February News
Ms. Amanda's Nature Preschool Class
I Love to Read Month
I Love to Read Month!
During the month of February we'll be celebrating I Love to Read month. As part of this month, we will be focusing on an author. The author we will be focusing on is Laura Numeroff. We will be reading her books and learning a bit about her as well as doing a mini cooking unit to go with some books! Also, our class will be having our book exchange in honor of "I Love to Read Month." If anyone is interested in coming in to read to us throughout the month send me an email, we would love to have you!
Also, check out the information below on some important news & upcoming events in preschool. Also featured is Reading Rockets, a great resource for parents on supporting literacy development.
As always, let me know if you have any questions or concerns!
Happy February!
Miss Amanda
Early Literacy Development
Infants, toddlers and preschoolers develop oral language and pre-literacy skills everyday that will help them become readers. It's an exciting and critical time of learning! Visit:
http://www.readingrockets.org/reading-topics/early-literacy-development
Preschool Tour- All Season's Preschool
It was great to be able to connect with other nature preschool teachers to share ideas, strategies, & stories, as well as observe them teaching. I am looking forward to applying some new ideas I learned into our indoor and outdoor classroom experiences!
All Season's Preschool
All Season's Preschool
All Season's Preschool
Dynamic Gymnastics Wednesday February 3rd
Global Play day February 3rd
Valentine's Day Party Friday February 12th
On Friday, February 12th we will be having a Valentine's day exchange to celebrate friendships. It's optional to bring Valentine's, but if you chose to do so, please bring enough for every child in the class (15 students). I sent home the list of students in class with the Valentine Box letter. If you need another one let me know. Also, on the 12th please have your child bring in their box with their name somewhere visible on it! I can't wait to see all the creativity!
Ice Fishing with the DNR Wednesday February 17th
The Minnesota DNR has an awesome program called Fishing in the Neighborhood. DNR FiN specialists will be joining us on Wednesday February 17th th to take the students ice fishing at Jeffers Pond (ice conditions permitting of course). We would love to have parent volunteers on hand to help us: 9:30-11:15am. If you are interested in volunteering, please let me know!
Field Trip to Jeffers Pond Wednesday February 24th
Favorite Book Character Day! Friday February 26th
On Friday, February 26th students are encouraged to dress up as their favorite book character and bring their favorite book that goes along with their costume. Please be sure costumes are appropriate for school and leave any weapon accessories at home. Costumes don't have to be elaborate - for example dressing all in red with homemade puppy ears to be Clifford is plenty!
Report Cards & School Readiness
Report cards were sent home on Monday, February 1st. If you have any questions about them, please don't hesitate to reach out. The skills featured on the report card are important "Kindergarten Readiness" skills. If you follow the daily Schoology updates & view the photos, you'll know the skills are just a small snapshot of the learning that happens at school.
Many of you have asked about ways to help your child with letter and/or number recognition, letter sounds, etc. at home. Here are some general suggestions:
* Keep it FUN!! If your child is getting frustrated or upset, stop. It's important to not let learning become a power struggle.
* NO Flash Cards! Children at this age learn best from meaningful, hands-on learning experiences. If your child is working on letter identification for example, play "Eye Spy" at the grocery store. Give your child a piece of paper with 1 or 2 letters on it & encourage see how many you can find during your next trip to the grocery store. Model saying the letter as you see it - "Look, this cereal starts with the letter 'A'" Have some fun by pointing to the wrong letter and saying "I think this starts with the letter A" - if your child agrees, you can encourage him/her to check on the paper and see if the two letters match in shape.
* Flashlight Games! Who doesn't love playing with flashlights? Hide letters/numbers around the room and have your child find them with flashlights.
* Always Start & End Positive! Children are smart and aware of their abilities. Make sure you end on a positive note with your child feeling confident about him/herself. If your child is struggling, include a letter/number your child is confident with.
* Make Practicing Part of the Daily Routine! Repetition is key. Include practicing letters/numbers as part of your daily routine. If your child doesn't enjoy it - even with fun games, incorporate it into the child earning a preferred activity. For example, it could be part of the "key" to "unlocking" screen time. For example be,fore you can play on the iPad you have to find 5 letters hiding in the room.
* Consider Education-Friendly Screen Time Screen time is a common practice in our families today. As a result, there are MANY great educational apps, shows, YouTube videos out there. Consider balancing these with those your child currently enjoys. Your child might not enjoy them at first, but the "First this one, then your game/show/movie" strategy works great. Also, letting your child have a choice from the options you pick also works great.
* Read Books Every Day! To foster a love for reading & development of literacy skills, it is recommended that you read at least 10 minutes a day to your child.