Thursday, January 28th

 Be sure to check our the snow people at the end of this post!

Group Meeting: Today's question was "What house would you like to live in?"  The children wrote their names under the a picture of a traditional house, an apartment building or an igloo.  In both classes, the igloo had the most names.  Brrr

Story: The book for today was House Sweet House by Judith Bauer Stamper.  This non-fiction book is filled with pictures of homes from all over the world.  The children saw that homes are built according to the climate and resources of the area.

Building Study:  The children used large craft sticks to create a picture frame that is shaped like a house.  On a square piece of paper, they drew the people that live in their house and glued it in the center of the house.  

Letter Learning:  Because we missed school on Tuesday, we worked on two letters, Qq and Ss.

Snack:  Today's snack was Clementine oranges, milk, and water.

At Home Learning

Story:  This is Our House by Michael Rosen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbXTPn0skUQ  This is a great story about sharing and including everyone!

Let's Find Out Magazine:  Go to letsfindout.com  log in as a student and use the password: redeemer  Watch the video and read the magazine.  Complete the last page.  The online game is fun, too.

Letter Learning:  Tt and Rr

Math Journal:  Striped Mittens and Marshmallows in My Mug

Wednesday, January 27th

Be sure to check our the snow people at the end of this post!

Group Meeting: Today's question was "How many people live in your house?"  The children wrote their names under the correct number.

Story:  The story for today was A Chair for My Mother by Vera B. Williams.  In this story, a girl and her mother are trying to save money to buy a new chair.  They want a soft, comfy chair to sit in at the end of the day.  There's a reason why they need a new chair.  Ask your child to tell you what happened to their house and furniture.

Building Study:  The children used large craft sticks to create a picture frame that is shaped like a house.  On a square piece of paper, they drew the people that live in their house and glued it in the center of the house.  

Letter Learning:  The letter for today was Ss.

Snack:  Today's snack was Multigrain Cheerios, raisins, milk, and water.

At Home Learning

Story:  This is Our House by Michael Rosen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbXTPn0skUQ  This is a great story about sharing and including everyone!

Alliteration/Literacy:  In the packet, you will find a note about how to help your child with alliteration.  There are a few games listed on the note that you might want to try at home.  I have also included a beginning sounds paper that you and your child can do together.  Beginning sounds might still be difficult for some children.  It's okay for grown-ups to help.  (The afternoon class had time to do the paper in school today, but please read the note and try a game.)

Letter Learning:  Tt

Math Journal:  Striped Mittens

Tuesday, January 26th

 No preschool classes today due to the weather.  

Monday, January 25

Group Meeting:  The children have been signing in on the Promethean Board.  I've attached a picture from the afternoon class to give you an idea of what it looks like.

Story:  The book for today was House Sweet House by Judith Bauer Stamper.  This non-fiction book is filled with pictures of homes from all over the world.  The children saw that homes are built according to the climate and resources of the area.  

Writing Journal:  After I read the book, we got our Writing Journals and drew pictures of the homes that we live in.  We talked about the shapes that we could use to draw our houses.  We used vocabulary words like foundation, roof, chimney, etc.

Let's Find Out Magazine:  Our magazine for this week is about animals that live in the Artic.   In your child's packet, you will find a comprehension paper to do after they re-read the magazine at home.

Letter Learning:  The letter for today was Qq.

Snack:  Our snack was Clementine oranges, milk and water.

At Home Learning

Story:  Listen to the story, The Napping House by Audrey Wood. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3hZFsF-OIo  

Literacy Comprehension:  After hearing the story, ask your child to cut apart the paper of characters that is in the packet.  See if they can remember the order that they got into the bed.  Glue them in the correct order.  You may have to listen to the story again!

Math Journal:  Marshmellows in My Mug

Letter Learning:  Rr  At the bottom of the page, there is a place for your child to print his/her name.  We will be doing this instead of the name pages.  Most of the children can print some if not most of the letters in their names.  Help them form the letters correctly.

Please read the note about returning to our regular schedule of school.  Thank you!

Thursday, January 21

 Group Meeting:  The question for today's sign-in was "What building would you like to visit?"  The choices were the Bettendorf Public Library, Target, or Whitey's.  I bet you can guess which building had the most names under it.

Story:  The story for today was The Wild Toboggan Ride by Suzan Reid.  In this story, Grandpa Dan has take Nikki to the sledding hill so that she can ride on her toboggan.  Grandpa Dan is cold and wants to go home.  Nikki talks him into just one more ride.  Grandpa Dan gives her a push and something wonderful happens.  Ask your child to tell you what happens next.

