Early Learning News
March 2016
March 22nd Supervisor-Led Professional Development
You will begin to hear about this professional development day from your administrator and Lead Teacher in the near future. During the day, there will be many break-out sessions. Two of those sessions will be specific to Pre-K, so please look for those! One session will be regarding technology and the use of Bee-Bots, and the other session will be an opportunity for us to mainly review the use/application of the new report card and updates on formative assessments and cornerstone tasks.
Writing!
It's that time of year when writing activities and centers can become stale. Bring new life back by including photos of your students. Simply take a digital shot, and copy it into a word document. Insert a "talking bubble" shape into your document, and have them create their own stories with their own dialogue.
Bilateral coordination, Visual scanning, and Math!
What an inexpensive way to teach so many skills. The inside plastic cup simply has a picture of pac-man. The outer cup has number stickers (or anything you'd prefer). The student uses fine motor skills to "chomp" the required number by twisting the cup.
Science
This one uses the same concept of working with fine motor skills, but this time, the inner cup has a butterfly sticker. The cup is to be twisted to to land on each flower...but watch out for the competitive bees. Using your own creativity, this simple idea could really be a great learning tool.
School Visits
It is my goal to visit all of the Pre-K and K classrooms within the next few weeks. If there is something specific you would like me to observe, please let me know so that I can schedule accordingly. I love to stop by and see all the learning that is always occurring with our little ones. If I have been to your classroom recently, I may save your visit for later in the school year.
Pre-K Parent/Teacher Conferences
It is a few months out, but it would probably be wise to begin reminding your Pre-K families that Pre-K students will not be in session on May 2nd and May 3rd. Those days have been designated to review the second check-point on the report cards and discuss Kindergarten readiness with each family. Please consider home visits for those that are unable to attend.
Attendance
Below is a link to a PDF that surrounds research and suggestions for the improvement of attendance for early childhood education.
Social and Emotional Tips
Need a short clip to begin a conversation on the improvement of social/emotional skills? Try this one...
Thumper, What Did Your Father Tell You?
Pre-K Cornerstone Tasks
We have recognized that there is a need to embed some math into the Cornerstone Tasks. There is a Pre-K "team" working on some math benchmarking for next year. These formative assessments will help inform your instruction and will give us another data point for discussion with Pre-K families.
Pre-K Enrollment and Kindergarten Readiness
Pre-K enrollment begins the first week in March. Parents and/or families can retrieve an application either on-line or at any elementary school. Additionally, the first day for Kindergarten registration is March 14th. Kindergarten readiness information can be found on the wcpsmd.com web-site.
Pre-K Expansion
We are happy to announce a "new" Pre-K at both Jonathan Hager Elementary School and Williamsport Elementary School. We are very strategic in placement of these classrooms as it is our goal to support those that need access to this vital program the most. Both sites are listed on the new Pre-K application and in informative brochures that are available at many locations.