Please visit this page to learn what we have done each day in class.

I usually will be able to update this page before dinner each day.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Today we went down stairs in the church dinning area to practice our singing for the holiday party. Some of the children hadn't been downstairs yet, so it was a good opportunity for them to see where the party will take place. We practiced all of our songs and dances. Emma brought two cat stuffed animals for her Show and Tell. We had neat colored yogurt in banana and watermelon flavors today with cider for snack. We didn't do a formal project, but many of the children did color holiday coloring pages at the craft table, painted at the easel, and made cards at the writing center. I read Olive the Other Reindeer for story time. We ended class with some parachute play. Everyone had a turn to run under the parachute, and then we played with the balloon on the parchute for the last few minutes.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

We had two special helpers today. Georgia shared her special day with Owen W. because he missed his birthday at school on the snow day last Thursday. Georgia brought in her Princess Minnie Mouse doll and Owen brought in a new Star Wars movie that he got for his birthday. We had cupcakes for Owen's brithday and juice boxes from Georgia to drink at snack time. Project today was a secret! We worked on a special gift for the families. After the long playtime I read The Gingerbread Man for story time. After snack we practiced our singing for next Tuesday's party.

Our party is on Tuesday, 12/22 at 10:30--parents, siblings, and grandparents are welcome to come! We will be singing a few songs, having snack together, presenting our family gift, and doing some beading ornaments together. Please plan to join us! There are sign up sheets in the hall on the bulletin board for the number of guests that plan to attend and for items to contribute to our snack.

Monday, December 14, 2009

Today we worked hard on getting ready for our winter holiday party--next Wednesday at 10:30. The children are singing very well. We also finished up a craft project for the party. Everyone is excited about the event. Makenna brought in a favorite stuffed dog and accessories for her Show and Tell. During the long playtime we had green and yellow paint at the easel. We had paper stockings, mini Christmas stampers, and cotton balls at the craft table. The children did a super job at clean up time today--they had both rooms totally clean in just over two minutes! I think that's a record for us. We sang all of our songs, and did our two dances to practice for the party. Snack today was yogurt tubes and apple juice. At story time I introduced Hanukkah (we missed the first day last Friday when we had the snow day). I read a Blue's Clues story about Hanukkah and also told the children that Mrs. Malley may be visiting our class on Friday to talk to the children more about it. We ended class with a special Show and Tell from Thomas. He missed his turn on Friday because of the weather and wanted a moment to share his pirate hat and eye patch today.

Sign up sheets for number of guests and items to contribute to the snack for our Winter Hoilday party are on the bulletin board in the hall.

Thursday and Friday, December 10 and 11, 2009

No School due to severe weather! See you next week!

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Today we worked on a secret project for our families. The children loved this idea of having a surprise! We worked in half groups with the other activity being Santa, Santa, Rudolph (Duck, Duck, Goose). We had sun catchers to paint at the craft table. There was red and green paint at the easel. Maddy shared her camera for Show and Tell. We sang several songs--everyone is participating and they sound so good singing together! I can't wait for you all to hear them at the holiday party. We had cheese sticks and apple peach sauce with juice to drink for snack. I read Mrs. Wishy Washy's Christmas for story time. We danced to the Reindeer Hokey Pokey and the Goldfish song. We ended class by listening to some of the children talk about visiting Santa. It was a great morning!

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Today the children decorated gingerbread people with glitter glue and spangles. They had a great time with this project. We also had strips of paper and stickers for making paper chains on the craft table. There was green and red paint at the easel. We listened to some Christmas music and did lots of singing. We danced and sang the Reindeer Hokey Pokey. Zoe shared her favorite Blue's Clues stuffed animal for her Show and Tell. We had chocolate milk and Scooby Graham Crackers for snack. I read Clifford's First Christmas for story time.

Monday, December 7, 2009

Today we decorated paper gingerbread people cutouts. The children used glitter glue and dimensional paint to "frost" their cutouts and added spangles and pompons. everyone really enjoyed this project. We worked in half groups today for project time. The opposite activity was building with the big blocks. Ryan brought his "Elf On The Shelf" for Show and Tell. I read the accompanying story book for our story time. During playtime the children did beading with holiday beads, listened to the Imagination Movers CD, and we painted at the easel with red and green paint. We had cheese sticks, Goldfish, and juice for snack. We also practiced our singing!

Friday, December 4, 2009

The children had fun making playdough candycanes for project today. They had red and green dough and worked it out into two ropes that they twisted together. I'll dry the canes in the oven this weekend and have them back at school on Monday. Zoe brought in a Hello Kitty wallet for her show and tell. We had a yummy Teddy Grahams/pretzels snack mix and juice for snack. I read Cold Noses for story time. We talked about activities that people can do outside in the winter. For our large motor activity today we danced and sang the Reindeer Hokey Pokey. We also played some Simon Says. During playtime the children played with salt "snow", trucks, and little town in the sensory table, made paper chains at the craft table, and listened to some Christmas music. Have a great weekend everyone!

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Sorry I am late with this update. Our internet was down last night!

Yesterday the Two Day class did a sticky project. We painted with colored corn syrup on foil ornaments. The children could sprinkle the ornaments with glitter after painting if they wanted to. We had Ritz crackers and water for snack. During the long play time the children did mini alphabet macaroni and sequins collages, played with a lot of the kitchen area toys, and did some card making in the writing center. I read What Santa Can't Do for story time. We did some dancing and sang the Reindeer Hokey Pokey. We ended class with ten minutes of block building. It was a nice classtime today!

