Sorry it has been a couple of weeks. We have been so busy! We are getting ready for all of our amazing events that are coming up. Thanks again for your help in all that we are doing.
This week, we will finish up our unit on The Nightingale. We were able to explore China a little both through this unit and through Chinese New Year. The children loved seeing some of the different traditions. This unit also introduced us to LMN. We are almost done!!! When we learn each new letter, we practice pronunciation and pay close attention to where are tongues are and should be. This is a good idea to continue practicing at home.
Numbers have been a big focus lately. We have been working hard on identifying, counting and writing. The children are even working on adding by using dice and dominoes. They add the 2 dice or they add the sides of the dominoes. They really enjoy it. Plus, it gives a big confidence boost because they are able to do it on their own for the most part. Playing cards work too!
Transportation has been our focus last week and this. We are discussing all kinds of transportation for land, air and water. This will tie right into community night this Friday, March 1. 4 year olds are making vehicles to parade and 3s are welcome to visit and play in our vehicle playground room. We started talking about Noah and his Ark this week too. We talked about how Noah had to have faith in God and the Ark was God's transportation to save Noah and his family.
NEXT WEEK IS SEUSS WEEK! My favorite week of the school year!
I love our new friend of the week share that we are doing. VZ was last week and this week is BT. I look forward to learning about them through their books and portraits. Remember, this will come home to your child a week before their turn.
The weather is crazy, this we know. PLEASE, any day there is any snow, send boots and gloves and hats. We can't go out if children are not prepared. It stays pretty slushy back there, but we love the fresh air.
There are some new upper respiratory germies going around. Please keep teaching good tissue and hand washing skills at home. We do the same at school.
Finally A SOUP OPERA is being presented on March 6 at 10:15. Families of Prek 4 year olds are invited to view, but please rsvp asap. Make sure your child has items I requested for their "costume". We are all very excited. I am actually at a conference on March 7th where I will be attending 2 workshops of the author of the book: Jim Gill. I am super excited. I hope I get to share my class with him, or at least have him sign my book!
Stay warm,
TBoyle
Monday, February 25, 2013
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Some Recent Photos
 |
| Welcome OREO! He is our new guinea pig. The children came up with names and voted. He is super friendly and the children adore him. |
 |
| Snow... FINALLY! |
 |
| Our Trip to the Shedd was amazing. |
 |
| Snow and Ice preceded the ocean and the children could not get enough! |
 |
| Fake snow using 1 ivory bar of soap and 2.5 minutes in the microwave! |
 |
| Science break with primary and secondary colors using FROSTING!!! |
 |
| We love our friends at LUSA and doing work! thanks DF and NN! |
 |
| Operation Glitter Boberg was a success! |
Monday, January 28, 2013
Under the Sea... that's where we will be!
Yes, it is time to learn all about the Oceans of our Earth. We will explore the differences between oceans and lakes. We will look at video of under water life and how it is so different than the life we see above water. We will have centers that explore water, sea shells and different animals in our science table. Next week we will be taking a field trip to the Shedd where the children will get a up close and personal view of the different types of life that live in different kinds of water. Be sure to ask them for a fun fact each day. Today they learned the oceans have salt and lakes and rivers do not. They also learned that water makes up 70% of the Earth!
This week, related to water is the sacrament of Baptism. The children will be learning about the wonderful gift God gives us through our Baptism. Baptism is the theme of our Lutheran Schools Week this year too!
We will be finishing our unit of Jingles, Rhymes and Poems. We have been learning about in front of, in between, behind and next too. In addition to rhymes and position words, they have been working on understanding basic 2-4 word sentence structures. They are not writing them :)! They are listening and understanding that you need a subject and a verb for the sentence to "make sense". They seem to really enjoy that.
Last week in Science, EV did a colorful palette where they took primary colors and made secondary colors using....FROSTING!! It was not only a great hands on experience, it was tasty too. Ask your child what red, blue and yellow made, they were amazed by that one.
The week prior, we made SNOW! Since there is no snow, we made moon dough. It is so simple. It is 8 cups of flour to 1ish cups of baby oil. Mix and although it appears to look just like flour, it become mold-able and a very cool texture to play with. PLUS, your hands smell good and feel soft! We also took ivory soap, broke it up and microwaved it for 2 minutes. Watch and see for yourself. It was a great experiment that they were then able to play with.
