Letter "A"

I forgot to ask/tell the most important part of last week...forming the letter "A" as it will be a preface of many more letters to come. I introdiced them to a clock face and showed them where each of the numbers are...specifically the number 2...and then I tried to make sure all of them started their letter a at 2 o clock and then worked counterclockwise. Not very many of them do this, and today as we were practicing (a lot of children have the letter a in their name) I tried to remind them of that. If you could watch the way they form their letters and remind them of this rule...that would be fabulous!! Thanks!

Week 7

I thought last week I was bad at pictures...this week I was really bad, plus my computer is not letting me upload them. We had a rather simple week...

Tuesday we did our letter S, L, and A journals...they are getting so good at staying on the dots, and writing letters on their own without any dots! It pleases me!!

Wed. We made our "Apples"...in case they didn't tell you...we painted with eyedroppers...it was fun to mix it up a little bit, plus it's a great fine motor/hand-eye skill. I did take pictures of this and I will post them when my computer lets me.

Thurs. we did our "letter/color/number" cards that we have been working on that they will get at the end of the year!

Even though we moved onto the theme "Apples" for the letter "A" We did a clothing/room/closet puzzle as well as a memory game qith pictures of clothes (both of which are brain buster games :)).

We learned some new songs about apples and the color red...see if they remember them...We will review them tomorrow!

It was a great week. This week we will be doing the letter "X"...random I know...but it's what came next in the curriculum kit that I have been doing. We are also moving on to a pet theme and pumpkins...which leads me to the next thing...

FIELD TRIP TO THE PUMPKIN PATCH:
Will be Next Wed, (the 8th) at Mother Nature's Farm on Baseline between Gilbert And Stapley

We will meet there at 9:40

Please wear red if you and your child can

the cost is $5- for kids and $2 for adults. You can add that to tuition (which is due on Wed. if you would like to)!

More info to come!! Have a great week. And remember NO SCHOOL NEXT THURSDAY the 9th for fall break!

Week 6...Where does the time go?

Another week down...where does the time go??
On Tuesday we did our "letter cards" again. The letter "S", "L", the shape "circle" and the number 3. (We are learning all those things in case you didn't know...this week will be the letter "A")

Sami up close coloring so well on her letter/shape cards! We played a game where we had to throw a button (We are still doing "dressing jazz") onto the colored paper and then mark on my graph which color (or not) it landed on.
We discussed our graph...which color had the MOST, the least, etc... (A math skill in case you didn't know!)

Still discovering new toys at center time. Kaylee was having fun working on her math with the bears.
The Barbies are still (of course) a hit. It's fun to hear them play...One day I'll have to try and video one of their discussions. It's fun to hear them mimic us as adults...better watch what we say! :)
These guys having fun with the shape sorter (more pre- math skills)
Our mirror project...the kids were trying to draw a self-portrait while looking in the mirror. It tried to get them to draw as realistically as possible. This was a project that you could definitely tell the age differences. But they all did great!
Colby was very proud of his self-portrait and wanted me to take this picture!

The doll house is still a favorite this week.


These guys had fun building all sorts of things out of the blocks! oops- put this one twice- sorry- it's just such a cute picture!!

Everyone is getting so good at writing their name. It's amazing what they have learned in 6 weeks!! I hope you're as impressed with them as I am!
If you haven't tried this at home yet...try breaking up their name for them...like start with the "L" a line going down and over. Next is an "e" a line going across and around like a roller coaster (or whatever it looks like to you...I always say weeeee!) Next is X "a line going this way and (show them in the air), and a line going this way. Last is an "i" a line with a dot on the top. Hopefully you get my drift. I have been trying to do this with them at school, and between doing that (without dots) and still doing their homework...they'll have their name in no time!!! Keep practicing at home! It makes all the difference in the world at school!

A different shape game.

Playing the game again...this time in the afternoon
The majority did not land on the paper!!

Well, that was pretty much the week. Any questions or comments feel free to email me or leave a comment here!! Have a great week! And practice the letter "A"!!!

Week 5...can you believe it?

I didn't get as many pictures this week...but it was a great one nonetheless! Here goes a little explanation!!


I love that the kids are all finding little buddies, and are getting along really well. After talking to many of you, it seems as if they go home talking about their little friends...I love that! These boys still love to sort all the animals!! More buddies!Nat and Colby...they like to play "doggies" together as well as build houses for their dogs. A lot of the kids are actually into this little game, and play it often!
Teagan being her sweet little self playing with the Polly pockets...another class favorite!

These guys were hard at working writing their name, gluing on their shirt, counting how many bows and buttons they could find on the paper, as well as coloring their best! In case I haven't mentioned it yet...our new theme is "dressing Jazz" and it will revolve around clothes.

A lot of the kids like to just color during center time.

