| 3 DAY AM UPSTAIRS Mrs. Merrell & Miss Nicole |
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Copyright 2011 Norfolk Children's School
Website Design by Karma Communications
Website Design by Karma Communications
DECEMBER 2011/JANUARY 2012
3-DAY UPSTAIRS NEWSLETTER
Mrs. Merrell and Miss Nicole
Happy New Year to all! We hope you all had a wonderful holiday
break with your families. Thank you all for the wonderful gifts and
for the donations of snack and materials for the classroom!
December was a busy month as we focused on the changing season
and the holidays from the children’s point of view, namely wishing for
gifts, doing special things with their families and for many- getting
to visit extended family! We learned a Dreidel song/movement and
learned how to play the Dreidel game ( agreat way to teach the
concept of “half”) We made our own jingle bells and did several
jingle bell parades around the classroom, made cards at the writing
table, cinnamon “decorations” at art, and so much more. Special
THANKS to Colleen O’Shea and her sister for putting together
individual gingerbread houses and all the “fixings” for the children to
decorate. What a very special and fun project!!! Thanks also to Jen
Raider for donating dreidels for all the children to take home! Some
favorite books this past month were; “Maxine in the Middle, Morris
Disappearing Bag, and Gingerbread Friends.
The Dramatic Play Area was turned into a Puppet Theater in Mid
December- based on the children’s interests! Several of them
started making their own puppets at the writing table and putting on
their own shows- and asked if we could make a puppet theater. This
is emergent curriculum at it’s best!! We’ll be making some puppets
at the art table this week and next – so if you are visiting soon make
sure to get your ticket for a show! We are finishing up the Family
Book this week and will be starting a new project soon. Thanks so
much for your help! The children have done a great job telling their
friends about their families, and the drawings (and photos) have
been terrific! At group time we have started talking about
opposites, size comparisons, ordering, and number sense. We have
introduced our last classroom job; the Calendar person. This child
will help write the number on the calendar and we will all be doing
lots of counting and number recognition in the process!
During January we will be focusing on one-to one correspondence,
numeral recognition, and begin to work on visual recognition, the
sounds, and writing of the letters of the alphabet. There is quite an
age range in this class, so for the Kindergarten bound group (a small
contingent) we will also be focusing on making sure they can write
their first name as well as a host of other kindergarten readiness
skills. Almost all the children can consistently recognize their first
name and we will be using their name cards more at the writing an at
table and during transitions. We will also be starting each day having
them “Sign-In” at the easel and at least do the first letter of their
name and work from there. For all the children in the classroom will
be focusing on getting them to use the proper pincer grip when
writing and drawing and the proper grip when cutting with scissors.
When we teach children how to hold scissors we remind them to
“keep their thumb up” before they pick up them up. This helps them
position their hands correctly. When holding markers or pencils, etc.
it is best to have your child use something that is short and stubby, i.
e. pipsqueak markers, half a piece of chalk, or half a crayon. Using
smaller writing implements prevents them from putting their hand
into a fisted grip. One technique we use at school is the 2-finger
salute…where the pinky and ring finger are “sleeping and lazy” and
the thumb and other two fingers are doing all the work. Having your
child draw or write on a slanted surface- like an easel- will also put
their whole arm and hand in the correct position to write. One
important note: PLEASE don’t force any of this at home!! We want
the interest in writing and drawing to come from the children and
have it be something they want to do and are willing to practice. No
drilling necessary. Fun projects like making a card for Nana- or
helping with a grocery or hardware store list would keep the writing
and drawing fun.
Science update: One potato is beginning to grow…but the crayons
have remained unchanged (ask your children about this
“experiment”!). We had a whole collection of spinning tops at the
science table in December, which fascinated quite a few of the
children. We will be doing an experiment with color separating filter
paper and will soon begin to “grow” our rubber alligator and measure
his progress. If we ever get real snow that sticks we will also be
making some “Insta- Snow”…which is the quite magical experiment
we showed the parents who came to our Parent Orientation this past
fall. This group has meshed very well and we will be starting to
employ a strategy called ”Play Partners” soon…but more about that
next month.
REMINDERS:
***Please send in LABELED warm coats, hats, and MITTENS
everyday!! Gloves are fine if your child can get them on
independently- other wise it is an exercise in frustration for them –
and us!! Once we get snow we will obviously need snowpants and
boots. At that point we will need you to also send in shoes/sneakers
or slippers (ones that the children can safely navigate in!!!!) for them
to wear in the classroom. THANKS!!
**Once we have snow it is impossible for us to go out before lunch.
We will try to get the 11:30 dismissal children outside when
possible- but we have found that there is no good way to go out
before lunch and then have the children who stay until 1:00 (which is
most of the class) put wet and cold gear back on later.
IMPORTANT DATES:
1/16: No School: Martin Luther King Day
1/18: Visit from a Dental Hygienist (who does a very funny puppet
show for the kids about dental hygiene)
Stay warm!
