Preschool House Newsletter
December
Happy Holidays!
Hi everyone. Hope everything at your house is starting to look merry and bright. Here at preschool it's like a Christmas explosion, but hey, that's half the fun of preschool- getting to celebrate every holiday to the max. It's a funny time between Thanksgiving and Christmas. During Thanksgiving break it almost seems like they forget EVERYTHING they've learned over the last three months, then we spend the next three weeks trying to drill it all back in again, and then, just like that, it's Christmas break. Somewhere around late February we get back to where we were before Thanksgiving :) Happens every year. Oh well. We'll fill in the time decking the halls and trimming the tree, and really, is there anything better than that?
Merry Christmas to you and yours
Merry Christmas to you and yours
Preschool Christmas Party
The last day of preschool before Christmas break (Dec 18th and 19th) parents and whomever else wants to come along are invited to our class for the last 30 minutes to see us perform a few Christmas songs and a short Christmas play. We're pretty jazzed about what we keep calling "The Big Show". I'll be recording the whole adorable event and sending out the video for everyone afterwards if someone isn't able to make it. Hope to see you there!
Holiday Break
No school from December 22 through January 2nd. See you all back on January 5th or 6th (I'll be sending home payment envelopes and snack calendars those days too)
And Here's The Pictures...
Quick note, I got a new phone a few days ago, and without thinking forgot to transfer over my pictures that I hadn't saved yet. November preschool pictures are lost forever. Here's a few that I took the first week of December to make up for it.
Sleigh Ride
Scouts honor, they came up with this themselves. There was a quick moment when I almost told them to stop racing around the house like this, but then I really couldn't come up with a good reason why not. Besides, it was so darn clever!
Share and share alike
Scarcity of resources is one tactic I use to force preschoolers into problem solving social situations. Sharing and being polite while someone is way way in your bubble is a lesson many adults still need to learn.
Sleigh Ride Take 2
This is a pack of reindeer...again, all thought up on their own. My heart just warms when I see such creative dramatic play.
Paint the Town
You may have noticed that we like paint around here. It's a good medium to have on hand to use with a whole host of tools.
Dressing Up
I'm a bit of a lazy preschool teacher. You don't see many dress up clothes around my classroom because its too much work for just me helping them put them on and take them off again. We do wear a lot of hats, though. Costumes are a great way for kids to easily create or enter play with a defined role that's easy for them to decipher and navigate.
Letters, any way we can.
We're not just growing readers around here. We're growing kids who love to read. There's a difference. Kids who love to read are excited and engaged, and whom, long after they learn to read, are excited about both reading and writing. That all starts now with experiences around print that are fun and interesting.
Taking Turns
This reindeer is waiting for his turn to pull the sleigh (which, oddly enough, was more popular than riding in the sleigh). These preschoolers can spontaneously organize turn taking and then wait patiently for their turn without help, intervention or reminders. Big stuff.
The Small Things
This here is small play. Small play is story based play that revolves around blocks, figurines, basically, anything small. Play like this is actually a amazing vehicle for math and critical thinking skills.
Sleigh Ride Take 3
It's an action shot. Santa was on his way to deliver legos to some "sleeping" preschoolers who had written him a letter requesting legos. A friendly reindeer delivered it to him. Just another typical preschool day.