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Today the Three Day Class worked with paint and ice at project time to make a beautiful cool-colored picture. Everyone thought painting with ice cubes was fun. Matthew brought in a Wiggles guitar for his show and tell. We had Rice Krispie Treats and juice for snack. During playtime some children did winter themed puzzles, wore lots of dress up, built with blocks, danced to the Wiggles music, made sticker art at the craft table, and played in the salt "snow" in the sensory table. There was also a large group of children playing at "dogs" together. They used the pillows and cushions in the room to build dog houses. It was a very high energy play time! I read What Santa Can't Do for story time. We counted the days remaining until Christmas too. For our large motor activity we danced to the Reindeer Hokey Pokey. We had five minutes of quiet down time looking at Holiday books from the class library at the very end. I also spoke with the children today about our holiday party at the end of the month. They are excited that we will be able to have a party with our families!

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Today we welcomed our student, Owen, to the class. Now we have two friends named Owen! Everyone was very welcoming and Owen had a great first day. We made candy canes for project. The children selected either red or green paper and did some cutting for the stripes. After cutting everyone used glue sticks to attach their stripes. The candy canes are hanging on the bulletin board over the coat hooks. Check out what a great job everyone did! We had red sparkle paint and green paint at the easel today. The craft at the craft table was sticker sheets and paper to make snowmen scenes. We listened to some Christmas music during play time too. Ava brought fruited Jello cups and juice boxes for her snack. I read If You Take A Mouse To the Movies by Laura Numeroff for story time. We went around our circle and everyone told the name of their favorite holiday movie. We ended class with a game of Mrs. Norton Says... (Simon says) Everyone had a turn at being the leader of the game and all had fun.

Monday, November 30, 2009

The children were very happy to come back to school today. The excitement level was high! Caroline shared her favorite stuffed animal with us, her Kitty. We had a lot of fun making snowflakes for project time. During the long free play time we listened to Vivaldi's Four Seasons, made paper plate collages with mini alphabet macaroni, glitter, and spangles, painted with red and green paint, and played with Legos in the sensory table. There was chocolate chip muffins and juice for snack. I read If You Take A Mouse To The Movies for story time. After reading about the mouse making Christmas ornaments for his tree we went around our circle and told what our favorite ornaments were at home. We ended class with a game of Mrs. Norton Says.

Fall progress reports went out in the parent mail boxes today. Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns. I am available if you want to discuss anything further.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

The Two Day Class had a nice morning. We started out with Olivia doing the calendar, weather, and Show and Tell. Destin was sick today. During playtime we met a new student who will be joining our class next Tuesday--Owen--yes, another Owen! Our Owen thought it was pretty cool to meet someone with his same name. Please remember to include our new student in your snack count--we now have nine children in the class. For project time I sat with each child independently and painted thier hands to stamp on paper. I added feet and a beak to make a turkey. Everyone had fun with this and we found out that a lot of the children are very ticklish. We had granola bars and juice boxes for snack. I read Time to Sleep by Denise Flemming for story time. We played parachute at the children's request. It was a lot of fun. We ended class by picking a book from the class library.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! See you next Tuesday.

Monday, November 23, 2009

We had a great morning! Lila shared her Pet Shop toy for her Show and Tell. We learned to make letter "t" in a booklet about a turtle and turkey. We did stamping at the easel, Thanksgiving coloring sheets at the craft table, and listened to the Wiggles during playtime. We sang our November songs, listened to This Is The Turkey for story time, and played Duck, Duck, Goose. We had apple wedges, Goldfish crackers, and apple juice for snack time. We ended class by trying to count to 100 with our grandmother helpers. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

Parent mail today: January and February parent helper calendars went out in the mailboxes and the November newsletter was e-mailed to everyone.

Friday, November 20, 2009

Today we explored the color brown. We searched on our clothes and in our classroom for the color. We painted brown bears for project using spring type clothes pins and cotton balls dipped in brown paint. We also talked about animals getting ready for winter. Our story today was Time To Sleep by Denise Flemming (sorry I didn't remember this book for you at pick up time :) If you were there for my summary, you'll know what I mean!) The children learned about animals that hibernate in the winter. Jonathan brought in a favorite stuffed bear for his Show and Tell. We had Goldfish crackers and apple juice for snack. There was playdough out, oil pastels at the easel, and Thanksgiving coloring sheets on the craft table. We listened to the Imagination Movers during playtime. We played parachute for a large motor activity today. We added a balloon to the parachute for something different and everyone loved it. Our last activity of the morning was brainstorming brown items.

Have a great weekend!

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Ava brought a red silk rose from a Disney On Ice show that she attended with her grandmother and family last winter for her Show and Tell. Today we looked for the color brown on all of our clothes. If anyone didn't have brown, we did a treasure hunt in the room to find some. For project today we worked with scissors and cut out squares from brown paper. After cutting, the children could decorate their squares with Thanksgiving stickers. Everyone did a great job trying to cut out their shapes. After play time we sang our November songs. We had chocolate chip mini muffins and cider for snack. I read a cute story called This is the Turkey for story time. Ask your child what happens to this family's turkey at dinner time. We spent our large motor play time playing with the parachute. The children had two turns each to run under the "mountain", and then we played with a balloon in the parachute. We hid the whole class underneath the parachute too--boy, they can be very, very quiet when they want to be!!! We ended class with a quick calm down time looking at books from the school library. Have a good weekend!

Tuesday and Wednesday 11/17 & 11/18

I have been out of the classroom these two days--Mrs. Stewart is running the classes with a parent substitute. She says that things have gone fine! Thank you to everyone who helped me out while our son has been sick.

