Wow! I apologize that it's been so long since my last post! Life has gotten away from me just a bit! So here goes, a little game of catch up!
As of this past week, we are up to working on the letter Ii. Beginning with the letter Ff, we started talking about seasons and doing activities using fall colors. For letter Gg, since that was the week of Thanksgiving, we, as you may have noticed, did many activities with ghosts. For the letter Hh, we focused on harvest and revisited the fall/autumn season, decorating the room with our handmade scarecrows and paint/wax paper leaf prints. It looks amazing in our classroom! This past week, we talked about the letter Ii. We added the next color, indigo, to our rainbow and began singing the rainbow song ("Red, orange, yellow, green followed by blue, then it's indigo and violet, that's the rainbow song for you!") Since Thanksgiving is approaching, we are learning about the pilgrims and the first Thanksgiving. Our Ii connection is the indians that helped the pilgrims build, plant, hunt and harvest.
For math, we are now up to counting by 5's and 10's to 60! I am constantly amazed at how quick and SMART my students are! They are such sponges at this age! We continue to work on patterns of increased complexity and are playing such games as Bingo and matching numbers to objects, to identify our numbers through 12.
Over the next few weeks we will be working on identifying, spelling and writing our last names. We will also be recognizing and categorizing the difference between letters (on their own) and groups of letters (that form words). You can practice this at home, as well, listing single letters and then words having your child identify which is which. (They are not reading the words, however.)
Mark your calendars! November 22nd is the Family Feast for our class! Each family is asked to bring their favorite dish, enough to feed 8. More details to follow!
In December, there will be an all school Christmas pageant and each class is doing a song. Our class will be singing all verses of Frosty the Snowman! So practice this song at any and every opportunity!
I will send you the lyrics (you'd be shocked how quickly we forget)!
Friday, November 11, 2011
Monday, October 3, 2011
Week of October 3rd
Hi all! I have fallen a bit behind on updating the blog! Allow me to catch you up on all of the awesome things going on in the classroom!
Last week's letter of the week was Dd. We began a thematic unit on dinosaurs which we have extended into this week for the letter Ee. Your child has been learning such words as: extinct, excavating and edmontosaurus. I continue to encourage the kiddos to bring in an item to contribute to our "Letter of the Week" book. They get Treasure Box on Friday's if they bring in at least one item, word or picture. We have an excavating station for centers and have brought in many other fun dinosaur activites to cater to the many ways children learn.
Last week we worked on blending yellow and blue to make the color green. We are working our way through the rainbow (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet) so our next color will be blue.
For math we are learning about the number 9. This week's addition problem is 5+4=9. So up to this point, your child has been exposed to the following addition problems: 1+1, 2+2, 3+3, 4+4, and 5+4. They are doing a TERRIFIC job with adding!
We are also working on positioning words such as: over, under, top, bottom, on, off, next to. These are basic skills that are part of the Early Childhood Learning Standards. Be sure to use these words while playing games with your child so that they get very used to the true meaning of each (you would be surprised how something that seems so basic and simple to us can actually be tricky for 4 and 5 year olds)!
While I have your attention ;) I wanted to make sure that you all understand that your children are in Transitional Kindergarten! I know how easy it can be to want to push and make your child excel and be ahead of the game. This is great and I will never discourage you from doing so! However, do not forget that everything has an order and this remains true for the developmental stages of preschoolers on through elementary schoolers. Don't try to put the horse before the carriage! I have an amazing, smart, energetic, enthusiatic group of learners and they are doing incredible work for 4 and 5 year olds! If they write their E backwards or with too many lines, if they make their lowercase e upside down, if their name is written out of order or backwards...DON'T WORRY!!! This is COMPLETELY NORMAL!!!! You can casually remind them the correct way to do it but don't overdo it. Yes, it is very important that students learn the correct way to form the letters and numbers. But at this time, they are just experimenting with the exposure they are receiving to the numbers and letters. In January, we begin the structured curriculum which will focus on how to correctly form each letter. So have NO fear, we WILL get there! But for now, relax, enjoy watching your child attempt to make the letters and numbers the way they see them. Encourage inventive spelling if your child is ready (example: to spell the word JUMP your child may write JP.) Applaud their inventive spelling and as of right now, do not try and fix it! The vowel sounds come very last in the process of hearing and processing the phonemes. If your child feels that they are constantly being corrected, their confidence will diminish and they may just decide to throw in the towel. Encourage, reinforce and give lots of positive feedback to create dedicated, successful and confident learners!!!!