Building Study:  The children built with wooden blocks.  I gave them pictures of simple block buildings to try to copy.  We used shape words and positional words to describe the block towers. 

Snacks:  The snack for today was Goldfish, juice and water.

At Home Learning

I am not sending home any work for tomorrow.  The Mon/Wed children had Monday off, so I don't want to get one class ahead of the other.  We'll be back to our regular schedule on Monday.

Wednesday, January 20th

 Group Meeting:  The children are signing in (printing their name) a little differently during our study.  A question will be on the Promethean board when they enter the classroom.  They answer the question by printing their name under the answer of their choice.  Today's question was "What building do you like best?" along with three pictures of different buildings.

Story:  The story for today was Buildings, Buildings, Buildings by Judith Bauer Stamper.  This is a non-fiction book about the different kinds of buildings that are part of community.  The book includes a school, library, grocery store, office building to name a few.  We talked about the buildings that are in our community that the children are familiar with.  Someone mentioned that some buildings are closed but that we can drive around them :)

Building Study:  The children built with wooden blocks.  I gave them pictures of simple block buildings to try to copy.  We used shape words and positional words to describe the block towers.  

Letter Learning:  The letter for today was Oo.

Snacks:  The snack for today was Tomato and Basil Wheat Thins.  Our drink was juice and water.

At Home Learning

Story:  When a Dragon Moves Inside  by Jodi Moore  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6s7aSNUCkiM  In this story, a boy builds a sandcastle.  A dragon moves in, of course.  

Building Study:  In the folder, you will find a Building Lotto game.  You will need to cut the card stock pieces to create a draw pile.  You will also need something to serve as markers such as buttons, pennies, paper squares, etc.  Take turns picking a card from the draw pile.  If either player has the picture, they may put a marker on it.  The person who fills their card first, wins.  Be sure to talk about the different kind of buildings on the cards.

Letter Learning:  Trace the letter Pp.  Circle the words that begin with the Pp sound.  Write the P words under the pictures.

Math Journals:  Snowball Fight

Tuesday, January 19th

 Group Meeting:  The children are signing in (printing their name) a little differently during our study.  A question will be on the Promethean board when they enter the classroom.  They answer the question by printing their name under the answer of their choice.  Today's question was "What building do you like best?" along with three pictures of different buildings.

Story:  The story for today was Buildings, Buildings, Buildings by Judith Bauer Stamper.  This is a non-fiction book about the different kinds of buildings that are part of community.  The book includes a school, library, grocery store, office building to name a few.  We talked about the buildings that are in our community that the children are familiar with.  Someone mentioned that some buildings are closed but that we can drive around them :)

Let's Find Out Magazine:  Our magazine was about how our differences make us special.  We watched a video about how we can be kind to everyone regardless of what they look like.  There were a few references to Martin Luther King Jr. in this video.   We cut the magazine to create a book.

Letter Learning:  The letter for today was Oo.

Snacks:  The snack for today was Multigrain Cherrios with raisins.  Our drink was milk and water.

At Home Learning

Story:  When a Dragon Moves Inside  by Jodi Moore  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6s7aSNUCkiM  In this story, a boy builds a sandcastle.  A dragon moves in, of course.  

Building Study:  In the folder, you will find a Building Lotto game.  You will need to cut the card stock pieces to create a draw pile.  You will also need something to serve as markers such as buttons, pennies, paper squares, etc.  Take turns picking a card from the draw pile.  If either player has the picture, they may put a marker on it.  The person who fills their card first, wins.  Be sure to talk about the different kind of buildings on the cards.

Letter Learning:  Trace the letter Pp.  Circle the words that begin with the Pp sound.  Write the P words under the pictures.

Math Journals:  Snowball Fight

Thursday, January 14

  Group Meeting:  Our building study has taken off.  Since looking at pictures of buildings and going outside to look at our own building, the children have been building some pretty interesting things in the block area.

Story:  The story for today was Henry Holton Takes the Ice by Sandra Bradley.  Henry was born into a family that loves hockey.  He learned to skate as soon as he could walk.  However, when Henry tries to play hockey, it just doesn't feel right.  One day, his mother takes him to watch an ice dancing competition.  Could ice dancing be the thing for Henry?  Ask your child to tell you what Henry decides to do.

Let's Find Out Magazine:  The issue for this week is about the properties of ice.  We watched a video about how water changes from liquid to solid and back to liquid.  The morning class did not have time to complete the back page of the magazine.  They can do this at home.  It does not need to be returned to school.

Building Study:  The children went outside and looked at the front of the preschool/church building.  They used their writing journals to draw pictures of things that they noticed about our building.  They found that our building has lots of shapes.

