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!!