COLOR BOOKS

Today we introduced color books at the writing center to work on and complete during Free Choice time. We are asking each child to do a color book in the next 3 weeks. Look for your child's book to come home in his/her blue folder once he/she shares it with the class. Please make sure your child returns his book to school once it has been shared at home to be kept in his/her portfolio at school.

Your child will choose which color of book he/she would like to do.

Next, he/she will draw pictures of items of that particular color. Then, the teacher will assist each child in writing the words (labels) for the illustrations.

Taylor shares his color book with the class.

Sasha shares her color book with the class.

STAR OF THE WEEK--LUCAS

Our new "Star of the Week" is Lucas. We enjoyed seeing Lucas' photos today and learning more about his favorite things.

WEEK OF NOVEMBER 30TH

Hello Pre-K "A" Parents~

We hope you enjoyed a restful, relaxing Thanksgiving holiday with friends and family. During the next 2 weeks, we will continue our study of "Colors". On Friday December 11th, we will have a special "Color Day" in Pre-K to complete this study. More details on Color Day will be forthcoming at the beginning of next week.

As the weather grows colder, please be sure to send your child to school dressed in warm coats, gloves/mittens, hats, etc. We will try to go outside when the weather/temperature allows during the morning. Children who attend the Extended Day program will also continue to go outside for recess on a daily basis.

We would like to invite parents to visit our classroom to share with the class how your family uses candles/light to celebrate any of the upcoming holidays. Please e-mail the teachers to let us know if you are interested and to set up a time.

Remember that throughout this month, we are collecting dog and cat items (food, toys, treats, etc.) to donate to a local animal shelter.

LOWER SCHOOL COMMUNITY HOLIDAY GATHERING: Thursday 12/17 at 2:00
Please join the Lower School in the gymnasium for a special program as we
prepare to leave for Winter Break.
*REMEMBER TO E-MAIL US BY NEXT MONDAY TO LET US KNOW IF YOUR CHILD WILL STAY FOR LUNCH ON 12/17 SO THAT HE/SHE CAN BE READY TO ATTEND THE PROGRAM AT 2:00

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Today we read two stories about being thankful and discussed what it means to be thankful. We then asked each child to tell us something he/she is thankful for. Here were the responses...

Ethan~my mom, dad, sister, and dog Tucker
Claire~the park close to my house
Reese~my family and my dog
Miles~strawberry jelly
Robert~donuts
Sasha~my family
Georgia~butterflies and flowers
Griffin~my dog, Scioto
Charlie Hob.~donuts and my friend, Joseph
Emmanuel~my 4 Transformers
Lucas~going to my cousins' house
Jake~my family
Emily~everything!
Maeve~ice cream
Oliver~trees and dogs
Taylor~bagels
Charlie T.~animals
Ian~my friends
We wish you and your families a relaxing and enjoyable Thanksgiving holiday!

ZERO THE HERO

Today we celebrated our 60th day of school. We used round styrofoam balls and round eyes (zero shapes) and made turkeys! Thanks to Jake and his mom for providing this festive project to help us celebrate Zero the Hero day!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ROBERT!

Today we helped Robert celebrate his upcoming birthday! His mom read a Thanksgiving story and then we enjoyed eating cupcakes (made by Robert) for snack! Happy Birthday, Robert!

NEW COLOR ACTIVITIES

During Free Choice time, we introduced some new color activities.......

~drawing at the easel with 3 markers taped together~

~mixing colors using colored water~

COLOR MIXING ACTIVITY

After reading the story, White Rabbit's Color Book, each child had his/her own paper where he/she was able to mix colors together to discover a new color. Be sure to ask your child about this activity and what happened when certain colors mixed together!

WEEK OF NOVEMBER 16TH

This week the children will be rehearsing for their upcoming Music program. Also this week, we will be visiting the family photo display. We would like to have each child bring in a photo of his/her family to share/discuss with the class. Please send in this family photo by Friday.

THURSDAY 11/19/09--Pre-K Music Program @ 8:30
*Pre-K families are invited to attend the Pre-K Music Program. The front rows in the
theater are reserved for Pre-K families. The program will last 30-45 minutes.

FREE CHOICE FUN!

