Wheels on the Bus!

Daily Question:  Have you ever ridden on a bus? Two of the students have!  When asked what color the bus each rode on--blue and pink.  Of course!  

(Parents, we will be sending practice sheets home to help with lines, circles, and other pre-writing shapes to assist in letters.  I am working on another method of "check in" that will be quick, fun, and part of a positive behavior program.  More to come on that but hopefully you will see it on Tuesday morning!)

Toys:  Giant Bus Floor Puzzle and Fisher Price Village (and Bus), Spaghetti Dolls and Bus, FP bus, and trucks. 

Snacks: Grapes, honey oatmeal granola bars, & banana chocolate chip bread

  Dade's Unbirthday*: Today in class we celebrated Dade.  Dade turns four soon.  His favorite colors include red, pink, and purple.  Dade is the youngest in his family and he has four older sisters.  He is not sure what toys he will get.  Dade likes to play with his good friend, William, and is meeting new friends in preschool.


Recess: The rain came and so we "made a rainstorm" inside with our hands, feet, fingers and mouth sounds. We watched a few minutes of Rosie and Rusty Raccoon teach us ABCs (Waterford Award Winning Pgm.)


Shapes:  We identified most of the major shapes as they appear on the bus; the door is a rectangle, the windows are squares, the wheels are circles, etc.  We had fun playing "I Spy" Shapes around our class room.


Our Class Bus Activity:  We had fun taking turns riding on our very own class bus and singing the song and acting out the movements in the song (after we read and discussed the book).

Books:
Bus Driver by Nancy Poydar

The Wheels on the Bus (Raffi Songs to Read) by Raffi and Sylvia Wiskstrom
The Seals on the Bus by Lenny Hort and G. Brian Karas
The Wheels on the Bus; A First Little Golden Book

Song:

The Wheels on the Bus

Coloring Page:  We had fun talking about and drawing "people, drivers, or animals" on our preschool school bus page.

*Pictures soon to be uploaded to this page.  Thanks for your patience.

What are Germs?

Daily Question:  Do you know what a germ is? (How do I get sick?  How can I avoid getting sick?  How do I wash my hands properly?)  These are all questions we answered in preschool today.

Toys:  Play Doh, Linkin Blocks, Mega Blox Road Racer and track Set, Traffic Rug and Race Cars.

 

Snacks:  Sliced bananas and Goldfish Crackers 

Discussion:  What are Germs?
We learned that germs are all around us. Germs are so tiny that we cannot see them without a special machine called a microscope. There are different types of germs. Some are called viruses and some bacteria and they could make us sick. They come in many different shapes.

Recess:

Germ Identifying Activity:  After recess, we all lined up and washed hands and those who chose to used some lavender lotion.  We sat in a circle to begin a "Getting to Know You" ball activity.  I made a big show of sneezing on the ball (in the which I slipped some tiny purple glitter--representing "germs" onto the ball.)  As we rolled the ball around and shook hands, the glitter was distributed so that pretty soon, the children looked down to find the glitter germs all over their hands.  We read some books and talked about how you don't see germs but they are there.  That is why we wash our hands--to keep from catching or spreading germs.  We also practiced "safe sneezing" into an elbow, sleeve, shirt front, or tissue and then washing hands.

 





 

 

 We learned about proper hand washing and then went to the bathroom to practice scrubbing our hands and singing the alphabet or a Happy Birthday song while we clean under our nails, "inside, outside, and in between" our fingers, rinse and then dry our hands on a clean towel.

Show N' Teach:

Ethan & Kayson brought in disinfecting wipes and hand sanitizer.

 

Brody showed us his tissues.

Eleanor showed us her favorite Lamb.

For our follow-up art activity, we used glitter glue on traced hands (the glitter representing microscopic "germs"). In our mini discussion group, we talked about how frequent hand washing before meals/snacks and after playing outside or being at school will keep us from catching germs and getting sick. We also spoke briefly about coughing and sneezing into our elbow, hands, or a tissue and then washing our hands to keep others from catching the same "bug." Also, we need enough sleep and to eat nutritious foods to keep us healthy.

Some books on germs:

Another book about how medicine works to help us feel better after getting a "bug" is Buz by Richard Egielski.

Related song:

The Green Grass Grew All Around. (The children laugh at the end of this cumulative song because they speak of a tiny germ that jumps on a flea.)

Books we read and talked about today:
Show & Tell Day by Anne Rockwell& Lizzy Rockwell
Germs Are Not For Sharing by Elizabeth Verdick & Marieka Heinlen

I'm Special, I'm a V.I.P.!

Daily Question:  Do you have a talent? Thank you, parents, for helping your students to sign in.  It is nice to know where each student is beginning with their name writing. By consistently helping your student sign in, you set up a routine.

Toys:  Mega Bloks and Raceway, Rose Petal Cottage, and our Cars and Traffic Rug.  We enjoyed getting to know new friends and faces.  

