Hello, parents!  I wanted to show two pictures that display us hard at work and then hard at rest!  Our enthusiastic group loves to work together and to try new things.  And, as you can see, after all that hard work (and play, of course) we are very tuckered out.

We are really starting to get settled in at school and we are having so much fun!  This week (8/27 - 8/31/12) we will be learning about Families.  We will be making family trees, sharing items found in our family scavenger hunt, pretending to make alphabet soup, experimenting with magnets, and playing with the doll house, kitchen, and a variety of manipulatives.  We will begin learning about the wood pieces used to form letters in our handwriting program.  In Religion we will hear the Bible story, "Let the Children Come to Me."

Don't forget Back-to-School Night is Monday, August 27 at 6:00 pm, beginning in the gym.  Parents only, please :)  Monday, September 3 is Labor Day - No School.

If possible, please keep a small blanket in your child's backpack for use at nap time.  Blankets seem to help them feel contained and make it easier for them to settle down and rest.  Also, it is a great cue for them as well that nap is starting and it's time to be quiet.  Thank you!












     

Whew!  We made it through our first three days, and boy, did we stay busy.  I've been trying to get pictures here and there and as you all know, getting three-year-olds to look at the camera can be a challenge!  I'll keep it up all year and, hopefully, at the end of the year I will have a picture CD for each of you.  This weekend as I was working on things, I did have a number of technical difficulties, and I was keeping tech support (aka Mr. Newton) quite busy :)  I will keep plugging away with my photography attempts and will try to post pictures frequently on this blog.

Let me start by saying just how wonderful this new class is!  What a beautiful group of smart, sweet, and funny kids.  I think we are all starting to settle in as evidenced by all but one student falling asleep at naptime on Friday.

This week in Preschool our theme is All About Me.  We will be playing some "getting to know you" games, weighing and measuring the kids so we can see how much they'll grow this year, and making a healthy "food face" snack.  We will introduce several Catholic prayers and continue learning to make the sign of the cross. We will continue to learn our daily routines, will go to specials, and the playground, of course.

Please be sure to read the note coming home in the folders this week about wearing tennis shoes for P.E. days (M-W-Th.)  Also, Back to School Night is Monday, August 27 at 6:00 pm.  This is a parents only, please, event.

Have a great week, everyone!

Boy, did we have fun at our party!  We played really hard all morning, then napped really hard in the afternoon!  It was a great way to celebrate a year full of fun and learning.  Then last Friday we got to have more outdoor fun on the playground for Super Kids Day!  The fun never ends at SPX :)

For our last few days of school (May 21-23, 2012), our theme is Best of Preschool.  We will play with a wide variety of toys and manipulatives from our various themes throughout the year.  We will finish our end-of-the-year books and just have fun being together.

Monday, May 21 is a Free Dress Day.  Wednesday, May 23 is our last day of school!

Many, many thanks for a wonderful year!  Your children are beautiful gifts from God and I have been blessed to spend the past school year with them.  I have enjoyed getting to know each of them and their unique personalities.  We have grown close as a class family and I will miss them!  Thanks for all of your help and support this year.

This week in Preschool (5/14 - 5/18/12) our theme is Creepy Crawlies.  We will be learning about insects and spiders.  We will make honey bees in Art, go on a bug hunt in the Sensory Table, examine real specimens with a magnifying glass, learn about the parts of insects, review our letters and letter sounds, work on end-of-the-year books to take home, and in Religion we will discover that we can thank God with music just like David did.

Tues. May 15 - Preschool Party 9:00 - 12:00 - Wear Spirit Dress, socks and tennis shoes (velcro if possible).
Fri. May 18 - Super Kids Day - Wear Spirit Dress, socks and tennis shoes.

Please send $2.00 for our party if you have not already done so.

Can you believe it's almost the end of the year?  With so much going on in May, I feel like we are winding up and winding down at the same time.

This week in Preschool our theme is Transportation (May 7-11).  We will be making Mother's Day presents in Art, playing with a wide variety of vehicles, playing with boats in water in the Sensory Table (yikes - could be messy!), putting vehicles in graduated order, pretending to take an airplane ride, learning about the letter Z (finally!), and learning how David sang his prayers in Religion.

Book Fair all week long in the Middle School Library - See Wed. packet for more info.
Wed. May 9 - Spirit Dress
Thurs. May 10 - Free Dress if you bring a canned food item for Catholic Charities
Fri. May 11 - Shakespeare in the Park - Send lunch for your child as the cafeteria will be closed!

Our last day of school is Wednesday, May 23.  Please let me know if you will be leaving earlier for vacation, etc. so that I can get all of your child's things sent home :)

This week in Preschool we will be learning about Flowers and Plants.  We will make muffin tin print flowers in Art, plant grass seed, pretend to work in a Flower Shop in Dramatic Play, plant a garden in the Sensory Table, learn about the parts of a flower and the life cycle of plants, learn about the letter Y, and in Religion we will talk about our Mother Mary and learn about rosaries.

Coming Up:
May 7-11 - Book Fair - See Wednesday Packet for more information.
Wednesday, May 9 - Spirit Dress
Friday, May 11 - Shakespeare in the Park - Cafeteria will be closed.

As a special treat from now until the end of the school year, the preschoolers may bring a show and tell any day of the week, every day if they would like!

Your child may also bring a rosary from home to show the class at Religion time.

Hope you can tell that we had a rootin', tootin' good time during Wild West Week!  We especially enjoyed our rodeo and eating horsey snacks around the campfire.

This week's theme is Under the Sea (4/23 - 4/27/12.)  We will make clown fish and rainbow fish in Art, search for shells in the Sensory Table, create ocean habitats in Blocks, spend a day at the beach in Dramatic Play, and learn about the letter X.  In Religion we will learn that David was God's special friend and that we can pray at any time.

Wednesday, April 25 is Spring Picture Day, 8:15 am in the Parish Hall.  Please send your child in nice church clothes.  T-Th kids are welcome to come for the pictures.

Please make every effort to bring your child to school on time (7:45 - 8:00.)  We start our day immediately after prayer and announcements.  If you arrive after 8:15am you need to take your child to the office, sign in, and get a tardy slip.  Thanks for your help with this!  And remember:  Only four weeks and three days left in the school year!