Fire Drill!

We began the day with our required monthly fire drill. We were sure to tell the kids that this is practice in case we ever had to get out of the building quickly. We would know where to go and how to get there (quickly and quietly). Most seemed ok with this so, if you hear discussion about fires, etc. this is why.

Our sight word this week is "and". We think the kids are really enjoying these songs and being able to identify these words in print. They get so excited when they hear the ones they know when we have the cd playing in the classroom. It's been very rewarding to watch. A few parents had Mrs. Sapp dub a cd of the sight words for them. If you are interested, just bring in a CD disc (not DVD) and she will take care of the rest.

We also had art class with Mrs. Erikson. Today she spoke with the kids about print-making and Mr. Andy Warhol. The kids got to put on smocks and paint repeating images (an acorn with separate stamps for top and bottom of acorn). They are drying at school but turned out super nice! You may want to frame and hang these masterpieces!

We celebrated the number 5 today. Mrs. Eastman asked the kids to remove 5 snap cubes (independently) from a box. They were instructed to put them together either in a line on the ground or stacked from floor up. Some only originally counted out four and understood they needed to go back and get one more. This is an important learning tool when discussing one-to-one coorespondence. Everyone did well.

Each month we change out the items in our centers. Our centers are essentially the shelves in our room. The kids are permitted to "play" with these items in the am when they arrive for about 15 minutes. Each day we also try to alot 15 minutes at the end of the day, too. This is time for them to have some free choice with regard to their learning. Some items are designed to enhance their learning and love for science, math, language arts, and fine arts. Other areas are designed to provide experience "playing" with others and negotiating play time with their peers. Still others are designed to help strengthen their hand muscles to aid in writing. The kids are doing very well putting away the things that they play with. We are still working on reminding them to "find something on a shelf" at times in that they get interested in running around the room or crawling under tables. That's not what this time is about. You may ask your student what they do during "centers".

Finally, we will continue to go outside for as long as we are able. Especially on sunny days! Please help your child put on his/her own coat and hat. We understand that zippers, etc. can be a challenge. But they should be able to pull their coat from the hook and insert both arms independently. Don't do this for them as they will not learn to do it themselves. Additionally, we lose out on gym time if we are putting on 20 coats.

Thanks for all of your support and kind words with regard to our blog and our lessons. We love hearing it and it really keeps us going some days!