Applesauce

Yesterday was applesauce day! We wrapped up our apple unit by making applesauce at school. The kids got to help cut up the apples (using a plastic knife), and got to put their cut-up pieces into the blender. After a class vote we decided to add a bit of cinnamon, and then the kids watched as the blender went to work! I am pretty sure it was the highlight of the kids' day!

A.M Class hard at work cutting the apples:

P.M. Class Working Hard!

Before...

and after.

What We Did This Week...

Hi Parents:

We had a good second week of school! The kids are starting to remember the classroom rules and procedures, and we are still working on settling down into our routine. We did a lot of projects this week. We talked a lot about what makes each child special. We made name signs (covered in pinto beans, which I am sure your child showed you), made self-portraits out of paper plates and construction paper, and took turns looking in the mirror to see what traits each child has that makes them unique.

We also focused on the letter 'A' this week. We started an alphabet book (which won't come home until we have studies all of the letters), made "Human A's", which the kids LOVED (see the pictures below for an explanation), and talked a lot about things that start with the 'a' sound. If your child came home chanting "A, 'a', apple", it is because they heard that a lot this week!

Here are some pictures from this week's activities:

Human A's-Morning Class

Afternoon Class (capital and lower case A's)

Preschool Pictures and Field Trip Info

You may have noticed in the sidebar that we are having preschool pictures on October 8th, and are planning a field trip to the pumpkin patch on October 22nd. I know there are still a few weeks before these events, but I wanted to give you plenty of notice so you could get them on your calendars.

Preschool Pictures:
Emily Hatch of Carpe Diem Photography will be here on October 8th to take your child's picture (if you want them taken, that is...there is no obligation). Emily is my sister's sister-in-law and has been taking our family's pictures for the last several years. We love her work and I am excited she is coming to do the preschool pictures. I will be sending home an order form as the date gets closer. For your info, picture units will cost $4.00 each.
1 class picture = 1 unit
1 8X10 = 1 unit
2 5X7 = 1 unit
1 5X7 and 4 wallets = 1 unit
1 5X7 and 1 3.5X5 and 2 wallets = 1 unit
8 wallets = 1 unit
If you would like to see samples of Emily's work you can visit her blog at: www.carpediemphotography.blogspot.com

Field Trip:
On October 22nd we will be going to the pumpkin patch on a field trip. This outing will take the place of our regular preschool day. Please note that I will not be transporting children. Please plan on attending the field trip with your child (younger siblings are welcome to join us!). I will be needing a few parents to volunteer as group leaders on the field trip (4 parents for the a.m. class, 3 parents for the p.m. class). Group leaders will be working with three or four children on different activities while at the pumpkin patch. If you would like to be a group leader on the field trip, please let me know.

If you have any questions about pictures or about the field trip, please call or email. Thanks!

First Week of School

Finally! I have the blog up and running! Here is a recap of how our first week went:

Tuesday:
I had a fun first day of school, and I hope your kids did, too. Today we spent a lot of time talking about how things are going to go in the classroom. We talked about how to sit when we gather on the carpet (criss-cross applesauce...have your child show you if you don't know what this is!), went over a few classroom rules, and talked about the "Sad Chair". The Sad Chair seemed to make an impact on the kids, so I thought I had better explain what it is. The Sad Chair is a designated chair we have in the classroom that a child is asked to sit in if, after a warning, they are not following the classroom rules. It is called the Sad Chair because I feel so sad if they are not getting to participate in what the rest of the class is doing. If a child ever has to visit our Sad Chair, it is up to them to decide when they are ready to follow the classroom rules and come and participate. So far our Sad Chair has remained vacant!

We also worked on some projects on our first day. We read the book "Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See?" and started our own Brown Bear books. We also started our "All About Me" books, which we will finish on Thursday.

I hope everyone had a good first day of school. As always, if you have any questions please let me know! See you on Thursday!

Thursday:
We were busy today! We started learning our "Days of the Week" song, went for a circle walk (in the backyard) to look for circles, made flowers out of circle cut-outs, finished out "All About Me" books, and made picture puzzles! We also worked on some pre-writing skills, started learning the Pledge of Allegience, and worked on counting. No wonder the kids were tired at the end of the day! I hope the kids had a great week and are excited to be in school.

Here are some pictures from the A.M. Class:











P.M. Class Pictures: