Week of September 21-25, 2015!

Happy Friday! The days are getting cooler and we are beginning to see more and more jackets come to school! The autumn season is upon us! Here is what we were up to this week:

We are wrapping up our "getting to know you" unit and beginning to transition into conversations on the changing seasons.  We also worked on completing all of the children's portfolios!  They will be all ready for Curriculum Night on October 28th.  We just love watching the children's progress over the years! It is always so fascinating to take a moment to look back to when each child first began school.  It is such an amazing transformation and I am so excited we can be a part of the children's learning foundation! *Sigh* I love my job!

Here's a word from our Preschool Teacher and Music and Movement Specialist, Mary Beth:

"During Music and Movement this week, I brought my name drum to share with the children.  We discovered our names have counts, which in music are called beats.  There were two, three and even four beat names!  We then turned those beats into name dances.  It was a great way for the children to learn each other names while engaging in a fun game."

And a word from our Preschool Teacher, Mrs. M:

"This week we investigated GERMS.  Our group discussed ways we can prevent germs from spreading in our classroom.  Our story about spreading germs was, "Blow Your Nose, Big Bad Wolf" by Steve Smallman.  In the story, the three little pigs houses are blown away when the Big Bad Wolf sneezes, spreading his germs to the little pigs who at the end of the story develop a cold too.  

To visually show germs to the children, we conducted an experiment using bread and an ultraviolet light.   Two pieces of bread were licked.  One piece was placed in a ziplock bag marked germs.  The other piece of bread was placed under the ultraviolet light for several minutes and then placed in a separate ziplock bag.   Stay tuned next week to learn which piece of bread grew more germs!"

And lastly, a word from Ms. Heather, our Pre-K Teacher:

"Last week, the pre-k children began autumn discussions during curriculum time.  We discussed topics such as, "what is different about outside," and "what does a fall tree look like?" Our explorations continued as the children created fall trees from a variety of classroom materials.  We talked about the shape of the trunk and the colors of the leaves before diving right in to the art materials.  A goal for the pre-k group is to expand on their drawing skills and incorporate more details and colors in their artwork. 

This week brought on more fall explorations with apples.  We read one of the children's favorite books, "Ten Apples Up On Top!" by Dr. Seuss.  To continue practicing drawing skills, the children were asked to draw themselves with many apples balancing up on top of their heads! We cannot wait to show you their art work during Curriculum Night!"

Important Dates and Reminders:

October 1: October tuition is due
October 9: SEE closing at 4:30pm

October 12: SEE will be closed for Columbus Day

October 28: Curriculum Night @ SEE (check your email for the Evite)

November 2: November tuition is due

November 11: SEE will be closed for Veteran's Day

November 25: SEE will close at 3:00pm

November 26-27: SEE will be closed for Thanksgiving break

(More pictures coming next week! It's hard to find pictures without those cute, smiling faces in them!) 

Have a great weekend everyone!

Joanna