Preschool Reminders

Fall/Winter Extra Clothes Needed!

We are in the process of swapping out your child’s extra clothes.  Please send in 

another FULL set of fall/winter clothing for your child to keep at school (pants, shirt,

socks, underwear, etc.).  We will return any summer clothes that we have left in the 

classroom!

Please put clothes in a Ziploc bag (or plastic shopping bag) with your child's name 

clearly written on it.

Outside Play

Now that the colder weather is here, Please REMEMBER to send your child into school every day dressed to play outside!!  (Coats, snow pants-when there is snow on the ground, hats, mittens, boots, etc.)  We try to go outside every day, weather permitting.

Remember to LABEL all your child’s belongings!!

If you send your child into school wearing boots, PLEASE don’t forget to pack a pair of shoes/sneakers in his/her backpack to change into.  For Safety Reasons, we ask that you NOT send in slippers.

Thank you!

Preschool News

Our next curriculum unit will focus on “Families”.  During circle we will discuss how all families are different.  Some families are very big (have a lot of family members) and some are small (have a few family members).  Students will have the opportunity to share who is in their family (i.e., mommy, daddy, brother, sister, grandmother, etc.) along with their special “Family Project” (Family project details went home this week…Decorate your house).  Don’t forget to include a family photo!!  Finally, we will talk about all the wonderful things families can do together (i.e. play together, celebrate family traditions, go on vacations/trips, etc.).
We are looking forward to a wonderful month!!

Home/School Connection

Reading books with your child is one of the best ways to help him or her develop a love for books.  Loving books is one of the most important keys to your child’s success in school. In addition to reading to your child, talking to him or her about each book will help build the love of reading. It will also build his or her knowledge and vocabulary. Asking questions teaches your child to express his or her ideas.

Here are some questions that will help your child build his/her literacy skills.  As you read to your child, stop and ask these questions:

• What do you think is happening on this page?

• How is this character feeling?

• How can you tell?

• Have you ever felt that way?

Help your child find names for the feelings shown in the pictures.  Help your child connect the events in the book to his or her own life.

Reminders

No School - Wednesday November 25th - Friday November 27th

Parent Teacher Conferences ~ Friday December 4th

Conferences are scheduled in 15-minute intervals.  Please call the main office at (508) 541-8166 to schedule your child’s conference.

**If possible, please make other arrangements for your child(ren) while you attend the conference**

The ECDC will not have school on this day!  A parent questionnaire will be sent home next week…Please take a moment to fill it out and return to me by Wednesday Dec. 2, 2015.

Thank you!

We hope everyone has a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving!

Preschool News ~ Week of October 26, 2015

Last week we started our new unit “Life on a Farm”. During our group discussions the children were able to identify a variety of animals that live on a farm (cows, pigs, sheep, chickens, horses, chicks, etc.) as well as the different fruits and vegetables that can be harvested.  The children enjoyed sharing personal stories about experiences when visiting local farms (i.e. going on hayrides, apple and pumpkin picking).

For a special activity this week the children enjoyed making Pumpkin Seeds.  We opened up a BIG orange pumpkin, explored the inside contents, dug out all the seeds and then we baked them.  Yum Yum!!

We read the story “The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything” written by Linda Williams.

In this book, there is a little old lady who goes for a walk in the forest.  On her way home, she sees various clothing items that make noises, but she is not afraid.

The shoes went CLOMP, CLOMP.

The pants went WIGGLE, WIGGLE.

The shirt went SHAKE, SHAKE.

The gloves went CLAP, CLAP.

The tall black hat went NOD, NOD.

  She walked faster after seeing and hearing each item.  She was just about home when she saw a pumpkin head.  The pumpkin head went BOO, BOO!!

For our circle activity, we sequenced the story using picture cards (that matched the story) as well as making all the noises with the actions.