Monday, November 16, 2009

Today Lauren shared a box full of tiny Webkinz animals that she has collected for her Show and Tell. We talked more about turkeys at circle time and then went to do a hand tracing turkey project. I read the poem on the paper to the children and then they traced their hands with crayons. The children added beaks, wings, eyes, and legs to their pictures. During playtime we listened to a new Imagination Movers CD that Dylan brought in. We had playdough out, straw peices for stringing, oil pastels, and dry corn on the cob again in the sensory table. Snack today was fruit snacks and apple juice. I read Thank you Thanksgiving for story time. The children have now read over 100 books as a group. I asked them if they think we could read another 100 books--everyone said yes, so please keep sending lists of books read if you have the time! We went out to play on the playground for the last twenty minutes, but found the wind was too cold. We also tried to go for a walk on the nature trail behind our school, but found the path is underwater on the left side. By the time we turned around and walked back it was time to sing the good-bye song.

Thank you to Kristy and Sherinne for coming in early today and setting up the coffee and samples for our next fundraiser! This is an optional fundraiser--we are selling candles, coffees, and party mixes during the next two weeks. These items make great Christmas gifts and we receive 50% profit for our school.

Friday, November 13, 2009

Today we continued talking about Thanksgiving and turkeys. We also spoke about animals getting ready for winter. Our project today was a counting book about a squirrel collecting acorns for winter. We colored the squirrel, drew acorns, and traced numbers 1-8. Everyone did a fantastic job--this was our first activity like this. I did tell the children that they could finish at home if they got tired or perhaps lost interest before getting through all the numbers up to eight. During playtime there were scissors and straws for snipping at the craft table (a very fun finger strengthening activity!), water color pencils at the easel, and corn in the sensory table. We listened to Vivaldi's Four Seasons. Jeremy shared a truck toy for his Show and Tell. We had applesauce cups and cheese sticks with orange tangerine juice for snack. I read the B book by the Berenstains for story time. We played out on the playground for the last 15 minutes of class--what a beautiful morning!

We did get our book count up to 100 read today--thank you for everyone who wrote down lists of books for the children! We didn't go over the lists that came in today, but I will make a point of it on Monday and I plan to ask the children if they think we can read another 100 books before Christmas. We can color on the back of the poster for another 100 books read.

Have a great weekend!

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Hi! We talked about turkeys and Thanksgiving today. I showed the children some real turkey feathers. We did a yummy smelling project for Thanksgiving today. I gave the children a card stock picture of a turkey which they painted with glue. We then had different spices that the children could sprinkle on their turkey--sage, cinnamon, parsely flakes, pepper, garlic salt, and onion powder. Everyone enjoyed this project. I will be hanging the turkey pictures on the bulletin board over the coat hooks. Owen brought blueberry muffins and apple juice for his snack. I read Because A Little Bug Went Ka-Choo by Rosetta Stone for story today. We spent the last twenty minutes plaing with the Bolt and Play building toys. Mrs. Weichman played some Simon Says with the children while I spoke with the parents.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Today we painted with dry corn on the cob--messy and fun. We rolled the ears of corn in purple, brown, yellow, and red paint and rolled them on big sheets of white paper. Some of the children didn't enjoy getting their hands dirty, but everyone gave it a try. The corn looked like ears of Indian corn when we were done. Jackson brought in a small Green Goblin toy for his Show and Tell. During playtime we had necklace beading at the craft table, water color pencils at the easel, and playdough out. We listened to a Laurie Berkner CD too. We started to learn a Thanksgiving rhyme about a turkey. For snack we had applesauce cups, cheese whale crackers, and apple juice boxes. I read Cifford's Thanksgiving for story time. We played outside on the playground too!

Monday, November 9, 2009

Today was Luke's special day. He brought a small frog for his Show and Tell that he got at the zoo when he went to Trick or Treat. We played with shaving cream on the tables for our project time. It was fun to smoosh it around and draw in it. We made lots of shapes, patterns, and letters. During the long play time we had water color pencils at the easel, dry corn in the sensory table, and beading for necklaces at the craft table. We listened to a Dan Zanes CD (Thank you to the Beardsleys!). We've started learning a song for fall (The Leaves on the Trees) and a rhyme for Thanksgiving (Turkey's Tail)--the list of current songs is located in the Songs and Rhymes link. Snack was cheese sticks, fruit snacks, and grape juice. I read Bears On Wheels by the Berenstains for story time. We also took a moment to look at several food pantry donations that were brought in today. We are still collecting items through the end of next week if you are able to contribute. We ended class with 15 minutes of play outside on the playground. It was a beautiful morning!

Friday, November 6, 2009

Photographing went well in this class as well. The children did a great job with the group photo. After that photo we had a quick circle time. Dylan shared photos of his 4th birthday gift--a visit to the Imagination Movers concert in Rochester. The children enjoyed the longer free play time today and had some of everything out to play with--lots of dress up, blocks, puzzles, writing center supplies, coloring sheets, sticker and crayons at the easel, plus we listened to the Imagination Movers CD. It was a lot of fun and they were all good helpers at clean up time. We had vanilla cup cakes with chocolate frosting and apple juice for snack. I read a funny Thanksgiving story about three turkeys--The Silly Thanksgiving Party by Steve Metzger. We ended class with some parachute play. Everyone got a turn to run under the parachute twice and we bounced the ball around for a couple of minutes. Happy weekend to everyone!