Last week's letter of the week was Dd. We began a thematic unit on dinosaurs which we have extended into this week for the letter Ee. Your child has been learning such words as: extinct, excavating and edmontosaurus. I continue to encourage the kiddos to bring in an item to contribute to our "Letter of the Week" book. They get Treasure Box on Friday's if they bring in at least one item, word or picture. We have an excavating station for centers and have brought in many other fun dinosaur activites to cater to the many ways children learn.
Last week we worked on blending yellow and blue to make the color green. We are working our way through the rainbow (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet) so our next color will be blue.
For math we are learning about the number 9. This week's addition problem is 5+4=9. So up to this point, your child has been exposed to the following addition problems: 1+1, 2+2, 3+3, 4+4, and 5+4. They are doing a TERRIFIC job with adding!
We are also working on positioning words such as: over, under, top, bottom, on, off, next to. These are basic skills that are part of the Early Childhood Learning Standards. Be sure to use these words while playing games with your child so that they get very used to the true meaning of each (you would be surprised how something that seems so basic and simple to us can actually be tricky for 4 and 5 year olds)!
While I have your attention ;) I wanted to make sure that you all understand that your children are in Transitional Kindergarten! I know how easy it can be to want to push and make your child excel and be ahead of the game. This is great and I will never discourage you from doing so! However, do not forget that everything has an order and this remains true for the developmental stages of preschoolers on through elementary schoolers. Don't try to put the horse before the carriage! I have an amazing, smart, energetic, enthusiatic group of learners and they are doing incredible work for 4 and 5 year olds! If they write their E backwards or with too many lines, if they make their lowercase e upside down, if their name is written out of order or backwards...DON'T WORRY!!! This is COMPLETELY NORMAL!!!! You can casually remind them the correct way to do it but don't overdo it. Yes, it is very important that students learn the correct way to form the letters and numbers. But at this time, they are just experimenting with the exposure they are receiving to the numbers and letters. In January, we begin the structured curriculum which will focus on how to correctly form each letter. So have NO fear, we WILL get there! But for now, relax, enjoy watching your child attempt to make the letters and numbers the way they see them. Encourage inventive spelling if your child is ready (example: to spell the word JUMP your child may write JP.) Applaud their inventive spelling and as of right now, do not try and fix it! The vowel sounds come very last in the process of hearing and processing the phonemes. If your child feels that they are constantly being corrected, their confidence will diminish and they may just decide to throw in the towel. Encourage, reinforce and give lots of positive feedback to create dedicated, successful and confident learners!!!!
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Week of September 19th
This week we have been learning so many things! But the best part is, the kids are having so much fun they don't even know they are learning a thing!
The letter of the week is Cc...ask your child to make the c sound for you. It is an unvoiced sound and they have been told to correct YOU if you make the Cc sound voiced: /k/- correct, /kuh/- not correct!!! We have been sorting and listening to words that have the initial C sound. We are also beginning to "use our sounds" to write simple CVC (consonant, vowel, consonant) words such as cat and hat. We are learning the alphabet chant which teaches the sounds for each letter. To incorporate movement, we are learning the signs for each letter.
We continue to work on our 5 senses, focusing on the sense of smell and the sense of touch. We began the week smelling scents in bottles and recording our predictions on a chart. We will finish the week playing "feely sock" games in which the students use solely their sense of touch to predict what they are feeling. (And yes, we use the word "prediction" in the classroom!)
