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!"

Preschool News ~ Week of September 14, 2015

Pete the Cat ~ Rocking in My School Shoes  by:  Eric Litwin

 

This week we read the story Pete the Cat.  Rocking in My School Shoes.  This is a story about a silly cat named Pete that takes his first day of school in stride as he discovers his school and new places such as the library, the cafeteria, and the playground.  Everyone enjoyed singing along!  As an extension to the story,  we watched the video (see attached) and everyone had an opportunity to make their very own page for our classroom book, "ECDC Friends ~ Rocking in our School Shoes". 

 

What is your favorite activity to do in your school shoes?

 

"We're ROCKING in our School Shoes!"

 

"I'm PLAYING in my school shoes"

"I'm BUILDING WITH BLOCKS in my school shoes"

 

"I'm WRITING in my school shoes"

"I'm PAINTING in my school shoes"

Preschool News 9/7/15

Preschool News ~ Week of 9/7/15

What a GREAT first week of Preschool!!

 

Over the next month we will spend a lot of time getting to know our new friends and getting reacquainted with some old friends.  Each week your child will have numerous opportunities to participate in a variety of fun and exciting learning activities.

 

Throughout the month of September our theme is “Building a Classroom Community”.  Some of the skills we will be focusing on will include:  Discussing and following classroom rules and routines (including student safety procedures), learning to navigate and locate different areas of the classroom and begin interacting with classmates by using each others’ names, sharing materials, and taking turns.

Classroom Reminders

**Please remember to send in extra clothes, including socks and underwear (label all belongings)**

**Return all required paperwork (Nursing cards, Student information sheets, Health History, etc.).** 

Scholastic Book Orders are due Friday Sept. 18^th.  Orders can be placed on-line or through the classroom order forms.

 

We are also looking for donations of clean, empty "recyclables" such as plastic jelly containers, yogurt cups, egg cartons, cereal boxes, etc. for our dramatic play center.

 

Here is a peek into our classroom this week!

We Loved Outside Play!

 

 

Discovery Time!





Puzzles

Reading books in our Library Center

Gears - Manipulatives

Down on the Farm - Block Center

Cooking in the Kitchen - Dramatic Play



Have a Wonderful Weekend!!



A Day in Miss Becky's Preschool Class

Arrival

Children arrive, unpack their belongings and get ready for our day.  Arrival routines include such things as signing in at our attendance board (moving names from home to school), taking snacks out of their backpacks and putting them in the cubbies and checking folders for any notes.

 

Welcome Circle

The class comes together to start our day.  During our welcome circle, we gather to go over our daily schedule, choose our classroom jobs (attendance helper, movement helper, center helper, etc.), discuss our weekly theme and talk about our daily learning centers.  Children also participate in music and movement activities.

 

Discovery Centers

During center time the children make an activity choice via the choice board and proceed to their chosen activity.  Discovery centers include dramatic play, block building, fine motor, writing activities, sensory, cooking, group games (whole group or small group), and gross motor games and/or activities. 

 

Snack and Lunch

Snacks and lunches are provided from home (water is available, drinks from home are optional).  Both these times are wonderful opportunities to engage in social interactions with classmates.

 

Good-Bye Circle

At our good-bye circle we take time to reflect on our day.  We talk about what we learned in our centers and what we liked best about the activities that were offered.  This is also a time for us to read a story as a whole group.

 

Motor Room and Playground

Children have the opportunity to participate in a variety of gross motor games and activities (indoors and outdoors).  Once a week, we visit the motor room.  The Occupational Therapist and Physical Therapist set up “activity stations” which focus on a variety of motor skills (i.e. balance, coordination, body strengthening and following movement sequences).