Parent Notes

Parent Notes--
Our last day of preschool will be May 14th. Tuition for May will be $50.00 Thanks!

May Calendar:
4th-7th: Letter Y
11th-14th: Letter Z




Thursday, December 18, 2014

Christmas Cheer

Theme:  Christmas Cheer
Have a wonderful holiday season!

Special Christmas Party Activities:

  • Beaded Candy Canes
  • Gumball Christmas Advent
  • Trim-a-Tree










Snacks:
  • Carrot Sticks & Alphabet Cookies
  • Carrot Sticks, Pretzels, Fruit Snacks
  • Apple Slices, Popcorn, & Candy Canes
Music & Movement:
  • Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
  • Jingle Bells
  • Shepherd's Carol 
  • Happiest Christmas Tree
  • Santa Claus is Coming to Town
  • 10 Happy Snowmen
  • Once there was a Snowman
  • Twirl like a snowflake, march like a nutcracker, prance like a deer,...
Art:  Making Christmas Gift Surprises

  • Made a Card
  • Mod Podge Gift
  • Make the Wrapping Paper


Writing:  Working on special Christmas Cards

Books:
Max and Ruby's Christmas Tree

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Kangaroos & Kisses

Theme:  Letter K
K and C make the same sound so sometimes it can be tricky to tell which letter is in a word.  We talked about how cat begins with C, but kitten begins with K.  Some of our target words include king, key, koala, kangaroo, kiss, kick, kitten, and kind.  We learned how to make the sign for k.  We also learned that the greatest king of all is Jesus.  We took turns pulling out "K" items from our "surprise" can.  We were especially excited to receive some fun things this week:  a kazoo, a kaleidoscope, and a chocolate kiss!

Choosing Time:  Rhyming words, Lowercase Uppercase Pairing Puzzles, Foam Blocks, Duplos, Cars, Nativity set, magnets...


 Show & Tell:   



Snacks:
  • Orange Slices, Almonds, & Goldfish
  • Kazoos (Bugle Chips) & Marshmallows
  • Kabobs (with cheese, fruit loops, & cuties)






Music & Movement:
  • 9 Happy Kangaroos
  • Koala Bear, Koala Bear
  • Make letter K with our bodies
  • Jingle Bells
  • The Shepherd's Carol
  • Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
  • 5 Koala Bears
  • Kangaroo Hops
  • Kazoo Playing 
Math:  We are still working on recognizing the numbers 1-10.  Some of us get stuck after number 4.  We counted how many days there are until Christmas on our calendar.  We counted 15 days and most of us did really well counting along :)

Games:
  • Moving Jingle Bells with Magnets
  • Kangaroo Pouch K--Hunt for Ks

Writing:  We practiced our K/k's and writing our names the "kindergarten" way

Art: 
  • Painted Ornaments  
  • Christmas Stockings
  • Kangaroo Pouches


Books:  Kangaroo, Kangaroo What's In Your Pouch?

It's Christmas, David!

Thursday, December 4, 2014

Jingle All the Way

Theme:  Letter J
The letter J is truly more important than we often give it credit for.  After all, one third of our class is "J-named."  Some of our "J" words included Jam, Jelly, Jellybeans, Jeep, Jet, Jaguar, Joker, Jump, & Jesus.

Choosing Time:  Nativity Set, Jingle Bell Jewelry, Jeweled Names...

Show & Tell:  Thank you Darren for bringing jellybeans to share!  We also loved seeing a Nativity Advent Calendar, jaguars, and 2 household items in the shape of a J.  



Snacks:
  • Pretzel sticks & Go-gurts
  • Fruit Leather & Goldfish
  • Sting Cheese 
Writing:  We practiced letter J/j.  We also were able to do a coloring activity with J and j.

Music & Movement:
  • Jingle Bells
  • Johnny Works With One Hammer
  • Jack-in-the-box
  • 2 Jellyfish
  • Jumping Song
  • "Jelly" Sauce
  • Peanut Butter & Jelly
Games:
  • Beanbag Toss:  Each kiddo had a chance to catch the beanbag and tell us something that begins with the letter J
  • Jingle Bell Drop:  Each kiddo had a turn dropping jingle bells into a jug

Art:
  • Baby Jesus Ornaments
  • Painting with Jell-O  (This was a great sensory activity.  We loved the raspberry jello smell.  Some of us tasted it.  We wondered why it was bumpy.  Some of us touched it.  It dried glossy.  I almost want to label this a science activity instead of art :)
Field trip:  We were so lucky to have a spontaneous field trip to the HFAC at BYU  We were entertained with two puppet shows. The first was about nutritious food choices and healthy activities. The second demonstrated how there are shapes all around us. We listened to a story of Goldilocks and the 3 Bears.  We saw a short play about a monkey, an elephant, and a rabbit.  We also saw three short skits about sacrifice and love.  We even were treated to a cookie afterward.

Books:
 First Christmas

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Thankful Thanksgiving

Theme:  Thanksgiving
We spent some time sharing some of the things we are each thankful for.  The sweetest by far was when one kiddo said, "I'm glad Jackson's head is getting better so he could come back to school."  Each of your children bring a sweet reminder of the reality of God and His love for us.  Thank you for sharing them with me!  I love them!

Choosing Time:  Fruit Loop Necklaces, Letter "I" Igloo Game, Puzzles, Dinosaurs, Trains, Ponies, Teepee

Science Field Trip:  We were fortunate to go to Sub Zero for a fabulous field trip.  Not only did we enjoy some yummy cookies & cream ice cream, but we also experienced some awesome science!  We learned about nitrogen, carbon monoxide, and oxygen.  We saw liquid nitrogen thrown onto the floor and becoming solid little balls with lots of smoke.  We watched Scientist Peter dump some nitrogen on his head and roll off onto the floor.  We watched Peter put a balloon into some nitrogen.  The balloon flattened leaving some liquid carbon monoxide inside.  When Peter held the flattened balloon in his hands, the balloon warmed up, turning it back into an inflated balloon.  Each kiddo was able to take a nitrogen-frozen gummy bear and drop it into a bowl.  Each one shattered.  We learned that as those gummy bears warm up they will be gooey pieces but will never look like a gummy bear again.  We watched them take some cream and mix it with nitrogen to make ice cream.  It was Awesome!

















Games:
  • Pin the Hat on the Turkey
  • Thanksgiving Bingo
  • Leaf Counting 
Writing:  Practiced I/i

Music & Movement:
  • The Turkey (AKA Chicken) Dance
  • Silly Bird
  • I Am A Little Indian Boy
  • 5 Pilgrims & 5 Indians
  • Fall Leaf Dance
  • Row, Row, Row the Mayflower
  • I'm A Little Turkey
  • This Old Road
  • Thanksgiving Friends
  • Hello Mr. Turkey
  • I Scream
  • 10 Little Indians
Books:
  • Pilgrim, Pilgrim, What Do You See? 
  • The Story of Thanksgiving 
  • The First Thanksgiving:  Thanksgiving Story For Kids
Art:
  • Finished our Indian Corn
  • Illustrated our "I Am Thankful For These Things" Books  (If your children chose to not draw their families they're hoping you can put a real picture of your family on that page)  Also, the "Senses" page is to remind us that we can see, smell, hear, taste, & touch (the hair).  All the kiddos worked so hard on their books!  We were able to practice cutting, number recognition, counting, gluing,  and drawing. 



Snacks:
  • Multi-grain Chips & Clementines
  • Raisins, Apples, & Pretzel Sticks
  • Crackers & Fruit Snacks