8 is the lucky nmber of the week! This number is particularly difficult to learn to write. I am teaching them to begin by writing an S and then connecting the two ends. We are revisiting the number 4, as well, and learning that 4 + 4 = 8. We will continue to focus on the numbers 1-10 for the next couple of weeks. During calendar time, however, we count up to the number of days we've been in school thus far (32). We also count by fives up to that number.
To continue on with the letter Cc, we talked about the word CREATE and then used pipe cleaners to create anything we wanted. Students then dictated what they created and we displayed all creations on the art wall.
Homework will continue to be bringing in a word, object or picture of something that has the initial sound that corresponds with the letter of the week. All students who bring something in will receive "treasure box" on Friday's. As much as I LOVE and adore pictures that the students draw themselves to contribute to the letter of the week collection, I am not able to put those pictures in the letter of the week book as they aren't always distinguishable...please encourage your child to hunt around their environment for pictures, objects or words!
The letter of the week is Cc...ask your child to make the c sound for you. It is an unvoiced sound and they have been told to correct YOU if you make the Cc sound voiced: /k/- correct, /kuh/- not correct!!! We have been sorting and listening to words that have the initial C sound. We are also beginning to "use our sounds" to write simple CVC (consonant, vowel, consonant) words such as cat and hat. We are learning the alphabet chant which teaches the sounds for each letter. To incorporate movement, we are learning the signs for each letter.
We continue to work on our 5 senses, focusing on the sense of smell and the sense of touch. We began the week smelling scents in bottles and recording our predictions on a chart. We will finish the week playing "feely sock" games in which the students use solely their sense of touch to predict what they are feeling. (And yes, we use the word "prediction" in the classroom!)
8 is the lucky nmber of the week! This number is particularly difficult to learn to write. I am teaching them to begin by writing an S and then connecting the two ends. We are revisiting the number 4, as well, and learning that 4 + 4 = 8. We will continue to focus on the numbers 1-10 for the next couple of weeks. During calendar time, however, we count up to the number of days we've been in school thus far (32). We also count by fives up to that number.
To continue on with the letter Cc, we talked about the word CREATE and then used pipe cleaners to create anything we wanted. Students then dictated what they created and we displayed all creations on the art wall.
Homework will continue to be bringing in a word, object or picture of something that has the initial sound that corresponds with the letter of the week. All students who bring something in will receive "treasure box" on Friday's. As much as I LOVE and adore pictures that the students draw themselves to contribute to the letter of the week collection, I am not able to put those pictures in the letter of the week book as they aren't always distinguishable...please encourage your child to hunt around their environment for pictures, objects or words!
Monday, September 12, 2011
Week of September 12th
This week we are continuing to work on rhyming using Green Eggs and Ham. The students cut out pictures of rhyming words and put them in an envelope to take home and play rhyme memory with family members. Continue playing other rhyme games at home as rhyming is the very first step in the early literacy process.
We are beginning work on the alphabet chant this week. We are learning the American Sign Language sign for each letter as well as the symbol and sound for each letter.
Our letter of the week is Bb and we are focusing on practicing writing the capital B, recognizing B in print, and listening for words that begin with the /b/ sound. For a home to school connection, have you child list words that start with /b/, notice Bb's in books and magazines, practice writing/tracing in sand or in shaving cream on a cookie sheet (messy but OH so fun)!
For math we are concentrating on the number 6. Ask your child what 3 + 3 equals! We are making designs using six objects, practicing tracing/writing the number six and using one to one correspondence to count to six. For home to school connection, practice other combinations of numbers (using manipulatives such as beans or m&m's) that together equal 6.
In science, we continue to work on our 5 senses. Students are singing the 5 senses song to help them remember each one. This week we are focusing on the sense of hearing.
Homework: Students need to bring in at least one item, picture or word that begins with a Bb. We are using these to create a large alphabet book for our classroom library. Treasure box Friday's for students who bring something in!
Reminder: please send a water bottle or sippy to school with your child daily.
