Wednesday, December 18, 2013

WORK, WORK, WORK YOUR HANDS; MAKE YOUR FINGERS STRONG.

During December we have also been working a lot with our hands, trying to strengthen our fingers. Strong fingers will make the transition into actual writing much easier. There are many things you can do with your child to help in this task. Have them play with play-dough or clay. Let them screw nuts and bolts together. Make sure they play with toys with smaller pieces. I cannot express to you how important strong fingers are to your child's academic development, so please take this break as a time to work these vital muscles.


9

OUR GINGERBREAD MEN

We have been working on kinds of projects during the month of December. Our Gingerbread Day was especially popular. First, we decorated a gingerbread person to hang on our tree.
Then, we ate gingerbread men for snack!!!! What could possibly be tastier than that?
YUMMY!!!!!

Monday, December 9, 2013

THE MUSIC MAN


We had one of our dads come to school and share with us some great information
about the saxophone. He talked about the
different types of instruments and
then entertained us with some real live
jazz music. What a great way to
start off the morning!


Thursday, December 5, 2013

Oh, Christmas Tree

Let the decorating begin! This month we will be working on our Christmas decorations and ornaments. Almost all of these will stay at school to help decorate our classroom. All of your child's creations will come home right before Christmas break for you to enjoy.

Thursday, November 21, 2013

ARIEL

This is Ariel.
 If your child has been talking about a dog in the classroom, this is her! She is a rescue dog that became part of the Knudsen household on October 1st. She is sweet, friendly and tolerant. I try to bring her to school with me on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The children really love having her there and it is good for her to get used to the daily chaos we call school. It is also a lesson for the children on how we should treat both animals we know and those we don't. It's a win-win to have animals at school!






Sunday, November 17, 2013

OUR YUMMY MAYFLOWER SNACK

During the past week, we have been discussing the very first Thanksgiving at school. On Friday, we brought the week to a yummy close by making our own edible Mayflowers!
First we had to make the sail by threading a stick pretzel through the holes on a small piece of paper. We then frosted a small cake donut to make the hull. Finally, each child added the sail to the hull to make their very own yummy Mayflower! Needless to say, this project was a huge hit.


Tuesday, November 12, 2013

OUR THANKFUL FEATHERS




Here some of the children are decorating their Thankful Feather. The feather lists what the child is thankful for and then he/she decorates it. Picking up such tiny things to glue on really works those finger muscles that are so important when learning how to write.  Each feather is then added to our thanksgiving turkey for everyone to see and enjoy.

Here is the final product! We all think it looks pretty fancy!
GOBBLE,GOBBLE!


Friday, November 8, 2013

FALL HAS FINALLY ARRIVED!

 
Here we are as we continue to practice our sharing and cooperating skills. We are also working on communicating with one another in-stead of tattling.
 
 

The cool winds of Autumn have finally arrived.
Another skill we will begin to work on during the Fall season is putting on our jackets by ourselves!
It's really amazing what your children are able to do on their own.

Sunday, October 27, 2013

AS WE PLAY.....WE LEARN

It's preschool, therefor, we play. We play outside on the playground, and we play in the classroom. We play together, and we play alone. We play during circle time and we play during snack time. A game can be made out of almost anything, and games make all things more fun. The more fun it is, the more a child is going to want to be involved. The more involved a child is, the more he/she will learn.
WE PLAY AND, AS WE PLAY, WE LEARN.
We learn how to cooperate, and our vocabulary expands. We learn empathy by playing with others. We learn to listen and wait our turn. Our patience increases.
Our imagination takes flight as we problem solve and invent play scenarios. At this age, play is our lives and it is how we learn.
Here we are as we use our words, our patience, and our cooperation skills! 

 
 To read more about the importance of play, you can visit:

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

PUMPKIN PATCH FUN!!!!

Today we had our field trip to the YMCA Pumpkin Patch. It was an absolutely beautiful day to spend outside with the children. First, they got to choose a pumpkin from the patch. 
 
 Then the children spent some time decorating their pumpkins.
              


Saturday, October 19, 2013

A VISIT FROM THE FIRE TRUCK

The fire truck, along with some real life firemen, came to visit the school last week. Being so up close and personal brought out mixed emotions in many of the children, but they were definitely all in awe. They did their best to listen to the firemen explain what exactly they do and tell about the equipment they use. We also discussed fire safety.
 Of course, the best part was getting to get on the fire truck!