  Friends had fun building and rebuilding tracks to race cars down.

Snack Time:  Cheese cubes and Blueberry Bars
During Snacks we listened to If I Obey, I'll Be Happy All Day.


Welcome Dade to our class! (Dade was at a family funeral on Monday and Tuesday.  We are so glad he could join us today.)

Circle Time:  We enjoyed singing our ABC song.  We also read some special stories and learned about obedience, reviewed rules for our new class member, and began our lesson on "I'm Special!"  We listened and sang along to Janeen Brady's song, I'm a V.I.P and talked about what it means to be a Very Important Person in our family, preschool, and community.  

Favorite Quotes:  
Is it okay to be different?  NO!  the students chorused.  Yes, each one of us is different!  Even if some of us look alike, each person has his/her different likes and special talents.

During the VIP song, one little boy said to me,"Does that mean that everyone is important, teacher?  That I'm important?!" Yes!

Recess:  Today the children decided to fly to Alaska and see some salmon, Polar Bears, ice capped mountains, reindeer and then return and fly to "the city."

Look and See what I did this Summer: Thank you parents for sending in the photos of what your students did, ate, saw, and visited this Summer.  (This is a great way for children to practice story telling, memory skills, and oral language skills.)

Books:

If I Obey I'll Be Happy All Day by Peggy Barton

Someone Special by David McPhail
I Like Myself! by Karen Beaumont
I'm Gonna Like Me! by

A special thank you to Kayson and Ethan's mother, Sydne, who donated a bag of buttons and a large bag of brown paper sacks to our class.

First Day, Hooray!

We had a great First Day!

Daily Question:  Are you excited for preschool?  

Toys:  Fisher Price Village, Mr. Potato Heads, and our Cars and Traffic Rug.  We enjoyed getting to know new friends and faces.  

Snack Time:  Apples slices and pretzel sticks

Preschool Behaviors, Schedules and Routines...How exciting to go to preschool and learn about Circle Time, the Bathroom Policy, Appropriate Touching, Sharing, and Meeting new friends!

The Kissing Hand Story and Activities: *The Kissing Hand tells the story of Chester the Raccoon. Chester is a little shy about beginning a new school with the other forest animals. His mother shares a secret with him--she kisses his palm and he carries a little bit of her with him.  When he gets lonely, he outs his palm up to his face and can feel his mother's kiss and is no longer lonely at school.
We enjoyed Hershey's kisses and coloring a raccoon picture.  (Some of the students saved their kisses to share with their mother or father at home!  So sweet.)

Recess: We went over outside rules and walk down to the castle.  Practice coming in when the bell is rung.

Eleanor finishes her raccoon coloring page and draws her own on the back page!

Books:

*The Kissing Hand by Audrey Wood 

First Day, Hurray! by Nancy Poydar

One for Me, One for You by C.C. Cameron and Grace Lin

*Preschoolers to the Rescue  by Judy Sierra & Will Hillenbrand
Dinosaur Starts School by Pamela Duncan Edwards & Deborah Allwright
*Show & Tell Day by Anne and Lizzy Rockwell
(Books in bold are books we read today in class!  Other books listed are suggested reading.)

Parents Magazine "Goodbye Without Tears" 

Welcome to Preschool!

Welcome to Preschool!  

Dear Parents,

Welcome to Alphabet Adventures Preschool!  We are so glad you're here.  We are looking forward to a wonderful new year and getting to know your sons and daughters.

A couple of things you might like to know:

How do your celebrate birthdays at preschool?

We want your child/ren to feel special on his/her/their special day.  We have a paper crown for him/her to wear, we get to know him/her, and we sing to them and have a little present bag for his/her.  Parents, if you would like to send in 10 treats for the class you may.  Please see the Schedule for the date assigned to celebrate your child/ren.

*For our lesson on September 5 (Thursday), please send a photo of something your child did this Summer.  We will talk about it and get to know your child more.

** Please send in an apple with your student.  (Variety will make our applesauce tasty).

***For our Teddy Bear Picnic at the end of the month, please have your child bring a favorite teddy bear and a small picnic lunch in a paper bag.  We will picnic on blankets, read lots of Beary good stories, and have a great time!

The first day of each week (Tuesday) your student may bring something to Show and Teach.  Please help your student find something that relates to our theme...for instance, on our Letter A Day, your child might bring a small plastic alligator, a picture of an ant, a toy airplane, or a stuffed ape, etc.

Just some helpful reminders:

§      Please remember to send in your child's emergency clothes (underpants, shorts/sweat pants, socks) in a large Ziplock bag with his/her first name written on the front.

§      Also, please remember to feed your child breakfast before bringing your child to school.  (Children usually do better at separating, making friends, and playing who have eaten a good breakfast first.)

§      Please take your student to the potty before school.

§      Please send a backpack with your child to carry home artwork/papers until our class bags are ready.

§      Get ready to have a fun year learning at preschool this year!      

Miss Julie & Miss Nikki