Lent is upon us. So much is in front of us....

This week we began Lent.  The children received ashes on Wednesday. We discussed what this meant and how they might see other Christians out at the store or library that day with ashes too.  Not all wanted them, and I told them that was ok and not to worry!!  We started talking about Jesus' baptism by John and will finish the week with Jesus picking his disciples.  They have really enjoyed all the stories of the Bible we have shared up to date, but you can already see how much more engaged they are with stories that directly involve Jesus. 

The use of our 5 senses was our overall theme.  We talked about how all of these senses really help us live our lives every day.  We also talked about what it would be like if we could not see/hear.  They learned that there are ways the other senses become stronger when you are blind or deaf, or how people adjust to that disability so they can live the same way we live.  The children did several experiments including a smelling experiment.  The overall opinion was that vinegar stinks!! 

Spanish is coming along so nicely.  Does your child throw some spanish words into their conversations? We do every day.  It is really awesome to hear them when they do it. 

Next week is SEUSS WEEK!!! It is my favorite week of the year.  This year we have activities planned for each day.  We do have A SOUP OPERA thrown in there too.  I do hope all children are present so they don't miss out on a thing!!

Monday is wear a silly hat day, Tuesday is wear red or blue or something with a fish on it.  (It is also our kindergarten performance of Soup Opera, so send props!), Wednesday we will be creating something awesome!, Thursday is Silly Sock Day and also OUR PERFORMANCE OF SOUP OPERA FOR YOU!, Friday is Dr. Seuss's birthday so we are having a birthday party for him.  Wear something green that day too.

The curriculum across the board will be using the theme of Dr. Seuss literature.  We will be estimating, rhyming, sorting, counting, and starting the letter Nn.  I wish it was time for Ss, but it just does not coordinate well! :) Science will be with GW, maybe he will have something Seuss-like too!

Upcoming events:
Field Trip forms and money due by March 8, No school March 9, Field Trip March 15, International Week the week of March 19.  Stay tuned for that notice. 

Finally, Prek 4 parents, please turn in your Soup Opera RSVP Monday!!! It is in the classroom, so we need to prepare.

Many thanks and blessings to your families.
TB

Healthy Recipes!

So to go with our recent unit on nutrition, I decided to add some recipes and food ideas.  These are just some healthy choices to some common foods that kids tend to love!

homemade fruit strips:
http://georgiapellegrini.com/2010/07/23/recipes/homemade-fruit-leather/

chicken strips:
http://www.pauladeen.com/recipes/recipe_view/italian_chicken_sticks/

taco rollups:
http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/taco-roll-ups-687009/

Chicken nuggets:
http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/04/healthy-baked-chicken-nuggets.html

frozen fruit pops:
http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/06/frozen-fruit-pops.html#more

ideas:
http://www.5dollardinners.com/2011/08/muffin-tin-lunches-2.html
http://www.marthastewart.com/315712/mini-deep-dish-pizzas 

Ok... now onto next week.  We will be talking about our 5 senses next week.  It's only a 4 day week, so we will be very busy.  Soup Opera is shaping up nicely.  A note was sent home Thursday for the 4's.  Please read and return bottom portion.  We started and will continue with the letter Mm.  As for Math, we have learned 1-10 in English and Spanish.  We are now practicing writing the number and some are writing and reading the words. 

Lent begins this week.  We will be discussing what this means and the importance it plays in our faith.  The school is collecting pennies for pies again during this season. Please think of sending your child with some spare change to help those less fortunate.

Many thanks for your help and support. Blessings to you all.
TB

Community Night~THANKS FOR MAKING IT A SUCCESS!

Before the doors opened!

My monkeys before the parade!

We definately packed the house!

New photos

Dr. Park

practicing

dental magic

Goofy Mr. Figeroa

Community Night is Coming

This week we continued our unit on transportation in preparation for this Friday night. We have discussed lots of different modes of transportation. We viewed photographs, discussed similarities and differnces, created cool art, read books,and based several of our centers around the theme. The children were very engaged and are now very excited to share their work with you at community night. I am very excited to see the hard work you guys put forth in the vehicles. Remember 3's do not need to come, only 4's, but we would love to see everyone come by.

Although we are not officially working on dental health and nutrition until next week, we had a special guest today. We had Dr. Park and his staff come in for demo and chat about dental health. They came equipt with puppets and a magician. The children loved it. They all received a little goodie bag too. http://childrensdentalworld.net/

Next week is Valentine's Day. We will do a small "party" to exchange valentines and share a special treat I will provide. Please keep the valentine small. No open treats or large goodie bags. Think small candy, cards, pencils, tattoos etc? Whatever you do, your child can sign, but do not specifically address to the other children. It is too hard at this age. Each will come home with a gallon zip lock bag.

We will move onto the letter Mm next week. Our word wall is growing and it is cool to watch them come up with new words. Sorting, fine motor work, shapes and Lenten preparation are scheduled for the next couple of weeks.

Reminders:
Please keep children home when they have fevers. They need to be fever free for 24 hours. Please practice nose blowing and wiping skills. No school February 17 and 20.

Thanks and God Bless!
TB

100th Day Activities...

counted by 10's

Made and displayed posters

came up with 100 of our favorite words

close up of creativity

We also took 100 steps, did 100 claps, 100 marches and counted items up to 100.  It really gave a perspective!

THE PROJECTOR ROCKS!

Here are a couple of pictures of the projector in use.  Next week I will take more. The kids love it.  They do their attendance on it when they come in, we have done games and even used it as a math center.  They are really getting the hang of it! Thanks again to BARK CHICAGO, SPABARK and Jennifer Schilling for the fundraiser.  Thanks to all those that came out to make it happen!

We have officially been in school 100 days!

February 1...seriously? Yes indeed! We are officially more than half way through the year. Today we celebrated the 100 th day of school. We viewed everyone's posters, counted and colored 100 balloons, did 100 marches, claps, took 100 steps and even tried counting by 10's to 100. The children really got the concept of how big the number actually is.

This week we are talking about Zacchaes, the letter Ll, reading, writing and counting numbers 1-5 in English and Spanish. Our overall theme is Transportation. Transportation is to help prepare them for Community Night next Friday. All of these points of learning will continue through next week.

If your child will not be at Community Night, please email or send a note ASAP. We will be practicing starting Wednesday, so please send them with their vehicles by then. Again, ONLY prek-4 is actually building. 3's are welcome to come and view next Friday.

Finally, I am still looking to fill Science spots. It really is a great experience for you and your child. Do try to pick a date. The only upcoming dates are March 1 and 26.

Many thanks for all your help,
TB

Ps... Remember parents of prek-4... Keep March 1 9-10am open for A Soup Opera!