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Photographs went very well! The children did very well--not too shy and took good portraits. I think you all will be very pleased. We did a short circle time after our group photo. Grace shared a small airplane named Blueberry for her Show and Tell. The children had a long free play time during the individual photographs. The children played in the second classroom with Grace's mom while I took them back and forth for their turn to be photographed. After clean up we had apples and juice boxes for snack. I read When the Leaf Blew In for story time. We danced to the Goldfish Song and then played some games with the bean bags until it was time to sing the goodbye song. The children also looked over the new library books out for fall and Thanksgiving.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

We made fall leaves today with filter paper and water color inks. The children used small pipettes to drop the water colors onto the leaves. They turned out very vivid and beautiful. We did the project in half groups today. Mrs. Stewart and her half of the class played music instruments and then we switched groups after about 15 minutes. Andrew brought in a small Monster Truck for his Show and Tell. We had new double ended markers out at the easel and beans, noodles, and corn for collage at the craft table. Before we sang a new song for fall, I spoke to the children about the Food Pantry. I told the class how we will be collecting items for people in our community who might not have enough good food to eat this winter. We showed a few items that were already brought in as well. We had Gogurts and milk for snack. I read When the Leaf Blew In by Steve Metzger for story time. We had about five minutes left at the end of class to dance to the Goldfish Song. We also talked about the photographer who will come on Friday.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Today we talked about fall. Georgia brought in a pink Minnie Mouse stuffed animal for her Show and Tell. The children were very polite and attentive while Georgia told us about her toy. We also added dressing the weather person to our calendar time. Our project today was working with shaving cream. This is the second time we've had shaving cream out and the children really got into it today. It was a lot of fun. After the long play time we sang a few songs. Snack was Oreo cookies and apple juice. Our story today was Clifford the Big Red Dog--The Big Leaf Pile. We spent the last 20 minutes playing outside on the playground. We also looked for leaves. Jackson found brown, red, and gold. Zoe and Destin found some walnuts too.

Next class time--photographs! We won't do any messy projects that day.

Monday, November 2, 2009

Today we started Show and Tell and added dressing the weather person to our calendar time. The child of the day may bring one item from home to show to the class. Today Cameron shared a photo of her recent vacation to Texas. Ask your child about Cameron and the Longhorn Steer. The children in the class were very attentive and respectful during Cameron's presentation of her photo. We also are collecting lists of books that the children are reading at home for the Scholastic's Classrooms Care program. After we read 100 books, Scholastic will donate books to children in need in our country. We also are collecting non-perishable items for the local food pantry during the next two weeks. The children will be able to present any items they bring in Show and Tell style during the second circle time. We talked about fall today. Project time was cutting leaves for a tree bulletin board. The children picked their favorite fall color and did some free style cutting (no lines to cut on). The tree bulletin board looks great--check it out when you visit the classroom! I read Who Loves The Fall by Bob Raczka for story time. There were some sticky collage board shapes and assorted foam and fabric shapes on the craft table. We had some neat new double ended markers at the easel. I put a gears and waffles building set in the sensory table. We had rainbow Goldfish crackers, green apple wedges, and juice for snack. We spent the last 15 minutes playing outside on the playground.

The sign in activity today was coloring on a thank you card for the two people who donated wood chip mulch to our school for the swing area.

Note for Friday: Class photo day. We won't do any messy projects or activities so the children can wear their best for their photographs. Additional order forms are available if anyone would like to bring in younger siblings for photos as well. John David prefers that siblings come near the end of class time if they are having their photos done.

Also--Scholastic fliers went out in the parent mailboxes today. Mrs. Stewart asked me to tell everyone that the orders won't be back before Thanksgiving--in case anyone orders Thanksgiving titles...

Thursday, October 29, 2009

The Two Day Class had a fun time with Halloween today. We loved everyone's costumes--they were all so cute! After the photos and goodbyes we did our normal circle time. During playtime some of the children helped me mix up our popcorn snack mix. We did a lot of dumping in the ingredients, stiring, spooning the snack into bags, and counting together. We did a few pumpkin rhymes for Halloween before we ate snack. Destin brought apple juice boxes and pumpkin white chocolate lollypops for his part of the snack. I read Zoom On My Broom by Mercer Mayer for story time. We played Monster, Monster, Ghost (aka Duck, Duck, Goose) too! Mrs. Stewart stopped by for some of our class time to see the children and she brought them coupons for Frostys at Wendy's. Photos from the morning will be posted in the class album this weekend. Have a great Halloween everyone!

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Happy Halloween Everyone! We had a fun time at school today. Everyone's costumes were wonderful! I'll have photos on the website sometime this evening for you all. After the parents left we had our normal circle time. We looked at everyone's costumes and talked about what they were. Maddy Q. did the attendance ghosts, weather, and calendar with us. We went to play time next. I had a group of children helping me mix up the snack mix while Mrs. Stewart had a group playing a Twister-like game on a Halloween theme with her. The children picked what they wanted to do. We had paint at the easel and coloring sheets on the craft table. There was playdough out too. After we sang a few songs, we enjoyed our snack mix--popcorn, chocolate chips, Smarties, raisins, pretzels, and chocolate Teddy Grahams. Maddy Q. brought in cider to go with our snack. For story time I had a book on tape: The Spooky Old Tree by the Berenstains. It's a great reading with super sound effects. Everyone loved it. We ended class with a game of Pass the Broomstick. The children passed around a witches' broom while I played my spooky Halloween classical music. Whenever I stopped the music the child with the broom could ride it around the circle. Most of the kids gave us a neat witch cackle along with their trip around the circle. Most were tired by this time, but they still had fun.

Halloween treats the children received today: Matthew brought everyone Halloween pretzels and Dylan brought glow in the dark bracelets (some of the children discovered the bracelets in the cubbies and snaped them early--they went into the bathroom to have a dark place to see the glow!). Mrs. Stewart gave the children the coupons for Wendy's Frostys.