***Be sure to sign up for the Learn N Burn for this Friday night! It starts at 5:30 and you receive 45 minutes of hands on instruction from Yogini Genie on how to assist your child with the fine and gross motor skills targeted in yoga for kids! Then, at 6:15, leave your kiddos with the SUMC staff while you go out and grab a bite to eat, wander the mall or just simply sit in your car and peacefully listen to music! It's free babysitting for a little over 2 hours!!!! Take advantage! ;)
We are beginning work on the alphabet chant this week. We are learning the American Sign Language sign for each letter as well as the symbol and sound for each letter.
Our letter of the week is Bb and we are focusing on practicing writing the capital B, recognizing B in print, and listening for words that begin with the /b/ sound. For a home to school connection, have you child list words that start with /b/, notice Bb's in books and magazines, practice writing/tracing in sand or in shaving cream on a cookie sheet (messy but OH so fun)!
For math we are concentrating on the number 6. Ask your child what 3 + 3 equals! We are making designs using six objects, practicing tracing/writing the number six and using one to one correspondence to count to six. For home to school connection, practice other combinations of numbers (using manipulatives such as beans or m&m's) that together equal 6.
In science, we continue to work on our 5 senses. Students are singing the 5 senses song to help them remember each one. This week we are focusing on the sense of hearing.
Homework: Students need to bring in at least one item, picture or word that begins with a Bb. We are using these to create a large alphabet book for our classroom library. Treasure box Friday's for students who bring something in!
Reminder: please send a water bottle or sippy to school with your child daily.
***Be sure to sign up for the Learn N Burn for this Friday night! It starts at 5:30 and you receive 45 minutes of hands on instruction from Yogini Genie on how to assist your child with the fine and gross motor skills targeted in yoga for kids! Then, at 6:15, leave your kiddos with the SUMC staff while you go out and grab a bite to eat, wander the mall or just simply sit in your car and peacefully listen to music! It's free babysitting for a little over 2 hours!!!! Take advantage! ;)
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Week of September 6th
Wow! What a busy 4 day school week we have!
-We are learning all about the color orange and experimenting with the colors that make orange. We will mix such things as paint, skittles in water, and food coloring to discover that red and yellow make orange.
-For Phonemic Awareness (all about sounds, no print) we are focusing on rhyming using such books as Green Eggs and Ham and The Cat in the Hat. For a home connection, practice rhyming at every opportunity. Give your child a word and have them make 2 rhymes (nonsense words are ok) to go with that word. When in the grocery store and passing say, the apples, ask your child for a word that rhymes with apple.
-We are also beginning a letter of the week. We will keep in sequence with the alphabet to make it easier on all of us! So this week we are beginning the letter Aa. The activites we will do with each letter are: tracing, finding in print, learning it's sound and sign (sign language), listening to music with words that begin with that sound, bringing in realia and/or pictures and/or words from home that begin with that sound, creating mini alphabet books, and many more activities that reach out to every kind of learner. For a home to school connection, have your student identify upper and lower case letter Aa's wherever you go. Also have them tell you the sound the Aa makes and search for things that begin with the letter.
-Homework each week will be to bring in one item, picture or word from home that begins with the letter of the week. On Friday's, students who brought things in will get to choose something from the treasure box. The things students bring in will be used to create a Letter of the Week scrapbook page for an in-class book.
-Word Wall has already been introduced but we will have more focus now that we are learning each letter. Students will begin work on the word wall by alphabetizing their first names. Each week, we will add words to the word wall that we are focusing on within the theme/curriculum.
-For math we are working on the number 7 this week. When working with numbers, we practice tracing the number, counting out that many items, making 1:1 correspondences (touch each object while counting), putting the numbers in order and recognizing greater than and less than. For home to school connections, use buttons, beans, M&M's (anything tangible) for you child to count. Write any number 1-7 and have your child count out that many items. Or you lay out a small number of items and have your child count (making contact and assigning a number) to each object. Extend or modify activities as necessary to your child's current needs.
I will get pictures posted as soon as next week!!!! So tune in and stay continued!!!
-We are learning all about the color orange and experimenting with the colors that make orange. We will mix such things as paint, skittles in water, and food coloring to discover that red and yellow make orange.
