We did it! We made it through our 1st full week of school! We also welcomed our new friend Annaliese this week.
We always begin circle time by singing a few routine songs to shake out our “sillies” & help us attend to activities & stories. During the course of the school year, the songs will change every now & then. This week’s songs were:
Shake our Sillies Out (Learning Station)
Tooty-Ta (Dr. Jean)
Make a Circle
Criss Cross Applesauce
Hello
Jump Up & Down (transition song)
ABC You Later
The Goodbye Song
Goodbye
Books we read:
ABC School’s for Me! (Susan B. Katz),
The Awful Aardvarks Go To School (Reeve Lindbergh)
The Dot (Peter H. Reynolds)
(We read The Dot on Thursday & Friday since it’s International Dot Week!)
The Awful Aardvarks Go To School is a book about a few aardvarks that have difficulty behaving in the classroom. We defined the word “awful” and talked about appropriate & inappropriate classroom behavior. Some of the children spoke about being “bad” & we stressed that the children themselves aren’t bad but sometimes the behavior is bad. At the end of our story, the aardvarks were “expelled” from school, and then zoomed to the zoo. The author left the rest to the imagination by stating, “And there what did they do? I don’t even dare to imagine – do you?” We asked the children what they thought the awful aardvarks did at the zoo & they responded with some very clever answers. See our language chart below.
We always begin circle time by singing a few routine songs to shake out our “sillies” & help us attend to activities & stories. During the course of the school year, the songs will change every now & then. This week’s songs were:
Shake our Sillies Out (Learning Station)
Tooty-Ta (Dr. Jean)
Make a Circle
Criss Cross Applesauce
Hello
Jump Up & Down (transition song)
ABC You Later
The Goodbye Song
Goodbye
Books we read:
ABC School’s for Me! (Susan B. Katz),
The Awful Aardvarks Go To School (Reeve Lindbergh)
The Dot (Peter H. Reynolds)
(We read The Dot on Thursday & Friday since it’s International Dot Week!)
The Awful Aardvarks Go To School is a book about a few aardvarks that have difficulty behaving in the classroom. We defined the word “awful” and talked about appropriate & inappropriate classroom behavior. Some of the children spoke about being “bad” & we stressed that the children themselves aren’t bad but sometimes the behavior is bad. At the end of our story, the aardvarks were “expelled” from school, and then zoomed to the zoo. The author left the rest to the imagination by stating, “And there what did they do? I don’t even dare to imagine – do you?” We asked the children what they thought the awful aardvarks did at the zoo & they responded with some very clever answers. See our language chart below.
If your child’s name is not on the chart, your child was either not in school or chose to not answer the question. Keep in mind that we don’t expect 2-year-olds or even new 3-year-olds to answer these questions, however, we always give them the opportunity & sometimes they truly surprise us. Answering “wh” questions is part of a child’s speech & language development. Additionally, we don’t expect 2-year-olds to sit in circle for any length of time. If they prefer to leave circle, we have puzzles, books and other activities available for them.
It's International Dot Week! We will carry over our “celebration” into next week since it is a short week.
We kicked off our celebration by reading the book The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds on Thursday & Friday. For those unfamiliar with this inspiring story, it is about a young girl who discovers her unique artistic style by painting a dot! While reading the book I asked the children what the dot on the page looked like to them.
What does Vashti's dot look like to you?
It's International Dot Week! We will carry over our “celebration” into next week since it is a short week.
We kicked off our celebration by reading the book The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds on Thursday & Friday. For those unfamiliar with this inspiring story, it is about a young girl who discovers her unique artistic style by painting a dot! While reading the book I asked the children what the dot on the page looked like to them.
What does Vashti's dot look like to you?
Jameson - mom
Brendan – black thing
Jonah – a little bug
Tyler – a window
Tamy – a little bug too
Emma – a sink
Annaliese – a black dot
Sophia – a square
Gianni – it looks like an eye
Melanie – a drum with circle stairs
Braeden – a circle
Katie – black
Max – big
Myles – little
Margarita – a square
Sania – a dot
Aviana – a circle
Aubree – a circle
Follow up activities to reading included making our mark using dot markers & using dot markers to color our names. Fine motor skills, color recognition, as well as letter & name recognition were skills we worked on during these fun activities. We also discussed items shaped like a circle.
Brendan – black thing
Jonah – a little bug
Tyler – a window
Tamy – a little bug too
Emma – a sink
Annaliese – a black dot
Sophia – a square
Gianni – it looks like an eye
Melanie – a drum with circle stairs
Braeden – a circle
Katie – black
Max – big
Myles – little
Margarita – a square
Sania – a dot
Aviana – a circle
Aubree – a circle
Follow up activities to reading included making our mark using dot markers & using dot markers to color our names. Fine motor skills, color recognition, as well as letter & name recognition were skills we worked on during these fun activities. We also discussed items shaped like a circle.
For some of our children, the honeymoon appears to be over. While some children experienced anxiety during the first few days of preschool, others have now realized that this is their new routine. Both scenarios are very typical for young children. Here are a few ideas to help out:
I promise you, it is so much harder on us as parents than it actually is on our kids. Try not to feel guilty. I've been there myself. Children are so much more resilient than we give them credit for & adjust much easier than we think they can. While some might take a bit longer than others to adjust, they all eventually have a wonderful time in preschool.
Looking Ahead:
Reminder:
Always feel free to speak to any of us about any concerns/issues you might have. We are all in this together & want your child to have the most positive preschool experience possible!
Have a wonderful weekend!
Ms. Sheri, Ms. Joyce, Ms. Sarah, Miss Fabi & Miss Bethany
- Clearly state to your child where you will be & when you will return. It may also be helpful to discuss what will happen when you are reunited.
- Maintain a clear good-bye routine. This may include telling your child you are leaving in 3 minutes, a kiss & hug, or a wave from the door. Once you tell your child you are leaving, it is important to follow through. Extending the good-bye with, "Ok just one more kiss, & then I really have to go” tends to heighten anxiety rather than relieve it. Avoid sneaking out, as this seems to encourage children to become less trusting & might make the next drop off day even harder.
I promise you, it is so much harder on us as parents than it actually is on our kids. Try not to feel guilty. I've been there myself. Children are so much more resilient than we give them credit for & adjust much easier than we think they can. While some might take a bit longer than others to adjust, they all eventually have a wonderful time in preschool.
Looking Ahead:
- Holbrook Fire Department field trip is on 10/2/17. More information to come soon.
- Scholastic book orders will be placed this weekend.
Reminder:
- No school on Thurs., 9/21 & Fri., 9/22 due to Rosh Hashanah.
- If you haven't already done so, please send in a family photo. The children love to look at these throughout the school day.
- Back to School Night is Wednesday, September 27 from 7:00-8:00. This is an informational evening for parents only. I hope you will be able to join us.
- October Scholastic book orders will be sent home the last week of September & are due 9/29 to ensure delivery before Halloween.
Always feel free to speak to any of us about any concerns/issues you might have. We are all in this together & want your child to have the most positive preschool experience possible!
Have a wonderful weekend!
Ms. Sheri, Ms. Joyce, Ms. Sarah, Miss Fabi & Miss Bethany
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