Emily and Robert enjoying the smell, feel, and sound of the Cocoa Krispies and Rice Krispies in the Sensory Tub.
Jake, Charlie, and Oliver putting together the 46-piece "Hello Kitty" puzzle.

Everyone is making a rainbow this week during Free Choice time as we learn about "Colors".

Reese, Maren, Maddie, and Griffin in the "Viking Veterinarian Office".

Maren looking through the kaleidoscope.

STAR OF THE WEEK--ETHAN

Today we learned more about our friend, Ethan. Thank you for sharing your favorite things with us. We also enjoyed seeing your photos.

ZERO THE HERO

Today we celebrated our 50th day of school! We are half-way to 100! Charlie T. and his mom provided us with some great beads--footballs, soccer balls, basketballs, maroon and gray Academy beads, and the letters C and A for Columbus Academy--and we made necklaces. Thank you for helping us to celebrate Zero the Hero day!

WEEK OF NOVEMBER 9TH

We are looking forward to meeting with you this week to share your child's adjustment to school and his/her performance during the first 2 months of school. The day before your scheduled conference, we will send home a copy of your child's progress report in his/her blue folder. Please read over the report and bring it with you to the conference.

Some Gentle Reminders:
Wednesday November 11th--Late Start

*Children should be at school by 9:30

Wednesday November 11th--Parent/Teacher Conferences--3:30-5:00
*There will be supervised care for school children at CASE (in the Pre-K "B"
classroom) during your scheduled conference time.

Thursday November 12th--Parent/Teacher Conferences--3:30-7:15
*There will be supervised care for school children at CASE (in the Pre-K "B"
classroom) during your scheduled conference time.

Friday November 13th--Parent/Teacher Conferences--NO SCHOOL
*There will be supervised care for school children in the Lower School Art
Room during your scheduled conference time.

THRILLING THURSDAY!

ASK ME ABOUT...
~what we glued on the letter, "C".
~the story, "Copycats". There's a copy in my folder.
~what community helpers my friends were.
~what I did in P.E. today.
~"Second Step"--Mrs. Jenkins did it with us today.

COMMUNITY HELPER DAY
We had many firefighters, doctors, veterinarians, builders, and police officers in our classroom today. The costumes were great!

WONDERFUL WEDNESDAY!

ASK ME ABOUT:

~what I did in Spanish.
~the story we read called, "The Crayon Box That Talked".
~what I did in Music.
~spelling the word, cat, on my seatwork.

COLORS:
Today we introduced our new theme of study...."Colors" with the story, "The Crayon Box That Talked".

Sasha matches the color words to the colors.
Georgia and Maren shaking the color jars to mix the colors inside.

Oliver and Reese experimenting with the color jars.

Maeve looking through the colored lenses.

FREE CHOICE FUN...

In the activity below, the child has to use the clothespin to pick up the cotton ball and transfer it from one bowl to another. To make it more challenging, the child can hold a coin in the palm of her hand while transferring the cotton ball with the clothespin. This is a great fine motor activity that also works on pencil grip.

Ethan, Josie, Maeve, and Sasha building a design with magnetic sticks and balls.

Taylor, Griffin, Emily, Charlie, Ian, and Emmanuel with their finished construction.
Reese, Jake, and Charlie with the 50-piece jigsaw puzzle they put together.

TERRIFIC TUESDAY!

ASK ME ABOUT...

~the visiting author (check out the photos below).
~what I did in P.E. today.
~what new activities we had during Free Choice today.
~the Calico Cat.
~the rhyming page we did at seatwork.

MARVELOUS MONDAY!

ASK ME ABOUT...

~why I wore a crown home from school today.
~what the new password is.
~which learning center I did today.
~what I did in my Pre-K Journal today.
~the community helper that visited us.
~what month it is now.
~what Mrs. Mullin read to us today at the library.

DOCTOR LICHTEN'S VISIT

Our community helper visitor today was a doctor. Dr. Lichten shared with us about his job as a doctor. Jake was his "pretend patient" as Dr. Lichten demonstrated the various tools a doctor uses. He also discussed ways to keep our bodies healthy, including eating the right foods, exercise, and washing our hands. We even had the opportunity to try out some of his tools. Thank you for a great visit!