Mrs. Merrell & Miss Nicole
3-DAY UPSTAIRS NEWSLETTER
Mrs. Merrell and Miss Nicole
Happy New Year to all! We hope you all had a wonderful holiday
break with your families. Thank you all for the wonderful gifts and
for the donations of snack and materials for the classroom!
December was a busy month as we focused on the changing season
and the holidays from the children’s point of view, namely wishing for
gifts, doing special things with their families and for many- getting
to visit extended family! We learned a Dreidel song/movement and
learned how to play the Dreidel game ( agreat way to teach the
concept of “half”) We made our own jingle bells and did several
jingle bell parades around the classroom, made cards at the writing
table, cinnamon “decorations” at art, and so much more. Special
THANKS to Colleen O’Shea and her sister for putting together
individual gingerbread houses and all the “fixings” for the children to
decorate. What a very special and fun project!!! Thanks also to Jen
Raider for donating dreidels for all the children to take home! Some
favorite books this past month were; “Maxine in the Middle, Morris
Disappearing Bag, and Gingerbread Friends.
The Dramatic Play Area was turned into a Puppet Theater in Mid
December- based on the children’s interests! Several of them
started making their own puppets at the writing table and putting on
their own shows- and asked if we could make a puppet theater. This
is emergent curriculum at it’s best!! We’ll be making some puppets
at the art table this week and next – so if you are visiting soon make
sure to get your ticket for a show! We are finishing up the Family
Book this week and will be starting a new project soon. Thanks so
much for your help! The children have done a great job telling their
friends about their families, and the drawings (and photos) have
been terrific! At group time we have started talking about
opposites, size comparisons, ordering, and number sense. We have
introduced our last classroom job; the Calendar person. This child
will help write the number on the calendar and we will all be doing
lots of counting and number recognition in the process!
During January we will be focusing on one-to one correspondence,
numeral recognition, and begin to work on visual recognition, the
sounds, and writing of the letters of the alphabet. There is quite an
age range in this class, so for the Kindergarten bound group (a small
contingent) we will also be focusing on making sure they can write
their first name as well as a host of other kindergarten readiness
skills. Almost all the children can consistently recognize their first
name and we will be using their name cards more at the writing an at
table and during transitions. We will also be starting each day having
them “Sign-In” at the easel and at least do the first letter of their
name and work from there. For all the children in the classroom will
be focusing on getting them to use the proper pincer grip when
writing and drawing and the proper grip when cutting with scissors.
When we teach children how to hold scissors we remind them to
“keep their thumb up” before they pick up them up. This helps them
position their hands correctly. When holding markers or pencils, etc.
it is best to have your child use something that is short and stubby, i.
e. pipsqueak markers, half a piece of chalk, or half a crayon. Using
smaller writing implements prevents them from putting their hand
into a fisted grip. One technique we use at school is the 2-finger
salute…where the pinky and ring finger are “sleeping and lazy” and
the thumb and other two fingers are doing all the work. Having your
child draw or write on a slanted surface- like an easel- will also put
their whole arm and hand in the correct position to write. One
important note: PLEASE don’t force any of this at home!! We want
the interest in writing and drawing to come from the children and
have it be something they want to do and are willing to practice. No
drilling necessary. Fun projects like making a card for Nana- or
helping with a grocery or hardware store list would keep the writing
and drawing fun.
Science update: One potato is beginning to grow…but the crayons
have remained unchanged (ask your children about this
“experiment”!). We had a whole collection of spinning tops at the
science table in December, which fascinated quite a few of the
children. We will be doing an experiment with color separating filter
paper and will soon begin to “grow” our rubber alligator and measure
his progress. If we ever get real snow that sticks we will also be
making some “Insta- Snow”…which is the quite magical experiment
we showed the parents who came to our Parent Orientation this past
fall. This group has meshed very well and we will be starting to
employ a strategy called ”Play Partners” soon…but more about that
next month.
REMINDERS:
***Please send in LABELED warm coats, hats, and MITTENS
everyday!! Gloves are fine if your child can get them on
independently- other wise it is an exercise in frustration for them –
and us!! Once we get snow we will obviously need snowpants and
boots. At that point we will need you to also send in shoes/sneakers
or slippers (ones that the children can safely navigate in!!!!) for them
to wear in the classroom. THANKS!!
**Once we have snow it is impossible for us to go out before lunch.
We will try to get the 11:30 dismissal children outside when
possible- but we have found that there is no good way to go out
before lunch and then have the children who stay until 1:00 (which is
most of the class) put wet and cold gear back on later.
IMPORTANT DATES:
1/16: No School: Martin Luther King Day
1/18: Visit from a Dental Hygienist (who does a very funny puppet
show for the kids about dental hygiene)
Stay warm!
Mrs. Merrell & Miss Nicole