We've Hit the Ground Running!

It seems as though we blinked and these past two weeks were gone! We are loving our new school year and all of the new friends we are making. The children have been busy with their portfolios to prepare for curriculum night. We have also been getting to know all of our classmates really well. 

Last week the children brought in their "All About Me" bags. Each child had an opportunity to share all of their favorite things with the class. It was so much fun to listen and learn about our friends. The children brought in pictures of their family, favorite snacks, favorite activities, etc. The children were also asked a question of the day about their favorite things. We now know so much about everyone which makes our heart happy! 

On to this week! Did you know that there is a special shape inside of an apple? We cut an apple open to see and sure enough there was a star! Have you ever seen the star inside of an apple? All you have to do is turn an apple on its side and cut across the middle! This week, the group was introduced to apples as part of our fall unit! The children learned about the parts of an apple (skin, flesh, stem, core and seeds aka pips!). The children made yummy apple sauce taking turns to use the hand crank apple peeler. Everyone got a taste after the apple sauce cooled down. 

Lastly, our classroom Shutterfly share site is now live. Everyone received an invite via email earlier today. Check it out and look for monthly updates! Enjoy seeing the children busy at play! 

What's Up Next:
Next week we will continue with the fall theme while touching on the "all about me" theme from September with studies on bones! What are bones? Where can you find bones? How do bones help us? Are just a few questions we will be exploring next week!

Upcoming Dates and Reminders:

October 2: October tuition is due
October 9: SEE closed in observance of Columbus Day
October 17: Curriculum Night for the pre-K and preschool groups - see Evite for more details and to RSVP!
October 29: Halloween Trunk-or-Treat! See Evite for more info!
October 31: Happy Halloween! Costumes will be allowed at school 
November 1: November Tuition is due
November 10 : SEE closed in observance of Veteran's Day
November 22: SEE closing at 3pm 
November 23-24: SEE closed for Thanksgiving

Pictures from the week:

Apple Printing!

Peeling apples with a hand crank peeler is so much fun!

Working on portfolios! Check out this family portrait!

I hope everyone has enjoyed the warm week we've had! Have a wonderful weekend and I'll see you all on Monday!
Joanna

Welcome Back, Students!

After a whirlwind of a summer, we are back in action for another fun-filled school year! Last Tuesday was our first day of school and we were very excited to greet our returning friends and welcome in our newest friends. Our newly promoted Pre-K students entered the classroom with a new sense of pride as they began their final year of preschool. I just have to say that this was one of the smoothest transitions to preschool we have had and I do believe I have the Pre-K kiddos to thank as they took our new friends right under their wing! Today ends week two of the 2017/2018 school  year and we could not be happier to have a classroom full of chatter and laughter! 

The children spent last week exploring the classroom and settling back into a routine all while learning about their new friends. This  past week we dove right into portfolios to see how much everyone has grown in the past year. The children also had the opportunity to share a few of their favorite things from home. The children attentively listened to each classmate present their favorite things to the group. And finally, we welcomed Mr. Ed back to our classroom and we all had a blast singing and dancing along to his familiar tunes. 

Have you heard about our "Good Citizen" Jar? A good citizen helps friends in the classroom, helps during cleanup time, helps keep our art supplies tidy, etc. Every time a teacher catches a student begin a good citizen, they get a gem to place in the jar. Once the jar is filled with gems, the students will have a pajama party at school! Everyone is so excited to fill the jar with gems that our classroom has been exceptionally tidy lately :) We are off to a great start! 

Don't forget about our Little Free Library!
Have you gotten a chance to visit our Little Free Library? It's located just outside the front door to the building near the picnic table. Take a look and see what is there! Please remember that the LFL is run on a take a book/leave a book system. You are also welcome to borrow a book are return it when you are done. The idea is to keep books circulating around the community.  Our LFL is looking to all of you for your generous donations! If you have books to donate, we are especially looking for children's book (board books are ok too!). Teen and adult books are always welcome as well! If you would like to label them with our LFL labels before adding them to the library please drop them off with the teachers and we will happily add them to the library for you. Thank you all for your support!

Upcoming Dates and Reminders:

September 24: Karate class at Rising Storm Training Academy - see Evite for more details and to RSVP!
October 2: October tuition is due
October 9: SEE closed in observance of Columbus Day
October 17: Curriculum Night for the pre-K and preschool groups - see Evite for more details and to RSVP!
October 29: Halloween Trunk-or-Treat! More info coming soon! 
November 1: November Tuition is due
November 10 : SEE closed in observance of Veteran's Day
November 22: SEE closing at 3pm 
November 23-24: SEE closed for Thanksgiving

I hope everyone has had a great first two weeks like we've had! We look forward to many more joyful weeks full of curiosity and learning!

Joanna