Home-School Connection

Explore Pumpkins!!  Carve out a pumpkin and save a few seeds, dry them and set them aside until spring.  In the spring, plant them in your garden or yard and hopefully by summer time you will have a nice pumpkin plant

Sensory Table - Cracked Corn

"We have to fill the silo to feed the animals"

Writing Center - Creating a farm scene
with markers, crayons and animal stickers

Working together to build gear towers

"Look at how tall our tower is"
"You have to hold it like this so it doesn't fall"

Exploring the inside of a PUMPKIN
(Scooping out the SEEDS and PULP)

Looking at the inside of a pumpkin
with a magnifying glass

ECDC Curriculum Night ~ Open House

Thursday October 22, 2015

Thank you to everyone who came to our Curriculum Night Open House!

It was a HUGE success and so much fun for ALL our families!

Classroom 205 ~ Exploring Fruits and Vegetables from the INSIDE OUT

Apple Prints

Exploring vegetables with a magnifying glass!

What's Inside?

Red and Green Pepper Prints

Preschool News ~ Weeks of 9/28/15 & 10/5/15

We have been learning our school rules and classroom routines.  Here are some of our classroom/school rules we talked about:

We use our walking feet in the classroom

We use kind words with our friends

We share and take turns

We have kind actions with friends (i.e., high fives, thumbs up, hand shakes)

We are learning how to play at each center (learning to share and take-turns) and how to be a “good listener” in circle time (Eyes watching, ears listening, voices quiet and body calm).  Each day we have classroom helpers.  Some of the different jobs are: Schedule Helper (this person tells us about our daily schedule), Friend Counter (this person counts the number of friends in school), Weather Helper (this person gives the class the daily weather report), Clean-up Bells (this person rings the bells to indicate it is time to clean-up), Snack and Lunch Helpers (these friends set the tables for snack and lunch), Line Leader and Caboose.

Throughout the remainder of this month our theme will focus on “Fall on the Farm”.  We will learn all about Farms, Farm Life (People who live and work on farms, animals, etc.) and talk about all the wonderful changes that occur during the season of Fall (Changes we can see, hear, feel, smell.  The weather becomes cooler, the leaves change color and fall to the ground, and it is also a time to pick apples and pumpkins, etc.).

We are looking forward to another fun-filled unit!

If your child has any favorite Fall or Farm story they'd like to share, please feel free to send it in!  Don't forget to label all books.

Screening and Assessments

All new students entering the ECDC will be screened using the Early Screening Inventory-revised.  (Students eligible for this screening are 3 years-olds or young 4 year-olds who will attend the ECDC for 2 years).  This is a brief survey of various areas of development including language, cognition, perception, and motor development.  The purpose of this screening is to identify children who might need extra support with classroom activities.  Parents/guardians will be informed, through a letter, about the screening results.  If your child is eligible for the screening you will receive an ESI-R Parent Questionnaire form in your child's mailbox.  Screenings will begin the third week in October.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask!

Save the Date!

ECDC Open House is scheduled for Thursday October 22nd from 5:30 – 7:00 p.m.

More information to follow!

All are WELCOME!

Miss Becky

Special Activity ~ Making Play-Dough

First we read our recipe and gathered all our ingredients!

We added all the ingredients - Flour, Salt, Water, Oil and Cream of Tarter.

We stirred and stirred!

What colors did we make?  (Hint - One batch we mixed
two colors, Red and Yellow)

Finally - LOTS of play-dough FUN!!

"All About Me"

We had a lot of fun this week getting to know each other by sharing our "All About Me" bags!

We all enjoyed listening to friends talk about their families, favorite toys from home and things they like to do when they are not in school.

Some of my favorite things....."My airplane, My pillow, and My Buzz Light Year and Lightening McQueen toys"

"I like to go fishing.  My daddy caught a fish THIS BIG once"

"My Elephant is my favorite toy"

"My favorite toy is my shark.  He is from the movie Jaws" 

"I like to play softball.  This is my team"

"I sat in an airplane.  I want to fly an airplane"

My favorite show......"Daniel Tiger.  He goes places!"