Letter Learning:  The letter for today was Mm.

Snacks:  The snack for today was a pancake with blueberry eyes, a raspberry nose and chocolate chips for a mouth.  We had milk and water to drink and Birthday Brownies to celebrate the January birthdays.

At Home Learning

Name printing

Story:  The story for today is Mice on Ice by Rebecca and Ed Emberly. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDGEMKXEiy8  This story is short, but is filled with many rhyming words.  After listening to the story, ask your child to pick out words that rhyme.

Gross Motor:  After reading the story, tell you child that they are going to ice skate inside.  Have them cut the wax paper piece in their folder into two pieces using the folded line for a guide.  Now put the wax paper pieces on the floor. The children can place their feet on the paper and slide around like they are wearing ice skates.  This works best on carpet.  Be careful!  Ice is slippery!

Letter Learning:  Letter Nn

Math Journal:  Mitten Mania

Wednesday, January 13

 Group Meeting:  Our building study has taken off.  Since looking at pictures of buildings and going outside to look at our own building, the children have been building some pretty interesting things in the block area.

Story:  The story for today was Henry Holton Takes the Ice by Sandra Bradley.  Henry was born into a family that loves hockey.  He learned to skate as soon as he could walk.  However, when Henry tries to play hockey, it just doesn't feel right.  One day, his mother takes him to watch an ice dancing competition.  Could ice dancing be the thing for Henry?  Ask your child to tell you what Henry decides to do.

Let's Find Out Magazine:  The issue for this week is about the properties of ice.  We watched a video about how water changes from liquid to solid and back to liquid.  The children completed the back page of the magazine together.

Building Study:  The children went outside and looked at the front of the preschool/church building.  They used their writing journals to draw pictures of things that they noticed about our building.  They found that our building has lots of shapes.

Letter Learning:  The letter for today was Mm.

Snacks:  The snack for today was a pancake with blueberry eyes, a raspberry nose and chocolate chips for a mouth.  We had milk and water to drink and Birthday Brownies to celebrate the January birthdays.

At Home Learning

Name printing

Story:  The story for today is Mice on Ice by Rebecca and Ed Emberly. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDGEMKXEiy8  This story is short, but is filled with many rhyming words.  After listening to the story, ask your child to pick out words that rhyme.

Gross Motor:  After reading the story, tell you child that they are going to ice skate inside.  Have them cut the wax paper piece in their folder into two pieces using the folded line for a guide.  Now put the wax paper pieces on the floor. The children can place their feet on the paper and slide around like they are wearing ice skates.  This works best on carpet.  Be careful!  Ice is slippery!

Letter Learning:  Letter Nn

Math Journal:  Mitten Mania

Tuesday, January 12

 Group Meeting:  We are starting a new study this week.  Please take a few minutes to read the note in your child's folder about the Building Study.

We've been looking at all of the snow people that have been brought in.  I'll share pictures of our hallway display at the end of the week.

Story:  The story for today was The Three Little Pigs retold by Bonnie Dobkin.  I read this story at the beginning of the school year.  The children remembered it and were happy to hear it again.  It was a good story to start our dicussion of buildings.

Study:  I have a collection of pictures of various buildings.  The children looked at the pictures for a few minutes.  After that, we made a list of things that we noticed about the buildings in the pictures.  This will help us develop of list of things that we know and things that we want to know about buildings.

Language and Cognitive Skills:  The children played a game that we call "What's Missing?"  I assembled a small group of items from the classroom.  The children named the items.  They took turns closing their eyes while another child took an item and hid it in their lap.  After opening their eyes, they had to use their memory skills to figure out what was missing.   If someone couldn't remember, we used clues to help them.

Letter Learning:  Kk

Snack:  The snack for today was apples, peanut butter, juice and water.

At Home Learning

Name Printing

Story: Watch the video of the story Changes, Changes by Pat Hutchins https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bA6TsSOBExE&t=24s  This is a wordless book.  Watch the pictures and listen to the narrator explain the story.  After the story, use blocks, Lego's, cubes, etc. to build something that could be part of a story.

Study:  In the folder, you will find a half paper with the words "How Many Windows?" on the top.  Ask your child to count the windows in the rooms indicated at the bottom of the graph.  Have your child color one box for each window in that room to create a graph.  After all of the windows have been counted, use the graph to answer the questions at the bottom of the paper.

Math Journal:  Carrot Noses-this might be challenging for some children.  Use manipulatives if needed.

Letter Learning:  Ll- remember to do the back of the paper as well.

Monday, January 11

 Group Meeting:  We are starting a new study this week.  Please take a few minutes to read the note in your child's folder about the Building Study.

