4/28 Classroom Update

This week, we learned about the letter A and plants. We planted sunflowers, examined different types of seeds, played in our new classroom garden, created seed art, learned about the life cycle of a plant and are currently conducting an experiment with bean seeds to see what they need to grow (soil, space, water, and sun). We also discussed what makes something living vs. non-living. Living things need water, food, air, and they grow. Here are some picture highlights from this week: 

Painting alligators for our letter books

Creating seed art

Playing in our garden sensory table

Trying new instruments with Ms. Janet

Labeling the parts of a flower

Next week, we will be learning about insects and the letter I. Ms. Anne Murkowski will also be starting in our classroom this coming Wednesday, May 3. She will be shadowing our class so that she can learn about our classroom and get to know our preschoolers before I go on maternity leave. I will be working right up until Baby B decides to make his appearance. We're looking forward to having Ms. Anne join us!

Upcoming Important Dates/Reminders:

Hearing and Vision Screening Results: Hearing and vision screening results came home in your child's folder this week. Results are on a blue piece of paper on the Kent County Health Department letterhead. Please keep this paper in a safe place as it is required by schools to enter Kindergarten.

Letter Spirit Week: Woodcliff will be having a Letter Spirit Week the week of May 1-5. Each day will have a different theme. Below are the themes for each day:

• Monday 5/1 - Pajama Day
• Tuesday 5/2 - Mismatch/Crazy Hair Day
• Wednesday 5/3 - Super Hero/Princess Day
• Thursday 5/4 - Wear a shirt with Letters Day
• Friday 5/5 - Hat Day

Mother's Day Celebration: We invite our moms to our classroom for a special Mother's Day Celebration on Thursday, May 11th. Our morning class will celebrate from 10:45-11:15, and our afternoon class will celebrate from 2:45-3:15. We are so grateful for all that our moms do for us!

Drivers Needed!: We are looking for drivers for our Dairy Discovery Field trip on 5/16. Our class will be visiting Swisslane Farms on Tuesday, May 16th. The morning class will be leaving school promptly at 8:40 am, and the afternoon class will be leaving promptly at 12:40 pm. We will be returning back to school by our usual dismissal times. If you are able to join us on the field trip, please sign up on our class bulletin board in the hallway or send me an email along with the number of children you can drive (including your own). There is also a fee of $5 per adult which can be paid directly in cash to Ms. Katie or Ms. Anne (long term substitute) prior to or on the day of the field trip.

End of the Year Preschool Picnic: Please join us for the last 45 minutes of class on Thursday, June 15th (PM class) or Friday, June 16th (AM class) to reminisce, share summer plans, and say goodbye to friends. All you need to bring is a picnic blanket and a smile!

Have a great weekend!

4/21 Classroom Update

This week, we embraced the wonderful spring weather and participated in lots of fun spring activities in the classroom. We also learned all about the letter S. We worked a lot on matching beginning sounds by "planting" flowers based on their beginning sounds and by matching rain clouds to suns based on beginning sounds. We also worked on our fine motor skills by practicing cutting while continuing spring patterns. We also created our own unique flower gardens using lots of different shapes and colors! I also added lots of "spring cleaning" toys to our housekeeping dramatic play center, and the kids loved pretending to clean the kitchen. Hopefully this means they will want to help out with the cleaning at home :)

Upper and lowercase letter match puzzles

Painting Snakes for our letter books

"Planting" flowers based on their beginning sound

Next week, we will be focusing on the book The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle, and learning all about plants and what they need to grow. We will conduct an experiment with beans to see what seeds need to grow (sunlight, air, water, and space), as well as plant sunflowers!

Upcoming Important Dates/Reminders:

Letter Spirit Week: Woodcliff will be having a Letter Spirit Week the week of May 1-5. Each day will have a different theme. Below are the themes for each day:

• Monday 5/1 - Pajama Day
• Tuesday 5/2 - Mismatch/Crazy Hair Day
• Wednesday 5/3 - Super Hero/Princess Day
• Thursday 5/4 - Wear a shirt with Letters Day
• Friday 5/5 - Hat Day

Mother's Day Celebration: We invite our moms to our classroom for a special Mother's Day Celebration on Thursday, May 11th. Our morning class will celebrate from 10:45-11:15, and our afternoon class will celebrate from 2:45-3:15. We are so grateful for all that our moms do for us!

Drivers Needed!: We are looking for drivers for our Dairy Discovery Field trip on 5/16. Our class will be visiting Swisslane Farms on Tuesday, May 16th. The morning class will be leaving school promptly at 8:40 am, and the afternoon class will be leaving promptly at 12:40 pm. We will be returning back to school by our usual dismissal times. If you are able to join us on the field trip, please sign up on our class bulletin board in the hallway or send me an email along with the number of children you can drive (including your own). There is also a fee of $5 per adult which can be paid directly in cash to Ms. Katie or Ms. Anne (long term substitute) prior to or on the day of the field trip.

End of the Year Preschool Picnic: Please join us for the last 45 minutes of class on Thursday, June 15th (PM class) or Friday, June 16th (AM class) to reminisce, share summer plans, and say goodbye to friends. All you need to bring is a picnic blanket and a smile!

Have a great weekend!

4/14 Classroom Update

I hope everyone had a wonderful and relaxing Spring Break! I was able to spend lots of time planning and getting organized for my upcoming maternity leave in May. As many of you know, my husband and I are expecting a baby boy on May 15th. I will be working up until the baby comes and will be taking maternity leave through the rest of the school year upon his arrival. While I am on maternity leave, Ms. Anne Murkowski will be my replacement teacher. She will begin shadowing our class on Wednesday, May 3rd so that she can learn about our classroom and get to know our preschoolers ahead of time. Ms. Brittany will also continue to help out in our classroom as well. I will be working very closely with Ms. Anne and Ms. Brittany to make the transition as smooth as possible. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me!

This week, we learned about the letter G and various modes of transportation. It was very fitting to talk about transportation this week after hearing about so many wonderful travels over Spring Break! Our preschoolers made name trains, traced numbers with toys cars, built with construction vehicles in the sand table, created "model" airplanes with popsicle sticks, played with boats in the water table, and enjoyed our transportation center. They also matched words to their beginning sounds, practiced writing the letter G, and made "G is for Goldfish" pages for their letter books.

Making "G is for Goldfish" letter book pages

Construction vehicles building in the sand table

Making name trains

Building "model" airplanes

Next week, we will be learning about the letter S and participating in lots of fun spring activities! 

Upcoming Important Dates/Reminders:

Preschool Parent Survey: Please fill out the quick parent survey furnished by NAEYC by Wednesday, April 19th. It can be completed by one or both parents. We will use the results as a self-assessment to help our program continue to grow and be the best it can be!

Mother's Day Celebration: We invite our moms to our classroom for a special Mother's Day Celebration on Thursday, May 11th. Our morning class will celebrate our wonderful moms from 10:45-11:15, and our afternoon class will celebrate from 2:45-3:15. 

Dairy Discovery Field Trip: Our class will be visiting Swisslane Farms on Tuesday, May 16th. The morning class will be leaving school promptly at 8:40 am, and the afternoon class will be leaving promptly at 12:40 pm. We will be returning back to school by our usual dismissal times. We are looking for volunteer drivers to join us! If you would like to join us on the field trip, please sign up on our class bulletin board in the hallway or send me an email along with the number of children you can drive (including your own). There is a fee of $5 per child that will be charged to your monthly preschool account. There is also a fee of $5 per adult which can be paid directly in cash to Ms. Katie or Ms. Anne (long term substitute) before or on the day of the field trip.

Have a great weekend!