-For Phonemic Awareness (all about sounds, no print) we are focusing on rhyming using such books as Green Eggs and Ham and The Cat in the Hat. For a home connection, practice rhyming at every opportunity. Give your child a word and have them make 2 rhymes (nonsense words are ok) to go with that word. When in the grocery store and passing say, the apples, ask your child for a word that rhymes with apple.
-We are also beginning a letter of the week. We will keep in sequence with the alphabet to make it easier on all of us! So this week we are beginning the letter Aa. The activites we will do with each letter are: tracing, finding in print, learning it's sound and sign (sign language), listening to music with words that begin with that sound, bringing in realia and/or pictures and/or words from home that begin with that sound, creating mini alphabet books, and many more activities that reach out to every kind of learner. For a home to school connection, have your student identify upper and lower case letter Aa's wherever you go. Also have them tell you the sound the Aa makes and search for things that begin with the letter.
-Homework each week will be to bring in one item, picture or word from home that begins with the letter of the week. On Friday's, students who brought things in will get to choose something from the treasure box. The things students bring in will be used to create a Letter of the Week scrapbook page for an in-class book.
-Word Wall has already been introduced but we will have more focus now that we are learning each letter. Students will begin work on the word wall by alphabetizing their first names. Each week, we will add words to the word wall that we are focusing on within the theme/curriculum.
-For math we are working on the number 7 this week. When working with numbers, we practice tracing the number, counting out that many items, making 1:1 correspondences (touch each object while counting), putting the numbers in order and recognizing greater than and less than. For home to school connections, use buttons, beans, M&M's (anything tangible) for you child to count. Write any number 1-7 and have your child count out that many items. Or you lay out a small number of items and have your child count (making contact and assigning a number) to each object. Extend or modify activities as necessary to your child's current needs.
I will get pictures posted as soon as next week!!!! So tune in and stay continued!!!
Friday, September 2, 2011
Week of Sept 1st
This week we learned all about the color red!
Music: We learned the "Red" song...ask your child to sing it to you!
Math: We used different colored apple cut outs to create patterns of our own!
Science/Sensory: We also made red play dough and took turns adding the ingredients and stirring it until it was just the right consistency. We are discovering the world of magnets this week, as well.
Literacy: The Word Wall got a bit of attention this week...we placed the word "red" under its initial letter Rr and discovered that the letter Rr is more towards the end of the alphabet.
Every Friday morning we visit Yogini Geanie for 30 minutes (9:15-9:45). If you would ever like to visit and sit in on this fantastic children's yoga class, please feel free to drop by!
Music: We learned the "Red" song...ask your child to sing it to you!
Math: We used different colored apple cut outs to create patterns of our own!
Science/Sensory: We also made red play dough and took turns adding the ingredients and stirring it until it was just the right consistency. We are discovering the world of magnets this week, as well.
Literacy: The Word Wall got a bit of attention this week...we placed the word "red" under its initial letter Rr and discovered that the letter Rr is more towards the end of the alphabet.
Every Friday morning we visit Yogini Geanie for 30 minutes (9:15-9:45). If you would ever like to visit and sit in on this fantastic children's yoga class, please feel free to drop by!
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Welcome to Mrs. Foster's TK blogspot!
Most of you have probably noticed that my technology skills leave something to be desired! So it is with much pleasure I am inviting you to join this blog! Refer to this blog on a weekly basis to keep up with what your child is doing in class, see pictures and to stay up to date with school events. Be sure to become a follower and you will automatically receive notifications from our blogspot that I have posted a new one.
Reminder: Should you ever need to get a hold of me, please email, call or pop into the classroom before or after school! My email is foster@scottsdaleumc.org and you can call the SUMC Preschool office to reach me, as well. However, it may be best to jot down my cell number should you need to get a hold of me after hours: 480.586.6573.
Reminder: Should you ever need to get a hold of me, please email, call or pop into the classroom before or after school! My email is foster@scottsdaleumc.org and you can call the SUMC Preschool office to reach me, as well. However, it may be best to jot down my cell number should you need to get a hold of me after hours: 480.586.6573.
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