PK3.1 Weekly Newsletter
January 15, 2016- Week 18
Happy New Year Pk Parents,
I hope you all had a wonderful holiday break, judging by the exciting stories your children shared, it sounds like you did! I spent my break backpacking around Patagonia, Chile completing an 80 mile circuit. I shared some photos of my trip with your kids, which didn't excite them nearly as much as the photos of the penguins I had! :) Inside PK 3.1 we started the New Year off with a few additions in our class, Cecilia, Manuela and Sebastian! Knowing that transitions are sometimes hard for a 3/4 year old, we decided to have this week and next be a "refresher week." We started by learning each other’s names and discussing our daily schedule. We talked about our classroom rules and expectations. We read the story “The Kissing Hand" to help remind the children that it’s completely normal to be a little sad or scared at school when they are away from mom and dad. Some of you may remember in the story, the little raccoon is sad and doesn’t want to go to school. The mommy raccoon reveals the secret of the kissing hand by kissing his hand and saying "whenever you feel lonely and need a little loving from home, press your hand to your cheek and think, 'Mommy loves you!' and that very kiss will jump to your face and fill you with toasty warm thoughts." Luckily majority of the kids were very happy to be back and see their teachers and friends again but all insisted on having the heart drawn on their hand anyhow. We had a very full day on Wednesday, starting off in the class looking at our centers and new toys. Ms. Giselle transformed our dramatic center into a construction zone since our next unit will be buildings. We checked on our plants during garden with Ms. Sharon. At the end of the day we had art with Ms. Mirtie who taught us about “warm colors.” They drew a sunset picture which we sent home on Friday! Thursday the kids came to class and practiced signing in our name like we do every morning. Once we came inside had a scavenger hunt to find their names that were hidden in the centers. After they were found we went into small groups. Small groups is an opportunity for me to place your child in centers they don’t usually try or with a group that don’t usually play together. I usually take advantage of this time to do small group projects and discussions along with individual. We then had snack and returned to the class for choice time where they get to pick the center and group they play in. We danced to KooKooKangaroo on gonoodle.com (which I suggest you try out). The class really enjoys dancing and singing to that group and they offer a very easy and goofy songs to follow. We ended Thursday with a long recess before sending everyone home for the afternoon. On Friday we started class with our welcome song and discussed who was at school and who was at home. We then looked at all the beautiful photos you sent in from their vacation. We took a little field trip to see the construction zone at the school (where the new soccer field is). The kids were able to see many tools and trucks and also see a part of the school we don’t normally. Sang our good bye song and sent them off for the weekend! Please share the photos below with your kids and enjoy!
-Ms. Rebekka Puhlman
***Request and Reminders***
**REMINDER** OUR CLASSROOM IS A NUT FREE ZONE. Please check to make sure your children's snack/lunch doesn't contain any nuts.
Have a wonderful weekend:)