We've been looking at all of the snow people that have been brought in.  I'll share pictures of our hallway display at the end of the week.

Story:  The story for today was The Three Little Pigs retold by Bonnie Dobkin.  I read this story at the beginning of the school year.  The children remembered it and were happy to hear it again.  It was a good story to start our dicussion of buildings.

Study:  I have a collection of pictures of various buildings.  The children looked at the pictures for a few minutes.  After that, we made a list of things that we noticed about the buildings in the pictures.  This will help us develop of list of things that we know and things that we want to know about buildings.

Language and Cognitive Skills:  The children played a game that we call "What's Missing?"  I assembled a small group of items from the classroom.  The children named the items.  They took turns closing their eyes while another child took an item and hid it in their lap.  After opening their eyes, they had to use their memory skills to figure out what was missing.   If someone couldn't remember, we used clues to help them.

Letter Learning:  Kk

Snack:  The snack for today was bagels, cream cheese, milk and water.

At Home Learning

Name Printing

Story: Watch the video of the story Changes, Changes by Pat Hutchins https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bA6TsSOBExE&t=24s  This is a wordless book.  Watch the pictures and listen to the narrator explain the story.  After the story, use blocks, Lego's, cubes, etc. to build something that could be part of a story.

Study:  In the folder, you will find a half paper with the words "How Many Windows?" on the top.  Ask your child to count the windows in the rooms indicated at the bottom of the graph.  Have your child color one box for each window in that room to create a graph.  After all of the windows have been counted, use the graph to answer the questions at the bottom of the paper.

Math Journal:  Carrot Noses-this might be challenging for some children.  Use manipulatives if needed.

Letter Learning:  Ll- remember to do the back of the paper as well.

Thursday, January 7th

 Group Meeting:  The children started the day by moving to "Snowflakes in the Air" by the Learning Station.  We looked at the trees in the yard and thought about why they were white today.

Story:  The story for today was Snowmen at Night by Caralyn Buechner.  This story is about what snowmen do at night while we are sleeping.  We wondered what the snowmen in our hallway would do at night when we go home.

Writing Journal:  As a group, we talked about things that we like to do in the snow.  Then we drew some of those things in our writing journal.  The children were encouraged to try to print letters or words telling about their pictures.

Letter Learning:  The letter for today was Ii.

Large Group:  The children played a game that we call "Who's missing?"  We sit on the rug while one person sits in the chair with his/her eyes closed.  One child quietly sneaks behind the shelving unit so that the child in the chair cannot see him/her.  The child in the chair looks at the remaining children and guesses who is missing.  This is a good game for learning/remember each other's names (We're not quite there yet.  I still hear a lot of "that boy" or "that girl")  It also helps sharpen our memory and recall skills.

Snacks:  The snack for today was cheese sticks, juice and water.

At Home Learning

Name printing

Story:  The story for Thursday is The Mitten retold by Jan Brett.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duhj0Op_slo    This is a Ukranian folk tale about a boy who loses his mitten in the snow.  

Literacy:  Find the mitten and animal pictures in the folder.  The mitten and the animals need to be cut.  This is a lot of cutting for a preschooler so I'd suggest doing it together or just a little at a time.  Once the pictures are cut, see if your child can retell the story in the proper order by putting the animals one at a time "in" the mitten.  If you have a lunch bag at home, you could glue the mitten on the bag so that the animals can go inside.

Math Journal:  Scarf Stripes

Letter Learning:  Jj

Wednesday, January 6th

 Group Meeting:  The children started the day by moving to "Snowflakes in the Air" by the Learning Station.  We looked at the trees in the yard and thought about why they were white today.

Story:  The story for today was Snowmen at Night by Caralyn Buechner.  This story is about what snowmen do at night while we are sleeping.  We wondered what the snowmen in our hallway would do at night when we go home.

Writing Journal:  As a group, we talked about things that we like to do in the snow.  Then we drew some of those things in our writing journal.  The children were encouraged to try to print letters or words telling about their pictures.

Letter Learning:  The letter for today was Ii.

Large Group:  The children played a game that we call "Who's missing?"  We sit on the rug while one person sits in the chair with his/her eyes closed.  One child quietly sneaks behind the shelving unit so that the child in the chair cannot see him/her.  The child in the chair looks at the remaining children and guesses who is missing.  This is a good game for learning/remember each other's names (We're not quite there yet.  I still hear a lot of "that boy" or "that girl")  It also helps sharpen our memory and recall skills.

Snacks:  The snack for today was apples, peanut butter, milk and juice.