No school Friday--Livonia has a conference day. Next class meeting: November 2nd. We will add Show and Tell and dressing our little velcro weather "person" with the child of the day to our circle time. Please help your child pick one item for Show and Tell when it is their turn.

Tuesday, October 27,2009

Today we painted ghosts on black paper. We also celebrated Ava's 4th borthday. Ava brought cupcakes and cider for her snack. We sang a couple of songs, did some sun catchers at the craft table, played with playdough and listened to some Halloween classical music. For story we listened to a book on tape by Stan and Jan Berenstein: The Spooky Old Tree. It's got great sound effects and everyone enjoyed it a lot! We made it out to the playground for the last 10 minutes of class. It was a great morning. Next class time: Halloween Party! Children can come in costume if they want.

Monday, October 26, 2009

Hello! We talked about bats today. The children knew a lot of information about bats already. We did some scissor cutting for project time. I gave the children black paper folded in half with the outline of half of a bat traced on--they had to follow the white line with their scissors and ended up with the shape of a bat once they finished cutting and opened their papers. They could add sticker eyes and faces with white crayon if they wanted to do so. We had large paper, markers, and foam stickers on the craft table. The children also used these items to make a thank you note for a donation of crayons and colored pencils that we were given. There was black, purple, and orange paint at the easel. We listened to Vivaldi's Four Seasons during play time. During circle time I discussed Scholastic's Classroom Cares program with the children. The children should be able to tell you about how we are trying to read 100 books before Christmas. This year's program is running on a football theme. We will color in one book space on a poster for each book the children read, at home or at school, between now and Christmas. I had thought to start the first of November (and didn't say that in my October newsletter!), but several children brought in lists of books already! That's wonderful!!! We talked about the books read and about asking mom or dad to jot down the titles on a scrap of paper to bring in to school. I did forget to have the child of the day, Stefan, color in the book space #1 on the poster today, so I will catch up with that on Wednesday. I will post the lists of each book read on the bulletin board in the second classroom. We had rice krispie treats and apple juice for snack today. I read Five Little Bats Flying in the Night by Steve Metzger for story time today. We ended class with a good 20 minutes of play out on the playground.

Next class time: Children may wear their Halloween costumes to class. Parents may stay for photos at 9:30 if they'd like!

Thursday, October 22, 2009 and Friday, October 23, 2009

Thank you to all the parents who attended our field trip to the pumpkin farm today. It was nice to see you all. The children seemed like they had a really fun time and we avoided the rainy weather! I'll post the photos in the class album this weekend. Have a great weekend!

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Today we painted with gourds. I cut the gourds in half and had red, yellow, and orange paint for dipping. We divided the class into two groups--half did project while the other half played with the Bolt and Play toys or did puzzles. After about 15 minutes we switched groups. The children had about half an hour for free play time after that. We had stickers for Halloween and spider stampers on the craft table and paint at the easel. We listened to Vivaldi's Four Seasons while playing. We celebrated Emma's 5th birthday with cider and chocolate chip cookies. Story today was a cd with a story book called There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Bat. Everyone enjoyed it--silly pictures and cute lyrics to the traditional tune. We had about 20 minutes to play on the playground at the end of class.

Next Class Time: Field Trip to Baughman's Tree and Pumpkin Farm Please meet to board the bus at 9:20. We will be at the farm from approximately 9:30-11:30 and should return to CLNS by our normal dismissal time of 11:40. Please dress for the weather--it's supposed to be wet and possibly rainy!

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Orange day...somewhat. I did forget and changed my clothes at the last minute because the weather was warmer--sorry about that. I was also thinking instead about spending the morning with Mrs. Schwarz again. She subbed this morning for Mrs. Stewart. We were very grateful for this! The children enjoyed playing with Joyce today. The children did a super job of showing their orange clothes and finding orange things in our room. We played with shaving cream at the circle table during project time. Everyone had a lot of fun with it. We gave wooden sticks to anyone who didn't want to stick their fingers into the cream. I read a nice story about a pumpkin garden for story time, and we sang our songs for the month of October. Snack was crackers, cheese, Cheerios, and apple juice. We played out on the playground for the last 20 minutes of class.

Next class time: Meet at 9:30 at Baughman's Pumpkin Farm on Lima Road. Please dress for the weather. See you there!

Monday, October 19, 2009

Today we made fluffy ghosts for project time. The children used bottles of white glue and cotton balls to decorate a ghost shape. We finished them with sticker eyes. I'm planning to put the ghosts on the bulletin board for Wednesday. Be sure to check them out. They are all very cute!!! We celebrated Makenna's 4th birthday with cupcakes and apple juice. We sang all of our songs for the month, and I read 10 Trick-Or-Treaters A Halloween Counting Book by Janet Schulman for story time. We finally made it outside to play today--the weather has been terrible this fall for this class. The wind was a little cold, but the children didn't care at all. Everyone had a super time.

Friday, October 16, 2009

We had a great class again today--we made playdough pumpkins for project time. The children shapped and molded their orange dough into balls and added beads for faces and green pipe cleaner stems. Everyone enjoyed it. We had shaving cream and glue mixed with orange paint at the craft table to spread on a paper pumpkin shape. There was gourds for dipping in paint and painting at the easel and crayons for doing leaf rubbings. We sang Wheels on the Bus and the Witches' Brew for music time. Maddy B. brought in cheese sticks, Sun Chips, and apple juice for her snack. I read Trick or Treat Little Critter for story time. We went out back for a walk on the nature trail behind school too. Have a good weekend!