These guys colored their "camisas" (shirt in Spanish-- your kids should know that...ask them about it) I was impressed with their Sewing skills as they sewed their buttons on their shirts. (We learned the letter "S" this week).
Kayden survived school even with a cast on...the kids were impressed with this!!

We played a game called "Button, Button, who has the button?". They seemed to enjoy it. I laughed at them trying to "hide" who they gave the button to....especially since the button was almost the size of their hand (although it was shaped like a Star)

Caden showing off the button!! :)

And last but not least...A VERY SPECIAL BIRTHDAY WISH TO MASON!! Thanks for the birthday cupcakes...they were a big hit! I hope you have a VERY SPECIAL DAY!!!!!



There's a quick summary of the week. Sorry for the late grandparents day craft...hopefully late is better than never! :)

AS far as the field trip is concerned...I went ahead and booked it for Wed. October 8th at 9:45. I Will give all the details later, and A LOT of reminders, but for now pencil that date on your calendar...that will be preschool for the day (and just a reminder there is no school on the 9th for fall break) I know several of you have family members that live in town (moms, and sisters, etc.) if they want to join us on our field trip and get in for a discounted rate (or help you with all your kids, etc.) that is fine-- I will just get a head count a couple days before (as well as all the money...it will be $5 for kids that want a pumpkin- 2 and under are free; and $3 for adults).

I also am going to try and do a field trip once a month on a non-school day, and will try to book those asap, I will also try to keep those ones free. I'm thinking a field trip to the fire station, Basha's, Krispy Kreme, and Superstition farm to start- what do you think? I will try to find a way to tie them into our themes!! :) If you guys ever hear of a great cheap field trip, please let me know!!

Have a great week. Next week we will learn the letter "L". Don't forget to check the queen and king schedule below (or click on the link on the right). Keep practicing homework. I had all the kids try and write their name today without any dots, and they are doing so good. If you want to try it at home...break it down for them and give them clues like a "D" is a line going down and a big fat belly (sorry, that's probably not politically correct, but the kids seem to love it and REMEMBER it). and "a" I say a circle with a line an "n" I say a line going down, go back to the top and do a hump all the way down. Anyway...I'm sure you get the idea. Try it at home...I think you will be impressed with their skills!! :)

Week 4

We had another great week at preschool. We learned the letter "i"...here is a little insight into our week. (sorry the pictures are all out of order...you should get the gist though! :))

We did our letter "T" and "I" book. Remember we will do one of these for every letter if you want to save them so you can compare their handwriting from the beginning of the year to the end. I have already started to see an improvement in their ability to stay on the dots, and hold the pencil correctly. Remember: Keep working on homework every day- I prefer their name, but anything will work.
To conclude our transportation unit we played a game where they had to turn over a card and then put it in it's correct place; something we ride, something that flies, kinds of trucks, or kinds of cars, etc. They did a great job!

On Tuesday we did these cards of everything that we have learned so far...I will keep them at school until we are done with all of our letters, colors, shapes and numbers, then I will send them home. We will practice with them here at school until then.
We had more great snacks this week! Don't forget to check the schedule to see who is this week. The kids really look forward to being my helper. Remember it can be healthy, or not, homemade, or not. Drinks are optional. The kids seem to love it all!

We made our "Ice skates" by "sewing" them which was a great fine motor skill as well as one-to-one correlation. They loved the glitter-- sorry if it's all over your car!! :)
We did another graph of ways we have traveled (by car, boat, airplane, or train). I don't know if they were all telling the truth...if so we have some well traveled preschoolers!! :) Cars still won, but the others were all close behind!

In case you haven't seen our calendar wall and all those things we have been learning they are patterns (you can see this month was a little difficult...purple, pink, blue, blue, purple, pink, etc.) they should all be able to sing the days of the week and months of the year by now. We talk about the weather. We have been counting to ten in Spanish, and will go up to 15 this month. We have been working on the signs for "car", and "friendly". We have been learning the colors pink and turquoise, as well as the number 6 and the shape circle. This month we will change up the pattern to shirt, apple, shirt, apple! :) Our theme will be about clothes and "dress up jazz". You should have all got the newsletter last week from the curriculum I'm doing. Save it somewhere special (like the fridge where you can see it) as there are songs that we will be learning on the back of it, as well as the colors, numbers and letters. (This week we will do the letter "S", and colors red and blue and the number 3).
A close up of my afternoon friends playing the transportation game!

I hope this blog is an OK way to keep in touch. As I went to write my newsletter for the month I realized I had already told you everything here. Please feel free to call me or email me anytime if you ever have any questions or concerns. Your children are all doing wonderful. I have been so impressed with the way they all get along so well, and play together. My few sets of siblings are so sweet to each other and look out for each other. They are grasping the concept of letters well...keep reviewing with them at home as this will really help their retention (so far we have learned f, t, and i). Thank you so much for everything...HAVE A GREAT WEEK!