Welcome Back! Pre & Post Break

Hello parents, I hope this post finds you well and rested from your holiday break. I decided to wait to post only because the snack reminders and such would be to far in advance if I would have posted right when break started.  

BEFORE BREAK:

Monday, Tiger broke into our snack and enjoyed some raisins!




Tuesday, Tiger must have gotten stuck in the gel on our door! He just 'hung out' all day long!




Wednesday, Tiger took a nap in our Kleenex Box.



We created the gifts and wrapping paper for our parents. This worked on our fine motor skills.  We also worked on finishing up our other projects that worked on patterning and measuring.  



We did have time for a letter of the week.  The letter of the week was Uu. We learned the sign language for a letter, the literacy link sound symbols, the letter sound, and looking at and writing it in both capital letters and lower case letters.  Click here to view the many ways we learn the letter of the week!

Each week we watch letter videos from "Have Fun Teaching" and the students are really picking up the names of letters, formations, and the sounds of letters.  Check out these videos with you child!  Click HERE.

The Tuesday project of letter of the week is to decorate a letter with something that starts with the letter. This week we decorated the letter U with mini Umbrellas.  On Thursday, our letter of the week project was to read a page from our alphabet book, U is for Umbrella.

Please visit the whole website (4k, drop down menu, Gallery) to see your child's first day photo as well as photos from through out the week.  If you would like the first day photo, please email me and I can send you the digital copy.

AFTER BREAK:
We watched the movie Happy Feet and looked for the different polar animals we saw in the movie. Students made rip penguins.  Students were given penguin templates and they had no feathers!  Students had to rip up paper feathers and make sure to cover all the skin. They then had to make feet and a beak for these penguins.  We also made a penguin out of an oreo cookie.  We enjoyed that snack!

We will continue to talk about, list, and find the adaptations of various polar animals.

The next Reading with the Stars is January 14, 2014.

Important Notes:

• We are supposed to continue to have record cold weather and high windchills.  Dress for the weather.  Please send your child dressed for the weather as we go outside as long as it is not raining or below 0*(students are more than welcome to bring layers daily or to leave in their lockers)  It may also be time to change out the change of clothes to make sure they are weather appropriate.  If you send a new change of clothes, we will send the warm weather clothes in their backpacks.  We go outside on TUESDAYS AND THURSDAYS, Extended day kids go out EVERY DAY.
• Folders. Please be checking your child's daily folder each night.  We put notes on the notebook pages in their folders as well as any notes we may have for you.  Artwork is also sent home this way. As we start letter of the week, we will also start sending home homework to help reinforce the letter concept and identification.  Please work on this with you child to help the students make the connection between home and school. 
• Also, Please check the student's Wednesday Folders.  Please try to take info out and return the folder and any forms/info/payments in those folders a day or two after receiving. 
• Literacy Bags come home every three weeks.  Students will have a week to complete the project inside and can then return the bag with completed sheets in it on TUESDAYS.
• Library Books come every week.  We go to library on Monday and student have the opportunity to check out a book and keep it for a week. It can be kept in their back packs or at home, but please remember to bring it on Mondays. 

Next Week:
Theme: Polar Animals
Letter of the Week: Pp
Snack: Bonnet Family