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Today we talked about fall. I introduced scissor cutting to the class today at project time. Everyone had a great time cutting with scissors. We started with some straight lines to get the feel of following a line and holding the scissors correctly. The children could then cut out a pumpkin shape. We talked about scissor safety as well--only cutting paper (not hair or fingers!) and keeping the scissors close to us so we don't poke any of our friends. The children did very well. I had oil pastels and coloring sheets on the craft table and leaf rubbings with crayons at the easel. Jackson brought in strawberry cereal bars and juice boxes for his snack. We listened to Manheim Steamroller's Halloween Music. We sang our fire truck and Halloween chants too. I read Halloween Mice for story time. We played parachute for the first time. The children did very well with following the directions and taking turns. Everyone got two turns to run under the "mountain" and we practiced doing some slow and fast waving too. At the end the whole class carefully got underneath to hide. There were lots of squeals of laughter! We ended class by picking a book from the library.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

We reviewed fire safety one more time with the class. They have all done a great job in learning and understanding the basic concepts of fire safety. We practiced a fire drill during play time and everyone knew to line right up. There was beading out at the craft table and paint at the easel. We did a special project for snack time today. Dylan brought in graham crackers. We used the cracker rectangles as a base for our "fire truck" cookies. The children were given a couple of table spoons of red frosting, a plastic knife, two mini cookies for wheels, and a few pretzel sticks for building ladders and hoses. We used red, yellow, and orange Skittles for the lights. It was fun and yummy! I read Five Little Pumpkins during story time and we sang Hurry, Drive the Fire Truck. At the end of class we got out the parachute and pretended that it was smoke from a fire. The children took turns crawling under the parachute smoke and feeling the doors to check for heat. We discussed exiting buildings after feeling closed doors for heat and finding alternate ways out if the doors happened to be hot. Everyone had fun with this.

Field trip money is due next class time for our pumpkin patch field trip.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009 (Sorry I was late with this update!)

The Two Day class reviewed fire safety today. They have learned so much in the last week! We practiced a fire drill and sang a couple of fire truck songs. Our project was making "flames". We gave the children black paper and a few dabs of acrylic red and yellow. We covered this with a sheet of plastic wrap. The children finger painted on top of the plastic wrap. After the children were done smooshing the paint around we had them pull off the plastic wrap over the garbage can. It was fun for them to see that red + yellow = orange too. The effect is a flames-looking picture--very cool! I hope you like them! I read The Five Little Pumpkins for story time. We did some counting with the book too. We ended class with Duck, Duck, Goose. Only about half of the children had played it before. They had a lot of fun with it!

Friday, October 9, 2009

We had a super time with the Lakeville Firefighters this morning. The children were very attentive and focused on the fire safety lesson. The firefighters came in at 10:00 and stayed until 11:15. They started out in the classroom showing us what a firefighter looks like all dressed up in gear. The breathing aparatus was demonstrated, and the fire chief spoke to the children about how firefighters are there to help them when needed--not to be afraid of them or to hide from them. They demonstrated a new camera that they have that shows heat sources in dark rooms. It was very interesting to everyone. Outside the rain held off long enough for us to explore two fire trucks. We learned how the firefighters can draw water from ponds or lakes if needed. We saw lots of tools and special equipment. The children had a chance to climb up inside the fire truck and sit in the driver seat if they wanted to. We listened to the horn and sirens--the photos of everyone covering their ears are very cute! Please see our class album for photos of the visit! The firefighters left the children with goodie bags--hats, badges, stickers, color books, etc. If you see a member of the Lakeville Fire Department be sure to tell them how much we appreciated their visit to the children today!

We also celebrated Zoe's birthday today. She brought brownies and milk for her snack. The children had about 20 minutes of free play at the end of class.

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Our visit with the firefighters went very well today. The children did very well with the whole visit. We spent from 10:00 until 11:10 talking about fire safety and exploring the fire trucks. The firefighters left bags of fire safety items for the children--they loved the hats, stickers, and badges. I have many great photos to share with you all and I will post them in the photo album after supper tonight. If you see any members of the Lakeville Fire Department please tell them how much we appreciated their time and lesson spent with the children today!

Zoe brought green apple wedges, cheerios, and juice boxes for her snack turn. We also did some stamping with Halloween stamps, and colored a thank you poster for the firefighters. The children had free play from 11:10-11:35. Mrs. Case started reading a firefighters story at the very end of class. I told the children I will be sure to finish reading the story for them on Tuesday. Have a great weekend!

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

We started talking about fire safety in this class today too. I was pleased to find that many of the returning students from last year remembered a lot of the fire safety things that we talked about last year. We talked about fire, fire drills, our meeting place (out by the picnic tables), calling 911 and when people need to call vs. minor things that moms and dads can handle, and Stop, Drop, and Roll. The children are looking forward to our firefighters visit on Friday. The weather does look like rain, but I told the children that if the firefighters can't bring their trucks Friday perhaps we will be able to reschedule for another visit on a different day. We attempted to do a fire drill, but stopped just short of going outside to the picnic tables. I told the children that we would try again another day when the weather is better. The children used Q-tips to dab black polkadots on a dog outline to make Dalmatians. Ryan brought Sponge Bob Cheezits and chocolate milk for his snack turn today. I read Dot the Firehouse Dog for story time. We ended class with a game of Pumpkin, Pumpkin, Ghost (aka Duck, Duck, Goose).