We are focusing on shapes and numbers lately. We are working on writing and counting 1-10. The children are working with shapes to make parts and wholes with different shapes. I told them they are doing fractions which is big kid math. They love hearing that!
Finally and with great excitement I announce that we have officially begun practicing for our 4 year old SOUP OPERA. This will be presented to parents of the 4/5year olds on March 7 at 10am. More info will be sent out as we approach. If you have a 4/5 year old, ask them about it. It is going to be great!
Until next time... stay warm and dry!
Mrs. Boyle
This week, related to water is the sacrament of Baptism. The children will be learning about the wonderful gift God gives us through our Baptism. Baptism is the theme of our Lutheran Schools Week this year too!
We will be finishing our unit of Jingles, Rhymes and Poems. We have been learning about in front of, in between, behind and next too. In addition to rhymes and position words, they have been working on understanding basic 2-4 word sentence structures. They are not writing them :)! They are listening and understanding that you need a subject and a verb for the sentence to "make sense". They seem to really enjoy that.
Last week in Science, EV did a colorful palette where they took primary colors and made secondary colors using....FROSTING!! It was not only a great hands on experience, it was tasty too. Ask your child what red, blue and yellow made, they were amazed by that one.
The week prior, we made SNOW! Since there is no snow, we made moon dough. It is so simple. It is 8 cups of flour to 1ish cups of baby oil. Mix and although it appears to look just like flour, it become mold-able and a very cool texture to play with. PLUS, your hands smell good and feel soft! We also took ivory soap, broke it up and microwaved it for 2 minutes. Watch and see for yourself. It was a great experiment that they were then able to play with.
We are focusing on shapes and numbers lately. We are working on writing and counting 1-10. The children are working with shapes to make parts and wholes with different shapes. I told them they are doing fractions which is big kid math. They love hearing that!
Finally and with great excitement I announce that we have officially begun practicing for our 4 year old SOUP OPERA. This will be presented to parents of the 4/5year olds on March 7 at 10am. More info will be sent out as we approach. If you have a 4/5 year old, ask them about it. It is going to be great!
Until next time... stay warm and dry!
Mrs. Boyle
Friday, January 11, 2013
Happy New Year1
And Happy Epiphany!
This year has been off to a great start. We began a new unit on poetry, rhymes and jingles. If you have any at home, share them with your child. We are focusing on word families/rhyming words. Even if they make up a word, encourage it if they are following the word pattern. For example: mat, cat, sat, dat, lat, rat, gat are all acceptable because they all follow the -at pattern. Don't discourage and tell them it is not a real word. We will get to that in life! :)
We are focusing more on squares and recalling other shapes. The 3's will be working on number identification and the 4's on not only identification, but writing numbers 1-5 now and 6-10 later in the month.
We will begin an exciting part of being 4 next week! Our 4 and 5 year olds will begin preparing for our very own "opera" which we will put on for parents on March 7. The 3's will be working with Ms. Munoz while the 4's practice. This is a great experience, so start asking them about it on Tuesday. The children will watch a couple of versions of performances along with reading the story. They will each get a part and need minimal costuming help from you. I can't wait!
Finally, if you have not signed up for Science, please remember to do so. I forgot to post our previous scientist, MC, so here is her and her trusty sidekick. They did 3 experiments: which solution cleans a penny best, invisible ink and sucking an egg into a bottle. I am sure you can imagine the group favorite.
Until next time...
Tanya Boyle :)
This year has been off to a great start. We began a new unit on poetry, rhymes and jingles. If you have any at home, share them with your child. We are focusing on word families/rhyming words. Even if they make up a word, encourage it if they are following the word pattern. For example: mat, cat, sat, dat, lat, rat, gat are all acceptable because they all follow the -at pattern. Don't discourage and tell them it is not a real word. We will get to that in life! :)
We are focusing more on squares and recalling other shapes. The 3's will be working on number identification and the 4's on not only identification, but writing numbers 1-5 now and 6-10 later in the month.
We will begin an exciting part of being 4 next week! Our 4 and 5 year olds will begin preparing for our very own "opera" which we will put on for parents on March 7. The 3's will be working with Ms. Munoz while the 4's practice. This is a great experience, so start asking them about it on Tuesday. The children will watch a couple of versions of performances along with reading the story. They will each get a part and need minimal costuming help from you. I can't wait!
