Thursday, March 30

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. 

Wednesday, March 29

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.

Tuesday, March 28

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.

Monday, March 27

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.

Thursday, March 23

Group Meeting:  Our sticker chart, which keeps track of how many days we have been in school, is up to 99.  On Monday, we will celebrate 100 days of school.

Story:  The story for today was Henny Penny which is the fairy tale that I read yesterday.  This time, we stopped as the fox was offering to help Henny Penny and made up our own ending so that the friends did not get eaten by the fox.  We also talked about "using your brain".  If a friend tries to convince you to do something that doesn't sound right, use your brain to do the smart thing.  

Let's Find Out:  The magazine for today was about forecasting the weather.  Animals can sense when the weather is changing.  By watching animals, we can predict the weather.  If you'd like to watch the video, go to letsfindout.com  Login as a student and use the password redeemer.

Letter Learning:  The letter for today was Vv.  The tub contained a volcano, vest, visor, vase, video camera, and van.

Snack:  The snack for today was Belvita bars, juice and water.

Wednesday, March 23

Story:  The fairy tale that I read today was Henny Penny retold by Bonnie Dobkin.  An acorn falls from a tree and hits Henny Penny on the head.  She thinks the sky is falling and runs to tell the king.  Her friends Ducky Lucky, Turkey Lurkey, Goosey Loosey, and Cocky Locky all try to get her to think it over, but she insists.  The friends join her in bringing the news to the king.  Then they meet Foxy Loxy.  He knows a short cut and invites them to join him for dinner.  Should the friends follow him?  Ask your child to tell you how the ends.

Small Groups:  The children played Rhyming Words Memory.  They turned cards over looking for two that rhymed.

Large Group:  The children played the Hoop Game.   With a partner, the children carried hoops down a row of chairs.  The first team to get all of the hoops to the end was the winner.

Letter Learning:  The letter for today was Tt.  The tub contained a tiger, tomato, turkey, teeth, towel, and turtle.

Snack:  The snack for today was Quaker Oat Squares, milk and water.

A note concerning a free eye screening was sent in your child's folder today.

Tuesday, March 21

Group Meeting:  I read a book to the children called Interrupting Chicken by David Ezra Stein.  This story is about a little chick who is listening to a bedtime story being read to him by his papa.  However, when the story gets exciting, the little chick interrupts his father.  Papa Chicken asks the little chick to be polite and not interrupt him so that he can finish the story. 

I read this story to start a discussion about waiting for a turn to talk.  We've noticed a lot of children interrupting teachers and classmates in a hurry to talk.  We will work on remembering to wait and raise a hand for a turn to talk so that we don't have any "interrupting chickens".😀

Story:  I read Little Red Riding Hood again, today.  During this re-read, I left out a few words for the children to add.  We also talked about how this story could have ended differently if Little Red Riding Hood had listened to her mother.

Small Groups:  The children were given seven clothespins with  different letters printed on the end.  They were also given a piece of paper with the characters from our story printed on it.  Together, we identified the beginning sound of the character's name and selected the correct letter clothespin to attach to the picture.  

Large Group:  The children completed a "Count the Room" activity that corresponded with our story.  They had to search the room for items from the story, count how many, and print the numeral below the picture.

Letter Learning:  The letter for today was Pp.  The letter tub contained a pink pig, pumpkin, pizza, paint brush, pickle, and pan.

Snack:  The snack for today was pears, milk, and water.