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

We started talking about fire safety today. The children were very attentive and offered their own ideas and information at circle time. It was a very productive morning. We talked about fire, firemen, getting out away from fire, telling an adult to call 911 if a fire is seen, and went over the procedure for a fire drill. We discussed not taking our toys, coats, or backpacks out with us. We pushed the test button on the smoke detector and did an actual fire drill. The children surprised us by saying that we did need to get our pet out if there was a fire at school, so when we went out on the fire drill Mrs. Stewart carried the fish outside too. The children also learned about our "meeting place" (the picnic tables behind our school) and we practiced Stop, Drop, and Roll. We also discussed how the firemen would be visiting us on Thursday at 10:00. Parents are welcome to attend the visit if you are able. On the craft table we had outlines of white dogs that the children could paint black dots on with a Q-tip to make Dalmatians. I read a story called Dot, the Firehouse Dog. We started learning a fire truck song. We ended class by playing on the playground for ten minutes.

Information went out in the parent mailboxes today regarding our pumpkin farm field trip for later this month.

Monday, October 5, 2009

Everyone is doing so well with nursery school! We are having a great time. Today we started talking about fire safety. During the next several classes we will work on fire drills, going to our meeting place (the pavillion behind the building), and Stop, Drop, and Roll. We also will add calling 911 when needed. I will stress that we only call in emergencies, and we will discuss what things are true emergencies. Friday the Lakeville Fire Department will visit our class and we will have the opportunity to explore their fire truck. They usually bring two rescue vehicles. Parents are welcome to attend the presentation at 10:00 on Friday. We also finished our lessons on the farm and farm animals today. We read and colored a booklet about a mother hen and her eggs. For snack the children had muffins and juice. I read a story about fire fighter Dalmatians. We finally were able to go outside for the last fifteen minutes of class. The children were very excited about this! Parent mailboxes contained November and December calendars and a request for art smocks for the children. Everyone will have their own shirt for painting and messy projects. These shirts will be returned at the end of the year so that you may use them again when the children go on to kindergarten.

Friday, October 2, 2009

Today we practiced cutting with scissors for the first time. I gave the children ziplock bags, yellow and green paper, and a small picture of a cow. The children cut "hay" and "grass" for their cows, and put the cuttings into their bags. Everyone did a super job with their scissors. We reviewed safety and discussed not cutting anything but paper, expecially not our hair. I feel that this shouldn't be a problem later at home! We also started counting with the calendar and looked at the weather. We will add dressing a calendar person with appropriate clothing soon. Halloween came up in our discussion at calendar time, so we talked about costumes and ghosts. The children have ghosts with their names for attendance this month on the circle table when they come into the room. We learned a short Halloween chant too--Witches' Brew. They loved it. Thomas brought in Teddy Grahams and chocolate milk for his snack to eat along with our applesauce. On Monday at circle time I will tally up who did/didn't enjoy their applesauce and we will do some counting. I read Who Took the Farmer's Hat for story. We started to go outside, but noticed it was raining. This class hasn't been able to play out yet--they're hoping for better weather on Monday! Thomas brought in some chestnuts for the class, so we looked at them instead, and danced to the Goldfish Song.

New photos are in the class album today!

November Calendars went out in the parent mail boxes today. December should be there for you next week. The calendars are also available on the Documents for Parents Link in case you ever need to print more. Have a good weekend.

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Today we had to modify our classroom routine. The heater in the second classroom wasn't working properly. We used the first classroom for the six children in the class today instead while the church's repair man worked on the heater in the other room. It worked out just fine and the children didn't even question the switch in routine. We played playdough and did some beading together. The children played in the sand and in the water table as well. After circle time we sang a few songs, did some dancing to Ring Around the Rosy, and used our imaginations to pretend to be some animals. Georgia brought fruit cups and juice for snack. I read a cute story called Farmer Will. We went outside for a walk around the nature trail behind our school. We saw fall colored leaves, nut shells that the squirrels left on the trail. and lots of wild flowers. We looked for frogs in the creek too. (I had planned to play on the playground today, but the mowers showed up just as we got ready to go out! We will try for the playground again next week!) Our project today was learning to use glue sticks. The children glued black spots onto cow pictures. Everyone really enjoyed it! Have a great weekend!

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Happy last day of September! Thank you for sending in the peeled apples today. Everyone had a super time chopping apples, and we are anxious to taste our applesauce on Friday. The children did a great job with hand washing, managing the plastic knives and putting their chopped apples into the crock pot bowl. We had farm stickers and paper on the craft table, and oil pastels at the easel today. The children had a great time during the free play time. Everyone did a super job of helping clean up the toys at the end as well. Matthew brought Goldfish Crackers and juice boxes for his snack today. We sang If You're Happy And You Know It and The Apple Tree Song. For story time I read What a Wonderful Day to Be a Cow. We really wanted to play outside today, but I was afraid it would be too wet. We stayed in and played with the music instruments. Everyone did a super job of listening and sharing the instruments. The children had turns with three different instruments each. We practiced playing loudly and softly.

Newsletters for September were e-mailed this morning. The newsletter can also be viewed from this web site on the News Flash link. Coloring sheets with Johnny Appleseed went home in the parent mail boxes today. We will talk with the children about Johnny Appleseed on Friday. We will also be starting to do the calendar and the weather each morning at circle time.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Today we talked about farm animals. We brainstormed animals that live on a farm and talked about jobs that a farmer does. This led into a discussion about what farmers grow and what our favorite vegetables are to eat. The children discussed all this with me and each other while we were doing some coloring sheets of farm animals. There was cow print paper and foam farm stickers at the craft table. Today was the last day for beans in the sensory table, and also the last day for red and green paint at the easel. I will have these items changed to new things to explore for next class time. We sang Old MacDonald Had A Farm and If You're Happy And You Know It. Snack today was cheese sticks and orange juice. For story time I read Ten Apples Up On Top by Theo LeSig. We used some bean bags and pretended to stack them up on our heads as the apples were in the book. We counted how many "apples" we could stack (five) and tried our ballance standing on one foot. We ended class by exploring the box of music instruments. Everyone got their turn to pick three different instruments in the time we had remaining. We talked about the instruments' names and tried each one. Everyone loved playing. We did some soft and loud playing too. It was another super day! :)

