2/24 Classroom Update!

This week, we learned all about the letter Y and the US Postal Service. We learned about how the postal service works and how a letter or package gets from a mailbox to its destination. During center time, we made postcards to send to our homes to see the postal service in action. Our postcards should be arriving soon! Our preschoolers also played in our classroom Post Office this week, and wrote and delivered mail to each other using classroom mailboxes.

Coloring and writing postcards to send in the US Mail

Practicing counting and sorting mail by number

Yarn stamp painting

Next week, we will be learning about the letter Z and talking about animals that live at the zoo! We will be learning animal names in Spanish, as well as participating in lots of fun zoo-themed learning activities!

Important Upcoming Dates:

Spring Conferences: Spring conferences will be held Tuesday, March 21 and Wednesday, March 22 in the Board Room here at WECC. For parents of children who receive speech services, Ms. Amanda will be at conferences on Wednesday 3/22. To sign-up for a ten minute conference, please follow the link here: Spring Conference Sign-Ups.

Spring Break: There will be no preschool classes Friday, March 31 - Friday, April 7 for Spring Break. Preschool classes will resume Monday, April 10th.

Have a great weekend!

2/17 Classroom Update!

This week, we learned about the letter X, participated in lots of fun Valentine's day learning centers, and continued to discuss friendship. During circle time, we talked about "cotton ball" words and "sand paper" words, examined cotton balls and sandpaper, and discussed how they make us feel. Cotton ball words are nice words that make us feel warm, soft and fuzzy, while sandpaper words make us feel hurt and uncomfortable. We are working on always using cotton ball words!

During center time, we practiced writing the letter X and made a X is for xylophone for our letter books. We made valentines for loved ones and wrote about the people we loved. We sorted candy conversation hearts by color, and practiced counting them using one-to-one correspondence. We also matched stamps to their matching letter based on their beginning sound. We also loved playing in our new dramatic play center: our classroom post office!

Sorting and Counting Conversation Hearts

Matching beginning sound stamps to their letter envelopes

Making "tie dye" hearts

Next week, we will be learning about the Postal Service and the letter Y.  Be on the lookout at home next week for a special delivery in the mail from your preschooler!

Reminders:

No Preschool Classes Monday (2/20):  Please remember that there is no school Monday, Feb. 20^th for Mid-Winter Break. Childcare will be open. 

Lost & Found: The WECC Lost and Found is overflowing with lost items! When you walk through the WECC entrance double doors and look to the left, there is a stand with various labeled drawers. If your child is missing anything (shoes, hats, mittens, etc.), please stop and check the lost and found!

Spring Conferences: Save the date! Spring conferences will be held Tuesday, March 21 and Wednesday, March 22 in the Board Room here at WECC. Keep an eye out for sign-ups to come at a later date!

Have a wonderful weekend!

2/10 Classroom Update

Today we are so sad to say goodbye to Ms. Mackenzie. We will miss her, but we wish her the best as she begins her new position as a Reading and Math Interventionist at Vista Charter School! We are so grateful for all the love, attention, and care she has provided for our preschoolers, and great things lie ahead for her! Ms. Brittany joined us two days this past week, and she will start full time in our classroom on Monday.

This week, we talked all about friendship and what good friends do. We read lots of friendship stories, worked together to complete friendship centers, and discussed how we can all be good friends in our classroom. We read the story Have You Filled a Bucket Today? and are all working on being "Bucket Fillers." This wonderful book encourages kindness, and shows how rewarding it can be to spread positive feelings and love. In our classroom, we now have a bucket that we are working to fill with pom poms when we catch others committing acts of kindness or filling other's buckets. 

Next week, we will continue to talk about friendship and how we can be good friends both at and outside of school. We will also participate in lots of different, fun Valentine's Day themed learning centers.

Reminders:

Valentine's Day: The week of Feb. 13^th- Feb. 17^th will be spent participating in Valentine’s Day activities in Preschool and discussing friendship. In lieu of a party and students bringing in individual Valentines for each member of our class, we are asking for students and their families to create ONE BIG VALENTINE using a heart that will be provided by school. I sent home instructions and your child's valentine heart in folders yesterday. Please return your “Class Valentine” to school by Monday, Feb. 13^th (any day before then is fine too!) so that your child share it with the class and we can display it for our school community. If you need a new heart, please let me know!

Mid-Winter Break: Please remember that there is no school Monday, Feb. 20^th for Mid-Winter Break!

Spring Conferences: Save the date! Spring conferences will be held Tuesday, March 21 and Wednesday, March 22 in the Board Room here at WECC. Keep an eye out for sign-ups to come at a later date!

Have a great weekend!

2/2 Classroom Update!

Ms. Jackie and her family welcomed Audie Allen VanderPloeg on Wednesday, February 1. He was 8 lbs. 11 oz. and 22 inches long. Mom and baby are doing well. Congratulations to the VanderPloeg family!

We also have very bittersweet news to share: Ms. Mackenzie accepted a Math & Reading Interventionist position at Vista Charter School. Her last day at WECC will be Friday, February 10th. We are so excited for Mackenzie as she begins this wonderful opportunity, but we will miss her greatly! We are so grateful for all the love and care she has provided for our preschoolers while at WECC. Ms. Mackenzie will be telling the preschoolers her news on Monday. Ms. Brittany (from Childcare) will join our class to shadow Ms. Mackenzie a little bit this week, and will permanently join our class on Monday, February 13th. 

This week, we learned about the letter U, birthdays, and opposites. We also learned how to sing "Happy Birthday" in Spanish, and took turns singing happy (early) birthday to all of our friends with summer birthdays. During center time, we made our hand prints into birthday cakes and reviewed our birthdays. We matched our uppercase and lowercase letters with birthday cupcakes, and practiced beginning sounds while sorting presents. We also completed opposites puzzles, an opposite sort of hard and soft objects, and played in our new classroom bakery!

Completing opposites puzzles

Decorating Birthday Cakes in our classroom bakery

Next week, we will be learning about the letter V and will begin a two week focus on friendship. We will read lots of stories about friendship and talk about what good friends do, differences between friends, how friends solve problems, and much more!

Reminders:

Valentine's Day: The week of Feb. 13^th- Feb. 17^th will be spent participating in Valentine’s Day activities in Preschool and discussing friendship. In lieu of a party and students bringing in individual Valentines for each member of our class, we are asking for students and their families to create ONE BIG VALENTINE using a heart that will be provided by school. I sent home instructions and your child's valentine heart in folders yesterday. Please return your “Class Valentine” to school by Monday, Feb. 13^th (any day before then is fine too!) so that your child share it with the class and we can display it for our school community.

Mid-Winter Break: Please remember that there is no school Monday, Feb. 20^th for Mid-Winter Break!

Have a great weekend!