercises. The list of exercises is in their bag today.
Snack: The snack for today was cheese slices, turkey slices, and water.
The Lions eye screening was today. However, my note may have caused some confusion as I had April 27th instead of March 27th. If your child was not screened today, we will do it tomorrow. The permission form sent home must be brought or completed at the preschool.