Monday, September 28, 2009

Today we continued talking about apples--what they taste like, what they sound like when we bite them. We did a finger painting project with red paint and an apple shape. The children had a great time squishing the paint around with their fingers. During play time we had farm animal coloring sheets on the craft table and paint at the easel. After the long play time we sang If You're Happy and You Know It. We also danced to Ring Around the Rosy. Lila brought in cheese sticks and apple juice for snack time. Mrs. Stewart read the story today--Ten Apples Up On Top. We ended class with a bean bag game where we piled the bean bags up on our heads and tried to ballance on one foot.

Please remember that we will be chopping apples on Wednesday for applesauce. Please bring in two peeled apples to class. Thank you!

October tuition is due on Friday!

Friday, September 25, 2009

We had another great day! Everyone is adjusting so well to our routine. Today we talked more about apples and the color red. We decided to move right to the play time after circle time. The children were able to play with playdough, paint with the bingo dabbers on farm animal themed dot pictures, paint with regular brushes at the easel, and all of the other areas in the second classroom. Many chose to try on dress up today. There were a lot of children doing puzzles as well. We listened to a Laurie Berkner CD while playing. Colby brought fruit snacks, cheese sticks, and apple juice for snack. We used our new placemats today--they look great! We sang our Apple Tree Song and Baa Baa Black Sheep again, and then added Old MacDonald Had A Farm. I read Up, Up, Up! It's Apple Picking Day. I had planned to do a painting project with the children during the last half hour of class, but I felt we needed to wait on it. Many of the children were very tired by the time I read the story. I told them we'd do it next week. We ended class by introducing the school's library and letting the children all pick out books to borrow. The children may borrow books from our school library by having an adult sign out the books. Please write titles and date borrowed on the colored cards on the teacher desk by our front door. Everyone has their own "library card". Books can be kept as long as you would like, and then returned for more books if the children wish. We also squeezed in a dance the Gold Fish Song--very fun! Everyone loved it!

There are a dozen new photos in the album today. Have a great weekend!

Thursday, September 24, 2009

What a super morning we had! Your children are so happy at nursery school! We couldn't be having a better adjustment for everyone. Today we talked about apples at circle time. We counted some apple seeds together (there were 19 of them), and then went to do some painting for project time. I halved some apples, and gave the children some red paint on paper plates. They had a large rectangle of white paper to stamp on. They thought I was crazy asking them to paint with apples, but once they tried it they all loved it. It's a good finger streghtening exercise too to have to grip the apple half with the finger tips. After painting everyone enjoyed the long free play time. We spent about half of the 40 minutes playing with the playdough together. We had blueberry muffins and apple juice boxes for snack. I read a book called Up, Up, Up, It's Apple Picking Time. Everyone listened very well. We spent a few minutes talking about the school library and talking about borrowing books. Everyone borrowed a book and signed it out. Library cards are located on the teacher desk in the first classroom. Books may be kept for a few days and then exchanged for more if the children desire it. We can also try to sign books in and out for the children during the long play time. We ended class with dancing to Laurie Berkner's Gold Fish song and a quick ball rolling game. It was a super morning!!! Photos from today are in the class album link.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

What a great morning! Everyone did super well today with our first day of school. We had a great time getting to know about each other. We started circle time by introducing ourselves. The children are already learning each other's names. We took a quick tour of the classrooms and checked out everything--bathrooms, sinks, where the garbages are, all the toys and different activities that are available during play time...everyone helped during clean up time as well. We sang two songs--the Apple Tree song and Baa Baa Black Sheep. For snack we celebrated Jonathan's birthday. He brought chocolate chip cookies and chocolate milk. Everyone sang the Happy Birthday song to him. For story time I read Mouse's First Day of School. We located things in our classroom that Mouse also saw in his classroom. We made placemats for project today. We will use the placemats all year long during snack time. Everyone colored with markers and used stickers to decorate their mats. We did some stretching exercises at the end of class. We started learning Hello and Good-bye songs today too. A lot of the children asked to play outside today and I assured them that we would do that next week for sure. I also took some photographs of the children playing today. You may view them on the Three Day Class Photos Link. I was very happy to see that the format of the photo album has changed and we can now have more than 8 photos posted at a time. See you Friday!

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Hello Two Day Class Parents! We had a great first day of class! All of the children did very well at the drop off time. We had a short circle time where we started learning our new friends' names, sang a "Hello" song, and then took a tour of our classrooms. The children enjoyed the long play time to explore and play together. We started learning an apple tree song, and clapped along while singing Baa Baa Black Sheep. After washing up for snack we had mini Oreos and apple juice together. I read the children a short picture book called Mouse's First Day of School for story time. We did our project at the end of class today. We made placemats which the children will use for the rest of the year at snack time. I will laminate them so that we can clean them with disinfecting wipes at the end of each class. We ended class with some pretend play: What would you look like if you were a lion, a bear, a giraffe, a frog, etc. We started learning the "Good-bye" song as well. The lyrics to all of the songs that we sing can be found under the Songs and Rhymes link. Next class time I will take some photographs of the children playing and post them on the web under the Two Day Class Photos link. You will be able to copy these photos right off the web page. No names will be used for your privacy. See you all on Thursday!