Room 11 Newsletter
September 12 - October 2, 2017
Integrated Learning
- making skin color play dough
- sibling graph
- ME color code
- puppets
- hand pin punch
- painting paper plate faces
- brown and white egg experiment
Science
Pre-K students use their five senses: hearing, sight, smell, taste, and touch to make observations about their indoor and outdoor environments. As scientists, we talked about the importance of asking questions and finding ways to test the question. Your children are learning about colors and light. We started this unit by reading Mouse Paint, which shows how three white mice learn about the primary colors: red, yellow, and blue and then mix the primary colors to discover the secondary colors: orange, green, and purple. The students explore at color centers that allow them to sort by color, use language to play color games, write and draw about color, mix color filters on glasses, create an ordered rainbow, and color mixing. Your children are very curious about the Lamplighter chickens, cow, pig, and goats and the beautiful wildflowers and grasses of the Blackland Prairie, which surrounds the Innovation Lab.
Literacy
We will be studying letters T and L. We will be reading When Tilly Turtle Came to Tea and The Lamb That Loved to Laugh. Some activities include:
- searching for turtle eggs in the sand
- toothbrush painting
- ink on the "I"
- ice cube painting
- pin punch
- letter tracing
Art
In art, EC students begin their year by making self-portraits and family portraits. Next, they will work with primary colors - red, yellow, and blue - while practicing skills in painting, drawing, printmaking, and designing. Ask your child if they will teach you the primary color song!
Social Studies
- Family portraits
- Dramatic play with families and houses
- Building homes with popsicle sticks
- Book page - my favorite type of home
Environmental Science
Please help your nature explorer to have a safe and fun time outdoors by wearing athletic shoes (not sandals) and easy care clothing to school daily!
PreK students are actively exploring our gardens, looking for colors, smells and sounds in nature.
Learning to cooperate, how to be respectful of nature and responsible for their own actions are goals for our classes all year. We have many sights, sounds and smells to observe in our Lamplighter outdoor environment.
Every student has selected a rock to take care of in their class this year. Their personal rock is also called a “listening rock’ because sometimes the children may want to hold or talk to their rock when they are happy, or sad or sleepy etc. Their rock is a great listener!
Drama
The theme in Pre-K this month is “All About Me” so we’ve been using the five things we need to play pretend (head, arms, legs, voice, movement) to show some of our favorite things, such as animals and food. Did you know that an ice cream cone can go “woof”? Did you know that you have to use one arm to make an elephant’s head? This is some of the fun we’ve been having. Continue the fun at home with your child’s other favorite things and have them concentrate on head, arms, legs, voice, and movement.
Spanish
P.E.
Welcome to Physical Education with Mrs. Seeds! Your child will have P.E. in the EC Gym for 30-minutes at least twice a rotation. Good athletic shoes are a must for participation, so check your child's calendar and make sure they are dressed and ready for P.E.! We'll start this week with classroom expectations to lay the foundation for playing and learning in a safe and respectful environment.
Woodworking
Students were eager to visit the woodworking shop. They were able to tour the shop and learn about classroom rules and procedures. We briefly introduced some of the tools they will be working with this year. They will begin their first project soon.
Technology
Students will begin the school year exploring beginning sounds in words and 1:1 correspondence with our good friend, Osmo. Osmo is an interactive iPad based app that allows the kids to interface with characters and activities on the screen using tactile number and letter tiles and white boards. We will also begin our coding curriculum by playing a cooperative group coding game geared towards our September theme, All About Me!
Important Dates
September 13 - School Pictures
September 15 - Playground and planting visit 2:30 PM
October 9 - Columbus Day (no school)
October 13 - Carnival
October 19 & 20 - Conferences (Please sign up on the PTC wizard if you have not)