Finally, if you have not signed up for Science, please remember to do so. I forgot to post our previous scientist, MC, so here is her and her trusty sidekick. They did 3 experiments: which solution cleans a penny best, invisible ink and sucking an egg into a bottle. I am sure you can imagine the group favorite.
Until next time...
Tanya Boyle :)
Sunday, December 30, 2012
December Photos...
 |
| Helping to prepare presents for St. Cyprian's |
 |
| Getting ready for our Christmas Program.... |
 |
 |
| Our popcorn, pjs and Polar Express party |
 |
| Our last day of school. |
 |
| Playdoh and parents make for one great party. |
 |
| A great end of the year all school sing along! |
A Great Ending to 2012!
December was full of recapping our letters A-H, practicing our numbers 1-5, making presents and cards for our adopted grandparents and our parents. We were also super busy learning about and telling the story of Christmas. We had a beautiful program on the 19th that allowed Prek-4th grade to share the Good News about the birth of Christ. Prek did a GREAT job and I was super proud of them. They all looked quite adorable too!
We collected cans and non-perishables for St. Cyprian's food pantry and I was happy to say that PREK collected a ton of items. Thanks to their parents and honestly to their own diligence for remembering other people who need food. The pantry is low this time of year. If you are looking to donate, let me know and I will gladly continue taking donations to them.
We also collected money to purchase Christmas presents for families of St. Cyprian. Student Council organized the event and then went shopping. Prek was lucky enough to join student council in wrapping and preparing the gifts for delivery. It was a great intergenerational experience.
We had a special morning we called Popcorn, Polar Express and Pajama Party! We did all things train and Polar Express that day. We made a shape train, decorated popcorn bags and even got special "BELIEVE" train tickets. They really enjoyed the morning.
Our year ending with a wonderful party that was lead by Mrs. F! She organized treats and several parents came to help. The children made peppermint playdoh (recipe below) and a couple of foam crafts. They all brought goodies to share and at the very end of the day we had a whole school Christmas sing a long. Everyone was awesome.
While you are home, have fun, but also have fun learning. Don't feel the need to do worksheets. Have some time reading books, singing songs, playing with playdoh or have them draw a picture of their favorite part of vacation. These are all engaging and exciting ways to learn and build on basic school skills.
I thank you all for the kindness you have shared with me thus far. I look forward to 2013 with you and your children!
God Bless you and have a GREAT NEW YEAR!
Mrs. Boyle
PEPPERMINT PLAYDOH
We collected cans and non-perishables for St. Cyprian's food pantry and I was happy to say that PREK collected a ton of items. Thanks to their parents and honestly to their own diligence for remembering other people who need food. The pantry is low this time of year. If you are looking to donate, let me know and I will gladly continue taking donations to them.
We also collected money to purchase Christmas presents for families of St. Cyprian. Student Council organized the event and then went shopping. Prek was lucky enough to join student council in wrapping and preparing the gifts for delivery. It was a great intergenerational experience.
We had a special morning we called Popcorn, Polar Express and Pajama Party! We did all things train and Polar Express that day. We made a shape train, decorated popcorn bags and even got special "BELIEVE" train tickets. They really enjoyed the morning.
Our year ending with a wonderful party that was lead by Mrs. F! She organized treats and several parents came to help. The children made peppermint playdoh (recipe below) and a couple of foam crafts. They all brought goodies to share and at the very end of the day we had a whole school Christmas sing a long. Everyone was awesome.
While you are home, have fun, but also have fun learning. Don't feel the need to do worksheets. Have some time reading books, singing songs, playing with playdoh or have them draw a picture of their favorite part of vacation. These are all engaging and exciting ways to learn and build on basic school skills.
I thank you all for the kindness you have shared with me thus far. I look forward to 2013 with you and your children!
God Bless you and have a GREAT NEW YEAR!
Mrs. Boyle
PEPPERMINT PLAYDOH
- 1 cup cold water
- 2 tsp. vegetable oil
- 3 cups flour
- 1 cup salt
- peppermint extract
- red food coloring
- 2 Tbsp. cream of tartar (This ingredient helps keep the dough for about 3 months, so do not omit)
- In large bowl mix flour, salt, and cream of tartar until well mixed.
- In a separate bowl mix water and oil.
- After the dough has a good solid and soft texture, add a couple of drops of peppermint extract and mix that.
- Add red food coloring and knead it until it swirls like a candy cane.
- Store in an airtight container, i.e. plastic Ziploc bag.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)