Ready to hibernate in our bear cave!

Week of 9/27/10 - 10/1/10

THEME: APPLES

We will have fun with apples this week, using them for painting, measuring, and, of course, tasting. We will make pretend apple pies in the sensory table. We will learn how apples can be preserved with lemon juice as a science activity. We will hear a fun story called "The Little Red House With No Windows." We will learn all about the letter F. We will make F with wood pieces, play dough, and our magnet boards. We can also write F in our notebooks. In Religion, we will learn about the story of the lost sheep and how Jesus, Our Good Shepherd, loves and cares for each one of us.

Thursday, 9/30 - Flu Shot Clinic - 11:30 - 1:30 - See Wednesday Packet for more info.

We will continue collecting change for the St. Francis Tuition Assistance Fund until Thursday, Sept. 30. If your child brings in change, they get a free dress day on Tuesday, Oct. 12 (this was changed from Oct. 7).

Recapping Color Week and Moving Onto Bears!

We are all a box of crayons.

Science is fun - Color Diffusion

Tastes better than it looks.

Yum, Yum, Green Eggs and Ham!

Gosh, we had fun celebrating colors. I just couldn't resist putting lots of pictures on this week. Every day we learned about a new color. We worked together to add the colors to our class rainbow and searched for items in our room for each new color. At the end of the two weeks, we made crayon hats, marched around our room singing a color song, and ate delicious colorful cupcakes (thank you, Shannon, and Happy Birthday!)

Week of 9/20/10 - 9/24/10

THEME: BEARS

This week we will have a teddy bear picnic in Dramatic Play, pretend to make porridge in the Sensory Table, sort teddy bears brought from home and let them "hibernate" in our class cave (a box we will decorate) during naptime, and make circle bears in Art. We will learn about our first letter, the Letter L. In Religion, we will hear a story about how Carlos got his name and we will learn that our names are special.

Wed, 9/22 is Pizza Day - Please send money for your child if you have not yet done so.

The Book Fair is taking place all week in the Middle School Library.

Your child may bring a teddy bear from home for our sorting activities, on Wed. 9/22 and/or Thurs. 9/23.

SPX will be collecting change for the St. Francis Tuition Assistance Program. If your child brings in change, they can have a Free Dress on Thursday, October 7.

Week of 9/13/10 - 9/17/10

THEME: A CELEBRATION OF COLORS

We will continue to add to our class rainbow and will finish making our color books in Art. These will be sent home when they are finished. We will observe how colors diffuse in Science, using magic markers, paper towels, and cups of water. We will sort Fruit Loops onto colored pipe cleaners for a Math and Fine Motor activity. In the Sensory Table we will pretend to make "alphabet soup" using foam letters. We will learn some songs and finger plays from our handwriting program in preparation for starting Letter of the Week next week. In Religion we will hear the story, "Jesus Is the Good Shepherd," and will learn about all the people who love and care for us like Jesus.

Tuesday, 9/14 - School Picture Day - Wear uniform (M-W-F kids can meet us at 8:45 in the Parish Hall)
Wednesday, 9/15 - Spirit Dress/Spirit Night - Wear SPX t-shirt and shorts or jeans
Friday, 9/17 - Favorite Color Free Dress for Preschool - We will also be making special hats and eating a special treat to cap off our color theme.

Thank you to all for coming to conferences! I really enjoyed meeting with you and learning more about your children.

SPX Book Fair is next week (9/20 -9/24) in the Middle School Library.

Ready to make shaving cream shapes!

Week of 9/7/10 -9/9/10

THEME: A CELEBRATION OF COLORS!

We will begin our two week celebration of colors, focusing on a different color each day. We will add to our class rainbow daily and will paint pages to make a color book in Art. We will search for colored items in the Sensory Table and will sort objects by color. In Dramatic Play we will pretend to work in a paint store. We will hear a fun story of Scat the Cat, who could change his color "just like that!" We will observe a color mixing experiment. In Religion we will be learning about Noah's Ark and the sign of the rainbow.

Thursday, 9/9 - Parent Teacher Conferences after school
Friday, 9/10 - Parent Teacher Conferences - No School

Tuesday, 9/14 - School Picture Day - Wear Uniform
Wednesday, 9/15 - Spirit Dress/Spirit Night
Friday, 9/17 - Preschool Free Dress - Wear your favorite color!

At the end of our color study, we will have a celebration day on Friday, 9/17. Your child may wear their favorite color to class that day. (This will be like a free dress day so they can wear any shorts or jeans.) We will also be making special hats and eating a special treat that day.

M-W-F kids can come to get their pictures taken on the 14th. We will let you know our scheduled picture time as soon as we get that information.

Working Hard to Wash Dishes!

Week of 8/30/10 - 9/3/10

THEME: SHAPES

This week in Preschool we will learn all about shapes using flash cards, songs and games. We will be playing with a variety of shape blocks, puzzles, and manipulatives. We will make ice cream cone pictures in Art using triangles and circles. In Dramatic Play we will pretend to work and visit a beauty shop. We will search for shapes in the Sensory Table and will make shapes using play dough and shaving cream. In Religion, we will hear the story, "My Teacher Welcomes Me," and will give thanks for friends and school.

Monday, 9/6 - Labor Day - NO SCHOOL
Thursday, 9/9 - Parent Teacher Conferences after school
Friday, 9/10 Parent Teacher Conferences - NO SCHOOL

Thank you so much to the Daugherty, Houghton, and Ray families for the generous donations of items for our treasure box! Looks like we are set for awhile but will let you know if we need more donations in the future.

If you are reading this now, you already know that I am adding to the blog weekly and trying to post pictures whenever possible!

Making Food Faces for Snack

Week of 8/23/10 - 8/27/10

THEME: MY FAMILY

We will learn about families by sharing items found at home in our family scavenger hunt, making family trees in Art, graphing the number of people in our family for Math, and acting out things that different family members do at Group Time. We will also be experimenting with the gear set in Science, washing dishes in the Sensory Table, and playing with the doll house family. We will begin learning about the wood pieces used to form letters. In Religion, we will begin using our religion program and will hear the Bible Story, "Let the Children come to Me."

Monday, September 6 - Labor Day - NO SCHOOL

Thank you to the Burke family for donating puzzles and paper for our class!
We are accepting donations for our Treasure Box. Any small items, such as Happy Meal toys, would be most appreciated. These do not need to be new - just things you might be getting rid of from your child's toy box.

Calling all Preschoolers!

Week of August 11 - 13, 2011

THEME: MY NEW SCHOOL

Welcome to all my new students and families! I am so excited for another fun-filled year of Preschool! This week we will spend time getting to know each other and our new classroom and school. We will learn about our routines and schedule, as well as our classroom rules. We'll have a lot of fun playing at centers: playing in the kitchen in Dramatic Play, playing with soft foam blocks in the Block Center, playing with sand in the Sensory Table, and making something special for Back to School Night in the Art Center. We will begin learning the Sign of the Cross and some of our prayers.

Don't forget Back to School Night for parents is Monday, August 16 at 6:00 pm. I'm looking forward to seeing you there. Also, the SPX Feast Day Picnic is Saturday, August 21 at 6:00 pm.