At Home Learning

Name printing

Story:  The story for Thursday is The Mitten retold by Jan Brett.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duhj0Op_slo    This is a Ukranian folk tale about a boy who loses his mitten in the snow.  

Literacy:  Find the mitten and animal pictures in the folder.  The mitten and the animals need to be cut.  This is a lot of cutting for a preschooler so I'd suggest doing it together or just a little at a time.  Once the pictures are cut, see if your child can retell the story in the proper order by putting the animals one at a time "in" the mitten.  If you have a lunch bag at home, you could glue the mitten on the bag so that the animals can go inside.

Math Journal:  Scarf Stripes

Letter Learning:  Jj

Tuesday, January 5th

Happy New Year!  It's good to be back in school!  Now that we have snow, we are going to take a week to explore and have fun with it!

Group Meeting:  We took a few minutes to talk about our holiday celebrations.  Everyone had something to share about what they did over the break.

Story:  The story for today was The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats.  This is a story Peter and of his adventures in the snow.  He makes foot prints, builds a snowman and snow angel.  He makes a snowball and puts it in his pocket to save for later.  Ask your child to tell you what happens to that snowball.

Let's Find Out Magazine:  Our magazine was about New Year's traditions and about making resolutions. We watched the accompanying video and completed the back page.

Letter Learning:  Gg

Large Group Game:  In today's story, Peter tries to join a snowball fight, but he isn't big enough.  We had our own indoor snowball fight.  To do this, we use the rules of another game that is called Garbage.  The class is divided into two teams.  Each team is given snowballs (puffs) to throw to the other team's side while that team is throwing them back.  The goal is to get all of the snowballs to the other side.   When the time is up, we count how many snowballs are on each side.  The winning team has the least amount of snowballs. 

Snack:  The snack for today was bagels, cream cheese, milk and water.

At Home Learning

Name printing

Story:  The story for today is Snowballs by Lois Ehlert.  You and your child will need to watch this story to be able to complete the project that goes along with it.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jK76MhQGA4c

Art/Fine Motor:  Make a snow person using the three circles in the folder.  Glue them to the blue construction paper.  Now, ask your child to find things around your house to use to decorate the snow person.  Use the story illustrations for inspiration.  We will be displaying these in our hallway for the month of January.  You do not need to return them right away.  It may take some time for your child to think about what they want to include on the snowman. 

Math Journal:  Draw a Snowman

Letter Learning:  The letter tracing page also includes something on the back.  Ask your child to circle the pictures on the back that begin with the letter H sound.  Print the words under the pictures for your child to see.  House, hat and hen

Science:  I've included a science activity for your child to try.  If this is a lot to do for one day, save it for another day this week, but before the snow melts away!

 

Monday, January 4

 Happy New Year!  It's good to be back in school!  Now that we have snow, we are going to take a week to explore and have fun with it!

Group Meeting:  We took a few minutes to talk about our holiday celebrations.  Everyone had something to share about what they did over the break.

Story:  The story for today was The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats.  This is a story Peter and of his adventures in the snow.  He makes foot prints, builds a snowman and snow angel.  He makes a snowball and puts it in his pocket to save for later.  Ask your child to tell you what happens to that snowball.

Let's Find Out Magazine:  Our magazine was about New Year's traditions and about making resolutions. We watched the accompanying video and completed the back page.

Letter Learning:  Gg

Large Group Game:  In today's story, Peter tries to join a snowball fight, but he isn't big enough.  We had our own indoor snowball fight.  To do this, we use the rules of another game that is called Garbage.  The class is divided into two teams.  Each team is given snowballs (puffs) to throw to the other team's side while that team is throwing them back.  The goal is to get all of the snowballs to the other side.   When the time is up, we count how many snowballs are on each side.  The winning team has the least amount of snowballs. 

Snack:  The snack for today was cheese sticks and juice.

At Home Learning

Name printing

Story:  The story for today is Snowballs by Lois Ehlert.  You and your child will need to watch this story to be able to complete the project that goes along with it.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jK76MhQGA4c

Art/Fine Motor:  Make a snow person using the three circles in the folder.  Glue them to the blue construction paper.  Now, ask your child to find things around your house to use to decorate the snow person.  Use the story illustrations for inspiration.  We will be displaying these in our hallway for the month of January.  You do not need to return them right away.  It may take some time for your child to think about what they want to include on the snowman. 

Math Journal:  Draw a Snowman

Letter Learning:  The letter tracing page also includes something on the back.  Ask your child to circle the pictures on the back that begin with the letter H sound.  Print the words under the pictures for your child to see.  House, hat and hen

Science:  I've included a science activity for your child to try.  If this is a lot to do for one day, save it for another day this week, but before the snow melts away!